Podcasts about tramiels

This week's guest may be the only person we've ever interviewed who's worked for Atari, Nintendo and SEGA - the magic three! Faran Thomason kindly gave us some of his time a while ago for a text interview but we simply had to chat to him to get more of those stories out. Especially a treat for Atari Jaguar fans, Adrian talks to the producer, QA tester and level designer himself about Bubsy, Baldies Cybermorph and the abandoned Jag version of Mortal Kombat 3 among many other lovely retro gaming stories about all three legendary companies. He also talks about making consoles in China, Black Lives Matter, what the Tramiels were really like and working with the legendary Lance Henriksen. Enjoy! Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conversation? Please tweet us @arcadeattackUK or catch us on facebook.com/arcadeattackUK All copyrighted material contained within this podcast is the property of their respective rights owners and their use here is protected under ‘fair use’ for the purposes of comment or critique

Interview with Neil Harris, Member of the Vic Commando Team Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcast, where classic computers will always have a home.  My name is Randy Kindig.  This is the final of four consecutive episodes where I talked to gentlemen who were either involved with the development of the historically significant Commodore Vic-20, or who have written books on its history.  In this episode Neil Harris is my guest.  Neil was a key member of the Vic Commando Team within Commodore, the team that was responsible for the introduction of the Vic-20 and helping it to become the first home computer to sell 1 million units.  Neil also later worked for Atari, when the Tramiels left Commodore and purchased Atari from Warner.  Neil helps me walk through the history of the Vic through the eyes of someone on the front line.  I think you’ll find this interesting. Before we get to that, I have a few housekeeping items to cover and then we’ll get into the meat of the podcast. Web site: http://floppydays.com email: floppydays@gmail.com Twitter: @floppydays Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/floppydays on iTunes and Stitcher (www.stitcher.com) part of the Throwback Network (www.throwbacknetwork.net ) Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/I5bhao6ixoxkzq52qlku5mfb43q?t=FloppyDays_Vintage_Computing_Podcast Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions VTech PreComputer 1000 - http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/324 News Upcoming Shows VCF Southeast 5.0 - April 29 & 30, 2017, Roswell, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/ TI Fest West - Saturday April 29th from 9 am to 5 pm,  Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland, Washington - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260465-fest-west-2017/ Pacific Commodore Expo at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle on June 10-11 2017 - https://www.facebook.com/events/1171192169619276/ KFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, July 18th-23rd Commodore Vegas Expo v13 - July 29-30, 2017, California Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada - http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex Vintage Computer Festival West - August 5-6, 2017, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/ VCFMW - September 9-10, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://vcfmw.org/ , https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/ Tandy Assembly - October 7-8, 2017 - Chillocothe, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/ Chicago TI International World’s Faire - October 15, Evanston, IL - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire World of Commodore - first weekend in December - Toronto - http://www.tpug.ca/ Feedback Bally Alley Astrocast Podcast (Adam Trionfo and others) - http://www.ballyalleyastrocast.libsyn.com/ Interview Neil Harris interview for the Antic Podcast - http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-188-neil-harris-commodore-atari-genie

Rob Zdybel, Atari (Part 2) Hello, Atari fans, and welcome to another interview episode of Antic, The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast.  My name is Randy Kindig.  This interview is a bit different in that it’s the second interview with someone that we’ve interviewed before - Mr. Rob Zdybel.  The reason for this is that Rob worked for Atari so long, and was involved in so many projects, that I felt like some information was left undiscovered in the first interview.  At the request of some listeners, I decided to do a follow-up interview and Rob was kind enough to agree. Rob Zdybel was a very long-time employee at Atari, having worked there beginning in 1979 all the way to 1996, when the Tramiels left.  Rob has a long line of credits including Pigs in Space, Real Sports Football, Stellar Track and Star Trek for the Atari 400/800, SOS for the Atari 2600, Missile Command for the Atari 5200, and Bug Hunt for the Atari XE.  He also designed the system BIOS for the Atari 5200. Please note that this interview does have some profanity, although I did beep out the most obvious instances. This interview took place on July 10, 2016. Links: list of Rob’s games at AtariMania PRGE 2013 - Bob Smith, Rob Zdybel, Joe Decuir - Portland Retro Gaming Expo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmqzybUe9m4 “Once Upon Atari” - http://www.onceuponatari.com/ Rob’s first interview with ANTIC

David Duberman, Antic magazine editor David Duberman was an editor at Antic magazine (one of the two major Atari magazines in the United States). Later he was in customer support at Synapse software, then user group coordinator at Atari during the Tramiel era. This interview took place on June 17, 2016. In it, we discuss Jim Capparell, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quotes: "We were now in the computer age, so we had to print these weird [ATASCII] characters that were probably never printed in a magazine before." "They [the Tramiels] would not spend a single penny that didn't absolutely have to be spent." David's articles in Antic Jim Capparell interview

Bob Brodie: User Group Manager for Atari Hi and welcome to another special interview edition of Antic the Atari 8-bit computer podcast.  My name is Randy Kindig and I'll be providing the interview questions for this episode.  I'm extremely pleased to provide this interview with a name well-known in the Atari community: Mr. Bob Brodie.  Bob worked for Atari as User Group Manager and later Director of Communications from 1989 to 1994.  Bob was directly involved in many of the Atarifests in that timeframe and I recall personally meeting him at an Atarifest in Indianapolis.  I think you'll find that he has many interesting stories and perspectives concerning his time working for the Tramiels and even a story involving an Atari 1450XLD.  I personally want to thank Bob for the time he spent talking with me, even calling me back when he remembered additional information or stories he thought might interest everyone.  Bob is a classy guy and I enjoyed talking with him immensely. This interview took place on February 17, 2016. Quote “Oh, about 6 ½ feet up in the air, I see a 1450XLD, unboxed, just sitting there!” Links Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie on GEnie - http://textfiles.com/games/CONSOLES/brodie.txt New User Group Coordinator, ROVAC ZMAGAZINE, Issue  #171, August 22, 1989 - http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/ZNET/0170.txt INTRODUCING BOB BRODIE, START Columnist Makes His Debut, START VOL. 5 NO. 7 / APRIL/MAY 1991 - http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv5n7/bob_brodie.html Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rgbrodie San Leandro Computer Club - http://slcc.bdgeorge.com

  Rob Zdybel, Star Trek, Missile Command, Bug Hunt Rob Zdybel was a long-time employee at Atari, having worked there from 1979 to 1996, when the Tramiels left.  Rob has a long line of credits including Pigs in Space, Real Sports Football, Stellar Track and Star Trek for the Atari 400/800, SOS for the Atari 2600, Missile Command for the Atari 5200, and Bug Hunt for the Atari XE.  He also designed the system BIOS for the Atari 5200. Rob mentions the SYLVIA game system in the interview, although he couldn’t remember the name of the system at the time.  It was the machine that was supposed to come between the 2600 and the 5200 and which Doug Neubauer worked on. Niles Strohl and Doug Neubauer are both mentioned in the interview, both of which I’m working to get interviews. Please note that this interview does have some profanity. This interview took place on January 17, 2016. Teaser Quotes: “I said Good Lord, Man, I don’t know if I can stand the idea of using computers to kill people more accurately.” “They were going to give us a free Atari 800 computer.  That’s one of things you got for signing on with the Atari crew.” “I signed on to the Atari 2600 program at the time.  I was not actually interested in writing 2600 programs, but where my heart was really at was the Atari 800 computer because it was so much more powerful.” “The lights had come on: you CAN’T win at Marketing Adventure.” “You’re talking to the man who’s responsible for Chris Crawford being in the game industry.  It’s my fault.” Links: list of Rob’s games at AtariMania PRGE 2013 - Bob Smith, Rob Zdybel, Joe Decuir - Portland Retro Gaming Expo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmqzybUe9m4 “Once Upon Atari” - http://www.onceuponatari.com/

Landon Dyer, Donkey Kong and Super Pac Man Landon Dyer started as a software engineer in the Atari home computer division in 1982, where he specialized in converting arcade games to the Atari 8-bits. There, he programmed the Atari 400/800 versions of Donkey Kong, and Super Pac Man — which was never officially released by Atari (but has been widely available for many years.) After the Tramiels bought Atari, he worked on the Atari ST, including BIOS boot code and the floppy disk driver. Landon’s blog, at DadHacker.com, has many interesting posts about his Atari days. This interview took place December 9, 2015. Teaser quotes: “In many ways, Atari marketing was completely divorced from the process of making games. They didn’t understand what programmers did, they didn’t understand what manufacturing cycles were.” “To get ROMs made inside of Atari you had to go through a mastering lab. So basically you’d hand a couple of guys disks. They would disappear into their lab, smoke some dope, and come out with ROMs. And often, keep the disks.” Link Landon's web site: http://www.dadhacker.com/blog/?p=987

Marty Payson, Warner, Office of the President   Hi, everyone, and welcome to another in the long-standing series of interviews being published for Antic, the Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig and this interview is a follow-up to the recent interview that we published with Manny Gerard of Warner Communications, the company that bought Atari in 1976.  This time the interview is with Marty Payson, also of Warner Communications.  Marty began with Warner in 1970, became executive vice president and general counsel in 1982, and in 1987 became a member of the Office of the President for Warner.  He was with Warner during the Atari days, up to 1984 when it was sold to the Tramiels, and was still involved with Atari for some time after that, as you will hear.  Marty was not as intimately involved with Atari as was Manny Gerard, but nonetheless I hope you find his perspective from the Warner side interesting.   This interview was conducted on August 17, 2015.   Teaser Quotes   “The problem with it was, it was uncontrolled growth.  And, I’m not pointing a finger at either Atari or Warner.  I think it was a combination of both.”   “It began a point that Warner was going to have to take control of Atari.  It was out of control.”   Links   1987 Los Angeles Times Article on the Appointment of Marty to the Warner Office of the President   1992 Los Angeles Times Article on the Resignation of Marty

Manny Gerard, The Man Who Fired Nolan   For this interview, we’re getting a different perspective of the Atari/Warner relationship, this time from the Warner side.  (Emanual) Manny Gerard was a member of the Office of the President for Warner during the Atari days from 1976, when they acquired Atari, to 1984 when it was sold to the Tramiels.  He in fact was the key person in the decision for Warner to acquire Atari.  As you will hear in the interview, he was also the man who ousted Nolan Bushnell from Atari.  We get Manny’s perspective on Atari from Warner’s view, on the decision to bring out the computer line, and much more.  I think you’ll appreciate Manny’s honesty and his sense of humor.   This interview took place on August 9, 2015.   Teaser Quotes   “I can remember saying this to Nolan, over and over again: You cannot run the company by divine right of kings, Nolan”   It feels to me like the computer’s problem at Atari was that it was; it lived in the shadow of the game systems, because they were so bloody successful.”   “I mean I think the early Apples were good computers but I don’t think they were better than the Atari computers by any considerable margin and they may not even been as good, but we sure got out-marketed.”   “Manny Gerard, the guy who fired me at Atari!  Everybody looks up; who is this guy?  And I said, yeah, Nolan, and the guy who made you a millionaire.”   Links   New York Times 1984 article on Manny leaving Warner   HI-RES Vol. 1, No. 1 / November 1983 Article on Atari History   Manny Gerard - Thoughts on E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - YouTube

Tim McGuinness, Atari Senior Research Engineer and Founder of ROMOX   Tim McGuinness was a Hardware Design Engineer in Atari’s Personal Computer Division in 1980 and 1981, then moved to become Senior Research Engineer/Assistant Director of Corporate Research Engineering through 1982. Tim was co-developer of 400, 800, and 1200XL computers and peripherals. He was also the initial architect and designer of the first version of the Amiga computer. He left Atari in 1982 to co-found Romox, a software publisher that had a unique software distribution system where you could load new software onto cartridges using an in-store kiosk.   This interview took place on May 23, 2015.   Teaser quotes: “Personal computer division was a toxic environment ... I had a taken a prototype that we had been working on over to the research division, because I was going to show Alan Kay. And I come back with the unit and I’m being threatened with arrest.”   “Michael Jackson spent a couple of days at our facility in Campbell to help us with the digitization of things like Beat It.”   “Talking to the Tramiels. Sam was pretty rational, his brother was insane, and the old man was just an asshole.”

Ted Richards, Atari Connection Magazine   Ted Richards was Editor In Chief of Atari Connection magazine, Atari’s in-house computer magazine; and was Marketing Communications Manager for Atari Home Computers, where he worked on print and package design, from 1981 to 1984.   This interview took place on April 19, 2015.   Links:   Atari Connection Magazine scans   40 Year Old Hippie Brings The Computer Age Home   Ted Richards’ web site   Teaser Quotes:   “Antic was a competing magazine, so to speak, at the time. I forget the editor’s name, he was quite a guy. . . [Jim] Capparell. He was always meeting with Atari executives, trying to persuade them to shut down our magazine.” “So when the Tramiels came in, they confronted him and they asked him ‘Who are you?’ And Arnold says ‘Who are you?!’ And they said ‘Him we like. He stays.’”