Podcast
Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast
Hosted by Randy Kindig · EN
Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast
11episodes
Episodes
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Floppy Days 164 - The Sphere, Part 1 with Ben Zotto
3d ago01:17:51Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 164 - The Sphere, Part 1 with Ben Zotto Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello!!! and welcome to episode 164 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for June, 2026. My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this joy ride through the rewarding hobby of vintage computers and computer history. I have to start off by apologizing, as I'll actually be stepping back in the computer timeline for this episode. Sometimes it happens. My goal from the beginning of this podcast was to go through computers in the approximate order they were released (at least by year). And, I've largely done that with this podcast. However, sometimes a machine comes up that I didn't know about or didn't recognize its importance at the time I put together the list of computers to cover. This month that computer is the Sphere, which was introduced in 1975. That's right, I said 1975. That was the same year as the Altair and even before the Apple 1. What was the Sphere and why do we care? The Sphere was the first "personal computer," defined as such by Byte Magazine due to its consumer focus and built-in keyboard and monitor. Now, I know that many computers can claim the moniker of first "personal computer", and rightly so, but this one has the endorsement of an early, well-respected, long-running computer magazine and they have good reason for feeling this way about the Sphere. Once you hear the details, you'll see just how ground-breaking this machine was at a very early period of computer history. Not only that, some of the personal stories behind the machine are simply downright fascinating. Ben Zotto is the undisputed expert on the Sphere in these times, after finding an abandoned machine sitting on the sidewalk and deciding to adopt it and learn more about it. He recently wrote a comprehensive book on the Sphere called "Go Computer Now!" that I mentioned the last episode I had acquired. Well, I ended up reading that book cover-to-cover and really enjoying it. So much so that I decided to contact Ben and see if he would be willing to come onto the podcast to talk about his book and the Sphere Computer. Thankfully, he was. This podcast actually serves two purposes: first as an interview with Ben to learn more about him and his book, and secondly as an overview of a computer I didn't cover back when I started this podcast back in 2013 with the Altair 8800 and the Apple 1. So, this will be a 2-part journey on the Sphere. This month we talk in great detail with Ben Zotto about how he ended up going down the Sphere rabbit hole and all the great things he's done to promote an important machine that was forgotten in the annals of history. Next month, Ben and I go through all the usual topics about the Sphere: history, tech specs, using the machine, current Web sites and a great deal more. I really hope you enjoy hearing about the Sphere and meeting Ben Zotto! New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To/News VCFSW - https://www.vcfsw.org REU Grande - https://www.go4retro.com National Videogame Museum (NVM) - https://nvmusa.org/) article/cover for May, 2026 Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine with Floppy Days Woz interview - https://www.callapple.org/ passing of Howell Ivy: audio interview from 2022 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-114-howell-ivy-exidy-sorcerer-and-exidy video interview from 2022 - https://youtu.be/QojU9ty4q_U audio interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-161-byte-shop-interviews video interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://youtu.be/QlmkvVSuNbs Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/ Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/ Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026 Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 - Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/ Tandy Assembly 2026 - October 2-4, 2026 - Cincinnati, Ohio - https://www.tandyassembly.com/ Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ Chicago TI International World Faire - October 24 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links Ben's site - https://sphere.computer/ Ben's book "Go Computer Now!!!" - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_1
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Floppy Days 163 - Interview with Charles Pfister, Apple 1 Case Designer
May 2601:51:01Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 163 - Interview with Charles Pfister, Apple 1 Case Designer Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench New Acquisitions Chalkboard PowerPad - https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n10/52_The_legend_of_the_pad_of_.php "Go Computer Now!!!" by Ben Zotto - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now "Apple The First 50 Years" by David Pogue - https://amzn.to/4f6XJjU (sponsored link) FujiNet RS-232 - https://www.fvresearch.com/product/fujinet-rs232/ Upcoming Shows (thru AUGUST, 2026) VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/ INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/ Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/ Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026 Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links EDI Insights (YouTube) - https://www.youtube.com/@EliteoneDesigns Elite Designs (Facebook) - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046369452863 Computer History Museum - https://computerhistory.org/
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Floppy Days 162 - Interview with Steve Wozniak, Apple Legend
Apr 2901:00:18Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 162 - Interview with Apple Legend, Steve Wozniak Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench New Acquisitions The WOZPAK Special Edition: Steve Wozniak's Apple-1 & Apple II Computers - https://www.callapple.org/documentation/books/a-p-p-l-e-announces-the-wozpak-special-edition/ Assembly Lines: The Complete Book by Roger Wagner (Author), Chris Torrence (Editor) - https://amzn.to/4eU23ma (sponsored link) What's Where in the Apple – Enhanced Edition: A Complete Guide to the Apple II Computer - https://www.callapple.org/call-apple/callapple-production/whats-where-in-the-apple-enhanced-edition-released-by-a-p-p-l-e/ Upcoming Computer Shows (thru July, 2026) VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/ INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield - https://www.kansasfest.org/ Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links video file created for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak
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Floppy Days 161 - Byte Shop Interviews
Mar 2601:46:52Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 161 - Byte Shop Interviews Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello, and welcome to episode 161 of the Floppy Days Podcast for March, 2026. I am Randy Kindig, your host for this wild ride through vintage computing. This month I have a special episode prepared. For the 50th Anniversary event of the opening of the Byte Shop that occurred in California in December, 2025, I interviewed 11 different people with some sort of ties to Paul Terrell and the Byte Shop. Prior to the event itself, I published an approximately 30-minute-long video with just sound bites from those interviews to help get the word out (https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI). This month, I've taken the complete interviews (except for one) and created a longer episode out of it so you can hear the entirety of the interviews. To be clear, each of the interviews has as its main topic the Byte Shop and Paul Terrell. However, at the same time, we're able to learn a bit about each of the people who have ties to the Byte Shop and Paul. For this month's show, the 9 total interviews include the following people: Rick Kahn, who worked at the Byte Shop of Placentia Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Czar at Commodore Rob Terrell, Paul's nephew and frequent visitor to the Byte Shop Chuck Mauro, worked at Apple and Byte Shop #2 Lee Felsenstein, developer of the SOL and Osborne computers Scott Shekels, frequent visitor to the Byte Shop Teryl & Gloria Burt, Northstar distributor to the Byte Shop Howell Ivy, developer of the Exidy Sorcerer and worked with Paul Terrell at Exidy Paul Freiberger, computer historian Intro 30-minute video of sound bites for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary Event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To Indy Vintage Computer Club - https://www.indyvcc.org Midwest Computer Museum - https://www.midwestcomputermuseum.com Power of Vintage - https://www.youtube.com/@powerofvintage9442 Tech Dungeon - https://www.techdungeon.xyz 8bitdevices - https://www.8bitdevices.com/ lightboxes: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4306784729/lightbox-for-retro-computer-video-games https://www.ebay.com/str/techdungeon https://www.ebay.com/itm/335958112556 Upcoming Shows (thru June, 2026) VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Feedback Stewart Cheifet tribute from S.M. Oliva - https://www.computerchronicles.blog/podcast/chronicles-revisited-podcast-018-the-publics-broadcaster/
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Floppy Days 160 - The KayPro, Part 4 with Matthew Jones
Feb 2501:00:53Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 160 - The KayPro, Part 4, with Matt Jones Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench YouTube Channel: https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast Hello, and welcome to episode 160 of the Floppy Days Podcast for February, 2026. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, we are at the tail end of a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. I was able to interview David Kay, son of the founder of KayPro, and president of the company for some time, in the first two episodes. Last month, Matthew Jones, an aficionado of the KayPro computers and owner of many of the models, helped me talk about KayPro history, tech specs, and more, through the topic of using the machine. This month Matt and I complete the KayPro series by starting with books and magazines and ending with current Web sites and a lot more content in between. I will have a video version of this episode posted to the Floppy Days Podcast channel on YouTube (https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast ) that will be available for everyone soon (after the early access period for Patreon supporters has expired). So, please consider becoming a subscriber on YouTube. Doing so helps support the podcast. You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!! New Acquisitions Atari XF551 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_XF551 Upcoming Shows Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ Atari Invasion 2k26 (10th Anniversary) - March 21 - Maarssen, Netherlands - https://www.atari-invasion.nl VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ Popular Magazines/Newsletters Major September 1983 review in Byte - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Kaypro-II.pdf Heavily featured in Micro Cornucopia; curated Kaypro index here - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/kay-p13_micro-c.htm First Osborne Group (FOG) - https://archive.org/details/foghornnewsletter Non-Linear Systems published Pro-Files, a Kaypro users magazine - https://archive.org/search?query=collection%3Akayproprofiles&sort=-publicdate Books Chilton's Guide to Kaypro Repair and Maintenance by Gene Williams - https://amzn.to/4nQj6XV Basic Kaypro for Kids Paperback by W. H. Darnell (Author), P. J. Barton (Author) - https://amzn.to/465ofFs KayPro books at Amazon - https://amzn.to/4goRQgy Kaypro II User's Guide (getting started, bundled software) - https://messui.polygonal-moogle.com/comp/kaypro_um.pdf Dealer Quick Reference Manual - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up Using the Kaypro II personal computer by Lord, Kenniston W - https://archive.org/details/usingkayproiiper0000lord The instant expert's guide to the Kaypro II by Bennett, M. D - https://archive.org/details/instantexpertsgu0000benn KayPro Documentation, including KayPro Technical Manual - https://archive.org/details/the-kaypro-II-users-guide/1484-D_KayproTechnicalManual_Dec84/ Software ROMs for KayPro - https://archive.org/details/KayproII_201809 TOSEC (The Old School Emulation Center) software collection at archive.org - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up Software images - https://mame.spludlow.co.uk/SoftwareLists.aspx?Exact=true&List=kaypro Ads and Appearances Starring the Computer - https://www.starringthecomputer.com/computer.html?c=185 Modern Upgrades Fl...
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Floppy Days 159 - The KayPro, Part 3 with Matt Jones
Jan 2201:09:15Tap to summarizeFLOPPY DAYS 159 - The KayPro - Part 3 With Matt Jones Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello, and welcome to episode 159 of the Floppy Days Podcast for January, 2026. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, we are currently in the middle of a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. I was able to interview David Kay, son of the founder of KayPro, and president of the company for some time, in the previous two episodes. This month we'll delve into history, tech specs, and more, through the topic of using the machine. Next month we'll complete the series by starting with books and magazines and ending with current Web sites and a lot more content in between. I will have a video version of this episode posted to the Floppy Days Podcast channel on YouTube. You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!! I also wanted to mention those listeners who appreciate the show enough to donate through patreon.com. I really appreciate you guys and it helps offset the cost of running the podcast. Regarding that, I've created some tiers for paid members and have come up with some ways to reward those who are generous enough to monetarily support the Floppy Days Podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays ), such as early access to videos of interviews like the one being brought to you in audio form in this episode. Visit Patreon to see more details concerning the rewards for supporters . I just want to say that it is my intention to always make all content available to everyone at no cost, while at the same time providing some benefits for those generous enough to support the podcast. I hope you agree I've come up with a good compromise Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!! New Acquisitions C64 Ultimate - https://www.commodore.net Smith Corona Ultrasonic 450 Typewriter and Messenger Module - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTcWEU2UPgM News Interview with Stewart Cheifet for Floppy Days back in 2017 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-78-interview-with-stewart-chefeit-computer-chronicles Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/ Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub References Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro KayPro (CP/M) information at retrocmp.de - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro KayPro Journal - http://kayprojournal.com
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Floppy Days 158 - Interview with David Kay, Kaypro - Part 2
Dec 2101:02:27Tap to summarizeFLOPPY DAYS 158 - Interview with David Kay, KayPro - Part 2 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello, and welcome to episode 158 of the Floppy Days Podcast for December, 2025. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, this month I'm beginning a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. In researching Kaypro, I discovered that while Andrew Kay, the founder of the computer company, was no longer around, it turns out his son David, who ran the company for some time, was still around. I was able to contact David and he graciously agreed to talk with us for the podcast. Kaypro has a very interesting storyline and I hope you enjoy this. We talked so long that I decided to break the interview into 2 parts, so you'll hear part 2 this month, and part 1 was last month. Following that, we'll delve into episodes covering history, tech specs, etc. on the Kaypro. All the usual topics. It looks as though I'll have 2 episodes covering those topics. I will have a video for this posted to the Floppy Days Podcast on YouTube. One note here. This is one of the last videos where I used a videoconferencing tool that just didn't do a great job. It has a tendency to not keep up with video and you may note that the mouth doesn't stay in sync with the audio sometimes during the interview. In addition, audio-wise, you may hear some low clicks throughout the interview. I've since switched to Zoom and it seems to do a better job of audio and video quality, albeit more expensive. In the meantime, friend of the show Brian Cox offered to improve the audio quality using some high-end tools he had, and thanks to him, you benefit from his work. Hopefully, the clicks are gone and the sound from both David Kay and myself is better for the interview section. Thanks, Brian! You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!! I also wanted to mention those listeners who appreciate the show enough to donate through patreon.com. I really appreciate you guys and it helps offset the cost of running the podcast. Regarding that, I've created some tiers for paid members and have come up with some ways to reward those who are generous enough to monetarily support the Floppy Days Podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays ), such as early access to videos of interviews like the being brought to you in audio form in this episode. Visit Patreon to see more details concerning the rewards for supporters . I just want to say that it is my intention to always make all content available to everyone at no cost, while at the same time providing some benefits for those generous enough to support the podcast. I hope you agree I've come up with a good compromise Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!! What I've Been Up To Byte 50th Anniversary Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/853596483843378 Byte 50th Anniversary tribute mini-podcast on the Floppy Days YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI New Acquisitions Porta MC-10 - https://portacoco.com/ TRS-80 MODEL 4P GOTEK VERTICAL SLED - https://www.ebay.com/itm/157418076045 Upcoming Shows Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/ Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links "The Word Processing Book" by Peter McWilliams - https://amzn.to/3M6zJks Andrew Kay at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kay KayPro at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
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Floppy Days 157 - Interview with David Kay, Kaypro - Part 1
Nov 3001:01:33Tap to summarizeFLOPPY DAYS 157 - Interview with David Kay, KayPro - Part 1 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello, and welcome to episode 157 of the Floppy Days Podcast for November, 2025. I am Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, this month I'm beginning a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. In researching Kaypro, I discovered that while Andrew Kay, the founder of the computer company, was no longer around, it turns out his son David, who ran the company for some time, was still around. I was able to contact David and he graciously agreed to talk with us for the podcast. Kaypro has a very interesting storyline and I hope you enjoy this. We talked so long that I decided to break the interview into 2 parts, so you'll hear part 1 this month, and part 2 next month. Following that, we'll delve into episodes covering history, tech specs, etc. on the Kaypro. All the usual topics. It looks as though I'll have 2 episodes covering those topics. I will have a video for this posted to the Floppy Days Podcast on YouTube. One note here. This is one of the last videos where I used a videoconferencing tool that just didn't do a great job. It has a tendency to not keep up with video and you may note that the mouth doesn't stay in sync with the audio sometimes during the interview. In addition, audio-wise, you may hear some low clicks throughout the interview. I've since switched to Zoom and it seems to do a better job of audio and video quality, albeit more expensive. You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!! Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!! What I've Been Up To Byte 50th Anniversary Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/853596483843378 New Acquisitions A2Pico - https://jcm-1.com/product/a2pico/ PicoMicroMac - https://jcm-1.com/product/picomicromac/ Upcoming Shows World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/ Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/ Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links "The Word Processing Book" by Peter McWilliams - https://amzn.to/3M6zJks Andrew Kay at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kay KayPro at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
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Floppy Days 156 - Interview with Paul Schindler, Computer Chronicles
Oct 3001:38:41Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 156 - Interview with Paul Schindler, Computer Chronicles Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net FutureVision Research Tuc's Workbench Hello, and welcome to episode 156 of the Floppy Days Podcast for October, 2025. I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this "retro"spective covering vintage computers of the late 70's through the 80's and the people who were on the forefront of that incredible revolution. This month, I'm bringing you another interview episode with a tech media personality that was involved with the Computer Chronicles TV show (among many other things): Mr. Paul Schindler. Paul has a big personality and has a lot of great stories about Computer Chronicles and about the tech industry in general in those days. I really enjoyed talking with Paul and he made me laugh a lot! As you know, if you're a regular listener, I was able to interview Stewart Cheifet some ago about Computer Chronicles. Computer Chronicles was a great way to get information about computers in those early days and I've always wanted to do some follow-up. Thanks to S.M. Oliva, who is mentioned in the resulting interview, and who runs a blog called "Computer Chronicles Revisited", I was able to get in contact with Paul. Next up for Floppy Days will be a series of podcasts on the KayPro line of computers, for which I was able to line up an interview with a key figure from that company and was also able to find someone who knows a lot about the computer line to help me discuss the technical topics. Stay tuned for that series. As usual, I will begin this podcast going through new acquisitions and what I've been up to, upcoming vintage computer shows and more. Video version of the episode at YouTube: New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To Tandy Assembly - https://www.tandyassembly.com TRS-80 LED sign - https://techdungeon.xyz TS2068 mailing list - https://ts2068.groups.io/g/main/topics Compute!'s Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com Atari Tricky Tutorial #7 Disk Utilities by Jerry White - https://www.atarimania.com/documents/Tricky-Tutorial-7-Disk-Utilities.pdf TenoxVGA for Atari TT - https://www.legacypixels.com Call-A.P.P.L.E. - https://www.callapple.org/ News Compute's Gazette article from the October, 2025 issue about Floppy Days written by Brian Cox of FutureVision Research - https://shop.computesgazette.com/product/computes-gazette-issue-4-digital-edition-october-2025/ Upcoming Shows Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net Atari Party 2025 - Nov. 22, 2025 (noon to 4) - Quakertown, PA Train Station - http://atariparty.org/ World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/ Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/ Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Paul's general Website - https://www.schindler.org Paul Website about the Computer Chronicles - http://compchron.com/ S.M. Oliva's Computer Chronicles Revisited Paul's long-running blog Paul's podcast, PS A Podcast on Things Paul recounts some tales from his Chronicles days Paul's YouTube channel Computer Chronicles at archive.org Computer Chronicles episodes on YouTube
Transcribe →Floppy Days 155 - Interview with Karl Hornell, C64 Developer, cartoonist, author
Sep 2401:15:00Tap to summarizeFloppy Days 155 - Interview with Karl Hornell - C64 Game Developer, Cartoonist, Author Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics Arcade Shopper FutureVision Research Hello, and welcome to episode 155 of the Floppy Days Podcast for September, 2025! I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this podcast, where we talk about the computers that got many of us started in our careers and which still hold a lot of interest for us today. This month, I'm bringing you another interesting interview with someone who at an early age started developing commercial-grade software for the Commodore 64, which started him on an amazing trajectory with his career in software development, cartoonist, and more. His latest efforts include branching out into writing science fiction, which we will also discuss today. The person I'm referring to is Karl Hornell (Her-NELL). It's also an interesting story around how this interview opportunity came to me. I'm not used to getting contacted by an ad agency. This one indicated that their client, Karl, had just recently published a book and was looking for ways to advertise the book. They suggested that Floppy Days would be a great fit based on Karl's background and could be beneficial for both. I was skeptical at first, as I always am when I receive unsolicited, possibly spam email. However, once I researched Karl's background it became clear that he was an accomplished Swedish developer for the C64 back in the day, with some notariety. I felt his background might indeed be of interest to you, the listeners, and so happily agreed to interviewing Karl for the podcast. I hope you enjoy Karl's story and will consider taking a look at his new book. New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To Atari Bit Byter User Club (ABBUC) - https://www.abbuc.de VCFMW - https://vcfmw.org/ Atari TT030 at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_TT030 David Anderson's Timex Sinclair sites: https://andertone.com/ https://www.timexsinclair.com/ News Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer - https://archive.org/details/stan-veits-history-of-the-personal-computer/mode/2up David Greelish's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TheComputerHistorian Early chapters (1-9) of Stan Veit's book via audio - https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html Floppy Days YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@floppydayspodcast Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/ Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/ Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUdQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub Interview Links Karl at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_H%C3%B6rnell Vic-Rapport Magazine (Wikipedia) - https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-rapport "Generation 64 - How the Commodore 64 Inspired a Generation of Swedish Gamers" by Bitmap Books - https://amzn.to/3YUUlQ5 (affiliate link) Karl Hornell's Applet Center - http://www.javaonthebrain.com/ Retro Gamer Magazine #130 with Karl interview - https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20130/page/92/mode/2up "Singularity Minus Twelve" book - https://amzn.to/3S8Yr3r (affiliate link) Savage Dragonbert - https://wiki.savagedragon.com/comics/savage_dragonbert_full_frontal_nerdity_01/
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