Big Bang Theory | Open Apple

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This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Earl Evans, Retrobits podcast host and Commodore 64 enthusiast — but we don’t hold that against him. Registration for KansasFest 2013 is open, and we all want to go, but Earl has another destination in mind. Tech history is being unearthed before our eyes, with schematics for operating systems and circuit boards appearing in museums (where the price is right) and art galleries (where it’s not). Brutal Deluxe is on a tear, releasing retroprogramming utilities for Windows and commercial games for the Apple II; we’re big fans! But not all news is happy news: the Steve Jobs film has been delayed, and LucasArts has closed its doors — will we ever get another Maniac Mansion game for the Apple II? Maybe not, but Richard Garriott’s successful Kickstarter gave fans a chance to pick up an original copy of Akalabeth. Better late than never!

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Introduction (0:00 – 9:20)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20:23 — 41.5MB) | Embed

This month in Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Apple II historian Steve Weyhrich about strategies and philosophies for scanning, preserving, and publishing the story of the Apple II. Hardware hacks for the Apple IIc and expansion cards making their KansasFest debut caught our attention this month, as did the American Humanist Association recognizing Steve Wozniak, who earned a musical tribute from Jonathan Mann. Watches, shirts, boxes, and Risk topped our eBay auctions, while games ran the gamut from text adventures to Xbox spiritual successors to IIGS classics, with a few decorative posters thrown in for good measure. In addition to Dr. Steve, former KansasFest logo designer Chris Lackey makes not one but TWO guest appearances this month!

Congratulations to Jeremy Rand, who correctly named the game as Out of this World! He wins a $25 discount off KansasFest 2011 registration or a free KansasFest shirt. Next month’s winner will earn a 20% or $50 discount off one ReactiveMicro.com order.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 23:21)

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