chiptune | Open Apple

Open Apple #75 (October 2017) – Seth Sternberger, Class Apples, GS Graphics

Posted on Dec 24, 2017Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:51 — 99.5MB) | Embed

We’re baaaack! Sorry for the unscheduled hiatus folks, but your intrepid hosts had some family matters to attend to. This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Seth Steinberger of 8-bit Weapon. We talk about their new album Class Apples, which was made entirely on an Apple II. Yes, every sound on the album is generated by real Apple II hardware with no add-on cards. Apple IIs can make good sound with the right software and in the hands of a talented musician.

After the amazement of Class Apples wears off, we get into Seth’s background with Apple IIs, how he got interested in electronic music, how 8-bit Weapon came to be, and where they’re headed next. We touch a little bit on his work as the main artist on the upcoming RPG Lawless Legends, and Seth explains how much better keyboards are as compared to proms. Furthermore, we all agree that the primary value of the internet is to find pictures of Devo. Michelle wasn’t able to be on the show, but you won’t want to miss the story of how she got to work with Mark Mothersbaugh.

Mike and Quinn then get into augmented reality, alternative operating systems, and of course Richard Garriot. Can’t have an Apple II show without mentioning Richard Garriot. Stay tuned to hear about accelerator control, new magazines, and making your own memory cards.

Lastly, Quinn goes deep on how to program fast graphics on the notoriously “crippled” Apple IIgs. Yes, you can do big beautiful sprites at high frame rates. Learn all about the deep dark secrets that the best games and demos used.

Help keep the Garage Giveaway running at KansasFest! Donate here to keep it a thing. It’s one of the greatest services the Apple II community has, and we’re going to lose it this year if we don’t get donations.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

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Open Apple #12 (Feb 2012): Michael J Mahon, chiptune, source code, and demodulation

Posted on Feb 6, 2012Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:57:57 — 59.7MB) | Embed

This month on the Open Apple podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Michael J Mahon, software and hardware developer extraordinaire and creative genius behind both recent DMS Drummer software and the ever-popular AppleCrate parallel processing computer. We talk about 8 Bit Weapon, the chiptune music scene, and the importance of commenting and documenting one’s code, whether it be commercial or open source. Michael’s not much of a gamer, but Ken and Mike are enjoying new versions of classic games, including Eamon, Choplifter, and possibly Rescue Raiders. We consider entering a Robot War competition, despite our poor showing at the RetroChallenge contest. Several new pieces of hardware to convert video signals are now available, which you can use with a pair of complete Apple IIGS systems, for sale and shipping for free from Bulgaria.

Congratulations to Bryan Letcher, who won a set of Microzine issues by completing our listener survey!

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 12:00)

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Open Apple #10 (Dec 2011): Rob Kenyon, HyperCard, IFComp, and authenticity

Posted on Dec 6, 2011Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:06 — 43.7MB) | Embed

This month on the Open Apple podcast, Mike and Ken are joined by Rob Kenyon, a two-time KansasFest attendee as well as a professional programmer and 30-year veteran of the Apple II. We talk about how great it is to be a part of the international community of Apple II users, even if none of us can afford to buy Apple’s founding contract in a Sotheby’s auction. Rob asks, did Steve Jobs purposely kill HyperCard to turn the Mac into a more closed environment? We congratulate Wade Clarke and Andrew Schultz on their showing in the 17th annual Interactive Fiction Competition. Plenty of original Apple II computers are selling on eBay, with Mike and Rob discussing how to distinguish an authentic classic from a modified one. We share our wishes for the holiday season, including for an affordable accelerator card and a CFFA3000, before signing off for the calendar year. Please take our listener survey, and see you in 2012!

[Please note: technical difficulties have resulted in a low volume on Ken’s track, and a loud volume for Rob. Our apologies for the inconvenience.]

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (00:00 – 7:08)

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Show #6 (July 2011): User groups, Beautiful Boot, KFest memories, and game tournaments

Posted on Jul 15, 2011Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:39 — 53.3MB) | Embed

This month in Open Apple, Mike and Ken share the studio for a one-on-one recording session. We look at user groups, museums, and academic classes that celebrate the Apple II, as well as the growing collection of the Internet Archive, courtesy Jason Scott. While looking forward to next week’s KansasFest convention, memories of previous KFests are unearthed and examined. Unusual Apple II and Apple III machines are hot on eBay, as are the competitors in recent and upcoming arcade tournaments. And let’s not overlook the gauntlet that Richard Garriott has thrown down over the future of the Ultima franchise.

Congratulations to Alex Lee, who named the game as DuelTris! He won a $20 credit to the RetroFloppy store, courtesy David Schmidt. Next month’s winner gets a three-issue hardcopy collection of 300 Baud magazine.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 12:58)

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