Chris Torrence | Open Apple

Open Apple #78 (September 2018) – Retro Antic Assembly Chicken Missile Talks Our Way Out Of It

Posted on Sep 11, 2018Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:40 — 51.6MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we bring you the traditional big group podcast that we record every year at KansasFest. Tune in for a casual chat with your favorite retro podcasters, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at what makes KansasFest special. This year we managed to twist the following arms into joining us:

Quinn Dunki – Open Apple
Carrington Vanston – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Eaten By A Grue
Paul Hagstrom – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Drop III Inches
Ken Gagne – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Polygamer, Transporter Lock
Charles Mangin – How II
Steve Weyrich – Retrocomputing Roundtable
Kay Savetz – ANTIC, Eaten By A Grue, Tech Enthusiast Hour
Chris Torrence – Assembly Lines
Jason Scott – Jason Scott Talks His Way Out Of It

You’ll have to excuse the strained voices and general discombobulation, as we generally record this sometime in the middle of the night on what-feels-like day 400 of KFest, in a dank basement chapel. It’s way more fun than I just made it sound. You should come to the next KansasFest!

Open Apple #77 (March 2018) – Kay Savetz & Carrington Vanston, Eaten By A Grue

Posted on Jul 17, 2018Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:31 — 86.0MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston of the Eaten By A Grue podcast. Eaten By A Grue is a game-by-game style of podcast where the intrepid hosts are playing every Infocom game. They both play the game, then discuss it in detail, with and without spoilers. They discuss the amount of cheating required, how mapping was done, the quality of writing and puzzles, and so on. The show has a very nice structure wherein they discuss the show with no spoilers to the halfway point, so that you can stop and go play it yourself if you are so inclined. If not, you can keep listening and hear gory details of all the puzzles.

Kevin talks about getting beasts into bed, and other reasons not to play these games on real hardware. Meanwhile Carrington gets his feelies on and brags about how he has so many original copies of Infocom games that he sits on them for fun.

Meanwhile Mike and Quinn debate dubious silicon valley histories, wedge computers, and competing with other 8-bits in BASIC. Tune in to hear us malign our guests, misremember important names, and get super pedantic about connector nomenclature for no conceivable reason. You won’t want to miss a moment of the drama.

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

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Open Apple #71 (May 2017) – Michael Packard, Alien Downpour, Kermit (The Frog)

Posted on May 30, 2017Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:11 — 78.2MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Michael Packard, author of the upcoming new game Alien Downpour. Michael has gone back to teach himself assembly language and make the kinds of games he wished he had made back in the day. The results are indeed impressive, and his first foray into solo Apple II game production is shaping up great. He’s also been very encouraging to the community, having set up the Facebook group Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design Enthusiasts, dedicated to the book by the same name. This group is a place for Michael to share his progress on his games, as well as for other people to jump in with their own projects.

As of this recording, you can still pre-order Alien Downpour over at Michael’s site. Remarkably, you can order it on floppy or cassette! It comes with a retro-style baggie and insert as well. Michael is writing a book on his experiences (re)learning all this, so keep an eye out for that as well. He’ll also be at KansasFest this year with a presentation on Alien Downpour. Register now so you can see that! You won’t want to miss Michael’s perfect re-impersonation of the Egghead Discount Software answering message.

Meanwhile, Mike and Quinn get stuff wrong on a great many topics, but have fun doing it. If you want to try using a IIgs as your daily driver, launch cows with extreme prejudice, or run GEOS on a weird piece of hardware, you’ve come to the right podcast.

Register for KansasFest while you still can!

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

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Open Apple #68 (February 2017) : Emulator Updates, EDD, Softalk #3

Posted on Mar 4, 2017Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:33 — 82.5MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Quinn sit down with each other and catch up on all the news they’ve been neglecting lately.

Mike and Quinn discuss the disappointing 8BitDo controller, get excited about remanufactured printer ribbons, and pretend to know anything about EDD.

Follow along as we review Softalk volume 1, number 3. The ads are always the best part! Meanwhile, we manage to sneak in one more Kay Savetz reference, and a Boo Atari in the same breath. That’s the Open Apple Way™.

You won’t want to miss this month’s Apology to Call A.P.P.L.E segment. We’re going to need a bumper for that (and the Australians) soon. Despite all this terribleness, please give us money. Because costs.

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

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Open Apple #67 (January 2017) : Year End Roundtable!

Posted on Feb 2, 2017Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:58 — 41.1MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we round out the year with our annual tradition of sitting around a virtual table with some friends of the show, discussing whatever comes to mind. Mike and Quinn are joined by Jeremy Barr-Hyde, Jorma Honkanen, Kate Szkotnicki & Chris Torrence.

We have a really fun mix of Apple II fans from all walks of life and all parts of the world this month. Sit down with us as we discuss our history with the machines and how they fit into our lives today. Can retrocomputers be teaching tools for kids today? Can an Apple II serve a practical role in modern life? What was your unicorn accessory or software package back in the day? How do we get new faces to KansasFest? We chat about all this and more, so don’t miss it!

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

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Open Apple #56 (February 2016) : Peter Lount, Gemstone Warrior, KansasFest

Posted on Feb 21, 2016Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:10 — 69.1MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple we sit down with Peter Lount, co-developer of Gemstone Warrior and Gemstone Healer for the Apple II. Canadian programmer Peter and his partner Trouba broke new ground in video games by combining fast action combat with procedurally generated caves and dungeon content. Gemstone Warrior doesn’t get credit for being the predecessor to Blizzard megahit Diablo, but it should. Peter talks about tuning his rendering engine, including rewriting huge chunks of it overnight to meet a deadline. What’s your reality resolution?

Tune in to hear Mike complain that Gemstone’s monsters are too smart for him, and hear Quinn choke on the most important Apple II announcement of the year. We talk a lot about solid state drives, marvel at underground ‘zines, and bask in the awesome glory of Brutal Deluxe’s tape collection. Audio is still the “best” way to move data after all these years. “A bold statement,” you say? “Nonsense,” you cry? Listen and decide.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Micro continues to kick butt by reverse engineering all that sweet Applied Engineering hardware, Quinn makes terrible “card” jokes, and we catch up on lots of feedback.

Breaking the fourth wall on segment bumpers- good idea, or great idea?

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

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Open Apple #46 (April 2015): Paul Lutus, ReactiveMicro, and KansasFest Keynote

Posted on Apr 19, 2015Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:08:40 — 104.5MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Paul Lutus, author of seminal early Apple II software such as AppleWriter and GraFORTH. We talk about the impacts of software development on society, the value of the individual in the process, and the trials of coding software in the woods.

We talk extreme offsite backups, KansasFest keynotes, telnet BBSing, and the hurricane of awesome that is ReactiveMicro. We reminisce about the original Home Computer Wars (these kids today arguing about their smartphones are so darned cute), and also Boo Atari.

We trek from Bulgaria to Korea to Canada and back again, to bring you the latest in sound cards, solid state storage, and portable Apple IIc action. You won’t want to miss Quinn plugging Phil Plait for some reason. With our story on Atari 8-bits in Poland, this marks the most Atari content ever on Open Apple. It also qualifies us as the 698th currently operating Atari podcast. Boo Atari. See what you get when you poke the bear, people? ][ Infinitum.

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

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Open Apple #43 (January 2015) : Happy New Year with Ben Heck!

Posted on Jan 22, 2015Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:55 — 89.1MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Ben Heck, one of our most-requested interviews. We talk about his Apple I replica, his Apple IIgs laptop, and Adam Sandler for some reason. Meanwhile, Mike and Quinn talk about Apple Porsches, Pinball Construction Set, and Western Design Center. In the comedy department, we get back to our roots (making fun of Wizardry).

There’s potato chips, there’s troll pits, there’s 3D printing, and all kinds of other wandering off topic this month, so be sure to stay tuned for none of that.

We’re looking forward to a great new year with the Apple II, so join us as we kick off what is sure to be an awesome 2015!

Wews!

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

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