Kickstarter | Open Apple

Open Apple #76 (January 2018) – Ken Gagne & Andy Molloy, Juiced.GS, Nukes

Posted on Feb 18, 2018Feb 8, 2022 by Quinn Dunki

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:51 — 84.7MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Ken Gagne and Andy Molloy of Juiced.GS, the longest running continuously published Apple II magazine (that you can still get in your mailbox to this day!). Juiced.GS is in its 23rd year, which has to be a record for magazines of almost any type.

Ken and Andy talk about the bloodless coup of the magazine, the long history of same, where things are headed, and why they hates trees.

Meanwhile, Quinn and Mike chat about FPGAs, nuclear weapons, and BBSes. What do you do when you need a mathematically provably correct piece of hardware to verify nuclear weapons compliance? Why, you grab your Apple II, of course! Duh!

Here’s a time sensitive news item that didn’t make it into the show- vote for Nox Archaist and Lawless Legends for your favorite Ultima-inspired indie games of 2017!

Stay tuned for a Tech segment where we follow up on last episode and go even deeper on fast IIgs graphics. There’s always more to know about the intricacies of squeezing performance out of this unique and beautiful machine.

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

Continue reading →

Open Apple #33 (Dec 2013): Andrew Schultz, interactive fiction, JSMESS, and SCOTTEVEST

Posted on Dec 20, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:45:46 — 60.4MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Andrew Schultz — gamer, FAQ author, and Interactive Fiction Competition participant. Text adventures are enjoying a resurgence in popularity and access, and Andrew guides us through the tools and resources available for aspiring game authors. Both Steve Weyhrich’s history book and the Steve Jobs movie are available for home delivery, but there’s only one we want to find under our Christmas tree. Jason Scott has integrated the JSMESS emulator into the Internet Archive, granting users unprecedented access to historical software right in their browsers. Finally, Ken, in his quest to be more Woz-like, adopts his hero’s fashion sense.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 10:16)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #32 (Nov 2013): Bill Martens, history, Apple founders, and WOZPAK

Posted on Nov 2, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:09 — 66.3MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Bill Martens of Call-A.P.P.L.E. Preserving our community’s software and documentation is important not just to the users, but to the people doing the preserving; Bill explains why. We look at how the media can never get enough of Steve Jobs, examining his early career and denoting his boyhood home as a historical landmark — but Woz gets his time in the spotlight too, on panels about Atari, the Jobs movie, or a Homebrew Computer Club reunion. Highlighted eBay auctions include the ten rarest and most expensive games and yet another Apple-1. Finally, Brian Wiser joins us to discuss The WOZPAK Special Edition, a book that made its debut at KansasFest 2013 alongside its creator, Steve Wozniak.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 11:07)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #30 (Sep 2013): Charles Mangin, Jobs movie, Tetris, and S-Prize

Posted on Sep 2, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:49:59 — 61.1MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Charles Mangin, the mad scientist who puts Mac Minis inside Apple II cases and inventor of the RetroConnector. It’s our first show since KansasFest, and we share our highlights and favorite products and announcements from the show. The Steve Jobs film is now out, and Ashton Kutcher and Steve Wozniak have words while critics publish their own mixed reviews. However, we have nothing but praise for Walter Isaacson’s biography, and Steve Wozniak gets his own moment in the spotlight courtesy interviews with the Verge and Game Informer. We’re super-psyched that Eric Shepherd has established the S-Prize — how big will the pot grow before some enterprising programmer claims it?

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 7:46)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #29 (July 2013): Mike Willegal, Apple-1, cons, and films

Posted on Jul 4, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:45:03 — 58.8MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Mike Willegal, Apple-1 and Apple II reproduction expert extraordinaire. His topic is hot this month: five Apple-1 computers were simultaneously on display at the History San Jose museum; one is being auctioned online; Willegal was interviewed for a Kickstarter-funded book about the Apple-1; and his clones are appearing in a feature-length film about Steve Jobs — what a guy! He even went to Vintage Computer Festival Southeast this spring, though he’ll be absent from VCF Southwest, KansasFest, and Oz KFest, all occurring this summer. We watch the trailer for the Jobs movie and find we all have different reasons to see (or skip) Ashton Kutcher in the title role. We may or may not have dressed up to see the recent Star Trek and Man of Steel films; maybe we’ll fit the part by wearing some Apple t-shirts from 1986 to see Jobs.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:20 – 7:10)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #26 (Apr 2013): Earl Evans, Z80, Zephyr, and LucasArts

Posted on Apr 15, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:47 — 51.6MB) | Embed

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!

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 9:20)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #24 (Feb 2013): Jimmy Maher, book publishing, jOBS, and C64

Posted on Feb 7, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:01 — 55.0MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Jimmy Maher, the historian behind the renowned blog The Digital Antiquarian. A published author, Jimmy provides us with his perspective on the pros and cons of going with a publishing house over the recent trend in retrocomputing toward self-publishing. We gripe about the Steve Jobs film sacrificing historical accuracy for mass appeal and recommend some alternative movies that get it right. We’re still loving iOS as a platform for classic gaming ports, from the adventure game Transylvania to the recently released Lode Runner Classic. Speaking of platforms, which is better: the Apple II or the Commodore 64? The answer may not be as obvious as you think! Finally, we offer a cautionary tale to vintage computer collectors whose inventory may be at the mercy of an avaricious landlord.

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 13:45)

Continue reading →

Open Apple #22 (Dec 2012): Kay Savetz, 10 PRINT, Polaroids, and Microzine

Posted on Dec 7, 2012Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:04 — 44.3MB) | Embed

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Ken chat with Kay Savetz, Internet publisher and author of the memoir Terrible Nerd. We cross enemy lines to review a book about the cultural, scientific, and philosophical implications of Commodore 64 programming, some of it applicable to the Apple II. Paul Terrell’s Polaroid snapshots of the first Apple-1 computers are cool, just like our reception to Jordan Mechner’s new Karateka game. On eBay, we discover the Androbot is not just another neat product from a Nolan Bushnell company, but another reason we prefer the Apple II to other platforms. And Ken’s accidental purchase of some Microzines produces the concept for a new and very expensive podcast!

Click past the jump for links mentioned in this episode.

Introduction (0:00 – 17:33)

Continue reading →

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: