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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.

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Introduction (0:00 – 10:16)

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Video: Speaking with Steve Wozniak at KansasFest 2013

Posted on Aug 11, 2013Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Happy 63rd birthday, Steve Wozniak! And thank you again not only for taking the time to attend KansasFest 2013, but to speak with Open Apple.

If you haven’t already heard our 20-minute interview with Woz, go listen now. But some things are better seen than heard, which is why we’re now offering a ten-minute video excerpt from the interview. In this video, taken from the second half of our interview, Woz talks about how he left Hewlett-Packard to found Apple, how he acquired the chips for his early inventions, and how impressed he is by what KansasFest attendees are doing with the Apple II.

You can watch the video on YouTube, stream it below, or download it. Enjoy!

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.

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Introduction (0:00 – 13:45)

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Open Apple #14 (Apr 2012): Brian Picchi, GameFest, Prince of Persia, and gadgets

Posted on Apr 5, 2012Feb 8, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:46 — 44.3MB) | Embed

This month on the Open Apple podcast, our hosts chat with world video game record holder and Apple II game critic Brian Picchi, whose YouTube channel showcases the best and worst of Apple II entertainment. It’s a good time to be a convention-goer: registration has opened for KansasFest 2012, the lineup for Vintage Computer Festival East 8.0 has been announced, 8 Bit Weapon played at the Smithsonian’s opening of the Art of Video Games, and Jordan Mechner is keynoting PAX East. Kickstarter continues to be popular for reviving classic franchises, Ewen Wannop updates SNAP and SAFE on a shoestring budget, and Jordan Mechner unearths his Prince of Persia source code. On eBay, we found a rarer-than-the-Apple-1 copy of Akalabeth on cassette, a rare Apple IIGS-specific wristwatch, and a potential CFFA3000 scalper. Finally, we look at some gadgets that are new to us, including old iPads, new iPads, and DSLR cameras.

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Introduction (0:00 – 5:58)

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Open Apple #13 (Mar 2012): Andrew Roughan, Marinetti, Karateka, and e-books

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:26:32 — 45.5MB) | Embed

This month on the Open Apple podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Andrew Roughan, Australian Apple II user and curator of the Marinetti Open Source Project. From Jordan Mechner at PAX East 2012 to John Romero at KansasFest 2012 to Nolan Bushnell at GameFest, we’re all about attending conventions and chasing luminaries. We squabble over how to pronounce “Karateka”, look forward to new Monkey Island and Wasteland games, and eagerly consume iBooks for Apple II users on our iPads. On eBay, we get a previously untold tale of an extravagant Australian lot, then take a small jump north to look at an Apple II J-plus, before marveling at how astounded major press outlets were over your typical Bell & Howell.

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Introduction (0:00 – 10:32)

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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.]

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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.

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Introduction (0:00 – 12:58)

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