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.







* 8-bit Weapon – The greatest chiptunes group around.* Class Apples – The greatest (read: only) pure Apple II album.* 4Play List – All the software for the four-player joystick card.* Checkpoint – An Augmented-Reality-ish game project for Apple II.* A2OSX – A new multitasking OS for Apple II, with discussion.* KansasFest HackFest – The judging videos are finally online for 2017. Better late than never.* Homebrew Club AR – Yes,

This month on Open Apple, the part of Quinn Dunki is played by RCR Podcast co-host Carrington “Fake Quinn” Vanston. A post-KansasFest Megan Lemmert of 6502 Workshop returns to the show to promote the new Nox Archaist Kickstarter. You should contribute because it’s awesome to support those still developing for the Apple II and not just because you get cool stuff when you do (though that’s a thing that happens too!).



There’s lots of news to cover and Carrington has opinions on all of it. Only on Open Apple can you hear him trash clones, accelerators, ProDOS, retro BBSes, and a random assortment of other topics! Fun for the whole family! We also chat about Apple II music and there’s general confusion about Australian Apple II conferences (when is there not on Open Apple?)



eBay isn’t talked about (because we don’t talk about eBay) and we deconstruct Softalk #5.







RCR Podcast – Listen to this show! (but only after you listen to Open Apple)



Monsterfeet – All things Carrington



Nox Archaist – 6502 Workshop’s upcoming RPG for the Apple II



Nox Archaist Kickstarter



Nox Archaist on YouTube – Keep up with all the latest development news



ANTIC – Mike goes all Atari in this episode of ANTIC, the Atari Podcast



Nox Archaist Demo at KansasFest 2017



FlexiDisc – All your Apple II software needs. Now on bendy vinyl!



Tech Republic’s Evan Koblentz visits KansasFest



KansasFest YouTube channel



KansasFest 2018 dates announced – Be there!



Another Apple-1 auction – This time at Charitybuzz



Woz talks about the Zaltair ad



Rainbow Apple logo retired...

This month on Open Apple, we run the annual group megapodcast that is recorded live at KansasFest! This is a four-year-old tradition whereby all the attending retro podcasters get together and do one big silly show together. It’s clunky, it’s pointless, and the audio quality is terrible because we’re all crowded one microphone in a grungy old basement chapel. Yet it’s one of our favorite things to do every year, so we hope you enjoy listening!



Around the table this year we have Quinn Dunki, Paul Hagstrom, John Leake, Chris Torrence, Kay Savetz, Ken Gagne, Charles Mangin, and Carrington Vanston, and Michael Mulhern. Find links to all the podcasts mentioned in this show, after the jump!



Feel like you’re missing out on all this fun? Come to KansasFest in 2018 and join in! We’d all love to meet you.







Open Apple – Hurr hurr



Retrocomputing Roundtable – A revolving discussion group of all things retrocomputing



Drop III Inches – The Apple III podcast. Don’t drop it!



Retro MacCast – Where great old Macs live again!



Assembly Lines – A video channel with all sorts of Apple II projects.



ANTIC – The Atari 8-bit podcast. It’s so good that Quinn won’t even boo it.



Eaten By A Grue – The Infocom podcast. Gotta play ’em all!



PolyGamer – All about equality and diversity in gaming.



How II – The video channel for learning how to work with your Apple II.

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with KansasFest committee member and lifelong Apple II user Peter Neubauer. We talk lots about the upcoming KansasFest, of course, but also Peter’s own experiences with the machine. He has a passion for Logo, and a special place in his heart reserved for the Apple IIc Plus. I think many of us can relate to that.



We talk KansasFest, KansasFest, and more KansasFest. Then we talk about KansasFest, followed conversation about a fruit-based retrocomputing conference that takes place in Missouri every July.



We have plenty of regular news to catch up on as well, so stay tuned for updates from 6502 Workshop, NinjaForce, and more. We have graphics talk, Bluetooth talk, and exciting new accelerators from the mad Bulgarian.



It’s already too late to register for KansasFest, but if you’re going to be there, make sure to say hi! We love to meet our listeners.



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







* KansasFest – It’s that time of year!* BrutalDeluxe – This year’s keynote speakers, all the way from France!* Hi-Res Graphics and Animation In Assembly Language – Finally scanned!* 6502 Workshop Expanding – Their empire building continues.* Wade Clarke Plays His Own – Does your own work hold up 30 years later?* NinjaForce at Revision – The IIgs is back in the limelight of the demo scene.* NinjaForce Demo – Here’s the actual disk image, with some bug fixes.* Lo-Res Graphics in Assembly – Tom Porter shows how it’s done.* New books from Call A.P.P.L.E – Synergistic and more.* Alex Lukazi explores Bluetooth – The Apple II dongle heard round the world.* Battlestations teaches DHGR–  A great tutorial on the most difficult graphics mode.* The Last Jedi trail...

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.







* Alien Downpour – Pre-order it now! Michael’s first solo Apple II game is looking great.* Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design – A great FB group about a great book!* Apple II+ Prototype? – A rare-looking machine found by John Romero.* Leigh Alexander on archiving – She sits down with 4am and Jason Scott.* Apple II viruses – There’s more than just Elk Cloner!* Educational games are under appreciated – Check out the premiere muppet-based GUI.* Cow-a-pult – A great new vignette from 6502 Workshop.* 8-Bit-Do firmware – It has been 8-bit-updated, and Chris Torrence reports.* Caverns of Mordia – Improved coverage of this great story.

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Mark Lemmert, co-founder of 6502 Workshop. Him and his partners (Mike Reimer, Bill Giggie, Robert Padovan, Gordon Mackay, and Galactagog) have been building Nox Archaist, a brand new story-driven tile-based role-playing game in the classical Ultima style. They’re pushing the hardware as far as they can with this new engine, working to break new ground in scope, story, animation, sound, and music. Early builds look great, and we’re really excited to see more!



Mark’s journey with the Apple II parallels a lot of us. The machine sparked an interest in programming, and a fascination with RPGs and tile engines in particular. Nox Archaist is the fulfillment of that childhood dream to build such a game from scratch. Mark shares his war stories (that many of us can relate to) of strewing our childhood computers with half-baked game engines that were doomed from the start. As he and his team are proving, it’s never too late to revive and achieve that dream.



KansasFest 2017 registration is now open! Early bird rates in effect as of this posting, so don’t wait. Attendance is limited to 100 this year. Sign up now!  Mark will be there and likely demonstrating Nox Archaist, so you won’t want to miss that.



Meanwhile, Mike and Quinn yammer on about new hardware, new old games, old new games, and of course Woz. Also back this month is the controversial Softalk segment. Read along with us in issue #4!



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







* 6502 Workshop – The team building Nox Archaist.* Using Assembly Language (PDF) – By Randy Hyde, the book that got Mark started.* Hi-Res Graphics and Animation Using Assembly Language – Does not appear to be online.* Dogfighters of Mars 2 (demo) – Get it now before his dropbox limit is hit!* Manila Gear 2soniq – Now distributed by ReactiveMicro.* KansasFest Registration – Early bird rates in effect. 100 person limit! Go now!* WozFest PR#6 announced – If you’re on the bottom of our blue rock, you should go.* Light Cycles 3D – A game killed in 1977 is finally released! Better late than never.* MIDI to Mockingboard – Tom Porter has a nifty conversion tool...

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Craig Peterson, who got involved with hardware and software development very early in the life of the Apple II. Craig integrated Apple II computers with a numerical control manufacturing system, producing G-code for the cutting machines in a factory. He was a pioneer in using the Apple II for what computers are actually good at- moving data around in an automated fashion and abstracting away sources of human error in a complex process.



Craig wrote technical articles for all the major Apple magazines, which led to him getting involved with Chinook. Craig wrote diagnostic and utility software for Chinook drives in the then exciting burgeoning new field of SCSI devices. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the need to precisely time SCSI drive interleavings prompted Craig to create a universal driver for the No Slot Clock.



KansasFest Early Registration is now open! Sign up now, because attendance is limited to 100 this year.



Meanwhile, listen as Quinn confirms that French people are from France, Mike spots the only Apple III in a hundred mile radius, and another boring Apple I auction happens. There’s double-hires, there’s outgoing preservationists, and there are lots of Australians. So many Australians.



A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show!



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







* KansasFest early registration – Sign up now before the price goes up!* Floppy Emu B enclosure – A community effort.* Elk Cloner turns 35 – The author would really like us all to forget it.* Apple I auction – Yup, another one. Blah de blah.* Alien Downpour – Michael Packard is now taking pre-orders. Get yours now!* GSPlus and more – Dagen Brock has been releasing his projects.* Apple explores DRM – The infamous copy protection memos that are in the news.* Nox Archaist updates – The Ultima-like continues to make strong progress.* Oz KFest gets dates – Sign up if your country has spiders that eat birds!* Show more...