Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

Floppy Days 164 - The Sphere, Part 1 with Ben Zotto
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics 

Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net 

FutureVision Research 

Tuc's Workbench 

Hello!!! and welcome to episode 164 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for June, 2026.  My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this joy ride through the rewarding hobby of vintage computers and computer history.
I have to start off by apologizing, as I'll actually be stepping back in the computer timeline for this episode.  Sometimes it happens.  My goal from the beginning of this podcast was to go through computers in the approximate order they were released (at least by year).  And, I've largely done that with this podcast.  However, sometimes a machine comes up that I didn't know about or didn't recognize its importance at the time I put together the list of computers to cover.  This month that computer is the Sphere, which was introduced in 1975.  That's right, I said 1975.  That was the same year as the Altair and even before the Apple 1.
What was the Sphere and why do we care?  The Sphere was the first "personal computer," defined as such by Byte Magazine due to its consumer focus and built-in keyboard and monitor.  Now, I know that many computers can claim the moniker of first "personal computer", and rightly so, but this one has the endorsement of an early, well-respected, long-running computer magazine and they have good reason for feeling this way about the Sphere.  Once you hear the details, you'll see just how ground-breaking this machine was at a very early period of computer history.
Not only that, some of the personal stories behind the machine are simply downright fascinating.
Ben Zotto is the undisputed expert on the Sphere in these times, after finding an abandoned machine sitting on the sidewalk and deciding to adopt it and learn more about it.  He recently wrote a comprehensive book on the Sphere called "Go Computer Now!" that I mentioned the last episode I had acquired.  Well, I ended up reading that book cover-to-cover and really enjoying it.  So much so that I decided to contact Ben and see if he would be willing to come onto the podcast to talk about his book and the Sphere Computer.  Thankfully, he was.  This podcast actually serves two purposes: first as an interview with Ben to learn more about him and his book, and secondly as an overview of a computer I didn't cover back when I started this podcast back in 2013 with the Altair 8800 and the Apple 1.
So, this will be a 2-part journey on the Sphere.  This month we talk in great detail with Ben Zotto about how he ended up going down the Sphere rabbit hole and all the great things he's done to promote an important machine that was forgotten in the annals of history.  Next month, Ben and I go through all the usual topics about the Sphere: history, tech specs, using the machine, current Web sites and a great deal more.
I really hope you enjoy hearing about the Sphere and meeting Ben Zotto!
New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To/News
VCFSW - https://www.vcfsw.org 

REU Grande - https://www.go4retro.com 

National Videogame Museum (NVM) - https://nvmusa.org/) 

article/cover for May, 2026 Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine with Floppy Days Woz interview - https://www.callapple.org/ 

passing of Howell Ivy:

audio interview from 2022 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-114-howell-ivy-exidy-sorcerer-and-exidy 

video interview from 2022 - https://youtu.be/QojU9ty4q_U

audio interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-161-byte-shop-interviews 

video interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://youtu.be/QlmkvVSuNbs 

Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/ 

Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se 

Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/ 

Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026 

Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ 

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 -  Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/ 

Tandy Assembly 2026 - October 2-4, 2026 - Cincinnati, Ohio - https://www.tandyassembly.com/ 

Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ 

Chicago TI International World Faire - October 24 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home 

VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/ 

Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

Interview Links
Ben's site - https://sphere.computer/ 

Ben's book "Go Computer Now!!!" - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now 

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_1

Floppy Days 163 - Interview with Charles Pfister, Apple 1 Case Designer
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics 

Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net 

FutureVision Research 

Tuc's Workbench 

New Acquisitions
Chalkboard PowerPad -  https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n10/52_The_legend_of_the_pad_of_.php 

"Go Computer Now!!!" by Ben Zotto - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now 

"Apple The First 50 Years" by David Pogue - https://amzn.to/4f6XJjU (sponsored link)

FujiNet RS-232 - https://www.fvresearch.com/product/fujinet-rs232/ 

Upcoming Shows (thru AUGUST, 2026)
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/ 

INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ 

Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html 

Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex 

KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/ 

Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se 

Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/ 

Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026 

Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

Interview Links
EDI Insights (YouTube) - https://www.youtube.com/@EliteoneDesigns 

Elite Designs (Facebook) - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046369452863 

Computer History Museum - https://computerhistory.org/

Floppy Days 162 - Interview with Apple Legend, Steve Wozniak
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics 

Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net 

FutureVision Research 

Tuc's Workbench 

New Acquisitions
The WOZPAK Special Edition: Steve Wozniak's Apple-1 & Apple II Computers  - https://www.callapple.org/documentation/books/a-p-p-l-e-announces-the-wozpak-special-edition/ 

Assembly Lines: The Complete Book by Roger Wagner (Author), Chris Torrence (Editor) - https://amzn.to/4eU23ma (sponsored link)

What's Where in the Apple – Enhanced Edition: A Complete Guide to the Apple II Computer - https://www.callapple.org/call-apple/callapple-production/whats-where-in-the-apple-enhanced-edition-released-by-a-p-p-l-e/ 

Upcoming Computer Shows (thru July, 2026)
VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ 

Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA -  https://vcfpnw.org 

VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/ 

INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ 

Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ 

Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html 

Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex 

KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield - https://www.kansasfest.org/ 

Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se 

Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

Interview Links
video file created for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak

Floppy Days 161 - Byte Shop Interviews
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics 

Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net 

FutureVision Research 

Tuc's Workbench 

Hello, and welcome to episode 161 of the Floppy Days Podcast for March, 2026.  I am Randy Kindig, your host for this wild ride through vintage computing.
This month I have a special episode prepared.  For the 50th Anniversary event of the opening of the Byte Shop that occurred in California in December, 2025, I interviewed 11 different people with some sort of ties to Paul Terrell and the Byte Shop.  Prior to the event itself, I published an approximately 30-minute-long video with just sound bites from those interviews to help get the word out (https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI). This month, I've taken the complete interviews (except for one) and created a longer episode out of it so you can hear the entirety of the interviews.
To be clear, each of the interviews has as its main topic the Byte Shop and Paul Terrell.  However, at the same time, we're able to learn a bit about each of the people who have ties to the Byte Shop and Paul.
For this month's show, the 9 total interviews include the following people:
Rick Kahn, who worked at the Byte Shop of Placentia

Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Czar at Commodore

Rob Terrell, Paul's nephew and frequent visitor to the Byte Shop

Chuck Mauro, worked at Apple and Byte Shop #2

Lee Felsenstein, developer of the SOL and Osborne computers

Scott Shekels, frequent visitor to the Byte Shop

Teryl & Gloria Burt, Northstar distributor to the Byte Shop

Howell Ivy, developer of the Exidy Sorcerer and worked with Paul Terrell at Exidy

Paul Freiberger, computer historian

Intro
30-minute video of sound bites for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary Event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI 

New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To
Indy Vintage Computer Club - https://www.indyvcc.org 

Midwest Computer Museum - https://www.midwestcomputermuseum.com 

Power of Vintage - https://www.youtube.com/@powerofvintage9442 

Tech Dungeon - https://www.techdungeon.xyz 

8bitdevices - https://www.8bitdevices.com/ 

lightboxes:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4306784729/lightbox-for-retro-computer-video-games 

https://www.ebay.com/str/techdungeon 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335958112556 

Upcoming Shows (thru June, 2026)
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ 

Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ 

Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA  - http://www.portcommodore.com/class 

VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ 

Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA -  https://vcfpnw.org 

VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/ 

Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/ 

Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html 

Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex 

Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

Feedback
Stewart Cheifet tribute from S.M. Oliva - https://www.computerchronicles.blog/podcast/chronicles-revisited-podcast-018-the-publics-broadcaster/

Floppy Days 160 - The KayPro, Part 4, with Matt Jones
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics 

Arcade Shopper 

FutureVision Research 

Tuc's Workbench 

YouTube Channel: https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast 
Hello, and welcome to episode 160 of the Floppy Days Podcast for February, 2026.  I'm Randy Kindig, your host.  We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, we are at the tail end of a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers.  Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized.  I was able to interview David Kay, son of the founder of KayPro, and president of the company for some time, in the first two episodes.  Last month, Matthew Jones, an aficionado of the KayPro computers and owner of many of the models, helped me talk about KayPro history, tech specs, and more, through the topic of using the machine.  This month Matt and I complete the KayPro series by starting with books and magazines and ending with current Web sites and a lot more content in between.
I will have a video version of this episode posted to the Floppy Days Podcast channel on YouTube (https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast ) that will be available for everyone soon (after the early access period for Patreon supporters has expired).  So, please consider becoming a subscriber on YouTube.  Doing so helps support the podcast.
You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast.  For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order.  Doing so will help support the podcast.  Many thanks!!
New Acquisitions
Atari XF551 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_XF551 

Upcoming Shows
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

Atari Invasion 2k26 (10th Anniversary) - March 21 - Maarssen, Netherlands - https://www.atari-invasion.nl 

VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ 

Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ 

Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA  - http://www.portcommodore.com/class 

VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ 

Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA -  https://vcfpnw.org 

VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

Popular Magazines/Newsletters
Major September 1983 review in Byte - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Kaypro-II.pdf 

Heavily featured in Micro Cornucopia; curated Kaypro index here - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/kay-p13_micro-c.htm 

First Osborne Group (FOG) - https://archive.org/details/foghornnewsletter 

Non-Linear Systems published Pro-Files, a Kaypro users magazine - https://archive.org/search?query=collection%3Akayproprofiles&sort=-publicdate 

Books
Chilton's Guide to Kaypro Repair and Maintenance by Gene Williams - https://amzn.to/4nQj6XV 

Basic Kaypro for Kids Paperback by W. H. Darnell (Author), P. J. Barton (Author) - https://amzn.to/465ofFs 

KayPro books at Amazon - https://amzn.to/4goRQgy 

Kaypro II User's Guide (getting started, bundled software) - https://messui.polygonal-moogle.com/comp/kaypro_um.pdf 

Dealer Quick Reference Manual - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up 

Using the Kaypro II personal computer by Lord, Kenniston W - https://archive.org/details/usingkayproiiper0000lord 

The instant expert's guide to the Kaypro II by Bennett, M. D - https://archive.org/details/instantexpertsgu0000benn 

KayPro Documentation, including KayPro Technical Manual - https://archive.org/details/the-kaypro-II-users-guide/1484-D_KayproTechnicalManual_Dec84/ 

Software
ROMs for KayPro - https://archive.org/details/KayproII_201809 

TOSEC (The Old School Emulation Center) software collection at archive.org - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up 

Software images - https://mame.spludlow.co.uk/SoftwareLists.aspx?Exact=true&List=kaypro 

Ads and Appearances
Starring the Computer - https://www.starringthecomputer.com/computer.html?c=185 

Modern Upgrades
Floppy emulation: Gotek/FlashFloppy widely used on Kaypros - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF0L6XpRugo 

Hard drive emulation (FreHD): -  https://www.google.com/search?q=FreHD+for+kaypro 

Replacement ROMs: Advent TurboROM and KayPLUS:

ROM for emulators - https://mame.spludlow.co.uk/Machine.aspx?name=kayproii 

buying TurboROM (eBay) - https://www.ebay.com/itm/326275234269  

Emulation
MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsFw9VejeS8&pp=ygUGa2F5cHJv 

https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?Main=8530&Number=107854&ubb=showflat 

izkaypro - https://github.com/ivanizag/izkaypro 

kobolt/kaytil - https://github.com/kobolt/kaytil 

Virtual KayPro Computer - http://sims.durgadas.com/kaypro/kaypro.html 

Buying One Today
replacement power supply - https://bonuslifecomputers.com/products/kaypro-meanwell-power-supply-mount?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=8d24492dc&pr_rec_pid=8108848349374&pr_ref_pid=7736195809470&pr_seq=uniform&variant=44048046653630 

Community
Facebook - Kaypro Computer Users group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/580355602847013/ 

Forums:

AtariAge - https://forums.atariage.com/search/?q=kaypro&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=116 

VCFed Kaypro discussions (active repair/usage help) - http://vcfed.com 

Current Web Sites and Videos
Byte Magazine Sep. 1983 KayPro II Review - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Kaypro-II.pdf 

Bitsavers: Service guides, user/dealer manuals - https://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/kaypro/1484-E_KayproTechnicalManual_Ch1-15_Jun85.pdf 

retrocmp (Kaypro portal): Model/board variations, flyers, notes - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/ 

OldSilicon - Overviews & photos - https://www.oldsilicon.com/kaypro-ii 

RetroArchive — disk images, TurboROMs, utilities and preservation images - http://www.retroarchive.org/ 

MESSUI (documented user manual scans) - http://messui.polygonal-moogle.com 

books, magazines, software - https://www.archive.org 

Kaypro Computer Ad (1983) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uStyBfC1pYE 

KayPro II Tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoK0J69C80I by Scott Lawrence

I Hope My Modded Kaypro Doesn't Explode by Action Retro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsFw9VejeS8&pp=ygUGa2F5cHJv 

Lazy Game Reviews - CP/M Vintage Goodies - Osborne 1 Computer & Kaypro IV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLnTAYMMLOc 

Many videos at YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kaypro&sp=CAM%253D 

References
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro 

KayPro (CP/M) information at retrocmp.de - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro

KayPro Journal - http://kayprojournal.com