Mac Folklore Radio

From the days before flash ROM and easy firmware updates, the tale of Landon Dyer’s accidental inspiration for what to do when your ROMs are truly read-only. Non-techies may wish to skip the middle bit and go straight to Landon’s Newton post-mortem at 12m10s. Original text from dadhacker.com. Intro audio clip from Michael Tchao at the Apple User Group Breakfast, Boston MacWorld 1993. Patch talk from the questions and answers section at 1h23m25s. Outro audio clip of Steve Capps (ex-Newton) and Donna Dubinsky, former CEO of Palm and ex-Claris VP, from the Computer History Museum’s Computing In Your Pocket panel discussion.

Landon Dyer describes how he made the Newton storage architecture crash-resistant at the last minute before the Newton shipped. Original text from dadhacker.com.

Steve Chamberlin tells the story of the birth, death, and afterlife of the slickest shareware Tetris for the Macintosh. Hear Steve’s interviews about Floppy Emu, Tetris Max and more on the RetroMacCast episodes 317, 351, and 358. More about Steve’s various projects and items for sale at bigmessowires.com: Floppy Emu, Mac ROMinator II, Plus Too FPGA Macintosh, and homebrew CPU. Visit famed Tetris Max music composer Peter Wagner and check out his 2020 remake of Bricklayer/T-Maxx. Original story text from Steve’s web site.

Join the MFR discord: https://discord.gg/WB4tJHw Create a free account and verify your e-mail address to start chatting.

Why did the original Macintosh team disband immediately after 1984–and where were they five years later? Checking in on Steve Jobs, Burrell Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, Randy Wigginton, Steve Capps, and Bill Atkinson. From Macworld February 1989. Andy Hertzfeld’s Frox Demo (1990) Bill Atkinson talking about PhotoCard Buy gorgeous nature photography work by Bill Atkinson Atkinson Interview - Triangulation 244, 247 Don Melton Safari stories: text, podcast Andy Hertzfeld demonstrating Eazel’s file manager for Linux The Machine that Changed the World - The Paperback Computer General Magic Documentary Love Notes to Newton

Douglas Adams’ delightfully irreverent take on HyperCard from MacUser December 1987.

As elegant and intuitive as the classic Mac environment may have been, life went downhill fast if you needed more than two serial ports or your SCSI chain went south. The one and only Douglas Adams shares a personal horror story. Source: MacUser, November 1991. [Full text available at Douglas’ website][html].

From Doug Clapp’s The Macintosh Reader, PDF page 171-176, a rare interview with original Macintosh hardware designer/wizard Burrell Smith. An extra special thanks to vintageapple.org for scanning and uploading this and many other old Macintosh books. Burrell’s contrary statement on PC Board Aesthetics at folklore.org.

A bonus episode to keep my tiny listener base company while they’re stuck inside because of you-know-what. Stay safe. From folklore.org: I’ll Be Your Best Friend, We’ll See About That, and Pineapple Pizza. Interview with Collette Askeland, PCB design and layout sorceress, at Drop III Inches.

Steve Jobs threatens to pull the sound hardware out of the original Macintosh design. Original text available at folklore.org. Download SoundLab, Talk Demo, and Hendrix at Macintosh Garden.

R.I.P. Larry Tesler, 1945-2020. With audio from Larry’s presentation on the development and testing of the Lisa user interface, and Bill Atkinson speaking about making modal interfaces useful. You can hear more about Larry’s days at Apple from the Steve Jobs Legacy Panel, 2011. Written by Larry Tesler, Macworld September 1985.

The problem with HyperCard isn’t HyperCard, it’s what people are saying about it. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld February 1988. Bonus video! Watch Bill Atkinson demo HyperCard live on stage in 1987. My copy of some kind soul’s long-lost Google Video upload from 2008. 1987: Knowledge Navigator marketing hype 1990: Bill Atkinson leaves Apple for General Magic 1993: Myst: HyperCard as rapid application development tool, plus XCMDs like HyperTint 2004: “The Macintosh at 20” Panel, Macworld Boston 2004 2010: CHM Interview with Hertzfeld and Atkinson: HyperCard, Alice, MacPaint, General Magic 2011: Bill Atkinson on the Jobs Legacy Panel 2013: Eyeo 2013 Presentation on Bill Atkinson PhotoCard 2017: Bill Atkinson on The Legacy of HyperCard Bill Atkinson PhotoCard for iOS Computer Chronicles - HyperCard (1989, 1990) Triangulation Interview with Atkinson, 2016 (part 1, 2) Triangulation Interview with Atkinson, 2018 (part 1, 2) HyperDither for Mac OS X - Atkinson’s take on Floyd-Steinberg Emulated Mac Plus running HyperCard in your browser

A humorous look at a typical Macintosh User Group meeting. Written by Ted Jones, BMUG Newsletter Summer/Fall 1988. Text available in [HTML][html] and [ePub][epub] format.

Behind Apple’s first multitasking system software is a controversy that cuts to Apple’s core. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld January 1988.

David Pogue’s Macintosh holiday gift guide. Written by David Pogue, The Desktop Critic, Macworld December 1992.

You know you want a Macintosh II. But wouldn’t it be wiser to wait? Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld November 1987.

The little things that Macintosh pilgrims can be thankful for. Written by David Pogue, The Desktop Critic, Macworld November 1996.

The co-founder of id Software shares his collection of Steve Jobs stories. Published by John Carmack at F—book. Audio from the Macworld San Francisco 2000 keynote, October 1999 iMac DV launch event, and WWDC 2007 keynote.

The grassroots, cloak-and-dagger effort that brought NeXT and Intel together. Written by Chris MacAskill at cake.co. Intro audio from Steve Jobs’ 2010 appearance at All Things D with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg.

An in-depth look at the beginning of Apple mismanaging itself into oblivion in the early 1990s. Written by Cheryl England, Macworld September 1991. Fun fact: Cheryl England founded MacAddict magazine in 1996. Audio from the Computer Chronicles’ coverage of Macworld Boston 1996. Steve Jobs inventory management quote from the WWDC 1999 keynote.

The twisted tale of the Macintosh LC, or “how Apple did almost everything it could to stay out of the entry-level computer market”. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld December 1990.

Some stats to celebrate MFR 2.0’s first birthday. I welcome your old-time Mac stories and reading requests by e-mail: derek at macfolkloreradio.com An iTunes podcast directory review or star rating would also be nice. Think of it as paying your shareware fee. :-)

The worldwide DRAM shortage of 1988 encourages back-door deals and money grubbing. Audio clips from The Computer Chronicles (Laptop Peripherals, 1988) and the Macintosh IIcx product introduction (Jean-Louis Gassee, March 7, 1989). Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld January 1989.

A backstage look at the creation of the Macintosh II and the unsung heroes who designed it. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld May 1987.

Ten years on, a look at why some software is still standing, and why other products have died off. From the Macworld 10th anniversary issue. Written by David Pogue, The Desktop Critic, Macworld February 1994.

The trials and tribulations of working with Apple’s first portable Macintosh. Audio excerpt from the Macintosh Portable press event in 1990. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld March 1990.

David Pogue goes through the harrowing process of installing an accelerator board in a compact Mac. Text available in [HTML][html] and [ePub][epub] formats.

The story of the Macintosh’s very first multitasking environment as told by the programmer himself, Andy Hertzfeld, at folklore.org. Audio excerpt from the “Macintosh at 20” panel hosted at Macworld Boston 2004. Highly recommended! Full text available at folklore.org.

Bill Atkinson, well-known for QuickDraw, MacPaint, and HyperCard, reflects on the 40th anniversary of his start at Apple. Audio excerpt from the Churchill Club’s 2011 event discussing the legacy of Steve Jobs. Text available at folklore.org.

Taking the upgrade path is costly and confusing but ultimately satisfying. Steven Levy documents his upgrade journey from a Macintosh 512k to a Mac Plus. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld October 1986.

Welcome back, Mac Folklore Radio Listeners–both of you. Some rambling from your podcast host after a nine year absence. Thanks again to vintageapple.org and the mysterious “SteveM” for all the new reading material.

Cheap and cheery gifts to put under the Apple tree. Written by David Pogue, The Desktop Critic, Macworld December 1993.

How “unauthorized” modifications to the Mac became commonplace. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld January 1987.

The DiskDoubler Story: How to succeed by really trying. Written by Guy Kawasaki, Wise Guy, Macworld December 1993.

Guy Kawasaki’s take on the PDA: the Personal Telephone Assistant. Written by Guy Kawasaki, Wise Guy, Macworld September 1993.

Journalists are summoned to a preview of the NeXT cube. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld March 1989.

One man’s quest to eliminate the keyboard. Written by David Pogue, The Desktop Critic, Macworld August 1995.

Passing the time with Apple’s StyleWriter. Written by Steven Levy, The Iconoclast, Macworld December 1991.