Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

Floppy Days 165 - The Sphere Computer, Part 2 with Ben Zotto
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics - https://www.8bitclassics.com/?ref=Floppydays 

Arcade Shopper - https://www.arcadeshopper.com  and https://thekeep.net 

FutureVision Research - https://www.fvresearch.com/ 

Tuc's Workbench - https://shop.tucs-workbench.com 

Hello and welcome to episode 165 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for July, 2026.  My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this audio and video tribute to vintage computers and computer history.
For those of you listening to these podcasts in order, this month's episode is the second part of the 2-part series on the Sphere, which was introduced in 1975; the same year as the Altair and even before the Apple 1.
Once again, I want to reiterate what the Sphere was 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.  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 Ben and I spent a lot of time talking about in the last episode -- which again was the first episode on the Sphere.  This episode series 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, as I said earlier, this will be the second part of a 2-part journey on the Sphere.  Last month we talked 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.  This 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 more about the Sphere and all the things that Ben has done to fill in the gap in history that used to be occupied by the Sphere!
Vintage Computer Shows
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/ 

VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/ 

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

ABBUC Summer Camp - August 26-30 - Winterberg-Elkeringhausen, Germany - https://abbuc.de/summercamp 

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 

Tech Specs
BASIC - https://sphere.computer/news/2026-03-28-the-secret-minicomputer-inside-your-sphere.html 

Using the Machine/Tips
https://sphere.computer/articles/sphere-bringup-guide.html 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOKQoWlpGk 

Popular Magazines/Newsletters
Byte Magazine - https://archive.org/details/1982-10-byte-magazine-october-1-byte-magazine-21533/1975%2009%20BYTE%2000-01%20The%20Worlds%20-%20Byte%20Magazine_21693/ 

Sphere Global News newsletter; put out by Sphere Corp. - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_spherenews_1063041 

Sphere Microcomputer Users' Newsletter - August 1977 - letter from Programma - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_spherenews7_5204616 

Books
Stan Veit's book - https://archive.org/details/stan-veits-history-of-the-personal-computer 

Stan Veit Podcast:

https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLUOGYbuIdClP9KoaDfHXqLvqOeaqTATQK 

Fire in the Valley - https://www.amazon.com/Fire-in-Valley-audiobook/dp/B071YYZJG5 

Bill Gates' memoir "Source Code: My Beginnings" - https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Source-Code-My-Beginnings/dp/B0D5KHFN6C 

Digital Deli - https://archive.org/details/digitaldelicompr0000unse 

Ben's book - https://gocomputernow.com/ 

Software
Games & Cassettes! on the 1975 Sphere computer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AISsrGfb9n0 

Ads
"Why not go computer now?" - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sphere_Personal_Computer_Ad_January_1976.jpg 

Modern Upgrades
https://sphere.computer/shop.html 

Emulation
https://sphere.computer/emulator/ 

Community
Forums

AtariAge - https://www.atariage.com 

VCFEd - https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php 

Current Web Sites and Videos
Very old SPHERE computer doing very silly tricks, for SPHERETEMBER!!! - Ben Zotto - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHALstVxdPI 

Sphere repository at bitsavers.org - https://bitsavers.org/pdf/sphere/ 

Home repository for the Sphere-1 reconstruction by Andrew Shapton - https://github.com/Sphere-Corporation 

https://hackaday.com/2023/03/11/a-love-letter-to-the-sphere-computer/ 

VCF West: Sphere 1: The First Modern Microcomputer — Ben Zotto - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GilFixu4KY 

References
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 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/