Michael Tomczyk's guest appearances

Michael Tomczyk

Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

 Scene World Tech History Interviews

Stewart Cheifet

Tommy Tallarico

Nolan Bushnell

Scott Miller

John Romero

Billy Mitchell

John Grant

Jeri Ellsworth

Richard Nelson

Eric Enge

John Draper

John Mack

Ed Smith

Mike Clarke

Steve Furber

OwlTail

Interview with Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Commando Team Leader at Commodore Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcasts, where old computers are the best computers and new old computers are even better.  Last month, I covered the history of the Vic-20 computer with the help of Neil Harris, Brian Bagnall, and Michael Tomczyk.  Although I used some audio clips from each of those gentlemen to walk through the history timeline, I actually have a full-blown interview with each that I want to share with you over the span of three episodes.  For this episode, I will be publishing the interview with Michael Tomczyk.  Michael was with Commodore for some time, was an assistant to none other than Jack Tramiel, and was the leader of the team known as the Vic Commando Team.  He was happy to talk about his time at Commodore and turned out to be a very interesting interview and a great guy with which to talk. Before we get to that, I do have a few housekeeping items to cover, such as a few new acquisitions, some brief news, and a bit of feedback. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions  Ultimate 1MB - http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=67 “Atari DOS 2.5:1050 Disk Drive Owner’s Manual” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_DOS “Art of Atari” book by Tim Lapetino - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1524101036/?tag=flodaypod-20  News  BASIC 10-liners contest -  http://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/basic-10liners-2017 RetroChallenge 2017/04 - http://retrochallenge.tuxdriver.com/ Upcoming Shows   VCF East -  http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/, March 31-April 2, 2017, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ CoCoFest - April 22 &amp; 23, 2017 - Lombard, IL - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml VCF Southeast 5.0 - April 29 &amp; 30, 2017, Roswell, GA -  http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/ TI Fest West - Saturday April 29th from 9 am to 5 pm,  Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland, Washington -  http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260465-fest-west-2017/ Pacific Commodore Expo at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle on June 10-11 2017 - https://www.facebook.com/events/1171192169619276/ KFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, July 18th-23rd Commodore Vegas Expo v13 - July 29-30, 2017, California Hotel &amp; Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada - http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex Vintage Computer Festival West - August 5-6, 2017, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA -  http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/ VCFMW - September 9-10, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://vcfmw.org/ , https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/ Tandy Assembly - October 6-8, 2017 - Chillocothe, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/ Chicago TI International World’s Faire - October 15, Evanston, IL - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire World of Commodore - first weekend in December - Toronto - http://www.tpug.ca/    References  “The home computer wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel” by Michael Tomczyk -  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20 “The First Home Computer: 30 Years Later” by Michael Tomczyk -  http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later 

Interview with Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Commando Team Leader at Commodore Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcasts, where old computers are the best computers and new old computers are even better.  Last month, I covered the history of the Vic-20 computer with the help of Neil Harris, Brian Bagnall, and Michael Tomczyk.  Although I used some audio clips from each of those gentlemen to walk through the history timeline, I actually have a full-blown interview with each that I want to share with you over the span of three episodes.  For this episode, I will be publishing the interview with Michael Tomczyk.  Michael was with Commodore for some time, was an assistant to none other than Jack Tramiel, and was the leader of the team known as the Vic Commando Team.  He was happy to talk about his time at Commodore and turned out to be a very interesting interview and a great guy with which to talk. Before we get to that, I do have a few housekeeping items to cover, such as a few new acquisitions, some brief news, and a bit of feedback. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions <ul> <li>Ultimate 1MB - <a href="http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=67" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=67</a></li> <li>“Atari DOS 2.5:1050 Disk Drive Owner’s Manual” - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_DOS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_DOS</a></li> <li>“Art of Atari” book by Tim Lapetino - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1524101036/?tag=flodaypod-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1524101036/?tag=flodaypod-20</a></li> </ul> News <ul> <li>BASIC 10-liners contest - <a href="http://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/basic-10liners-2017" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/basic-10liners-2017</a></li> <li>RetroChallenge 2017/04 - <a href="http://retrochallenge.tuxdriver.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://retrochallenge.tuxdriver.com/</a></li> <li>Upcoming Shows</li> <li> <ul> <li>VCF East - <a href="http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/</a>, March 31-April 2, 2017, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ</li> <li>CoCoFest - April 22 &amp; 23, 2017 - Lombard, IL - <a href="http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml</a></li> <li>VCF Southeast 5.0 - April 29 &amp; 30, 2017, Roswell, GA - <a href="http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/</a></li> <li>TI Fest West - Saturday April 29th from 9 am to 5 pm,  Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland, Washington - <a href="http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260465-fest-west-2017/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260465-fest-west-2017/</a></li> <li>Pacific Commodore Expo at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle on June 10-11 2017 - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1171192169619276/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/1171192169619276/</a></li> <li>KFest - <a href="https://www.kansasfest.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.kansasfest.org/</a>, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, July 18th-23rd</li> <li>Commodore Vegas Expo v13 - July 29-30, 2017, California Hotel &amp; Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada - <a href="http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex</a></li> <li>Vintage Computer Festival West - August 5-6, 2017, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - <a href="http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/</a></li> <li>VCFMW - September 9-10, Elk Grove Village, IL - <a href="http://vcfmw.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://vcfmw.org/</a> , <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/805945506224113/</a></li> <li>Tandy Assembly - October 6-8, 2017 - Chillocothe, OH - <a href="http://www.tandyassembly.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.tandyassembly.com/</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/</a></li> <li>Chicago TI International World’s Faire - October 15, Evanston, IL - <a href="http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire</a></li> <li>World of Commodore - first weekend in December - Toronto - <a href="http://www.tpug.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.tpug.ca/</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> References <ul> <li>“The home computer wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel” by Michael Tomczyk - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20</a></li> <li>“The First Home Computer: 30 Years Later” by Michael Tomczyk - <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later</a></li> </ul>

Floppy Days 70 - Michael Tomczyk (Vic-20)

Neil Harris

Brian Bagnall

The Commodore Vic-20 - History, with Brian Bagnall, Michael Tomczyk, and Neil Harris Welcome to episode 69 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where our computers may be old, but that’s why we love them. In the vintage computer timeline, we are in 1980.  The next computer I want to discuss that debuted that year is the Commodore Vic-20.  The Vic-20 is significant because it was the first color computer to sell for less than $300, at a time when other home computers with color graphics were 2 to 4 times that amount.  It also was the first home computer of any type to sell over 1 million units. In this first episode about the Vic-20, I want to cover the history of this machine: why it was developed, some of the stories around its development, what happened after its release, and when it was canceled.  To that end, I contacted some notable persons that were involved with the roll-out and support of the Vic-20, as well as a person who was involved in documenting Commodore’s history.  The first person I contacted was Michael Tomczyk, who was an assistant to Jack Tramiel at Commodore and who led the so-called “Vic Commando Team”.  Michael was intimately involved in the marketing and support of the Vic.  In addition, a key member of his team, Neil Harris, agreed to help with this episode as well.  And, finally, I talked with Brian Bagnall, who you might recognize as the author of “Commodore: A Company on the Edge”.  This is an amazing line up of people who are very familiar with the Vic-20 and its history and I’m very lucky to have been able to get their assistance with telling its story. Before we jump into that, I will cover a few new vintage computer items I’ve acquired, cover a bit of news, and cover a bit of feedback I’ve received. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions  NADSBox - http://www.club100.org/catalog.html “Now the Chips Are Down: The BBC Micro (Platform Studies)” Hardcover by Alison Gazzard -  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262034034/?tag=flodaypod-20 Compute’s Gazette - https://archive.org/details/compute-gazette “33 challenging computer games for TRS-80/Apple/PET Paperback” by David Chance -  https://www.amazon.com/challenging-computer-games-TRS-80-Apple/dp/0830612750 “Atari Playground” by Fred D’Ignazio -  https://www.amazon.com/Atari-playground-Fred-DIgnazio/dp/0810457709 Fred D’Ignazio Interview on ANTIC -  http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-53-fred-dignazio-prolific-writer Juiced.GS - https://juiced.gs/  News  Vintage Computer Party in Indy -  http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260834-indianapolis-area-vintage-computer-club/?hl=%2Bindy#entry3668612 Vintage is the New Old - http://www.vintageisthenewold.com Upcoming Shows   VCF East -  http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/, March 31-April 2, 2017, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ CoCoFest - April 22 &amp; 23, 2017 - Lombard, IL - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml VCF Southeast 5.0 - April 29 &amp; 30, 2017, Roswell, GA - http://vcfse.org/ KFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, July 18th-23rd Commodore Vegas Expo v13 - July 29-30, 2017, California Hotel &amp; Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada - http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex VCFMW - September Tandy Assembly - October 6-8, 2017 - Chillocothe, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/ Chicago TI International World’s Faire - November World of Commodore - first weekend in December - Toronto    Feedback  Andy Collins’ blog about the Interak-1 - http://www.randomorbit.co.uk/?cat=122  References  “Commodore, A Company on the Edge” by Brian Bagnall -  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0973864966/?tag=flodaypod-20 “The home computer wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel” by Michael Tomczyk - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20 “The First Home Computer: 30 Years Later” by Michael Tomczyk -  http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later 

The Commodore Vic-20 - History, with Brian Bagnall, Michael Tomczyk, and Neil Harris Welcome to episode 69 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where our computers may be old, but that’s why we love them. In the vintage computer timeline, we are in 1980.  The next computer I want to discuss that debuted that year is the Commodore Vic-20.  The Vic-20 is significant because it was the first color computer to sell for less than $300, at a time when other home computers with color graphics were 2 to 4 times that amount.  It also was the first home computer of any type to sell over 1 million units. In this first episode about the Vic-20, I want to cover the history of this machine: why it was developed, some of the stories around its development, what happened after its release, and when it was canceled.  To that end, I contacted some notable persons that were involved with the roll-out and support of the Vic-20, as well as a person who was involved in documenting Commodore’s history.  The first person I contacted was Michael Tomczyk, who was an assistant to Jack Tramiel at Commodore and who led the so-called “Vic Commando Team”.  Michael was intimately involved in the marketing and support of the Vic.  In addition, a key member of his team, Neil Harris, agreed to help with this episode as well.  And, finally, I talked with Brian Bagnall, who you might recognize as the author of “Commodore: A Company on the Edge”.  This is an amazing line up of people who are very familiar with the Vic-20 and its history and I’m very lucky to have been able to get their assistance with telling its story. Before we jump into that, I will cover a few new vintage computer items I’ve acquired, cover a bit of news, and cover a bit of feedback I’ve received. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions <ul> <li>NADSBox - <a href="http://www.club100.org/catalog.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.club100.org/catalog.html</a></li> <li>“Now the Chips Are Down: The BBC Micro (Platform Studies)” Hardcover by Alison Gazzard - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262034034/?tag=flodaypod-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262034034/?tag=flodaypod-20</a></li> <li>Compute’s Gazette - <a href="https://archive.org/details/compute-gazette" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/compute-gazette</a></li> <li>“33 challenging computer games for TRS-80/Apple/PET Paperback” by David Chance - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/challenging-computer-games-TRS-80-Apple/dp/0830612750" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.amazon.com/challenging-computer-games-TRS-80-Apple/dp/0830612750</a></li> <li>“Atari Playground” by Fred D’Ignazio - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Atari-playground-Fred-DIgnazio/dp/0810457709" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.amazon.com/Atari-playground-Fred-DIgnazio/dp/0810457709</a></li> <li>Fred D’Ignazio Interview on ANTIC - <a href="http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-53-fred-dignazio-prolific-writer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-53-fred-dignazio-prolific-writer</a></li> <li><a href="http://Juiced.GS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Juiced.GS</a> - <a href="https://juiced.gs/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://juiced.gs/</a></li> </ul> News <ul> <li>Vintage Computer Party in Indy - <a href="http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260834-indianapolis-area-vintage-computer-club/?hl=%2Bindy#entry3668612" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260834-indianapolis-area-vintage-computer-club/?hl=%2Bindy#entry3668612</a></li> <li>Vintage is the New Old - <a href="http://www.vintageisthenewold.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.vintageisthenewold.com</a></li> <li>Upcoming Shows</li> <li> <ul> <li>VCF East - <a href="http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/</a>, March 31-April 2, 2017, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ</li> <li>CoCoFest - April 22 &amp; 23, 2017 - Lombard, IL - <a href="http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/index.shtml</a></li> <li>VCF Southeast 5.0 - April 29 &amp; 30, 2017, Roswell, GA - <a href="http://vcfse.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://vcfse.org/</a></li> <li>KFest - <a href="https://www.kansasfest.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.kansasfest.org/</a>, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, July 18th-23rd</li> <li>Commodore Vegas Expo v13 - July 29-30, 2017, California Hotel &amp; Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada - <a href="http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex</a></li> <li>VCFMW - September</li> <li>Tandy Assembly - October 6-8, 2017 - Chillocothe, OH - <a href="http://www.tandyassembly.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.tandyassembly.com/</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/671911082972172/</a></li> <li>Chicago TI International World’s Faire - November</li> <li>World of Commodore - first weekend in December - Toronto</li> </ul> </li> </ul> Feedback <ul> <li>Andy Collins’ blog about the Interak-1 - <a href="http://www.randomorbit.co.uk/?cat=122" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.randomorbit.co.uk/?cat=122</a></li> </ul> References <ul> <li>“Commodore, A Company on the Edge” by Brian Bagnall - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0973864966/?tag=flodaypod-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0973864966/?tag=flodaypod-20</a></li> <li>“The home computer wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel” by Michael Tomczyk - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386752/?tag=flodaypod-20</a></li> <li>“The First Home Computer: 30 Years Later” by Michael Tomczyk - <a href="http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.academia.edu/2242039/The_First_Home_Computer_30_Years_Later</a></li> </ul>

Floppy Days 69 - The Commodore Vic-20, History with Michael Tomczyk, Neil Harris, Brian Bagnall

Marketing manager of Commdore in the 80s. Co-invented the first analog modem, first real time online chat and marketed the first 'home computers' for the masses.

Michael Tomczyk - Interview #1