{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Floppy Days 98 - The BBC Micro History","description":"The BBC Micro: History Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode 98 of the Floppy Days Podcast for April, 2020! I hope everyone is staying safe in these days of isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic.&amp;nbsp; One day we\u2019ll look back at this as a strange time in all our lives. Again, for the podcast, we are finishing up the tail-end of the year 1981 in the personal computer timeline and the primary topic of this and the next couple of podcasts will be the BBC Micro.&amp;nbsp; I talked with Steve Furber, one of the primary developers of the Beeb, in the last episode concerning his part in and thoughts about those heady times.&amp;nbsp; In this episode I\u2019m going to cover a more general history of the BBC Micro to give everyone a view of why the machine was developed and its huge impact on personal and educational computer history, especially in the UK.&amp;nbsp; For the UK listeners, you\u2019ll likely be very familiar with the Beeb\u2019s history.&amp;nbsp; For the&amp;nbsp; US listeners, and listeners in other parts of the world, you may be less familiar with the story.&amp;nbsp; I know that until I dove into the research for this episode, I only had a cursory familiarity with this machine and had no inkling of its true place in computer history. For future episodes, software, emulators, books, Web sites, modern upgrades, etc. will be explored. I hope you enjoy this short excursion into the history of a machine that I\u2019ve come to love and respect. Links Mentioned in the Show: Thoughts and Memories - Richard Broadhurst  Richard\u2019s Games on the Complete BBC Micro Games Archive -  http:\/\/bbcmicro.co.uk\/index.php?rt_R=&amp;amp;rt_B=&amp;amp;rt_M=&amp;amp;rt_P=&amp;amp;rt_U=&amp;amp;rt_W=&amp;amp;rt_L=&amp;amp;search=broadhurst&amp;amp;on_T=on&amp;amp;on_Y=on&amp;amp;on_P=on&amp;amp;on_A=on&amp;amp;on_G=on&amp;amp;on_S=on&amp;amp;on_Z=on&amp;amp;on_C=on&amp;amp;sort=b&amp;nbsp; Richard\u2019s Games Videos on YouTube -  https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL1eiw5ttGL3ZagVI0c_vSe19KNALTwuXX&amp;nbsp;  New Acquisitions\/What I\u2019ve Been Up To  Fusion magazines - https:\/\/fusionretrobooks.com\/&amp;nbsp; Erebus - Oric Atmos SD Interface -  https:\/\/www.ebay.co.uk\/itm\/Erebus-Oric-Atmos-sd-card-flash-cart-Oric1-\/174120579582&amp;nbsp; Home Computer Course and Home Computer Advanced Course magazines   https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/The_Home_Computer_Course&amp;nbsp;  https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/The_Home_Computer_Advanced_Course_01\/&amp;nbsp;   Spectrum DIV\/MMC Future -  https:\/\/www.thefuturewas8bit.com\/shop\/sinclair\/divmmcfuture.html&amp;nbsp; HP85Disk project -  https:\/\/www.tindie.com\/products\/hp85disk\/hp85disk-disk-emulator-for-hp85-series-computers\/ BBC Micro formatted CF card and ROM - http:\/\/www.retroclinic.com\/&amp;nbsp;  Upcoming Shows  After VCF PNW 2020 was cancelled in March, an individual allowed exhibitors to post their own videos to this website - http:\/\/www.retrofair2020.com\/ CoCoTALK! hosted a live, virtual CoCoFEST! Saturday April 18th. You can view at  https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=t4qkRI1JyqU&amp;amp;feature=youtu.be July 10 - 12, VCF Southeast, in conjunction with Southern Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta, GA -  http:\/\/vcfed.org\/wp\/festivals\/otherevents\/vintage-computer-festival-southeast\/&amp;nbsp; July 24-25, KansasFest - https:\/\/www.kansasfest.org\/ (virtual) cost $20, expect to open registration on April 30th&amp;nbsp; August 1-2, VCF West, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA -  http:\/\/vcfed.org\/wp\/festivals\/vintage-computer-festival-west\/&amp;nbsp; Fri, Aug 14, 2020 \u2013 Sun, Aug 16, 2020, Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Portland OR - https:\/\/www.retrogamingexpo.com\/ CANCELLED Aug. 20 - Aug. 23, 2020, Fujiama, Lengenfeld, Germany - http:\/\/abbuc.de\/~atarixle\/fuji\/2020\/&amp;nbsp; September 12-13, VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - http:\/\/vcfmw.org\/&amp;nbsp; October 10 - 12, VCF East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ -  http:\/\/vcfed.org\/wp\/festivals\/vintage-computer-festival-east\/&amp;nbsp;   NOTE: You can order a t-shirt to support the VCF events at http:\/\/vcfed.org\/wp\/t-shirts\/ for $20 + shipping   October 24, Chicago TI International World Faire, Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - http:\/\/chicagotiug.sdf.org\/faire\/&amp;nbsp; October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http:\/\/www.tandyassembly.com\/&amp;nbsp; December ?, World of Commodore, Mississauga (Toronto), Ontario, Canada - https:\/\/www.tpug.ca\/&amp;nbsp;  References  There is a docudrama &quot;Micro Men&quot; about the early 80s and winning the joint government\/BBC contract to produce a computer that would be the focus of the initiative. 78 page PDF by Tilly Blyth of the Science Museum: &quot;The legacy of the BBC Micro - effecting change in the UK's cultures of computing&quot; \u201cNow the Chips are Down: The BBC Micro (Platform Studies)\u201d by Alison Gazzard - https:\/\/amzn.to\/2yLnYdf&amp;nbsp;  ","author_name":"Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.floppydays.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/14210525\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/14210525"}