Here is some interesting material to know more about how old computers were created and how those companies did what they did. This material has been enjoyed as an inspiration for all the activities at Catrin Labs.
Books
- 6502 Assembly language subroutines by Lance A. Leventhal
- Commodore history series by Brian Bagnall
- Game Engine Black Book collection by Fabien Sanglard
- Wolfestein 3D (i386)
- Doom (i486)
- Quake (Pentium) – To be released
- Jordan Mechner journals
- Practical electronics for inventors
- Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (Platform Studies)
- The 8 bit workshop collection
Documentaries / Movies
- 8 bit generation: Commodore Wars (trailer)
- From bedrooms to billions collection
- Inside Commodore
- La edad de oro del software espaƱol
- Micro Men (History of Sinclair, Acorn and Amstrad computers)
- Silicon Cowboys (History of Compaq and the first IBM PC clones)
- The Rise and Fall of Imagine Software Documentary
- Viva Amiga (trailer)
Interviews and talks
Some people will appear several times, may be you don’t know them, but you should. Here is a list of names and why they are important.
- Bil Herd: One of the key engineers of Commodore, creator of the C128 and some lesser known 8 bit computers (Plus/4 and others)
- Bill Mensch: One of the creators of the 6502 processor and later designer of the 65816 processor
- Jack Tramiel: Founder of Commodore, the man behind the creation and release of the PET, VIC-20 and C64. Later he bought Atari and launched the XE and ST computers
- Jay Miner: Father of Atari 2600, Atari800 and Commodore Amiga
- Joe Decuir: One of the creators of Atari 2600, Atari 800, Commodore Amiga, USB, Bluetooth
- Leonard Tramiel: Son of Jack Tramiel, he stepped in to help his father while in Commodore and Atari
- Michael Tomczyk: Marketing director at Commodore
Interviews
- Bil Herd: Commodore 8-Bit Days at The Retro Hour podcast
- Bill Mensch: Oral History at Computer History Museum
- Bill Mensch: The Genesis of the 6502 Microprocessor at VCF 2020
- Jack Tramiel about Atari, Commodore. The Computer Chronicles April 8, 1985
- Jack Tramiel: Atari ST and XE (TV interview)
- Joe Decuir: The Birth of the Commodore Amiga
- Glenn Keller: Commodore Amiga Paula Chip Designer
- Leonard Tramiel: The story of Commodore and the 8-bit generation at TEDx Talks
- Why Commodore Failed – A Conversation with Commodore UK’s David John Pleasance & Trevor Dickinson
Talks
- Bil Herd and Leonard Tramiel at CommVEx 2015
- Bil Herd: Component Aging and Heat at VCF East 2019
- Bil Herd: Story of Commodore from the Computer Engineers’ Perspective at HACKADAY
- Bil Herd: Tales From Inside Commodore at VCFMW 11
- Jay Miner. Lead designer: Atari 2600, Atari 800, Amiga.
- Joe Decuir: Atari 800 Series Computers: 40 Years at VCF East 2019
- Joe Decuir: Three generations of animation machines: Atari and Amiga at VCF Pacific Northwest 2019
- Lucas Arts: The early years
- Michael Tomczyk: The First Home Computer