This month on the Open Apple podcast, Mike and Ken are joined by Rob Kenyon, a two-time KansasFest attendee as well as a professional programmer and 30-year veteran of the Apple II. We talk about how great it is to be a part of the international community of Apple II users, even if none of us can afford to buy Apple’s founding contract in a Sotheby’s auction. Rob asks, did Steve Jobs purposely kill HyperCard to turn the Mac into a more closed environment? We congratulate Wade Clarke and Andrew Schultz on their showing in the 17th annual Interactive Fiction Competition. Plenty of original Apple II computers are selling on eBay, with Mike and Rob discussing how to distinguish an authentic classic from a modified one. We share our wishes for the holiday season, including for an affordable accelerator card and a CFFA3000, before signing off for the calendar year. Please take our listener survey, and see you in 2012!

The episode can be found at Open-Apple.net or in iTunes.

The November 2011 episode of Open Apple, the only co-hosted Apple II podcast, is now available. This month, Mike and Ken talk with Melissa Barron, the Apple II community’s famed tapestry artist. The three relate their experiences exploring the past and future of computer media at conventions and museums in Chicago and Rochester, exploring the methods used to create and preserve history. Further tributes are made to Steve Jobs, while Mike Westerfield reclassifies old BASIC tools and releases new ones. Lord British’s Texas mansion is up for sale — a fitting home for Vintage Computer Festival Southwest? We debate various models of floppy drives and are wary of fake and expensive Apple II computers on eBay but excited about new e-books and iOS apps of interest to retrocomputing enthusiasts.

Find the episode on the Open Apple Web site or in iTunes.

This month in Open Apple, our intrepid co-hosts chat with Kelvin Sherlock, prolific Apple II programmer of GShisen, Silver Platter, ProFUSE, and more. Ken builds the suspense before revealing the identity of KansasFest 2012’s keynote speaker before we look at the latest Kickstarter fundraising projects that appeal to Apple II users. We ask ourselves, “Why are Apple II users different?” when sharing knowledge, products, and magazines. On eBay, we’re looking at soundtracks, CP/M cards, compression software, and defunct user group newsletters, before engaging in a smackdown of BASIC programming languages. Finally, we enjoy classic Apple II games on iOS and challenge Kelvin to explain why we can’t port Portal to the 6502.

The August 2011 episode of Open Apple, the only co-hosted Apple II podcast, is now available. This month, Mike and Ken keep the KansasFest vibe going with first-time attendee David Schmenk, getting his perspective on the greatest products, sessions, and experiences of last month’s Apple II convention, from the CFFA3000 to Sweet16 and more. Ewen Wannop’s publication of an online magazine archive leads to a brief discussion on the creation and consumption of PDF scans, after which Tony Diaz gets on the line to clarify a hardware matter. eBay offers a bounty of pins, buttons, and games, before the hosts get ready for a special guest at this month’s Denver Apple Pi user group meeting.

Find the episode on the Open Apple Web site or in iTunes.

Mike Maginnis and Ken Gagne have released the third monthly episode of their Apple II podcast, Open Apple. In this show, Mike and Ken joined by KansasFest committee member Peter Neubauer to talk about attending KansasFest and VCF and reading Juiced.GS, 300 Baud, Twisty Little Passages, and Don Lancaster's Assembly Cookbook; review favorite edutainment software; gawk at outrageous eBay "Buy It Now" prices; and discover remakes of classic games Ultima, King's Quest, SimCity, Lode Runner, Wizardry, Choplifter, and more.

Find the episode on the Open Apple Web site or at iTunes.

After a brief hiatus, the Echoes of KFest podcast is back with more great historical content from the world’s premiere Apple II convention.

Three Four recordings from Resource Central’s catalog, which was recently reclassified under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License, have been digitized by Steve Weyhrich and made available as podcasts. Each episode is a different session from KansasFest 1992, featuring the tales and insights of Tom Weishaar, Roger Wagner, Steve Disbrow, Silas Warner, and more.

The first episode was published this weekend, with another coming each of the following Saturdays. The show is available at KansasFest.org or via iTunes.

The KansasFest committee, having recently published an extensive video record of KansasFest 2010’s sessions, is now making the audio of some of those recordings available separately. The Echoes of KFest podcast debuted with Mark Simonsen’s keynote speech. Catch future episodes by subscribing to the podcast in iTunes.

The RetroMacCast podcast has been on an Apple II emulation kick lately! In Episode 125 (iTunes), hosts James and John talk about Apple II emulators for the Macintosh, including OSXII, AppleIIGo, and KEGS. A week later, in Episode 126, (iTunes) they interview Colin Klipsch, developer of the Catakig emulator.

This is the same podcast that earlier this year conducted a KansasFest interview after reflecting on the Apple II’s various operating systems. Who knew a podcast with “Mac” in the title could be so Apple II-friendly?

KansasFest committee member Ken Gagne was recently interviewed on the RetroMacCast podcast, where he talks about how he got involved with the event, what traditions keep him coming back every year, and how KansasFest differs from the Macworld Expo. Episode #121 is available at the above page or via iTunes.

If you haven’t already signed up for KansasFest, the world’s premiere Apple II convention, then there’s a special deal just for you! Head on over to KansasFest.org for details.