Lee Felsenstein: The Computer Revolution & Counterculture

The Amp Hour · 10 Dec 2024 · Episode 684

What this episode covers

Lee Felsenstein, a legendary figure in the personal computer and social media industries, discusses his work on the Osborne 1, SOL computer, and the Community Memory system. He details the engineering challenges of the Osborne 1, including the use of the Z80 refresh pin for video generation and the integration of switching power supplies, while explaining how the Homebrew Computer Club served as an early social network. Felsenstein also reflects on his invention of social media concepts in the 1970s and his current efforts to build a modern, privacy-focused social utility.

Mentioned

Companies
Ampex, Atari
Products
Osborne 1, SOL computer, Pennywhistle modem, Community Memory, VDM-1, Altair, Apple I
Chips
Z80
Also
Homebrew Computer Club, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Don Lancaster, Adam Osborne, Chuck Peddle, Marty Spurgale, John Doerr

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 08m

    164: Heatsink in a Shoebox

    Host Elecia White and guest Matthew White, a mathematics professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, discuss Christopher White's project to resurrect an Apple ][+ computer. They explore the hardware challenges, such as replacing a bad RAM chip and dealing with floppy drive issues, and review the software they wrote as children, including games like 'Eye of Eternal Death' and 'Lemonade Stand'. The conversation highlights the educational value of early 80s computing, contrasting the transparency of the 6502 architecture with modern opaque systems, and touches on Matthew's later work with a Timex Sinclair Z81 and his career choice to become a musician rather than a software engineer.

  • Go/No-Go · 54m

    Federico Faggin designed the first microprocessor and the capacitive touchscreen. He joins Go/No-Go to argue that AI cannot be conscious, however capable it becomes.

    Federico Faggin, inventor of the Intel 4004 microprocessor and the capacitive touchscreen, recounts his journey from developing MOS silicon gate technology at Fairchild Semiconductor to founding Zilog and Synaptics. He details the physical realities of early chip design, such as hand-drawing transistors and using slide rules, and explains how he built the Z80 with only $400,000 and 11 people. Faggin argues in his book Irreducible that classical computers and AI cannot be conscious because they lack the quantum field interactions necessary for true feeling and free will.

  • Hackaday Podcast · 35m

    Ep 222: VCF East Special Edition

    Managing Editor Tom Nardi hosts a special episode from the Vintage Computer Festival East, featuring interviews with David Lovett of Usagi Electric and Jerry Ellsworth, co-founder of Till5. Lovett details his vacuum tube-based recreation of the iconic 555 timer, explaining the analog/digital hybrid circuitry and the challenges of low-voltage tube operation. Ellsworth discusses his accidental discovery of a light-field AR technology while at Valve Software and his earlier work emulating Commodore 64 hardware on FPGAs.

  • 030 - Supercon 2019

    Jen Castillo and Alvaro interview Emily Velasco, who created the 'Death Clock' using a repurposed 1980s vacuum fluorescent display and an Arduino driver, and Jasmine Brackett, who runs Tindie and organizes the hardware swap at Hackaday Supercon 2019. The conversation covers Velasco's talk on making 'ugly, weird, and annoying things' and Brackett's insights on the growth of the hardware community, including the RC2014 retro computer kit. They also discuss the future of hacking with AI, the regret of certain technologies like the internet and personal listening devices, and the specific challenges of the German startup ecosystem.

  • Hackaday Podcast · 55m

    Ep 322: Fake Hackaday Writers, New Retro Computers, and a Web Rant

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Jenny List discuss the announcement of Hackaday Supercon 2025 and the passing of Apollo 13 engineer Ed Smylie. They review several hardware hacks, including a new ITX motherboard reimplementing the Mac Plus, a secure LoRa messenger called Communicateur, and an open-source high-speed Ethernet switch by Andrew Zonenberg. The episode also covers Doom running on an Atari ST, the Mouse programming language on Arduino, and a web rant by Maya Posch about the death of graceful degradation.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Amp Hour. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.