Lights, Camera, INTERACTion!

[@andreasklindt7144]

Startrack looks very much like the original Star Trek game written by Mike Mayfield in 1971 for the SDS Sigma 7 in BASIC. It was ported to literally every system that ran BASIC and can to this day be found in the package "bsd-games". Countless versions exist of it and sometimes it's found under different names. There's a version of 1974 by Bob Leedom called Super Star Trek, that added a lot of features that partly also found its way into the "modern" bsd-games package. Based on the command list shown in 8:34 I would guess this Interact version is based on the original from 1971. But the game mechanics in general stayed pretty much the same over the decades. That game is an important piece of history!

[@stephen48227]

Just came across this video. Yes, I owned an Interact Computer (several in fact) The original Interact units had 8K of RAM and you could upgrade that to 16K. 16K of DRAM cost around $100 back in 1978. The computer was test marketed for the 1977 Holiday season but the company. went bankrupt right after the first of the tear in 1978. An employee bought a lot of the completed machines and inventory from bankruptcy and opened another company in Ann Arbor, called MicroVideo. The computers were manufactured by Manutronics of Manitowoc, Wisconsin and the all their inventory via mail order over the next year or so, I published a user based newsletter for the Interact for a few years called the "INTERACTion Newsletter", I will look and see if I still have a copy of the printed Newsletters

[@RetroGamingNook]

This channel is a genuine gem. That T-Shit, recording straight off the monitor, loading games from cassettes… I’m all in! “Suck it cat.”

[@alexandermirdzveli3200]

Indeed it is. Triple-A quality right from the start.

[@WC0125]

Another cool, long lost system. Excellent information. I forgot they even existed. If I remember right they cost about $499 for the 8k ($599 for the 16k) and you got about fifteen tapes programs with that price. They came out in the fall of 1978 for the holiday buying season. They were sold in the local TV/Stereo/appliance store. Thank you sharing this.

[@jimcabezola3051]

I thought I knew about all the major brands of computers back in the 1970s and 1980s. On your show, you've introduced two new-to-me brands: Interact and TDP. Brilliant! You are truly a curator! Looking forward to more cyber obscura in future. Mahalo from your friends out here in the boonies of Hawai'i.

[@robertcoble1330]

I actually worked at Interact, I was quite a young man at the time. I do remember several roms we would use during burn-in testing. I took a quick look for my old schematics , I know they are here somewhere (ha). I was more involved in the development of the Interact 2 that never quite made it market.

[@cliffroesli5246]

For '78 it had some interesting concepts - thank for the show

[@MarquisDeSang]

This computer makes me once again love my mechanical keyboard with MX-Blue keys (the clicky/noisy ones) even more. Also 80 character per line is also a minimum for me. Impressive computer for late 70's.

[@frogbertrocks]

Subscribed because it said you had 999 subscribers. Happy 1000 subs!

[@vintagegeek]

Thank you!!!

[@darak2]

A lot of old typewriters have no 1 key and expect you to use the lowercase l instead. Later, some typewriters introduced a 1 key, and put it to the right of 0 because people were already trained in the old 2 to 0 layout.

[@markhadland3624]

I had an Interact, made about a dozen games for it. Sold them on tape VIA ads in Computer Shopper and the Interact Newsletter. Under the name MGH Software. Space Laser was the big hit, maybe sold 20 lol.

[@vintagegeek]

Wow that’s great! Do you still have the programs in some form or the original tapes? It would be very cool to see them!

[@markhadland3624]

@@vintagegeek No I don't. I wish I did. I always look in Interact videos or pics to see I can see one of my tapes, but no luck!

[@aqualung2000]

I would have been 7 when that airplane game came out. To me, I think that would have been probably the coolest thing I had ever seen. I would have considered that a literal flight simulator. Very cool stuff. I wish I had anything to offer about that system!

[@JosipRetroBits]

I have never heard of this system. Great Video!

[@anthonyhershberger8441]

I’ve never heard of this computer now I want one keep up the sweet content man

[@TheodorosConstantinides]

The Star Track torpedo vector was the degrees, from 0 to 359, with 0 being straight up. Same if you used phasers, and the same for moving through the "map". You should try the Touchdown game.

[@stephaneauger1036]

Wow..thank..😘

[@minombredepila1580]

Never heard about it. Very cool video. I missed a detailed view of its "guts": pausing your video when hoy opening it. Please show more 😉

[@vintagegeek]

Thank you! Check this out: drive.google.com/file/d/1PNvNS1mWHPmjxKgFnIZXAob5MnURv746/view?usp=drivesdk

[@MichaelDoornbos]

Super fun. Excellent video as always

[@algorithminc.8850]

Thanks much for the fun video. Great channel. Subscribed. Back around 1980 in early high school, I bought one of these (Interact Model "R", I think) from the back of a Popular Electronics (I think). I modified it to act as the primary controller/computer for a robot after programming it and playing games on it for a year or so. I recently found another for sale and grabbed it. You mentioned a place to get programs (audio wave files) for the games and the like ... do you have one place in particular that has a good collection of the games and other programs? In any case, thanks again and all the best. Cheers

[@jameshost6343]

Several emulators for this system, and a Facebook group too. Can you "dump" that special ROM? I have never been able to get that kind of cassette adapter to work with vintage computers (Interact, APF Imagination Machine).

[@vintagegeek]

Happy to do that, could you tell us how to dump the ROM? Never have done that but would like to know how!

[@martindejong3974]

don't know why my earlier comment disappeared, but I also found the service manual here: www.old-computers.com/museum/docs/interact_service_manual.pdf it has eight colours four at a time I suspect that two of them are always black and wither, but the total pallet is black, red, green, yellow, blue magenta, cyan and white