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#kirschen

1 post1 participant0 posts today
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Josh Renaud

AI was hot in the 80s, but Kirschen felt people didn't really want "artificial intelligence" — but artificial *personality* and *creativity.* "Could a computer display personality traits? Could a computer create music?" he asked.

He was ahead of his time.

I'm thankful to have known him, and to have helped preserve a small part of his legacy.

You can help his wife Sali by donating via their PayPal link: tiny.cc/3oncvz

(3/3)

Yaakov Kirschen and Sali Ariel are seated, smiling at the camera. Between them is a Commodore Amiga displaying a large caricature of Bach from Kirschen's "Magic Harp" software.
#retrocomputing#kirschen#drybones
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Josh Renaud

Decades later, I began researching and rescuing Kirschen's forgotten computer games and software for the Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, and IBM PC.

breakintochat.com/blog/categor

Over the years, he and his wife Sali graciously made time to talk with me and send material related to his software.

I'm proud to have published histories on it for my blog, Emory University, the Internet Archive and Juiced.GS.

(2/x)

Break Into ChatKirschen Archives - Break Into Chat
#retrocomputing#kirschen#drybones
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Josh Renaud

Sad news: "Dry Bones" cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen has died.

jns.org/dry-bones-cartoonist-y

I first encountered Kirschen through his "Mom and Me" and "Murray and Me" graphical chatbot programs (received from my uncle Jim when he handed down his Atari ST to us in the late 1980s).

Kirschen's work on "Mom" and "Murray" was profiled in-depth by the NYT, LAT, and others.

(1/x)

Yaakov Kirschen sits in his kitchen holding a drink. Beside him is an Apple II computer on a desk. The computer monitor shows the title screen of a game called "The Goldberg Variations."
#atarist#atari#retrocomputing
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Josh Renaud

🥕 🍔 🍦
Over the last week, I've spent some time digging in to "Nosh Kosh," the Jewish Pac-Man clone for the Apple II that's all about kashrut — Jewish dietary law.

Along the way, I've run into bugs, mapped out level designs, and calculated checksums to figure out how many versions there are.

breakintochat.com/blog/2025/02

Break Into Chat · Digging in to "Nosh Kosh," the Jewish Pac-Man clone - Break Into ChatLearning about the level design, bugs, and different versions of "Nosh Kosh," an educational Apple II game all about kashrut — Jewish dietary law.
#appleii#apple2#kirschen
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Josh Renaud

🕹️ 📹 🎉
If you saw my posts about playing "Nosh Kosh," a previously-lost Jewish spin on Pac-Man for the Apple II, and are curious to learn more, then I've got something for you!

youtube.com/watch?v=BiC4h2e0nX

The Atlanta Historical Computing Society finally posted a video of my presentation last fall about the A2 educational games made by Ya'akov Kirschen and Gesher in Israel.

YouTubeAHCS Meeting 8/17-- Josh Renaud's research on the lost software of Yaakov KirschenBy Atlanta Historical Computing Society
#appleii#apple2#gamedev
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Josh Renaud

Check it out! Here's my presentation on rescuing the lost games made by Ya'akov Kirschen and Gesher for the Apple II. The talk was given at the Atlanta Historical Computing Society last fall.

I incorporated new things I learned during my research fellowship, exploring materials at Emory University and the Breman Museum.

youtube.com/watch?v=BiC4h2e0nX

YouTubeAHCS Meeting 8/17-- Josh Renaud's research on the lost software of Yaakov KirschenBy Atlanta Historical Computing Society
#apple2#appleii#gamedev
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Josh Renaud

I'm pumped! Today Emory University published a blog post about my experience learning more about several Jewish educational computer games for the Apple II from the early 1980s, which I came to Atlanta to study last month.

scholarblogs.emory.edu/marbl/2

You can learn more about the games here:
breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11

Or play them at the @internetarchive:
archive.org/search?query=creat

Screenshot shows a preview of a blog post, with a photo of the author outside a synagogue.
#kirschen#breakintochat#digipres
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Josh Renaud

"Magic Harp" (ca. 1986-87) promised to produce all the music Bach (or the Beatles) never wrote, through the power of "artificial creativity."

Kirschen arranged with Irving Gould to produce two themed music disks ("pop" and "baroque") to be bundled with the Amiga 1000. Only a beta of the baroque version survives.

breakintochat.com/blog/2024/01

Screenshot shows the title screen of "Magic Harp."
Screenshot shows a large Bach character closing his eyes while composing new music in the "Magic Harp" software.
#commodore#amiga#kirschen
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Josh Renaud

💾 🖥️ 🎆
I've unearthed some "new" old software for the new year!

Two fun programs for the Commodore Amiga compose music autonomously by recombining pieces of "musical DNA" from existing songs.

They were creations of Yaakov Kirschen and his team of student programmers at LKP Ltd. in Israel in 1986-87.

Get the ADF disk images here:
breakintochat.com/blog/2024/01

Yaakov Kirschen and Sali Ariel pose with a Commodore Amiga running an early version of their Magic Harp software, probably in late 1986 or early 1987.
#commodore#amiga#kirschen
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tagesschau

Schlechte Kirschernte in diesem Sommer

Die deutschen Obstbauern müssen sich in diesem Jahr mit einer unterdurchschnittlichen Kirschernte begnügen. Gründe für die schlechte Ernte waren eine frühe Blütezeit, späte Fröste und Unwetter.

➡️ tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/verbr

tagesschau.deSchlechte Kirschernte in diesem SommerBy tagesschau.de
#Kirschen#Birnen#Ernte
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