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Custom Handheld Atari 2600

Krimsen sent in linkage to what has got to be the coolest hack I've seen in months. He built a portable atari 2600. Looks like a game boy, but it plays the old carts, and even features the old wood grain. Absolutely stunning. Someone's gotta sell these things.

123 comments

  1. Sure it's a repeat but.... by soulsteal · · Score: 1

    Think how nice it is to be able to amuse yourself with the same stories over and over again from only days previous, much less months ago....

  2. Re:Again? by kodiar · · Score: 2

    We've already had posts like that too!

  3. I just saw a black cat go by twice by tezmc · · Score: 2
    "Deja vu is a glitch in the matrix, it means they've changed something"

    (Meanwhile, on CNN)

    CmdrTaco Wins Vote In Florida!... Planet Earth Baffled!!

  4. Yeah, but ... by fishfucker · · Score: 1

    did any of you "WE'VE SEEN THIS NEWS BEFORE!!(@!@" whiners bother to click on the link again? hes now got instructions geared towards *you* building one. SO NOW I'M TWO STEPS AHEAD OF YOU IN THE RACE TO GOODWILL.

    fisfhcuerk.

    yeah. whatever.

    1. Re:Yeah, but ... by topheriffic · · Score: 1

      the original link in the original story had instructions on how to build one? been working on building one in my spare time since reading the original story...bought 2 2600 units the day after the story ran for $5 bucks each from salvation army, so i guess i beat YOU to it...

      --
      keep on shitting people...contribute to the cause and my job security...
    2. Re:Yeah, but ... by topheriffic · · Score: 1

      er sorry that should have been "the original story did have a link to instructions on how to build this!" since it.s the same damn web site...it.s an absolute repost almost word for word...but i.m still ahead of YOU regardless!

      --
      keep on shitting people...contribute to the cause and my job security...
  5. Quick, get out. by Alphons+Clenin · · Score: 5

    They just changed the matrix.

    1. Re:Quick, get out. by stinkbomb · · Score: 1

      Can we puhleese make this nasty thread go away before it makes me scared. Are there that many nerds out there? Help me mommy.

  6. Re:Wasn't this a quicky? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Next topic: "Ask slashdot: why do stories get posted more than once?"

  7. Re:Deja Vu by atrowe · · Score: 1
    "Krimsen sent in linkage to what has got to be the coolest hack I've seen in months."

    "Handheld Atari 2600 VCSp by Hemos on Friday September 22, @09:20PM EST 133"

    How can something be cooler than itself?

    --

    -atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.

  8. Re:geocities by cookieman · · Score: 1

    The page tells: We're moving soon! so they fear us but we got them first! :)
    Anyway it's quite cute (the Atari I mean).

    --
    Just another coder...
  9. Cool by nigelb0 · · Score: 1

    But don't you think one of these are cooler?

  10. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by Mike+Schiraldi · · Score: 2

    This wasn't Flamebait, it was Interesting.

    Of course, i'm sure someone's going to mark this post as Flamebait now...
    --

  11. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by Webmonger · · Score: 2

    Nope, Emmett's gone.

  12. Re:Selling them? I don't see how. by Howie · · Score: 1

    I would vote Worms too.

    And I would also point out that, really, Spacewar was the first of the genre, if the genre is the more generic 'two-player tactical battle with no hold barred'.

    --
    "don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
  13. Please, Please, Please... by MyopicProwls · · Score: 1
    Oh, man, someone MUST build one of these things and sell it on eBay.

    MyopicProwls

    --

    MyopicProwls
    My homepage

    1. Re:Please, Please, Please... by LiENUS · · Score: 1

      He is planning on selling his current one on ebay when he builds a newer model i believe he expects the newer model to be done around christmas

  14. You could make this smaller by jwater · · Score: 1

    There are many other ways to get the video display for this unit. I would suggest looking at active LCD units at www.digikey.com . These could be used with out having to insert batteries like ammunition. Overall this was a hack job. A much more elegant solution would be possible with out much more effort. Cool but..

  15. Old news! by billcopc · · Score: 1

    Wasn't this posted in a quickie a few months ago ? I very clearly recall seeing this device before.

    --
    -Billco, Fnarg.com
  16. Re:Combat? by shippo · · Score: 2
    To me Combat was no more than a clone of some of the ideas of Space War - the first video game.

    Interestingly Atari made their own Space War catridge. Games lasted a long time, particularly if both competitiors ran out of fuel!

    Can anyone tell me why Space War was the only PAL only cartridge in an Atari catalogue I obtained in 1982? There were a number of NTSC only games around at the time, but most of these would not have worked outside North America for cultural reasons (baseball, that pseudo-Rugby League game they call football). Was there a legal problem with Space War?

  17. Just Emulate It by LuxuryYacht · · Score: 2

    It would be easier to just software emulate the Atari 2600 since the 6507 only ran at 1.19MHz. With many of todays PDA's and handhelds running processors at over 200 MHz it wouldn't take much work. The hardware interface from the PDA or handheld to the cartridge would be the only hardware job. Maybe a USB adapter so that you run the old games on your handheld.

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
    1. Re:Just Emulate It by QuantumG · · Score: 2

      build a gameboy cart!

      --
      How we know is more important than what we know.
    2. Re:Just Emulate It by Chuck+U+Farley · · Score: 1

      I have been wondering that very same thing for a few weeks now - can't they emulate the 2600 on a Palm for crying out loud? Has anyone ported Stella or any of the other emus to that platform yet? You could fit everything including probably a gazillion old games into a few hundred K I would think....

    3. Re:Just Emulate It by LiENUS · · Score: 1

      The idea is not to emulate it but to build an actuall atari system emulating it would take away from its geekfactor. plus this looks waaaay cooler than any PDA i've ever seen.

  18. Re:Combat? by Rahga · · Score: 2

    Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would meet another Space War guy ;)...
    I think me and my brother once played a single game (out of fuel) for maybe a whole hour. Don't remember, it was a _long_ time ago. And it was a cool game.

  19. Re:Combat? by shippo · · Score: 2

    Wasn't there a limit of 10 minutes per game? Or did this apply to just some of the game variants?

  20. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by The_Messenger · · Score: 1
    Washingtonpost.com is a "free service", like Slashdot. They sell advertising, like Slashdot. They produce original material, as well as crib content from other sources, like Slashdot. The people who run the site do so for a living, like those who run Slashdot. But unlike Slashdot, they run the site in a profressional manner.

    The moment that this site became profitable, Rob and the rest of those goons lost their excuses for such fuck-ups. Our pageviews are what sells advertising; indirectly, we pay for Rob's weed, so we have a right to complain when the level of "service" drops. The management has the right not to listen (which they do very well). The duplicate story problem is well known and recurs often. The management doesn't care. If it really bothers you, stop reading. The management won't care if you stop reading, but they will care when they start losing advertising revenue. If you say nothing, you are accepting that the service rendered is adequate. So go ahead and complain, fellow Slashdotters. Or even better, stop visiting the site.

    I used to say, "oh, leave Rob and the rest alone; it's all just a fun geek site, right?", but then I thought, what else does Malda do all day? He stops playing Diablo 2 a few times a day to post these lame stories, and he can't even check for duplicates? That pissed me off. Why should we support Rob's right to be a lazy sod and get rich off of a second-rate site?

    Slashdot is big business now. Corporate sponsors, national media exposure, the works. It's time for the management to realize this, and stop doing such a half-assed job. If you want to continue deluding yourself into thinking Slashdot was the same place it was two years ago, or even a year ago, or even six months ago, go ahead. But it's not the same. Dell Computers got their start in a college dorm room, and now they're a major corporation. Consequently, they're expected to act more professionally then when they were run from a dorm room. We should expect no less of Slashdot. If Rob's such a Perl wizard, why can't modify Slashcode so that every accepted story submission is put into a DB table, and compared against previous submissions for similar keywords and links? The editor can then maually review possible duplicate submissions. What else is so pressing that you can't find the time to actually maintain the site that made you a millionare, Rob?

    The bottom line is that Slashdot is too successful for him to not care.


    All generalizations are false.

    --

    --
    I like to watch.

  21. closed project by warrior · · Score: 2

    Slashdot has run this article before. When you experience 'deja vu', it is a glitch that means they changed something in The Matrix (The Matrix was obviously a closed source project). Just don't complain and enjoy it in blissful ignorance, or exit The Matrix and eat mush over at k5.

    (no offense, I love k5)

    Mike

    --
    Intel transfer the difficult from Hadware to software, for get more power, programmer need more technology. -- chinaitn
  22. Well.... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

    You see, there is this little box in the bottom left corner of the page, called "search". It's actually very handy. No need to remember everything as the server does it for you.

    I do agree though, sometimes I miss stories because one would need to visit this site every day to keep up with all the stories. Sometimes it's nice to see something updated or slightly different.

  23. Re:hahaha by soulsteal · · Score: 1

    but Taco didn't see it, Hemos did.

  24. Custom? by British · · Score: 2

    Custom Handheld atari 2600s? As opposed to those regular, plain-jane mass produced portable Atari 2600s everyone used to have?

    Not to be anal retentive, but slashdot headlines are starting to become less and less accurate as time goes by.

    1. Re:Custom? by British · · Score: 2

      Heh. Perhaps a compromise would be "homebrew(like beer!) Atari unit"

    2. Re:Custom? by slim · · Score: 2

      Actually there are mass produced handheld(ish) 2600s in production today, under the name "TV Boy". They're the size and shape of a joypad, contain enough circuitry to play Atari games, about 100 games on ROM, and an RF output.

      Yeah I know it's not got its own screen, but it's a small step innit.
      --

  25. This Has Already Made An Apperance by SirDrinksAlot · · Score: 1

    This has already bein on here once before. We're getting lots of repeate items on slashdot these days. is it a slow week/month/year?

  26. Re:Deja Vu by Gay+Mr.+T · · Score: 1
    Just a general response to everyone complaining about duplicates:

    Who cares. It is like 5 lines of text. If you've seen it before, ignore it. It took way more effort to bitch about than to wade through the 5 lines of text that make it up (unless you read at a first grade level).
    Now, on the other hand, wading through all this bitching, was a pain in the ass.
    ---

    --
    Moderators: I've got tons of accounts, do your worst.
  27. I did not see it by jjr · · Score: 1

    The first time it was on /. But I have to admit I admire this guy for this hack.

  28. Re:Repetative repetition by thopkins · · Score: 1

    I read every slashdot story on their site, and my social life is fine. If my job was to work on slashdot I'd read it even more carefully. I am merely a zealot, not a high priest of slashdot.

  29. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by garcia · · Score: 1

    are you fucking serious? get a life man. this is a website for geeks. they started this as a free service to the public. it is still a free service to the public. we have to put up w/a couple of ads sure, but it doesn't mean that they have the time/desire to make us happy. *WE* don't pay them.

    Until you start donating money/hardware/coding time to THEM, they have no reason to do what you think is right.

    Give the god damn guys a break.

    OMFG, imagine. Seeing the same thing twice! OH NO. I mean it might ruin your life that your excitement over a new article is dashed because you have already seen it last month!

  30. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by joshwa · · Score: 1

    I'd love to be able to go through the submitted stories and see if I'm sending in a repeat. But I can't!

    Umm in this case, the repeat story was posted two months ago (Sep 22). So the author could have (and in fact should have) checked the archives to see if it had already been posted.

    I think the abuse to which FAQ refers is not a matter of low quality stories, it's a matter of spammers clogging up the submission queue with penisbirds becuase they know all of slashdot is going to read it (and not just Taco, etc.).

    ...and for the last time (I wish): if you want moderated submissions, go to K5!

  31. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by garcia · · Score: 1

    I don't think that it is unreasonable either, I just don't think that it is their duty to do so. It seemed like the poster was pissed off b/c they posted this before. Like get over it, it is not a big deal. Hell, CNN runs the same fucking story for weeks/months at a time (ala Elian). Get over it.

  32. Me either by MousePotato · · Score: 1

    I missed this the first time around too. Kick ass right up of the projects story too.

  33. It's a shame I can't moderate SLASHDOT down by imagineer_bob · · Score: 1
    for reposting old stories. I remember seeing this item before, so I searched on slashdot for it and, sure enough, found it.

    Slashdot will soon be listed on fuckedcompany.com if this keeps up!

  34. Re:Repetative repetition by tomblackwell · · Score: 1

    They don't have to read every story. They have a database of pages that have been linked to. If they check to see if the page is already in there, they will find that it's been covered before.

    I like making fun of millionaires who pull down $90,000 a year in addition to the $7 million they got for their site, who can't even manage to read their own product.

  35. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by magic · · Score: 1
    This is a really good suggestion. You should send it in directly; I'm sure the editors don't actually read all of the comments and I wouldn't want them to miss this.

    -m

  36. Somebody give taco one of thies by Felinoid · · Score: 1

    Yeah it was posted before...
    It looks neet.. This is the second time it's been Slashdotted...

    No Taco you CAN NOT sell it Atari still has a copyright on the thing and worse yet they tossed all the documents (yet annother Slashdot story) so they can not do it themselfs.

    It looks pritty easy to do thow....

    On a side note didn't Sears make a clone of the Atari VCS at one point?
    What ever happend to that? Did they get sued?

    --
    I don't actually exist.
    1. Re:Somebody give taco one of thies by FSK · · Score: 1

      The Sears console was basically a re-branded 2600.

      --
      When punk rock is outlawed, only outlaws will have punk rock.
    2. Re:Somebody give taco one of thies by Xenex · · Score: 1
      ...and worse yet they tossed all the documents (yet annother Slashdot story)...

      I must have missed this... what was it about? Has anyone got a link to info about that?

  37. Now you too can make the news! by Hasues · · Score: 2

    Its easy kids! To make news and articles on Slashdot, merely search for a particular subject in the archives, find a story, and post it for submission! Its that easy!

    Has

    --
    futang futang!
  38. Cheap Portable Screens... by cibrPLUR · · Score: 1
    If you are interested in actually doing this, there is an Ebay Auction going on right now where you can get the Casio model he used for $90.

    Much better than the $150-$160 retail alternative.

    --

    -cibrPLUR

  39. OT: Best multi player game by caffeineboy · · Score: 1

    Saying that combat was a revolutionary multiplayer game is ignoring all of its influences - like perhaps Computer Space - the first arcade machine EVER (1971 I think).

    If you REALLY wnat to have fun, the only atari cart that you need is 4 player warlords with two double paddle controllers.

    --
    +++ ATH0 +++
  40. Re:geocities by Suppafly · · Score: 1

    it would be had everyone not realized this was just posted like a month ago..

  41. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by bludstone · · Score: 1

    too bad you will get shot if you do that.

    --

    no .sig
  42. Re:Selling them? I don't see how. by david+duncan+scott · · Score: 1
    It wasn't so much that newer machines beat it out, but that whole market fell apart for a couple of years. Around '83 - '84 you couldn't give away game carts (literally -- Atari was crunching them with steam rollers).

    As for best game -- Wall Ball (but I may be biased :>)

    --

    This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander

  43. Wasn't this a quicky? by bugg · · Score: 2
    Anyhow, it's understandable for stuff like this to slip through.

    It's a pretty interesting hack, and certainly one that I'm surpised he got working the first try ;) The reason why the atari's motherboard was not smaller to begin with are interesting; generally put you don't use long tracks for your health due to stray capacitance and all... And it wouldn't seem that RF is an issue from surrounding components because well, it's mainly digital.. and it worked for this guy :)

    --
    -bugg
  44. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by Prior+Restraint · · Score: 1

    If you think that the people who run Slashdot are 'idiots', I have two questions for you: ... 2. Why are they millionaires?

    So now there's a correlation between intelligence and personal wealth? I guess that makes me a fscking moron (and Bill Gates a demi-god). My parents will be so disappointed. :-(

  45. geocities by piku · · Score: 3

    Is it possible to Slashdot Geocities?

    1. Re:geocities by Frac · · Score: 4
      Yes! If we unite as a community!

      On the count of one... two...

  46. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by garcia · · Score: 1

    I guess I really just don't care all that much about it. It doesn't fucking bother me enough to get all pissed off about it. If I see a story I already read before, I ignore it. I don't get all pissy like you guys. I am just easy going on that sorta thing I guess.

  47. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by _xeno_ · · Score: 1
    The problem is that Slashdot really isn't CmdrTaco's site anymore. He needs to realize that some day. It's grown up, moved on. If you want to have a community, you have to understand that it's the community that ultimately should control what goes on - not the orignal creator.

    In a way, it's sad - but it's happened. CmdrTaco really needs to on, and understand that it's not the same Slashdot he used to run from Hope College. It's a price he has to pay for "making it big." It's a price he has to pay for having a "slashdot community." The site is no longer just his, it's become something else. As it is, other than posting stories, CmdrTaco seems to have almost nothing to do with the community that Slashdot has created. It really feels like it's time he understands this and gives more control to the community that makes Slashdot what it is. Don't forget, without the readers, Slashdot would never have become what it is today.

    It started out as a good idea, but like everything else in life, it needs to grow in response to change. It may be "his site" but in reality, it became all the readers' sites. Since the readers submit the bulk of the stories, it makes sense for the readers to have some control over what gets on the front page. Originally, CmdrTaco and the other editors did all the moderation - that job got too hard for just them. They had to allow readers to take on the task. Think of this as a natural extension - he needs to allow some of the readers to help with story submissions. It might actually help the site.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
  48. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by __aakpxi9117 · · Score: 1

    ...Moderators moderated based on content rather than their opinions? Gee, maybe this would be moderated down because it's off-topic rather than being moderated up because they 'felt like it'.

    The only way we can get rid of karma whores and trolls is to make the default scores for all posts "0" instead of "1". That way people would need to post GOOD-comments rather than just posting tons of crap and getting points, as long as it doesn't get moderated down.

    (Perhaps someone should let CmdrTaco know that all is not kosher in Moderator town)
    And having said that I hope you're set to view -1 comments.... Moderators are worse than politicians and nobody's doing anything about either

  49. Repeat Article by nathanm · · Score: 1

    This article is a repeat of this one from last September.

    1. Re:Repeat Article by Art+Tatum · · Score: 2

      This post is a repeat of about a billion other ones just like it. Group behavior is funny.

    2. Re:Repeat Article by LiENUS · · Score: 1

      I personally missed that article in Sep and if it werent for this repost i would have never known about this. now while it may not be earth shattering news its still pretty cool and i'm sure other people are glad of the repost to.

  50. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by fmaxwell · · Score: 1
    So now there's a correlation between intelligence and personal wealth?

    There always has been. I suggest that you read The Bell Curve to see just how strong the correlation is. But, remember, it is just statistics. There are many people who are low-intelligence/high-net-worth and vice-versa.

    As to Bill Gates, regardless of whether you like his company, products, or ethics, he is extremely intelligent. His programming ability is legendary and he has been a strong force in guiding the personal computer to where it is today -- despite the fact that his "vision" does not jive with yours and mine.

    Fred Maxwell

  51. Repetative repetition by cluening · · Score: 1

    You know, it would be really nice if Slashdot authors read Slashdot sometimes too. It gets a little annoying sometimes to read the same thing over and over...

    Of course, since Slashdot is a nice free way for me to waste my time I won't actually go out and yell from the mountain tops "Slashdot is horrible", it is just at times like this I feel like I should find a new news source...

    --
    Posted from the wireless couch.
    1. Re:Repetative repetition by Nastard · · Score: 1

      If you are tired of /., then maybe k5 or slackers guild are more up your ally

    2. Re:Repetative repetition by gtx · · Score: 3

      actually, if all of the slashdot authors read EVERY story which came across the site, and could recall everything which was ever mentioned in quickies, i'd be seriously concerned for their social life.

      just think, slashdot is free. there are no guarantees anywhere that one of the authors isn't going to go out and enjoy the big blue room. we are human we are allowed to make mistakes. perhaps this author thought that the story deserved more attention. perhaps he had never seen it. perhaps he just wanted to post it again. it's his decision.

      if you people have a problem with slashdot, just stop coming. it'd make it much more enjoyable.

      i for one am glad they reposted this article, as i wanted to read more about what the hard core techs at slashdot thought about it's feasibility as a commercial product, and how hard this hack is.

      moral of story: if you have a problem with slashdot's authors, either filter them out or go somewhere else. i hate whiners.



      --


      "I hope I don't make a mistake and manage to remain a virgin." - Britney Spears
  52. Deja Vu by Phrogman · · Score: 2

    Something tells me we have seen this subject before.

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    1. Re:Deja Vu by Enahs · · Score: 1

      Yeah, me too, but you don't see me posting links to it like an asshole.

      --
      Stating on Slashdot that I like cheese since 1997.
    2. Re:Deja Vu by the_other_one · · Score: 1

      Deja Vu for Nerds. Stuff that re-matters.

      --
      134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
  53. Re:small screen by Uncle+Jimmy · · Score: 1
    At least the graphics don't look as blocky as on a 68cm TV, so that could be an advantage. Besides, it looks cool.

    Now, if only my River Raid cartridge wasn't half dead....

  54. Old News is still good news by Calimus · · Score: 2

    Granted that this has been posted before, it's still the best hack I've seen for the old atari's. With X-mas just around the corner, wouldn't it be great to give/recieve one of these? Some people like me have tons of old Atari carts but no working console to enjoy them on.

    Maybe if we hit this guy's site enough, he'll get the idea that we want these things.

    --
    Trying to be different, just like everyone else.
  55. Not a quicky... a story unto itself by Fat+Rat+Bastard · · Score: 1
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/09/22/222120 0&mode=nested

    Must be a slow news day.

    Nathan

    --

    If you don't have anything nice to say, say it often.
    - Ed the Sock

  56. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by Joe+Groff · · Score: 2
    Slashdot is CmdrTaco's site. He'll run it the way he wants it to be run. If he doesn't want to open the submission queue, so be it.

    Kuro5hin already has an open submission queue. Go there if you want that.

    Wouldn't it be boring if Slashdot and Kuro5hin were exactly the same?

    - Joe

    --

    -Joe

  57. Wouldn't it be nice if... by CMiYC · · Score: 2

    ...people wouldn't be stupid and post "Man, slow day for slashdot...they don't even read their own page." Its amazing how nobody that reads slashdot ever makes a mistake... or *gasp* miss a story themselves every now and then.

    ---

    1. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by The_Messenger · · Score: 1
      I, also, couldn't care less. But I understand that there are those who do, and I'll support their right to bitch about it. :-)


      All generalizations are false.

      --

      --
      I like to watch.

    2. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by Prior+Restraint · · Score: 1

      I suggest that you read The Bell Curve to see just how strong the correlation is.

      Since this discussion will be archived before I can do that, I'd just like to point out that I've heard a lot of people trash that book as hopelessly biased (hearsay, I know; I'll read and judge for myself at a later date).

      As to Bill Gates,... he is extremely intelligent.

      I agree. I was merely taking the "correlation" to its logical extreme (if someone is one million times as rich as the avg. person, they are one million times as intelligent as the avg. person).

      In the end, my problem with asserting this correlation is that it suggests things which don't conform too well with my experiences:

      • The intelligent tend to live in a country amenable to large personal wealth (i.e., communists/socialists are dumb).
      • Smart people tend to either strive for personal wealth or do things which happen to result in wealth.
      • Smarter people tend to hoarde money, rather than give it away.

      Of course, these are just my opinions. Take or leave them as you please.

    3. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by fmaxwell · · Score: 1
      Since this discussion will be archived before I can do that, I'd just like to point out that I've heard a lot of people trash that book as hopelessly biased

      The authors drew some conclusions about intelligence and race that upset many people. It was not the focus of the book and was just a side-note. I thought that they used very good science while many of their critics had a political agenda to prove. I have read the book and many of the criticisms.

      My point about wealth is that it is an indication that someone is probably smart, not proof. It certainly isn't a 1.0 correlation and it's not linear (or Bill Gates would be teaching Stephen Hawking about theoretical physics). It also assumes similar opportunities. You can't compare the population of Uganda to the U.S. and declare, based on income, that we have a higher IQ.

      Fred Maxwell

    4. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by RESPAWN · · Score: 1
      You know, what I don't get is people who constantly complain about slashdot. What's the point? If you don't like the site, then quit visiting it. Or instead of complaining, why not offer to help refine the site to make it better? I mean if Rob's not doing it, then offer to do it yourself. It's not like you're paying good money to visit this site. It's not like the webmasters owe you anything. So, just get over it will ya? Now, let me apologize. I'm not usually one to write inflamatory comments, and this one will probably be moderated down as a Troll or something. I guess it's just that with the release of CS 1.0 I've been getting overloaded with complaints about the product while using the product. If you think it's so bad, then start going somewhere else or offer to help. Don't just complain about it, do something about it.


      --------------------------------------

      --

      If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.

    5. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by fmaxwell · · Score: 2
      "pretending to be actual editors or journalists"

      Maybe if you actually read something, you would recognize that errors and duplications occur in everything from the New York Times to, God forbid, web sites. Ever see a retraction in a newspaper?

      If you think that the people who run Slashdot are 'idiots', I have two questions for you:

      1. Why are you reading it (religiously, it appears)?

      2. Why are they millionaires?

      In closing, get a life. If you don't like Slashdot and the people who run it, don't read it. If you do read it, don't whine when you see a duplicate story. The rest of us would rather see the duplicate than see the duplicate plus you griping about it.

    6. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by ZNemesis · · Score: 2

      > Ever see a retraction in a newspaper?

      Actually, no. The corporate media have their heads so far up their ass that they'd rather lose money than admit they were wrong. The only time they will admit they are wrong is if they stand to lose popularity.
      -----------

      --
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      "I used to live in Real Life(TM), now I live in my computer"
    7. Re:Wouldn't it be nice if... by Roundeye · · Score: 1
      Yeah, but most of us aren't millionaires running high profile web logs, and pretending to be actual editors or journalists.

      Considering the number of stories (not many) that appear on /. even in a given year repeatedly reposting the same stories as news is merely incompetence.

      They've already got the tools in place to prevent this -- typing "atari" into your own site's search form is a small price to pay to prevent people from thinking you're a complete idiot (those who don't already). Of course keeping a list of links featured in stories with a simple script to check for duplicates shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes to write (although Malda and crew would apparently have to outsource the effort). They could of course contract with some high-powered consultants who could introduce them to the concept of a whiteboard or (heaven forbid) actual editorial processes.

      --
      "Cause there's 40 different shades of black, so many fortresses and ways to attack, so why you complainin'?"
  58. Re:I knew I saved those cartriges for a reason by Ondo · · Score: 1

    You can generally still buy Atari 2600 systems in classified ads. The Recycler offers free ads, mostly in the Los Angeles area, and typically has ads for a system or two each week, and collections of cartridges as well. So you may want to try looking for some local equivalent, or just use eBay.

  59. Cut them some slack! by OmegaDan · · Score: 1
    Hey cut them some slack ... immagine how many duplicates aren't getting thru ... then count yourself among the blessed.

    Then when your done, think about foxnews, CNN, MSNBC etc., and the fact that these stations can essentialy carry only one story for a week at a time ... OJ, Elian Gonzales (notice how many people give a shit about him now? .. the media manufactured their own crisis), Presedential elections... be VERY greatfull theres a slashdot at all OD

  60. Re:Worth a new Casio TFT TV? by TheRain · · Score: 1

    I agree.... I've been thinking a lot about how cool it would be to make a color handheld gaming system and make the directions available online... along with a set of open source API's and stuff. That would be sweet. But the one prob I've been finding is the expense of these displays.

    --
    Please help! I'm stuck inside my virtual reality headset!
  61. Read the blurb... by T.Hobbes · · Score: 1
    The guy who made it submitted the story, so it's a tad more understandable than most double-postings.

    1. Re:Read the blurb... by MicroBerto · · Score: 1

      Oh come on, he MUST have noticed that his server got slashdotted just a month ago for a reason!

      Mike Roberto
      - GAIM: MicroBerto

      --
      Berto
  62. Re:uh. no. by topheriffic · · Score: 1

    wasn.t trying to attack you, my poorly worded post was due to the fact that i am at work and rushed for time due to equipment malfunction...and, er, i think i.m still ahead in the CONSTRUCTION of the 2600 vcsP and behind in my post construction...

    --
    keep on shitting people...contribute to the cause and my job security...
  63. ok enough complaining by hackman · · Score: 1

    Stop griping. Instead of everyone complaining about how this is a "repost" and posting to that effect, just ignore it and keep reading. Some people may have missed it, you know? I must have missed because I was glad to see the story.

    That guy must be a masochist, the attention to detail on the first unit is pretty amazing. So he not only made it portable (with that cool 'clip style' 9v plug) but better quality video than the original. Bonus points on keeping the woodgrain style, etc.

    Ahh the days of Atari. Back when I could play Counterstrike whoops I mean Pitfall all night and not worry about the next day. Sigh. Back when I could rent a game for 2 nights and beat it. Long gone are those days, fortunately Grad school allows for a wild schedule.

    Thanks for the excellent revisit of part of my childhood.

    --
    __ No registration required to read this message. They did it in the Matrix.
  64. My Goodness by ipinkus · · Score: 1

    Wow! ...
    of all the people to dupe this story it had to be the CmdrTaco himself ?!
    /. must have been cracked again...

  65. w|-|0 c4r3z? g0 s33 goatse.cx n0w! qUb3r7 5eZ s0!! by Qubert+R.+Trollicus · · Score: 1

    uNF 3y3 r00l j00 4LL!!!!

  66. This has already been mentioned... by PotatoHead · · Score: 1

    Maybe a slashbug?

  67. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by lw54 · · Score: 1
    I'm not trying to be a troll. I swear.

    I wish I could say that they care. I really do. I really enjoy slashdot, but all in all, I don't feel like they care anymore.

    However, you can always email malda@slashdot.org with your comments. Eventually, something will get past his filters. ;-)

  68. re-post, re-post, re-post by FSK · · Score: 1

    I usually cut /. a lot of slack because of the amount of stories they cover, but this is getting out of hand. I'm starting to wonder if the people running /. are actually reading ./

    --
    When punk rock is outlawed, only outlaws will have punk rock.
  69. whats the big deal? by Milkyman · · Score: 1

    so the story got repeated does it hurt THAT MUCH?

  70. I knew I saved those cartriges for a reason by 1nt3lx · · Score: 1

    This is awesome. I have ~70 atari carts sitting in a drawer. The old system died a few years ago but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. Contrary, I also couldn't give the time to open it up and fix it. I guess if I can't find the time to fix the system then I won't find the time to buy/build one of these.

    Of course the marketing jugernaught of The Open Source Developers Network could sponsor a "win a Slashdot Portable Atari 2600." contest.

    There is no spoon.

  71. Re:Worth a new Casio TFT TV? by shyster · · Score: 1

    I've seen 4 inch LCDs (LCD with just a circuit board) for about $100 when I was looking at solutions for an car MP3 player-I was thinking of mounting one in my steering wheel for WinAmp visuals. Then my wife pointed out that it may be a bit distracting. =) A quick check on FleaBay shows used ones for about $50-$70 or so.

  72. Old Nintendo pads by LiENUS · · Score: 1

    one thing the author did was to use an old nintendo pad for the contacts on his controller i bed what he could have done is taken apart an old keyboard and cut up the rubber that is on the keyboard, it has contacts like that on its rubber probably would have been better than his tinfoil hack. just a thought... to bad i dont have an atari to try this out with i already have a keyboard taken apart with a few of those internet button style keys that i could rip off for this.

  73. Re:Worth a new Casio TFT TV? by shyster · · Score: 1

    I've seen 4 inch LCDs (LCD with just a circuit board) for about $100 when I was looking at solutions for an car MP3 player-I was thinking of mounting one in my steering wheel for WinAmp visuals. Then my wife pointed out that it may be a bit distracting. =)
    A quick check on FleaBay shows used ones for about $50-$70 or so.

  74. At Least The Reruns Are Good Ones by flyneye · · Score: 1

    some things just slip your mind
    i love hardware hacks and this is
    a good one.

    --
    *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  75. Playing time? by HerrNewton · · Score: 1

    Anyone have any idea how long you could actually play the thing before it dies? The screen is run off a separate power supply, presumably the same as when it was still a portable TV.

    But the Atari itself seems to run off of a single 9V battery.

    ----

    --

    ----
    Am I the only one who thinks Microsoft is a misnomer? Perhaps Macrosoft would be a better fit?
  76. Milling machines? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The site doesn't discuss how the case was actually manufactured other than to say something about the "computerized router" that he used. Does anyone have any information on small computerized milling machines that are inexpensive enough to obtain for hobby use? The ability to work with plastic and aluminum would be a big plus... Something I could use to repackage things like my mouse or keyboard shell or create wild tape dispensers... etc.

  77. Potimeter? by PhoenxHwk · · Score: 1

    Anyone ever heard of a potimeter? We should inform him that its a potentiometer.

    1. Re:Potimeter? by enrico_suave · · Score: 1

      actually I think it is some sort of canibus measurment utility....

      "no way that is a dime bag man..."

      "look the potimeter says so."

      E.

      --
      Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
  78. Why bother? by Mr.+Piccolo · · Score: 1

    Mine still works perfectly well modulo a touchy cartrige slot. Why would I want to hack it apart when it's worth more in its original unmodified form?

    --
    Glückwünsche, haben Sie Slashdot ermordet, indem Sie zum korporativen Druck beugten und Subskriptionen einlei
  79. Just another reason to open the story submissions by _xeno_ · · Score: 4

    We all know by now this is a repeat. Oops, they messed up. Since I really don't have anything to say about the story (other than "that's kinda cool") since I don't now, and never did, own an Atari, I want to instead comment on how they might prevent repeats like this.

    Open the submission queue! I have to wonder why they don't do it yet. Given that many people instantly saw this as a repeat (I didn't, missed that day), you'd think allowing them to moderate/comment on the story while in the queue would help...

    From the FAQ answer as to "How about a page for rejected or pending story submissions?":

    Abuse is much worse. We get hundreds of submissions a day: we don't need more submissions, we need better ones. A public forum that gets the kind of traffic we get tends to be abused (like, say, the Slashdot comments for example). We don't want to be deleting "First Posts" and "Natalie Portman" type trolls and spams from the submission bin: we're busy enough as is.

    If you want to prevent worse stories, then open up the queue! That way people will be able to see how the community acts to their writing, and might actually get useful feedback. Since I have no way of judging whether a story is "good" or not, I have no way of knowing how to make a "better submission." The only other problem I can think of is repeats in the story queue.

    You wanna know why you get so many repeats? I'd love to be able to go through the submitted stories and see if I'm sending in a repeat. But I can't! The only way I know I was being redundent is either after someone else's story was accepted. If they decide not to run a story, I never do! Let's say they decide not to run some piece that a hundred people think they should submit. Well... those hundred people can't see that they're all getting rejected, so in they come!

    Appropriateness From there, we move to the many stories that are submitted which are very wrong for Slashdot. They are horribly off topic, or offensive, or just plain scary. Obituaries for people that aren't dead? Rants about events that never occurred? Random Conspiracy Theories? Bug reports? Feature requests? I don't want to propagate this stuff, and I'm afraid that another public forum for them would only make the problem worse. There is some stuff submitted that would make for a very interesting page, and maybe someday we'll implement that. But as it stands, the overhead and the potential for abuse is so high that we don't want to mess with it.

    Yet again, he's missing the oppertunity. Sure, people will abuse it - but having hundreds of people going over to verify is better than just the few active authors. (How many are there? 10 to 20?) If you're really that constrained on time, then think please - you don't need to make this take more time - it can actually take less! Think about it as outsourcing the story submissions - the editors still choose what goes on the front page, but the readers can help by "moderating" the stories, allowing the editors to spend less time in the story queue - not more.

    Yes, this is offtopic, but it should be addressed at some point. I know why CmdrTaco says he doesn't want to do it, and I just personally disagree. Since most of the thread is currently talking about how this is a repeat, I though trying to offer constructive critism might actually help.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
  80. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by /dev/kev · · Score: 4

    What about a nice middle ground, where moderators get access to the submission queue? Then give them a few 'submission points' to use there (as well as their standard 5 mod points), and let them work their magic?

    This should stop junk/troll submissions, since not all of /. sees the queue, but it should also help the truly good, non-repeat stories float to the top of the queue, where the /. guys can then deal with them better/easier.

    Imagine being a 'submission moderator' for a few days with a few points, and being able to mark things as '-1 Repeat' or '+1 Geeky'... Hell, I'd love to be able to correct the grammar/spelling in some of the submissions! :)

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
  81. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by stinkbomb · · Score: 1

    You're all a bunch of anal rape victims standing around wondering how this could have happened.
    Well duh!
    How many people read and contribute to slash fucking dot?
    Like it really fucking matters if a story shows up once or a dozen times.
    It's exactly this kind of picky 'no, I said coffee enema, damnit' bullshit that will rapidly kill off slashdot. Are you all so wrapped up in the karmic celebrity of moderation that you can't get excited about something totally cool like this?
    God, you people make me sick.

  82. Re:hahaha by Felinoid · · Score: 1

    of course...
    Everyone knows the y2k bug distoryed civilisation as we know in on January 1 1999

    Reminds me of all the people who walked around with T shirts saying 1-1-00
    I don't see those anymore...

    --
    I don't actually exist.
  83. Selling them? I don't see how. by Rahga · · Score: 2

    If I remember my "Ancient History of America" class, teenagers in 1987, upon the receipt of Super Mario Brothers II (which in reality was not originally a Mario game but was a game called Doki Doki Panic for the famicom disk system (disk image name: yumekojo.fds ) that featured arabian characters instead of the mushroom planet people) were so enamored raw power of the 2-mhz, 4kb machine that they ran into the street to publicly burn their Atari cartridges, vowing never to be seduced by crappy graphics and gameplay again. Collections like my 76 carts are rare these days.
    Of course, to play any of the classics, just get an emulator and down all 6 or 7-hundred roms from classicgaming.com . However, you only need one game. Combat. Combat revolutionized 2-player gaming (not an easy task considering it's predecessors like pong.... and.... uhm.... super video pong) and has not been surpased yet. Ever. Combat is, no conest, the greatest game of all time. Combat rocks. Period. End of Story. Hundreds of hours of fun at your local frat house. Play it today, or you will die an empty man.

    1. Re:Selling them? I don't see how. by cheekymonkey_68 · · Score: 1

      Combat is, no conest, the greatest game of all time

      Whilst Combat is undeniably THE original game in its genre I would argue that Worms is a worthy sucessor to Combat.

      You never got to use killer grannies, holy hand grenades and exploding sheep as weapons when playing combat.


  84. I agree with you 1000% by Tom7 · · Score: 1


    At least a preferences checkbox [ ] Filter out repeat stories. ;)

  85. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by zBoD · · Score: 1

    Since there is a way to give your opinion in that forum, I don't think it's so stupid to do so.
    Of course, the owner of this site does what he wants, but if I want to tell him what I think is better, I just tell him, and -sorry- I won't "sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up".
    Because I have better to do :)

    --
    BoD
  86. Virgin Connect Atari 2600 Conversion by slashpot · · Score: 1

    Now I know what to do with that recently acquired virgin connect computer sitting in my apartment.... Imagine ripping the guts out of that thing, hardware hacking a 2600jr into it, powering with longlife rechargeable camcorder battery, spurcing it up with a woodgrain makeover...complete it out with ports to plug in the real atari joysticks (man, I love those joysticks....) Definite Christmas Vacation project... anyone want to help me figure out how to do this ? :)

  87. slashdot recycle time by rhet · · Score: 2

    Hmm... now we're posting stuff that's not even two months old... Here's an idea for a study: how does the "slashdot effect" change when we repost a story? How 'bout when we repost it three, four times? How does the "effect" vary with the Time Between Posts (TBP)? This would be an interesting study on the "collective memory" of an online community. Now, where can I find a bored grad student to thrust this on?

  88. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by RestiffBard · · Score: 1

    perhaps we should just create a section devoted to people bitching about slashdot. get a life man this is robs site. he does as he pleases. i personally think thats damn skippy. rob if you want to make the page into a 24hr anus cam you go right on ahead and do it. damn folks shut up. I am so frickin tired of hearing it. i would skip it but its impossible cause usually somewhere in a post that i really want to read up on are your damn comments hogging up all the space. shut up! shut up! shut up! hows about this. GO MAKE YOUR OWN GODDAMN WEBPAGE AND SIT THE FUCK DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP. sorry about the language kids and the caps but I'm a little upset. i'll go take my pills now.

    --
    - /* dead coders leave no comments */
  89. Atari 2600 by gitgat · · Score: 1

    I always thought the 2600 pretty much sucked. Now if you're talking Commadore 64 as a gaming platform, walking around, playing Loderunner, that would be cool. Got about 30 or 40 C64 floppies in a shoebox.

  90. News In, Garbage Out by Trilobyte · · Score: 1

    Set to a threshold of +3, all visible comments on this news item
    are off-topic bickerings about Slashdot policy.

    I suppose this is because the news item is a "repeat", so Slashdot
    readers use this article's Comment section as a forum for debate.

    But, well, shucks!

    I had simply been hoping I would find some quality (read: +3) discussion
    of the article at hand!

  91. Re:small screen by po_boy · · Score: 2

    How can the fifth post of an article be moderated as "Redundant"? When I began composing this post, there were no other comments on the article at all. Think a little bit, please moderators.

  92. This article was posted earlier!! by Doodhwala · · Score: 1

    Go look at this earlier article on slashdot -Handheld Atari 2600 VCSp and you will see that this was posted on Sept 22nd by Hemos.

    I really wish duplicate posting wouldn't happen but I guess with Slashdot's current size, its hard to avoid.

  93. hahaha by The_Messenger · · Score: 1
    Taco hasn't seen anything that cool in months? Yeah, two months sounds about right. :-) Between his spelling and his memory, I bet he qualifies for crippy plates by now.


    All generalizations are false.

    --

    --
    I like to watch.

  94. Save ROM's to flash? by MikeFM · · Score: 2

    Couldn't you do like an MP3 player and rip the carts to files and then have it able to upload those images to flash memory on the unit and thus save a shit load of space and having to carry carts? You don't really even need to have a PC for this. Just give the unit a way to plug into the cart-upload unit and manage the carts you have uploaded w/ some simple interface like the savegame manager on the PSX. It could be quite interesting.

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  95. Re:Just another reason to open the story submissio by gmhowell · · Score: 2

    Not sure how the contracts were written, but I don't think /. belongs to CT anymore.

    BTW, not trying to troll, but: what the heck does he do all day? Submissions don't seem to be cleaned up (links corrected, speling, grammar, etc.) and while it might take a while to check out 500 submissions, does it really take that long when your office has a T-1/OC-3/something-much-faster-than-my-dial-up.

    BTW, I could be wrong about the length of time taken, or what clean up of submissions occurs. But when CT's favorite refrain is "we don't have time", it sounds a bit like an excuse from the days when he was still studying for exams. I'm just curious. How about a /. feature entitled "A Day in the Life of CT"?

    --
    Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon