For me, they'll always be the firm that produced incredible Atari 800 games, Ballblazer, Behind Jedi Lines and The Eidelon. Fractal games in 1982, Hell yeah!
I remember seeing this for the Atari ST back in the day but was put off by the price back then as istr it coming with full manuals and support but at a price. Amazed it's still going.
I had a Minidisc player (still do actually) and it was pretty good for what it did. However, I also had a Sony CD Walkan that played CDs recorded in ATRAC as a way to pack more on. The player has long since gone and when I went to play the CDs back on my PC to get the music back off them (original sources no longer available) it turns out they will only play back on the original PC that recorded them. WTF? I have the original Sony software that was used to create and previously play the CDs but now I have a different PC, no dice. If anyone knows of a DRM stripper for ATRAC CDs, I'd be very grateful. One of the CDs has a recording of a deceased friend and the original cassette has gone.
Kind of... Atari signed up Amiga to design a chipset for them - the Amiga chipset is basically the 800 with bells and whistles, architecturally it's very similar - not surprising since both were Jay Miner designs. CBM started to court Amiga and Amiga returned the cash Atari had paid them before being bought up. Atari then had to rush out the ST from scratch in 6 months to fill the gap.
head over to Amazon and pick up this incredible new book on Atari - Atari Inc. Business is Fun
Hi Curt;-)
This is a good book though. Halfway through it myself. If you have a remote interest in Atari, it's a goldmine of info, background and nuggets that hadn't seen the light of day before. Just ignore the typos. Great pics too.
Atari choose a very vertical market - hobby consumer oriented
Not so much in Europe. The ST/TT (more TT) was marketed quite aggressively to business - look at the DTP bundle of Mega ST, laser printer and software that was done. A lot of very high end software came out of Germany and elsewhere to support this. I can't find the numbers now but at one point Atari was the number 3 seller of 'business computers' in Europe, around 1988-89.
I think the disastrous purchase of the Federated store chain in the US was what finally did them . Prior to that, Tramiel had paid off the debt, sold a shit ton of STs etc in Europe and made Atari cash rich. They couldn't get into US shops though so bought Federated at an inflated price only to discover the books had been cooked. It took 2 years of management to sort out and at the end they'd lost most of the money and slipped back in Europe having taken their eye off the R&D ball and never recovered in the computer arena. They went to the Jaguar as a last ditch attempt at returning to their roots but it was too late..
Can't see why this is modded down. I'd say it's spot on. Apple tend to come late to every party but learn the lessons from those that came before. Before all the fanboys jump in with the hate, yes, Apple do sometimes get nearer the front if not actually at the fron of the pack but usually, those products fail.
Jesus you lot, give me a break. I'm recalling stories I was told when I was about 11 or 12 and I'm nearly 50 now. Yes, it probably was speed tape, yes it was probably not avgas, yes it poured off the trailing edges not the wings. Don't forget the typo too. I just wanted to pass on some stories I found fun as a kid. Really, really sorry. OK?
A note about the tape, too: of course that's only good if the skin is damaged. The frame is the important part, the skin just flows the air around the frame.
Alegendly it was about 4 feet of damaged area. Can't ask him now, he died a few years ago,
Back in the day my friend's dad used to fly 707's (yes, it's a very old story) and whilst taxiing, they managed to gouge a chunk out a wing. This was at a US airport. They needed to get the plane to Australia to get the replacement wing so they moved the plane somewhere quiet at the airport and duct taped up the wing. They were told to be careful no one saw what they were up to. They then had to take off at night when it was quiet so no one could spot the bodged up wing. .
My friend's dad was good at that sort of thing. Another time he lost 2 of the 4 engines flying over the UK and was told to dump most of his av-gas to lighten the load so he could land in France for repairs. That involved opening valves that let the gas pour out over the wings. It was bad enough he dumped most of his fuel over a populated area (nice, greasy, thanks mate) but he also had to do it in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. He got struck twice whilst doing the dumping. Amazingly, he and the plane survived to fight another day,
I'm guessing you're in the US where the role of unions seems a little more unhelpful. I get the impression over there they're all about protecting lazyness and wierd working practices. Elsewhere, they tend to do rather more good, working more constructively with employers and employees.
A spokesman for Boeing said they were "absolutely confident in the reliability and performance of the 787,"
Why do they ever bother with these quotes - what else are they expected to say? As Mandy Rice Davies once said when asked to comment about a Lord denying he had anything to do with her, "Well, he would, wouldn't he"
>And The EU has no authority over what google.com does, since its not based in the EU
Alas that sort of thinking doesn't stop the US trying to do the same thing and enforce its laws all over the globe.
I'm sure lots of companies had interesting designs and prototypes and based on this article, I'd say Atari had more interesting and forward thinking projects at that time. I'm just reading the new book on Atari's early history and there were some amazing things being worked on. Alas, almost none saw the light of day.
You're not wrong but we did try to ensure this didn't happen by having the passwords in sealed envelopes in the safe. We also ensured any key people moving on did a KT session to ensure other people knew how it all worked plus we documented it all as much as possible.
That said, as soon as the one manager who was switched on left (and I'd gone by then) it all went downhill rapidly and within a year all the systems had fallen into disuse and/or been replaced by massively more expensive ones.
I find it quite depressing how little firms use macros etc. Many years ago we had a Lotus 123 system that read in a text file of account transactions from a mainframe then scanned each one, pulling in custom pricing for each client via additional sheets, formatting and printing a bill for each one with breakdown before issuing a charging schedule. Worked great for 2000 plus clients a month. With Excel and Word plus macros we built some very sophisticated and functional pricing tools and even a tool that optimized cash collection routes for a security firm. These days, people don't even know macros exist.
It does seem a strange choice of wording. Given that Lego resisted producing green bricks for years to stop kids making tanks etc, I'm not sure they'd be best pleased.
Slashdot Mirror
And James Herbert last month.
For me, they'll always be the firm that produced incredible Atari 800 games, Ballblazer, Behind Jedi Lines and The Eidelon. Fractal games in 1982, Hell yeah!
Just watch her TED presentation. Pretty much covers it all.
Exactly. WTF, just WTF. Don't people even know what dimensions are anymore?
I remember seeing this for the Atari ST back in the day but was put off by the price back then as istr it coming with full manuals and support but at a price. Amazed it's still going.
Just Saying... Seriously though, this is pretty awesome.
I had a Minidisc player (still do actually) and it was pretty good for what it did. However, I also had a Sony CD Walkan that played CDs recorded in ATRAC as a way to pack more on. The player has long since gone and when I went to play the CDs back on my PC to get the music back off them (original sources no longer available) it turns out they will only play back on the original PC that recorded them. WTF? I have the original Sony software that was used to create and previously play the CDs but now I have a different PC, no dice. If anyone knows of a DRM stripper for ATRAC CDs, I'd be very grateful. One of the CDs has a recording of a deceased friend and the original cassette has gone.
Kind of... Atari signed up Amiga to design a chipset for them - the Amiga chipset is basically the 800 with bells and whistles, architecturally it's very similar - not surprising since both were Jay Miner designs. CBM started to court Amiga and Amiga returned the cash Atari had paid them before being bought up. Atari then had to rush out the ST from scratch in 6 months to fill the gap.
Hi Curt ;-)
This is a good book though. Halfway through it myself. If you have a remote interest in Atari, it's a goldmine of info, background and nuggets that hadn't seen the light of day before. Just ignore the typos. Great pics too.
Not so much in Europe. The ST/TT (more TT) was marketed quite aggressively to business - look at the DTP bundle of Mega ST, laser printer and software that was done. A lot of very high end software came out of Germany and elsewhere to support this. I can't find the numbers now but at one point Atari was the number 3 seller of 'business computers' in Europe, around 1988-89.
I think the disastrous purchase of the Federated store chain in the US was what finally did them . Prior to that, Tramiel had paid off the debt, sold a shit ton of STs etc in Europe and made Atari cash rich. They couldn't get into US shops though so bought Federated at an inflated price only to discover the books had been cooked. It took 2 years of management to sort out and at the end they'd lost most of the money and slipped back in Europe having taken their eye off the R&D ball and never recovered in the computer arena. They went to the Jaguar as a last ditch attempt at returning to their roots but it was too late..
Can't see why this is modded down. I'd say it's spot on. Apple tend to come late to every party but learn the lessons from those that came before. Before all the fanboys jump in with the hate, yes, Apple do sometimes get nearer the front if not actually at the fron of the pack but usually, those products fail.
Jesus you lot, give me a break. I'm recalling stories I was told when I was about 11 or 12 and I'm nearly 50 now. Yes, it probably was speed tape, yes it was probably not avgas, yes it poured off the trailing edges not the wings. Don't forget the typo too. I just wanted to pass on some stories I found fun as a kid. Really, really sorry. OK?
Alegendly it was about 4 feet of damaged area. Can't ask him now, he died a few years ago,
Fair enough but what's all the greasy residue you get all over your house, car etc if you live near an airport? General exhaust gunk?
Back in the day my friend's dad used to fly 707's (yes, it's a very old story) and whilst taxiing, they managed to gouge a chunk out a wing. This was at a US airport. They needed to get the plane to Australia to get the replacement wing so they moved the plane somewhere quiet at the airport and duct taped up the wing. They were told to be careful no one saw what they were up to. They then had to take off at night when it was quiet so no one could spot the bodged up wing.
.
My friend's dad was good at that sort of thing. Another time he lost 2 of the 4 engines flying over the UK and was told to dump most of his av-gas to lighten the load so he could land in France for repairs. That involved opening valves that let the gas pour out over the wings. It was bad enough he dumped most of his fuel over a populated area (nice, greasy, thanks mate) but he also had to do it in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. He got struck twice whilst doing the dumping. Amazingly, he and the plane survived to fight another day,
I'm guessing you're in the US where the role of unions seems a little more unhelpful. I get the impression over there they're all about protecting lazyness and wierd working practices. Elsewhere, they tend to do rather more good, working more constructively with employers and employees.
Why do they ever bother with these quotes - what else are they expected to say? As Mandy Rice Davies once said when asked to comment about a Lord denying he had anything to do with her, "Well, he would, wouldn't he"
>And The EU has no authority over what google.com does, since its not based in the EU Alas that sort of thinking doesn't stop the US trying to do the same thing and enforce its laws all over the globe.
Well I'm still holding out for a really good 80 column card for my Atari 800
I'm sure lots of companies had interesting designs and prototypes and based on this article, I'd say Atari had more interesting and forward thinking projects at that time. I'm just reading the new book on Atari's early history and there were some amazing things being worked on. Alas, almost none saw the light of day.
You're not wrong but we did try to ensure this didn't happen by having the passwords in sealed envelopes in the safe. We also ensured any key people moving on did a KT session to ensure other people knew how it all worked plus we documented it all as much as possible. That said, as soon as the one manager who was switched on left (and I'd gone by then) it all went downhill rapidly and within a year all the systems had fallen into disuse and/or been replaced by massively more expensive ones.
I find it quite depressing how little firms use macros etc. Many years ago we had a Lotus 123 system that read in a text file of account transactions from a mainframe then scanned each one, pulling in custom pricing for each client via additional sheets, formatting and printing a bill for each one with breakdown before issuing a charging schedule. Worked great for 2000 plus clients a month. With Excel and Word plus macros we built some very sophisticated and functional pricing tools and even a tool that optimized cash collection routes for a security firm. These days, people don't even know macros exist.
It was bricks they were avoiding in green. Obviously you could still make war machines. I used to make tanks, battleships, aircraft and guns
It does seem a strange choice of wording. Given that Lego resisted producing green bricks for years to stop kids making tanks etc, I'm not sure they'd be best pleased.