pixelmischief

Has the community settled on what the colors are for the Atari 8-Bit computer line's cases? In particular, I need XL and XE colors; grey, brown, and cream of some sorts.

So, if I understand you, I have to find an HD FDD that has this sense ability to use in an XF551?

I'm going with the Bob Woolley solution. If the solution was about speed, I'd just use an SIO2SD. The tactile feel of the floppy and the beep-beep-beep-patter of disk activity are the things I love. 😃

Excellent! I am working on a super-cool project. I won't spoil it yet, but I'll definitely post the results when it's done.

Can I use a high-density 3.5" floppy drive on a ROM-upgraded XF551? I understand that I won't be able to use high-density floppies, as such, but will the drive function with the XF551?

Thanks, Sugar!

Is it ok?

What? Developing software on my whim and for my approval is not your life's highest calling?

@flashjazzcat Is there a Last Calc in our future? 😃 Perhaps the Last Suite?

Is there an 80-column spreadsheet or database-ish on A8?

Are Syncalc and GT Data Manager compatible with VBXE? I mean, will I get 80 columns there as well?

Which has better compatibility, the software 80-column via the SDX driver or the hardware 80-column via the VBXE?

I'm trying to get my hands on a Mega ST 2/4 case. I don't need a working system and wouldn't want to cannibalize one. If you have, however, a Mega with a decent case that is otherwise not working, I'll take it off your hands. Obviously, an empty case would be the best option. Please PM me with price and picture.

...and then flashjazzcat politely reminded me, as others had tried, that it was, in fact and indeed, a bad idea. I shall leave the 1200XL as it was and simply apply the appropriate upgrades. Uncharacteristically, I have recognized and submitted to better advice. Somehow, I think my parent might finally be proud.

Does the 600XL have the smallest PCB of any of the original Atari 8-bits? Will the keyboard on the 1200XL plug directly into a 600XL PCB and work as expected?

Of course. How unobservant of me.

OK, so smallest and newest. Not PBI, but ECI. 65XE? Will the keyboard connect to a 65XE board?

Thank you for the information. I will, however, go ahead with my current plan. Do you have anything to offer in the way of assistance doing what I am planning to do?

The rarity and, therefore value of a 1200XL does not escape me. I won't destroy the board and will make minimal changes to the case, if it makes everyone feel a little better. A 130XE, of course, doesn't have enough room for what I have planned. Finally, I love the XL styling and the 1200XL has a wonderful keyboard.

It's a good question. The reason I chose the route I described is that I intend to install other components in the case, including an IDE device on the PBI, an SIO port replicator, and a WiFi adapter.

Is this possible? Also, is there a good reason to use one of the possibilities over the other? I am thinking to use the 600XL due to the smaller size. I also intend to install a VBXE and a PBI device on whichever I choose. Do those effect the choice?

I had a VBXE and the 80-column was gorgeous. How is the software 80-column through the Sophia? How is compatibility? Haven't tried it yet.

Is it possible to combine the Sophia WITH the VBXE to enjoy the additional video power AND the digital output, at the same time?

As a rule - as a safeguard against the manifestation of my own character flaws - I DO NOT pile on. When I see a person drowning in a sea of detractors, I immediately sense both the urge to join in the revelry and the opportunity to train myself against that impulse. However, in this case, I think there is also an outsider perspective; a "buyer beware" angle that matters. I noticed "Laird's Lair" on YouTube about a year ago and immediately subscribed. The quality of the work was gritty and unrefined in a way that I often mistake for also being authentic; and I wanted to support it for that reason. Another thing that I liked about his videos - and this gets to the point - was that he was talking about vintage prototypes and insider experiences that NO ONE else was. Retro Recipes, Retro Man Cave, Modern Vintage Gamer, 8-But Guy, etcetera, etcetera, all cover essentially the same limited number and variety of things and they all do it in their own way. But "Laird" seemed to have the inside scoop about things and people that others simply did not. I ignored the hard-hearted review content and focused on the historical game and computing content; of which his exclusive experience with, and access to, seemed...incredible. Funny word, that. In-Credible. We use it now to be something akin to astounding, amazing, even excellent. But as I look back, "In-Credible" was, in fact, what it was; not credible. So many were the subjects he covered that even the best out there didn't - producers with production qualities I was sure also meant qualities of access and research - that I started looking for answers to why it was the case. It didn't take long for me to learn that that much of "Laird's" work was utter bollocks. I found some cases of prototypes painted into existence using Photoshop, and other cases of interview text having been taken verbatim from others' work. Needless to say, I unsubscribed and moved on with my life. Let it be said again. If a thing appears, to you, too good to be true, then it is probably...the work of a self-absorbed, two-faced, possibly-schizophrenic, almost-certainly-pathologically-lying man child; with a previously delusional, but now wholly self-fulfilled, persecution complex. Damn. I piled on after all.

In the meantime, I mapped a key in Altirra to File.QuickLoad and I'm just reloading the state at an empty editor.