AtariMusicNet

It all depends on what you want to do with the machine, play games, write essays, write music or a combination of things. There are plenty of ST users with FTP sites full of software and plenty of coders still pushing the hardware, so first thing you need to decide is what do you want to do next?

The original lynx was a painted plastic cover and the paint could be removed to reveal the smooth plastic underneath. Also as a result the button legends would also come off! Some people removed the paint so that had a more personalised lynx, some also did it after the paint became chipped to stop the machine looming tatty, so what you probably have is a regular lynx with he paint peeled off.

My oldest mac is the PowerMac 5500 and has it's tv card built in so I can even plug classic consoles and computers into it. Cost me a huge 99p on eBay and even plays 680x0 based games pretty well. Best buy I made last year

Remember that when the ST was in development, windows 1 was not ready for release on any platform, and when it was released was a rather poor dos shell which could only tole it's windows! Gem was a far better alternative right up to windows 3.x where there was a technical similarity and functionality, and was the point when windows was started to be taken seriously by the world. If you have ever had the misfortune to use windows 1, you would wonder how Microsoft ever managed to become dominant in anything! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd have a look at the tracks on the keyboard itself and look for any that appear broken. Some keyboards are prone to things like that with age. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@darklord, last time I spoke to Barrie at keychange, he had a Stacy in bits and the screen was still intact. Have you tried contacting him at all? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was an idea like this being proposed over at the atari forum a few months back, but this would have been for older 40 pin shifters only. I've got at least 1 of every ST type released (ST, ST+, STfm, STe etc) and would be interested in something for the mega STe that allowed switchable colour and mono out to VGA and also something similar for STe and the regular ST series. Soldering is an issue for me these days but I know people who could help with that, so not really an issue and as for monitors, I'd be accessing a number of different types including CRT, square LCD and wide LCD. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ooh, 12 computers and 2 lynx devices here. I went mad collecting when was a consultant and ended up with: 260ST 520ST+ 520STm 520STfm Mega ST 2 Stacy 520STe ST Book Mega STe TT030 Falcon030 (normal falcon colouring) Falcon030 (in ST coloured case and keyboard) Lynx mk1 Lynx mk2 Oh and a megafile 44 Most in working order though the ST book needs a little care and attention Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember this coming out. I was working in retail at the tome in a chain selling computers, games and accessories and on the ST the visuals were stunning when planets were blown up and the hyperspace routines. I had a copy of the game up to my divorce 4 years ago and sadly it was lost, but I always enjoyed loading it up and having a play, years after it's release. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just found this: http://www.webhostingstuff.com/uptime/250Hostcom.html Scroll a little further down for monthly stats, December was bad but January is just marked as offline.

Thanks for the offer but hosting is sorted (go to www.Atari-forum.com for details of the story so far). It's been a nightmare, I was given admin privileges from 4th December and after sorting out some decent cloud based storage, wrote scripts ready to start automatically harvesting backups - first one cron'd up for NYE when I envisaged little usage. Of course the site died on 27th December... Gutted! Well good thing that the hosting is sorted, shame it died on the 27th though. This is the first I've found out about it all as we've been offline while the new broadband was put in, then I've been concentrating on both AMN and getting my personal website back online after a major change. Still, I do hope its all back online soon, it's such a great resource.

The actual hardware is the same when you get down to the basics of it, in theory you could wire a Stacy keyboard to a Mega STe, but would you really want to bother? It could be the cable or a slight issue with the plug not making a good contact in the socket. It should work fine, though remember that the keyboard was 'semi intelligent' and had its own dedicated processor, so the setting in that could also have something to do with it. My TT has a Meta STe keyboard with it, my Mega STe also has a Mega STe keyboard and my Mega ST has a Mega ST keyboard, but other than one of the Mega STe keyboards being American and the other 2 UK, I have no issue swapping and changing between them.

EEEK, what a terrible situation to be in. Since taking over AMN I have been paranoid with backups of both databases and online files. Databases are backed up every couple of days and file backups of the entire site at least once a week (At least now I'm back online after moving house). I'd initially go option 3 because it could be made live if it looks like the old providers are long gone and not coming back, or at least the site is not coming back. If need be I can provide databases and space to bring it online, though it would be easier and less messy at my personal site rather than AMN (Which already has a forum structure and files in place). Offer is there is needed.

First off, sorry for taking this long to provide an explanation but I can tell you that Donovan is alive and well and starting to look at doing some new projects in the future. As you may have guessed I'm not Donovan. I'm the new site owner and admin Malcolm Ramage and if you have been to the site recently you will have seen my forum name on there a lot, and my name alongside many of the newer articles on there. Donovan created a community that genuinely cared when the site went offline and with the recent completion of the change of ownership, I finally saw just how far he had gone in trying to reach the Atari and chiptune communities in the number of forums actually joined. Since bringing the site back online, new albums have been uploaded along with some new software and new articles. I have every intention of carrying on with what Donovan started and the community around the site created. New twitter, facebook and email accounts have been created, all of which are directly tied to the site, especially the email accounts. If you want to ask me anything directly, please feel free to get in touch, my email accounts are either [email protected] or [email protected]

Updates! The Atari Music Network has launched a new music sharing service for chiptune and MIDI musicians! See below: "Introducing AMN Live! AMN Live! is a free, professionally designed music sharing service for all chiptune and vintage MIDI musicians to promote their music more effectively than ever before! Within minutes, you can create a profile and begin adding your songs or albums for other members to listen, rate and comment on. You can include cover art, profile pics, videos, and discography data as well as written reviews, lyrics and chords for every song you add! You can even associate your music with other registered artists for cross-promotion and collaborative projects. If that wasn't enough, you can publish personalized playlists of your favorite songs so others can discover your tunes quickly and organically. With AMN Live! there are countless ways to get your music heard and appreciated! That's why AMN Live! integrates social bookmarking and network sharing with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and many other major sites. There's also SEO tools to help you tag and define your music so search engines can index and rank your content higher. Even though the service is free, the Atari Music Network is the only chiptune and vintage MIDI community that pays out of pocket for Facebook and Google ads – so your music has a much better chance of getting noticed! You don't have to be an Atari user to join either! The Atari Music Network welcomes chiptune and MIDI musicians from the Commodore, Amiga, Spectrum, Nintendo, PC, and Mac communities!" Visit the Atari Music Network

From sequencing Tangerine Dream concerts in the 80's to tearing up the dance floors at the 2010 Blip Fest, Atari's reputation as a music monster machine has persisted for a quarter of a century. The secret behind its success is clear: Atari was perfect from the beginning – it didn't need to change. For MIDI enthusiasts, the Atari was and still is the ultimate bridge between man, music, and machine. For chip musicians, the Atari's untapped, sonic color palette has yet to fill the canvas of 8-bit pop. The Atari Music Network strives to be at the forefront of the Vintage Digital Music Revolution. The Atari Music Network (AMN) aims to: • Stimulate social networking between Atari musicians and developers on AMN's ♫ Official Forum, Facebook Group, and Twitter. • Encourage Atari developers to update, market, and resell ex-commercial Atari software or release it into the public domain. • Provide free promotion and dedicated profile pages for muscians and devlopers to promote their albums, events, and news. • Advocate and sponsor Atari based musicians in the 8-bit music scene. • Catalog and review all known Atari music software and hardware • Collect and offer hard to find Atari warez (abandoneware only). • Collect and offer sysex sound banks and software utilities for MIDI synths. • Provide automated worldwide Ebay power searches for popular Atari products.