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carmel_andrews

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Posts posted by carmel_andrews

  2. Posted · Edited by carmel_andrews

    We already have software which propagates from one disk to another and turns the A8 into a useless brick: MyDOS. :D

     

     

     

     

     

    mmmmm.Don't you mean SPARTADROS!!!!!

     

     

    As for A8 and virus's, how about the tramiels or commodore, two of the A8's biggest virus's

    • Like 1

  4. Posted · Edited by carmel_andrews

    Mr Gunstar...you sure that is just an ST and not an FM....case looks a bit big for an orig ST (1st pic)

     

    Have you tried Quantum Paint (or whatever it was called) I think some brit. s/w house did it (Eidersoft or sommat like that)...I think it was the first ST gfx program to emulate the amiga colour pallete, probably using some Vblank trickery

  7. Posted

    Hey I saw that too (in the window), When CEX was still in that little side-street getting there from Tottenhamcourt Road, did it have that high a price tag? I remember seeing some paper tape (rolls) with that Altair. For UK it was a very rare item indeed, even back in the 90s.

    Later CEX moved to Oxford Street, I remember having to go down the stairs for the Retro stuff.

    Are they still around?

     

     

     

     

     

     

    If i recall correctly it was around about if not slightly more then 3K, all I remember is the strapline they had underneath it 'The first machine to run MS software')

  9. Posted

    I will wait till one shows up at CEX or gamestation/game (a second hand games shop)....just so I don't have to pay through the nose for a new game (I think, give it about a month or two and one should show up)

     

    Just OOI, have they put the previous 4 TR's on compilation yet (i.e Guardian o/t light, underworld, legend and anniversary)...After all they put the first 6 out on compilation...I was stupid enough not to buy it when it turned up at CEX

  11. Posted

    @wood_jl and Fratzengeballer

     

    Tim Dotcom is gone but Homesoft is here,

     

    or if you prefer, you can have this 1200+ games from the Jellystone Park archive organized in folders in alphabetical order and in Atari file format, enjoy

     

     

    P.S: I will leave the links active for 48 hrs, after that they will be offline until someone requests them again.

     

     

     

     

     

    I keep getting error on both links (page cannot be displayed gig)

  12. Posted · Edited by carmel_andrews

    Following on from Thordbg's thread about the built in OS in his emulator and given that the only 2 regularly maintained emulators now come with their own 'tweaked' versions of the Atari O.S, It begs the following question

     

    Is there any chance of an Open Sourced Atari platform (not just the A8)

     

    After all i beleive there now exists third party OpenSourced versions of TOS (so called EmuTOS)

     

    And given that Atari++ and Altirra already come with their own versions of the Atari OS we are kind of partway there

     

    And since both EmuTOS and the two A8 emulator OS's support the various ST/STE and A8 upgrades that are programmed into the emulators (i.e. VBXE, Hard drives, Memory expansions, Disk Drive mods and other such things) I think the impetus is there to get the various and all Atari platforms more opensourced, even games systems like the 2600/7800 and also Lynx/Jaguar etc...It might just lead onto more 3rd party development (both hardware and software)

     

    After all, whilst i so of accept that Linux hasn't dismantled M$$$'s dominance of the desktop computer OS, It has really given M$$$ and sony/Nintendo serious competition in the desktop and mobile gaming OS markets (thanks largely to Google opting for Andriod, a linux derivative)

     

    After all, Atari themselves aren't interested in hardware platforms anymore and anyway we don't really need someone like Atari to make an Atari Opensourced platform successful (after all I read somewhere that the original 'flashback' sold 500000 units and with virtually zero marketing or advertising from Atari themselves, given that flashback had to compete with the free to download software emulators for the 2600/7800, in my book that aint bad going considering the piss poor support atari gave it)

     

    To get around the issue of copyrighted hardware (i.e Antic, Pokey and GTIA) I guess it wouldn't be too difficult to reproduce/replicate those chip features without neccessarily infringing copyright

  15. Posted · Edited by carmel_andrews

    Microsofty and Apples destroyed the 'home computer'

     

    Or is it the case that Atari, Commodore etc etc just couldn't keep up

     

    Interesting though that Atari were considering going down the UNIX route with the initial (1985) R&D version of what became the TT, shame that they didn't stick with that idea, Atari might still be with us as a hardware company.... considering that Apple got lucky with their own 'port' of UNIX (from bsd),thanks largely to a buyout/merger with SJ's NeXT corp. (Otherwise I think apple would have bitten the dust, like Atari and Commodore did)

  16. Posted

    Linky only

     

     

     

    http://uk.games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/gamestick---the-%C2%A380-android-games-console-the-size-of-a-match-box-125642063.html

     

     

     

    Looks interesting, system is 'cheapish' and the games seem cheap enough (even if they are basically portovers/conversions from other android compat. systems)

     

     

     

    I think they will need some new games content if they want to be taken seriously

     

    If they go get the support though, I think the likes of Sony and M$$$$ might have to start lowering their prices or going down the same route as the linked to company and offering a stripped down version of a ps4/xbox but usb/hdmi stick stylee

  18. Posted · Edited by carmel_andrews

    There goes Carmel with his speculation again..

     

    My answer is no, it wouldn't have made a difference. The least of the Dreamcast's problems were video/graphics processor related.

     

     

     

     

     

    How the F**k is that speculation or didn't you read the damn article

     

     

    Or just to rub it in 'so to speak' here is some more

     

     

    http://corporate.findlaw.com/contracts/operations/technology-development-and-license-agreement-sega-enterprises.html

     

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3dfx#Dreamcast

     

    http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=270455

  19. Posted

    Linky only

     

     

    http://www.techspot.com/article/653-history-of-the-gpu-part-2/

     

     

    Interesting that Sega were looking to piggyback on the success (at the time) of 3DFX (where are 3DFX now....there again, where are Sega) and getting 3DFX to develop the gfx/video hardware for what became the dreamcast

     

    I'd be interested to know why Sega (or was it 3DFX) backed out of the joint development, just think...A leading edge gfx/video hardware company tying up with a fairly popular videogame brand (bearing in mind that Sega were already getting trounced by Sony's playstation) so having leading video hardware in a new gaming system (to better compete with whatever sony came up with) could have put Sega and the dreamcast on a better footing with the PS2 and also give the PS2 some decent competition

     

    There again, AMD haven't exactly set the world on fire with their buyout or merger with ATI (i.e. they haven't taken marketshare away from Intel), so perhaps Sega (or was it 3DFX) saw something in the tie up that might not have worked someway down the line

     

    ...Or maybe perhaps Just like sega poopoo'd using 3do's m2 technology in their gaming hardware development (apparently they weren't too impressed with the spec's/hardware) perhaps Sega saw the tie up with 3DFX in the same light and thought that Sega could develop just as good a gfx/video hardware as 3DFX were doing

     

    Question is though, Would the DC have done any better had both companies gone through with the joint development and 3DFX supplying the gfx/video hardware for the DC

  21. Posted

    Groovybee....I don't think the programmer (if that's who Mr Loon's gonna see) will have the foggiest as to what a vcs/2600 is, let alone know that what now passes as 'ATARI' used to actually make the hardware

     

    I can see it now, the loon suddenly mentions the 2600 (in passing) and the programmer say's 'whats that', the loon says, something that the old ATARI company made before you were even born

  22. Posted

    Well, after commodore engineers reverse engineered the atari chipset and stole the technology for use in the C=64, atari decided to flood the market with 1050s in order to crush any chances that aftermarket disk drive companies might have of selling products that were based on stolen/reverse engineered atari technology. There were already several well established aftermarket disk drive manufacturers in the US which already had a decent domestic market share prior to the big chipset reverse engineering scandal at commodore.. Atari did it's best to make sure they didnt grab any market share internationally. Jay Miner and Kurt Vendell (then a child, but secretly averting child-labor laws and working for atari) both spearheaded this operation by making secret visits to the UK and various European countries to buy up any aftermarket disk drive stock that may have made it to vendors' shelves..

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Seeming as though you want to dredge up history (re: posts 5 and 14) perhaps I should ‘return the favour’, after all…One good turn deserves another, as the old line goes

     

    I seem to remember back in the annals of Atariage history (sorry can’t be arsed or bothered to find the link or use the search service) that a certain person (who shall remain nameless) wanted to sell his Atari 8bit disk games on ebay (I believe there was a thread about said auction/listing on this v. forum)

     

    Now, you may ask, what’s wrong with that, however there was something very interesting regarding the disks…..According to the person placing the auction/listing that the disks were ‘all originals’ (i.e. not pirate/copies) however in the 20 years or so that they’d kept them they had somehow magically ‘lost their original labels’, if I recall the thread/auction correctly all or most of the disks had ‘lost all their original labels’ (hence the fact that all the disks had homebrew or self written labels attached to the ‘original disks’), which naturally or obviously lead to suggestions that the disks might not be as ‘original’ as the auction seemed to state or infer/imply

     

    I will, for the purpose of this post refrain from using the exact words that suggested that the disks were not as ‘original’ as the auction seemed to state, and only because I seem to recall or remember that a certain person here (who shall remain nameless) started spitting his dummy out and threatened anyone that suggested that the disks were not originals with legal action (I guess the certain persons angle would have been, suing them for libel, slander or defamation or similar)

     

    Perhaps the person concerned can remind me, did they manage to sell the disks on eBay, or did eBay somehow get wind that the disks might not be ‘originals’ as stated in the listing/auction and promptly removed the auction or listing

     

    Couple of reasons why I bring this up now (apart from dredging up history like the person concerned seems to want to) firstly, I still have all my old boot menu disks and dos/PD disks from when I was heavy into actually using my A8 hardware (some 500 plus disks) I’d say that over ¾’s of those disks are 20 years or older and the remainder are no later then 1997/8, most of the disks were put in an industrial supplies box with some other stuff and another large industrial box placed on top of that box (the ones with the disks in)

     

    Late last year I decided to see if the disks were OK, so I dug the box out and thumbed through all the disks and guess what, not a single one had managed to loose their original label

     

    Interesting that none of my disks managed to lose their original labels yet in a certain persons eBay auction/listing, all or most of their disks had ‘magically’ lost their original labels

     

    The 2nd reason why I bought this up, If as the person concerned claimed, that the disks they were selling on eBay were ‘originals’ then why did they feel the need to threaten people with legal action and since they did (if I recall correctly) post comments in that thread, why didn’t the person concerned provide evidence to back up their claim that the disks were indeed originals….After all if you have nothing to hide (i.e. the disks were indeed originals) then you have nothing to fear by providing evidence to back up your claim

     

    If eBay did get wind of the fact that the disks that the person concerned was trying to sell were not ‘originals’ as the person claimed they were in the auction and therefore removed the auction, why didn’t the person concerned appeal the removal and get the auction reinstated or just re-advertise the disks, if as the original auction claimed that all the disks were ‘originals’

    • Confused 1

  23. Posted

    From the point of view that according to the various mentions of such disk drives in page 6 and DB pub's ATARI USER, the only Atari supporter even daring to stock these drives were Home Entertainment centre in Brum (Birmingham for those that hate shortforms)

     

    Even then the only one they stocked was the Indus GT, nothing by trak data, Percom or Rana

     

     

    Where there problems with Atari dealers importing these drives from the US, or were they pressured by Atari UK to not selling or stocking these drives

     

    That is one possible theory, the only possible other one i can think of was that, given the popularity (as well as plethora) of disk drive upgrades/mods, like Warp lazer/lazer USD/Hyperdrive 1050, Happy, The chip/Archiver/Sup. Archiver 1 and 2, The Duplicator, USD, Speedy/Super speedy and lastly IS plate 1050, which essentially gave 1050 (or 810) users the same densities and capabilities of these 3rd party A8 compatible drives but without the double sided format option

     

    I was lucky enough to have briefly owned an Indus GT which i bought from CEX's retro store in euston (before they shut it down) if i'd known how long my one had lasted i would have bought the other 3 that were also there, mind you, considering that CEX were selling them at 90/95 squid a pop (no PSU or SIO lead)...I don't think buying the other 3 was much of an option

     

    I did know someone that had a RANA disk drive (can't remember what version, since they came in single or double drive cases) but he sold it along with his entire A8 setup/collection to someone up north

     

    prior to buying the one at CEX, I was offered one by someone in southfields (just the other side of putney, south london), I chickened out and bought his Sa2 upped 1050 instead

  24. Posted

    The store that svenski (and i am guessing snicklin) is talking about was called H.E.C (Home entertainment centre) according to page 6 (the old page 6, not the one that morphed into NAU) they went under and Software express got the spoils and took over their location (i think it was either in broad street or alum rock road)....never went there myself (have never been to brum)

     

    Sillica shop in Kent was a dream though, The entire Frontage (apart from the sillica sign (and atari logo) looked more like a log cabin (with a few windows)

     

    I didn't think too much of sillica's London shops, a bit plain but very homely

     

    The best Atari shop/store i ever saw in town was called 'Games Centre' (I can't be too sure if this evolved into either the Palace games store or virgin megastore), all i remember is that they had a green frontage with black lettering

    (Plus the heaps of A800 games and hardware, hell i even remember seeing the original disk version of Loderunner)

     

    They had a couple of Locations either end of oxford street

     

    The closest i came to seeing the kind of store snicklin and svenski were going on about was hamley's gaming and computer area (which at the time took up most of the lower ground floor), just imagine something like tottenham court road way back when, condensed into 3 quarters of an entire shop/store floor space (and they did have a decent atari area, a8 and vcs)

     

    The only Atari shop i ever wanted to visit outside London was Atari world/Red Rat in Mancs....only had one opportunity but couldn't find the street and no locals had ever heard of fennel street (it didn't help that i got off at the wrong part of mancs, Piccadilly instead of victoria)

     

    I think I still have a c.1986/87 Sillica shop catalogue (i.e. in the days when they were still charging 50 quid for an XL KB replacement)

  25. Posted

    Linky only

     

     

    http://uk.news.yahoo.com/more-human-lara-croft-returns-103117764.html

     

     

     

     

    Nice idea, kind of reminds me of an attempt the producers of Dallas did with a few episodes of Dallas before JR’s family got to where they were and partnered with the Barnes’s (albeit very briefly)

     

    The fact that the new producers of the TR series has someone respected in the literary world on the team should make it an interesting reboot/remodel

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