Marius Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Haha... not again such a topic... but why not. Here is my Top Ten of reasons to keep my Atari and/or extend my collection. 1. I know lot of things about this machine, so I can do more on it then on any other system; I love to program these fabulous machines in Mac/65 and even in Basic it is fun. 2. I had one when I was a Kid, I have good memories, and want to keep them. 3. I love the gameplay of the games on Atari. 4. the pokey sound (especially in the better demo's) enjoys me very much 5. The atari has the ability to run a superb BBS program (TCPIP Express Pro); however I'm not running one BBS at the moment... 6. It has very good and easy to control DATA-port(s), it is fun to learn and understand digital technical stuff with the Atari. 7. to extend the collection the main reason for me is to have spare parts or spare atari's in case something is broke in future. 8. I really love the Design of the XL-line. I like the XE's, but I love the XL's to look at. 9. There is a nice Atari community on the internet; including support for cool and new software. I don't want to step out of this. 10. The Atari's seem to last very long. It's not wasted money to buy new Atari things. I know a lot of reasons can be said by lovers of other Computer systems. But these are my personal reasons for Atari. Have fun. Marius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgle Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Not sure I have 10 reasons, but here are some reasons why I keep several Atari's alive: 1. I enjoy restoring things 2. Learning digital electronics in small steps by modding my 1200xl's, so far I've done internal sio2pc, sio2sd, RAMBO 256k upgrade, and in the process of doing the clearpic mod. 3. Learning machine language (actually started this with an Atari 2600) 4. I just love the look of the XL computers. I plan on making a pc out of one of my 1200xl's just to get the ugly Dell off my desk. 5. Relatively cheap to collect (as opposed to my other hobby, restoring classic cars) 6. My kids love playing Atari- both the 2600 and 1200xl. 7. I'm approaching middle-aged. It's fun stumbling upon a sound or image I haven't seen or heard in 20+ years. 8. Get to meet great people like those on this site. Hey, I almost got to 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Top ten of reasons you keep your Atari alive today Because I don't believe in 'user-assisted suicide'. :!: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 1 - 10: I like them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Ditto to all the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizWor Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 10. Durability. No one still has an Atari if Michael Dell was in charge. 09. Ebay. Parts and accessories abound for short money. 08. My kids. We all have our favorites and someone's always in the mood. 07. Flashback. My Atari came out of the closet when these sticks arrived. 06. The internet. B&C, Atariage, and rom libraries. 'nuf said. 05. Camping. Compact entertainment on a rainy day. 04. Futureproof. How great is it going to be to play these with my grandkids? 03. Instant gratification. With my flash cart, Riverraid is just seconds away. 02. Nostalgia. Remembering Lode Runner in college or Bruce Lee with my first born. And the top reason I use an Atari 8-bit computer in 2008 is because it's still fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 04. Futureproof. How great is it going to be to play these with my grandkids? Damn straight! Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 (edited) 1. They are, and always will be, your friends. {slightly altered quote } 2. I have yet to see better looking computers than the XLs and XEs. The 400 & 800 aren't bad either. 3. Running my fingers thru their entrails is quite enjoyable. Someone is always inventing new upgrades, that are easy and cheap to implement. 4. Raising something from the dead Dr. Frankenstein? I like fixing broken computers and newer systems have multi-layered boards which are a pain to work on. 5. Packrat-itus. I can store two in the same space as one desktop. 6. Beneficial to all man-kind they are. They are great for demonstrating/teaching basic computer concepts and programming. 7. Curiosity piece. It is always greener on the other side of the fence, so be the other side of the fence and have something they don't. 8. As long as the molecules of the plastics hold together they are a better use of space than a Commodore. 9. Programming on them forces you to be a better programmer because you have very limited resources. New computers have lots of sloppy code and blue screens of death. At least a blue Atari screen usually means life. :!: 10. Have you played Atari today? Edited February 19, 2008 by Defender II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhillestad Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Chicks dig it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengwin Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I only have one reason: I just wanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) 1. They are, and always will be, your friends. {slightly altered quote } (In Kirkian voice) Spooocckk... Cute quote... amazingly they would use the Atari 8-bit as the sound on Klingon communicators in the following Star Trek movie just after that. Well, my ten reasons, and mine would be more 400/800 related... 1 ) BBS'ing... loved it then and now. 2 ) Something Dad and I did together, and sometimes still do together at times. 3 ) I'm slowly learning electronics through it's relatively simple design. 4 ) I'm slowly learning programming " " " " .... 5 ) It is fun to be in a internet chat or web forum on a computer made in the seventies. 6 ) Games... just awesome. 7 ) As someone said, an amazing amount of gadgets and hacks coming out for it now. 8 ) I like the 800 because I liked my friend's 800 when I was in the 3rd grade. 9 ) Same friend introduced me to floppies & copying. It was that day I bought a 400 over a Colecovision. 10) Nothing says "just beyond the modified typewriter/teletype home computer age" like the Atari 800. Edited February 22, 2008 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 1. Current gen game systems are terrible (if I have 80 game systems, and the 'big 3' can't sell me another one, there's a problem) 2. Hardware upgrade quality and software availibility have increased a lot 3. Cost has decreased quite a bit. A good 'gaming atari' can be had for $100, software's generally not an expense. 4. Surprisingly active community which releases new titles 5. Programming software of equal in quality to past commercial titles doesn't take nearly the effort as 'new' systems 6. Simple, fun software which has few modern equivalents. Entire genres are all but dead these days. 7. Sometimes gaming should just be about the highscore... 8. Right handed controllers. The japanese stole them from gamers forever. 9. Incredibly advanced 8-bit euro demos that look better than a lot of 16-bit ones. 10. Commodores have ugly colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrathchild Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm yet to fly around in a Cobra Mk. III on mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Atari Age forums Mid life crisis it pisses off my wife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 1 ) BBS'ing... loved it then and now. 5 ) It is fun to be in a internet chat or web forum on a computer made in the seventies. What is needed to do this. Is it pretty easy? Can it use broadband in some way? I tried everything to get my powerbook 170 online and couldn't get anything to work, and now I'm thinking maybe an 8bit Atari is the way to go instead to get my "silly retro nerd fight modern commercialism" fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 1 Never owned one when I was younger, but now I GOT TWO! 2 Caverns of Mars 3 Caverns of Mars 4 Caverns of Mars 5 Caverns of Mars 6 Caverns of Mars 7 Caverns of Mars 8 Caverns of Mars 9 Caverns of Mars 10 Blaster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Atari Age forumsMid life crisis it pisses off my wife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Because my giant pile of harware, carts, boxes, magazines and manuals would take up entirely too much space if it wasn't used. lol I'm a slave to my own game room. Back to the salt mines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heaven/TQA Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 because i love antic, 6502 Risc power, gtia, pation for assembler coding... PC sux... C++ & OOP sux (well...i still not get it after x-times trying to learn) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjchamp3 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 TCM, Halloween, Pifall 2and many more POST #1000 WOO HOO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 OOP sux (well...i still not get it after x-times trying to learn) you're lucky. I just had to pick up c# for a new job--syntax hasn't completely taken hold yet, but I'm having trouble with dreaming in oop now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Because Elvis & Jimi died.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elsinore98 Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 My son is 6 months old now, and I thought it would be a hoot to show him what his parents had as their first computer when he is old enough to understand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 1) The games rock. We have a PS3 and a Wii and usually I'd rather be playing Atari 2) I'm learning so much from it, Assembly Langauge, electronics. Loads I wanted to do as a kid but never found the time. 3) Affording the 'cool' kit is now possible. (No one I knew had a disk drive back in the day - they were too expensive) 4) So many great mods and add ons coming out. 32in1, myIDE the new MIO run, SIO2USB etc,etc 5) The great community which always seems ready to help and is releasing all of the new hard and software Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StaxX28 Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Just one reason : I really love it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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