The sad story about my Atari 2600 TV format conversions

[Cupcakus]

OK... I am done posting on this subject.

 

In less then an hour another post will arrive here with "I never got my Thrust+ Thomas" or "Randy was legally entitled" or "You have no proof" bullcrap session...

 

This discussion is over....

 

However I have one more thing for the next "Randy was right" post:

[Guest cvo]

and just in an unrealted note, I've ordered hudreds upon hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from hozer, and recieved it all within a timely fashion, and my thrust dc+ which i paid for about half a year ago (from TJ) I still have yet to see. Action speaks louder than words imho.

 

I second the motion because you just hit a sore spot. I also have ordered hundres of dollars of items from Randy several times and always gotten prompt quality service. On the other hand, over six months ago I ordered and paid for Thrust Plus. To date I've gotten nothing! Not even the coutrsey of a reply to my requests as to what is up with the delay or an answer to my question as to whether I'll ever get #23!

 

If you are Randy's customer, then you are treated very nicely and fairly. I don't doubt that. But if you are Randy's competitor or what he interprets as competition, then you are gonna see a whole new side of him.

 

And the delay with Thrust Plus is not Thomas' fault---the issue should be taken up with Jahfish.

 

I don't think this was a set of issues that should have been brought to the community as a whole, it would have been better settled between the parties involved or at least laid to rest in peace privately.

 

That WAS attempted---please read the whole thread if you haven't already for more information!!! The reason why this issue was brought to the community is because it could NOT be settled privately.

 

I liken Randy to Walmart. I used to shop at Walmart a LOT. They always were nice to me at the Customer Service counter when I had to deal with returns, they had some low prices on stuff (although it wasn't always the best quality stuff), etc. Well, one day I read a book I borrowed from a friend called "How Walmart is Destroying America", and I learned about Walmart's bad bad business practices. These were facts right there in front of me that could be confirmed, not just a lot of badmouthing about Walmart. When I finished reading the book, I could not bear to shop at Walmart anymore and support them, knowing what I knew about them after that. When you are a Walmart customer, you get treated well (for the most part), but if you are Walmart's competitor, you better watch out b/c they do not take it lightly.

 

Same deal with Randy.

 

It boggles my mind that some of you people who think there is some kind of AtariAge, Thomas, and Joe conspiracy to overthrow Randy---you need to WAKE YOURSELVES UP. Get over the fact that you find it so hard to believe that someone so "nice" could have been so "not nice". If you choose to ignore the facts and continue to have a treadmill conversation about this issue, that's your choice and I feel sorry for you that you are so close-minded. Facts do not lie. People do. Don't you wonder at ALL why Randy isn't making ANY kind of public rebuttle with facts to back him up? That's because HE HAS NONE. If someone's making false claims about you in a public forum, you mean to tell me you are going to sit there and take it? I highly doubt it. He is in hiding because he has NOTHING to back up his "claims" about AtariAge, Thomas and Joe lying about him. At this point I think it is safe to say that EVERYONE would LOVE to hear Randy's rebuttle.

 

Action speaks louder than words imho.

 

So Godzilla, would you say that Randy's actions of turning off his email account, taking down his index.html file to his site and THEN taking down his site completely to hide his selling of games that he was asked NOT to sell or didn't have permission to sell (as well as using various labels unauthorized!), not making any kind of public rebuttle, showing a lack of respect to Thomas by not complying with his request, libeling AtariAge, Joe and Thomas on public forums and newsgroups, disrespecting various homebrewers, etc are not speaking loudly enough for you, then?

[moycon]

cvo is a hottie.

 

Sorry, I was just getting tired of reading and re-reading the same stuff over and over and wanted to bring a new perspective to the thread.

[Cupcakus]

cvo is a hottie.

 

Sorry, I was just getting tired of reading and re-reading the same stuff over and over and wanted to bring a new perspective to the thread.

 

I like pie

[Rhindle The Red]

I can't help but feel that Randy is still a good guy and it made me feel bad to see how quickly people turned on him.

Imagine how badly other people felt when Randy lied about them in a public forum then pulled his head into his shell and wouldn't come out.

 

The question of how well Randy treated his customers (which is where most of his support seems to come from) is irrelevant in this case. Even JerryG's idea of keeping this private is off-track.

 

As I think I said earlier, if I were in the same situation as Thomas I would have acted differently. I would not have been bothered enough to bring this to a public forum. But I'm not Thomas. He decided to basically warn off others about a bad experience he had had. Others took it on themselves to talk of boycotts, etc. But here's the point: Randy is an individual and disputes between individuals should be kept private. But "Hozer Video" is/was a business. And Thomas' problem was a problem with the business, in the final analysis. "Hozer Video" was selling something that he had asked them not to sell. Thomas didn't call for the business to be shut down. In fact, most of the negative posts from others simply wanted the situation resolved to both parties' satisfaction. It's just as if someone has a dispute with Wal-Mart. He shouldn't have to feel the need to keep it between himself and Wal-Mart. If one is going to be in business one has to be able to take a certain amount of criticism. As the hobby increases in scope, it becomes more and more likely that disputes will arise. Anyone who sells on eBay knows that eventually (if you sell enough) you're going to get negative feedback. That's all this was: negative feedback. But, I'll tell you, a guy who has negative feedback and replies "Sorry. Tried to solve this but couldn't come to terms." will be cut a lot more slack than the guy who says "JERK IS NO GOOD! AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!"

 

If a business is to stay in business, it must know how to react to negative feedback without rancor or risk going out of business. Randy seems to agree with this position. Since he couldn't take public criticism, he left.

 

But I'm done with this issue. We're arguing in circles and nothing new will come about until Randy decides to come out of his shell. As virtually the whole of the AtariAge community has said, if he'd just resolve this issue, we'd all let it rest. Not forget, mind you, but move on. Here's hoping it happens soon.

 

If only there were an "ignore topic" button around here somewhere....

 

We have successfully risen three of the dead ones.

[sku_u]

How many more times will the dead horse be beaten? Please lock this thread and bring it to an end already.

[Cupcakus]

If the mods lock this thread they will instantly be attacked by the Hozer supporters for "hiding" the information that could expose their conspiracy or what not....

 

The arguement ends with us... I am no longer responding to their rediculous accusations anymore... and I encourage everyone else to do the same... it's time for this to be put to rest.

[moycon]

I like pie too.

[s-kelly]

Whew! I can't believe I sat here and read through all nine pages of this thread! Having spent the time to do so, I have to add my two cents - late as they may be.

 

While I did see a comment or two on the whole "service" aspect of what Randy is/was offering, nobody got into it all that much. Scott posted something in the way of calculating how much profit Randy may have made in doing these carts, but does anyone have any idea just how much it SUCKS to make carts like that? If Randy, or anyone else for that matter, is making two bucks, five bucks, or whatever on these carts, the service he is providing is far more valuable than whatever few bucks he may make on the deal. I even saw a post in this thread from Albert saying that he will be offering one-off, "no frills" copies of individual 4k titles for $10 apiece. Snatch those up while you can boys and girls because I don't think it will take long for Albert to realize that even though he may be making a few bucks on those $10 carts, it's barely worth the time and effort it takes to put them together.

 

I don't intend to imply it's "hard" to make a 4k cart...it's easy as pie. But imagine doing it 100, 1000, or 5000 times. You begin to realize very quickly that you are providing much more of a service than you are entering into a money-making venture. That's my point with Randy...sure he made a few bucks in making the carts he did, but it is a tedious, horrible job. How many of you would quit your job if you were offered another job making 50% more than you do now, but you'd be working on an assembly line putting tiny wheels on Matchbox cars all day long? Sure, some people could/would do it, but I'm sure many people would rather a sharp stick in the eye than work on an assembly line...myself included. Frankly, I've always been amazed that Randy had done this as long as he has. Until about a year or so ago, there were no "boards" to buy. Randy was using regular, Atari-made, 4k boards and hacking them so they could use EPROMs which is much more time-consuming than the way 4k carts are made today with custom boards.

 

Randy certainly made some mistakes in handling the whole situation. In my opinion, he should have asked Thomas for permission to make carts of the NTSC conversions. I don't, however, believe he had to ask for permission which seems to be the general consensus here. The whole thing about trying to order Joe's boards behind his back is outrageous. If he felt he wasn't getting a fair deal, and from someone who has made many circuit boards over the years...Joe's prices looked very "normal" to me, as someone else here said, grab a free CAD program and design your own board. It really isn't all that hard to do once you get the hang of it. Yes....there were plenty of mistakes made. It seems as though he looked at Atari Age as competition rather than looking at the big picture.

 

I think it's naive to believe or suggest that everything Randy said in his newsgroup post was a lie. I don't know the circumstances better than anyone else who has read this thread and I don't know Randy all that well except for a deal here or there over the years, but I find it hard to believe that someone who, for the most part, people haven't had anything bad to say about in several years' involvement in the classic gaming community, is suddenly a complete liar. I'm sure there is, at the very least, some truth in what he had to say.

 

Think ahead a few years for a moment. Let's say Atari Age does this for a while and despite their continued involvement in the collecting scene and the webpage and such, they decide they just don't have the time to do all these individual cartridges. I'm not saying this will happen, but it could happen. Where will we be then? Like I said above, it's not easy to find someone who is willing to do this kind of work - regardless of any profit that may be made. The ability to purchase a cheap copy of a rare, expensive title and play it on a real 2600 (as opposed to a ROM on an emulator) is not something the collecting community should be without.

 

Luckily, there is one person who will definitely be offering a cartridge-making service to homebrew authors and possibly a second person. I've also talked to someone who is designing a device similar to the old "Prom Blaster" that will allow homebrew authors to produce their own cartridges without the need for an EPROM programmer or even a computer for that matter. So there will be choices, but how long with any of these guys be around? Look how quickly Junies disappeared...

 

Well, it seems as though I've added about 14 cents to this discussion instead of the original two cents I had planned to so I should end this. My intention in posting this was not to take sides by any stretch of the imagination. Randy made some stupid mistakes...no question about it. Who here hasn't though? I know that if I put a paperclip into a cup everytime I made a stupid mistake, I'd be out looking for a 55 gallon drum right now. The contributions he has made, and they are significant, cannot be overlooked without doing a disservice to all.

[StanJr]

 That's my point with Randy...sure he made a few bucks in making the carts he did, but it is a tedious, horrible job.  

 

If its THAT bad of a job, then don't do it. Clearly Randy liked SOME aspect of it. I think it is safe to say that most of the people who do ANYTHING for this hobby do it out of love. I know Albert spends a LOT of time just sitting about making carts. I even suggested that he shop it out, to take some of the work load off.

[s-kelly]

Judging by the fact that Randy was the only one who did do it for so many years, clearly most other people DO choose not to do it. That was kind of my point...."Shhhhh...we have someone who doesn't think this sucks!"

[ccc---]

ok i'm tuning into the convesation i think that thomas has every right to stop people from selling the work he has done. If i got up off my lazy ass and did a hack whcih is work right than i have right to say who distribute it. It dosen't amtter that the orginal code belonged to someone else thomas made it his own and good for him now he has the right to that hack, and can give to whom ever he wants, and sell it anyway he wants.

I didn't know that Thomas owns the rights on the codes he did hacks on. If he owns them, then he has of course the right to say wo may distribute them or not. If he doesn't have the rights on the codes he can't tell people to stop selling it - only the legal owner of the original code can.

[moycon]

*sigh*

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Judging by the fact that Randy was the only one who did do it for so many years, clearly most other people DO choose not to do it.     That was kind of my point...."Shhhhh...we have someone who doesn't think this sucks!"  

Agreed! Everybody should be thankful about that.

 

But that doesn't make him untouchable.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

On the other hand, over six months ago I ordered and paid for Thrust Plus. To date I've gotten nothing! Not even the coutrsey of a reply to my requests as to what is up with the delay or an answer to my question as to whether I'll ever get #23!

 

Thomas, perhaps you could pause for a moment or two to tell me if I and the rest of us in my position are totally screwed or if there is any intent to ever ship what was paid for. Please forgive me if I sound a little ticked at the moment but quite frankly Randy has never shafted me out of a cart, let alone a $60 cart!

Hi Jerry,

your post count shows me that you might not have been on this site very long. Therefore you might not be aware about the background of the Thrust+ disaster (which with no doubt from me it is). There have been several threads addressing your problem, if you use the search feature, you will find them easily.

 

No one is more sorry about what has happened, but I'm not in the position to change this. Until right now, I didn't even know that you ordered and I have just added your name to my list. Please read the Thrust+ threads and if you still shout have any questions, your are welcome to mail to me.

[Inky]

I like pie too.

 

I like 3.14

[qberticus]

I like 3.14

 

I like 3.1415

[moycon]

Oh damn!! That does sound good! Ever have a slice of 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 82148 08651 32823 06647 09384 46095 50582 23172 53594 08128 48111 74502 84102 70193 85211 05559 64462 29489 54930 38196 44288 10975 66593 34461 28475 64823 37867 83165 27120 19091 45648 56692 34603 48610 45432 66482 13393 60726 02491 41273 72458 70066 06315 58817 48815 20920 96282 92540 91715 36436 78925 90360 01133 05305 48820 46652 13841 46951 94151 16094 33057 27036 57595 91953 09218 61173 81932 61179 31051 18548 07446 23799 62749 56735 18857 52724 89122 79381 83011 94912 98336 73362 44065 66430 86021 39494 63952 24737 19070 21798 60943 70277 05392 17176 29317 67523 84674 81846 76694 05132 00056 81271 45263 56082 77857 71342 75778 96091 73637 17872 14684 40901 22495 34301 46549 58537 10507 92279 68925 89235 42019 95611 21290 21960 86403 44181 59813 62977 47713 09960 51870 72113 49999 99837 29780 49951 05973 17328 16096 31859 50244 59455 34690 83026 42522 30825 33446 85035 26193 11881 71010 00313 78387 52886 58753 32083 81420 61717 76691 47303 59825 34904 28755 46873 11595 62863 88235 37875 93751 95778 18577 80532 17122 68066 13001 92787 66111 95909 21642 01989 38095 25720 10654 85863 27886 59361 53381 82796 82303 01952 03530 18529 68995 77362 25994 13891 24972 17752 83479 13151 55748 57242 45415 06959 50829 53311 68617 27855 88907 50983 81754 63746 49393 19255 06040 09277 01671 13900 98488 24012 85836 16035 63707 66010 47101 81942 95559 61989 46767 83744 94482 55379 77472 68471 04047 53464 62080 46684 25906 94912 93313 67702 89891 52104 75216 20569 66024 05803 81501 93511 25338 24300 35587 64024 74964 73263 91419 92726 04269 92279 67823 54781 63600 93417 21641 21992 45863 15030 28618 29745 55706 74983 85054 94588 58692 69956 90927 21079 75093 02955 32116 53449 87202 75596 02364 80665 49911 98818 34797 75356 63698 07426 54252 78625 51818 41757 46728 90977 77279 38000 81647 06001 61452 49192 17321 72147 72350 14144 19735 68548 16136 11573 52552 13347 57418 49468 43852 33239 07394 14333 45477 62416 86251 89835 69485 56209 92192 22184 27255 02542 56887 67179 04946 01653 46680 49886 27232 79178 60857 84383 82796 79766 81454 10095 38837 86360 95068 00642 25125 20511 73929 84896 08412 84886 26945 60424 19652 85022 21066 11863 06744 27862 20391 94945 04712 37137 86960 95636 43719 17287 46776 46575 73962 41389 08658 32645 99581 33904 78027 59009 94657 64078 95126 94683 98352 59570 98258 22620 52248 94077 26719 47826 84826 01476 99090 26401 36394 43745 53050 68203 49625 24517 49399 65143 14298 09190 65925 09372 21696 46151 57098 58387 41059 78859 59772 97549 89301 61753 92846 81382 68683 86894 27741 55991 85592 52459 53959 43104 99725 24680 84598 72736 44695 84865 38367 36222 62609 91246 08051 24388 43904 51244 13654 97627 80797 71569 14359 97700 12961 60894 41694 86855 58484 06353 42207 22258 28488 64815 84560 28506 01684 27394 52267 46767 88952 52138 52254 99546 66727 82398 64565 96116 35488 62305 77456 49803 55936 34568 17432 41125 15076 06947 94510 96596 09402 52288 79710 89314 56691 36867 22874 89405 60101 50330 86179 28680 92087 47609 17824 93858 90097 14909 67598 52613 65549 78189 31297 84821 68299 89487 22658 80485 75640 14270 47755 51323 79641 45152 37462 34364 54285 84447 95265 86782 10511 41354 73573 95231 13427 16610 21359 69536 23144 29524 84937 18711 01457 65403 59027 99344 03742 00731 05785 39062 19838 74478 08478 48968 33214 45713 86875 19435 06430 21845 31910 48481 00537 06146 80674 91927 81911 97939 95206 14196 63428 75444 06437 45123 71819 21799 98391 01591 95618 14675 14269 12397 48940 90718 64942 31961 56794 52080 95146 55022 52316 03881 93014 20937 62137 85595 66389 37787 08303 90697 92077 34672 21825 62599 66150 14215 03068 03844 77345 49202 60541 46659 25201 49744 28507 32518 66600 21324 34088 19071 04863 31734 64965 14539 05796 26856 10055 08106 65879 69981 63574 73638 40525 71459 10289 70641 40110 97120 62804 39039 75951 56771 57700 42033 78699 36007 23055 87631 76359 42187 31251 47120 53292 81918 26186 12586 73215 79198 41484 88291 64470 60957 52706 95722 09175 67116 72291 09816 90915 28017 35067 12748 58322 28718 35209 35396 57251 21083 57915 13698 82091 44421 ??

[Snider-man]

I'm partial to 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 82148 08651 32823 06647 09384 46095 50582 23172 53594 08128 48111 74502 84102 70193 85211 05559 64462 29489 54930 38196 44288 10975 66593 34461 28475 64823 37867 83165 27120 19091 45648 56692 34603 48610 45432 66482 13393 60726 02491 41273 72458 70066 06315 58817 48815 20920 96282 92540 91715 36436 78925 90360 01133 05305 48820 46652 13841 46951 94151 16094 33057 27036 57595 91953 09218 61173 81932 61179 31051 18548 07446 23799 62749 56735 18857 52724 89122 79381 83011 94912 98336 73362 44065 66430 86021 39494 63952 24737 19070 21798 60943 70277 05392 17176 29317 67523 84674 81846 76694 05132 00056 81271 45263 56082 77857 71342 75778 96091 73637 17872 14684 40901 22495 34301 46549 58537 10507 92279 68925 89235 42019 95611 21290 21960 86403 44181 59813 62977 47713 09960 51870 72113 49999 99837 29780 49951 05973 17328 16096 31859 50244 59455 34690 83026 42522 30825 33446 85035 26193 11881 71010 00313 78387 52886 58753 32083 81420 61717 76691 47303 59825 34904 28755 46873 11595 62863 88235 37875 93751 95778 18577 80532 17122 68066 13001 92787 66111 95909 21642 01989 38095 25720 10654 85863 27886 59361 53381 82796 82303 01952 03530 18529 68995 77362 25994 13891 24972 17752 83479 13151 55748 57242 45415 06959 50829 53311 68617 27855 88907 50983 81754 63746 49393 19255 06040 09277 01671 13900 98488 24012 85836 16035 63707 66010 47101 81942 95559 61989 46767 83744 94482 55379 77472 68471 04047 53464 62080 46684 25906 94912 93313 67702 89891 52104 75216 20569 66024 05803 81501 93511 25338 24300 35587 64024 74964 73263 91419 92726 04269 92279 67823 54781 63600 93417 21641 21992 45863 15030 28618 29745 55706 74983 85054 94588 58692 69956 90927 21079 75093 02955 32116 53449 87202 75596 02364 80665 49911 98818 34797 75356 63698 07426 54252 78625 51818 41757 46728 90977 77279 38000 81647 06001 61452 49192 17321 72147 72350 14144 19735 68548 16136 11573 52552 13347 57418 49468 43852 33239 07394 14333 45477 62416 86251 89835 69485 56209 92192 22184 27255 02542 56887 67179 04946 01653 46680 49886 27232 79178 60857 84383 82796 79766 81454 10095 38837 86360 95068 00642 25125 20511 73929 84896 08412 84886 26945 60424 19652 85022 21066 11863 06744 27862 20391 94945 04712 37137 86960 95636 43719 17287 46776 46575 73962 41389 08658 32645 99581 33904 78027 59009 94657 64078 95126 94683 98352 59570 98258 22620 52248 94077 26719 47826 84826 01476 99090 26401 36394 43745 53050 68203 49625 24517 49399 65143 14298 09190 65925 09372 21696 46151 57098 58387 41059 78859 59772 97549 89301 61753 92846 81382 68683 86894 27741 55991 85592 52459 53959 43104 99725 24680 84598 72736 44695 84865 38367 36222 62609 91246 08051 24388 43904 51244 13654 97627 80797 71569 14359 97700 12961 60894 41694 86855 58484 06353 42207 22258 28488 64815 84560 28506 01684 27394 52267 46767 88952 52138 52254 99546 66727 82398 64565 96116 35488 62305 77456 49803 55936 34568 17432 41125 15076 06947 94510 96596 09402 52288 79710 89314 56691 36867 22874 89405 60101 50330 86179 28680 92087 47609 17824 93858 90097 14909 67598 52613 65549 78189 31297 84821 68299 89487 22658 80485 75640 14270 47755 51323 79641 45152 37462 34364 54285 84447 95265 86782 10511 41354 73573 95231 13427 16610 21359 69536 23144 29524 84937 18711 01457 65403 59027 99344 03742 00731 05785 39062 19838 74478 08478 48968 33214 45713 86875 19435 06430 21845 31910 48481 00537 06146 80674 91927 81911 97939 95206 14196 63428 75444 06437 45123 71819 21799 98391 01591 95618 14675 14269 12397 48940 90718 64942 31961 56794 52080 95146 55022 52316 03881 93014 20937 62137 85595 66389 37787 08303 90697 92077 34672 21825 62599 66150 14215 03068 03844 77345 49202 60541 46659 25201 49744 28507 32518 66600 21324 34088 19071 04863 31734 64965 14539 05796 26856 10055 08106 65879 69981 63574 73638 40525 71459 10289 70641 40110 97120 62804 39039 75951 56771 57700 42033 78699 36007 23055 87631 76359 42187 31251 47120 53292 81918 26186 12586 73215 79198 41484 88291 64470 60957 52706 95722 09175 67116 72291 09816 90915 28017 35067 12748 58322 28718 35209 35396 57251 21083 57915 13698 82091 44421 ala mode, myself.

[Inky]

Yes, but 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 82148 08651 32823 06647 09384 46095 50582 23172 53594 08128 48111 74502 84102 70193 85211 05559 64462 29489 54930 38196 44288 10975 66593 34461 28475 64823 37867 83165 27120 19091 45648 56692 34603 48610 45432 66482 13393 60726 02491 41273 72458 70066 06315 58817 48815 20920 96282 92540 91715 36436 78925 90360 01133 05305 48820 46652 13841 46951 94151 16094 33057 27036 57595 91953 09218 61173 81932 61179 31051 18548 07446 23799 62749 56735 18857 52724 89122 79381 83011 94912 98336 73362 44065 66430 86021 39494 63952 24737 19070 21798 60943 70277 05392 17176 29317 67523 84674 81846 76694 05132 00056 81271 45263 56082 77857 71342 75778 96091 73637 17872 14684 40901 22495 34301 46549 58537 10507 92279 68925 89235 42019 95611 21290 21960 86403 44181 59813 62977 47713 09960 51870 72113 49999 99837 29780 49951 05973 17328 16096 31859 50244 59455 34690 83026 42522 30825 33446 85035 26193 11881 71010 00313 78387 52886 58753 32083 81420 61717 76691 47303 59825 34904 28755 46873 11595 62863 88235 37875 93751 95778 18577 80532 17122 68066 13001 92787 66111 95909 21642 01989 38095 25720 10654 85863 27886 59361 53381 82796 82303 01952 03530 18529 68995 77362 25994 13891 24972 17752 83479 13151 55748 57242 45415 06959 50829 53311 68617 27855 88907 50983 81754 63746 49393 19255 06040 09277 01671 13900 98488 24012 85836 16035 63707 66010 47101 81942 95559 61989 46767 83744 94482 55379 77472 68471 04047 53464 62080 46684 25906 94912 93313 67702 89891 52104 75216 20569 66024 05803 81501 93511 25338 24300 35587 64024 74964 73263 91419 92726 04269 92279 67823 54781 63600 93417 21641 21992 45863 15030 28618 29745 55706 74983 85054 94588 58692 69956 90927 21079 75093 02955 32116 53449 87202 75596 02364 80665 49911 98818 34797 75356 63698 07426 54252 78625 51818 41757 46728 90977 77279 38000 81647 06001 61452 49192 17321 72147 72350 14144 19735 68548 16136 11573 52552 13347 57418 49468 43852 33239 07394 14333 45477 62416 86251 89835 69485 56209 92192 22184 27255 02542 56887 67179 04946 01653 46680 49886 27232 79178 60857 84383 82796 79766 81454 10095 38837 86360 95068 00642 25125 20511 73929 84896 08412 84886 26945 60424 19652 85022 21066 11863 06744 27862 20391 94945 04712 37137 86960 95636 43719 17287 46776 46575 73962 41389 08658 32645 99581 33904 78027 59009 94657 64078 95126 94683 98352 59570 98258 22620 52248 94077 26719 47826 84826 01476 99090 26401 36394 43745 53050 68203 49625 24517 49399 65143 14298 09190 65925 09372 21696 46151 57098 58387 41059 78859 59772 97549 89301 61753 92846 81382 68683 86894 27741 55991 85592 52459 53959 43104 99725 24680 84598 72736 44695 84865 38367 36222 62609 91246 08051 24388 43904 51244 13654 97627 80797 71569 14359 97700 12961 60894 41694 86855 58484 06353 42207 22258 28488 64815 84560 28506 01684 27394 52267 46767 88952 52138 52254 99546 66727 82398 64565 96116 35488 62305 77456 49803 55936 34568 17432 41125 15076 06947 94510 96596 09402 52288 79710 89314 56691 36867 22874 89405 60101 50330 86179 28680 92087 47609 17824 93858 90097 14909 67598 52613 65549 78189 31297 84821 68299 89487 22658 80485 75640 14270 47755 51323 79641 45152 37462 34364 54285 84447 95265 86782 10511 41354 73573 95231 13427 16610 21359 69536 23144 29524 84937 18711 01457 65403 59027 99344 03742 00731 05785 39062 19838 74478 08478 48968 33214 45713 86875 19435 06430 21845 31910 48481 00537 06146 80674 91927 81911 97939 95206 14196 63428 75444 06437 45123 71819 21799 98391 01591 95618 14675 14269 12397 48940 90718 64942 31961 56794 52080 95146 55022 52316 03881 93014 20937 62137 85595 66389 37787 08303 90697 92077 34672 21825 62599 66150 14215 03068 03844 77345 49202 60541 46659 25201 49744 28507 32518 66600 21324 34088 19071 04863 31734 64965 14539 05796 26856 10055 08106 65879 69981 63574 73638 40525 71459 10289 70641 40110 97120 62804 39039 75951 56771 57700 42033 78699 36007 23055 87631 76359 42187 31251 47120 53292 81918 26186 12586 73215 79198 41484 88291 64470 60957 52706 95722 09175 67116 72291 09816 90915 28017 35067 12748 58322 28718 35209 35396 57251 21083 57915 13698 82091 44421 with a dash of Tabasco and Garlic is a taste treat beyond compare!

[Godzilla]

LONG LIVE THE BIG SEXY!!!

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16954

[mvigor]

Sean and Godzilla have some points that I agree with.

 

Randy has always had "all the games". All of them. We knew that many of them were probably still copyrighted and that some of them were owned by companies that still exist. But we wanted a copy so we bought a copy and he made us a copy. It was a gray area that we all walked through. But we knew that, right or wrong, Randy will make us any game. Any game at all. It was a great service.

 

Before Joe's boards, here is what Randy would do for $16:

 

Answer your e-mails to arrange things.

Receive your payment check, deposit it. Note your address and other info.

Buy eproms, LS04s, wires, solder, soldering iron tips, etc.

Buy a Pac-Man cart.

Take the cart apart.

Remove the old label completely. (much harder than it seems)

Desolder the rom and remove it. (Where do all those chips go?)

Fire up his computer, find your rom.

Burn you 1 eprom with a copy of whatever game you requested.

Modify the Pac-Man board, solder in your 1-off eprom, adding a few wires, the 74LS04, etc.

Put the cart case back together.

Print out some kind of label and put it on your cart.

Testing, testing, testing.

Package your cart, put on your address.

Get up to the Post office and send your package.

 

I know that some times he would make up 5 or 10 or more of a hot title in advance, but he was just as willing to make a 1-off for you. Maybe parts only averaged him $3, or maybe it was closer to $7. I don't know. But hourly he could not have been making a killing--not by a long shot.

 

I also know that nobody is perfect. Whether he wants to hear it or not, Randy could be a real jerk once in a while. He seems (like many of us) to have a problem admitting when he is wrong. Oh well.

[JCroniger]

I prefer bologna to Pi. Especialy with a slab of cheese and some mustard

[Inky]

I prefer bologna to Pi.  Especialy with a slab of cheese and some mustard

Spam is good. Especially Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam.

[Snider-man]

"Baked beans are off."

"Can I have Spam instead?"

"You mnean you want Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam, Spam, Spam,Spam, Spam, Spam,..."

 

<cue viking chorus...>