Whoa, this looks kind of familiar

[davidbrit2]

Take a look at this old thing...

 

http://members.tripod.com/faberp/Katz.htm

 

...and tell me the first thing it reminds you of. Heh.

[Lemmi]

looks like a Pippen to me

 

oh and thanks for the heads up on that jag w/jag CD auction

[davidbrit2]

Well, if you're familiar with the Pippin, then yeah, that's what it'll look like.

 

The first thing I noticed was the many similarities in appearance to the X-Box. Weird. I can't help thinking that it's probably not a coincidence.

[Lemmi]

yeah i can see that too, and opps i think i got ya mixed up with another dae on this board

[davidbrit2]

Heh. That could be. I was telling someone about possible remedies for Jag CD trouble earlier, and you had me wondering "What did I say that I don't remember?" :-)

[oesii]

yep, reminded me of an Xbox right away, I've heard of the Pippin before but I don't remember seeing a pic before.

 

It opens up the obvious response, 'This isn't the first time M$ has stolen something from Apple."

[AtariDude]

Computers turned into game machines usually do not do well (the Atari XEGS, Pippin, the Amiga CDTV, etc). I think maybe Microsoft needs to be reminded of this with their Xbox (which is really a custom PC despite all the spin that Microsoft uses). I just wonder what kind of games were released for the Pippin and wheter or not any of them were really good that we might never get to see in any other format.

[Ze_ro]

Why is everyone comparing this thing to the X-Box? Other than the fact that they're based on computers, they have little in common...

 

Plus, people have been making computers into game systems for a LONG time, so saying that Microsoft is ripping off Apple is stupid. Commodore made a system called the C64GS which was a console version of the C64 (it did very poorly, and is hard to find)... there's also the CDTV, the CD32, the Pippen, and now the X-Box. If you think Microsoft stole Apple's idea, you're wrong. In fact, you could say that Apple stole Commodore's idea!

 

Computers turned into game machines usually do not do well. I think maybe Microsoft needs to be reminded of this with their Xbox.

 

Keep in mind that the reason the CD32 and Pippen failed was not because they were based on computers... but more likely because they were based on unpopular computers. The Amiga was never more than a niche computer (We had one, so I speak from experience), and the Mac had a similar following (Of course, it was more than the Amiga, but still). IBM-style PC's are significantly more popular. This means that parts are nice and cheap, the technology is proven, and every company out there knows what to do with it.

 

As much as I dislike Microsoft, the X-Box is a good idea, and it's about time someone made the idea work.

 

--Zero

[davidbrit2]

I'm mostly just making a visual comparison. Yeah, lots of game systems have been based on computers, but none seems to look like the XBox quite as much as this one.

[Nukey Shay]

Humph...he didn't even mention the 5200 or the XE game systems.

[Gunstar]

The XEGS was mentioned by someone, just not the 5200. How about CONSOLES made into computers? ADAM anyone? Mattel's Aquarious (Intellivision)?

[Ze_ro]

Making computers out of consoles is an odd beast too... ever since the ADAM died out, I figured those days were over. Yet, here I am with a keyboard and mouse for my Dreamcast... and there's that Linux package for the PS2...

 

I don't really see much point in it really (I bought the keyboard and mouse for Quake 3, not for web browsing), but to each his own...

 

Yeah, I forgot the XEGS... I knew there was something I was forgetting. So, which came first? The C64GS or the 5200? (I'm assuming the 5200 came before the XEGS)

 

For anyone who's interested in this whole computer/console merging thing, you might find this site interesting... Imagine what could have been...

 

--Zero

[Jasoco]

I want a Pippin. And an Apple STB. And a Twentieth Anniversary Mac. And a Lisa. And an Apple 1.

 

Just so I can say, "Oh, yeah. I got one of those."

[AtariDude]

You can probably obtain most of those items (I am going to a computer show these Saturday and Sunday where they have vintage computers and I remember actually seeing an Apple Lisa there but it was not working so I did not buy it). However, the Apple I is going to be very expensive to obtain. My understanding that the last one sold for something like $20,000.

[badbrad]

I have an Aquarius, (its a piece of crap )

It's funny that they run a version of MSDOS.

[AtariDude]

A friend of my family used to have an Aquarius. I haven't seen them in years so I don't know if they still have it or whether or not it still worked.

[chrisbid]

"Aquarius - System of the Seventies!"

 

quote from the Blue Sky Rangers homepage

[George Gray]

"Aquarius - System of the Seventies!"

 

quote from the Blue Sky Rangers homepage

The Aquarius - a great computer ... if you like PAIN

kidding, of course. I just wanted to say...I knew Intellivision...I played Intellivision...Aquarius...you're no Intellivision!

The Aquarius was not designed nor built by Mattel. It came from a company called Radofin and was repackaged for Mattel. Mattel devoted some of their Intellivision developers to write software for it, but that's about it for any kind of Intellivision connection. They had grandiose plans for the pile...disk drives, modems, printers, expansion ports, voice, etc. But...oh my! That stinking keyboard! I'd rather type on the Commodore PET (anyone remember THAT!?)

[George Gray]

Computers turned into game machines usually do not do well (the Atari XEGS, Pippin, the Amiga CDTV, etc). I think maybe Microsoft needs to be reminded of this with their Xbox (which is really a custom PC despite all the spin that Microsoft uses). I just wonder what kind of games were released for the Pippin and wheter or not any of them were really good that we might never get to see in any other format.

 

Well, technically speaking, all consoles from (GRIN) the Channel F all the way up to the X-BOX are really just dedicated little computers. Everyone's fave-the VCS-is a little computer (after all, did'nt the 'C' in VCS stand for COMPUTER?)

 

Ok, I'm being nit-picky...I understand the point AtariDude was making. He's right, of course.

 

[Ze_ro]

Mattel devoted some of their Intellivision developers to write software for [the Aquarius], but that's about it for any kind of Intellivision connection.

 

Really? I thought the Aquarius was a repackage of the INTV... but I admit, I know very little of that system. What kind of specifications did it have? Was the keyboard actually worse than the Atari 400 keyboard?

 

Funny thing is, the Coleco Adam, known for it's unreliability, is actually still being used by my friend's dad. He still uses it for word processing and printing and such... Well, at least it doesn't have that damn paper clip

 

--Zero

[George Gray]

Mattel devoted some of their Intellivision developers to write software for [the Aquarius], but that's about it for any kind of Intellivision connection.

 

Really? I thought the Aquarius was a repackage of the INTV... but I admit, I know very little of that system. What kind of specifications did it have? Was the keyboard actually worse than the Atari 400 keyboard?

 

Funny thing is, the Coleco Adam, known for it's unreliability, is actually still being used by my friend's dad. He still uses it for word processing and printing and such... Well, at least it doesn't have that damn paper clip

 

--Zero

Yeah, no kidding! Kill Clippy!

 

Anyway, the Aquarius sported a Z80A microprocessor (about it's most modern feature!) running, I think, at 2mhz but I could be wrong. It had 4k of ram and could be expanded by using the 16k expansion pack. It featured a flavor of Microsoft Basic that was similar to the version in the Tandy Color Computer. You can go here:http://www.intellivisionlives.com/bluesky/hardware/aquarius_tech.html

to read more.

[George Gray]

Mattel devoted some of their Intellivision developers to write software for [the Aquarius], but that's about it for any kind of Intellivision connection.

 

Really? I thought the Aquarius was a repackage of the INTV... but I admit, I know very little of that system. What kind of specifications did it have? Was the keyboard actually worse than the Atari 400 keyboard?

 

Funny thing is, the Coleco Adam, known for it's unreliability, is actually still being used by my friend's dad. He still uses it for word processing and printing and such... Well, at least it doesn't have that damn paper clip

 

--Zero

I forgot to mention...YES...the keyboard was of the chiclet variety. Rubber tops, if I correctly recall them, that tended to 'stick'. Did I mention that it looked like something from the 1970's? The EARLY '70s?

The form factor was dreadful. BUT...you COULD program it. AND you could play a fairly ok version of Utopia with slightly better graphics than the Intellivision version.

 

I'm surprised about the longevity of the Adam. Very cool. I remember salivating, ever so briefly, over the Adam. That is, until people started to return them.

[AtariDude]

Here are a couple of pages that I found regarding the Aquarious computer:

 

http://www.vdsteenoven.com/aquarius/

 

http://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/intros/aquarius.html

 

http://www.geocities.com/~compcloset/Matte...telAquarius.htm

 

http://www.digitpress.com/faq/aquarius.txt

 

 

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By the way, I liked Clippy and I am saddened to hear about his demise. Actually, I liked Power Pup more than Clippy but I get the impression that Clippy was better known.