Dripfree Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 For reference purposes. Never seen one of these before, I know nothing about them but I really like the looks! I think that the Genie II gets my vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenjennings Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 It depends on how "old". The Pet looked like it came from the space program... in 2035. I like the way the Atari 800 looks. Until the 1200XL blew that away. Then came the Mindset. In general, I like the pizza box form factor.. Amiga 1000, Sun workstations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 It depends on how "old". Until the 1200XL blew that away. I do have to admit, while I never had one, the 1200XL IS a sexy looking computer... Click on image to REALLY, REALLY enlarge (for that close up view). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I do have to admit, while I never had one, the 1200XL IS a sexy looking computer... Click on image to REALLY, REALLY enlarge (for that close up view). This is one of the few machines that I have never got my hands on due to it never receiving a UK release-same story with the 5200. The 1200XL is a work of beauty and I assume that it being an early introduction to the XL lines that it would have the original "qality" keyboard and not that wobbly cost reduced monstrosity that the later XL's had. There is one on Ebay at the moment and I am considering it but choices have to be made-go on holiday or 1200XL, let the kids go hungry or 1200XL, no choice really-1200XL! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I got a cheap 1200XL the other year, with a partly malfunctioning keyboard. I was not awfully impressed, so I swapped it in a plain deal for an Atari 800, NTSC model as well. Most people probably think I got the short end of the stick, but I find that I appreciate the 800 more than I could find use of the 1200XL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The 1200XL is the best looking home computer ever built, IMO. Nothing I've seen on these pages has shaken my conviction. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seob Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The 1200xl looks rather dull to me. If seen a lot more good looking machines in this thread. I'm pretty sure a lot of machines posted here are posted because of fond memories, not because of the looks. And that's totaly understandable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoTonah Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 To me, almost EVERY new computer back then was sexy. When big DOS boxes swept everything else away, I cried a little because it seemed like no one was trying to be innovative anymore (except Apple, Atari and Commodore). My favorite? Depends on the "era". 1979 was a very different year than 1984 for industrial design. For instance, I think the Atari 800 was extremely sexy. So was the Commodore Plus/4. But I think my favorite 8-bit was the Commodore 64-SX. 16-bit? Atari Mega-STe. 32-bit? NeXT cube. As far as DOS compatibles, I think the Mindset was the best, then the Gavilan, then the Amstradt PPC-640. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The 1200XL and the BBC Micro have some similarities, except I think the Atari has less height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1933 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The 1200XL and the BBC Micro have some similarities, except I think the Atari has less height. I thought the same thing due to the extended back on the machine-I bet the 1200XL does not have half as many interfaces on it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ransom Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I've always thought the 1200XL was a great looking computer. It's my favorite by far, in terms of styling. As runner-up, I have to give props to the Apple //c. It's a great design with some nice functional aspects. Too bad the danged handle didn't lock into place, though. Ended up killing my drive BITD because the darned thing kept falling over (because of the way the desk I had back then was configured, I had to move the computer to insert/remove a disk). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I've always thought the 1200XL was a great looking computer. It's my favorite by far, in terms of styling. As runner-up, I have to give props to the Apple //c. It's a great design with some nice functional aspects. Too bad the danged handle didn't lock into place, though. Ended up killing my drive BITD because the darned thing kept falling over (because of the way the desk I had back then was configured, I had to move the computer to insert/remove a disk). That's a IIc Plus. It looks better than the IIc because of the 3.5" drive. It also has an internal power supply which is nice. I have a couple of those machines. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd call many machines on the list "sexy". Cool, attractive, neat... yes... but sexy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Jesus Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 It's only 13 years old now...but nothing can beat the Apple G4 Cube. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 That's a IIc Plus. It looks better than the IIc because of the 3.5" drive. It also has an internal power supply which is nice. I have a couple of those machines. The C is close enough to that image if you get a good looking one, it just has platinum keys and a 5.25 inch disk door flap on the side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The black wedge and its close cousin the white wedge are my favorite PC designs. As classic computers go, the Plus 4 was one of the biggest disappointments ever, but just look at this thing and tell me it's not ready to launch off your desk and take flight. My deepest regret is that they never put the VIC-20 in that awesome case. I also liked the Atari XE design. Utilitarian, but it had an understated elegance, with those swooping function keys. Frankly, the late 70s designs for consumer electronics are a little too, uh, stone-aged for my tastes, and the XE was a nice upgrade from the dated 400/800. Radio Shack had that Tandy 100 proto-laptop, originally designed by Kyocera. Looked nice enough, and was an on-the-go favorite until the rise of netbooks and tablets. I also thought their Pocket PCs were, well, not sexy, but certainly cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffie Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 C'mon... this one looks like an Sports Car of the 80's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 What? Nobody likes mysterious black cubes that semaphore lock Europa? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I liked my C128 Too bad I don't have it anymore. Next up the 1200 XL and the C64C for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastRobPlus Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 The 1200XL is the sexiest console micro, and the Amiga 1000 is the sexiest desktop micro. Not sure about handheld, laptop, or mini/workstation/full computer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) After seeing all these great vintage computers, I have to say there are some very interesting and sleek computers of yester-year, though I can't use the word "sexy" as sex never enters my mind when looking at computers. But I still think the Atari 1200XL is the sleekest and most beautiful of all. They still look sleek and modern to my eyes today. Though I don't like the look of the 600/800XL computers nearly as much, even with the same color scheme, they just look "cheap" to me. Second for me is the original Atari 800. Edited April 22, 2014 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 But I still think the Atari 1200XL is the sleekest and most beautiful of all. They still look sleek and modern to my eyes today. Though I don't like the look of the 600/800XL computers nearly as much, even with the same color scheme, they just look "cheap" to me. Couldn't have put it better myself. I like the XL styling, but the 1200XL seems in a completely different aesthetic class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 For me it is that one! It is one the commodore PET of last generation. It makes me thing to the TV Show : Space 1999! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Creativision, and I thought how neat, the controllers make a keyboard. I liked that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyChris Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Feast your eyes on this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhomaios Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 For me it is that one! It is one the commodore PET of last generation. It makes me thing to the TV Show : Space 1999! This was mentioned at the very beginning of the thread, too. If we were voting, this gets mine. None come close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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