Lynxpro Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 The 7800 ownership and general retro gaming community is bigger than this forum. My 7800 group on Facebook, that I started a year ago to much derision here, now has roughly 500 members and is pretty active. It's also empty of condescending know it alls who look down on people they don't deem worthy. If people show their asses, I kick them out. This is a feature not a bug if you actually want to have fun as part of your hobby. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Well, we did boot trolls and also an infamous user who is also banned here. We've always tried to drive Facebook traffic - as in users interested in Ataris but not members here - over to AtariAge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Lock your account then so only friends can see your posts and relevant account info. Not that this would stop friends and others from tagging you in things. Additionally you'll have to make sure you turn off ALL facebook games/apps to prevent your information from being handed out to god knows what developer who may or may not be trustworthy (And given the kinds of information they expect in some cases, I'd really have to wonder about most of them.) You also have to do this to stop friends, who have access to your relevant account info, from automatically sharing it to devs on your behalf just because -they- play the game/app. Additionally every time Facebook updates their privacy settings, it generally removes something that was previously possible to set private. Or they automatically make you opt-in to handing out new information as they add new features, forcing you to go in and change them to a more private setting - assuming they give you the option to do so at all. In Canada they recently started tracking facebook users on other sites outside of facebook (pretty much any site with a like button ). They were doing this in the US well before that. Their approach was the predictable pattern for them - they opted everyone into the data tracking by default. You can then opt out of -some- of the targetted advertising that this is done to generate in your privacy settings (Although I think that just sets a cookie that when you delete it, also removes your "opt-out" decision) but also to opt out of the data collection you have to sign up with another website. If they were actually interested in privacy, they'd just make the entire thing opt-in to begin with and let people decide if they wanted it. tl;dr: looking forward to the XM! Can't wait they they ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Not that this would stop friends and others from tagging you in things. Additionally you'll have to make sure you turn off ALL facebook games/apps to prevent your information from being handed out to god knows what developer who may or may not be trustworthy (And given the kinds of information they expect in some cases, I'd really have to wonder about most of them.) You also have to do this to stop friends, who have access to your relevant account info, from automatically sharing it to devs on your behalf just because -they- play the game/app. Additionally every time Facebook updates their privacy settings, it generally removes something that was previously possible to set private. Or they automatically make you opt-in to handing out new information as they add new features, forcing you to go in and change them to a more private setting - assuming they give you the option to do so at all. In Canada they recently started tracking facebook users on other sites outside of facebook (pretty much any site with a like button ). They were doing this in the US well before that. Their approach was the predictable pattern for them - they opted everyone into the data tracking by default. You can then opt out of -some- of the targetted advertising that this is done to generate in your privacy settings (Although I think that just sets a cookie that when you delete it, also removes your "opt-out" decision) but also to opt out of the data collection you have to sign up with another website. If they were actually interested in privacy, they'd just make the entire thing opt-in to begin with and let people decide if they wanted it. tl;dr: looking forward to the XM! Can't wait they they ship. You make a valid point. When you sign up for Facebook, everything is opt in by default, and even if they give you the option to opt out immediately, it is moot. They have already shared your info the instant you signed up, before giving you the oportunity to opt out. It was sometime late 00s I last read the privacy policy, and said no thanks. Based on what I've read online, it has only gotten worse since. I signed up on Atariage in 2012, and while every post I've posted in public forum is shared with the world, I am in complete control of what is posted. None of it contains any useful information to identify myself to 3rd parties. Edited July 11, 2015 by stardust4ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Heed Albert's warning. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Heed Albert's warning. I started a new thread... http://atariage.com/forums/topic/240445-downsides-to-facebook-login/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hi everyone, Latest update... okay we've been going through testing. There was a very bad over heating issue that needed to be addressed and a lot of noise from the +5v plane in the Yamaha section has been removed. Reviewing and rechecking. Hoping to move back to testing latest BIOS soon... 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Thanks for the update Curt! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hi everyone, Latest update... okay we've been going through testing. There was a very bad over heating issue that needed to be addressed and a lot of noise from the +5v plane in the Yamaha section has been removed. Reviewing and rechecking. Hoping to move back to testing latest BIOS soon... Just to clarify, the Yamaha section has been removed, or the source of the interference? Does this mean that new revisions of PCBs will need to be made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 The Yamaha section stays, its just been heavily redesigned to eliminate the noice issue (hissing), board has been updated. Rev 3.5 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Fun stuff. And people wonder why it costs $$$ to develop new products. I'm working on one that is $3.8M in so far...Thanks for the update, Curt. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Fun stuff. And people wonder why it costs $$$ to develop new products. I'm working on one that is $3.8M in so far... Thanks for the update, Curt. 3.8 million? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yeah. It's not a game or anything related. It's an upgrade to semiconductor manufacturing equipment to improve process and reduce consumption of consumables. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yeah. It's not a game or anything related. It's an upgrade to semiconductor manufacturing equipment to improve process and reduce consumption of consumables.Reducing consumption of consumables sounds environmentally sound to me. Good luck with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauber Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yeah. It's not a game or anything related. It's an upgrade to semiconductor manufacturing equipment to improve process and reduce consumption of consumables. Will that be available in the AtariAge store? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Will that be available in the AtariAge store? No. It will only be available at Amazon.com. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) No. It will only be available at Amazon.com. reduce the reduction of the consumption of consumptive consumablesHow clever! Edited July 28, 2015 by stardust4ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toptenmaterial Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) The technical aspect of this thread has gotten really interesting as of late. I haven't read all of the recent entries, so please forgive me if the following question has been answered. I see some talk about the XEGS; does the 8-bit line have any commonalities with the 7800? This is a very broad question from a guy who knows little about tech so take it in stride. Thanks. Edit: Curt, though I'm not an XM costumer it's nice to see you back in the Atari game! ? Edited July 29, 2015 by toptenmaterial 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Glad to see you back, Curt, and chippin' away at the stone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipj Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) The technical aspect of this thread has gotten really interesting as of late. I haven't read all of the recent entries, so please forgive me if the following question has been answered. I see some talk about the XEGS; does the 8-bit line have any commonalities with the 7800? This is a very broad question from a guy who knows little about tech so take it in stride. Thanks. Edit: Curt, though I'm not an XM costumer it's nice to see you back in the Atari game! Other than the 6502 cpu, there's no commonalities; both systems are designed and built very differently from each other. The 7800 was designed by a company outside of Atari. Edited July 29, 2015 by philipj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Other than the 6502 cpu, there's no commonalities; both systems are designed and built very differently from each other. The 7800 was designed by a company outside of Atari. To clarify, the 7800 has more in common with the 2600 than the 8-bit line. It has a 6502C chip (like the 8-bit machines; by contrast the 2600 has a reduced-cost 6507 chip). It also has a TIA chip, the graphical "heart" of the 2600 and what it makes it what it is. In addition, the 7800 has a graphics chip called MARIA. That chip is what makes it what it is. The 7800 has 4K of static RAM, which is loads more than a 2600, but quite a bit less than even a bog-standard 400 or 600XL computer. The 7800 was designed by General Computer Corporation, a company that got started making modification kits for arcade games; the created the game that became Ms. Pac-Man by modding Pac-Man boards, and created a speed-up kit to enhance Missile Command, which is what drew Atari's attention. GCC produced the 7800 under contract to Warner/Atari Inc. along with the first batch of (excellent) arcade ports. Contact disputes concerning which entity owned the IP and which entity owed them money at the time of the the transition to "Atari Corp." were a huge factor in the delay in introducing the 7800 from Christmas '84 to mid-'86 or so. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) The technical aspect of this thread has gotten really interesting as of late. I haven't read all of the recent entries, so please forgive me if the following question has been answered. I see some talk about the XEGS; does the 8-bit line have any commonalities with the 7800? This is a very broad question from a guy who knows little about tech so take it in stride. Thanks. Edit: Curt, though I'm not an XM costumer it's nice to see you back in the Atari game! XEGS was essentially an Atari 8-bit computer disguised as a console. Many of the games released for it were just repackaged 8-bit titles. Unfortunately a lot of 8-bit carts rely on keyboard input, so unless you buy a keyboard and a bunch of other peripherals, the XEGS doesn't really get a whole lot of support or dedicated software. I've researched it and decided I'm not interested. Even the 5200 had more in common with 8-bit hardware, and I would consider getting one but for those gosh awful controllers. I wish someone did a Kickstarter to manufacture redesigned 5200 controllers with thumbstick analog... Edited July 29, 2015 by stardust4ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipj Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) To clarify, the 7800 has more in common with the 2600 than the 8-bit line. It has a 6502C chip (like the 8-bit machines; by contrast the 2600 has a reduced-cost 6507 chip). It also has a TIA chip, the graphical "heart" of the 2600 and what it makes it what it is. In addition, the 7800 has a graphics chip called MARIA. That chip is what makes it what it is. The 7800 has 4K of static RAM, which is loads more than a 2600, but quite a bit less than even a bog-standard 400 or 600XL computer. Correct... The graphics chip (Maria) functions more like an arcade graphics chip using raster like graphics, where as the 8bit machine like the Atari 2600 uses missile for graphics that interact very similar to a pong game hence the term "chasing the beam". The 7800 does have the same sound chip as the Atari 2600, which I think the XM would be a dramatic improvement with two extra sound chips and more additional ram. The Maria on the 7800 does differ from an arcade graphics in some respects, instead of using pixels, the Maria uses a display list controlled by the CPU, which is capable of displaying very fast, but is limited in speed based on the CPU speed. The Maria is non programmable meaning you can't directly program the Maria. Edited July 29, 2015 by philipj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Just going over the last rev board layers tonight after I got home from work, thought they looked pretty cool so I thought everyone would like to see them for the fun of it. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Those images are damn cool, thanks for sharing them! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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