digdugnate Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) so i just read through the 'update' and like the 30 additional comments of people falling over themselves about the Atari SpinnyBox. that was a whole lot of update of nothing. It's just like they threw words, any words, on the page and hoped it made sense. "The Atari OS is alive! Its booting on the reference board but its still very crude. Don’t even ask about graphics and audio support, its a long way off. At the moment we are working on a clean kernel boot for the given hardware and an initial process." Edited November 23, 2018 by digdugnate 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 It's also full of contradictions and noncommittal wishes and aspirations. So will it use a browser or not? If the alt OS isn't important to 99% of the users, why spend so many words on it? And if it's not compatible with Ubuntu software, what happens to that vast ocean of "open PC" promises? The locked-down digital store isn't unique to this thing, after all. "We've removed anything sensitive, confusing or otherwise inappropriate to share" makes me wonder what manner of batshit crazy they're keeping to themselves. Because what they've chosen to present, doesn't present well. Maybe they should have Rob deliver it via video, so we can all swoon over his cute accent. It worked really well for Feargal, until it didn't. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) If some of daredevil Rob Wyatt's wishes come to fruition, unboxing videos of these things will be epically boring: Comes with no games*. Can't install Steam unless it's through a separate thumb drive operating system. Probably no video streaming apps (though he really wants them). No built-in sandbox mode for easy app or Steam installation. It'll look pretty gathering dust, though! *Edit: Oops! It does come with 100 Atari games, so there's that! Edited November 23, 2018 by PlaysWithWolves 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 No video streaming apps?!? Mum will be SOOO disappointed after waiting all this time. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Whoops! I made a boo-boo: I'd forgotten the VCS will come with 100+ Atari games included. So I guess there's something to do other than browse the web on your TV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) I think the most important part of the update was: Dont even ask about graphics and audio support, its a long way off. I mean, just let that sink in for awhile. We've got the USB ports working BUT DON'T ASK ABOUT GRAPHICS AND SOUND. I really need to fix the graphics. Yeah, might not be a terrible idea. I also like this question raised: As a platform provider you must own the platform. You can’t just put a box out there and say go for it. A Linux box in a fancy case is just that, people can already do that and do by using (Raspberry) Pi’s, Beaglebones or Intel sticks. For a platform to succeed there must be a goal in mind. What is the platform going to be used for? The software and the hardware and the Industrial Design and the Marketing must be one. The question is raised, but there's no real answer. Is that part of the information redacted for being inappropriate? A lot of people are already suspicious of what Atari is doing, forcing people to use a browser isn’t going to help to the external view that this box is (being) thrown together. I'm stunned this was left in the update. Edited November 23, 2018 by dj_convoy 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 They've had a year and a half since the initial announcement, a year since the crowdfunding was started and pulled, and this is all they have?Honestly, not surprised at all. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Looks like Atari SA is only trying to make more $$ by selling Black Friday crap with T-Shirts and maybe sneaking in those Speakerhats. "Buy a T-Shirt! Give us more money! We need it for the Pigalle district!" 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lingyi Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Just dropping in to say I'm headed out to Taco Bell. Yeah, yeah, I know! But hey, it's got Taco in the name! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 At least the RVGS kitchen table prototype let you move the box around. Atacobox box just spins in place like a wheel in mud. Represents the project symbolically. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Since we're still on the subject of spinning cubes, here's one Atari SA could of stolen for their own use if they were very, very lazy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 "You'll get nothing and like it!" 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Just dropping in to say I'm headed out to Taco Bell. Yeah, yeah, I know! But hey, it's got Taco in the name! We appreciate being kept in the loop... Truly, I like Taco Bell for what it is...There might be a wide gulf between it and, say a local Mexican food place where they barely speak English (Those are the Best!!), but ya know what you're getting, and sometimes it's exactly what I'm hungry for. Looks like Atari SA is only trying to make more $$ by selling Black Friday crap with T-Shirts and maybe sneaking in those Speakerhats. "Buy a T-Shirt! Give us more money! We need it for the Pigalle district!" Even though I HATE them for calling this thing a VCS, (I guess I should be Glad they didn't call it a 2600)...Them making some money selling T-Shirts is pretty much them following my advice! If they sell a T-Shirt (or sticker for that matter), no one has to know it's nutari and not The Atari (of olde) being represented...Also it makes them some money and it's something I have faith that even they could pull off...unlike a new console release, which is iffy at best. And although, I think they'll sell something...I think by the time it releases, (and this is just my pure speculation of course, pulled right out of a black hole (the outer space kind BTW))), Flashbacks will probably be advanced enough, at that point in time, to have Atari games in HD, plus maybe they'll be giving us some HD 7800/5200 titles and ideally some Arcade hits and paddles that work, and who knows what else? Just think of it! It's possible that nutarivsctacobox owners will be wishing they'd bought an ATGames product instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaysWithWolves Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 "You'll get nothing and like it!" 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBerel Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 What's funny is that the questions raised in the update non-info are the exact questions raised from the beginning in this thread so many months ago. This goes to my point that they are going backward. The questions: "What is it for?", and "why is it needed?" are no closer to being answered, yet they keep scratching their heads about it, and worse, they found people to pay them for doing it. What's even more laughable are the backers that keep reveling in it. I'm not going to be ugly, but the unbelievable level of willful ignorance on display by these people keeps lowering my opinion of the human race. These people demonstrate that they see what is happening, yet continue to behave like it is not. If any of these people are real, rather than posers put in place by Atari, the world would be a better place without them. Truly ghastly ignorance that defies the competence to operate an internet connected device. But then there's social media, so there's that. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_B Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 I can't help but think that Rob is heading for an inevitable clash with Atari's management here, as he still seems to be under the mistaken impression that he's making a games console that'll need a substantial amount of development work and online infrastructure to support, while they'll just be wanting something cheap that can be chucked out the door and forgotten about. Assuming that Feargal doesn't clean them out in court first, I'd think it more likely to ship with stock Ubuntu and a free Steam key for Atari Vault. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 What's even more laughable are the backers that keep reveling in it. I'm not going to be ugly, but the unbelievable level of willful ignorance on display by these people keeps lowering my opinion of the human race. These people demonstrate that they see what is happening, yet continue to behave like it is not. If any of these people are real, rather than posers put in place by Atari, the world would be a better place without them. Truly ghastly ignorance that defies the competence to operate an internet connected device. But then there's social media, so there's that. I was having a chat earlier with someone about that, and it's like yeah, this makes you want to grimace when you read these reactions... but what can we do? We can only champion critical thinking (or indeed, thinking at all). We are haters and naysayers and suspicious and whatever else... but realistically, I don't think that we want anyone to lose money. Maybe some of these folks need the bad experience to each them something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCAT Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Since we're still on the subject of spinning cubes, here's one Atari SA could of stolen for their own use if they were very, very lazy. ripoff_cube.gif They could have dig-dug into the dumpster and pulled out this little gem "Where did You learn to Fly?" he he he... Edited November 23, 2018 by OCAT 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Spriggy Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 At the moment we are working on a clean kernel boot for the given hardware and an initial process." 3 million spondoolies for this!!?? Pfftt! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 3 million spondoolies for this!!?? Pfftt! colboot.jpg It's been a while since I've had to hand-roll a Linux kernel, but I have done it more than once or twice over the years. With everything that's been described about the AtariVCSbollocks' architecture, getting a running base OS install with a kernel approximating the intended featureset would literally take a leisurely afternoon to complete once you've downloaded and built from the kernel.org source. Video support? Yup, that one's in there. Audio support? Ditto. USB support? Ya, ya betcha. Kernel-based virtual machine support? Boy howdy is that one included. Spend some time with `make menuconfig` stripping out what you don't need, then type `make`. Done. You now have your prototype kernel. Refine from there. I can understand things like needing to integrate support for specific devices, etc., requiring additional time to complete, but if you're buying things like off-the-shelf GPUs the manufacturer should be able to give you whatever documentation and / or sample source they have for that device. It's unlikely you'll need to reverse-engineer and write your own kernel driver for it. But, really, they've got an x86/x64 (I forget which) dev board sitting right in front of them that's running three- to four-year-old commodity hardware. Not being able to show it doing anything past POST at this stage is just laughable because there is absolutely no way on earth that thing has hardware in it that a recent kernel can't handle. In other news, the first meal of the post-Thanksgiving era was Of The Taco. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lingyi Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) It's been a while since I've had to hand-roll a Linux kernel, but I have done it more than once or twice over the years. With everything that's been described about the AtariVCSbollocks' architecture, getting a running base OS install with a kernel approximating the intended featureset would literally take a leisurely afternoon to complete once you've downloaded and built from the kernel.org source. Video support? Yup, that one's in there. Audio support? Ditto. USB support? Ya, ya betcha. Kernel-based virtual machine support? Boy howdy is that one included. Spend some time with `make menuconfig` stripping out what you don't need, then type `make`. Done. You now have your prototype kernel. Refine from there. I can understand things like needing to integrate support for specific devices, etc., requiring additional time to complete, but if you're buying things like off-the-shelf GPUs the manufacturer should be able to give you whatever documentation and / or sample source they have for that device. It's unlikely you'll need to reverse-engineer and write your own kernel driver for it. But, really, they've got an x86/x64 (I forget which) dev board sitting right in front of them that's running three- to four-year-old commodity hardware. Not being able to show it doing anything past POST at this stage is just laughable because there is absolutely no way on earth that thing has hardware in it that a recent kernel can't handle. In other news, the first meal of the post-Thanksgiving era was Of The Taco. Awww...ya just had to rub it didn't ya! After I just had T Bell (not worthy of the full name)! :-) Actually I totally agree with Goldleader. T Bell is fine for what is. I was debating between going there or stopping by the market, laziness and convenience won out. Besides, there something about their tortillas (I had a Burrito Supreme and soft tacos) that I can't find an equivalent in the market. Plus I actually like the Fire Sauce, buy it by the bottle on sale. Use it instead of Tabasco. Just wish they'd bottle their Diablo sauce though. Edit: Just checked Amazon and they have it there...for $10 a bottle! Checked Target, they have it for $1.39, but none near me. I'll check Walmart the next time I go. Edited November 24, 2018 by lingyi 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 i've seen the Diablo sauce at Walmart every great once in a while or our local supermarkets sometimes carry it. the bottled Fire sauce usually has a permanent spot in our fridge, hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 I've bought their Green Sauce in stores after they seemingly quit carrying it in their restaurants, but last time I checked one of our Taco Bells had it and one did not...(I have a fridge full of their packets of Diablo and Fire Sauce anyway haha...) That said, the one I really like is Del Scorcho Sauce from Del Taco! Shame Del Taco is 90 miles from here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCAT Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 So what is the update? Has anyone on youtube unboxed this thing yet? AtariBox unboxing on Boxing day... best get them in people's hands by Xmas day, I hope the shippers double box them, I dont want my woodgrain cracked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 It's also full of contradictions and noncommittal wishes and aspirations. So will it use a browser or not? If the alt OS isn't important to 99% of the users, why spend so many words on it? And if it's not compatible with Ubuntu software, what happens to that vast ocean of "open PC" promises? The locked-down digital store isn't unique to this thing, after all. "We've removed anything sensitive, confusing or otherwise inappropriate to share" makes me wonder what manner of batshit crazy they're keeping to themselves. Because what they've chosen to present, doesn't present well. Maybe they should have Rob deliver it via video, so we can all swoon over his cute accent. It worked really well for Feargal, until it didn't. I would say that a large majority of apps for Android / iOS are just wrapped browsers. Same is probably true for most embedded systems' apps (PS4, xbox, etc.) Hell, on GNOME, you can even choose within its default browser (Epiphany) to make a launcher for a specific web page as an "app". I should try that with netflix and add it to Steam as a launcher to see how well it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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