New Atari Console that Ataribox?

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Yeah, that's the guy. So I'm sure he'll be opining on it, but like I said, I highly doubt that Atari will be pleased with anything other than a glowing paid-for "review" from CNET or Engadget, while real world reviewers are going to be asking "Why do I need this?," "Who is this for?," and "LOL, they call THIS a PC?"

Edited December 6, 2019 by Shaggy the Atarian

[Lodmot]

11 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Yeah, that's the guy. So I'm sure he'll be opining on it, but like I said, I highly doubt that Atari will be pleased with anything other than a glowing paid-for "review" from CNET or Engadget, while real world reviewers are going to be asking "Why do I need this?," "Who is this for?," and "LOL, they call THIS a PC?"

I also have a sneaking suspicion they're going to use AskPCB for their motherboards in the final release, too. I suppose as long as they work, I don't really have a problem with it. But they're probably going to be super cheap and prone to failing.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

2 minutes ago, Lodmot said:

I also have a sneaking suspicion they're going to use AskPCB for their motherboards in the final release, too. I suppose as long as they work, I don't really have a problem with it. But they're probably going to be super cheap and prone to failing.

Well, if the system ends up having more issues than a typical Xbox 360 did(a real possibility, given the timelines here+not knowing if they found someone competent enough to take over the reigns on the QA/testing phase), then I'd dispute that it really "works" at all

 

[OCAT]

^^^ Meh, lots of systems never worked, Look at Atari, look at Philips CD-i, Xbox, 3DO and the most infamous Amstrad GX4000 that blew up its own power supply if it threw a hissy fit. Expect cost cutting to be at an all time high. Cheapass capacitors will be one thing they cut corners with. Believe you me if you want to keep this system as a collector item, Expect to recap this thing in the future.

Edited December 6, 2019 by OCAT

[Lodmot]

10 minutes ago, OCAT said:

^^^ Meh, lots of systems never worked, Look at Atari, look at Philips CD-i, Xbox, 3DO and the most infamous Amstrad GX4000 that blew up its own power supply if it threw a hissy fit. Expect cost cutting to be at an all time high. Chee-pass capacitors will be one thing they cut corners with. Believe you me you wannt keep this system as a collector item? Expect to recap this thing.

That's freakin' hilarious to think about, because my Sega Genesis from 1995 still has perfectly good caps.

[OverMuch]

14 minutes ago, OCAT said:

^^^ Meh, lots of systems never worked, Look at Atari, look at Philips CD-i, Xbox, 3DO and the most infamous Amstrad GX4000 that blew up its own power supply if it threw a hissy fit. Expect cost cutting to be at an all time high. Chee-pass capacitors will be one thing they cut corners with. Believe you me you wannt keep this system as a collector item? Expect to recap this thing.

I've never heard of high failure rates with Atari systems, the CD-i, or the 3DO?  

[OCAT]

I never mentioned, Sega, NES SNES in the post, at all. CD-i and #Do was more the Laser assembly, still it is a failure that caused the unit to not function at all.

And then if you had Arcade boards and especially the CPS system 2's you hd to deal with the Suicide battery, that is why I just gave up and sold off my CPS system and game, I did not want to deal with the battery swaps and authenticating keys, my board was authentic, but if you hack the keys back value goes down.

Edited December 6, 2019 by OCAT

[Lodmot]

Just now, OCAT said:

I never mentioned, Sega, NES SNES in the post, at all. CD-i and #Do was more the Laser assembly, still it is a failure that caused the unit to not function at all.

I know. I was just comparing a unit with brand new 2019 capacitors with a unit from 1995 that has good working original capacitors still.

[OCAT]

^^^ oh my bad, and dont forget the VecTrex, but that system was Vector Based so fixing capacitors is inevitable.
Atari was more the controllers, but then again most controllers from that time were garbage, especially the flight sticks for computers and Apples, cheap contact based garbage

Edited December 6, 2019 by OCAT

[Flojomojo]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Maxtang-releases-fanless-mini-PC-powered-by-laptop-grade-Ryzen-5-2500U-CPU.446027.0.html

 

Quote

The base model is now available on AliExpress for only US$354, and Maxtang also provides versions that include up to 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and up to one 512 GB SSD for around US$520. Users can easily replace the RAM and SSD, plus there is the option to add a 2.5-inch HDD.

[+thanatos]

What Atari systems 'never worked' aside from 5200 contollers?

[Flojomojo]

2 minutes ago, thanatos said:

What Atari systems 'never worked' aside from 5200 contollers?

Fred Chesnais doesn't seem to have worked super hard at anything we care about. Same for Mike "Lifestyle Brand" Arzt. 
 

The AliExpress PC looks a bit like the 2600, and made of metal. 
 

US $377.15  16％ Off | AMD 2500U Mini PC Quad Core Linux Fanless minipc 2*LAN 6*USB HDMI
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/plG1ZPHm

[+thanatos]

10 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Fred Chesnais doesn't seem to have worked super hard at anything we care about. Same for Mike "Lifestyle Brand" Arzt. 
 

The AliExpress PC looks a bit like the 2600, and made of metal. 
 

US $377.15  16％ Off | AMD 2500U Mini PC Quad Core Linux Fanless minipc 2*LAN 6*USB HDMI
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/plG1ZPHm

 

Hehe huh-huh...  "Max Tang"  huhuh

[Agillig]

I honestly can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.   This seems like a TERRIBLE way to get information out to the masses. 

[Lodmot]

2 minutes ago, Agillig said:

I honestly can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.   This seems like a TERRIBLE way to get information out to the masses. 

I don't think he's being sarcastic. Based on his other IGG comments, he appears to be a die-hard Atari VCS supporter.

[+frankodragon]

 

 

Even if Fred tried to get some money back by appearing on Wheel of Fortune, he'll eventually end up still bankrupt.

 

[Agillig]

1 hour ago, Lodmot said:

I don't think he's being sarcastic. Based on his other IGG comments, he appears to be a die-hard Atari VCS supporter.

I guess...  But this statement is just so delusional.   At this point, I wish Atari would just release the damn system and put these guys out of their misery.   Let them down gently, if you will.   

 

Kim Wilde's hit song, "Keep Me Hanging On" seems to be the soundtrack for this slow burning dumpster fire.   Fred needs to be a man about it and set Brandon Harris free.

[MrBeefy]

 

11 hours ago, JBerel said:

The thought of reviews is interesting. Do you think they will have the nads to actually send any finished units out for impartial reviews, or will reviews be limited to the wingnuts who bought one. (assuming it ships at all) That would result in little more than angry youtube nerds or delusional fanboys Simonizing whatever steaming excrement comes out. 

I think ETA Prime backed it. Be curious when he gets his.

[JaqenHghar]

49 minutes ago, Agillig said:

Kim Wilde's hit song, "Keep Me Hanging On" seems to be the soundtrack for this slow burning dumpster fire.   Fred needs to be a man about it and set Brandon Harris free.

 

Credit where credit is due, that was a hit for The Supremes first in the 60s. Kim Wilde's version is a decades-later tribute. Just a more successful decades-later tribute than the VCS.

[JaqenHghar]

12 hours ago, JBerel said:

The thought of reviews is interesting. Do you think they will have the nads to actually send any finished units out for impartial reviews, or will reviews be limited to the wingnuts who bought one. (assuming it ships at all) That would result in little more than angry youtube nerds or delusional fanboys Simonizing whatever steaming excrement comes out. 

 

What's like YouTube but offers the reviewee a delete button?

[TankedThomas]

On 12/6/2019 at 5:02 AM, JBerel said:

Not to perpetuate more fraud, but one of their pics does seem to show the front and underside of this shiny plastic delight. I bet they have a stack of sticky laser-cut wood grain paper labels laying around to stick on the front. That would seem to suggest these are in fact what they hope to send to backers, despite calling them pre-production testing samples. So ya gotta give them credit for at least getting someone to make injection molds finally. Having any functional electronics to put inside, let alone content to run on it is a different matter. I sure hope they get Ackky the Sloth, Official Atari Mascot to sign each of these highly collectible units.

 

Yeah, that was my assumption - these units are being packed for shipment, and this garbage is what backers will receive. 

On 12/6/2019 at 7:37 AM, Flojomojo said:

This is very funny, but is factually incorrect. 

 

Mike Kennedy (RetroVGS/Coleco Chameleon) never delivered a working system, but he made bunches of custom Atari Jaguar-style console shells from the original molds. They were done in multiple plastic colors including a translucent version. I don't know about their quality, but others on this board could speak to that. I wouldn't call it mass production (no way he could turn out 6,000 units) but he took orders, and as far as I know, he fulfilled them in a timely fashion. I've seen pictures of them and others have seen them in person. 

 

Mike Kennedy never took any customer money for RetroVGS/Coleco Chameleon.

And this proved there's a market for new enclosures - Atari should have just made a mini-ITX-compatible PC case instead or, hell, a "modern" case for your old 2600 hardware. Or just make a modern 2600 clone. Or literally anything other than what they actually did (or did not) do. 

14 hours ago, JBerel said:

The thought of reviews is interesting. Do you think they will have the nads to actually send any finished units out for impartial reviews, or will reviews be limited to the wingnuts who bought one. (assuming it ships at all) That would result in little more than angry youtube nerds or delusional fanboys Simonizing whatever steaming excrement comes out. 

See, I'm not convinced they'll even make enough units for all the backers, let alone bothering with paid shills. I think we're going to end up with another Vega+ scenario, where just a handful of units ship and they're bloody horrendous. 

10 hours ago, ColecoJoe said:

I think that was John Hancock, meanwhile Intellivision just released a play demo of Moon Patrol, sure not on actual hardware but more than Atari has given us in 2 years.

John Hancock did say he backed it so he could review it but advised others to avoid it, if I remember correctly (from one of his recent VCS videos). 

 

I saw that Intellivision demo get released (signed up to their mailing list just because), so I'm excited to try that out. 

 

I have to say, as someone who has no attachment to the Intellivision, I'm keen to by an Amico, if only to reward them for their on-point marketing and transparency. I'm not personally convinced the project will be at all successful, but I hope it is because Tommy Tallarico's passion and commitment is a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the stale wind ol' Fred has been passing in our direction for years now. 

[PlaysWithWolves]

Dreamcade Replay sent a pre-campiagn unit to one or two YouTubers.  He or they raved about how good the unit was.  Wasn't the actual crowdfunded product pretty lackluster?

[JBerel]

6 hours ago, Agillig said:

I guess...  But this statement is just so delusional.   At this point, I wish Atari would just release the damn system and put these guys out of their misery.   Let them down gently, if you will.   

 

I'm sure anything short of receiving nothing will be heralded as a huge success. Their reality distortion field and fish hook syndrome are so strong they claim every critic is moving goalposts every time they put out a press release that says nothing, lies, or confirms what we've all been saying, that they keep making it worse and have no frickin clue what they're doing with it.

1 hour ago, PlaysWithWolves said:

Dreamcade Replay sent a pre-campiagn unit to one or two YouTubers.  He or they raved about how good the unit was.  Wasn't the actual crowdfunded product pretty lackluster?

Yup, lots of plans for a windows PC to look like a retro console, and they had a few actual prototype units of exactly that, but ultimately released as a slightly modified Acer mini PC with pretty useless front end software. They were hampered by Atari threatening to sue them into the ground with no standing to do so, as is Atari's one strength. Atari has always been trying to do nothing more than the Dreamcade, except without Windows, a prototype, honesty or a clue about their intent. If they even manage to send out backer Linux boxes, you can expect a nearly worthless software front end. Hell, they already wrote that off from the start with all the "sandbox" bullshit.

[Shawn]

16 hours ago, Lodmot said:

I also have a sneaking suspicion they're going to use AskPCB for their motherboards in the final release, too. I suppose as long as they work, I don't really have a problem with it. But they're probably going to be super cheap and prone to failing.

 

There is no way they use AskPCB for the full run. They will get some Chinese fab house to print them off as absolutely cheap as possible.

[OverMuch]

21 hours ago, OCAT said:

^^^ oh my bad, and dont forget the VecTrex, but that system was Vector Based so fixing capacitors is inevitable.
Atari was more the controllers, but then again most controllers from that time were garbage, especially the flight sticks for computers and Apples, cheap contact based garbage

Regardless, I can't think of an Atari system that had any odd failure rate.  Same for 3DO, CD-i, Vectrex, et al.