+MrFish Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 People can also do a little work for themselves. They should be instructed to a least try a few simple searches first before starting a fresh topic. A simple search like "atarimax email reply" yields more than enough threads full of information on the subject. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 One could always start a dedicated thread so they could re-hash old stuff. Then anyone not interested could simply press the IGNORE THIS TOPIC button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Steve is a class act. I have had many lengthy conversations with him in the past. I can tell you that because of his job, he is a very busy person. Steve is a professional and his job demands a lot of his time, and is stressful. Please give the man a break. I am a motor coach (charter bus) operator, and have been gone for two week at a time. Took trips to Washington DC, brought them home and was on the road headed back there the very next day. So trust me, there are quite a bit of times that I can not return calls or answer E-mails, I know what Steve is going through. Steve does not drive a bus, but his job does consume a lot of time, which does not leave him a lot of free time to do what he does. Be thankful that he still does support our hobby with the time he has available. Without going deeper into his personal life, I can tell you he does have a family as well. I commend him for doing what he does as a professional and as a family man. If I were him, I would not have time for the AtariMax business myself. But because of his love for Atari, he wants to use his knowledge and offer great products to the community. I see the MegaMillion's lottery just had a single winner. To the best of my knowledge it was not Steve. If it was, I am sure he would have more free time with AtariMax. Please, give the guy a break. He is not going to screw you. He is going to give you a great product at a fair price that you will be very happy with. You just have to understand, the man has a life (and a wife) outside of the Atari community. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 People can also do a little work for themselves. They should be instructed to a least try a few simple searches first before starting a fresh topic. A simple search like "atarimax email reply" yields more than enough threads full of information on the subject. in the internet there exist in general two types of forums. The forums where they find it very important that people do not start threads with subjects that already have been discussed on one side, and the forums where people are very free to do what they want as soon as it is not illegal. Of course there are more types, but in general this is pretty true. AtariAge belongs IMHO more to the second categorie. For both ways is something to say. The benefit of the more strict forum is that it is easier to find information you need. When you are looking for a solution for problem x and you have to walk through several threads about solution similar to x, but not exact x... it can be pretty time consuming to find what you want (if you will). The benefit of the not so strict forum is that the chance people start a thread and something happens is bigger. I visit this forum daily, and personally I find it pretty annoying when every now and then the same topics are started. I can remember there was a time we had the question 'which is the best flash card solution' almost weekly if not more. That is annoying. Also the several AtariMax topics look pretty useless to me. One could always start a dedicated thread so they could re-hash old stuff. Then anyone not interested could simply press the IGNORE THIS TOPIC button. I partly agree with this. Like I wrote above in this post, it is not ideal that information about a certain subject is spread over several topics when you search for something. It is handier that most information about the same subject is concentrated in one topic/thread. If you have to ignore topics to make the forum usable, it seems to be the other way around to me... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 (edited) Also the several AtariMax topics look pretty useless to me. "Useless"? The basic questions that are repeated in most of these new threads are answered in them. Q: Is Steve dead? A: No. Q: Is Steve trying to rip me off? A: No. Q: Why isn't my email being answered? A: Steve's a little slow sometimes. Q: What are other people's experiences with Atarimax? A: Majority concensus, very good. Edited August 13, 2017 by MrFish 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 "Useless"? The basic questions that are repeated in most of these new threads are answered in them. Etc. Brilliant response haha. Gave me a laugh. I meant though that I do not see any use for repeating the same thread over and over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Brilliant response haha. Gave me a laugh. I meant though that I do not see any use for repeating the same thread over and over again. Haha... ok, wasn't sure why you said that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 At the risk of getting flamed, I'm going to make the observation that it appears (to me) that Steve used to be more responsive than he is now. Looking at his own Forum, he has not posted there since October 2, 2016. He has 1034 posts over the 13 years between 2003 and 2016. That is an average of 80 posts per year, followed by almost an entire year with no posts. I hear people saying great things about the support they received from Steve IN THE PAST. What I'm NOT hearing is a lot of great things about the support Steve has provided lately. What I hear instead is: Sometimes it takes a while for him to respond. He is busier than normal He has a life We should be grateful that he created so many great things for the community He's not making much money off of this. I get all of that. And if people were made aware of that BEFORE making a purchase, they could decide whether they have concerns with that or not. Steve has a lot of supporters, but speaking of my own experience, I purchased his SIO2PC, which is a closed system that only works with his software and he is the only one that can provide support. Because of issues I had with his SIO2PC device, (that I cannot get a response from him on) I ended up purchasing a printer cable and an APE Face that I didn't need because it turned out his SIO2PC was conflicting with the ability to print to a real printer, rather than an issue with my 850 interface or my printer cable. Personally, I've decided to cut my losses and have ordered a similar competing device from someone else. I wish Steve the best, but I am no longer willing to call myself his customer. Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+hloberg Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Steve finally responded and is sending me a new APE multi-OS. Whoopy. I kinda agree with the above poster, I like Steve's stuff and he is a good guy and all but I'm am getting the impression he may be losing interest in his Atarimax. Still, I will keep supporting him as he does have some good products and I do like my APE, my MyIDEII, my Happy 1050 (and when he gets me a working chip) my APE multi-OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) Well I just ordered the USB flash programming cartridge from Atari Max and not more than a few minutes later I received the confirmation email from him saying that my order was being filled. As for personal emails regarding customer service and other questions sometimes he gets back to me right away sometimes it's taken a few days but he always takes care of me and exceeds my expectations. My USB programmer arrived today, 4 days after ordering (AND WITH THE WEEKEND IN THE MIDDLE!), via standard US first class mail. HOW ABOUT THIS for "great service lately" Toddtmw??? Oh, and Toddtmw, AtariMax SIO2PC devices will work fine with Apeqt or RespeQT, they are NOT closed system devices! I've used them personally! But I prefer the much better, feature-rich APE software, which has even more to it if you combine it with an AtariMax 32-in-1 Warp+ OS (it's called 'Remote Control')! If you can't get An Atarimax SIO2USB/RS232 device to work with the free software, you didn't set it up correctly(AspeQT or RespeQT). It's YOUR fault. Also, speaking from experience, the APE software will also work fine with home-made or competition-made USB2PC devices too! It's not picky! Steve hasn't lost interest in Atarimax, he's got a day job and probably quite busy filling orders like mine in his free time. And then he has to find time to deal with customer service when problems crop up, many of whom start out disgruntled. But in the end, it always gets sorted, The customer service part takes the most time of all to get sorted, just be patient. Edited August 14, 2017 by Gunstar 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixMoonPatrol Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Same here. I have an order arriving sometime today. He's as good as Gold with his products. Though yeah sometimes it takes abit longer,but its worth the wait. My USB programmer arrived today, 4 days after ordering (AND WITH THE WEEKEND IN THE MIDDLE!), via standard US first class mail. HOW ABOUT THIS for "great service lately" Toddtmw??? Oh, and Toddtmw, AtariMax SIO2PC devices will work fine with Apeqt or RespeQT, they are NOT closed system devices! I've used them personally! But I prefer the much better, feature-rich APE software, which has even more to it if you combine it with an AtariMax 32-in-1 Warp+ OS (it's called 'Remote Control')! If you can't get An Atarimax SIO2USB/RS232 device to work with the free software, you didn't set it up correctly(AspeQT or RespeQT). It's YOUR fault. Steve hasn't lost interest in Atarimax, he's got a day job and probably quite busy filling orders like mine in his free time. And then he has to find time to deal with customer service when problems crop up, many of whom start out disgruntled. But in the end, it always gets sorted, The customer service part takes the most time of all to get sorted, just be patient. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Well, I predicted I would get flamed. I was not wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 A shame what you said in the post wasn't as true as your prediction then...you wouldn't have been "flamed." But then would you have predicted that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Well, his SIO2PC seems to be incompatible with real printers, and he hasn't responded to my support request I sent asking about it a week ago. And he hasn't posted to his forum in almost a year. I was (apparently) wrong about his device not working with third-party software. My fault for believing what I read here without confirming it independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Well, his SIO2PC seems to be incompatible with real printers, and he hasn't responded to my support request I sent asking about it a week ago. And he hasn't posted to his forum in almost a year. I was (apparently) wrong about his device not working with third-party software. My fault for believing what I read here without confirming it independently. I admit to being guilty about spreading this conventional wisdom myself, but only because I've read it here in the past. However, Mathy has one and apparently cannot get it to work on his Mac. I don't know why that would be if it's not true. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 The Mac thing is about drivers. There are no Mac drivers for it. If it is compatible with other software it would have to be on Windows. That was pretty clear to me when I bought it (because his software is windows) so I was prepared for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Hi DrVenkman I hope to test the hardware with the software sargie put together for me later this week at the Fujiama. Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+hloberg Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 sounds like he had a flood of things hit him at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cjherr Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Never had a problem with Steve. I'm a solid fan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idavis Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Just want to throw this out for the MAC users, years ago I switched my main pc to a linux machine and in order to keep using the Atarimax software I installed XP on a virtual machine running under linux. I believe at some point I also posted here or on Steve's board about it working under a VM with USB passthrough. So maybe try installing VirtualBox or VMware and get your hands on an XP install disc. Here it is. Guess I could have been a little more descriptive with my title. http://www.atarimax.com/flashcart/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=657 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 This was shipped Thursday night, a tad under 2 weeks after my order, and it arrived today. Third purchase from Steve in the last couple years, all on about the same timeframe. Fine with me for a quality product unavailable anywhere else. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Steve has a very loyal following in the community and he has done great things for it. The thing that concerns me is that I don't know what happens if he ever becomes unwilling or unable to provide support. I've had this happen with "modern" software I've purchased and begun using what was written by a single person. If that person gets a real job, or a girlfriend or wife or just grows tired of it, there is no way anyone else can pick it up and run with it. I end up having to find a way to convert to another application that performs a similar task. If I had realized before I placed my order that Steve's SIO2PC only works with his software (and that the software is not included in the purchase price of the device), I would have probably gone with a different solution. As it was, as soon as I ran into an issue and Steve didn't respond (I assume he didn't respond because I did not pay for the software, so I was not entitled to support) my options were to pay $50 to register the closed-source software that has questionable long-term utility or spend ~$50 for a competing product that does the same thing, but works with open-source software that can be maintained by the community. I opted for the latter. At my day job, when we buy specialized software from a company, we add in a source code escrow agreement that says we get the source code if the company exits the business. I've often thought that a company that did that on a smaller scale for independent developers would allow these smaller devlopers to offer peace of mind to their customers in the event that the software stops being supported. At any rate, the Atarimax catalog of products does look nice and I am happy (no pun intended) with the 1050 Happy Enhancement I bought from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 This was shipped Thursday night, a tad under 2 weeks after my order, and it arrived today. Third purchase from Steve in the last couple years, all on about the same timeframe. Fine with me for a quality product unavailable anywhere else. happy_board.jpg Let me know how that goes please... I plan to order a couple soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Let me know how that goes please... I plan to order a couple soon. Sure thing. It looks to be a stupid-easy installation (pull 6507 and ROM/EPROM from sockets, install this board in their place) - the most difficult/annoying part is removing all 49 connectors between the drive mech and the PCB. Okay, there aren't 49 connectors, it just feels that way. Anyway, I expect I'll do that tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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