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Do you think Atari will bring out a new home computer?


TheBro

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20 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Why would they do such a thing? What's in it for them, or the people who would use it?

Well I hope it won't be just a Retro Machine but something new with modern features etc. I'd buy it because I'm an Atari nut. Anyways be interesting to see how things pan out with Atari VCS. ?

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5 hours ago, TheBro said:

I'm kinda hoping they do and that it has its own OS. I think if the Atari VCS flops then this probably won't become a reality. I wish them all the best though.

I don't think there's market for home computers anymore (at least like in 80's and 90's). Computer is just tool nowadays; boring device like microwave oven or television. Retro computing is new home computing ?

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On 9/30/2019 at 9:33 AM, TheBro said:

I'm kinda hoping they do and that it has its own OS. I think if the Atari VCS flops then this probably won't become a reality. I wish them all the best though.

I haven't been following the saga of the VCS lately,  but the last I heard, it was an open Linux-based machine,  so it would qualify as a home computer.

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The Atari OS is, indeed, supposed to be Linux.  But Sandbox Mode is supposed to be whatever OS you can install.


I guess they could do a retro-futuristic redesign of an Atari computer and put AtariVCS board inside.  Maybe update the design so it's more of a detachable keyboard than in the case.  Add a hard drive for an actual O/S and programs.   I think they'd rather just sell you the console and let you add peripherals.   But the same questions arise as the AVCS, as Flojomo asked above.

And here we're speculating about another Atari product when their first one may not even be out of the prototype stage.

 

 

On 9/30/2019 at 10:25 AM, Flojomojo said:

Pro tip, Bro: Atari Corp died in 1996. The shambling corpse wearing the skin of Atari doesn't deserve your attention, let alone money or support. 

 

They're coming to get you, Barbara!

 

841834961_AtariShamblingCorpse.thumb.png.34de9560602e6e79c2d53a228d72e531.png

 

 

 

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On 9/30/2019 at 8:33 AM, TheBro said:

I'm kinda hoping they do and that it has its own OS. I think if the Atari VCS flops then this probably won't become a reality. I wish them all the best though.

The ability for an OS that isn't Windows, macOS, or Linux to be significant in the consumer space died in about 2001 with the end of Be, Inc..

 

The last thing I need is another machine that I can't get software for, no matter whose name is plastered on it.  At that point it's an electrically-powered doorstop, paperweight, and/or boatanchor.

Edited by x=usr(1536)
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Well, we live in the era of the revived home computer. There's the raspberry pi, the orange pi and any other pi you can think of. They are the very definition of a home computer, in both user base and use cases, if you ignore the gaming in a non retro way part. 

 

Whether the VCS will be (? on be) something like a home computer, I'd guess yes. It's definitely not a console. I've said before, that a ryzen mini pc at that price is a great offer. I just wonder what kind of single thread performance it will have. 

 

As for a case,  I think a TT mini case, or a XEGS one (without the pastels) would be really nice. I am not a bif fan of how the original VCS looked. 

 

As for the OS, I read an article the other day on customizing linux. That would be nice. 

 

https://hackaday.com/2019/10/07/a-bootable-greeting-for-the-xenomorph-in-your-life/

Edited by Christos
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The R-Pi is nothing like the vintage machines of the 70's and 80's, not even in basic philosophy or reason for existing.

 

Any atari home computer that might come out (it isn't) will be like nothing that ever came before. Because, nothing!

 

Edited by Keatah
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17 minutes ago, mrentropy said:

I'd be all for one providing it was not Intel-based but powerful enough to handle the usual day-to-day computing stuff. Something different. And, preferably, use an OS like Haiku.

'Not Intel-based' kills Haiku as an option.  And, as much as it pains me to say it, Haiku is far from ready for prime time - yes, it's closer than it was, but still not there yet.  BeOS would be a better choice, but it won't run on modern hardware, at least not natively, and to run R5 you're talking Intel hardware again.

 

One of the things that defined home computers to me as opposed to personal computers: in the home computer era, it was possible for one person to understand - in great depth, if not completely - how the system as a whole functioned.  This includes the classic 8-bit machines, but also early PCs, Macs, and CP/M machines.  By the time the ST, Amiga, and Archimedes had been overtaken by the x86 PC, however, hardware abstraction and OS complexity had pretty much made that unlikely to the point of near-impossibility.

 

What I'd suggest is picking up an ST in good working condition, giving it a few useful updates (Netusbee, Ultrasatan, RAM upgrade, blitter, later TOS, etc.), and seeing what you can do with it in a modern context.  Trying to use modern hardware to adequately (never mind accurately) replicate a computing experience from 30-plus years ago is just a waste of modern hardware, except perhaps for emulation.

Edited by x=usr(1536)
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1 minute ago, x=usr(1536) said:

'Not Intel-based' kills Haiku as an option.  And, as much as it pains me to say it, Haiku is far from ready for prime time.  BeOS would be a better choice, but it won't run on modern hardware, at least not natively, and to run R5 you're talking Intel hardware again.

Ah, but it would be a sneaky way of getting more developers on Haiku. Hopefully. The thinking process goes: get a company interested in OS, they port to some exotic (or non-Intel) CPU, they continue to work on it, changes get rolled back into main Haiku branch, everyone wins.

 

As for getting an ST/TT/Falcon and doing some upgrading, I'd need some pretty good instructions for getting things working more like a modern computer. It's been a long, long, time since I had my Mega 2 and changing things around. I don't even remember what things like XAES or GDOS (printers, maybe?) do. Even trying in Aranym or other emulators hasn't worked well for me.

 

I'm not trying to replicate the past, I'm just bored with computers in general and would like something different. Different from Intel, different from Windows. I'm hoping Apple does come out with an ARM-based laptop/desktop just to see something that's not the same old, tired old, thing.

 

It'll never be the same as it was, I know that. It's not new, anymore. But I would like something that's not the norm.

 

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36 minutes ago, mrentropy said:

Ah, but it would be a sneaky way of getting more developers on Haiku. Hopefully. The thinking process goes: get a company interested in OS, they port to some exotic (or non-Intel) CPU, they continue to work on it, changes get rolled back into main Haiku branch, everyone wins.

That would be nice, but given that Haiku has had no lack of exposure over the last 17 years or so, it's unlikely to happen.  How many GSOCs has been accepted for at this point?  8?  10?  It's awesome that as a project it has managed to keep moving forward for as long as it has, but porting it to another architecture is extremely unlikely until it matures further - and even then, it's only likely to happen if a specific application is found for it.  General-purpose computing isn't that niche, even though BeOS kicked major ass in that regard.

 

(Note that I am absolutely one of the remaining BeOS faithful; it was an amazingly great OS.  Hell, I still have my Hobbit and PPC133 BeBoxes.  But as much as I truly wish the best for Haiku, I also have to be pragmatic about it.  That said, here's an artifact ?)

 

BIeOT4H.jpg

 

36 minutes ago, mrentropy said:

 

As for getting an ST/TT/Falcon and doing some upgrading, I'd need some pretty good instructions for getting things working more like a modern computer. It's been a long, long, time since I had my Mega 2 and changing things around. I don't even remember what things like XAES or GDOS (printers, maybe?) do. Even trying in Aranym or other emulators hasn't worked well for me.

Understood.  I'm actually working through the modernisation process myself right now - 520STFM, SC1224 monitor, figuring out what it needs to feel right but be more at home in a modern context.  More:

 

36 minutes ago, mrentropy said:

I'm not trying to replicate the past, I'm just bored with computers in general and would like something different. Different from Intel, different from Windows. I'm hoping Apple does come out with an ARM-based laptop/desktop just to see something that's not the same old, tired old, thing.

 

It'll never be the same as it was, I know that. It's not new, anymore. But I would like something that's not the norm.

 

I hear you, and would like something different as well.  Computing's not fun in the way that it used to be - arguably improved in many ways, but not the same.  The question is how to recapture what made it great while knowing that you can never step into the same stream twice.

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1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

I hear you, and would like something different as well.  Computing's not fun in the way that it used to be - arguably improved in many ways, but not the same.  The question is how to recapture what made it great while knowing that you can never step into the same stream twice.

 

I know, I spent the last 25 years wishing there really was a modernized version of the Atari ST computer.  Stuff like Firebee is way too expensive, Aranym is a pain to set up in Linux (which is also a pain to set up as well.) and there's way too much East European drama for things like the ComosEx to use on my old STe. I would love to use BeePi to run FreeMiNT on a RPi or even a virtual machine but with work and my other retro gaming hobbies I just don't have the time.

 

Plus to be even more honest, I'm fine using Windows 10 on my gaming PC since it connects to my Xbox One & Android phone, runs all my games & emulators and feels more productive using apps on it.  And since MS is no longer a monopoly I no longer feel any guilt over using it...

 

Yeah I will admit I wanted the Atari VCS to be the official sucessor, even if it ran a Linux distro in sandbox mode, but it's a completely hot mess now.  Besides of there's one thing I've learned from using the ST, is that Atari in any incarnation doesn't give a damn about their customers and it's up to the users to create a strong community to get the most out of their machines.

 

 

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I'll be the first to agree that computing isn't the same as it was in the 70's and 80's. Yet at the same time I remain interested in contemporary hardware and the bland & bloated OS choices of today.

 

The exciting aspect about today's experience is learning something new and trying new applications or using old tools in new ways, things like that. Right now I'm having fun playing with VirtualBox.

 

I also believe that cutting down exposure to commercialization and commerce that seems so prevalent throughout modern computing is a good thing. And finally do we really need any more platforms? Isn't what's out there enough?

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1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

I hear you, and would like something different as well.  Computing's not fun in the way that it used to be - arguably improved in many ways, but not the same.  The question is how to recapture what made it great while knowing that you can never step into the same stream twice.

 

Probably the best thing is to pay less attention to the hardware and more to the software environment and how all of it works and interacts together. While at the same time leaving some aspects a mystery.

 

Or on the flipside, build up your own rig. Whether it be an R-Pi in a Canakit case or a complete custom PC full of RGB. I'm looking forward to rebuilding my vintage late 1990's PIII with great anticipation. Shit! I might even do an upgrade on it. I got this TRIOS switchbox that lets me pick between 3 boot hard disks. I could do a multi-combo DOS 6.22/Win3.1, Win98, and WinXP machine very nicely and completely separate. The possibilities are brewing in my head! But that's just me.

 

Edited by Keatah
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The real question here is status of Atari corporation today. I don't think that much from old Atari left at all. Name is sold, probably multiple times. And name is what is good advertisement. Even younger people know what name Atari means, at least know that was pioneer in video gaming, that made some home computers.

I personally don't expect that they - current owners, leadership even thinking about some new 'home computer' - what is now little obsolete term.

As I see, some don't consider PC as home computer, but it is it actually. And even can connect it to new TVs, unlike it was in 80-es.

I see idea about some new, keyboard computer as bad. Or better said, we have plenty of it - called notebook ?

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I think the ‚one programmer could embrace the whole machine‘, this enabling teenagers to produce software from their bedrooms and compete eye-to-eye within a software industry that was just inventing itself’ pretty much sums up what made the home computer era what it was. Plus maybe the ability for those in the know to grab a soldering iron and modify their computer in any way they saw fit.

Those same qualities precluded gradual updates as any change in systems architecture would break those super-efficient programs making use of this knowledge.

Let‘s not forget that as modern as the Ataris were compared to their DOS contemporaries, many things we now take for granted (like systemwide copy/paste) were not there (unless by 3rd party add-ons towards the end).

You can‘t go back but you can certainly pretend using emulation or old hardware, but to me the STs never give the same feeling as the 8-bits preceding them. As my kids say, they‘re just too close to / a primitive ancestor of modern GUIs to be intriguing.

If you’re looking for a different retro experience, you might want to try the Acorn BBC microcomputer which is the grandfather of ARM and quite different in philosophy from its contrmporaries.


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