JR> Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Came across this picture today on a How To Geek article. It reminded me of those old "How many mistakes can you spot in this picture" puzzles.... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 This is the wireless video XE. Yes it has 80col EGA output AND it can read any 3.5" laying on top of it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8isa1 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 (edited) At first I only spotted the missing video and SIO cables and the 80 column display. My guess for the display would be VGA. I can't tell if the borders (lower left corner) are double line character graphics. I think they are. This would indicate a PC character set. Some 3rd party interface or a modification would be needed to use 3.5" diskettes. XF551 with ROM change? ATR8000. Percom. Black Box with Floppy board. Etc. The black diskette at the bottom is clearly an HD diskette. I don't believe there were any A8 disk interfaces that can utilize 3.5" HD floppy disks. HD hole isn't covered to force double density mode. I don't this trick worked well anyway. Not a mistake per se but I never used side perforated paper for program listings. That way I could also use the back for a later listing. (paper was expensive!). XE is heavily yellowed. Much more than it would be if this were a period correct photo. -SteveS Edited October 15, 2019 by a8isa1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I so miss "line" printers and that wonderful wide greenbar paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Or we can think about the ways that this could be a real setup! I do have a VBXE modded 65XE, so it might be possible to approximate that display with "The Last Word". Or we could pretend that anyone actually used the XEP80 for anything but a doorstop and booted up "AtariWriter 80". I do have two 3.5" A8 drives, but I never let my A8 3.5" disks out of their box -- let alone get that dusty -- so that's iffy. I do have XE units that have really excessive yellowing that I bought off eBay that were likely placed in direct sunlight in warmer climates, so that could be legit. Ugh, I'd never crumple up tractor feed paper though. It's too pricey around here to use as scrap. Missing SIO cables aren't necessarily a problem if that setup involves a Corvus hard drive. We can't see the joystick ports or the right of the picture, so maybe there's an ungodly kludge of daisy-chained parts and peripherals running all of this crap. A8 challenge: recreate this photo in your own home using existing tech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Hello Steve 8 hours ago, a8isa1 said: Black Box with Floppy board. Etc. The black diskette at the bottom is clearly an HD diskette. The FloppyBoard will do 1.44 MB diskettes. Sincerely Mathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8isa1 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Mathy said: Hello Steve The FloppyBoard will do 1.44 MB diskettes. Sincerely Mathy I stand corrected. -SteveS Edited October 15, 2019 by a8isa1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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