Curt Vendel #1 Posted March 10, 2020 Finally compiled everything and finally got all of the data put into a menu menu'ing hierarchy I've wanted to implement for a long time. RAINBOW page will be updated soon. Waiting for some documents to come from Kevin Savetz and I have a bunch of chip tape outs and other materials I'll add in. The AMY stuff is already up in the RAINBOW page. http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/aed/OMNI/ 9 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kskunk #2 Posted March 15, 2020 Absolutely amazing. I really appreciate the work you do on the Atari Museum. I love reading classic datasheets and design manuals. It really improves my understanding of what Atari was thinking year by year. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kskunk #3 Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) I love this quote from OMNI documentation dated March 1984. It lines up perfectly with the stories we've heard of Warner Atari: Quote A prevailing view is that Atari's corporate management is not just ill-equipped to understand the issues inherent in the computer and video graphics industries, but, worse still, that management is actively unconcerned with such details. That is, that they don't want to know such unfathomable things. Yet, technological leadership and innovation go hand in hand... Amazing that someone working for Atari, on a document intended for Atari management, would casually mention how incompetent their leadership was. Edited March 16, 2020 by kskunk 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamm #4 Posted March 16, 2020 50 minutes ago, kskunk said: I love this quote from OMNI documentation dated March 1984. It lines up perfectly with the stories we've heard of Warner Atari: Amazing that someone working for Atari, on a document intended for Atari management, would casually mention how incompetent their leadership was. The fact that they were so brazen about it is a strong indication of how bad things must've been at the time. It was March 1984 - everyone must've known they were on sinking ship. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrMaddog #5 Posted March 19, 2020 Quote A prevailing view is that Atari's corporate management is not just ill-equipped to understand the issues inherent in the computer and video graphics industries, but, worse still, that management is actively unconcerned with such details. That is, that they don't want to know such unfathomable things. Yet, technological leadership and innovation go hand in hand... Every version of Atari is like this, especially the current one... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+kheller2 #6 Posted March 19, 2020 " I extend thanks to the following people for their help: ... President Ronald Raygun without whom America would have surely fallen to the heathen communists. " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gunstar #7 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, MrMaddog said: Every version of Atari is like this, especially the current one... I don't believe Nolan Bushnell's Atari was like that, pre-Warner. They might have had their issues, But Nolan was a technological and innovative leader. And most of the engineers, designers and programmers that worked for him went on to be the same. Edited March 19, 2020 by Gunstar 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #8 Posted March 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Gunstar said: I don't believe Nolan Bushnell's Atari was like that, pre-Warner. They might have had their issues, But Nolan was a technological and innovative leader. And most of the engineers, designers and programmers that worked for him went on to be the same. You are mostly correct, but during that time Atari had a bit too much laid back lets party going on and many projects took way too long to come to fruition... it was great stuff... but parteh parteh jah! got in the way... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gunstar #9 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: You are mostly correct, but during that time Atari had a bit too much laid back lets party going on and many projects took way too long to come to fruition... it was great stuff... but parteh parteh jah! got in the way... That is the "They might have had their issues" reference I made. Which has nothing to do with a technological and innovative disconnect from the leaders, maybe a stoned disconnect... Back to Omni though, after reading the technical specifications I am still amazed at what it (they) could do, for it's time and to me is so interesting in the psuedo 3D approach with sprites that could make up 3D objects, something that I believe could have been much more detailed and "solid" looking than early polygons and texture mapping, light sourcing, etc. Like early voxel technology where real "virtual texture" could be done instead of texture mapping. Or the layering possibilities too. I'd love to have one even if I had to learn to program any software for myself, just to delve into the possibilities. This is the type of retro-new console or computer that should be built and released, IMHO, not modern ideas, but incredible ones from yesteryear that never were done. If there's enough there to go by, I haven't looked beyond the technical specifications yet. But maybe it could be re-engineered with FPGA's? Though I know that goes against the original intent of the "hard-wired" chip approach they intended instead of Micro-programming did they call it? Edited March 19, 2020 by Gunstar Typo 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #10 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) Stoned disconnect, buzzed belligerency confirmed. Was the ringing in the wiring or in their heads? I think marketing had no clue and shouldn't have been deciding what the engineers and developers should run with or what Atari needed to produce. They had no real grasp or broad picture of what was remotely needed or wanted, in fact I sometimes wonder if they made most of their crap up after hanging out and hearing one or two people mention something they read without knowing what the end result was or would be. Upper management really should have canned the entire marketing structure and hired advertising firms instead... On the bright side look at all of what was and all that has been saved, being shown the light of day by Curt Vendel... you can see the amazing products and talent Atari had in the pipe. Amazing stuff, well ahead of most any other group. You can see parts of Atari, it's fingerprints, in almost any and all computer and consumer electronics that followed. Edited March 19, 2020 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andym00 #11 Posted March 19, 2020 I can’t quite make my mind up if this chipset is pure insanity or genius! Bloody good read though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pakrat #12 Posted March 20, 2020 Those Atari programmers and engineers... a buncha prima donna towel designers... 🤪 (Or however Ray Kassar said it.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrFish #13 Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/19/2020 at 12:52 PM, _The Doctor__ said: Stoned disconnect, buzzed belligerency confirmed... Someone was definitely high when they brewed up the graphics for this manual cover. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #14 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) ah the colors, the images, the number, all spun around the noodles in my head... I must bring it to canvas! Edited March 23, 2020 by _The Doctor__ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrFish #15 Posted March 23, 2020 1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said: ah the colors, the images, the number, all dancing around in the head... I must bring it to canvas! Looks like spaghetti, or something you'd find in a garbage can. Haha... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamm #16 Posted March 23, 2020 55 minutes ago, MrFish said: Someone was definitely high when they brewed up the graphics for this manual cover. That's fantastic! It's hyper late-60's / early-70's psychedilia. I'd want a poster size print of that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrFish #17 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, jamm said: That's fantastic! It's hyper late-60's / early-70's psychedilia. I'd want a poster size print of that. It reminds me of the story about the older covers for the Lance Leventhal programming books, mentioned here: Leventhal 6502 Programming PDF Edited March 23, 2020 by MrFish 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #18 Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, MrFish said: It reminds me of the story about the older covers for the Lance Leventhal programming books, mentioned here: Leventhal 6502 Programming PDF west coast computer fair under the table CLASSIC ! I don't know what he was ingesting but it was obviously not good for him.... LMFAO!!! ... he was in no condition to talk with anybody 😮 Too say he was high... He was really gone!! okay okay I have tears in my eyes now... what a wonderful interview! Edited March 23, 2020 by _The Doctor__ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrFish #19 Posted March 23, 2020 1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said: west coast computer fair under the table lmao !!!! I don't know what he was ingesting but it was obviously not good for him.... CLASSIC ... he was in no condition to talk with anybody :O Too say he was high... He was really gone!! okay okay I have tears in my eyes now... what a wonderful interview! Hahaha... yeah... classic stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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