Would the Atari community show as much interest?

[Gunstar]

6 hours ago, slx said:

 

Even if pre-Tramiel Atari had cared more about an upgrade path, the speed of technological development at the time was so fast that incremental upgrading would have meant squandering opportunities. When designing the next machine Jay Miner & Co. did not go for an 800GS but for something more radically new. While the GS was impressive and would have been more so with a faster CPU, the 65816 required for backwards compatibility isn‘t half as elegant to handle as the 68000. 

 

 

 

Yeah...NOT!

 

 

Now, we all know that Miner's Amiga blows away the Mac. But does the Amiga blow away the IIGS? Not so much, and even less if they had allowed the IIGS to run at the full speed the 65816 is capable of (which Rapidus does). This still shows what you say just isn't necessarily so, IMHO, and apparently others as well and includes little things called FACTS. Rapidus and VBXE not only blow away the IIGS, but I believe the original Amiga as well, by a long shot, and can handle a LOT more memory without bank-switching than the 6502, yet, with these installed, it's still 100% backward compatible. And that is just upgrades to the original board, if built from the ground up, like the IIGS, with a similar Mega II chip for Atari compatibility...

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Gunstar

[Gunstar]

7 hours ago, youxia said:

I have no doubts this hobby will continue well after the first generation (which is us, or "it" :)). There are already many people who have never owned these machines because they were too young and yet still have a great interest in them. Also, the pre-clone PC era being the beginning of the history of computing, programming and videogames, it will be revisited for as long as humans are around, it's only natural.

 

100 years from now people will be able to 3D print (or some use some other magical recreation process)  exact working replicas of the entire machines, down to the transistor level. Up till then FPGA recreations are the best modern solution, nicely positioned between the OG HW and emulation.

Where? I don't see them hanging out around here, which would be the best place to learn from us who grew up with the machines. There will always be a few "odd-balls" in any generation that like old tech, but very few and very far between, and certainly not enough to keep this tech alive for more generations. We've had polls and/or threads about the average age of vintage users around here, and it has never shown what you suggest. I'm more than happy to be wrong about Atari's and the future, but all I have to do is look to old tech from before our generation that we ignore mostly, to see the future, especially with the current generation that rejects pretty much everything from our generation, and not just religion and politics. And "revisiting" and looking into the history and even respecting it, is a long shot from owning, liking, using and upgrading the machines into the far future. Where are the FPGA recreations of computers from the 50's and 60's? Where is the fan base for those machine that are of younger generations and not in the ground already? Granted those machines where huge monsters and it was long before the "home" computer, but there is other tech and non-tech stuff that I certainly don't see any later generations keeping alive beyond museum pieces as I've stated. Where are the loads and loads of Ham radio operators that was a big hobby for tech-oriented people before the home computer? Sure, there are still a few out there, from younger generations, but the tech is mostly forgotten and unused these days, as will be our generations tech in another generation or two.

Edited August 29, 2020 by Gunstar

[youxia]

1 hour ago, Gunstar said:

Where are the FPGA recreations of computers from the 50's and 60's?

Sorry mate, but this is really stretching it. What kind of games could you play on these machines? But if we must, there are Altair and EDSAC cores recreated in MiSTEr. Ham radios were as big as microcomputers/videogames? Hardly - but I bet some people still use them. And polls on Atari AGE forum? Have you heard of discords, Twitters and all those other newfangled things the young'ins  are using nowadays?

 

Also, these things go in cycles. Retro computer mania might pipe down, maybe even for a long time, but eventually will be hip again, round and round. Just ask the tape and vinyl people.

 

Overall, I find this entrenched attitude quite amusing. One would think people would be happy that there are new things happening in regard to their hobby. Alas...I've seen the same sort of arguments and negativity on ZX Spectrum & Commodore forums. Not everybody of course, but there are always some die hards. Me, I love the original machines to bits (pun intended) have a deskful of them next to me, but that does not stop me from appreciating and supporting new initiatives, especially really cool ones (like Next) and not cash-ins (like Vega).

 

And the people out there don't seem to care. It's been funded 5 times over already, halfway through the campaign.

[Gunstar]

1 minute ago, youxia said:

Sorry mate, but this is really stretching it. What kind of games could you play on these machines? But if we must, there are Altair and EDSAC cores recreated in MiSTEr. Ham radios were as big as microcomputers/videogames? Hardly - but I bet some people still use them. And polls on Atari AGE forum? Have you heard of discords, Twitters and all those other newfangled things the young'ins  are using nowadays?

 

Also, these things go in cycles. Retro computer mania might pipe down, maybe even for a long time, but eventually will be hip again, round and round. Just ask the tape and vinyl people.

 

Overall, I find this entrenched attitude quite amusing. One would think people would be happy that there are new things happening in regard to their hobby. Alas...I've seen the same sort of arguments and negativity on ZX Spectrum & Commodore forums. Not everybody of course, but there are always some die hards. Me, I love the original machines to bits (pun intended) have a deskful of them next to me, but that does not stop me from appreciating and supporting new initiatives, especially really cool ones (like Next) and not cash-ins (like Vega).

 

And the people out there don't seem to care. It's been funded 5 times over already, halfway through the campaign.

Obviously you haven't read any of my previous posts or just forgot, because I have no "entrenched" attitude about new things for the hobby, I"M BUYING  THEM!!! I'm talking about future generations not caring. and yes, it was stretching it, which is precisely why I stated what I did directly after.?

[Gunstar]

1 hour ago, youxia said:

Sorry mate, but this is really stretching it. What kind of games could you play on these machines? But if we must, there are Altair and EDSAC cores recreated in MiSTEr. Ham radios were as big as microcomputers/videogames? Hardly - but I bet some people still use them. And polls on Atari AGE forum? Have you heard of discords, Twitters and all those other newfangled things the young'ins  are using nowadays?

 

Also, these things go in cycles. Retro computer mania might pipe down, maybe even for a long time, but eventually will be hip again, round and round. Just ask the tape and vinyl people.

 

Overall, I find this entrenched attitude quite amusing. One would think people would be happy that there are new things happening in regard to their hobby. Alas...I've seen the same sort of arguments and negativity on ZX Spectrum & Commodore forums. Not everybody of course, but there are always some die hards. Me, I love the original machines to bits (pun intended) have a deskful of them next to me, but that does not stop me from appreciating and supporting new initiatives, especially really cool ones (like Next) and not cash-ins (like Vega).

 

And the people out there don't seem to care. It's been funded 5 times over already, halfway through the campaign.

I lost track of time and didn't have anymore earlier to finish my last response: I am very glad to here what you say in regards about younger people getting into retro computing and other cores being created that I didn't know about. I still don't see a lot of younger people here at Atari Age forums though, especially 8-bit, which confuses me since this is really the heart of the Atari retro community.

 

Back to my attitude, the only thing I said about new stuff that might be construed as negative previously was that I wasn't interested in a new machine myself, because I prefer my originals, and since I already do own them, I see no reason to spend more on a new version of what I already have! I do upgrade them with new stuff all the time, and I've been defending both other's wanting new machines and upgrades for old machines the entire thread, I just don't think there are enough interested people in the already small Atari 8-bit community (much smaller than other vintage micro communities getting new machines) to make it happen. Bottom line, you haven't a clue what you are talking about in your response to me.