Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.iastate.edu!vaxd.iastate.edu!TNFW0
From: tnfw0@isuvax.iastate.edu (Steven Ourada)
Subject: Re: Can Atari 8-bit be revived?
Message-ID: <1991Jun29.221906.11869@news.iastate.edu>
Sender: news@news.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
Reply-To: tnfw0@isuvax.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
References: <1991Jun29.205404.11999@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 1991 22:19:06 GMT
Lines: 76

In article <1991Jun29.205404.11999@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, mmiller@isis.cs.du.edu (Mark Miller) writes:
[Mass deletion]
>
>I think the Atari 8-bits might still have a use in certain niche areas.
>I remember reading an article in Antic, back when it was still being
>published as a stand-alone magazine, about a company that sold
>teleprompter equipment to show studios.  All the equipment was in a box,
>so all that was coming out of it was a joystick, a disk drive slot, and
>a keyboard.  Little did the people know, who were buying it, that there
>was an Atari 8-bit computer inside the box.  the author said the reason
>they picked the Atari is that it was inexpensive and it was relatively
>easy to make it do overscan and smooth-scrolling.
>
Niche markets are definitely a good place for the 8bits. I'm pretty sure that
no other computer with a decent amount of power is available for the prices
that Atari 8bits go for now. Certain educational uses could be envisioned, if,
of course, the Apple ][ didn't have such a strong hold in that area.

>I have heard some BBS sysops (who run Atari 8-bit boards) say that some
>of their users are amazed when they tell the users that the BBS they've
>been using is an Atari 8-bit hooked up to a Multi-I/O with 60 Megs on
>disk.  I have been on a few of the Atari 8-bit boards and they are just
>FULL of features and games.  As a matter of fact when I used to compare
>them with MS-DOS BBSes I was on, I actually considered the MS-DOS BBS
>software to be sub-standard compared to the 8-bit BBS software.  I don't
>think the same can be said today, but it's taken a while for MS-DOS BBS
>software to match the capabilities of the Atari 8-bit BBSes.  In
>addition, the Atari sysops said they would consider the Atari 8-bits,
>with the appropriate extra hardware, to be excellent BBS computers,
>since they are cheap, have lots of features in the BBS software, are
>pretty fast relative to BBSes on other computers, and you can use it to
>run your BBS the whole time, while you use your more powerful computer
>(whatever it may be) to do other things.

A local BBS in my area runs on a hugely expanded 130XE system (4 meg of RAM, 60
meg of disk space, 4 floppies, etc.). The sysop is constantly adding to his
system and improving his BBS software, to the point that his system is one of
the fastest in the area. Not to mention that he put it all together for $1500
or less plus labor.

[Deletion]

>I have just about pushed my Atari 8-bit to its limits.  I am looking
>forward to getting an STe someday.  My Atari 8-bit has done well for
>me through three years of college, and I haven't had a single problem
>with it for the four years that I've had it.  The one thing that's broken
>down twice is my 1050 drive.  So far it has met my needs with word
>processing (Atari Writer Plus) even for large papers, entertainment
>(obviously), telecommunications with several term programs (BobTerm for
>BBSes, Chameleon for 80-column 2400 bps. VT-52/ADM-3A terminal
>emulation and file transfers on Unix systems, and VT-10 Squared, a PD 
>80-column VT-100 emulator with all 80 columns on the screen at once),
>and languages (Atari BASIC, and the CC8 PD C compiler).  The CC8
>compiler is really what added more life to my 8-bit, because now I can
>write programs in C and compile them into stand-alone binary programs.
>I really like the C language, so this has encouraged me to do more
>programming on my 8-bit.  I would have to say that nowadays the most
>used software on my 8-bit is terminal software (that could be another
>use for it:  A cheap terminal capable of a few terminal emulations),
>since I like communicating to other people on BBSes and stuff with it.

On that last note, I think an 8bit with some slightly souped up software could
run a fairly complete battery of terminal emulations, and with the software on
cartridge and a low res mono monitor, the package could be sold for <$350. I
don't know what terminals sell for normally, but I'm sure that would be
competitive.

>
>---Mark
>mmiller@isis.cs.du.edu
*******************************************************************************
* Steven Ourada   Email: TNFW0@vax.iastate.edu or ar550@Cleveland.freenet.edu *
* Iowa State student, Atari user, all around nice guy...                      *
* "In order to remember your dreams, you must think of them as if they were   *
* little kittens." -- Ubiquitous song quote, King Missle                      *
*******************************************************************************
