• Tag Archives Atari 800XL

  • K-Power (July/August 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    k-power_issue_06_1984_jul_aug-01

    Source: K-Power Issue (July/August 1984)

    K-Power was a magazine oriented towards teens published in 1984. Only eight standalone issues were published until it merged with Family Computing and became an insert there. The July/August 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • How Teen Tycoons Take Care of Business – Some savvy hackers make big dough with their computer skills. How you can, too!
    • Computer Comix – Here’s a “Gee, Whiz!” another K-Power laff-riot!
    • Computers Go for the Gold – Will computers help cyclist Rebecca Twigg or archer Becky Liggett win a Gold Medal?
    • K-Power Picks – Olympics software get K-Power’s highest rating.
    • Test Run: IBM PCjr – Forget the rest – read the best! K-Power tells you how the much-heralded PCjr really rates.
    • The Making of a Hacker – Can anyone be a hacker? According to Andrea Leptich, the answer is Yes!
    • Computer Superstars – A look at some of everybody’s favorite computer cartoon characters – Q*bert, the Zerks, Rockford the bug, and more!

    Programming

    • Hacker Heaven – A 16-page pullout crammed with programs!
    • Compucopia – Byte-size programs.
    • Microtones – A new computer-music column with programs and music news!
    • Programs – Fireworks, fireworks, and more fireworks!

    Products

    • Screening Room – Software reviews and strategy.
    • Strategy – Exodus: Ultima III – How to kill the evil Exodus and save a world.
    • The Rating Game – Space Taxi – a futuristic driving game that talks! Also, Bruce Lee, Dimension X, and more.

    Departments

    • Editor’s Note – Introducing the K-Base – a computing pen-pal system.
    • Logon – Letters from you.
    • Compuzine – The experts talk piracy. Plus, Silicon Alley and Scrolling in Dough.
    • Dr. Kursor’s Klinic – Where the word “hacker” comes from; what an RGB monitor is.
    • K-Net – The winners of the K-Power “Win-a-Modem” contest. Plus, how the K-Net works!
    • Contest – Put words in K.I.T.T.’s mouth.

    …and more!


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  • Star Wars: The Arcade Game

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Star Wars: The Arcade Game was how most of the home ports of the Star Wars arcade game were titled. Seems a bit redundant but there’s marketing for you. The original arcade game was an impressive looking (even today I think it looks impressive) vector graphics based space flight combat game. You pilot an X-Wing on approach to the Death Star and then take part in the trench run to destroy the Death Star. The original arcade game was released in 1983 with a large number of home ports to follow later in 1983, 1984 and beyond.

    Initially, Star Wars was ported by Parker Brothers to the Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Commodore 64 and ColecoVision. Later in 1987 and 1988 it was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS based PCs among others. In addition, it was ported again to the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit so there are multiple versions of this game out there for those platforms.

    Today, there’s not really any reason to track down these home versions. Quality varies among the different ports but the arcade original is much better. You’ll have to resort to emulation to play it though as there has been no official release of an arcade perfect home version as far as I know.

    The images above are from a commercial for the original 1983/84 home ports. The version of the game shown is the Atari 5200 version. Except for perhaps the game graphics I think this commercial probably would have been more likely to reduce sales than increase them.

    Star Wars (Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ColecoVision)





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  • Atari 800XL

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Atari 800XL

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/163614659938/monochrome-monitor-atari-800xl

    Atari’s original computer line consisted of the Atari 400 and Atari 800 which were released in 1979. These were initially followed up with the Atari 1200XL in 1983, and then by the Atari 600XL and Atari 800XL in 1984.

    The 1200XL was a bit of an odd duck. It was essentially compatible with the earlier machines being based on the same architecture and using all the same major chips (6502, Pokey, etc.). It’s biggest improvement was probably that it shipped with 64K of RAM whereas the original 800 maxed out at 48K. However, changes to some of the ports and the operating system ROMs caused some incompatibilities and in addition, the 1200XL was a very expensive machine, introduced at $899. It just was not a worthwhile upgrade for Atari 800 owners and there wasn’t much to attract new users to the 1200XL over the older and much cheaper 800.

    The following year, the 600XL and 800XL were produced. These fixed most of the minor incompatibilities of the 1200XL OS, included built-in BASIC (the 1200XL did not) and added the PBI expansion port (particularly useful if you wanted to add serious expansions like a hard disk). The 800XL looked much like the 1200XL except smaller. The 600XL was smaller still and both the 800XL and 600XL removed the function keys of the 1200XL. The 600XL was a direct replacement for the Atari 400 and like that machine only included 16K. Other than less memory and a missing monitor port, it was essentially the same as an 800XL. The 800XL was meant to replace both the Atari 800 and 1200XL. Like the 1200XL it had 64K of memory and it also had a composite monitor port (in Europe, the 600XL had this also). Taken as a whole, the 800XL is arguably the best of the Atari 8-bits.

    The XL line would be replaced with the XE line after only about two years.





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