• Tag Archives Atari 800XL

  • ANALOG Computing – February 1987

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    analog_1987-02

    Source: ANALOG Computing – February 1987

    ANALOG Computing was the most popular magazine for Atari 8-bit computers and a great magazine to have a subscription to if you had an Atari system. While it covered the 16-bit Atari ST some as well, ANALOG was always primarily a magazine for the 8-bit line. The 6th anniversary issue from February 1987 includes:

    Features

    • A History of ANALOG Computing – An inside look at our origins: why we did it and how we’ve spent the last six years here in Central New England.
    • The Tablet Typist – The easy way to add text to any of your own touch-pad generated pictures.
    • Slither – This month’s machine language game offering combines constant motion with the need for strategy and careful planning.
    • ICD Future – Not only has ICD been supporting the Atari 8-bit for a long time, they continue to do it in style as Matt found out.
    • Starlanes – Michael J. Fox imitators, this challenging game of interstellar stocks and bonds is playing your tune.
    • Keyboard Buffer – A type-ahead program giving your computer even more flexibility in performing its various tasks.
    • The BBK Monitor – This “permanent” monitor will take up residence in your computer’s RAM.
    • An Introduction to the Vertical Blank Interrupt – The secrets to those frequently-seen nifty programming tricks.
    • the System Rerun Button – “Rewire” your RESET key to rerun programs automatically.
    • ST Color Tuner – Achieve animation on the ST through simple color rotation.

    Reviews

    • BBS Express! – A new bulletin board system packed with value and features.
    • Panak strikes! – Chessmaster 2000 (Software Country) and the Top Gunner Collection (MicroProse) are the games reviewed this time.
    • The Great American Cross Country Road Race (Activision) – Race across America in this fast-playing simulation.
    • Atari Planetarium (Atari Corp.) – A fascinating, useful program with educational value, too.
    • MicroNet (Supra Corp.) – Lets up to eight Atari computers use one peripheral.
    • Family History (Direct Lines Software) – Use your computer for genealogical research and tracking.
    • Phantasie (SSI) – Take the lead in this fantasy, with graphic battles and magic.
    • Strip Poker (Artworx) – An 8-bit favorite comes to the ST – how does it look?

    Columns

    • Editorial
    • Reader Comment
    • 8-bit News
    • Boot Camp
    • Scheduled Atari Fairs
    • Atari User Groups
    • The End User
    • M/L Editor
    • ST notes
    • Index to advertisers

    …and more!

     




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  •  Computer Mail Order (CMO) (Atari 8-bit)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Computer Mail Order advertisement for various Atari 8-bit equipment from the February 1987 issue of ANALOG Computing.

    analog_1987-02_054

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – ANALOG Computing – February 1987 – – Computer Mail Order (CMO)

    Above is an ad for various Atari 8-bit hardware sold by a mail-order company called CMO (Computer Mail Order…how original!) This ad is from the February 1987 issue of ANALOG Computing (an Atari specific magazine of the time) and shows a pretty good cross section of the Atari 8-bit hardware available at the time.

    At the top we have the various Atari 8-bit computer models available in 1987. The original Atari 400 and 800 had long been discontinued by this point and were no longer available. The 600XL isn’t here either and the 800XL was probably limited to stock on hand since the new XE models were being sold. I think the 800XL is by far the best deal here. While the 130XE had more memory (128K vs. 64K) and a couple of other nice features, the keyboard was too mushy and not nearly as nice as the one on the XL line. Very little software (if any) ever took advantage of that extra memory anyway. The 65XE is essentially a 130XE with only 64K of memory.

    Next up are disk drives and printers. The Atari 1050 was the basic double-density drive for the Atari 8-bit line at this time. Any disk software you had for the Atari would work with this drive. The Indus GT was the luxury drive. It was faster, quieter, more reliable and had nifty added features like displaying the track that was currently being read. It also could add CP/M capability. I don’t have an Atari 8-bit any more (I was always more of a Commodore 64 person anyway) but my ideal setup would be an Atari 800XL with an Indus GT drive.

    Finally, this ad includes various peripherals and upgrades including printers, modems, and memory upgrades among other things. That 300 Baud Atari modem may have been a bargain but the extra money for the 1200 baud Supra and an interface would have been more than worth it.


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