8-BIT COMPUTERS

Atari "8-bits" were the first computers I ever owned. I started out with an Atari 400 in 1981.
It cost around $500, came with 16k RAM, featured a "membrane" keyboard, and software was
*slowly* loaded from cassette tapes. In 1984 I upgraded to an Atari 800xl setup. Overall price
was roughly the same, but this baby came with a whopping 64k RAM, featured a real keyboard,
and used a 5.25" disk drive to load software.

I've long since mothballed the Atari's, but every now and then I get feeling nostalgic and want
to relive the good-old-days. Besides, I still think that some of the simplistic games I had on
the Atari are more FUN than many current computer games. If you know what I'm talking about,
then you owe it to yourself to pick up an Atari emulator. They're available for both Mac and PC,
and can do a damn fine job of emulating a full-blown Atari system. The Rainbow
emulator is available for both PC and Macintosh and does a very good job of running
most old Atari games. Also available for Macintosh users is the WACKE
emulator which runs some games more smoothly than Rainbow. For the PC,
my current favorite emulator is Atari800 WinPlus , which runs most games full screen
and full speed, and has lots of nice features built-in. Another Atari emulator
worth mentioning is the X-Former . (You can also still get the old version here )

Note : If you have any questions, or are looking for a particular Atari file, feel free to e-mail me!

Here are some useful Atari links :

  • The Atari 8-Bit Resort
  • The Atari Exhibition

  • Atari Headquarters

  • Atari Historical Society

  • Docs & Manuals

  • Atari 8-Bit Homepage

  • Atari XL/XE Systems

  • Antic Magazine Digital Archive.

  • Reminiscing : Atari 8-Bit Games

  • Alternate Reality

  • Yogi's Downloads

  • U-Mich Atari Archive

    • Photos of the old Atari line...


    Atari 800 Computer ( 48k RAM, 2 Mhz* )

    Atari 400 (16k RAM) and 410 Cassette Recorder

    Atari 1050 5.25" Disk Drive and 800xl Computer (64k RAM)
     
     
    *Actually, I believe Atari 8-bits were 1.59Mhz in the U.S. (NTSC), and 1.79Mhz in Europe (PAL).



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