Looks like I'll definitely be getting rid of some 2600 carts, thanks to Mirage1972. And over the next year, we'll go through the 400+ games in the closet one by one, play them, and decide whether to keep each one.

But what I really need to do is decide what to do with the stuff in the basement. It's really wasteful to have all that stuff down there. So much of it is Atari 8-bit stuff (hardware and software). Do I really need an XEGM? A MIB XMM801? I mean, can you even get ribbons for those things any more? And even if you could, when am I ever going to print from an Atari again?

Honestly, if I could have any printer for the Atari 8-bit, it would be the 1027 -- if it was somehow magically blessed to work flawlessly forever. Those are just neat printers, and I miss my old one. Too bad the print heads eventually fall apart. And good luck getting replacement ones for them!

I do have the NIB Okimate 10 and a ton of ribbons for it. Since it's a thermal-based system, it should theoretically last indefinitely. I should take it out sometime and test it. If it works well enough, then I should get rid of the rest of the printers. Get them in the hands of people who can actually use them -- or at least appreciate them.

I think having an 800XL, a 1200XL, and a 130XE is plenty in terms of computers. Actually, I should trade that boxed 130XE for a boxed 800XL some day. I really prefer the XL series, so why mess around with the XE stuff? And although the 1200XL is my favorite computer of all time -- and has my favorite keyboard of all time -- the 800XL is best for playing games. It's much easier to insert and remove cartridges from that one than the XE's or the 1200XL.

But what of the boxed 830 acoustic coupler modem I have? And all that other 8-bit hardware? I really should get rid of it all. Maybe keep a few spare disk drives and the Okimate printer. That's all I really need, even if I went nuts and started programming on the 8-bit again: a computer, two disk drives, and a printer. Well, and one of those USB carts or some other way to transfer data to another computer so I could share it on the Internet.

As for software, do I really need all my mint copies of those languages like Pilot and Logo, or the Home Finance set, and so on? I can't see myself going back to the Home Filing Manager for keeping our recipes straight, or using Atari Writer for my next letter to my congress critter.

Sadly, the Atari 8-bit has basically become just another game machine for me. Too bad, because it was so much more to me for so many years. I wrote my first short story, my first program, and my first assembly language program on it. So many firsts for one computer!

At least I can be proud that as late as 1996, I had a complete collection of XL-era hardware and software, all out, plugged in, and ready for use -- and used daily. I went on the Internet (using Flickerterm-80, the 850 interface, a 14.4Kbps modem, and a shell account at a local ISP) for many years with my 1200XL.

But those days are gone...