What caused you to change (Atari/non-Atari) platforms?

[Tillek]

Yep, I always regretted the name change as well as the other

changes. I use kubuntu these days...

I've been using Kubuntu as well (well, I have a Windows as my main machine but that's mostly because I dev in C#/Asp.Net.Mvc for work).

 

I'm thinking of switching my 'nix to Mint though. Something about that just seems right..... Mint on the nix, Mint on the TT, Mint on the Falcons.....

[tep392]

400 -> Apple IIe It wasn't really a switch though because I kept the 400 connected to the tv and continued playing it's great games. I bought the Apple IIe because I didn't know a single person with and Atari computer and most of my friends had Apple II's so I could get ton's of "free" s/w for it.

[leech]

 

Ain't that the truth! Ink jet or laser anymore. At least with ink jet printers, you don't feel as bad since the print heads get funky after a while - if not easy to replace anyway. Then again, the imaging drum on a laser goes bad before long too.

I ended up buying a Laser Printer because I was tired of buying ink cartridges that I'd use once or twice then they'd get gunked up. I don't print that often, and from what I understand laser printers have a much longer idle time that they're still good. I randomly will print up a picture or document on it just to go 'holy crap, that prints fast and clean!' now if only I could get more than text out of my Falcon printed on it. PHERP works well with raw for it, but man it'd be nice for nvidi to support it.

[Keatah]

I bought the Apple IIe because I didn't know a single person with and Atari computer and most of my friends had Apple II's so I could get ton's of "free" s/w for it.

 

A number of my buddies back in the day had either no system or another lesser system. But they kept a separate disk box that contained Apple II disks. And they made it point to hang out where WAS an Apple II system.

[Keatah]

Ain't that the truth! Ink jet or laser anymore. At least with ink jet printers, you don't feel as bad since the print heads get funky after a while - if not easy to replace anyway. Then again, the imaging drum on a laser goes bad before long too.

 

Home printing has always been somewhat of a quirky thing. With supplies always being at the forefront of the expense and tedium.

[Keatah]

I ended up buying a Laser Printer because I was tired of buying ink cartridges that I'd use once or twice then they'd get gunked up. I don't print that often, and from what I understand laser printers have a much longer idle time that they're still good.

 

That's right. That's because they use dry black powder to print - unlike the leaky ink that gums up and encrusts the works. Laser printers can sit for months on end and fire up and print just fine. If they sit for like a year or two in a humid environment they CAN stop working, which is remedied by taking the toner out and hitting it really hard on the desk or floor. All back to normal!

[Keatah]

Another reason I migrated away from the toys of the 8 and 16 bit era was exactly that, I needed a real computer. I wanted to experience a sense of professionalism. And the IBM compatible world offered that in spades and droves. If one was to be taken seriously they had to have a PC on the desk in the background. A MAC could sometime fit in if the circumstances were right and the application was relevant.

[leech]

Another reason I migrated away from the toys of the 8 and 16 bit era was exactly that, I needed a real computer. I wanted to experience a sense of professionalism. And the IBM compatible world offered that in spades and droves. If one was to be taken seriously they had to have a PC on the desk in the background. A MAC could sometime fit in if the circumstances were right and the application was relevant.

Funny that now that Windows 10 is out and the inconsistency in GUI (two different versions of control panel, depending on how you open it!) it looks like this giant cartoony mess that is far worse than any Linux DE, or even some of the more extreme AmigaOS MUI themes. In fact, I don't ever recall Windows really looking all that professional. Maybe that's because of using TOS and having it be very task focused (well no multi-tasking does that).

[Keatah]

I don't know a whole hella lot about Win10, just that I'm better off if I stay away from it.

 

Windows got really campy after w2k. It started with XP and got worse afterwards. Thankfully XP can be toned down.

[tjlazer]

I started with an Atari 800XL, which I damaged by spilling some coke on it, took it to get repaired and after a few months claimed they lost it! So they gave me a new 130XE! About a year later, as I slowly saw the software dry up in comparison with the Commodore 64, I bought one. So I had both. Then I saw the Atari 520ST and had to get one! Sold both the 130XE and C64 and used some extra money from xmas and Dad to buy the ST! But due to a persistant monitor problem (bad gausing problems in corners) I decided to return it and bought an Amiga 1000! I know. Well years later I started to collect all 4 platforms.

[juansolo]

I blame Doom directly. I bought a PC to play it and the ST went to fund it.

Edited January 19, 2017 by juansolo

[zzip]

Going to a PC felt inevitable in the 90s. Whereas in the 80s Atari hardware was much more affordable than PC, in the 90s, the economy of scale drove PC components price way down and it was offering so much more bang for the buck than Atari hardware.

 

Still I hung on a long time. Eventually two things made me switch. 1) Doom. 2) Linux - a college roommate showed me what it could do, and it impressed me enough to adopt it way before it went mainstream

[MrMaddog]

Long story short, Atari stopped supporting their computers to focus on the Jaguar and PC compatibility became a requirement in using computers in the 90's.

 

What made it easier for me to switch was that PC's all used standardised hardware but you could run other OS's like Linux instead of only using what Microsoft makes. Don't like Intel Inside? There's AMD processors which were cheaper and better...

 

Plus there were Atari 8-bit & ST emulators were available so I still kept my old favorite games & apps while still being able to run the latest stuff.

[doctorclu]

All of you were fun to read in your experiences.

 

So this is my story:

1977 - Dad had the Sol Terminal 20. Cool machine. Lots of Trek80 and Targ played.

-------- We got a Sears Telegames system, which got us into Atari stuff.

1980 - Sold newspaper subscriptions and got my own Atari VCS.

1981 - Sold the VCS, got a Atari 400 when I saw Choplifter, Miner2049er, and Archon on the

-------- computer. Also learned about floppy disks and piracy!

1982 - Later in this year got on my first computer BBS. Now I could get games over the phone!

-------- Whoo hoo!

1984 - Attended Atari user meetings at the Dallas Infomart.

1986 - Dad had already upgraded the 400 to 48K, but installed a Atari 1400 keyboard from Radio Shack.

1989 - Bear in mind, no internet yet, really believed Atari was dead. Saw a friend's Mac SE with

-------- Dark Castle and managed to score a Mac 128K. Later would upgrade that to 4 mb.

1993 - I get onto the text internet while in college computer labs.

1994 - While in Guam, scored a Mac Plus. Lots of BBSing while on the island.

1995 - I see my first graphical internet page on Mosiac. (Didn't think it'd catch on.)

-------- Dad gives me my first Newton 110 when I returned from Guam.

--------At first didn't know what to do with it.

-------- First home internet service... through a BBS (Chrysalis BBS in Dallas)

1996 - Picked up a Performa 550 (68030) later upgraded to 68040 with math co-processor.

1997 - Picked up the amazing Newton 2000. 10x faster than my Newton 110. Played video too!

-------- Started using graphical web browsers. (I was a slow adopter on that one.)

1999 - Out of college, found out Atari user group was still around. Borrow 520 ST (upgraded to

-------- 4 mb) for newsletter. Used Pagestream and had a laser printer!

2000 - Managed to score an Atari TT030, Lynx, Atari Jaguar. Atari user group folds due to having to

-------- move from the Informart that they had for nearly fifteen years.

-------- I learn of Bubsy Bobcat on the Jaguar!

-------- Continued using TT030 alongside Performa 550 for internet.

-------- Featured in the Dallas Morning News, Atari Jaguar on front cover. Meet Amiga User Group.

2001 - Got an IT job, used a Athlon 1 Ghz processor with Win98. Later used Linux. Still tinkered

-------- with retro computers (Atari XE and ST)

-------- Get my first DVD player as the spiritual successor to the Jaguar, the Nuon Samsung 2000.

2002 - Scored two Macintosh G3 Powerbooks for my wife and I. I was back in the Mac world!!

-------- Using OS 9.

2003 - Join Amiga User Group. They help me get an Amiga 3000 working that I picked up at

-------- JagFest in 2002. Even had a ethernet card!

-------- Attended the JagFest in St. Louis (while visiting wife's family).

2004 - Upgraded to OS X.3

2005 - Won the retrochallenge (like the first or second year of it) using nothing but an Atari 800

--------- for one month. Figured out I didn't need portable computing right before smart phones.

-------- My Newton 2000 and Duo Macs became used less.

-------- Year I was handed a G4 12" 800 mhz Powerbook. Beautiful little computer! Well I was

-------- handed it in parts and I managed to reassemble it.

-------- Tinkered heavy in the Dreamcast after a friend showed me that system.

-------- For the next five years lots of calling BBSs and internet with beige Atari 800.

-------- Many discussions over Atariage and Atari IRC channels.

2008 - Started the Bubsy Fan Blog.

2010 - Got a Macbook Pro dual Core processor laptop in parts, fixed it up. Hated it. Traded for

-------- 1.2 ghzG4 12" laptop. Used that G4 through my time in Kuwait along with a

-------- 1.4 Ghz G4 Mac Mini.

2011 - My first Android device, the Archos 32, and my first experience with Angry Birds!

2012 - Got my first Intel iMac 1.5 ghz from a sidewalk sale.

2014 - Picked up a Amiga 500 from a friend. Fix it up to 8 mb and SD card slot. Then get a

------- Amiga 1200. Been part of an Amiga group since 2003.

------- This was also the year I tinkered hard on the Intellivision and used it to call Atariage and

------- leave message. Also created concept for the dual action controller.

2015 - Picked up a Macbook Air 1.8 ghz from a friend. (what I'm using to write this.)

-------- Help with some development and testing on Atari Jaguar games. Mainly Joust and

-------- Moon Patrol.

2016 - Picked up a 27" iMac 2.7 Ghz 32 GB ram from a friend.

-------- Set up Internet server on the Newton 2000 for a while.

-------- Bubsy Fan Blog interviews Bubsy creator Michael Berlyn.

-------- Get the Atari Flashback Portable from Atgames that gets me back into the Atari 2600.

-------- Help in testing hundreds of games to see what is compatible with the SD card slot.

-------- Then work with fan hackers to get dozens more tuned up and working.

2017 - Get the Sega Flashback Portable from Atgames, causing me to get into some tinkering on

-------- Sega Genesis.

-------- To date, Bubsy Bobcat Fan Blog on Atariage has had 175,398 visitors.

-------- Still call computer BBSs and write a blog on that as well.

-------- And local Amiga user group in Dallas, TX is still active with live YouTube broadcasts

-------- every month.

 

Wow, 40 years of computing. Been a fun ride.

Edited January 23, 2017 by doctorclu

[Fletch]

I was all Atari from the 400 through the Falcon. I was pretty much lost as to what to do next computing wise after Atari exited the scene. My fiancé (now my wife for almost 20 years) was a teacher at the time and used Macs at school. We bought a Performa 6320CD together in 1995. I've been in the Apple ecosphere ever since.

 

I sold off my Falcon when my wife was on maternity leave, along with my Jaguar. We needed the money. I've since reacquired both.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Fletch

[Keatah]

Since the late 1970's I always wanted good word processing in whatever system I had on the desk. I had my eye on the TRS-80 Model III for a long time. It was big, it was professional, it was monochrome, and a price that matched all that! So that never happened. And my gramma suggested the Apple II because it had color and that I'd get bored of the limited graphics on the Model III.

 

The Apple II+ and //e served as a pretty good Word Processor, working my way through Apple Writer, Magic Window, ProTerm Editor, and the CP/M offerings. I was covered till I wanted better and faster disk filing and more memory. More formatting capability. Fonts. WYSIWYG output. The Atari units of the day never fit that bill for me. 8 or 16 bit. But I did love them for their arcade translations 2 b shur.

 

I transitioned away from the Apple simply because of speed and capability. I thought about the IIgs here, but it was too expensive and bang for the buck was pretty low.

 

I thought about the Mac, it was nearly perfect except for the price. So I started saving for it, but one day I woke up and inexplicably nixed the whole idea. Then I observed the steady progress PCs were making. 8086, 286, 386, I couldn't take it anymore! And got the 486.

 

I always debated getting a math co-processor. It was like a magic chip. Epecially to a retard that sucked in mathematics. And I always wondered why no games or simulations used it. The point became moot with the 486 because it was built-in to most versions. All the high-speed DX versions anyways.

 

Then came a brief stint with the Pentium. I gutted the beautiful 486 machine and retrofitted it with a Pentium 90 and M54Pi Micronics motherboard. It was fast, but the whole machine felt half-assed and incomplete. It only cost me 1400 bucks. But I convinced the seller (a consulting firm) to take it back. I think I was prompted in part by the announcement of even faster chips, and there was word about a modified Pentium called the PentiumPro coming out to consumers. I was happy I put the 486 back together perfectly the way it was.

 

The Pentium Pro became a fantasy machine I built in my head. It never materialized because of cost, and it supposedly ran 16-bit software slower than an equivalently clocked Pentium (regular). But I drooled over the specs and out-of-order execution - what a novel concept coming from the 6502 and early 8-bitters.

 

I eventually fell into a semi-regular pace of x86 upgrades beginning with the Pentium II 266 - paid like $636 for it and nearly as much for a custom secret AL440LX. I also got a Riva 128 graphics board. That was cool. And it was 3D and it worked! Then came various other graphics cards and a Pentium II 350, Pentium III 450, 850. And that same machine has a Pentium 1400 in it now. Only one motherboard change from AL440LX to 440BX. I can overclock this to 1700MHz.

 

Eventually a Pentium IV entered the picture at 3.4 GHz. And many many graphics cards to go with it all. Then my sources of near-free hardware dried up, and I got off the bandwagon.

 

Of all the PC machines, the 486, Pentium II-266 w/MMX, Pentium III 1400, and Pentium M are most memorable. I could rebuild up the PII-266 at a moment's notice, the rest are still operational.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Keatah

[zzip]

Long story short, Atari stopped supporting their computers to focus on the Jaguar and PC compatibility became a requirement in using computers in the 90's.

 

What made it easier for me to switch was that PC's all used standardised hardware but you could run other OS's like Linux instead of only using what Microsoft makes. Don't like Intel Inside? There's AMD processors which were cheaper and better...

 

Plus there were Atari 8-bit & ST emulators were available so I still kept my old favorite games & apps while still being able to run the latest stuff.

 

All true for me too. Emulators were one of the first things I got into with my new PC, And even my first 486 could run ST applications in emulation much faster than any real Atari ever could. So in addition to a new PC, it was like getting a better model Atari all in one.

[Keatah]

AMD of the 90's and first decade of the 2000's always had 2nd rate chipsets which dragged the whole system down.

[atarian63]

400 -> Apple IIe It wasn't really a switch though because I kept the 400 connected to the tv and continued playing it's great games. I bought the Apple IIe because I didn't know a single person with and Atari computer and most of my friends had Apple II's so I could get ton's of "free" s/w for it.

never knew anyone with apples here, atari and later commodore were pretty much it.

[+DarkLord]

 

All true for me too. Emulators were one of the first things I got into with my new PC, And even my first 486 could run ST applications in emulation much faster than any real Atari ever could. So in addition to a new PC, it was like getting a better model Atari all in one.

 

Would an emulator running on a 486 beat even a TT030? Or a 50mhz 030 equipped ST? Just curious.

 

Thanks.

[zzip]

 

Would an emulator running on a 486 beat even a TT030? Or a 50mhz 030 equipped ST? Just curious.

 

Thanks.

 

It depended on the emulator. Gemulator was pretty fast and I think could come close. I believe it was about 4X the speed of a regular ST on my 486. But emulators back then were not 'cycle exact', so one aspect might run really fast while another might run relatively slow and it would average out to about 4X speed.

 

Another trick emulators used then was to map GEM AES or VDI calls to native platform calls. So if you ran Gembench, you would get incredible draw call speeds, but maybe not so great CPU/Ram speeds

[Keatah]

Cycle exact emulations of something like a 2MHz Atari 400/800 with custom chips will cost you somewhere in the range of 500Mhz to 1GHz. Cycle-exact Amiga 500 or Atari 520ST will cost you around 2GHz to 2.5GHz.

 

Early emulators made a lot of assumptions, calls to the host os, and simulations. As fidelity and compatibility improved, those things went away and emulators began demanding more power. That's right.

 

I never set out to emulate a TT030, but I can't imagine the results of emulating it on a 486 being any good when it comes to accurate graphics output and accurate timing. I think you'll get some speed improvement with just the computational part, but all the other things and hairdressings? I doubt it. An emulator author will need to step in and provide more clarity.

[zzip]

I went from Atari 2600, to STFM, to Falcon pretty much. Though never really saw any games for the falcon. Then all the mags vanished and that pretty much marked the end of it for me (no internet back then, not like it would have likely helped). PDL's vanished not long after so just no way to get any software. Atari died not long after, so the only active platform which seemed popular was the PC market.

 

So I built a 286SX25 or 386 back in the day can't remember. Was built from peoples spare bits mostly. Got doom running on DOS played it for ages. Then a guy at work said he got his PC on the internet with windows 3.11, So I updated my machine with modem to get on the internet. One day it just stopped seeing the modem, nobody could figure out why, reinstalled many times, gave up in the end and built a new PC with windows 95 on. Back on the net, then access to online multiplayer games.. better games, more power year after year.

 

Must have been a 386 because I don't think the 286 was capable of running Doom.

[zzip]

Cycle exact emulations of something like a 2MHz Atari 400/800 with custom chips will cost you somewhere in the range of 500Mhz to 1GHz. Cycle-exact Amiga 500 or Atari 520ST will cost you around 2GHz to 2.5GHz.

 

Early emulators made a lot of assumptions, calls to the host os, and simulations. As fidelity and compatibility improved, those things went away and emulators began demanding more power. That's right.

 

I never set out to emulate a TT030, but I can't imagine the results of emulating it on a 486 being any good when it comes to accurate graphics output and accurate timing. I think you'll get some speed improvement with just the computational part, but all the other things and hairdressings? I doubt it. An emulator author will need to step in and provide more clarity.

 

I'm sure it wasn't accurate, but even back then ST emulators could run in a high-resolution, and accelerate GEM calls so you could run well-written GEM applications at TT-like resolutions and speeds comparable to TT, except with a 68000 core. If it wasn't well-written, or wasn't a GEM application all bets were off

[Keatah]

I'm sure it wasn't accurate, but even back then ST emulators could run in a high-resolution, and accelerate GEM calls so you could run well-written GEM applications at TT-like resolutions and speeds comparable to TT, except with a 68000 core. If it wasn't well-written, or wasn't a GEM application all bets were off

 

Weren't there plug-in cards (for the PC or amiga) that allowed you to use real GEM roms?