Joey Kay Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 I have read up on the XEP-80, and a lot of reviews from the day lamb-baste it for not using the 130XE's ECI slot. However, it seems to me that Atari was wise to use the joystick inputs, as it made it accessible to all Atari users, right down to those who bought a 400 in 1979, thus not abandoning their user base at a time when Atari was constantly (and rightfully) being accused of abandoning it's 8-bit users. Is this a case of people just bitching to hear themselves bitch, or were there good reasons to use the ECI for this? Cheers! Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 What they did made sense from a marketing perspective - given than limiting the device to a fairly small segment of a smaller userbase would have really killed sales. On the other hand, the XEP80 definitely was a KLUDGE. The 80 column display was nice, but that thing was soooo slooooooow! What software was released for it? I only had it for AtariWriter+ (80 column) version, which was helpful when writing papers in my final year of high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 There are a very few PD programs for the XEP 80. I recall that "Antic" published an 80-column utility that used the XEP back in '88 or '89. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Some BBS software used it. I know I still need one. Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Sauron Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 I'm wondering what software used it too. I wanted one pretty badly back in the day, but never found out whether or not my word processor of choice back then (Bank Street Writer) supported it or not. Still wouldn't mind picking one up for cheap, just to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 I'm wondering what software used it too. I wanted one pretty badly back in the day, but never found out whether or not my word processor of choice back then (Bank Street Writer) supported it or not. Still wouldn't mind picking one up for cheap, just to check it out. B&C is currently holding a number of XEP auctions. They're going pretty cheaply, and I picked up mine for about $22 (plus an extra $10 for "AtariWriter 80"). That's not too bad, esp. as they come boxed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikor Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 If I know, SpartaDosX use 80 columns too. And, some versions of Turbo Basic XL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Joey, Actually the real shame of the XEP-80 is that its designer had done while under Atari (Warner) an 80 column monitor that plugged into all things: the SIO port!!! I'm not kidding.... Now THAT would've been an appropriate device for across the line of systems instead of the joystick ports. Curt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Kay Posted May 21, 2003 Author Share Posted May 21, 2003 Actually the real shame of the XEP-80 is that its designer had done while under Atari (Warner) an 80 column monitor that plugged into all things: the SIO port!!! I'm not kidding.... Now THAT would've been an appropriate device for across the line of systems instead of the joystick ports. Curt No kidding - fascinating... that would have been great, and use of the serial... much wiser. I would love to see more info about this on the history site when you have time! CHeers! Joey Cheers! Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 But didn't the Corvus hard drives utilize the 800's joystick ports as well? I think it's quite impressive that such a wide array of peripherals were able to use the joystick ports so successfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobwoolley Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 The reason the XEP-80 plugs into the joystick is that its main chip is a terminal controller built by National that "talks" at 19.2Kb serial. The chips I have seen even have bad internal character sets -- wouldn't be surprised if Jack got them real cheap! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 When I was running a Carina II BBS, having an XEP-80 kicked ass. The XEP-80 output was used t display what the user was seeing on the BBS. This worked great, since you had a reasonably accurate view of what Atari ST users in 80 columns were seeing. Then, your 40 column display was used to allow you to edit the user's settings and other things, all while the user was rooting around on the board. This pseudo-multitasking was fantastic--at the time if you wanted to edit a user's settings while the user was online, most systems forced you to "break into" the user's session, which prevented them from using the board while you were making changes. But with Carina II and an XEP-80, you could make changes and the user would never know. I do agree, though, that it is a kludge. ..Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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