Size of the Atari 8-bit Community

[800xl_1984]

Seems like the active membership is spread all over the world. Virtual user groups like this one seem to be our best source of support and information.

 

Probably lots of people like me out there. Have owned my original Atari for around 30 years. Don't get to consistently use it, because life happens.

 

I agree with comments presented here about access to information. It is incredible what the active community is producing, in both hardware and software. The lack of documentation for beginners can be frustrating.

[Yautja]

According to prestigious ATARI CHILE group in Facebook, there seems to be some 12 atarians in Perú: 8 of them in Lima, 2 in Tacna and the others... somewhere in the country.

 

- Y -

[Mclaneinc]

There's far more than the stats show BUT the Atari community can be one of the most reserved ones out there, Its not a bad thing as we tend to avoid wars with other machines but its a bit of a downer for devs as we don't make ourselves known as much as others so for them the user base seems smaller than it probably is..

 

To quote a 90's (?) club phrase, can Atari users "make some noiseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

 

We are out there, lets not hide in the tree's so much, our scene could be as boyant as the C64 scene and to be honest a co-operation with them would be wonderful, two 6502 machines with custom chips, great devs and a love of the machine, the inter community sharing which DOES go on could be good for both as long as the wars are curtailed early..

 

I'm not saying our own scene isn't sustainable, it is but imagine both sets dreaming up stuff as a joint venture, hardware tech differences of sprites etc could be compromised to a huge degree and what you get out the other end is the best for both..

 

Win win...

Edited October 21, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[adamchevy]

I’m going to create a Uintah Basin User group. I’m tired of people telling me, “ Oh yeah, I used to have one of those Atari computers growing up!” And then I never hear about it again. It’s amazing how many people had an Atari product of some kind in their home growing up, especially out here in the west. I know their are many more Atarians out there. I just need to fan the flame a little bit.

Edited October 21, 2018 by adamchevy

[Kyle22]

The wars will end when they admit defeat.

 

[pixelmischief]

 

I had a 130XE with a VBXE and an Ultimate 1MB installed. The work was done by none other than MetalGuy. After a few months, however, I traded it for a nice, stock 130XE and some cash (which I asked the trader to donate to some cause or another). The upgrades made the system convenient and accessible in a way that took the fun out of slowing down for long enough to deal with its inherent limitations.

 

I have since identified the components of which my nostalgia is comprised:

 

1. Slower Pace: There is joy to be had in the waiting. It gives me a chance to bask in the feeling and memories that the context evokes.

2. Tactile Interaction: Switching devices on and off, changing disks, and sifting through floppies still feels good. Touch matters.

3. Low Complexity: Modern systems require a certain surrender to the abstraction layers and gateway interfaces that make progressive technical improvement possible. But an Atari 8-Bit is so simple that one can understand it completely and marvel even more at its genius and capability.

 

For my uses, the modern upgrades turn an Atari into an all-in-one console; too convenient to be adored and simultaneously less convenient than an emulator, which does the same thing better.

 

I was thinking more about this today and have come to the conclusion that I am 100% OK with modern upgrades that don't mess with those nostalgia priorities I identified in my post. For example, using an LCD monitor is fine, especially with a scan-line generator. It doesn't speed the pace of working and playing on the Atari and shares the same basic tactile and cognizant interaction as a television. An SIO2XXX device, on the other hand, becomes a super--speed mega-drive for the system ans, to me, steals away the joy of waiting, listening to the pitter-patter of loads and writes, and the feel of pushing floppies around.

 

Yeah, just trying to get my thoughts out. I love the machine and I still love using it..

[Kyle22]

What's wrong with using a fast SIO device? PoKey is driving it, so what's the problem. Let's hear the UltraSpeed FAST 'pitter-patter', or better yet, SuperSync.

It's still all original. This can be done by software.

 

Sparta 3.2 requires no mods to the computer. It is still a 'Real' Atari. Same with GT-Sync and Super-Sync.

 

Faster is better.

[DavidMil]

There's far more than the stats show BUT the Atari community can be one of the most reserved ones out there, Its not a bad thing as we tend to avoid wars with other machines but its a bit of a downer for devs as we don't make ourselves known as much as others so for them the user base seems smaller than it probably is..

 

To quote a 90's (?) club phrase, can Atari users "make some noiseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

 

We are out there, lets not hide in the tree's so much, our scene could be as boyant as the C64 scene and to be honest a co-operation with them would be wonderful, two 6502 machines with custom chips, great devs and a love of the machine, the inter community sharing which DOES go on could be good for both as long as the wars are curtailed early..

 

I'm not saying our own scene isn't sustainable, it is but imagine both sets dreaming up stuff as a joint venture, hardware tech differences of sprites etc could be compromised to a huge degree and what you get out the other end is the best for both..

 

Win win...

 

Are we counting Extra-terrestrials? I know a few users that I don't think came from this planet...

 

David

[Mclaneinc]

Lol....That's entirely possible...w1k certainly is from some other planet

 

Some wish he would return home

 

If ET wants to get in on making a superb game then I'm all for it, his initial attempt sort of got buried

 

All welcome as long as they wipe their feet at the door and don't make a mess...

[777ismyname]

My apologies for necroing this thread. I’m mostly a lurker. I’ve been on Atari Age for much longer than this username suggests. I forgot the password to my original username after a round of strokes some years back, then the ISP became defunct where my original early 90s email address was hosted.

 

Anyway, I live in the rural mountains of Western North Carolina in the Southeastern U.S. On a very casual basis I know of two other people that still use their Atari 8 bits and that visit AtariAge. I’d reckon there must be 2,000 of us in the U.S. alone.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kyle22]

That's not a necro. Last post was only a few weeks ago. It's all good.

[Sugarland]

And how many A8's owners are there? Specifically inactive users with machines in storage. No easy way to know I guess. Some statistics expert could estimate based on ebay/craigslist listings I suppose. Maybe 65536?

[jefffulton]

I can guarantee that there are a lot of us that don't actively post all the time due to time constraints, but we have multiple 8bits, Ultimate carts, SIO devices, etc. We buy carts on e-bay and even Atari Sales, follow all the threads, get excited about the new Silly Venture and other releases, etc. We even do pod casts that no one listens to about them ...http://www.8bitrocket.com/category/podcasts/into-the-vertical-blank/

[_The Doctor__]

come on now.... everyone listens to them, just in a firewalled, cached, vpn sort of way. These old pirate ships sail in odd ways....

[leech]

I would say there's exactly 6502 of us active at any time.

[_The Doctor__]

1.79 million perhaps slightly more...

[+David_P]

No more than 65535 of us without banking...

[_The Doctor__]

You do realize the clock yes?

[Keatah]

Instead of getting real hardware and tricking it out, I like to work with the convenience of emulation. Emulation fulfilled with my childhood desire of many systems all-in-one perfectly. And emu exceeds my expectations in many areas. It is the near perfect bridge between the past and present. And I still play Defender, Missile Command, and Star Raiders with the same zest as I did in 1981.

 

Both my wife and I love, play with, and care for our emulated Ataris the same way many of you care for your real physical machines. Sound crazystrange? Perhaps. But these virtual machines have so much to offer!

Edited November 11, 2018 by Keatah

[_The Doctor__]

Keatah,

The Matrix has you, you think that's air you're breathing? Interesting.....

You've been re-inserted... You chose the wrong color pill... what of Neo...

The simulation is not perfect, I can't tolerate the glitches, If prefer my X-wing fighter to be able to always center on the target, and for it to actually require I get the shot down the exhaust port to the reactor. Not some off center close enough any shot might win it strategy.

I only want to see the cat once, I want my light gun and light pen to work.

What you think is steak is actually tasty wheat with regurgitated bits in it. Wake up Keatah, we need you ... trace program started!

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[Kyle22]

#RedPill needed for the emulator guys.

 

Do you have a keyboard on your laptop (or desktop) anywhere as comfortable as a Mitsumi?

Can you physically put a 5.25" disk in? If so, WHERE?

Can you truthfully say that you actually ARE an Atari 8 bit user when you don't even own an Atari computer?

How does the artifacting look? Kind of fake, right? (NO shot was taken at any emulator).

What about getting a new peripheral and feeling the joy when you just plug it into SIO and it works?

And those lovely joyport devices like Corvus and MPP modems, and all the others? Some of them are emulated, but it's not the same as hooking up the physical connection.

 

[Mr Robot]

I have

• An NTSC 800XL which I never turn on because it's NTSC which means it doesn't work with most of the software I want to run.
• A PAL 1088XEL which I use when I'm spending a whole day Atari'ing
• Emulation on my Mac which I use 80% of the time because it's more convenient and I don't have to go into the basement to use it.

None of these have real 5¼ disks, all of them use modern monitors and none of them display artifacts correctly.

 

I think of myself as an Atari user. I'm not an Atari hardware/software collector or museum curator, just a user. I also feel using an Ultimate Cart or SIO2SD is also emulating real hardware.

 

Who am I to judge!