Atari 800XL Remake

https://revive-machines.com/index-en.html

by gtirloni • 3 years ago

205 168 3 years ago

revive-machines.com

fuster• 3 years ago

My first computer! Lots of fond memories. Loading programs from a cassette in particular sticks in my head.

naikrovek• 3 years ago

These days, lots of businesses seem to be based on Nostalgia as a Service, almost.

Maybe it's not a new idea. I don't know.

irdc• 3 years ago

I’m thinking it’s a generational thing: people who grew up with machines such as the Atari are now of the age where they’d like to re-experience part of their youth.

hn83058233• 3 years ago

Just like the resurgence of the Shelby GT500 in 2007.

If you were 12 in 1969 and dreamed of owning/driving one, in 2007 you were 50 with $$$ and nostalgia.

hakfoo2• 3 years ago

I recall years ago reading a magazine article discussing the (at the time) market bubble for either Lionel-style toy trains or baseball cards. So this was probably early 1990s, and it pretty much tracked with when the kids of the late 1940s/early 1950s had reached career endgame and peak earning potential.

They literally had a timeline predicting that eventually video game consoles would have a similar bubble. I want to say I think they predicted it in the 2000s though, so perhaps they were off, but maybe the infographic was just loosely designed.

jasoneckert• 3 years ago

If Nostalgia as a Service is a thing, this project could be considered an edge appliance for it...

skeeter20202• 3 years ago

The 8-bit computing renaissance has been going on for quite some time. I think it's a combination of 1. the age & experience of the original audience, 2. tech changes that make it much easier to design, build and supply retro-inspired computers and 3. the appeal of a stand-alone "computer" where an individual can hold the entire design in their head without massive abstractions. There's a lot of sad, negative, stupid things in the world today but the state of the NEW 8-bit scene is amazing. If you're a purist for original 8-bit gear it is not as great.

eschneider4• 3 years ago

They were also a LOT of fun to program as you could really learn every bit of the architecture. Being able to do edit/compile on a modern box and download to something like the Atari makes it a lot nicer than native development was in the day. (IIRC, back in the day, some folks would cross compile on DEC boxes for similar reasons.)

I'd probably do a lot more 8-bit work in my spare time, but bare metal embedded systems scratch similar itches for me and, well, folks will pay for that sorta thing. :)

bigbillheck• 3 years ago

Maybe it's just that you've aged yourself into the target markets for that kind of thing.

whartung• 3 years ago

One thing I've learned hanging out on vintage computer communities is that you can not use your lenses to understand the motivations of the folks who practice the hobby.

Commercial nostalgia has been around since classic cars, Happy Days, and 50's diners.

I do know that, on the whole, this stuff is not for me, and that's fine. But I still like to hang out and reminisce about the time of my youth and the foundations of computing as I experienced them. That said, I have a Model 100 that I can't part with.

A friend of mine has a small collection of vintage Macs. He has a very nice specimen of the G4 Cube that I dabbled with one day. It's a beautiful piece of hardware. But, oh my word, is that box slow. It is glacial. I don't know how good it was in the day, I have to assume it was competitive, which means everything we did back then was glacial, we just couldn't appreciate it.

But it's a nice piece of sorta kinetic sculpture, and it brings him joy, so who's to question that.

Hang out on vintage forums with folks with their racks of PDPs, assortments of beige, 90's PCs, old Apples. Trying to bring Windows 98 to life to play a game, connecting a pair of modems to call each other, rebuilding a power supply on some garage filling Data General Nova, etc. Just eclectic collectors. No different from Hummel figurines.

cstross• 3 years ago

On a related theme, here's the Spectrum Next, Issue 2:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spectrumnext/zx-spectru...

(Delayed about two years due to supply chain problems -- their FPGA was back-ordered for over a year -- but due to ship in 3-6 months' time: the ultimate Sinclair Spectrum revival.)

blame-troi• 3 years ago

I've got one of the first run. It's back in the box, I was always more of a Tandy guy. The RC2014 is also more my speed. CPM.

DrNosferatu• 3 years ago

Let's not forget the MSXVR:

https://msxvr.com/en/tienda/msxvr-computer/

(even if not FPGA-based, still pretty cool)

hn83058233• 3 years ago

I always liked the original Atari 800 case design. I felt it was intentionally designed to not look like a boring computer, but something else.

jghn• 3 years ago

Then there was the Atari 400 with that awful membrane keyboard :(

hn83058233• 3 years ago

I would say it was the worst membrane keyboard of all time but the Sinclair ZX was definitely worse.

ihatepython2• 3 years ago

It was awful, but it was still better than the 2016 Macbook keyboard.

xp84• 3 years ago

Even as a 5-year-old when they let me use it in Kindergarten, I knew that keyboard was garbage :D

neilv• 3 years ago

I think the Atari 800 looks a bit like an IBM Selectric II typewriter, made to be more sleek, like a spaceship.

https://www.vintage-calculators.nl/P1010274s.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atari-800-Computer-FL.jpg

rob74• 3 years ago

Now that you mention it, it does look like a typewriter! Typewriters had a lid in the same spot so you could access the mechanics if something got stuck. And in the space where the type levers (or type ball) would be in a typewriter, the Atari 800 had its cartridge and expansion slots...

timbit422• 3 years ago

I heard somewhere it was designed to look like a typewriter so it wouldn't look too unfamiliar to buyers.

aNoob70002• 3 years ago

Here's a remake of the Commodore 64. With more advanced features.

https://www.commanderx16.com/

Aloha• 3 years ago

It's not - because it cant run C64 software (outside of basic) unmodified, the internal memory map and graphics hardware are very different

aNoob70002• 3 years ago

You are correct, but I wonder if any new hardware is going to be able to mimic the old completely.

300bps• 3 years ago

It's actually pretty easy to port C64 software - both Assembly and BASIC. It uses the exact same BASIC and same processor family as the Commodore 64, NES, Apple II and many others.

Memory map, graphics and sound are the biggest challenges in porting because those are different. But code to translate between these will get better and better. Lots of ports from other systems already.

skeeter20202• 3 years ago

It's more inspired by the zeitgeist of the C64, but definitely not a remake.

christkv2• 3 years ago

If you are looking for a C64 remake there is https://mega65.org

Findecanor• 3 years ago

The Mega65 is actually a realisation of an unreleased model that only made it to prototype stage back in the day, but yes, it is backwards-compatible with the C64.

woodrowbarlow• 3 years ago

the Atari 800XL looks closer to the ultimate 64:

https://ultimate64.com/

an FPGA mainboard that can cycle-exact emulate the 6510, plus various disk drives, printers, cartridges, etc., with modern I/O and storage.

the_af2• 3 years ago

If you are looking for a "retroremake" of the C64 that's actually an ARM chip running inside a functional C64 breadbin case, with working keyboard, I recommend TheC64 [1] (full size version, not the Mini which is just a game console).

You can program in basic and assembly language with it, plus it has HDMI output so no additional cables or adapters required to connect it to an LCD.

Internally it's running a modified version of VICE.

[1] https://retrogames.biz/products/thec64/

zabzonk• 3 years ago

i bought one of these ultra cheap when currys (dreadful uk electrics store) decided it didn't want to inventory or sell them any more - must have been mid-80s? yay, star raiders! very nice 8-bit computer.

retrocryptid15• 3 years ago

I bought an 800xl explicitly to get star raiders (probably around the same time, I remember it was reasonably inexpensive.) I kept expecting my C64 to have something just as good, and though elite was good, it wasn't star raiders good.

So... at least for me... Star Raiders was the Atari 8-bit Killer App. (And weirdly, I came to like SynCalc a bit later.)

Nokinside• 3 years ago

When I see picture of an old computer, I remember how it smelled. Very nostalgic feeling.

criddell2• 3 years ago

The predecessor to this, the Atari 800, is the computer I wanted when I was 12. A TI-99/4A is the computer I got. It was still a wonderful gift that set me up for the rest of my life.

retrocryptid15• 3 years ago

My uncle worked for TI, so we were pretty deep in the 99/4 world. But later in the 80s I saved my pennies and bought a 600XL and later an 800XL.

On paper they were pretty similar, but there was definitely a different "feel" between the 99/4 and Atari 8-bits. Atari went to great lengths to remind people their 8-bit line were more than just game consoles, but at the same time I think they had the most flexible graphics systems and the best games.

criddell2• 3 years ago

I had big player-missile graphics envy.

Every once in a while I find myself on eBay thinking about buying the system of my childhood dreams. That would be a TI-99/4A, the speech synthesizer, the peripheral expansion system (with floppy drive), the memory expansion cart, and a dot matrix printer. I don’t pull the trigger though because I know it would give me a weekend of fun and then it would sit gathering dust.

cesaref2• 3 years ago

Yes indeed! I remember a store near me having B-17 bomber on the original 800, with it's synthesised voices and that was a glimpse into the future. I'll gloss over the ethics of a game about bombing cities, sold to children, but it was a more innocent age I guess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Bomber_(video_game)

plicerin• 3 years ago

B-17 bomber was an Intellivision exclusive

garbagecoder2• 3 years ago

That's funny! I wanted an Apple ][ but my dad got me the 800xl. Looking back, it makes sense. The Atari was about $100 and the ][ was like $1000 and I was a little kid. I wouldn't buy my kids a $1000 computer now and that's 2023 dollars!

But I am so glad I got the Atari. I learned BASIC, assembly, and Pascal on it. I would type in games from the back of the magazine. And here I am decades later!

grumpyprole2• 3 years ago

Yes the AppleII priced itself out of the 8-bit home computer market. I never saw one in the UK in the 80's. One could get the same tech (6502) with an equally good BASIC and OS for less than half (e.g. Acorn BBC Micro was my choice).

ddingus• 3 years ago

I wanted an Apple ][ as well, but also got an Atari 800xl. It did make sense for cost reasons, same as you.

A bit later on, I did end up with an Apple and have both today in working condition.

I am glad I got the Atari first. There was a lot in the box, so to speak, and I learned a ton. Later, when doing more advanced projects, I found the Apple and it's expansion cards could make a very capable workstation.

st3ve4456782• 3 years ago

I would love to see a complete modern pc wrapped in a retro styled keyboard like this. With usb-c power and video output you could just plug it into a monitor with one cable.

mydriasis• 3 years ago

Raspberry Pi 400 might be a good halfway point for you!

st3ve4456782• 3 years ago

Yeah, I actually have one. Pretty cool little machine, but too slow, ugly and no ssd built in.

agloe_dreams• 3 years ago

I know it's not fully a modern computer, but that sounds like a Pi 400 to me.

retrocryptid15• 3 years ago

Can confirm. Using a PI400 as my SDR rig. It does have a little of the old C64/994/800 feel to it. But the keyboard is pretty crappy.

donpdonp• 3 years ago

Atari 800XL Remake

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