Re:Atari 65XE
by ddingus on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @01:56AM
(#26487089)
I have a few. One, a Color Computer 3. Has a 6809 CPU. I know a friend who has kids. Perfect, it will find a new home for my lack of time. Maybe his kids get the spark same as we did.
My daily retro driver is an Apple //e Platinum with some good cards in it. Serial, CFFA 3000 disk emulator so I can use USB drives, and a FastChip 16Mz 65816 CPU.
I use it to write. Nice keyboard, and this may seem odd, but when I write on it, different words come out. It takes me to a place I find hard to be in otherwise. I can move my work back onto a modern machine with a USB stick.
I also game on it, currently enjoying Nox Archaist a couple hours here and there. That is a new release, 5 years in the making, and it is exemplary. Old school, runs on an Apple, but done with more modern ideas.
And it sometimes ends up being a terminal for various projects.
By "daily driver", I mean setup, ready to use. I do use it a few times per month.
My Model 100 is a portable curio. Sometimes when I am way out in the sticks, it is fun to play with. I may find it a home too. I have not used it in a long while. Took notes on it last time I did.
And my Atari 800XL and 400 see some gaming along with an original 6 switch VCS. (2600) These come out for old school game time once or twice per year.
I have young ones coming up and I plan on showing them the ropes old school. Probably the Apple to start. Lots of education and Oregon Trail.
My favorite thing to do is small, fun programming and or electronics. The Apple is great for both. It is awful nice to be able to write a little code with almost no worries. And if one wants, putting a circuit on a card is not hard.
Oh, and from time to time, I do use the Apple as a spiffy calculator. It can kind of just sit there holding values, bits of code, whatever. I have always used one this way since I was a kid. Sort of how people will use their powerful hand calculators.
My workbench has a pro grade CRT I got for a song, and the Apple all setup and ready to go. Both are off to the side, right there. Flip a switch and it is there, ready same as it always has been.
The CRT is special. Looks great and takes me back to fun places.
It all reminds me how far we have come, if nothing else. It is nice to have it handy. And sometimes, when I am blocked somehow, a romp on that machine seems to always shake me loose. Worth it just for that.
My daily retro driver is an Apple //e Platinum with some good cards in it. Serial, CFFA 3000 disk emulator so I can use USB drives, and a FastChip 16Mz 65816 CPU.
I use it to write. Nice keyboard, and this may seem odd, but when I write on it, different words come out. It takes me to a place I find hard to be in otherwise. I can move my work back onto a modern machine with a USB stick.
I also game on it, currently enjoying Nox Archaist a couple hours here and there. That is a new release, 5 years in the making, and it is exemplary. Old school, runs on an Apple, but done with more modern ideas.
And it sometimes ends up being a terminal for various projects.
By "daily driver", I mean setup, ready to use. I do use it a few times per month.
My Model 100 is a portable curio. Sometimes when I am way out in the sticks, it is fun to play with. I may find it a home too. I have not used it in a long while. Took notes on it last time I did.
And my Atari 800XL and 400 see some gaming along with an original 6 switch VCS. (2600) These come out for old school game time once or twice per year.
I have young ones coming up and I plan on showing them the ropes old school. Probably the Apple to start. Lots of education and Oregon Trail.
My favorite thing to do is small, fun programming and or electronics. The Apple is great for both. It is awful nice to be able to write a little code with almost no worries. And if one wants, putting a circuit on a card is not hard.
Oh, and from time to time, I do use the Apple as a spiffy calculator. It can kind of just sit there holding values, bits of code, whatever. I have always used one this way since I was a kid. Sort of how people will use their powerful hand calculators.
My workbench has a pro grade CRT I got for a song, and the Apple all setup and ready to go. Both are off to the side, right there. Flip a switch and it is there, ready same as it always has been.
The CRT is special. Looks great and takes me back to fun places.
It all reminds me how far we have come, if nothing else. It is nice to have it handy. And sometimes, when I am blocked somehow, a romp on that machine seems to always shake me loose. Worth it just for that.