Atari 1200XL

Atari 1200XL

Manufacturer

Atari, Inc.

Main developer

Mark Lutvak (lead), Joe Decuir ( ANTIC ), George McLeod ( GTIA ), Doug Neubauer ( POKEY ), Steve Mayer Research Lab (hardware, operating system), Regan Cheng (housing)

Sales start and new price

March 1983 for $ 899

Cessation of production

June 1983

Main processor

6502 "Sally" @ 1.79 MHz

RAM ex works

64 KB DRAM

Graphics output

Various text and graphic modes 8 monochrome sprites ("Player" and "Missiles") Color selection from a palette of 256 colors

Sound output

4 tone generators (output via TV)

Scope of delivery (USA)

Computer, power supply unit, instructions, two styrofoam shells, packaging

The Atari 1200XL is a home computer based on a variant of the 6502 microprocessor from the US manufacturer Atari, Inc.

The Atari 1200XL is a further development of the Atari 400 and 800 home computers, which were released in 1979 . The main electronic components were largely retained, only the visual appearance and technical details were revised to simplify production. Like the direct competitor model, the Commodore 64 , the computer was equipped with 64 kilobytes (KB) of RAM, which was contemporary at the time . The BASIC programming language , however, was not included and had to be purchased separately by the buyer.

The device came - accompanied by extensive nationwide advertising campaigns - in March 1983 exclusively in the USA on the market. Shortly afterwards, problems with the execution of the software of the previous models became known, for which innovations in the operating system and the plug-in module slot were responsible. In addition, the expansions of the Atari 800 and some peripheral devices could no longer be used because the Atari 1200XL was designed as a closed system with the aim of making it as easy to use as possible.

In view of the shortcomings and the high retail price of $ 899, many potential buyers turned to competing computers or the Atari 400 and 800, which were still sold. The latter did not give rise to any fear of incompatibilities and had also been reduced in price. Due to the strongly declining demand for the 1200XL, Atari discontinued its production after the announcement of the improved successor models Atari 600XL and 800XL in June 1983.

history

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  Atari 400

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  Atari 800

After the home computers Atari 400 and 800, which appeared in 1979, were getting on in years at the end of 1981, Atari decided to revise its devices in line with the general taste of the day and increased technical requirements.

Development and prototypes

The improved computer model should primarily compete with the Commodore 64 announced for the end of 1982 and thus expand Atari's market share to the segment of high-quality home computers.

Project Liz

The technical development was transferred to the computer-specialized external research laboratory Steve Mayer's Research Lab from New York City , whose work on the "Liz" project began in the second quarter of 1981. The complete product specifications were already available in August, as was a provisional type designation for the computer as "Z800".

The system architecture of the Atari 800 was largely adopted. Changes to electronic core components only was 6502 - the main processor of the company MOS Technology was replaced by a new and specifically tailored to Atari's system architecture version called "Sally": affected. Other changes mainly concerned the integration of new function keys, a diagnostic program for self-testing the computer and various interfaces for connecting peripheral devices. The specifications for a tailor-made operating system were completed in early October and programming work began. Work on designing the housing began a month later. With its slim design compared to the Atari 400 and 800, it should better correspond to the taste of the times and also allow optimized air circulation to cool the electronics. The elaboration of all the remaining mechanical components of the computer followed only a little later.

Project Sweet 16

At the instigation of Atari's marketing department , the working memory configuration was initially set to only 16 KB RAM in February 1982, and based on this, the project was renamed "Sweet 16" ("S-16"). Of the four joystick connections of the previous models, only two remained, for example to be able to integrate the activation of the new self-test into the system. The need for two module bays as with the Atari 800 was eliminated through the introduction of new plug-in modules with up to 16 KB of read-only memory. Particularly with a view to the planned international marketing, the operating system should henceforth be equally suitable for all television standards. Due to the many innovations, the operating system grew in size from 10 to 16 KB.

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  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo

Due to the US radio interference suppression regulations , which have now been relaxed , massive shielding, as with the previous Atari 400 and 800 models, had become unnecessary. This eliminates the cost-intensive die-cast aluminum housing and the complex locking system for the plug-in module and expansion slot. In order to reduce manufacturing costs, the construction of the computer was implemented in the form of a single-board computer, the final design of which had to be subordinate to Atari's specification of a device that was as easy to use as possible. Previously redesigned interfaces and thus also the expandability by the user fell victim to this concept . Since Atari's marketing department for home computers probably only considered upgrades with RAM to make sense at all, the device - probably also in view of the competitive situation - was quickly equipped with 64 KB of RAM ex works and thus the expensive expansion interface was deemed superfluous.

The development of the computer was finally completed at the end of July and work on transferring it to series production began. The test for electromagnetic compatibility was passed by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the beginning of November , which meant that nothing stood in the way of the device being released.

Renamed to Atari 1200XL

The model name "Atari 1000", which had meanwhile been considered by Atari's marketing department, was later changed to "Atari 1200" (variant with 16 KB RAM) or "Atari 1200X" (variant with 64 KB RAM) and finally to "Atari 1200XL" shortly before publication. As with the 400 and 800 series, the names of the newly designed peripheral devices should be based on the computer's product number "1200". As a result of internal company communication problems, the new model names - for example that of the program recorder "Atari 1010" - are still based on the originally intended designation "Atari 1000".

The first series of devices was manufactured in Atari's factories in Sunnyvale, California . Initially, around forty percent of the total production costs were attributable to the procurement of the main memory. To reduce running costs, especially for staff, Atari relocated production to the low-wage country of Taiwan in April 1983 .

marketing

The Atari 1200XL was first publicly presented at an official press conference on December 13, 1982 in The Plaza Hotel in New York. The 1200XL was presented as a successor to be marketed parallel to the Atari 800.

Launch

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Ataris 1200XL was available from March 1983 in the USA and there mainly from large sales chains such as Sears , JC Penney and Kmart ; the suggested retail price already announced at the winter Consumer Electronics Show was $ 899. The appearance was accompanied by nationwide advertising campaigns in print media and on television. In it Atari emphasized above all the "simple programmability of the sophisticated graphics and sound options" as an industry-wide unique selling point ("Only the new Atari 1200Xl home computer makes sophisticated graphics and sound so easy to program"). In addition, emphasis was placed on the usability of the software library for the 400/800 series, which already contains more than 2000 titles.

To reach the target group of adult computer beginners and adolescents who are enthusiastic about video games, Atari used tried and tested advertising strategies. This included a free service hotline , which promised potential customers that problems would be resolved quickly and thus reduced fear of contact. Another common measure was the targeted placement of Atari's products in public and private educational institutions as well as in computer summer camps. Through this early familiarization of the adolescents with Atari's devices, it was hoped that schoolchildren and students would fall back on an Atari computer for later private purchases.

The sale of the 1200XL was accompanied by new, creatively coordinated peripheral devices such as the Atari 1010 program recorder, the Atari 1020 four-color plotter and the Atari 1025 dot matrix printer. Other devices such as the Atari 1030 modem , the Atari 1027 ball-head printer and the Atari 1050 floppy disk drive rounded off some Months later, the product range of the XL series was down.

Compatibility problems, sales difficulties and production cessation

As it quickly turned out, the Atari 1200XL was only partially compatible with the devices of the old series. Software that did not follow Atari's programming recommendations may fail on the new computer. This was mainly due to the changed operating system: Many subroutines had been moved to other memory areas and calling them at the old but now invalid memory address inevitably led to program crashes. Atari had taken technical precautions to maintain compatibility with such operating system changes, but many independent third-party manufacturers did not use these options out of ignorance or for reasons of copy protection . There were also problems with the module bay, which was too small, which made it impossible to plug in some third-party plug-in modules with larger housing dimensions. As a result of this limited usability of some software titles, most of the potential buyers avoided the new device. Instead, they switched to the Atari 400 and 800 models, which did not cause compatibility problems to be feared and were also cheaper to buy. Due to the resulting sharp decline in sales and in view of the promising successor models Atari 600XL and 800XL, which were already in development, production of the Atari 1200XL was finally stopped in June 1983.

Modern replicas

The manageable architecture of the system and extensive documentation by the manufacturer enable the miniaturized replica of the electronics of the Atari 1200XL and compatible models with today's technical means with at the same time manageable effort. Such a modern realization took place for the first time in 2014 - as with other home computer systems - as an implementation on a programmable logic circuit ( FPGA ) together with an embedding system . The replication using FPGA technology was initially only intended as a technical feasibility study, but later also demonstrated its practical benefit: Due to the miniaturization and the possibility of battery operation, it is an easily stowable, reliable and transportable alternative to the original, gentle technology.

Technical specifications

In the case of the Atari 1200XL there is a single circuit board that contains all electronic and many mechanical components such as sockets and plugs of the computer.

Main processor

→ Main article : MOS 6502

The computer is based on an Atari "Sally" or modification of that also "6502C" 8-bit - microprocessor MOS 6502. The CPU can an address space of 65,536 bytes access. The system clock is 1.79 MHz. The changes made to the original 6502 design for Atari helped reduce the number of electronic components in the computer.

Special modules for generating graphics and sound

→ Main articles : ANTIC , GTIA  and POKEY

The three special components developed by Atari, Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC), Graphic Television Interface Adapter (GTIA) and Potentiometer And Keyboard Integrated Circuit (POKEY) are an essential part of the computer architecture . They are functionally designed in such a way that they can be used flexibly within their area of ​​responsibility and at the same time relieve the CPU.

Mixing of two different graphic modes (large and normal text) with the aid of a raster line interrupt .

The two graphic modules ANTIC and CTIA / GTIA generate the image displayed on the television or monitor. For this purpose, the operating system or the user must first store the corresponding data in the main memory in the form of the "display list". The CTIA / GTIA allows, among other things, the integration of a maximum of eight independent but each monochrome graphic objects, the sprites. These objects, also called “players” and “missiles” in Atari jargon, are copied into the background image generated by the ANTIC according to user-definable overlapping rules and subjected to a collision check. It is determined whether the sprites touch each other or certain parts of the background image ("playfield"). These abilities were developed - as already indicated by the names "Playfield", "Player" and "Missiles" - for the simplified creation of games with interacting graphic objects and fast game play. The capabilities of the two special modules ANTIC and CTIA / GTIA taken together give the display options of the Atari computers a flexibility unmatched by other home computers at the time. Further electronic components are combined in the third special module POKEY. These essentially concern the sound generation for each of the four sound channels, the keyboard query and the operation of the serial interface Serial Input Output (SIO) for the communication of the computer with the corresponding peripheral devices.

Thanks to the highly integrated design ( LSI ), the special modules combine many electronic components and thereby reduce the number of components required in the computer, which in turn results in significant cost and space savings. Not least because their construction plans were never published, they could not be copied economically with the technology at the time, which meant that the illegal replica of computers for the Atari 1200XL, which was quite common in the home computer industry, could be excluded.

Overview of the graphics levels provided by the operating system of the Atari 1200XL

Graphics level	Display type	Resolution (pixels)	Colours	Memory requirement (bytes)
0	normal text	40 × 24	2	992
1	Large text	20 × 24	5	672
2		20 × 12	5	420
3	Dot graphics	40 × 24	4th	432
4th		80 × 48	2	696
5			4th	1176
6th		160 × 96	2	2184
7th			4th	8138
8th		320 × 192	2
9	GTIA modes	80 × 192	16
10			9
11			16
12	Text (character set)	40 × 24	5	1152
13		40 × 12	5	660
14th	Dot graphics	160 × 192	2	4296
15th			4th	8138

Storage and storage allocation

The address space that can be addressed by the CPU and ANTIC is segmented in the Atari 1200XL into different sections of different sizes. For practical reasons, it is common for their addresses instead of decimal notation , the hexadecimal to use. It is usually preceded by a $ symbol to make it easier to distinguish. The addresses from 0 to 65535 in decimal notation correspond to addresses $ 0000 to $ FFFF in the hexadecimal system.

The range from $ 0000 to $ BFFF is primarily intended for memory. After inserting a plug-in module, however, the 8 KB area in the middle of the main memory segment from $ 8000 to $ 9FFF is switched off and the content of the ROM modules in the plug-in module is displayed there. This means that when plug-in module-based programs are used, such as the Atari-BASIC programming language, around 8 KB of RAM are less available. The operating system joins at $ C000. The addresses of the special modules ANTIC, GTIA, POKEY and other hardware components are located within a segment called input / output block ranging from $ D000 to $ D7FF . The remaining components of the operating system are accommodated from $ D800 to the upper memory limit $ FFFF. With the optional deactivation of the read-only memory, the area from $ C000- $ CFFF and $ D800- $ FFFF is occupied by working memory. This gives the user a maximum of 62 KB RAM for their own programs.

After switching on the computer, the CPU reads the contents of the ROM modules with the operating system, an Atari logo appears on the screen and the Atari 1200XL and connected peripheral devices are initialized.

Interfaces for input and output

As connections to the outside world are two controller jacks on the left side of the housing, a coaxial RF antenna connection for the TV, a shaft for the exclusive use of ROM-plug-in modules and a socket of the proprietary serial interface ( Serial Input Output, short SIO ). The latter is used to operate appropriately equipped “intelligent” peripheral devices, using a transmission protocol and connector system specially developed by Atari for this purpose . Printers, floppy drives and other devices with looped-through SIO sockets can be connected in a " chain " manner with just one type of cable . The serial RS-232C or parallel Centronics standard interface used in many other computer and peripheral systems is made available via the Atari 850 interface unit developed for operation with SIO .

Peripherals

The Atari 1200XL can basically be operated with all peripheral devices published earlier and later by Atari for the 400, 800 and XL as well as XE series, which do not require the extension bus provided by XL and XE computers for connection . In the following, only and only briefly the ones available in the XL design and until the end of production of the Atari 1200XL in 1983 will be discussed.

Mass storage

→ Main article : Atari mass storage devices for 400/800 , XL  and XE

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  Compact cassette

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  5¼ ″ floppy disk

In connection with mainly western home computers from the 1980s, cassette recorders and floppy disk drives were mainly used for data backup , while hard and removable disk drives were increasingly used in the professional environment for personal computers . The cheapest variant of data recording using compact cassettes generally has the disadvantage of lower data transfer rates and thus long loading times, whereas the much faster and more reliable floppy and disk drives were much more expensive to purchase. When the Atari 1200XL was released, program recorders as well as diskette systems such as the Atari 810 floppy were available as mass storage devices. The hard drive systems from Corvus that are still suitable for use with the Atari 800 can no longer be used due to some of the connections that are no longer available on the 1200XL.

Cassette systems

In contrast to other contemporary home computers such as the TRS-80 or the Sinclair ZX81, the Atari 1200XL cannot be operated with standard cassette recorders to store data . Rather, it needs a device that is matched to its serial interface - the Atari 1010 program recorder. The average data transfer rate is 600  bit / s; 50 KB of data can be stored on a 30-minute cassette . In addition, the Atari 1010 still has the specificity of a stereo - the magnetic head , thus parallel to the read operation, the playing music or spoken instructions for use is also possible. In order to save costs and space, the device has no built-in loudspeaker, rather the audio signals are output via the SIO cable via POKEY on the television.

Floppy disk systems

A few months after the introduction of the Atari 1010 program recorder was also a tailor Atari's SIO interface floppy disk drive available, the floppy station Atari 1050. The Atari 1050 disk drive can 5¼ "- Discs are described on one side, which can be stored 127 KB of data per disk side . During the entire production period, the manufacturer made several changes to the drives. For example, there are versions with different drive mechanisms.

Along with the appearance of the 1200XL, a large number of Atari-compatible floppy disk drives from various third-party manufacturers were available. These include differently powerful devices from Percom, drives with additional data track display from Rana and also dual drives from Astra.

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Output devices

→ Main article : Atari printers for 400/800 , XL  and XE

The image output of the Atari 1200XL can take place on a monitor or via a built-in HF modulator at the antenna input of a standard color or black and white television set.

The four-color plotter Atari 1020, the dot matrix printer Atari 1025 and the ballpoint pen model Atari 1027 are used to fix text and graphics on paper.Third-party printers can only be operated with the help of additional devices, as the Atari 1200XL does not have the corresponding standard interfaces. This can be remedied by connecting an Atari 850 interface module, which can be used to operate RS-232 and Centronics printers from Epson , Mannesmann and others.

In addition, there are plenty of output options from third-party manufacturers: starting with The Voicebox by The Alien Group, which is intended for voice output, to 3D glasses that you can build yourself for viewing stereographic content on the television, to the programmable robot gripper arm, parts of interest are served at the time.

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Input devices

→ Main article : Atari input devices

The keyboard contains a total of 54 individual keys, a space key , a reset key and ten special keys .

All other input devices are connected to one or more of the two controller sockets on the left side of the computer housing. These include joysticks from various manufacturers, paddles , special small keyboards, the trackball controller from TG Products and graphics tablets from Kurta Corporation and Koala Technologies Corp.

software

As with other home computers of the 1980s, commercial software was distributed on various data carriers. The inexpensive compact cassettes, particularly popular with game manufacturers, were, however, very prone to errors due to the high mechanical stress on the magnetic tape, and their use was often associated with long loading times. In addition, certain operating modes, such as relative addressing, which is advantageous for operating databases, are not possible with datasettes. In the case of the plug-in modules, which are much more expensive to manufacture, the programs contained therein were available immediately after switching on the computer, which was a great advantage in particular for system software and frequently used applications. The best compromise between loading time, possible operating modes, reliability and storage capacity was achieved by the floppy disks, the use of which was supported by the floppy disk drives from Atari and other manufacturers when the Atari 1200XL was released.

In addition to the selection of commercial programs sold by Atari and Atari Program Exchange (APX) , the range of programs for the Atari 1200XL computer also included software ( listings ) developed by third-party manufacturers and published in magazines and books for typing. The commercial programs were offered on cartridge, diskette and cassette.

Illegal copies ("pirated copies") always made up a large part of the software in circulation and often presented small software developers with existential economic difficulties. As a result, copy protection systems were increasingly used, especially in games, as the best-selling software.

operating system

The configuration and initialization of the Atari 1200XL hardware after switching on or after a reset is the responsibility of the operating system housed in the read-only memory. The subroutines of this 16 KB operating system (OS) control various system processes that can also be initiated by the user. This includes the execution of input and output operations such as keyboard and joystick queries, floating point calculations , the processing of system programs after interruptions ( interrupts ) and the provision of a subroutine for generating the various graphics display modes. As an innovation compared to the 400/800 computers, the operating system has a diagnostic program for self-testing the computer. This can be used to test the functionality of the main memory or the sound generation, for example. There are two different versions of the operating system for the Atari 1200XL, namely "Revision A" and "Revision B".

The start addresses of the individual subroutines are summarized in a central location in the form of a jump table . This is always located in the same memory area on all Atari computers, so that compatibility with earlier and later operating system revisions is to be ensured. However, some programs do not use this table either out of ignorance of their programmers or for reasons of copy protection, but instead call the relevant subroutines of the operating system directly. Since many of these subroutines in the Atari 1200XL now occupy different memory areas than in the previous models, calling them at the old but invalid memory address inevitably leads to program crashes. For this reason, some third-party programs will not run correctly on the Atari 1200XL. As a result, Atari released the Translator Disk, a program free of charge for the user that fixes the incompatibility problems of the computer at least until the next warm start.

Programming languages ​​and application programs

Assembly language

In the early 1980s, the creation of time-critical action games required optimal use of the hardware, especially the RAM. In the home computer sector, this was only possible through the use of assembly language with appropriate translation programs, the assemblers . In many cases assemblers were delivered with an associated editor for entering the program instructions (“source code”), often also as a program package with debugger and disassembler for error analysis.

With the release of the Atari 1200XL, different assemblers were available: Atari Assembler, Synassembler ( Synapse Software ), Atari Macro Assembler (Atari), Macro Assembler Editor (Eastern Software House), Edit 6502 (LJK Enterprises) and the powerful MAC / 65 ( Optimized Systems Software ).

In many cases, programming beginners preferred the clear and easy-to-use, but less powerful, high-level programming languages.

High-level languages

→ Main articles : Atari BASIC , BASIC A +  and Microsoft BASIC

Atari BASIC input screen

The BASIC published by Atari was supported by two more: Microsoft BASIC, which was the quasi-standard at the time, and a product called BASIC A + from Optimized System Software, which was downwardly compatible with Atari BASIC . BASIC A + in particular contains extended editing options, simplifications in the command structure and it supplements many features not implemented in Atari and Microsoft BASIC. This includes, for example, convenient use of the sprites ("player missiles graphics") through specially provided command words.

The fundamental limitations inherent in the nature of the interpreter, such as the low execution speed and the large amount of memory required, had a disadvantageous effect on the usability of BASIC programs. These disadvantages can be mitigated by special programs, BASIC compilers . Executable machine programs are generated that can run without a BASIC interpreter and thus often allow faster execution. Various compilers are available for the Atari BASIC: ABC BASIC Compiler (Monarch Systems), Datasoft BASIC Compiler ( Datasoft ) and BASM (Computer Alliance).

In addition to the BASIC programming language in its various dialects, the Atari Logo and Atari PILOT interpreter languages ​​were available with the launch of the Atari 1200XL . Supported by elements such as turtle graphics ( turtle graphics ), a child-friendly and interactive introduction to the basics of programming is possible with the logo. With QS-Forth (Quality Software), Extended fig-Forth (APX) and Data-Soft Lisp ( Datasoft ), further programming languages ​​join the program range for the Atari 1200XL.

Application software

In addition to the programming languages ​​for creating your own applications, the range of programs for the Atari 8-bit computers includes only a small selection of ready-made commercial application software compared to its contemporary competitor Apple II. The best-known application programs include VisiCalc (Visicorp, spreadsheet), The Home Accountant (Continental software, accounting), Atari Writer (Atari, word processing), Bank Street Writer ( Broderbund , word processing) and Letter Perfect (LJK Enterprises, word processing).

A further part of the applications are application programs created by users themselves for a wide variety of locations such as doctors' offices, photo studios, clothing stores and museums.

Tutorials

Corresponding to the orientation of the predecessor models Atari 400 and 800 also as learning computers, there is a vast number of programs that are used for the computer-aided transfer of teaching content and its subsequent interactive query. The knowledge to be conveyed is presented in a playful form with a constantly increasing level of difficulty in order to motivate the learner on a permanent basis. Great importance is attached to an age-appropriate presentation, which ranges from small children to students. For the youngest, animated stories with comic-like characters are often used as accompanying tutors, for young people the teaching content to be queried is dressed up in adventure games or action-packed space adventures, whereas in the higher-level teaching content for students and adults, lexically presented knowledge with subsequent query and success balance predominate. The learning areas covered by the software extend to reading and writing, foreign languages, mathematics, technology, music, geography, demography, typing schools and computer science. The best-known manufacturers include Atari, APX, Dorsett Educational Systems, Edufun, PDI and Spinnaker Software.

Games

Atari game Star Raiders as a plug-in module. The picture on the right shows the circuit board installed inside with two ROM modules that contain the program.

By far the largest part of both commercial and free available Atari software are the games. At the early shoot-'em-up -Play such as the 1980 out brought Star Raiders or board games implement 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe joined A year later, more action games, adventure games and arcade implementations were launched. Both professional manufacturers and hobby programmers benefit from the publication of technical documentation by Atari, the programming instructions in the computer magazines and books as well as the powerful development tools that have meanwhile emerged. Among the published titles, however, there were also many bad ports of, for example, Apple II games without the unmistakable "Atari look", namely a mixture of various colorful and smoothly scrolling graphics, supplemented by typical POKEY music and sound effects.

Among the games released for the Atari computers are many that were considered video game classics as early as the early 1980s: Star Raiders (1980), Asteroids (1981), and Pac-Man (1982). In particular, the 3D game Star Raiders was seen by many game designers at the time as a defining experience and a reason to opt for an Atari computer and not an Apple II or Commodore PET. Subsequent works such as Miner 2049er (Bill Hogue, Big Five Software, 1982), Eastern Front (1941) ( Chris Crawford , APX, 1982), Capture the Flag (Paul Edelstein, Sirius Software, 1983), Archon (John Freemann , Electronic Arts, 1983) and MULE ( Daniel Bunten , Electronic Arts, 1983) are among the outstanding titles of their time and enabled software companies such as Microprose and Electronic Arts to quickly rise to become industry giants.

In addition to the Infocom adventures, the most popular games for Atari computers at the time included mostly shoot-'em-up games such as Crossfire ( Sierra On-Line , 1981) and Blue Max (Synapse Software, 1983), racing games such as Pole Position ( Atari, 1983), war simulations such as Combat Leader ( SSI , 1983), but also graphic adventures such as Excalibur (APX, 1983) and Murder on the Zinderneuf (Electronic Arts, 1983).

Magazines

In the 1980s, along with specialist books, computer magazines played an important role for many home computer owners. The editions, which were often published monthly, contained test reports on innovations, programming instructions and software for typing. They also served as an advertising and information platform as well as for establishing contact with like-minded people.

The English-language magazines Antic, Analog Computing, Atari Connection and Atari Age dealt specifically with Atari home computers ; occasional reports and programs for the Atari computers also published the high-circulation bytes , Compute! and creative computing .

emulation

After the end of the home computer era in the early 1990s and with the emergence of powerful and affordable computing technology in the late 1990s, dedicated enthusiasts increasingly developed programs for emulating home computers and their peripheral devices. To play old classics of various home computer systems, a single modern system with data images of the corresponding home computer programs was sufficient with the help of the emulators. The emergence of the emulators continued, among other things. a. an increased transfer of otherwise possibly lost software to modern storage media, which makes an important contribution to the preservation of digital culture.

The most powerful emulators for Windows and Linux systems are Atari ++, Atari800Win Plus, Mess32 and Altirra .

reception

Contemporary

Shortly after the computer was introduced, critical voices accused the Atari 1200XL of not showing any significant improvements over the Atari 800. On the other hand, more differentiated reviews welcomed the new and appealing housing design (“it is by far the best looking of the current crop of home computers”), the self-test, the principle compatibility with the old Atari 400 and 800 models and the special buttons. The two omitted joystick connections, the reduction to just one module slot and, above all, the lack of expandability by the user were not very popular. Bill Wilkinson put it pointedly like this: “Goodbye, 80 columns cards. Goodbye Ramdisks, and the like. Goodbye, Corvus harddisk drive. ”And so the purchase price should tip the scales in the recommendations:

“So how do I rate the 1200XL in overall features and performance? Quite honestly, it depends entirely on what the price of the machine is. At anything under $ 450, it's a terrific bargain. [...] it should be able to sell for half the cost of the 800. However, the indications are that the price of the 800 will be dropped and that the 1200 will cost more than the 800. If so, buy an 800 quick! ”

"How do I rate the Atari 1200XL in its entirety and performance? In all honesty, it just depends on the price of the device. For anything under $ 450, it would be a great deal. [...] and a price half that of the [Atari] 800 should be possible. However, it looks like the price of the 800 will fall and the 1200 will be more expensive than the 800. If that is the case, then you better hit the 800 quickly! "

- Bill Wilkinson : Compute !, May 1983

However, if the user's special requirements (memory, software library, graphics and sound) are in the foreground, the purchase could make sense:

"If you need the extra RAM, then you may have to seriously consider the 1200."

"If you can use the extra RAM, however, the purchase of the 1200 should be seriously considered."

- Bill Wilkinson : Compute !, May 1983

“For educators, the Atari 1200XL may be an acceptable system, since it currently has lots of interesting software […] Game players will, as always, go for the Atari's great player-missile graphics and blockbuster arcade adaptions. [...] Those who wish to learn BASIC and beginning computing should look for a machine that already includes BASIC. Those who want expandability, 80-column text and business software should look elsewhere also. "

“For educators, the Atari 1200XL could be a useful system due to the many interesting programs [...] As always, players are aiming for the great player-missile graphics and top arcade implementations [...] However, those who are learning BASIC or are into Want to get into computing, should look for a device with built-in BASIC. Those who need expandability, 80-character text and business programs should look elsewhere too. "

- Scott Mace : InfoWorld, June 1983

A special feature in terms of appreciation is a variant of the Atari 1200XL, refined by the jeweler, worth 250,000 US dollars at the time. Most US Atari user groups, on the other hand, could not gain much from the device: The similar pronunciation of the vocalized XL with that for economic Failure of the quintessential word Edsel soon led to the nickname 1200 Edsel, which was ubiquitous, especially in the mailboxes as a popular center of information exchange.

Retrospective

Exhibition showcase of the ABBUC computer club at the Games Convention in Leipzig (2008) with various Atari 8-bit models, etc. a. the Atari 1200XL (middle right)

In retrospect, there is broad consensus that the Atari 1200XL has a number of disadvantages, but also some advantages, compared to its predecessor and competitor models. This applies in particular to the high-quality keyboard (“Atari's 1200XL is generally considered to have the best keyboard”) and the unparalleled external appearance (“most beautifully designed of all of the 8-bit era computer systems”). Jimmy Maher blames the hasty development and production of the Atari 1200XL in the midst of the hot phase of the home computer war against the Commodore 64 as the cause of the serious shortcomings in his view:

“In a desperate attempt to field a counterargument to the 64, Atari rushed into production early in 1983 their first new computer since introducing the 400 and 800 more than three years before. Thanks to a bank-switching scheme similar to that of the 64, the Atari 1200XL matched that machine's 64 K of memory. Unfortunately, it was in almost every other respect a disaster. "

“In a desperate attempt to counter the 64, Atari began to manufacture its first new computer since the introduction of the 400 and 800 three years earlier in early 1983 under great time pressure. Thanks to a [memory] bank switching technique similar to that of the 64, the Atari 1200XL was able to catch up with at least the 64 KB RAM. Unfortunately, however, he failed completely in almost all other respects. "

- Jimmy Maher : The Digital Antiquarian, December 2012

Mike Knotts, on the other hand, assesses the 1200XL as a device that undoubtedly had weaknesses, which, however, were unjustifiably exaggerated in the context of the competitive situation at the time. Above all, he sees the computer as a great help in buying time in an economically difficult situation that Atari was confronted with at the time:

“The legacy of the 1200XL should not be tied-up in 'what could have been' and the Sweet-Sixteen Project. It should be viewed as the machine that allowed Atari enough time to develop a strategy to stay alive. The strategy they chose, while it scarified [sic!] Much, did allow Atari to continue as the only viable challenger to the home computer dominance of the C64. "

“The legacy of the 1200XL shouldn't be tied to what could have been or the Sweet-Sixteen project. Rather, it should be seen as a device that gave Atari enough air in the struggle for survival. This self-sacrificing strategy made it possible for Atari to be the only serious challenger to survive against the market power of the C64. "

- Mike Knotts : Geekometry.com, August 2016

literature

• Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. - Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-9855974-0-5

Web links

Commons : Atari 8-bit Computer  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Atari ++ emulator for UNIX / Linux systems (English)
• Altirra Emulator for Windows Systems
• Xformer 10 Emulator for Windows 10 (English)
• AtariAge International Forum for Atari 8-Bit Friends (English)
• Michael Currents website with many resources, including a. the frequently asked questions about Atari (FAQ, English)

Notes and individual references

1. ^ Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 454.
2. ^ ^{A b} Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 695.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Atari’s 1200XL. Compute !, March 1983, p. 66.
4. ^ ^{A b} Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 696.
5. ^ Ajay Chopra: Architecture Overview. Atari Sweet 16 Home Computer Product Specifications, p. 9.
6. ^ ^{A b} Ajay Chopra: The 6502 CPU. Atari Sweet 16 Home Computer Product Specifications, p. 43.
7. ^ Robert DeWitt: Evolution of the XL Computers - The Need for the 1200XL. Antic Magazine, June 1984, p. 11.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Atari’s 1200XL. Compute !, March 1983, p. 40.
9. ^ Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 697.
10. ^ ^{A b} Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 698.
11. ^ Ajay Chopra: Architecture Overview. Atari Sweet 16 Home Computer Product Specifications, p. 74.
12. ^ Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 694.
13. ^ Giselle Bisson: Atari: From starting block to auction block. InfoWorld, Aug 6, 1984, p. 52.
14. ^ Atari press release, December 13, 1982.
15. ^ John Anderson: New Member of the Family. The Creative Atari, Creative Computing Press, 1982, ISBN 0-916688-34-8 , p. 116.
16. ^ David H. Ahl, Betsy Staples: 1983 Winter Consumer Electronics Show; Creative Computing presents the Short Circuit Awards. Creative Computing, April 1983, p. 18.
17. ↑ Perry Garfinkel: Wars of the Atari Galaxy: The Empire strikes back. Across the Board, June 1983, p. 26.
18. ↑ The new Atari 1200XL home computer. Compute !, June 1983, p. 20 f.
19. ↑ Perry Garfinkel: Wars of the Atari Galaxy: The Empire strikes back. Across the Board, June 1983, p. 31.
20. ↑ Atari 800 Software for the 1400XL / 1450XLD. Compute !, December 1983, p. 15 f.
21. ↑ Tom R. Halfhill: Questions Beginners Ask. Compute !, June 1983, p. 26.
22. ^ Curt Vendel, Marty Goldberg: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Press, 2012, p. 698.
23. ↑ FPGA Atari 800XL. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 24, 2014 ; accessed on April 9, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ^ Poole, McNiff, Cook: My ATARI computer. The key to the ATARI private computer. [Versions 600XL u. 800XL included] , 5th edition, tewi Verlag 1983, p. J2. ISBN 3-921803-18-7 .
25. ↑ Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions
26. ↑ Julian Reschke, Andreas Wiethoff: The Atari professional book. Sybex Verlag, 2nd edition 1986, pp. 201-214.
27. ↑ Eichler, Grohmann: Atari Intern. Data Becker, 1st edition 1984, p. 74.
28. ↑ Eichler, Grohmann: Atari Intern. Data Becker, 1st edition 1984, p. 41.
29. ↑ David Small, Sandy Small, George Bank (Eds.): The Creative Atari. Creative Computing Press, 1983, ISBN 0-916688-34-8 , p. 10.
30. ↑ Julian Reschke, Andreas Wiethoff: The Atari professional book. Sybex Verlag, 2nd edition 1986, p. 130.
31. ^ Ajay Chopra: Architecture Overview. Atari Sweet 16 Home Computer Specifications, p. 48 f.
32. ↑ Dietmar Eirich: Computer Periphery. Heyne, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-453-47058-3 , pp. 51-53.
33. ↑ User's Handbook to the Atari Computer, p. 14.
34. ^ Carl M. Evans: Tale of Two Circuits. Antic, December 1982 / January 1983, p. 63.
35. ↑ Introducing the PERCOM Alternative to ATARI Disk Storage. Antic, August 1982, p. 5.
36. ↑ Winston Lawrence: Hardware Review: Percom Double Density Disk Drive. Analog Magazine, No. 7, p. 57.
37. ^ Rana Systems: Introducing the RANA 1000 disk drive. Byte Magazine, March 1983, p. 48.
38. ^ Astra Systems: Look what we have for your Atari computer. Antic, July 1983, p. 39.
39. ^ Robert DeWitt: Printer Survey. Antic, January 1984, p. 53.
40. ^ Brian Moriarty: Hardware Review: The Voicebox. Analog Computing, Issue 8, 1982, p. 34.
41. ^ Brian Moriarty: Stereo Graphics Tutorial. Analog Computing, Issue 7, p. 70.
42. ^ Myotis Systems: The Apprentice. Antic, February / March 1983, p. 38.
43. ^ David Duberman: Antic Pix Controllers. Antic, December 1983, pp. 118-122.
44. ↑ Lon Poole, Martin McNiff, Steven Cook: My ATARI Computer - The key to the ATARI private computer. Te-wi Verlag GmbH, 5th edition 1983, ISBN 3-921803-18-7 , pp. 1-9.
45. ↑ TG Products: Track Ball. Antic, February / March 1983, p. 32.
46. ^ Kurta Corporation: A Perfect Match. Analog Computing, January / February 1981, p. 17.
47. ↑ Clyde Spencer: Koalapad. Antic, November 1983, p. 112.
48. ↑ Dietmar Eirich: Computer for reference. Compact Verlag, 1989, ISBN 3-8174-3564-9 , p. 212.
49. ↑ Julian Reschke, Andreas Wiethoff: The Atari professional book. Sybex Verlag, 2nd edition 1986, p. 125.
50. ↑ Julian Reschke, Andreas Wiethoff: The Atari professional book. Sybex Verlag, 2nd edition 1986, p. 126.
51. ↑ Barry A. Fleig, Robert F. Cutler and Tom. C. Chekel: Introduction to the first edition. The Blue Book for Atari Computers, 1st edition, WIDL Video Publications, p. 5.
52. ↑ Attention Atari 1200 XL Owners. Antic Magazine, January 1984, p. 118.
53. ↑ Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, pp. 353-359.
54. ^ New Products - The Atari 400 Computer System. Atari Connection, September 1981, p. 7.
55. ↑ Jerry White: Software Review: BASIC A +. Analog Computing, May / June 1981, p. 29.
56. ↑ Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, pp. 350-352.
57. ↑ Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, pp. 360-363.
58. ^ Carl J. Patterson: Software Review: Data-Soft Lisp. Analog Computing, Issue 8, 1982, p. 39.
59. ↑ Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, pp. 210-241.
60. ^ George Zucconi: A computer in the doctor's waiting room. Byte Magazine, May 1984, p. 108.
61. ^ Teddi Converse: Home Computerized Photography. Atari Connection, Summer 1982, p. 17.
62. ^ Brian Lee: Filling the GAP. Antic, June 1983, p. 14.
63. ^ Julie Sickert: Computer Museum. Antic, September 1983, p. 22.
64. ↑ Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, pp. 263-303.
65. ↑ ^{a b} Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Sandra Rochowansky, Michael Mellin: Atari Software 1984. The Book Company, 1st edition 1984, p. 12.
66. ^ Winnie Forster: Game consoles and home computers. Gameplan, 3rd expanded edition, 2009, p. 34.
67. ^ The Best Atari Software. Publications International, 1984, ISBN 0-517-42474-6 .
68. ↑ Andreas Lange: What archives, museums and libraries can learn from gamers - and vice versa. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
69. ↑ Chris Kohler: Retro Gaming Hacks. O'Reilly, 2005, Hack # 59.
70. ↑ Gunnar Kanold: Basic Tenliners 2014. 2014, Preface.
71. ↑ Atari 400 price cut - again. Popular Computing Weekly, February 24 - March 2, 1983, p. 5.
72. ^ ^{A b c} Bill Wilkinson: Insight: Atari - To Excel Or Not To Excel. Compute !, May 1983, p. 198 f.
73. ^ Bill Wilkinson: Insight: Atari - To Excel Or Not To Excel. Compute !, May 1983, p. 199.
74. ^ Scott Mace: Atari 1200XL, home computer with diagnostics. InfoWorld, June 27, 1983, p. 70.
75. ↑ Stoned Atari. Antic Magazine, March 1984, p. 8.
76. ^ John C. Dvorak: Unions may grow as Atari lays off. InfoWorld, March 21, 1983, p. 58.
77. ^ Matt Barton and Bill Loguidice: A History of Gaming Platforms: Atari 8-Bit Computers. Gamasutra .com, July 31, 2008.
78. ↑ ^{a b c} Mike Knotts: In Defense of the Atari 1200XL. Geekometry.com, August 16, 2016.
79. ↑ Jimmy Maher: Business is War. The Digital Antiquarian, Filfre.net, December 20, 2012.

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