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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.
by hn8305823 4y 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 4y agoThen there was the Atari 400 with that awful membrane keyboard :(
- hn8305823 4y agoI would say it was the worst membrane keyboard of all time but the Sinclair ZX was definitely worse.
- ihatepython 4y agoIt was awful, but it was still better than the 2016 Macbook keyboard.
- retrocryptid 4y agoI would disagree. With an Atari 400, you knew you could upgrade to a real keyboard by buying an 800. But with modern mac laptops, your only option for a real keyboard is an external one, but you have to also carry a usb-c to usb-a adapter around to connect it. And it's hard to use as a laptop with an external keyboard hanging off it. I still prefer the Atari 400 membrane keyboard to the chicklet keys on modern macs.
- ihatepython 4y agoJust for the record, I agree with you. I'm not sure if I worded my response correctly. I also think the keyboard on the Speak & Spell is better than the 2016 Macbook keyboard.
- retrocryptid 4y agoThere's a nostalgia hit! SNS: SPELL MRGHHSHFG. Me: what? SNS: SPELL FHJFRJEBRBDN. Me: what ARE you saying!? Bit of trivia: my uncle was the executive at TI that green-lit the Speak-N-Spell. I was a tad bit older than the target market, but got invited to be in one of the early focus groups they used to gage reaction to it. I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread and saved my pennies to buy a speech synthesizer for my 99/4 after seeing it. But yes, it had a worse keyboard than even the original 99/4.
- eschneider 4y agoYou could upgrade the atari 400 to a 'real' keyboard, though not a great one. It would just replace the membrane keyboard. And as much as I'm not a fan of the chicklet keyboards, they're 100x better than the atari 400 membrane keyboard. No. Contest.
- xp84 4y agoEven as a 5-year-old when they let me use it in Kindergarten, I knew that keyboard was garbage :D
- neilv 4y agoI 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://www.vintage-calculators.nl/P1010274s.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atari-800-Computer-FL.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atari-800-Computer-FL.jpg
- rob74 4y agoNow 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...
- timbit42 4y agoI heard somewhere it was designed to look like a typewriter so it wouldn't look too unfamiliar to buyers.