Task: Watch “The Magic Room” Documentary about the Atari Summer Camp Needed: Web browser Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction Atari ran several summer computer camps during the early 1980s and produced a documentary featuring kids at the first one. There are three versions of the film
Read moreExplore the Atari 400/800 Home Computer System Technical Reference Notes (1-2 hours)
Task: Explore the Atari 8-Bit Home Computer System Technical Reference Notes Needed: Web Browser Time: 1-2 hours Introduction When the Atari 400 and 800 home computers were released in 1979 they were a closed system. Atari imagined a monopoly on games and software for the
Read morePlay Pitfall! on an Atari 8-Bit Computer or Video Game Console (30-60 mins)
Task: Play Pitfall! on an Atari 8-Bit Computer or Video Game Console Needed: Emulator, SD Card Device, or Cartridges and Original Hardware Time: 30-60 mins for watching several videos Introduction I first played Pitfall! when it came out in 1982 at a friend’s house on
Read moreExplore the The Modern Atari 8-Bit Computer YouTube Channel (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore the The Modern Atari 8-Bit Computer YouTube Channel Needed: Web Browser Time: 30-60 mins for watching several videos Introduction I have learned a lot about Atari 8-bit computers and video game consoles by watching YouTube videos. One of my favorite channels is the
Read morePurchase or Download the Atari 8-Bit Programming Reference Book “Mapping the Atari” (5-10 mins)
Task: Purchase or Download the Atari 8-Bit Programming Reference Book “Mapping the Atari” Needed: Web Browser Time: 5-10 mins Introduction Any serious programming on the Atari 8-bit computers requires interacting with various memory locations on the Atari. Some of these memory locations are free for
Read morePurchase and Assemble a SpartaDOS X Cartridge (15-30 mins)
Task: Purchase and Assemble a SpartaDOS X Cartridge Needed: SpartaDOS X cartridge circuit board, battery, and cartridge shell Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I have previously posted about SpartaDOS and its modern successor SpartaDOS X (SDX). This is an incredibly powerful and flexible DOS for interacting
Read morePlay Caverns of Mars on an Atari 8-Bit Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Caverns of Mars on an Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Altirra or Caverns of Mars cartridge or disk Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Caverns of Mars is one of my favorite games because of its simple yet effective graphics and relatively simple and fun gameplay. The
Read moreLearn to Implement Page Flipping in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn to Implement Page Flipping in BASIC on Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Altirra emulator Time: 30-60 mins Introduction We previously covered moving data on and off the screen as part of coarse horizontal and vertical scrolling by changing the memory address of the screen
Read moreRead “How Atari took on Apple in the 1980s home PC wars” by Benj Edwards (5-10 mins)
Task: Read “How Atari took on Apple in the 1980s home PC wars” by Benj Edwards Needed: Web browser Time: 5-10 mins Introduction There have been a number of popular press pieces on various aspects of the Atari story. There is a great piece by
Read moreProgram in 80 Columns of Text on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer with the ACE-80 Cartridge (5-10 mins)
Task: Program in 80 Columns of Text on Your Atari 8-Bit Computer with the ACE-80 Cartridge Needed: ACE-80 or ACE-80XL cartridge Time: 5-10 mins Introduction The Atari 8-bit computers all display a maximum of 40 columns of text which can be limiting for some applications
Read moreDownload the Atari 8-Bit ROM Collection by Ghostware (5-10 mins)
Task: Download the Atari 8-Bit ROM Collection by Ghostware Needed: Web browser Time: 5-10 mins Introduction There are tons of game and utility ROMs available online for download. We have previously posted about the Atarimania resource, for example. Downloading multiple ROMs can be tedious. Fortunately,
Read morePlay Joust on an Atari 8-bit Computer (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Joust on an Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: Joust ROM and emulator or cartridge and computer Time: 10-15 mins Dedication: My good friend Steve Nash (RIP) Introduction I turned 16 in 1984 and was fortunate enough to be able to drive a 1980 Formula
Read morePurchase a SIDE3 Cartridge for Atari 8-Bit Computers (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase a SIDE3 Cartridge for Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser, Atari 8-bit computer Time: 10-15 mins Introduction The ability to load files on an SD card and boot them on original Atari 8-bit computer hardware is very desirable and I have covered several
Read morePlay Frogger on the Atari 8-Bit Computers and Consoles (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Frogger on the Atari 8-Bit Computers and Consoles Needed: Web browser, Emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I have about a dozen Atari games I love to play over and over again for decades and decades. Frogger is definitely on that list for both
Read morePlay an Atari Game You Have Never Played Before (10-15 mins)
Task: Play an Atari Game You Have Never Played Before Needed: Web browser, Emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction There are hundreds and hundreds of games for the Atari 8-bit computers and video game consoles. One of my favorite things to do is to try new
Read moreExplore Atari Advertisements in Retail Christmas Catalogs (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Advertisements in Retail Christmas Catalogs Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 mins Introduction If you grew up in the United State in the early 1980s the Christmas catalogs from Sears, J.C. Penney, and other department stores were the bomb. We all spent days
Read morePurchase a RetroTINK for Conversion to Digital Video (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase a RetroTINK for Conversion to Digital Video Needed: Web browser, RetroTINK Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I have previously posted about the challenges of converting the composite signal from the Atari 8-bit computers to HDMI for display on an LED monitor or TV. I
Read moreExplore Atari Computer Sales Brochures and Catalogs (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Computer Sales Brochures and Catalogs Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction One of my favorite things to is to explore sales brochures and catalogs for the Atari 8-bit line of computers. Fortunately, my packrat father saved a number of these so
Read moreExplore Homesoft’s Collection of Games for the Atari 8-Bit Computers (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Homesoft’s Collection of Games for the Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction The Internet Archive and Atari Mania are awesome source of Atari software and games. These are certainly good places to start if you are looking for something.
Read moreExplore Atari Software and Games on Atari Mania (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Software and Games on Atari Mania Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction It can be challenging to find comprehensive and safe sources of Atari software and games online. The Internet Archive is certainly one of my favorites. Another go-to source is
Read moreExplore the Page 6 Public Domain Software Library for Atari 8-Bit Computers (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore the Page 6 Public Domain Software Library for Atari 8-Bit Computers Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction Page 6 was an Atari 8-bit computer magazine started by members of a Birmingham, England Atari users group. The story of how this magazine got
Read moreRead the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” (15-30 mins)
Task: Read the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” Needed: The book Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” is ~400-page book written by Darren Doyle and published by Greyfox Books. Much of the book consists of two-page visual layouts of 162 third-party
Read moreWatch Joe Decuir on YouTube (1-2 hours)
Task: Watch Joe Decuir on YouTube Needed: Web browser Time: 1-2 hours Introduction Joe Decuir was hired by Atari to debug the prototype for the Atari 2600 and then went on to help design and build the Atari 400 and 800 computers. He has had
Read moreLearn About Display List Interrupts in BASIC (1-2 hours)
Task: Learn About Display List Interrupts in BASIC Needed: BASIC Time: 1-2 hours Introduction Atari was far ahead of its competitors when it was released with superior graphics. This was largely due to the ANTIC chip that served as a graphics processor with its own
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