Yar's revenge: Mom plays video game with kids.
May 14, 2001 7:53 AM Subscribe
Yar's revenge: Mom plays video game with kids. Back when gaming companies advertised on TV, Atari was king.
<< Back when gaming companies advertised on TV >>
Nintendo. Sega. Sony. EA Sports. Even Blizzard.
And I don't even watch that much TV. ;)
posted by Foosnark at 8:41 AM on May 14, 2001
Nintendo. Sega. Sony. EA Sports. Even Blizzard.
And I don't even watch that much TV. ;)
posted by Foosnark at 8:41 AM on May 14, 2001
I still have a 2600, 5200, and a 7800 in storage. As well as other systems as well. Every once in a while I take them out for some nostalgic, sentimental memories of my past.
posted by a3matrix at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2001
posted by a3matrix at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2001
"as well as other systems as well"
Hmm, should read it as well as spell check it next time.
posted by a3matrix at 8:53 AM on May 14, 2001
Hmm, should read it as well as spell check it next time.
posted by a3matrix at 8:53 AM on May 14, 2001
Me, I've always been a desktop kinda guy, not a console weenie.
My platform of choice back in the day was the Atari 1040 ST personal computer, a light gray PC tucked into the back of its keyboard, complete with parallelogram-shaped function keys and its own monitor. Now that's how you design an aesthetically-pleasing system. Eat your heart out, Apple, the Atari was slick before you even had colour*.
(* this sentence possibly [probably] contains factual error, but regardless, was merely uttered to be spiteful towards Apple Nazis, for really no reason at all)
posted by Succa at 10:26 AM on May 14, 2001
My platform of choice back in the day was the Atari 1040 ST personal computer, a light gray PC tucked into the back of its keyboard, complete with parallelogram-shaped function keys and its own monitor. Now that's how you design an aesthetically-pleasing system. Eat your heart out, Apple, the Atari was slick before you even had colour*.
(* this sentence possibly [probably] contains factual error, but regardless, was merely uttered to be spiteful towards Apple Nazis, for really no reason at all)
posted by Succa at 10:26 AM on May 14, 2001
I still have mine, succa, and it still works :)
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2001
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 10:51 AM on May 14, 2001
Vic-20 was where I started. Gotta love have just over 3K of memory. I was so excited when I got my 16K ram expansion cartrige. 16K who would need more then that?
posted by john at 12:29 PM on May 14, 2001
posted by john at 12:29 PM on May 14, 2001
> merely uttered to be spiteful towards Apple Nazis
Just bear in mind that there are two flavors: Mac Nazis and Apple II Nazis. I had a II+ and loved it dearly. All those empty slots for third-party cards. All that openly available information about the architecture (e.g. What's Where in the Apple.) If somebody had thought it worth while to reverse-engineer the Apple ROM BIOS (as happened with the IBMPC) or if Apple had had the balls to release it voluntarily instead of suing Franklin and the other II-clone makers, they might still rule the roost instead of serving a niche market of graphic designers and dummies. Woz rulz; Jobs sux.
My II+ still works fine, thanks; presently serving as a text-mode Linux terminal, connected to a P350 via null modem and AppII Kermit.
posted by jfuller at 1:16 PM on May 14, 2001
Just bear in mind that there are two flavors: Mac Nazis and Apple II Nazis. I had a II+ and loved it dearly. All those empty slots for third-party cards. All that openly available information about the architecture (e.g. What's Where in the Apple.) If somebody had thought it worth while to reverse-engineer the Apple ROM BIOS (as happened with the IBMPC) or if Apple had had the balls to release it voluntarily instead of suing Franklin and the other II-clone makers, they might still rule the roost instead of serving a niche market of graphic designers and dummies. Woz rulz; Jobs sux.
My II+ still works fine, thanks; presently serving as a text-mode Linux terminal, connected to a P350 via null modem and AppII Kermit.
posted by jfuller at 1:16 PM on May 14, 2001
If somebody had thought it worth while to reverse-engineer the Apple ROM BIOS
Actually, Vtech did. Their Laser 128 clone line was perfectly legal. Franklin also had a mostly-compatible post-lawsuit clone, although Laser's compatibility was far better.
Apple v. Franklin was one of the first (if not literally the very first) copyright case involving cloning. Franklin's legal defense was... amusing. They claimed that ROM was not copyrightable, because ROM after all was merely a giant matrix of switches, each locked into an on or off configuration. And how could you possibly copyright an arrangement of switches? The judge didn't fall for it.
The truly amusing thing is that about 80% of the Apple II+'s ROM didn't actually belong to Apple. Applesoft BASIC (8K) was licensed from Microsoft, and Vtech just went to them and asked to license it, and were able to do so completely legally. Odds are that Franklin could have done exactly the same. The Apple II Monitor ROM -- the only part of the firmware Apple actually owned -- was only 2K in the II+ (although it got much bigger in the IIe) and could have been reverse-engineered without too much difficulty.
... Got a Videx card in that II+, I expect?
posted by kindall at 2:07 PM on May 14, 2001
Actually, Vtech did. Their Laser 128 clone line was perfectly legal. Franklin also had a mostly-compatible post-lawsuit clone, although Laser's compatibility was far better.
Apple v. Franklin was one of the first (if not literally the very first) copyright case involving cloning. Franklin's legal defense was... amusing. They claimed that ROM was not copyrightable, because ROM after all was merely a giant matrix of switches, each locked into an on or off configuration. And how could you possibly copyright an arrangement of switches? The judge didn't fall for it.
The truly amusing thing is that about 80% of the Apple II+'s ROM didn't actually belong to Apple. Applesoft BASIC (8K) was licensed from Microsoft, and Vtech just went to them and asked to license it, and were able to do so completely legally. Odds are that Franklin could have done exactly the same. The Apple II Monitor ROM -- the only part of the firmware Apple actually owned -- was only 2K in the II+ (although it got much bigger in the IIe) and could have been reverse-engineered without too much difficulty.
... Got a Videx card in that II+, I expect?
posted by kindall at 2:07 PM on May 14, 2001
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posted by tomplus2 at 8:41 AM on May 14, 2001