January 2021
•SPECIAL 2020 HOLIDAYS EDITION•
SECRETARY’S REPORT By Steven Peck HELLO WORLD!
Happy New Year 2021! Let’s hope that 2021 is a better year than 2020. Anyway, we had a great time during the virtual SPACE Christmas Party last month. We had most of the SPACE members there and one guest. It was a time of great conversation and virtual frivolity. It lasted about two hours and we had a lot of fun. It was great camaraderie. Although we weren’t physically together, it was still quite an enjoyable time together virtually. Well, now with two vaccines for COVID-19 out now in the US, and possibly two on the way, I hope that we will have the opportunity to see each other in person again. Let’s hope that, with increasing populations being inoculated, it will lead to SPACE’s revival. With that, I will close this Secretary’s Report. In the words of the late, great Stan Lee… EXCELSIOR! TRIVIA TIME! The Atari Jaguar has five RISC co-processors, including the DSP, Motorola 68000, Tom, Jerry and the Object Processor.
Table of Contents: Page 1: Secretary’s Report & Tech Talk Page 2: Atari Multi-Platfore Game Review Page 5: SPACE Comics Section
TECH TALK
By Steven Peck Today in Tech Talk, we will discuss the evolution of computers, from Charles Babbage’s Analytical Machine to today’s computers being more powerful than thr room sized behemoths of the 1940s and 1950s that dominated at those times. Charles Babbage (1791-1871), considered the father of the modern computer, was an eminent British mathematician, mechanical engineer, philosopher, and scientist. He created the first mechanical computers called the Analytical and Difference Engines, which consisted of numbers and gears. They would later provide insight in what could be done with computers later in the future. Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) was famous for building machines that used punch cards (I may be young, but even I remember those cards myself ). His company would be later renamed IBM, which is one of the world’s foremost computer engineering companies today. In World War II, the Germans used the Enigma machine to generate code that was indecipherable to the Allied Forces. It was so important to the Allies that they planned covert missions to to capture and steal Enigma machines to decrypt them. Enigma machines resembled typewriters and were surprisingly effective in the war effort for the Germans, and when they were studied by the Allies, it proved useful in assisting in the war effort for them as well. They were so complicated that top scientists (like the famous Alan Turing, considered the father of modern artificial intelligence) were employed to decipher them, which eventually happened, contributing to the end of WWII. Computers would evolve more as time went on, as will be explained as we go along. In 1945, ENIAC was developed. ENIAC was the first electronic, programable, digital computer, brought online on December 10, 1945, just after the end of WWII. It was a room-sized computer that used vacuum tubes, and a monumental step forward in the evolution of computers. Then UNIVAC was developed, the first electronic digital computer for robot business applications developed in America. It was produced in the 1950s, and was used to predict the outcome for the 1952 Presidential Election that elected Dwight D. Eisenhower as the 42nd President of the United States. It was predicted that Ike would win by a landslide. The rest is US history.
Message from Captain Irata: “Happy New Year, SPACE Cadets! Now, be content, safe, and play Atari until you drop!” HOO-RAH!
Over time, computers would get faster and, ulimately, smaller. Some scientists started experiemting with games on computers. Ralph H. Baer, for instance, developed the Brown Box. He then became he father of home video games. The Brown Box, now at the Smithsonian Institute, was the first prototype home video game system. Then came startups like Atari, Magnavox, and Fairchild, developing the systems we know of today, like the still-popular Atari 2600, the Odyssey2, and the Fairchild Channel F. Then, as computers became smaller, they became affordable to consumers. This eventually lead to developing such computers like the Commodoe PET, 64, and VIC-20, as well as the Atari 400, 800, and the XL/XE computers.
As time went on, computers developed to what we see today, connected and more affordable with smaller CPUs and further advances in technology making them more efficient and versatile. As time goes on, I expect that computers will obviously continue to advance in technology. Quantum computing will soon be the norm, hopefully in less than a couple of decades. So, this concludes Tech Talk for this month. I will see you soon with another installment of Tech Talk in February. See you soon, and Carpe Diem, fellow Atarians. Take care!
ATARI MULTI-PLATFORM GAME REVIEW By Steve Peck Howdy, folks! In this game review I will review the classic A2600 game “Outlaw.” You play a rootin’tootin’ cowboy in a shootout with another player from the Wild West, so it’s an interesting game. You can play against another varmint in a 2-player shootout, or you can play by yourself in a target practice game setting by shooting a barrel that goes up and down on the right side of the screen. You can even shoot against another player with moving targets that can be shot out, but block your bullets from hitting your opponent. There are multiple game selections in “Outlaw,” and they can be easy or difficult depending on settings. The graphics are blocky and primitive, being that the game is from 1978. But, it’s challenging and actually fun to play. Bear in mind that this is from the 1970s, so it is going to look strange. I used to play this game with my father in the 1980s, when I was a boy. Despite the graphics, we had a lot of fun playing it, and it’s still fun now. I wish that there was an updated version of the game with better graphics, but just as hard to play. What’s really cool is that the bullets can ricochet off the boundaries on the screen and can fly in angles to hit targets. So, if you aim carefully, you can time it just right and hit your opponent. But, your opponent can do the same thing, so watch out! Although primitive, it’s really fun to play and it brings back childhood memories. This piece of video game nostalgia is one for the history books for sure. With that I will score the game. SCORE: Graphics:: Gameplay: Animation: Sound: SCORE:
3 9 7 6 25/40
So, with this I will close the Review. I will be back with another Review next month. Yippy-Kai-Ay, fellow Atarians! Have a great 2021, everybody!
Don’t Just Watch TV, Play it! Also, Play it on an Atari!
A Special N otice A bout DOM Mailing : I have been creating the DOM each month and was just looking at the supply building up. T hen I got to thinking about how many DOM s I will have by next J anuary or later. I t could be a year or twelve months and that would be twelve DOM s at $3.00 each or $36.00 for twelve and some might be reluctant to pay that for yearold DOM s in addition to their past-due memberships . S o, I was thinking about mailing . I have about two dozen empty 3M disk boxes, and they had ten disks each but could easily hold eighteen . I put twelve disks plus some bubble wrap and brought it to the Post Office as a test, and it came to $4.60. I then asked how much for just the empty box she said $3.80. S o, that comes to just 6.7 cents per disk . T he exact amount might vary depending on how many disks, but it would be close to $3.80 plus 7 cents per disk, so eight DOM s would be $28.36, or $3.00 per DOM plus $4.36 postage. E ach Member would have to email me as to which DOMs they would want and their current mailing address . A lso, a personal check for your calculated amount should be sent to G regory Leitner, then he could email me to acknowledge payment and I could mail the DOM s . For any difference in the actual mailing cost and your calculated amount could be carried on a ledger by G regory to be resolved at a later actual meeting . Sincerely, G len Kirschenmann DOM Librarian and Membership C hairman S aint Paul Atari C omputer E nthusiasts (SPACE) P.S. To pay for DOMs and membership renewals, you can send your personal check to this address: SPACE c/o G regory Leitner 3407 78th Street E. I nver G rove H eights, MN 55076-3037 T hanks ! buy a DOM, renew your memberships, and support SPACE! See you soon ! NOTE: T his message will be posted in the newsletter until we return to normal meetings together.
SPACE COMICS SECTION! The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D. By Steve Peck
Angel, Bandit, and Their Ferret Fracas By Steve Peck
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