RickR

Cryptocoffee13 · February 14

I picked Caverns of Mars Recharged. First attempt: 305 points! I think I need a manual 🙂

It is so cool of Atari to do this.

Eaglebeak54 · February 14

Administer electrical shock if user tries to remove cartridge or turn off console too soon.

🙂

socrates63 · February 14

Cartridge slot pacifier!

Eaglebeak54 · February 14

For sure.

Who remembers those old motherboards that had TWO BIOS chips so that you could flash one, and if it failed, revert back to the other? I know, I know...added cost.

TrekMD · February 14

Related to this topic slightly....my mom, whose dementia continues to progress 😞 For a long time, we had a simple "ladybug" cell phone for her to use. But she eventually lost the ability to use it...BUT we switched her back to a land line with the phone pictured below. And she loves it. She answers it and calls us successfully. So thank goodness these are still available. It costs more than a cell phone, but totally worth it for her situation.

February 14

While I agree with that on principle, I'm also an engineer and know dang well that if there is a way to screw it up, users will find it. Therefore, a system should be designed to be idiot-proof. Store updates on the console itself and do not re-flash carts, for example.

- Ω - · February 14

I'm sure I've posted this one more than once already, but this one NEVER fails to make me laugh. Trombone sneeze.

MaximumRD · February 14

My family has had a land line and the same number for ages. A few years back, I finally convinced my wife that we should switch to an IP phone service. So sure enough, we ported our old phone number over and it works exactly the same way. I even hooked up our old wireless phone set (with 3 handsets!). I estimate the switch saved us about $300 a year.

My wife liked it so much, she switched her small business over too.

As for the cell phones, I think it's cool to see people without them. I like having mine mostly to order food ahead with the discounts offered on apps. But otherwise, I totally get your point. So distracting!

Also, travel is getting harder without a cell phone. Some airlines actually charge for printing out a printed boarding pass! And we've also found the luxury of NOT renting cars and just using Lyft/Uber. For traveling, a cell phone helps a lot.

MaximumRD · February 13

DegasElite · February 12

Aha! More research shows that this is a hardware limitation of the SID, and that it has been hacked for hobbyists who have added a second SID to their system!

Here is the hacked version on C64:

socrates63 · February 12

I just noticed something that I found a bit surprising. For the EA classic M.U.L.E., the theme song for the Atari version (which came first) has 4 voices. The C64 version, with the mighty SID chip, there are only 3! Here are a couple of videos cued up to a spot where it is easiest to hear. It starts with drum, then bass, then synth line. The Atari version clearly has two. C64, only 1! The lower-pitched rhythm synth is missing!!

Do you hear it too?

In any case, it is one of my all-time favorite video game theme songs.

Atari version (start at 39 second point if I didn't embed this properly):

Commodore version:

socrates63 · February 12

sramirez2008 · February 12

YES! Thanks for posting this, as I was unaware. I'll check this out more closely when I get a spare moment. Some truly awesome efforts in the homebrew space not just this last year, but over the last decade.

Smell Dawg · February 12

2600 "Adventure" is one I return to often. I also really love 8-bit MULE, One on One basketball, and Blue Max. And I am known to play Windows Spider Solitaire when I have a minute to kill.

February 10

11 hours ago, TrekMD said:

Oh wow. My family had a TON of these, as one of my aunts was an Avon salesperson. We had the cars, and presidential busts. When I had to liquidate my parents' estate, I sold them all, but kept one...a Portland Trailblazer bottle that kind of looks like a trophy.

February 9

Oooh, that looks good. And a nice price too.

Sabertooth · February 8

Same. First time I've ever heard of this.

socrates63 · February 8

Sabertooth · February 8

It is a good idea -- some form of video-game based entertainment show. But it needs to be bigger than just Atari. The retro industry as a whole should be included. Nintendo for sure.

I'm reminded of the really old Nickelodeon Arcade show. It was exciting at the time to see some of the latest games and how other people play.

Marco1019 · February 8

45 minutes ago, greenween said:

The only complaint of this game is that there is no nudge ability.

I also feel like the flippers don't really offer any satisfying power. They are like slow wet noodles.

BUT these are very minor nitpicks. I think the game is excellent.

February 8

I've had minor trouble with all of the memory expansion boards I've tried on TI. It feels like the timing has to be just right for it to work. For the three solutions I've tried, all of them were finicky and may not work correctly upon first booting. Usually, a few reboots fixed them. Also, cleaning the expansion card connectors helps.

greenween · February 4

2 minutes ago, greenween said:

I have to admit that I never spent any time on this game. Video Pinball has always been my go to. I'm loving it on the expert setting!

Same. This game is awesome. I may try the asteroids controller for this.

Justin · February 4

70,245. Left difficulty = A

I agree with Mayor @greenween....we should be playing the expert mode (left difficulty on A). The "b" mode is too easy and the games go on a lot longer. Does anyone object? @Justin are you OK with this change?

Sabertooth · February 3

2 minutes ago, Sabertooth said:

I lived in a high rise during a moderate earthquake. The building was opened in 1924. I was just one floor from the top. It swayed for several minutes and all I could think was "This is it!"

I remember a 5.2 or so here in Portland probably 20 years ago...I was also in a high rise on the 12th floor. My boss went running to the stairs -- a really old guy. It is funny in retrospect. No one knew he could run that fast! Once it was done, we could clearly see that our building and all the other high rises were swaying like pendulums and I learned to trust the technology. But at that moment....TERRIFYING!

Sabertooth · February 3

14,500 on 10-Yard Fight. That is one touchdown, and made it down to the 10 yard line for round 2. I can def do better, but I may just move on to R-Type for now.

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