RickR

I can appreciate everyone that can look at these machines objectively.  All of them have their plusses and minuses.  But mostly, they all offer a ton of retro fun. 
I was thinking of putting together a quickie "Retro Gaming on TI for New Users" guide here.  Just a way for anyone that has interested know what they need to get started.  But boy, it sure does add up quickly.  Computer (but not a beige one), set of joysticks. 32k sidecar, a flashrom of some kind, voice module (and then do the 5V power fix)....it gets complicated fast.
 

My wife and I watched S5, E1 last night.  I'm eager to know what you all thought.  Warning:  SPOILERS!
Some very general notes:
I find it really hard to remember what happened in S4.  Something about planets blowing up and then a big argument about how to deal with the aliens.  Not a good sign when a nerd like me can't remember what happened.  But I guess it has been a while. Lots of action in this episode!  I don't know if I like this or not.  Mostly because I don't think it's very well done.  Examples:  LOTS of YELLING!  That alien settlement in trouble -- we see the same 5 people over and over.  It looks like a rip off of Joku on Star Wars.  Where is Rey when you need her? There are moments here from TNG!  I love this!  But wait, they only last a few moments.  I don't like this.  I sure hope they re-activate Fred at some point.  The Iron Man tech in this show is distracting and pointless.  Setting us so far in the future maybe not the best idea.  Reminds me of the magic turbolift.  Not good.  I'm trying to forget that happened.  Why no expert from "N'Var" on their mission?  Seems very strange.  A sign of bad writing.  I guess it doesn't matter, they only spend a few action moments on that ship.  RickR gives this one a solid C. 

Yeah my issue is that I was given a used system from the club (much appreciated of course) but it's so huge that I do not have space for it. Back in the day when it was my only computer sure but now the TI is a secondary and I just do not have the room for that huge expansion box and an old tub TV. I ordered a cable online but they seem to be taking their sweet time sending it out. I already have a convertor box but I need that cable. Oh well I'll keep using Classic99 for now. What a great program that is.

Please forgive my late response to this post as I have just recently found it.

My name is John Behnke and at one time, decades ago, I was a part of the Chicago Users Group. I was very young back then and after getting a full time job, getting married and having kids, I moved on to the world of the PC and did not look back. About a year ago I reengaged with the group and after having retired and having free time, I offered to restart our long dormant newsletter as well as redo the group web page. It saddened me that so many fine people in the community had passed or moved on but such is life.
The reason for this reply is that I wanted to add a few thoughts of mine and explain why the Chicago Group gave me permission and what my motivation was in restarting the newsletter.
 
First off I would like to address the comment about the early issues having nothing but web content and reprinted old articles. While this is mostly true, I had to start from somewhere and not having sources of new content available, I had to put in more "nostalgia" that I would have liked. I added articles from myself as much as I dared but tried to limit this as this was not supposed to be a "John Behnke Newsletter" nor did I want to give the impression that this was some kind of ego thing all about me.
I think you will find as the months go on, there will be more new content. I have reached out to what is left of the TI Community requesting new articles, programs and anything that might be of interest to the community. Aside from mentioning the next meeting and some discussion of the next TI Faire, we intend the content to be of interest to the entire TI community and not just a Chicago User Group publication. So far I have received a few contributions and they will be published in the April and May Editions. I hope to have more.
 
I would like to thank you for this post and hope you continue to read our newsletter. While it will contain more rehash than I would like, as you suggest in your post, this reborn newsletter will prosper or die depending on the TI community. Retro gaming is all the rage and I would love if the reintroduction of this newsletter, dormant for 18 years, might spark others in rekindling the fire we all once had so many years ago!
 
Once again thanks for your kind words and encouragement!

The April Edition is out for download at ChicagoTIUG.org
 
I hope it's getting better. I'll keep asking people for contributions but I have to be honest, few people seem to want to write even a short article. I'll keep trying.

Link to the AtariAge thread:  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/362854-atlantis-game-port/
User Cheung has created a really good port of Atlantis for the TI and the ROM is available for download (for free!)

Here is a video:
Super impressive and I'm going to give this a try on mine.  Should work in emulation too.
 

I like to compare the TI to the other computer systems of the time because of all the time I spent in electronics stores as a kid after school.  I can remember noodling around on a TI display identical to the one above.  I remember being a bit cheesed-off that the screen was so high!  Not easy to see for a short kid.  Munch-man was the game I'd settle on from the demo and it was a lot of fun.  But also, it was pretty obvious that there was no "real" Pac-Man or any other licensed games.  Commodore had Gorf/Omega Race -- knowing how cheap Jack Tramiel was, how did they do that???  (This needs more research and would make an interesting topic on its own).
TI boxes were pretty boring, about the same as Commodore.  Atari had them both beat. 
But the display of the selection of games -- TI was great.  Commodore kiosks were tiny and you had to stoop low to see what they had. 
What would I do differently knowing the TI system so much better now?  They should have emphasized the voice module a lot more in the demos!  I think it would have blown people away to have the kiosk showing software that speaks! 
 

Yeah they kinda blew the pooch on the marketing. I think they wanted this to be a more upscale system and not just a game system. I cringe when I read about some of the shortcuts they took to save a buck but might have made the TI into a true competitor of the C64. The PE Box alone was a huge mess and while I'm trying to remember that times were different and yes I saw the original daisy chain setup that went halfway across your room in expansion boxes, there just had to be a better way to both keep the cost down and that long ribbon cable that would disconnect when you bumped your desk... ACK!
They seemed like they designed a system NOT for the masses but rather those who could afford $1000+ along with another grand for the rest of the system. Now I'll be fair and say that the crash affected everyone and in the end we got some pretty good games from 3rd party sources once TI gave up. I only went with the TI over the Atari 400 because the TI have a real keyboard. I much preferred the Atari software. The Vic20 was ghastly (I hate the way the C64 looks but that was not a consideration when I bought my TI) Well I really cannot complain. I have so many fond memories of the TI and of the great people I met. I hope this will continue a little bit longer cause I'm having a blast rediscovering the TI. I've even started writing games again for the 12 people who still play them 🙂
P.S. The voice module was good but I wish they would have incorporated it into the actual machine so it was a standard feature.

I ordered Food Fight.  Cool to know it will have a new  manual as well. 

Jon Stoll II has decided to step away from doing the Atari Network Podcast, and I’m not continuing it without him, so that will essentially be the end of that. I will still update the Atari 7800 Forever website and YouTube Channel, and he will continue with the Atari Network YouTube channel. We had a fun run and I hate that it came to an end. Thanks to everyone who followed and participated in the chat! So much fun! #atari #atari7800 #atari2600

I finished season 1 last week and will start season 2 soon. Thanks for recommending Discovery to me. I’ve been loving it. The tone and style and most everything is definitely a departure from TOS and TNG, and I am good with that. The characters have depth, and I appreciate that. Looking forward to season 2 and beyond.

Moving the discussion over here.  Season 5 has started!
 

I like to compare the TI to the other computer systems of the time because of all the time I spent in electronics stores as a kid after school.  I can remember noodling around on a TI display identical to the one above.  I remember being a bit cheesed-off that the screen was so high!  Not easy to see for a short kid.  Munch-man was the game I'd settle on from the demo and it was a lot of fun.  But also, it was pretty obvious that there was no "real" Pac-Man or any other licensed games.  Commodore had Gorf/Omega Race -- knowing how cheap Jack Tramiel was, how did they do that???  (This needs more research and would make an interesting topic on its own).
TI boxes were pretty boring, about the same as Commodore.  Atari had them both beat. 
But the display of the selection of games -- TI was great.  Commodore kiosks were tiny and you had to stoop low to see what they had. 
What would I do differently knowing the TI system so much better now?  They should have emphasized the voice module a lot more in the demos!  I think it would have blown people away to have the kiosk showing software that speaks! 
 

A nice look at Star Trek: Phase II
 

I like to compare the TI to the other computer systems of the time because of all the time I spent in electronics stores as a kid after school.  I can remember noodling around on a TI display identical to the one above.  I remember being a bit cheesed-off that the screen was so high!  Not easy to see for a short kid.  Munch-man was the game I'd settle on from the demo and it was a lot of fun.  But also, it was pretty obvious that there was no "real" Pac-Man or any other licensed games.  Commodore had Gorf/Omega Race -- knowing how cheap Jack Tramiel was, how did they do that???  (This needs more research and would make an interesting topic on its own).
TI boxes were pretty boring, about the same as Commodore.  Atari had them both beat. 
But the display of the selection of games -- TI was great.  Commodore kiosks were tiny and you had to stoop low to see what they had. 
What would I do differently knowing the TI system so much better now?  They should have emphasized the voice module a lot more in the demos!  I think it would have blown people away to have the kiosk showing software that speaks! 
 

They demoed this at the last meeting. Very impressive!

I rem how many really bad games I paid top dollar for because the selection of TI games in the beginning was so bad. One of the reasons I started making my own LOL.

Well, it isn't the first time his albums have worked that way. But even his gameboy music album he released several years ago I believe auto transitions to the next song. But, his CD based TG-16 album he released last year I think it was? I believe it does the same thing where it just stays on the same song until you use your controller to move it to the next track. His last Genesis cartridge release titled as 'Decoder' is the same way, but it makes since there because you are reading a graphic novel along the way so the music tracks change as you change the scene reading the story.
BTW...the above video was captured directly off my Jaguar through RGB. But as my capture device doesn't like anything above 2x scaling from the OSSC, it doesn't look quite as good or sharp as it normally can when I'm able to use 5x normally. But this is pretty typical of all of my RGB consoles. This is why my s-video output systems tend to look sharper to my eyes, because those go through the extron and are output at 480P. That in turn at 2x scaling means the output is 960P to my TV while the 240P stuff via RGB is only at 480P on the final output.
 

Why do some of you think it's anywhere near appropriate to repeatedly post sexualized images and comments on an Atari website? Does that seem to you at all in keeping with the spirit of Atari I/O that's open to all ages? I shouldn't have to say this out loud. Can someone explain that to me because I'm no prude and I'd like to hear a public justification of your reasoning.

Good question!  I think they did the same thing with Berzerk and Mr. Run and Jump when those were on pre-order.  They did ship with boxes.  It may be worth a question on the Atari Discord.  I'll get back to you.
 

Re-releasing some old games that include a cart and box for $30.  Good deal if you ask me.  Pre-order now for shipment in May 2024
Ninja Golf:  https://atari.com/products/ninja-golf-7800
Food Fight:  https://atari.com/products/food-fight-7800
Fatal Run:  https://atari.com/products/fatal-run-7800

I don't own one, but the video reviews I've seen mention that the keyboard (non-functional) has the correct feel to it, meaning raised key edges.