Modern Apps on Old Machines

A different thought - I don't really buy the argument for owning a modern machine for the purposes of "better" games. But the Web browser thing is slightly different, being a VERY powerful and useful communication method. I have heard that the C64 and Atari 8-bit machines now have graphical Web browsers and PPP clients running on them. The TI community is working on a TCP/IP system, but we were debating the possibility of a Web browser. The argument I and others made in its defense was, granted the stock hardware is incapable of SVGA-grade graphical displays, with appropriate decoding, you can get "close" (with sufficient processing time), and if you have to "scroll" around to see the entire page, so what? 1. Am I correct in what I have heard of the C64 and Atari 8-bitters? 2. Is this a reasonable argument for "home computers" being fit out for browsing? Or is it silly when $2000 (maybe even below $1000) can get you a Web-capable peecee? 3. What other apps are there that are REALLY useful for home use that modern machines have and "home computers" don't? And is is really impossible to do these tasks on "home computers"? Is it worth the time and effort (even out of love) to write the software, or even create the new peripherals, to enable the old iron to do the job? -- ********************************************** * David Ormand *** Southwest 99ers * * dlormand(a)aztec.asu.edu *** Tucson, Arizona * **************************** TMS9900 Lives! *