27 Sep
2007
27 Sep
'07
10:12 p.m.
On 28 Sep 2007 at 0:45, Roger Merchberger wrote:
The *original* Atari 400? You must be joking, right? I
had *microwave
ovens* with better keyboards than a 400! ;-) About the only worse keyboards
I can think of was either on the original Timex Sinclair 1000, or possibly
Tandy's MC-10.
LOL--it was the 800 that I had in mind. Not the "kiddie komputer
400".
I would have to say that IMHO, with the angled
function buttons & sleek
lines, it was the most artistic (read: kewl) keyboard of the era... not
that it helps functionality at all... ;-)
Kewl it may have been, but it really was pretty miserable
(ergonomically speaking). Maybe if it had been purple or
something...
The software was the best part. I enjoyed programming it very much--
just wished that Atari had made a "step up" version with a real
keyboard at the same time. The TT came along too late--the PeeCee
and Mac had grabbed the big market share and I was frying other fish.
And I've never even seen an ATW, in spite of living more-or-less
"around the corner" from Atari. That's a system I wouldn't mind
collecting, if I were a collector.
Cheers,
Chuck