Atari
UK
Shiuming
Lai takes a walk down Memory Lane
14 years
ago was a good time. Life was simple and
I had endless computer fun with my machine
of the moment, an 800XL with 1050 disk drive
which I still have to this day. Programming
techniques were nowhere near as advanced
as in current Atari 8-bit software, but
the concepts were there and the shock factor
of the synthesized speech in Activision's
Ghostbusters lingers on, more so than many
things I've seen since. Then there was Atari's
new ST range, the stuff of dreams for most
school kids. Who could forget the jaw-dropping
screen-shots of Magnetic Scrolls' The Pawn
in the Atari magazines? Les Ellingham's
wonderful home-grown Page 6 and Database
Publications' Atari User were available
at nearly all newsagents, it didn't get
better.
I lived in
Slough during these years, an industrial
town in Berkshire, close to Windsor. Every
time I went into the town centre, I passed
Railway Terrace, the location of Atari UK
since the early '80s. Oops, did I say it
didn't get better?! To have any computer
was exciting and digital one-upmanship was
rife, but none of my classmates could boast
having the mother company nearby!
Now, it's
2001 and Atari is a mere brand for Infogrames.
The Atari UK building is occupied by Concurrent
Computer Corporation (http://www.ccur.com) - very fitting
that it's another technology based company.
The MyAtari
team visited Slough to bring you these pictures.
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Looking down Railway
Terrace from William Street.
That dome topped building is
part of Slough station.
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There it is. On
the left is a bus depot.
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An ideal candidate
for a Lego model. You'll need
those 2x2 corner slope bricks.
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You could be forgiven
for thinking the building is
symmetrical, here's the first
clue to quash that idea.
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Atari employees
travelling to work by train
and coming out of the station's
North exit would see this. Note
the adjoining warehouse, 1st
floor window: administration
areas and demo/meeting rooms.
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Main building entrance
view from the staff car park.
Ground floor: reception/office
area and access to the workshops
and warehouse, 1st floor: administration/office
areas and demo rooms, 2nd floor:
Bob Gleadow's office and other
top brass. |
That's it for now. Next month we'll show
you the warehouse!
Thanks
to El Fernandes at Atari Workshop for helping
us identify the different parts of the building. |