Atari lives on in many form factors

Last month I mentioned that Ataris are still alive and well all over the world, from the largest country to the smallest islands. Along the same lines, almost every modern major operating system has an emulation program allowing the use of Atari software in the form of ROM files.

Linux

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Atari is still finding new ways of making it onto all types of operating systems as seen at this link on Atari Linux emulators: http://simon.mooli.org.uk/LXF/Atari/Atari.html

Apple Mac

Although once arch rivals, the Atari and Apple worlds have worked together at the user level for years. We had the Magic Sac and Spectre 128 for our STs to emulate the Macintosh. Now the Mac world has its Atari emulators. Talk about full circle.

Atari on an Apple Mac: http://www.serve.com/derekl/atari/atari_emu.html

Unix

Atari not only runs on Linux, but Unix as well. Atari on Unix: http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/nino/stonx.html

PDA / Pocket PC

As noted before, you can run an Atari on your PDA as well as your desktop PC. Atari on a Pocket PC: http://www.zophar.net/ppc/atari.html

Windows

Several flavors from all over the world crowd the Windows PC desktops. This may include the ST, XL, or even 2600 VCS emulators. Atari on a Windows PC: http://pcdesktops.emuunlim.com/emu-atari01-05.shtml

Last but not least you get various flavors of each type of emulator. This helps keep Atari alive for the guys who have given up their hardware, but not their love for Atari. Atari Stuff emulators: http://www.cheek.org/atari/emulator.htm

If you want more information on how these emulators work contact Matthew Preston at mpreston@myatari.net, he is our resident emulation expert.

So if keeping the old Atari hardware is no longer something you want to do, just find the emulator that meets your needs and load it on whatever flavor OS you are currently using.

On a final note, a desktop designer recently sent a link to me of his Atari 2600 flavored desktop images.

What a wonderful assortment of old Atari and other video game desktops. Check out http://www.kjeldesign.com/desktops/atari_2600/index.html.

Next month a little venture into a new operating system that will work on several older computers. RTDOS will it work the way it is billed?

del@myatari.net

MyAtari magazine - Feature #5, March 2003