Classic PC: Atari Portfolio

A look back to the first ever palmtop computer - the Atari Portfolio from 1989.
If you enjoy this video, you may also want to watch my earlier classic PC videos:
Toshiba T5100 notebook: • Classic PC: Toshiba T5100
The Atari Portfolio: • Classic PC: Newton Mes...
More videos on computer hardware, software and related topics can be found at:
/ explainingcomputers
You may also enjoy my other channel at
/ explainingthefuture

[@Lurker1979]

From 6 weeks down to 6 hours now. Amazing how far we have come! :P

[@ExplainingComputers]

+Lurker1979 Nice. :)

[@lorumipsum1129]

Lurker1979 can't tell if your being sarcastic or not.

[@micasa6982]

indeed! :)

[@Decco6306]

If you get a Mac its even less!

[@Landrew0]

Nice to hear a word we rarely hear anymore: "Kilobyte."

[@linuxrobotgeek]

I'm impressed that it was able to hold that many documents in your Portfolio considering the CPU. If I had one, I would definitely use it for notes, spreadsheets, and for File Transfers. And the fact that you can use this for six weeks without your batteries dying is amazing. That means I would not have to charge it and I could go to a Starbucks and take notes while everyone looks at me strange.

[@JangleJoe]

I had one of these computers. In addition to the parallel port module there was a serial port module in which I would connect a modem and communicate with various bulletin board type services. Thanks for the memories!

[@deo-max9229]

I still have this computer along with the various components like an RS232, memory card, and spreadsheet program. I still very fond of this little device even thought I can't do anything with it.

[@CreatorTelevision]

Great video. I remember when i was younger, computers with 512 Mb RAM were the best in the market. It costs 1100 KM in my country (around 650 US Dollars). Now we have computers with several cores and around 8 GB of RAM for that price. The best part is that I am still very young (20 years old). Its amazing how much , and how fast technology is changing.

[@Matticitt]

When I was 10 I got my first PC. It was $1000 and had a Intel Pentium 4 singlecore chip, nV GeForce 6200 graphics, 512MB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. Super imprrssive stuff. It could run GTA SA with full graphics so I guess my phone is faster now...

[@Tom2404]

We bought a family computer at Aldi back in November 2002 for 1200€ (that's more than 1500€ adjusted for inflation). It had 256MB ram, a GeForce 4 ti 4200 and a Pentium 4 with real 2.66GHz. That thing ended up as my first own computer.

[@chrismoffa464]

I had one of these in the late 80s. I used it to take notes during college lectures. Was great for a touch typist like myself instead of hand writing in a notebook. I connected it to my Atari ST to edit files. The ST could read DOS PC disks and format them so that a PC could read them so you could copy the text files to a PC formatted disk on the ST. Then walk it into the computer lab at school to print it out, etc. I didn't do anything else on it like games since it was an obscure item even back then and Atari fell on hard times later which didn't help.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Happy days.

[@StefanWelke]

Thank you, this video evoked some almost forgotten memories.

[@ValentinesEve1996]

Fun Fact: The 64KB memory card in the Atari Portfolio is based on Hudson Soft's Bee Card, credit card sized cartridges which were made as a video game distribution medium for the MSX computer. The Bee Card also inspired Hudson Soft to produce HuCards, which became the video game distribution medium for the PC Engine (also known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North America). Also, the "BC" logo on the back of the memory card at 2:16 is the Bee Card logo.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Very interesting! :) I did not know this.

[@HunterKiotori]

I really love these classic PC videos, please keep up the good work

[@endless031]

These videos are pretty cool.I love learning about old technology

[@Datan0de]

Thank you for this video. I didn't know about Transfolio! I collect both retro computers and Terminator memorabilia, and picked up a Portfolio a few years ago. I have the parallel adapter, but didn't know it could connect to a modern PC. Can't wait to play with this further.

[@tommydee491]

The problem is ....Most modern PCs today don't have parallel ports any longer. Heck - The case for the new one I just built can't even accommodate an optical drive - had to load Windows via USB stick... Time marches on... LOL

[@FireDragonAndromeda]

On the subject of remembering things on an old computer, I went back to using my Amiga 1200 after about 20 years and could remember where everything was meant to go on manual software installs.

[@cliz305]

I LOVE mono lcd and AA batteries. But they don't make devices with those elements any more. What a shame!

[@GeminiBodyshop]

love watching these it brings it all back

[@ExplainingComputers]

I thought that somebody should put some decent HD footage of these old computers on the web . . . I wonder what people will make of them in 10 or 20 or 50 years time.

[@GeminiBodyshop]

I'm working my way through all your videos brilliant I'm loving them I cant even begin to think what people will think in 20 years time

[@Reziac]

So today's video led me to another retro-netbookish thing, and another, and -- oh! now we've Retro Chris as well!! Very interesting how your personal OS has matured into the Chris we know and love today.

[@MrMoonpie001]

I wish you could have seen the number of times I smiled while watching this. There is so much I have forgotten about the computers of the past. It amazes me that you have kept all of these devices and that they still function! Lotus 1-2-3, I haven't heard that mentioned in years. Last year I disposed of a lot of software that just didn't have a place anymore. I had a full version of Ami-pro which was something like 16 floppies! I hope you have something to show us that runs Windows 3.1 in the future, that would be fun! I am really enjoying this series! Thank you for all you do! Rich

[@ExplainingComputers]

MrMoonpie001 Many thanks. :) It took me some time to remember the Lotus 1-2-3 syntax. An old PC running Windows 3.1 is a nice idea for a video . . .

[@MrMoonpie001]

ExplainingComputers It would be a nice way to show historically what the first GUI looked like to have a 3.1 included in the series.ThanksRich

[@AshanBhatoa]

This series is Awesome

[@dumyjobby]

I love thoose videos. I'm quite ioung so i never experience old tecnology and this is a great way to introduce myself at how thing work back in the day. Can't wait to see a lot more

[@lorderectus1849]

He was happy when the Atari laptop came into his life!

[@HazardOfExistance]

Lol, I actually have the apple Newton, and it still works.( I got it from my teacher) I also have two slightly bigger versions. But only one of them works.

[@inchman656]

it blows my mind that technology that old can link up to more modern stuff

[@sirgalahad777]

ToastedBagelBaconJam Core PC architecture is well known for excellent backward compatibility. That's why you can run old stuff on modern PCs.

[@inchman656]

i know, it's still mind blowing either way

[@92805JamesT]

YOu, RACIST.

[@ET_AYY_LMAO]

Kind of hard to find a PC with a parallel port these days. Protocols were simpler back then. Stuff like HTTP was designed specificly to be human readable...

[@frostwise87]

Brilliant bit of kit

[@frankbougrasse8047]

Thank you Chris your review give a good idea on this outdated computer !

[@typxxilps]

I had one or 2 - and with the fully equipment like storage and parallel port add on. fully lotus 123 and multiplan compatible for all those kids around the block that know about what those had been.

[@travistaylor3186]

Such a cool machine, excellent video. I always wanted one since I’m an Atari computer aficionado. When I was a kid they were too expensive and now that I’m an adult they’re still expensive :)

[@stephenking3735]

i just found one at the local trash and treasure markets for $5 working model

[@Landrew0]

I owned one of these in 1989, used it in 1990, only to keep track of my car mileage it turned out.

[@raysrcsandtech]

Wish my Psion would still link up this easy. Please back in the day I went Psion I so wanted this device but now seeing it running think I made the right choice

[@Landrew0]

Quite interesting to see how the term "virtual reality" was being used in those days. Also a few computer terms that have survived to this day. You were there at the very beginning of the digital revolution.

[@0raj0]

I had two of these machines back then, they were quite popular and very useful. Too bad the flexible connector between the display and the main part was very fragile and got broken in both my Portfolios. That was probably the worst part of this machine. I got RAM expanded to 512 KB in one of them, there was a serviceman in Warsaw who was doing this, and many other Portfolio modifications (like installing additional memory inside the Portfolio, that was seen as another virtual disk "B:"). Besides the parallel interface, there was also the serial one. I used it for file transfers, as I couldn't buy the parallel interface. Of course the issue was how to initially load a serial communications program onto the Portfolio. Together with two other Portfolio users we wrote probably a smallest serial communications program - it was only 766 bytes in size and was able to transfer itself to other computer (read: Portfolio) with use of only DOS's COPY command on the other end :). (BTW, it's still downloadable from my web page, if someone wants to try it: rafa.eu.org/media/300bm.zip ) Once we had that program on both ends, we could transfer a better serial communications program with it (there were plenty of them) and use that for regular file transfers.

[@иосифгерман-п8о]

I remember John Connor used it to hack a ATM In Terminator

[@Landrew0]

And in the future mind you!

[@neosandi6]

yes ,,, I rememberr : '' go baby go baby go baby GO '' he speaking in panic...

[@JesseJames666]

Easy money

[@totallybonkers76]

iconic moment :)

[@AshanBhatoa]

This Series is Awesome

[@colinpayne6947]

Ah memories, I had an Atari Portfolio back in DOS days which I used with my IBM PS/2 286. Also once had a Sharp IQ8000, but loved my old Portfolio, it did eventually fall apart, the plastic became brittle and parts broke away, keys became sticky and it got tossed when moving house.

[@VauxhallViva1975]

Anyone remember PDQ? Pass Data Quickly. You ran it on both machines, and linked them via the parallel port. That was how I got data moved into laptops that did not even have a floppy drive back in the day.

[@ExplainingComputers]

I had forgotten this entirely until you mentioned it!

[@tonysanders1299]

This Video Was So Great With Information I Had To Subscribe! You Are Making Videos About Stuff I Love & Now Learning A Lot More About Them Thank You.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for the sub. :)

[@jdanielcramer]

I used one years ago to produce records with the spreadsheet tracking studio time and musician hires. Some musical keyboards used compatible storage cards at the time do it was a cheap source for more ram! 👍

[@izaaka70]

The Casio Cassiopia A-11 is very similar to this but has a huge 4mb of ram! It is a quiet interesting machine

[@ExplainingComputers]

Izimujack The Cassiopia A-11, launched about eight years later, was indeed a classic. I will be looking a some similar machines that ran Windows CE in future videos.

[@izaaka70]

Nice to hear, i think im the only 13 year old in existence to personally own one. Looking forward to the next video 👍

[@gcrady]

Izimujack I use the A-11 for a few years. Eventually lost some files, b/c of battery issues, and had to shelf it. Where! it proud resides today :)

[@gietie96]

Very interesting video. I'm looking forward to the next one!

[@PeterSwinkels]

6:51 I used those to connect scanners and printers.

[@AngeloGi]

Whereas this is very interesting to see from the future, I wouldn't trade the practicality of our modern devices! Good thing technology keeps going forward!

[@Kalecimus]

Awesome "Ancient" tech.! :)

[@Edmundostudios]

Interesting machine. I have never used a non GUI PC so it's a massive learning curve.

[@galaxyfit5666]

thank you for this video

[@CAAnmoldeepsingh]

This video kind of make me realize how lucky i am today with all this awesome technology. How it has changed from this dos stuff into today's much more interactive and superfast tech compared to them. I am saying this because in India back then there was huge controversy about use of computer and how it can kill jobs. The computers were hated. Now a 15 year old can get all the technology and turn it upside down and create anything.

[@The_Studioworkshop]

Hi Chris, I realise this is an old video but wanted to say, I have a fully working Toshiba Libretto 50CT. I use it a few times a week (and surprisingly go online with it). It would be fantastic to get your view on such a micro, ultra portable laptop (the size of a VHS cassette!), as someone who types and such on the go - it would be interesting to hear your view on how someone in the mid 90s would have been overjoyed to have a full Pentium PC, in their (very large) pocket! You’re welcome to borrow it - I have two of the darn things!

[@vdveldeitconsultancy7095]

It's fun indeed! Nice and cool now. Retro is hot these days. But what would you do with it in 2022?

[@Matticitt]

Amazing video as always

[@UdoKrawallo]

Interesting! Looks like a spirititual predecessor to the HP LX PDAs.

[@DiversEvent]

Great show.

[@allanbond3673]

Wow, Very interesting

[@deletingsoonbye]

Dude. You got a new subscriber. I love this kinda shit.

[@fgtujhxf85]

Very interesting video!

[@typhlosion212]

wait. where is the part where i hack the Atm

[@xtraflo]

Easy Money ..

[@stevebez2767]

Your obviously under some form of mind arrest,this is that ATM network gateway cvs port fo lio?

[@elektron2kim666]

One of the best for me was the Psion 3. They all came as a Danish version in the early stages. I still have some second hand machines going with funny coding.

[@mike_vahemoubayed8099]

I really want this

[@clemstevenson]

Quaint. How things have clanged; capacities are now so huge that, with the aid of, say, Microsoft Word, or even Open Office Writer, there is now no practical limitation to the size of a document that can be typed. Even a million page document could be saved to a thumb drive, and even backed up to a Blu-Ray disk. No problem.

[@3drain247]

i am DYING a atari portfolio

[@ExplainingComputers]

You may like the video I am posting three hours from now!

[@nos1000100]

it would be cool to see an old commodore like the 64 or the amiga next

[@ExplainingComputers]

Ah, now I have an old Amiga 1200 in the cupboard. A great idea! :) I will find a duster.

[@nos1000100]

+ExplainingComputers awe some. cant wait. i myself have an old commodore 64 that im in the middle of restoring.

[@MarkTuson]

Been thinking for quite a while that I'd like one of these, mostly to put an copy of mbasic onto though to be fair...

[@CarterGonzalez]

John Connor: Please insert your stolen card now.

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@wjackstl]

wow, we have come a long way! I think my next project is to find one of those and gut the inside and install a raspberry pi

[@RobertDeloyd]

I had one many years ago.... I sold it, but still have the manual for it :)

[@ajaykoemar3979]

The MessagePad looks very interesting....

[@jaykay18]

Fantastic! I never knew Atari made something that ran DOS and was moderately IBM-compatible! That unit still has a lot of functionality left. It never grows obsolete, it's just that you have found other things to replace it. Greatest of all is the data transfer to this day; as much as parallel ports are "old school", they are still around and even sell PCI Express cards to add parallel to new systems. The functionality is still there, and still available, rather than being totally abandoned like Apple would do. There may be more kludges to work together to make it work, but it still can. That's a real gem in your collection!

[@ExplainingComputers]

jaykay18 Thanks. When I got this out for the video, I started thinking "I could still use this!" Running on AA cells really helps, as so many old computers have custom batteries that won't charge and cannot be replaced.

[@MarkTheMorose]

Atari did actually make a range of PC-compatible desktop machines. The Portfolio was actually an Atari-badged device, originally made by DIP in Guildford, called the Pocket PC. I owned one for a couple of years, could hardly get anything for it then, now they're valuable!

[@Havanacuba1985]

I bought one of these s/h in summer 92 with some horse racing winnings

[@ExplainingComputers]

Fantastic! :)

[@RWL2012]

lol, the XP machine in the 286 case :-P that's the AMD K6/2 machine you more recently showed running Windows 98, right...? dual-boot or something...? :)

[@ExplainingComputers]

Absolutely right. The same machine. :)

[@woodygar]

Im old enough to remember the ports but had no idea you could transfer files through those leads i always thought it needed floppy disks.

[@willissitt9192]

+ExplainingComputers windows 10 is out officially bug free for free on the 29th july it is free for a year as im already ordered it

[@ExplainingComputers]

Will Issitt We all wait with great anticipation . . .

[@nolalso995]

Still trying to find a good deal on a COMMODORE 64, so I can get my first ever computer back.

[@spacecat3198]

nol also Did you ever get one?

[@05Rudey]

I had one of these in the early 90's, had no idea it was the first palmtop. I initially got it to be a little bit more portable than my Amstrad Alt 386sx, a Laptop so heavy that it broke my back pack shoulder strap while riding my bike once, I manage to catch it before it broke the road. It was a cool little thing but it was just too limited, it was just easier to transfer files via floppy disk from college to laptop and Vice versa, as well as use more modern versions of DOS and programming languages like C, Pascal and a few others I studied at college that were easily available, it was just all better and faster on a proper laptop. The Atari became a great little companion device for in class note taking and a calculator, but after about 6 months, the novelty wore off, a nope pad and a pocket calculator were better. Sorry fans. It didn't put me off ultra mobile devices, as a few years later, I became a big fan of the US Robotics Palm-Pilot, I think I had about 5 of them in a row as well as a few Psion's. Fantastic little devices.

[@Smiles4Kids]

wow nice videos!

[@stevenkennett8694]

My first portable computer was a digital calculator back in 1984. :P

[@Cthulhu1970]

Chris, what have you been doing with the ports on the back of your computer? They're all mangled! :)

[@RussWWFC]

A very interesting video, if you were an avid note taker, this would have been servicable right up until the age of reasonably price smartphones

[@suvetar]

I do wander what your thoughts on Eleectronic neighbourhoods are nowadays Christopher! In fact, I believe that subsets of the internet such as Facebook, KZbin, Imgur etc,etc do now resemble real life 'hoods or perhaps Ghettos? ;)

[@ExplainingComputers]

I agree with you -- we have the online hoods or Ghettos now, but I think spread across platforms, and defined by the views and content individauls gravitate to (and which the platforms therefore serve up to them). So online is making the divides between us stronger, unfortunately.

[@TheCh0senOne]

Really cool device. What type of files did you mostly use back then, except text documents and worksheets?

[@ExplainingComputers]

TheCh0senOne1 I only used text and spreadsheet files on this device. More generally at the time I was using cdr files (Corel Draw!), and bmp images (this was pre jpeg).

[@disorientedstudios2089]

128kb of RAM is so ridiculous compared to current computers...

[@spacecat3198]

Oh my god I want one (or similar). We would never have been able to afford these when I was a kid. Edit: Oi, slow down. I wanna see your notes. :p Edit 2: I know you meant terminator but I thought you said it may be back as in they might do a modern version. It’d be more of a novelty now (and probably be way too expensive) but it’d be fun to make on as if our smart devices never happened. I can’t explain this. I’d actually buy on if I could afford it. Meh, I’m gonna play with my pi today. :-/ I have none of this now. We have an old Acorn Electron in the loft. That’s it.

[@EvertvanIngen]

1:39 1:55 :O Check the screen... I guess one of the capacitors ran out of power :P

[@MarkTuchinsky]

3 Weeks of battery is incredible, but I'm wondering if there was a "DOS paint" on this device?

[@ExplainingComputers]

Mark Tuchinsky 6 weeks battery -- but there was never a paint program, probably because there was no way to control one, aside from the keyboard.

[@johneygd]

Did that ram card had it's own battery builtin or did it used the builtin battery of the portofolio? If that is the case then you cannot pull off the ram card without losing all data.

[@blakesmith4308]

Great machine for its time ;)

[@tjanicsek]

Is it working with Win10? I started this method and just "Waiting for Portfolio". No others.

[@bpgpw]

I hope i can get the same battery life on modern laptop.

[@coryjeffreys5146]

You know if you really think about it. It was not really that long ago.

[@ExplainingComputers]

I know, time is a strange thing.

[@SeñorDossierOficial]

I"ll be back

[@noelfrancisco4333]

Fantastic video Mr. Barnatt! Do you own all of these gadgetry or do you buy them? And if so how did you keep it pristine condition after all these years?

[@noelfrancisco4333]

Keep it in pristine condition*

[@ExplainingComputers]

Noel Francisco I own the Toshiba and Atari and have had them in a cupboard for years. :) The plastic on the Portfolio is sadly deteriorating -- you can see the black marks it leaves on the white surface in many places in the video.

[@ThomasAdr-x]

Hey, do you know how to set a filename to a textfile with this ? I don't understand how to change the default one ... Thanks :)

[@nokia7917]

But can it play Crysis 3??

[@vndosapp]

the eighties

[@samhoward8909]

Where did you get the commands to load onto the XP machine for file transfer?

[@ExplainingComputers]

I had the software for the PC end on a floppy! :)

[@samhoward8909]

@@ExplainingComputers Can you download it off the web? I'd love to own a portfolio one day. Might buy one off eBay. They seem so versatile and ahead of their time.

[@microgamestation]

This reminds me of the OpenPandora.

[@dbranconnier1977]

64kb of storage wasn't very practical even back in 1989. Even the horrible Commodore 1541 disk drive for the C64 could hold a paltry 170kb of data. 360kb or even 512kb should have been the minimal storage capacity for those removable cards.

[@ExplainingComputers]

64kb was fine for working on text files -- I did a lot of writing on this device, and note taking in libraries.

[@Tom2404]

This thing looks like a calculator for hipsters. I like it and might try to buy one.

[@David_JA_Noble]

Thought Commodore 64 sx earlier ... or Tandy 100 , Tandy 102 ... earlier portable

[@ExplainingComputers]

Yes, the Tandy 100. Ah. I only ever got to play with one briefly in a store! Certainly an earlier portable computer, but not a palmtop. The Commorore 64sx was probably around the same time -- but "luggable", as they used to call them! :) So still think, as Atari claimed, that the Portfolio was the first palmtop. But it is nice being reminded of those other machines! :)

[@David_JA_Noble]

I have a Tandy 102 Portable / mint. Runs of AA. Has an internal moden, so you can still get it on to the odd bulletin boards ... If you want to take a look, I can send to you to borrow ... may be worthy of a video . Look me up on Twitter DavidJNoble and I can direct message.

[@ExplainingComputers]

David Noble Thanks for this -- noted! :) I am snowed under right now, but will get in touch when thing clear. May make an interesting video . . .

[@dionkoffie]

What kind of apps could you install on it? games? And was there a little app store where you could download the apps and transfer them to the portfolio? Or was that magic back then? :D

[@ExplainingComputers]

Dion Koffie There were a range of apps, including various comms programs that worked via the parallel interface, or a similar serial one. So, for example, journalists could write in the field and send text in via a public phone (no mobiles back then!) There were also some games. All software had to be purchased on floppy disks and transferred across from a PC as I show in the video. No app stores back then either!

[@dionkoffie]

ExplainingComputers Ah nice. Thanks!

[@LevelUp_ErikJ]

ExplainingComputers What about an app for hacking into ATMs?

[@allreviews983]

Easy Money ...

[@SlowPCGaming1]

Call up Eddie Furlong we're going to use his PalmTop to steal money from ATMs and crack keypad door locks to stop SkyNet from killing us all! Fast forward to Terminator 7...

[@DJPsyq]

The first ultrawide display???

[@lundfilmsnutter3684]

I don't know why, but I need this :|