Jack Tramiel vs. IBM - The Atari PC Story

[@RetrogradeScene]

That vent hole for the power supply is a classic Atari nice touch. I love things like that. Well done on getting your hands on one a very interesting machine!!

[@cloakedalien]

Dad got me this machine in 1994, my first ever PC. EGA amber screen and all! Mine actually came with a 720kb 3.5" drive that was the same style as the Atari ST ones. If memory serves me right these supported external Atari ST floppy drives as well, and the mouse was an ST mouse that required a specific driver. The amber screen I carried with me to my 286 on which I hosted a BBS. Imagine designing BBS "graphcis" on an EGA amber screen, people had concerns over my color choices 🤣

[@PixelPipes]

That's a pretty cool machine! This is definitely an era of Atari that I don't think has been explored very much here on YT, so it will be interesting to see more about it. Also the compact PC1 looks like it would be a fun machine for modding and doing custom upgrades on.

[@dave4shmups]

Great video on this old Atari computer! I’m definitely looking forward to part 2 of this series!

[@vwestlife]

I've always wanted an Atari PC clone, especially the little PC1, but it was never sold here in the U.S., and I don't think the larger models were sold here either, at least not in any great numbers. Commodore's PC clones didn't sell that well here either, because they couldn't compete with the flood of generic Taiwanese clones.

[@BAZFANSHOTHITSClassicTunes]

I really wanted an Atari TT, but settled for the 520STe. I then looked at the Falcon and ended up with the Amiga1200.

[@mxbunnycatter]

We used to have a pc3 at home, when I was just a small bunnycatter. With the AT style keyboard, a 720k fdd, and ibm fdo, dos 3.30, and gem desktop hidden away in the menu... I honestly kind of miss that machine at times, because it was only later that I realize how many memories were tied to it..

[@madcommodore]

Don't know about the rest of the world but in the EU the Amstrad PC1512 had the more powerful 8086 vs the 8088 of the Atari PC1 and cost a little bit less so sales were slow.

[@retrohaxblog]

Excellent video and the story it carries! Top-notch work Rees!

[@ctrlaltrees]

Thanks, that's very kind of you. It was a lot of fun to put together. 🙂

[@RichRap3D]

Very nice machine and a great video Rees, looking forward to part 2 and the software / games.

[@ctrlaltrees]

Thanks Richard, I'm already having a lot of fun checking them all out!

[@bobbus_74]

That's an interesting machine indeed. Looking forward to seeing more of it running.

[@datassetteuser356]

One of the best parts here is the amber screen ❤! I love these monitors! Great video, these PC era machines don't get much attention, the same with the Commodore ones. Also: funny how Commodore and Atari wound up competing again in another field - that being cheap IBM compatible PCs -, only this time around, noone really cared nearly as much as with ST and Amiga.

[@techdistractions]

many great memories of an amber screen for me too :)

[@ctrlaltrees]

The amber screen is really lovely, I'm already enjoying getting lots of footage of it in action for part 2!

[@techdistractions]

@@ctrlaltrees awesome, looking forward to seeing it :)

[@mcborge1]

This was my first PC back in the day.

[@tellyjoossens4186]

Nice to see an Atari PC3 (also got a working Atari PC4LC in my collection so basically the same case but the LC model is extremly rare comparded to the "normal" PC4). I have the PC3 since new in 1989. Still working but I disconnected the psu a few years back and installed a mini fanless PSU, sedoldered the cpu and replaced it with a socketed V20, installed another crystal (28 Mhz, a 30 Mhz one will go to but you will lose the serial port since the controller will panic), installed a WDC Svga card (16 bit but seems to work fine in an 8-bit slot), replaced the MFM drive with a XT2CF card, installed an UMB card to free up conventional memory and installed a sound card from Opti (also 16bit but when you choose simple SB in games it will work, even the OPL chip does it's thing). Nice and quiet. The only thing I'm missing is a PC5 (which wasn't really made by Atari at that time but just some rebranded stuff).

[@armorgeddon]

I also have a PC3, which my uncle bought new in 1988. Could you please let me know the brand & model of the fanless PSU you mentioned?

[@kryan]

You're right, there's some very nice touches to the machine. Positioning of the LED activity, vent design, motherboard layout. It would be interesting to know how reliable it was (user perspective) compared to IBMs at the time.

[@RetroSegaDev]

I've never been down the Atari PC rabbit hole so this video was a real treat! Thanks Rees :)

[@sonic2000gr]

I've had a chance to work with the PC1 a couple of times, it was used as a lab machine back in the day. It did look vastly inferior to my 1040 STE. I never understood why Atari would want to create underpowered PCs instead of pushing through with their 68K models. In the end it would be very difficult to compete with the hundreds of IBM clones out there when you had to create a virtually identical machine. Esp when the PC1 had a nice compact look - but could not be expanded, and the rest could be expanded.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

2:45 ∗Chuckle∗ But here’s something Microsoft clearly believes, even today: “26 drive letters ought to be enough for anybody”.

[@winstonsmith478]

Tramiel saved Atari and then ran it into the ground. As has been detailed elsewhere, his attempt to destroy TI's (crappy) entry into the personal computer market ended up destroying Atari. If he'd not done that and just listened to his ST series users (like me) for suggested improvements, Atari would have lasted longer although all PC architectures other than x86 PCs and Apple PCs were doomed to fail as the graphics and sound capabilities of those far more numerous machines improved. My first x86 PC was an open box Commodore PC20 III with its associated color monitor, both in like-new condition, bought for a mere $300 at the USAF BX at RAF Lakenheath.

[@10MARC]

You are thinking of the C64 going after the TI, not the Atari. Texas Instruments had gotten out of the market by the time he bought Atari

[@winstonsmith478]

@@10MARC You are correct. He ran Atari into the ground by not listening to ST owners just as he didn't listen to Commodore users.

[@michaelblair5566]

I never had an Atari computer. I of course had a 2600, like everyone did in the late 1970's... For computers I was a Commodore guy, with a VIC 20, then a 64, then a 128. Until my first PC in 1990 which was a 286 AT clone with VGA.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

8:11 Another name for RLL was “GCR”, or “Group Code Recording”. This was used on Apple’s floppy drives, right back to the Apple II days.

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

That's very interesting Mr Rees!

[@ctrlaltrees]

Thankyou Mr Snorks!

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

6:53 “5160” was the IBM model number for the PC XT. Coincidence?

[@joetheman74]

In the US the same year of this computer you could have bought a Tandy 1000 SL. Same 8mhz but also including Tandy graphics and sound. 3 voice sound and the SL introduced a DAC that allowed for digital audio recording and sampling, editing of digital audio and playback. Using digital audio samples as instruments in music creation and the largest collection of compatible games for that time period. Tandy graphics and sound became somewhat of a standard for the time period with most games having a setting for it. While not EGA it still had 16 color. Plus they came with a mouse and a GUI and DOS built into rom for fast booting of the OS.

[@blackterminal]

But it would not have been an Atari.

[@galier2]

Nice. Interesting to see the innards of these PC's.

[@tradinglive]

I have the same PC3+monitor setup.. but my HD is found on an ISA card... so there are 2x5.25 floppy drives... along with an Adlib clone sound card, and a game controller... the 4.7/8MHZ CPU makes the machine capable of playing 1982-1988 games... newer games are very slow... but in any case, I love the design and the manufacturing quality of this Atari computer

[@dant5464]

I woke up a bit groggy, saw the title of this video in my phone's notifications and immediately thought "zombie Tramiel".

[@ctrlaltrees]

Remember Tramiel? He's back... In POG form!

[@robf228]

So much fun!

[@bazza5699]

love that amber display, very interesting video, i had no idea atari made pcs

[@ctrlaltrees]

It's such a lovely display. It's interesting that this whole chapter of Atari history gets overlooked, if I were them I'd have really pushed hard to get into the PC market at the time.

[@Endzs768]

well you've totally stumped me on who the "celebrity guest in this one" is as certainly not a voice I've ever heard. but anyway, i'm gonna go draw some farts in mspaint while i uncover this mystery 🤪 pretty cool system tho as i knew very little about the atari pc clones before. props to gary

[@ctrlaltrees]

Greetings!

[@linuxpyle]

Cannot thank you enough for this video, Ihad no idea any of these machines were ever produced and what a cool machine it was!!!!

[@blackterminal]

Thanks for the video.

[@aegisofhonor]

years and years ago I saw an Atari PC5 back maybe 1992 or so. It was quite weird at the time to see an Atari PC running Windows 3 but there it was.

[@mgabrysSF]

The fact I'm watching this on a 2020 Atari VCS feels right.

[@ctrlaltrees]

Atari will never - it will just endlessly regenerate. Like Dr. Who. 😁

[@mgabrysSF]

@@ctrlaltrees (after collecting all the parts for a 'desktop' SteamDeck on ... deck this next month or so (I need to make it dual-boot for Windows legacy software) - The Atari VCS has done a great job for over 3 years testing Proton Steam Emulation with Ubuntu and getting me off the Mac. It'll still find a niche slot with the classic controller that can (with integrated paddle controls) play Atari 50 properly. It's even been administrating a minecraft server. It's a nice little mini computer for the price (if you adopted it early at 300 bux) that runs 3X or faster than the aging Mac Mini that it replaced (for a third the price of a new one - that can't even use intel software or dual-boot to windows since the switch to the M-processors). The VCS is still my chill platform to surf and stream on my 2560x1080p widescreen. And considering my first (personally purchased) computer was a 1200XL (Best keyboard ever next to my ... NeXT workstation (040 slab) which is now a shelf piece) it's still nice to see a backlit FUJI logo pushing data. Even if it goes into the one-hit-wonder CPU legacy-file, it was (and still is) a nice little box for the price. Best ever or game-changer? Nah - but I like it all the same, and it fits the bill. *nitpicking - I've heard the losses for Atari either for 83 (or possibly combined) with early 84 was closer to 800m. That figure stuck in my head when I read it in the financial news pubs of the day. Another fun but not often known fact, before Atari contracted with the NM disposal group in their spinning down of the TX plants, cart surplus would find their way under the concrete slabs of Atari's buildings in Silicon Valley. That info was provided by Atari's former employees at one of the convention symposiums they often appear at in Northern CA. So if you have an office space that was a former Warner-Atari era office - you may want to attempt a ground sonar and get a jackhammer.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

14:33 “INTERRETER” ... was that an original label?

[@ctrlaltrees]

It looks original but it's hard to tell. It wouldn't surprise me with Atari involved!

[@mgabrysSF]

Have you tried solarbrite-ing the plastics? Here in AZ - it doesn't take long for the Sun's UV to remove the tanning (in fact, it's pretty easy to 'overbrite' - so caution is required there). Much better than all the silly chemical baths and boiling others have tried (and far easier).

[@joebadger]

This is a great vid. Right up there with the 8bit guy in quality and content IMO

[@ctrlaltrees]

Thanks so much, that's very kind of you to say. 🙂

[@Oldsukerbole]

Cool pcb looks like a mega ST.

[@ctrlaltrees]

It does!

[@Simon-ui6db]

Amazed Jack sounds alot like LGR. Spoooky lol.

[@ctrlaltrees]

He was muttering something about farts just before I hit record. Nice guy if a little odd. 😉

[@CFalcon030]

The external drive is just like the xf-551 drive for the xe series.

[@loganjorgensen]

Good to hear about those early days, I think I let the later day Atari Tramiel period taint my view of the man Ie. Jaguar days, but getting any company out of debt is always a massive feat. 😲I think his total disregard of the game console market irked me as a fan of Atari's roots.😐 I think if I had an ST bitd I'd still be a fan of it but in NA my PC introduction was all DOS while reading about Amiga gaming in magazines only. Seems like so many companies ended up doing the IBM transition model line of computers heh.

[@waltciii3]

I'm not a Jack Tramiel guy by any means, but it was an interesting PC. They never had the money to compete with the big boys.

[@ronch550]

Atari designed the motherboard and chipset. Wow. Atari is nowhere that prestigious these days anymore, having to rely on nostalgia to stay alive. Wishing them the best, I hope they can make a huge comeback.

[@DTM-Books]

To be fair, it's not the same Atari. We are currently on the 5th or 6th version of Atari, after the JTS merger, then sale to Hasbro, then Infogrames, then the current owners who have been very busy lately.

[@doctorsocrates4413]

I think commodore would of lasted a lot longer under jacks leadership as he had a far superior commercial philosophy and was a very shrewd businessman...RIP jack.

[@Sozzled39]

That was really interesting! Thanks Rees. But...can it play Doom?

[@tellyjoossens4186]

Lol no doom, but one time I found a recompiled version of Wolfenstein3D which will run on this (if you play it on a very small window and install a vga adapter that is)

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

And he got free factories in Germany. Not hard to make a profit with that.

[@AtariLegend]

Can you elaborate?

[@obvioustruth]

His true name is Jacek Trzmiel.