Mattel Aquarius system overview - my most neglected system?

[@loudscotsbloke]

Excellent video mate! Glad to see that the wee blue key is starting to get some of the limelight she deserves!! Thank you for mentioning my games via Cronosoft. My 3 current games are all available as cassette releases, and my 4th game is imminent!! 😎

[@RetroGamesCollector]

I'm going to order them all and add them to the collection Roy. Thank you for making them and helping to keep the Aquarius alive and kicking into the future. 👍

[@Retromicky82]

Never came across one in the wild only seen them on here . Looks cool

[@RetroGamesCollector]

Not overly common here in the UK to be honest. Hoping to get more use out of it now I have 'rediscovered' it! Thanks for watching mate.

[@TheRetroShed]

Nice work! Would be great to see what it can do mate. :)

[@RetroGamesCollector]

Hoping to get an SD card interface for it (fingers crossed!). When I do, I'll pop another video up of it in action. :)

[@gullpayne]

Wow never heard of this great to see one 😁👍

[@RetroGamesCollector]

It's a great little machine, I'm glad I 'rediscovered' it so to speak. Thanks for watching mate. 👍

[@nacnud_]

That was the computer that got me hooked. You have such a pristine conditioned one. Mine is looking ancient now. And I don't have the box and what not, of course. I have to get it back up and running. Good review. But, come on, please be careful with it! LOL

[@torilath]

Interesting video. I vaguely remember them being available but didnt realize it was for such a short time. Suprised to hear Wolves and Dudley mentioned too (a local lad eh? :) )

[@RetroGamesCollector]

You couldn't tell by the Black Country accent? 😉Dudley born, lived elsewhere for a while, now back in Dudley area. I think the Aquarius holds the record for the shortest lived computer ever.

[@fonzitheman]

These were sold exclusively at Dick Smith Electronics stores at the time here in AUS. I had one, think I was around 13 or 14 at the time. Had a few cartridges (Dungeons and Dragons, Night Stalker, Tron and Snafu) and a few games on cassette, the data recorder and mini expander that had the two controllers. Aslo had a Turtle programming cartridge that came with its own large box and detailed programming books. This was a sep purchase ofcourse. And the thing is, I actually still have all of it! Packed away somewhere in a box. With all original boxes they came in, I think.. Course the cardboxes for all the items are defo well worn and a little crumpled, still, I have them. Note on the mini expander, pretty sure the description on the box also says it adds two sound channels so games running through that sound better than just plugging them in the PC itself, plus you have the controllers ofcourse and I believe cartridge games also had key overlays for the controllers and also overlays for the keyboard with the reason being so you know what keys are for the games and what does what.

[@SellamAbraham]

The Mattel Aquarius was my first computer, and I my first true computer love. So when I say that your comment that the Aquarius is "not a bad system" and "a bit of an under-rated computer" is ridiculous, know that I am saying it with honesty and respect for the platform. It was a computer that would have been current in 1979 in terms of specifications but by 1983 it was an unserious relic. I learned how to program on mine and banged up against its limitations quickly. The keyboard was terrible, the printer did only 40 column and had thermal output, barely useful for grocery lists or things of that sort, and the mass storage was a cassette tape. It didn't have real graphics, and with 4K base memory, you definitely needed the Mini-expander and a 16K memory carthridge to make it minimally useful. Without the promised disk drive or an interface to connect it to more sophisticated printer, it was appropriate that Mattel sold it because it was ultimately a glorified toy. So if anything, it was over-rated. That being said, it's a fun little machine to tinker around with so go for it, just don't have any wild expectations.

[@RetroGamesCollector]

I think perspectives on the capabilities of machines differ massively between the US and the UK though. A lot of us were still using a monochrome 1k machine with a really bad 'touch sensitive' membrane keyboard in 1981 and only had our first taste of colour computing in 1982 with the rubber keyed ZX Spectrum. I speak with a UK-centric accent not a US-centric one. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@SellamAbraham]

@@RetroGamesCollector You make a very good point here. My perspective is based in southern California (Los Angeles) at the time so I probably had access to a lot nicer machines than you folks, but they were still inaccessible to me due to price. But I readily concede that compared to a Sinclair ZX81 and perhaps even a Spectrum ZX, the Aquarius would have been much nicer. Also, as you observe, it is made very well, and in my experience more often than not the computer and components work fine even at this late date. So that might have contributed to the perception of the Aquarius being "under-rated" in your neck of the woods. But as just another example of how out-dated it really was in terms of features, one of the standard programs in its software library is Biorhythms. In 1983. While I remember being interested in biorhythms, that interested waned and then went away along with the rest of the 1970s :) Anyway, a very nice over-view video. Thank you.

[@valentinmagureanu5221]

ACEST COMPUTER AQUARIUS E O RARITATE ACUM ATUNCI ÎN ANUL 1983 ERA CEVA PERFORMANT!☺️🙂👍