The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5)

10 Years of Atari

Recently found and digested this link to internal Atari VAX mail 1983-1993

http://www.textfiles.com/games/ATARIMAIL

A lot of tech stuff, but also a lot of social/co-worker ramblings. I guess things haven't changed much since then:

Employees stealing, leaving mess behind, a brave attempt to offer 0.5p soda cans ending up in $18 short in a few days, social gatherings, farewell notes, bonus issues, management out of touch with reality, etc.

If you've too much time this evening, this could be an amusing foray.

If not,

Miffo
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

The Email with the following header:

From:    KIM::ZIEGLER 21-DEC-1983 11:21
To:    @SYS$MAIL:JUNK
Subj:    And you thought you had a bad day...

Is absolutely hilarious. A real pick me up for a slow morning. . .

Elephant
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

It's in the 1983 bin. . .

Elephant
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

I find this comment in the 1988 grouping hard to believe:

"Rosalind will be responsible for writing the text for all of our technical publications, and she will also be doing some page layout with one of our new Macintoshes."

By 1988 the ST was well entrenched, and I think the MegaST might have come out. The ST also had a serious desktop publishing application from out of Germany, though I can't recall the name right now (though in a weird quirk of memory, I can remember that it started with a c).

Dennis Forbes
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

This is Atari Games, not affiliated with Atari Corporation (Atari-ST). Page design on Macs using well established software sounds feasible to me.

Miffo
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

I didn't realize that there was a differentiation, and figured that the game division was a part of the same organization that created the ST.

Per using the Mac, of course it makes sense if you have no vested interest otherwise, but if you're selling a PC that is making great inroads in desktop publishing, and you're trying to promote it for the same, you generally eat your own dogfood. My memory has finally sifted through the synapse b-tree, and I remember the app was called "Calamus", and was a very competitive publishing app. There was another big one called PageStream at the same time.

Recall that the Atari ST and Mac were virtual twins, with the ST being a hardware superset of the Mac. For this reason you could buy very simple expansion pacs that were little more than the Mac firmware. Ah, those were the days.

Off-topic, but I recently bought a bunch of old Compute! and Compute! Gazette (C64) magazines from ebay from the 83-88 era -- what a magical time in home computers.

Dennis Forbes
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

I noticed the cultural references to Joe Piscopo. I guess he was on top of the world once... ONCE....

Cubist
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Atari, Inc., was split into two unrelated companies in 1983: Atari Corporation (home computers and game systems), and Atari Games (coin-operated arcade games). Atari Games eventually because part of Midway. Atari Corporation went bankrupt, with the name eventually resurfacing but having nothing to do with the old company.

Junkster
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

This is really funny. I started working there near the end of '92 - apparently I just missed the cutoff for getting made fun of! :)

xyz
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

I'm reading the '84 emails, and I find it interesting that issues and attitudes haven't changed much since then.

VP
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

"I am sure by now everyone has noticed a new voice on the paging system
and a new face behind the Main Lobby desk. Please welcome
Frances Montoya.

Frances has taken over Tina's place on a long term temporary basis.
Please take a few minutes to introduce yourself as you pass through the
lobby. It is nice to be able to put a name and face together.

Again, a belated and hardy welcome to FRANCES!"

Sounds like it was a nice place to work in.

TJ Haeser
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Brad Wilson:

I so found that gem of early email humor in those atari musings you have posted on your webpage.

No respect I tell you! No respect ;-)

Elephant
Thursday, March 11, 2004