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Top Document: Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions
Previous Document: 1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?
Next Document: 1.3) What are the some of the performance features of the 8-bit Atari?

1.2) What can I do with an 8-bit Atari?

What can you do with an 8-bit Atari computer system?  Virtually anything you
can do with any other type of computer!

Programming?  Pascal, C, BASIC, Logo, Pilot, Forth, Lisp, 6502 assembler...
Plus powerful unique languages like Action! and QUICK...

Word Processing?  Try AtariWriter, Letter Perfect, Paperclip, TextPro, Bank
Street Writer, 1st EXLent, TurboWord, Cut & Paste, Letter Wizard, Panther,
Superscript...

Database?  Try TurboBase, TurboFile, Synfile, Data Perfect, MicroFiler,
MegaFiler, Homebase, Super Data Base 1-2-3, Small Business System...

Speadsheet?  Look at Syncalc, Visicalc, TurboBase, Calc Magic, Turbo-Calc,
SAM Budget...

Communications?  There's Express!, BobTerm, Kermit-65, Omnicom, VT850,
Chameleon, Ice-T, FlickerTerm 80, Term80...

Graphics?  Print Shop, Newsroom, Blazing Paddles, Video Title Shop, Virtuoso,
Movie Maker, News Station, Publishing Pro, Awardware, Page Designer,
ChromaCAD, Rambrandt...

Music?  Virtuoso, Music Studio, Music Construction Set, Songwriter,
Electronic Drummer, Music Painter, Music Composer, AtariMusic, MIDI-Track,
Digital Music System, Chaos Music Composer...

Alternate Operating Systems?  There's the Diamond Graphic Operating
System; SpartaDOS X, the 64K DOS on a "supercartridge"; the S.A.M. (Screen
Aided Management) 80 column Desktop System; the Ultra Speed Plus OS;
the TurBoss! High Speed O/S...

Hardware?  A plethora of upgrades and add-ons are available, realizing
improvements in speed, memory, sound, graphics, storage media...you name it!

Education?  Colorful graphics, exciting sounds and full-screen editing give
rise to hundreds of quality educational software titles.

Entertainment?  The 8-bit Atari has long been famous for thousands of great
games.

If you want to do something with a computer, chances are you can do it on an
8-bit Atari computer.  While slower than today's PC's, the 8-bit Atari is far
less costly than any of these, is easier to program at the machine level or
alter at the hardware level, and has been documented more thoroughly than any
of the newer computing platforms.  The relative simplicity in design of the
8-bit Atari also means that many people find the systems more reliable than
their modern counterparts.

The software for the 8-bit Atari is sometimes more powerful than on any other
platform.  For example, some Bulliten Board Systems are still run on 8-bit
Ataris specifically because the BBS software available can be better than that
for any other type of computer.  There is a reason for the relative quality of
software on the 8-bit Atari.  People program commercially for the latest PC's
to make money; people program the 8-bit Atari because they want to -- they
enjoy producing good software.  It takes a team of specialized programmers to
develop a major piece of software for those other systems; with the 8-bit
Atari, a single person has the chance to learn the entire system, thereby
developing greater pride in his programming abilities and his final product.
The character of the programmer can shine through.

The 8-bit Atari owner can take pride that his/her computer platform was
developed years before the IBM PC or Apple Macintosh were even on the drawing
boards, but remains as useful today as it was in 1979.

For these reasons and more, the 8-bit Atari remains a popular alternative
in today's home computer marketplace.