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From: mrose@ic.sunysb.edu (Michael Rose)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: What is the All-Time Best-Selling Computer ?
Summary: The 2600 VCS is a computer!
Message-ID: <8640@sbcs.sunysb.edu>
Date: 5 May 90 04:12:54 GMT
References: <1455@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> <29462@cup.portal.com> <17782@well.sf.ca.us> <2426@uniol.UUCP>
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In article <2426@uniol.UUCP> gehlhaar@uniol.UUCP (Arne Gehlhaar) writes:
>oster@well.sf.ca.us (David Phillip Oster) writes:
>
>>In article <29462@cup.portal.com> Justin_Randall_Padawer@cup.portal.com writes:
>>>The Commodore 64 is the correct answer by far!  Hard to believe, huh?
>
>>Not only is this hard to believe, it is also wrong. The C64 has only sold 
>>about 9 million units. The Atari VCS has sold over 17 million units.
>>The VCS was intended for video games, and had only 128 bytes of on-board
                                            ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^
>>RAM (yes, that is bytes, not Kbytes.), Yet plug in cartridges enhanced its
  ^^^
  I thought the 2600 had 4k of RAM?
  
>>capabilities. A version of chess was even shipped for it.
>
>I doubt though, that the VCS can be counted as a "real" computer, its only
>device of input being a joystick !  :)   I think a computer should at least
 ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^
>have a keyboard, but then again, that's a problem of how you define the
        ^^^^^^^^
>term computer.
>
>Greetings, Arne

But what about those Keypad controllers?  They were a type of keyboard.
You could even write BASIC programs on the 2600 with Atari's BASIC
Programming Cartridge.  As I recall, weren't there Keyboards and
EPROM Burners available, or at least hacks, for the 2600 to program
games in assembly?

Take care!

Michael R. Rose