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From: steven@cwi.nl (Steven Pemberton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Dallas Atarifest
Message-ID: <7393@boring.cwi.nl>
Date: Mon, 25-May-87 11:31:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: boring.7393
Posted: Mon May 25 11:31:31 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 26-May-87 01:44:52 EDT
References: <8705111650.AA11146@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: steven@cwi.nl (Steven Pemberton)
Distribution: world
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 31

In article <8705111650.AA11146@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> UACE0@UHUPVM1.BITNET writes:
> MEGA ST - end of June.  Only 2 and 4 meg versions.  Will have blitter.
> Blitter upgrade for 520 and 1040 - September
> Laser printer - End of July????  This is up in the air.
> TT and EST - your guess is as good as mine.  (I think they really have to find
>              a market for this stuff.)
> ATARI PC and MS-DOS box - not until 1988, at the earliest.

Having just got back from the 'Personal Computer Magazine' Computer show in
Utrecht (The Netherlands), I was surprised to read this. Can Atari really be
bringing these things out here before the US, or are they using Europe as a
testing ground, in the same way (I believe) that IBM uses Australia?

Anyway, they had both kinds of Mega ST's on display, priced at f.2999 and
f.3999 respectively ($1 = f.2 approximately) (a 1024ST costs f.1999 and a
520ST costs f.1199 for comparison). They had the laser printer present and
running, price f.3000, and the Atari PC for f.1795.

The most impressive thing I saw at the show was the 'Silicon Animation
Machine' made by an English company. This was a small box that plugs into
the cartridge port, and digitizes a video source, such as a camera or a
recorder, and displays it on the ST screen *in real time*! ie 25 or 30
pictures a second. They had it rigged up to a camera at the show, and I was
really impressed.

You could also record frames (122 on a 4Meg machine), and play them back at
different speeds, forwards, reverse, and bounce, and write them in Degas or
Neochrome format. They claim it works with all TV formats. And then all this
for f.899. Amazing.

Steven Pemberton, CWI, Amsterdam; steven@cwi.nl (steven@mcvax.uucp old style)