*=*=*=*=*=¢ PREVIEW OF THE NEWEST ATARI MODEL¢ By Scott Anderson¢ (Reprinted from MILE HIGH ATARI and¢ THE RAM GAZETTE via MACE, and¢ rprinted by OL' HACKERS AUG, NY, with¢ THANKS!)¢¢ At first it was just rumors. ¢ I'm sure you've heard some of them. ¢ Mergers and/or joint ventures. Atari¢ and AT&T. Atari and Teledyne. Atari¢ and whomever. But this one is¢ confirmed. I saw the proof at last¢ month's outdoors exposition. Atari¢ is involved in a joint venture with¢ Coleman Western, the outdoor products¢ giant. The offspring of this¢ marriage is the Coleman Camp¢ Computer, hereafter known as the¢ CCC.¢ It was on display in one corner¢ of the Coleman booth at the outdoor¢ show, with an Atari rep. in¢ attendence to demo the machine. It¢ is quite the machine. Its most¢ impressive feature is its ability to¢ function without a power supply; the¢ CCC uses white gas (Coleman fuel)¢ like so many other Coleman¢ appliances. After filling the tank¢ with fuel & pressurizing the system¢ by hand pumping, you start up by¢ firing the pilot/burner. The gas¢ flame heats a sealed fluid system¢ which powers a micro turbine¢ generator. This in conjunction with¢ a regulator provides all the voltages¢ you need to power the CCC and all of¢ its peripherals.¢ The CCC is a 128k machine that¢ utilizes the 6502 processor. It has¢ a new O.S. that is completely¢ compatible with all ATARI and third¢ party software. Two built-in¢ languages are switched on or off via¢ a three way rocker switch, they are¢ BASIC (of course) and ACTION!. ATARI¢ apparently had a large quantity of¢ 400 keyboards that they decided to¢ use up on the CCC. While being a¢ pain to type on, the use of the¢ membrane keyboard is understandable¢ on a product that can be left out in¢ the rain.¢ Yes, CCC is completely¢ weatherproof. Rubber doors cover the¢ 4 joystick ports, the I/O port, the¢ serial/expansion bus, and the built-¢ in disk drive and modem. The disk¢ drive is a half height 5 1/4" that¢ uses single or enhanced density. The¢ modem is something completely¢ different. It is said to be almost¢ Hayes compatible, the exception being¢ that it can't answer. This is¢ understandable, you have no phone¢ number. At the end of the 25 foot¢ modem cable is a special induction¢ device that you merely clamp over any¢ phone cable. No pins, no plugs, no¢ muss, no fuss. The device can only¢ originate calls, but it can do it¢ anywhere there is a telephone line,¢ be it the backwoods or your backyard.¢ All this and 1200 Baud too.¢ When you lift the cover on the¢ CCC you'll see the best feature of¢ all. The 9" Hi-Res LCD color monitor¢ has a true 80 column screen that is¢ compatable with most available¢ software. If not a rubber toggle¢ switch will get you back to 40 column¢ at any time. In either modem the¢ characters are sharp and easy to¢ read. All this and only 14.4 lbs. ¢ But if that seems too heavy for you¢ backpackers, the fuel¢ tank/pump/burner/stand assembly can¢ be detached. The remaining unit, at¢ 8.3 lbs, can be used at any campsite¢ simply by setting it on the¢ campfire.¢ Included in the $450 price are¢ three new pieces of software. The¢ first, "Camp-Calc", is a wilderness¢ management program. The¢ second,"Camp-Talk", synthesizes bird¢ and animals calls. The third is a¢ graphics masterpiece. It is a¢ Conestoga wagon simulator called¢ "Yeass". No more boring evenings¢ around the campfire.¢¢ (Although this article is coming out¢ in MARCH/APRIL issue sent out in¢ MARCH, the article was very fitting¢ for the April's fool issue, but I¢ couldn't wait till next issue, cause¢ this kind of humor befits ATARI to a¢ TEE anytime. Hope you all enjoyed it.¢ -Ed.)¢ 0o0 End 0o0¢¢