LGR - The Atari Portfolio
Added 2021-10-26 21:02:41 +0000 UTCFinally got this one finished! Been working on this off and on for over a month and it's nice to see it come together. So yeah, at long last it's Atari Portfolio time.
And what a nifty little device it is, particularly for 1989. Arguably the first palmtop PC, with an Intel 80C88A processor inside running at 4.92MHz, 128 whole kilobytes of RAM, and a proper DOS operating system capable of running (some) PC software alongside its built-in applications. And if you ask young John Connor, it even acts as a quick ATM hacking tool in a pinch.
I've got all kinds of palmtops and subnotebooks I'd like to cover someday, but the Portfolio is one I've always wanted to start with since it really kicked off that whole tiny realm of personal computing back in the day. Hope y'all enjoy the retrospective!
Comments
That sounds perfect, actually. I have some old netbooks but the temptation is to use something modern. I'd like to just have something basic that forces me to focus. Thanks!
CubicleNate
2021-11-04 10:57:31 +0000 UTCSomething like the Toshiba Libretto-series machines would be well suited to that task! Nice little keyboard, runs Linux if you want, and it'll support wifi via a compatible PCMCIA adapter. Love using my 50CT.
LGR
2021-11-04 05:16:22 +0000 UTCFor what it's worth. I think this would still be fun to use today. Assuming the keyboard would be adequate enough for touch typing, this would be a nice, go-out-into-the-world, machine for writing. Also, perhaps, if it ran a version of Linux/Unix, I could do a lot in the terminal with it but probably NOT all that practical without some sort of wifi.
CubicleNate
2021-10-29 12:29:32 +0000 UTCAbsolutely! I've got two really fun Windows CE machines lined up to cover, hopefully next year.
LGR
2021-10-28 17:29:57 +0000 UTCAppreciate it, Ryan! This really was a fun one :)
LGR
2021-10-28 17:29:23 +0000 UTCLoved this! The whole idea of the handheld computer, stuff like this all the way up to the Palms of the early 2000s is just so cool to me. Do you think that someday you'll cover something from that weird PDA/computer hybrid era, running something like Windows CE? That'd be really neat to see!
AtomicPurple64
2021-10-28 15:41:23 +0000 UTCGreat work as always: alliteration, puns, nostalgia and dense information!
Ryan Helinski
2021-10-28 04:03:37 +0000 UTCIt's the same type of card developed by Hudson, yes! Though it was Mitsubishi that manufactured the cards, to my knowledge.
LGR
2021-10-27 22:30:37 +0000 UTCWait, "Bee Cards"? Did Hudson Soft make these?! =P (Hudson did make a ROM card video game thing for the MSX called the "BeeCard" that can be seen as the precursor to the TurboGrafx-16 HuCards, but this is clearly something completely different)
Pietro Gagliardi
2021-10-27 20:57:31 +0000 UTCNever occurred to me either back then either! Too bad they didn't linger on the Atari logo a bit longer in the film to make it more apparent
LGR
2021-10-27 17:06:13 +0000 UTCHeh. Now taking bets on how long it takes for commenters to make an "Edward Furlong probably needs the cash" joke. For real though, I wonder what happened to the prop Portfolio!
LGR
2021-10-27 17:03:54 +0000 UTCIndeed, this would've been supremely cool thirty years ago! And to think only six or seven years prior to this, getting the same capabilities meant spending thousands of dollars on a machine that weighed 50 times as much
LGR
2021-10-27 16:56:26 +0000 UTCThanks, Rob! I'm positive there's a ton of great stuff I missed too, the number of community software and hardware add-ons is vast
LGR
2021-10-27 16:53:29 +0000 UTCNice, that's really all ya need for a good time
LGR
2021-10-27 16:50:10 +0000 UTCIndeed, big thanks to Brent for loaning me all the extra goodies!
LGR
2021-10-27 16:49:17 +0000 UTC♪ I've got your number, I need to make you mine ♫
LGR
2021-10-27 16:48:59 +0000 UTCOh that's awesome, I'm glad to hear that! Tell him hi for me :)
LGR
2021-10-27 16:48:08 +0000 UTCRight? Perhaps this video will spark some interest in such a thing
LGR
2021-10-27 16:47:52 +0000 UTCHaha, I kinda love that about convention centers and conference locales. Same with so many government buildings, it's like stepping back in time.
LGR
2021-10-27 16:47:15 +0000 UTCComputers in your pocket, such a silly concept
LGR
2021-10-27 16:44:20 +0000 UTCGood question, and one that I haven't found an answer to!
LGR
2021-10-27 16:42:25 +0000 UTCHeh, yeah I wouldn't wanna push my luck
LGR
2021-10-27 16:41:36 +0000 UTCI hope John Connor held on to that Portfolio to flip it on eBay after your video releases 😅
Thomas Fuchs
2021-10-27 16:41:16 +0000 UTCWhen watching T2 back then it didn't even occur to me that this device was a thing that existed in real life. I thought it was something John had whipped up on his own. Then again, my knowledge on computer things back then was minimal.
Pablo Rodriguez
2021-10-27 15:10:00 +0000 UTCWould you be arrested it you tried plugging it into an ATM and running T2 software. You know, just for testing purposes?
Milos Jovanovic
2021-10-27 14:57:59 +0000 UTCI wonder why the screen has "blank" rows at the top and bottom? It seems like they could have fit 25% more text on there. I wonder if that's a limitation of the LCD or the computer itself?
Steve Lovelace
2021-10-27 14:49:36 +0000 UTCI was really surprised about the Psion connection. I had a series 3 and series 5 but didn't realise the Atari was related to these through the ex-employees. It's a shame that DIP Research is no longer with us but who wants to walk around all the time with a small computer in their pocket?
Richard Bevan
2021-10-27 10:22:20 +0000 UTCI had to pause the video when you mentioned the Birmingham NEC. One of the most antiquated buildings still not super refurbished in Birmingham. You could hold another 1989 computer show and it wouldn't look too out of place. OK, it may a little if the furry con was on next door.
Novel
2021-10-27 07:39:08 +0000 UTCFor as popular as the device is I find it really hard to believe that there isn't a Doom port for the Portfolio hahaha. Maybe someday? 😅
DFawlt Uzr
2021-10-27 02:21:05 +0000 UTCHey Clint, I actually know Brian Flores from Cognetic who you mentioned in the July unboxing. I just showed him the video and he loved it! His words “Wow!! That review was incredible! He actually did things I had no idea it could do. Lol” For what it’s worth he’s got boxes of them he’s working of fixing and plans on posting them up soon! Great job as always dude!
Derek Brotherton
2021-10-27 00:45:45 +0000 UTCJenny....
Andrew Carey
2021-10-27 00:23:51 +0000 UTCImpressive amount of peripherals you got there 😀 Cool device!
Uncleawesome
2021-10-26 23:19:03 +0000 UTCI have one of these myself. Including the oficial memory card and parallel port expansion.
Deckard Games
2021-10-26 21:44:02 +0000 UTCWhat a great watch - I think all of us who caught T2 at that time were kinda in awe at the thing, and being able to see how just varied the library (especially from the user community's contributions) is rather neat. Really learned a lot about a killer device with this one!
Rob Caporetto
2021-10-26 21:40:53 +0000 UTCwild stuff, cant believe all of the peripherals you could get with it crazy for those times!
John Piscopo
2021-10-26 21:40:05 +0000 UTC
