The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 and manufactured until 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79 MHz, roughly twice that of similar designs, and were the first home computers designed with custom co-processor chips. This architecture allowed the Atari designs to offer graphics and sound capabilities that were more advanced than contemporary machines like the Apple II or Commodore PET, and gaming on the platform was a major draw; Star Raiders is widely considered the platform's killer app. Another computer with custom graphics hardware and similar performance would not appear until the Commodore 64 in 1982.
The original Atari 400 and 800 models were released with a series of plug-n-play peripherals that used Atari's "SIO" serial bus system, an early analog of the modern USB. To meet stringent FCC requirements, the early machines were completely enclosed in a solid cast aluminum block, which made them physically robust but expensive to produce. Over the following decade, the original models were replaced by the XL and XE series which had the same basic logical design, but were of much lighter construction and less expensive to build.
"They became proud and defiant
- We are the kings, we are the Gods - they said,
They took beautiful wifes,
They erected temples to the human body,
They built immense towns with precious marbles and adored them.
...So the third eye stopped seeing...
The first massive waters came
And swallowed the seven big islands.
A few remained, some yellow, some brown,
Some red remained,
The moon-like coloured ones
Had disappeared for ever."
[extract from M. Blavatsky's"The Book of Dzyan"]
Tide, distance,.. sailing, where?
Fading, raising, flying, submerging