New to Atari, New to the Forum
Posted: 04 Aug 2025 12:14
I'm (fairly) new to Atari, and I'm new to this forum, but I'm not new to the retro-computing scene. I'm (mostly) a Mac user. Why… Well that's a (short story).
I started (serious) computing using a Newbrain running CP/M, which I used to write essays at school. And if that doesn't date me, nothing will. I progressed to an Amstrad PC1512, an Opus PC V 386DX20 before landing on some Dell 486DX2 nonsense that quickly popped its onboard IDE controller, and had to have it hard disk forevermore connected through an ISA port… which was fast (not).
At Uni, in order to learn 68k assembly language I had a choice. I could use a 68008 development board (yuck - and surprisingly expensive), or drop a few hundred quid on an Amiga, an ST or a second hand Mac. I chose the Mac because it had a built in hard drive - and I was so happy with my decision that I rapidly dropped the PC altogether, at least for anything other than a toy to muck around on. It was the first in a succession that leads up to my current M1 Mac mini, M2 MacBook Air and M3 iPad. Currently, the collection looks like this…
Mac SE (my first Mac), still working, still wonderful.
Mac LCIII (my second Mac), still working, still wonderful.
Mac IIci (bought while I worked at an Apple dealer, a bit flaky on the old video - no idea why, it has been recapped)
Mac LC475 (the first Mac I bought purely to play games on, overclocked to 40Mhz and with a full '040 processor)
Mac PowerBook 100 (working, and a recent acquisition, has network connection through wifi, which feels like magic given its age)
Mac Quadra 650 (I've had it for about 20 years, and I bought it to play with A/UX. Mostly used to play Pro Pinball!)
Mac Blue and White G3 with G4 upgrade (bought whilst I worked at the Apple dealer, with a fat discount. Used as my main Mac for years, and years and years)
Mac G5 dual processor (thought it had died recently - it's fine, but the graphics card is toast!)
Mac Pro dual 3.6 GHz Hexacore with 128Gb RAM (a monster - bought when my wife told me I was earning the money with my business so I could spend what I liked on a computer. So I tested the theory. Do I need that much power? No. Should it consume as much electricity as it does? Probably not, but it makes my office nice and warm on a cold winter day)
Intel MacBook Air x 2, one with a broken screen because I lent to someone who was a bit of a muppet.
Intel iMac
Intel MacMini x 3
M1 Mac mini
M1 MacBook Air
M2 MacBook Air
M3 iPad
Wow. It's embarrassing writing all that. I might have a problem. I have a bunch of other iPads as well! And five PCs. Three running Linux, 1 running Windows 10 (although it's seldom used) and 1 running Windows 11 (almost never used), two ThinkPads (no idea what's on them at the moment), a tonne of Raspberry Pis, a C64, a Speccy (actually a Harlequin 128, but you wouldn't know to look at it other than that it looks suspiciously new), a Beeb and…
an Atari 4160 STE. What!? Why?
Well, ever since I didn't buy an Amiga or an Atari I've been interested in them. And leaving considerations of the OS aside, I prefer the Atari's industrial design. It's a good looking machine. And, from what I understand, the STE is an A500 beater when everything is taken into account - and particularly when you consider all the work that has been put into updating software to take advantage of it's capabilities. So when one came up at the right price, who was I to say 'No'?
But I am an Atari Noob. So, first question, what upgrades do you consider essential (both hardware and software)? Second question, what hard drive solution should I get for it - thinking in particular of ease of set up (and hopefully driverlessness and bootability) for someone who's only prior experience of the ST was an 520STFM that he owned (very briefly) and then sold because he didn't like it - hey - it was a long time ago, and the retro scene wasn't as developed then.
I started (serious) computing using a Newbrain running CP/M, which I used to write essays at school. And if that doesn't date me, nothing will. I progressed to an Amstrad PC1512, an Opus PC V 386DX20 before landing on some Dell 486DX2 nonsense that quickly popped its onboard IDE controller, and had to have it hard disk forevermore connected through an ISA port… which was fast (not).
At Uni, in order to learn 68k assembly language I had a choice. I could use a 68008 development board (yuck - and surprisingly expensive), or drop a few hundred quid on an Amiga, an ST or a second hand Mac. I chose the Mac because it had a built in hard drive - and I was so happy with my decision that I rapidly dropped the PC altogether, at least for anything other than a toy to muck around on. It was the first in a succession that leads up to my current M1 Mac mini, M2 MacBook Air and M3 iPad. Currently, the collection looks like this…
Mac SE (my first Mac), still working, still wonderful.
Mac LCIII (my second Mac), still working, still wonderful.
Mac IIci (bought while I worked at an Apple dealer, a bit flaky on the old video - no idea why, it has been recapped)
Mac LC475 (the first Mac I bought purely to play games on, overclocked to 40Mhz and with a full '040 processor)
Mac PowerBook 100 (working, and a recent acquisition, has network connection through wifi, which feels like magic given its age)
Mac Quadra 650 (I've had it for about 20 years, and I bought it to play with A/UX. Mostly used to play Pro Pinball!)
Mac Blue and White G3 with G4 upgrade (bought whilst I worked at the Apple dealer, with a fat discount. Used as my main Mac for years, and years and years)
Mac G5 dual processor (thought it had died recently - it's fine, but the graphics card is toast!)
Mac Pro dual 3.6 GHz Hexacore with 128Gb RAM (a monster - bought when my wife told me I was earning the money with my business so I could spend what I liked on a computer. So I tested the theory. Do I need that much power? No. Should it consume as much electricity as it does? Probably not, but it makes my office nice and warm on a cold winter day)
Intel MacBook Air x 2, one with a broken screen because I lent to someone who was a bit of a muppet.
Intel iMac
Intel MacMini x 3
M1 Mac mini
M1 MacBook Air
M2 MacBook Air
M3 iPad
Wow. It's embarrassing writing all that. I might have a problem. I have a bunch of other iPads as well! And five PCs. Three running Linux, 1 running Windows 10 (although it's seldom used) and 1 running Windows 11 (almost never used), two ThinkPads (no idea what's on them at the moment), a tonne of Raspberry Pis, a C64, a Speccy (actually a Harlequin 128, but you wouldn't know to look at it other than that it looks suspiciously new), a Beeb and…
an Atari 4160 STE. What!? Why?
Well, ever since I didn't buy an Amiga or an Atari I've been interested in them. And leaving considerations of the OS aside, I prefer the Atari's industrial design. It's a good looking machine. And, from what I understand, the STE is an A500 beater when everything is taken into account - and particularly when you consider all the work that has been put into updating software to take advantage of it's capabilities. So when one came up at the right price, who was I to say 'No'?
But I am an Atari Noob. So, first question, what upgrades do you consider essential (both hardware and software)? Second question, what hard drive solution should I get for it - thinking in particular of ease of set up (and hopefully driverlessness and bootability) for someone who's only prior experience of the ST was an 520STFM that he owned (very briefly) and then sold because he didn't like it - hey - it was a long time ago, and the retro scene wasn't as developed then.