Atari ST Book - The 1991 laptop with 10 hour battery life

Date:
Sat, 21 May 2022 04:02:20 GMT

Description:
68000 CPU (like the Mac and Amiga) and 4 MB of RAM. All powered by AA batteries. (Seriously.)

FULL STORY ======================================================================So many reasons to subscribe . So, so many. Get 76% off for 1 year

During the 1980s and 1990s, I was never an Atari Guy (at least as far as computers go). At home, I had a 286 PC and, at school, my days were filled with Apple II clones and 68k Macintoshes.

But, as years have gone on, I have found myself increasingly drawn to the Atari line of computers. Both the early 8-bit Atari systems and, even more so, the Atari STs. I find those GEM powered beauties oddly fascinating and compelling.

Lately, Ive been enamored with the Atari ST Book a 1991 laptop that boasted 10 hour battery life, running on a set of AA batteries . The front cover of the Atari ST Book brochure.

A beauty, right?

Sure, the screen is monochrome (with a resolution of 640400) and passive (which means theres a little bit of ghosting when things are moving around on screen) which is certainly less than ideal from todays standards. But it
has so much else going for it.

Besides the whole 10 Hour battery life in a 1991 laptop thing which is awesome the specs are, overall, pretty fantastic for the time:

68000 CPU at 8MHz

Up to 4 MB of RAM

Full size keyboard

16 bit Blitter Coprocessor

An internal hard drive (stock up to 120 MB)

And ports for connecting all the peripherals you can dream of

Theres no built-in floppy drive. Which means youll need some extra accessories to get data and software on and off of the ST Book. This is one of the concessions the team at Atari made in order to get the size and weight down. The 1991 Atari ST Book brochure makes me so happy.

Theres also no external video port. Which is somewhat of a bummer (as it would be cool to plug in a nice monitor to get color and faster refresh rates when not on the go).

Despite the drawbacks, this machine really calls to me.

The keyboard, the battery life, the overall aesthetic. All are something special. But, perhaps what intrigues me most of all is that this represents the path not taken in the computer industry.

Despite the relative success of the Atari ST line, this would be the last laptop computer. Likewise, the desktop Atari ST line would end with the 1993 discontinuation of the Atari Falcon (another fantastic machine).

What would these computers have evolved into had they survived past 1993? Well never know, for sure. But we can still go back and enjoy them for what they were: Unique, powerful, and fun computers of the late 80s and early 90s with a heck of a lot going for them.

Now if only I could find one in good condition that didnt cost an arm and a leg Linux Sucks 2022 is now available as a perk for all Lunduke Journal subscribers ! Get your subscription, watch the show, and enjoy . Get 76% off for 1 year







======================================================================
Link to news story: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/atari-st-book-the-1991-laptop-with


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)