niceandgames's video: Some thoughts on Jack Tramiel and the Atari ST

I'm a poor extemporaneous speaker, but I decided to make this video anyway on the passing of Jack Tramiel at age 83. There are many different opinions on the man and his career, but what I remember him for the most is turning around Atari and making them an exciting and relevant company, at least for a few years. I was an Atari kid, we had an 800XL, so when the ST came out, I thought it was just incredible! One of Atari's slogans during that time was "power without the price" and that is exactly what you got with the ST. It was at least as capable as a Macintosh, but at a much lower price. Back then I always wondered why anyone would even choose a Mac over an ST! I was a little biased, though. :) One of the ST's biggest impacts was in the music industry, especially in Europe where the ST was more popular. It's built-in MIDI ports, rock solid timing, and relatively low cost made it a hit with musicians. There were tons of music applications for it, and for a while it seemed to be as prominent as the Mac in that arena, or at least it seemed that way to me. Programs like Cubase got their start on the ST. That era of computers was incredibly exciting, and a huge figure in the industry was Jack Tramiel. While I am more of an Atari guy, who can deny the incredible success and influence of the Commodore 64? At any rate, my condolences to his family and friends, and my thanks to him for providing such great computers and great prices and for helping shape and create an industry we all get so much from today!