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Atari Conference featuring Sam Tramiel, August 12 1992

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· 3 years ago

(C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation.

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THE FALCON 030 / ATARI CORPORATION REALTIME CONFERENCE
FEATURING SAM TRAMIEL, PRESIDENT OF ATARI CORPORATION
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1992

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all of you to the Atari Corporation RealTime Conference featuring Sam Tramiel , president of Atari.

Before getting started, some business about how an RTC works.

While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest when I let you talk.

To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand. Just enter this from your keyboard: /rai

I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient.
I -WILL- let you know when your turn is coming up.

Some other RTC commands are:

 ?     -  Lists all RTC commands. 
 /sta  -  Status (list) of everyone in 
          the RTC room. 
 /exi  -  Exit the RTC, but you remain 
          logged onto GEnie. 
 /bye -   Log off of GEnie directly from 
          the RTC. 
 /rai  -  Raise your hand. Lets me know 
          you wish to address our guest.

With that out of the way, let us proceed.

Later this month, Atari will be unveiling the Falcon 030 to the world at the Atari Messe in Duesseldorf Germany. The Falcon has generated a lot of speculation and rumors over its features and abilities, as well as hopes for the future of Atari in the computer industry.

Tonight we get a sneak preview of the Falcon. Before the crowds at Atari Messe get to ogle the Falcon, Sam Tramiel will give us a guided tour and answer our questions.

I know that many of you will have questions you'll wish to ask Sam, so I'll try to get to as many of you as I can. When it is your turn, you'll get to ask only one question during that turn. But you can have as many turns as time allows. After you ask your question, /RAI your hand again to be put back in line.

The purpose of this Realtime Conference is to get out factual information about the Falcon. Anything else that Sam is prepared to share with us will be icing on the cake. Please understand if Sam cannot answer specific questions about things like marketing, future products, and other non-Falcon related questions at this time.

Sam, thank you for being with us this evening. I understand you have some prepared text to upload to us about the Falcon. You may begin the upload at your convenience.

<STRAMIEL> Good evening, all. I'm very pleased to be here on our official online service, GEnie once again. We're excited to be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Atari Corporation this year. We're especially excited because this is a time that we can introduce another milestone product to the world.

I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize some people that have been close allies of Atari Corporation. The entire staff of the Atari RTs on GEnie, under the leadership of Darlah Potechin have been providing stellar support to our customers for a number of years now. I'm grateful for the support of Darlah, Sandy Wilson, Jeff Williams and the rest of the GEnie RT staff in supporting our mutual customers. We've just signed a new agreement with GEnie, that will ensure the continuation of GEnie being our online home.

In addition, I'm pleased to welcome the new publishers of Atari Explorer Magazine, Mike Lindsay to Sunnyvale as well. As most of you know, we've brought Explorer in to our corporate headquarters. John Jainschigg has moved on to other challenges, and Mike Lindsay and Darren Meer are now at the helm of Atari Explorer. Our online magazine, Atari Explorer Online, is under the able leadership of Ron Kovacs. Ron is best known for his years of experience as the publisher of Z*Net Online Magazine.

Tonight, we're pleased to be able to finally announce the Atari Falcon 030 Computer. This computer will be unveiled to the buying public at the Duesseldorf Atari Messe in Germany next week. The Falcon is a machine that we're very excited about. We think that it places us back in the forefront of the "Power without the Price" place in the market.

Here's the specs on the Atari Falcon 030:

CPU:

Motorola 68030 running at 16 MHz
32-bit Bus
Optional 68881 or 68882 FPU

RAM:

1, 4, or 14 megs

Standard Atari Cartridge Port
Motorola 56001 DSP chip
Expansion Bus:
- Internal direct processor slot for 386SX PC emulation, or other coprocessor
Graphics:

Super VGA graphics: 640x480 with 256 colors
True color 16 bit mode allowing a display of up to 65,536 colors
Accepts external video sync signal to allow high quality genlocking
Overlay mode for easy video titling and special effects
Overscan on TV's and ST Color monitors
262,144 possible colors
hardware-assisted horizontal fine scrolling
BLiTTER graphics co-processor

Sound features:

Eight 16 bit audio DMA record and playback channels
Stereo 16 bit digital DMA input
Stereo 16 bit DMA audio output
SDMA sound/DMA Coprocessor

Standard Ports:

SCSI II port with DMA
High speed LocalTalk compatible LAN
Connector for analog RGB color (ST or VGA) or composite video
RS232C serial port
Bidirectional parallel port
MIDI IN/MIDI OUT
Stereo microphone input, miniature stereo plug
Stereo audio out, miniature stereo plug
Two joystick connectors
Two enhanced digital/analog controller/light pen connectors

Data Storage:

1.44 Mbyte floppy disk drive
Optional internal IDE Hard Disk

System software:

Pre-emptive Multitasking with adaptive prioritzation (MultiTOS)
Inter process communication
NewDesk desktop and eXtensible control panel
Multiple window user interface; number of windows limited only by memory or software in use.

We see this computer as exceeding all of the multimedia expectations of the computer buying public. As well as being an exceptional value as a home computer system.

Extensive testing with the Falcon has already been done on existing software. We are very pleased with the high degree of compatibility. For instance, PowerNet, a increasingly popular LocalTalk networking solution works fine with no modifications. Calamus SL, PageStream, WordFlair II, Cubase 3.0, STalker 3.0, STeno, Arabesque, and many other well written applications will work perfectly.

That concludes our remarks, I hope you were all impressed with how fast I can type!

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Do you have a price ready to announce for the Falcon?

<STRAMIEL> No, we will announce the price at the Duesseldorf Atari Messe, Jeff.

<[Chris R.] DRAGONWARE> Sam Thank you for the Plug: .. What kind of Numbers will be avalible in the US and how soon?

<STRAMIEL> We are once again going to FCC and I realistically expect shipments into the US in mid October.

<[Mike] M.HILL13> We have heard some developers have falcons already. When will other registered developers be able to pick one up to start work on them. I understand if this question needs to be answered in email.

<STRAMIEL> Please contact Bill Rehbock regarding this matter. He will be happy to help you with this matter.

<[Bigcat] K.LONERGAN> Are MIDI ports included?

<STRAMIEL> YES, MIDI ports are included with the Falcon. We fully support the MIDI standard.

<[FAST TECH] J.ALLEN27> Hi Sam, thanks for visiting GEnie again. Three questions:

Is the Falcon going to stay black?

How are you going to market it...what venues, etc?

And is Multitos going to be 68040 compatible when released?

<STRAMIEL> Colors and marketing plans will be talked about at Duesseldorf and after that show, Jim. I have to save something for next week. :)

And MultiTOS will be 68040 compatible! But sorry, we're not commenting about 68040 machines.

<[ScottJ] S.CORLEY1> Sam , about the graphics capacity of the Falcon. Why doesnt it have 800x600 or better yet 1024x768 graphics as that is the VGA standard now. Also , has the BLiTTER chip been sped up to handle the extra graphics bandwidth.

<STRAMIEL> Hi Scott. The BLiTTER Chip has been sped up to handle the extra bandwith. The BLiTTER is now running at 16Mhz. VGA normally doesn't have TRUE COLOR, which the ATARI FALCON DOES, and this machine is aimed at having great color, great sound, and with the DSP chip, some wonderful new applicatons.

<[Advertise!] B.KING8> 1) Are you going to Advertise, if so how? 2) What is the deal with the GE Service contract? 3) Can we expect Desktop (ie. Detachable keyboards) models and Tower versions?

<STRAMIEL> As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at Duesseldorf. I will not comment on future models of the Falcon. We are talking today about a machine which will be shipping next week.

We don't want to make future announcements and get into trouble with Vaporware. And by the way, for higher rez requirements, buy TTs! :)

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Remember folks ... only one question per turn ... We have a lot of folks waiting and not nearly enough time to accomodate everybody. Thanks.

<R.PECORA> Has the recent Forbes article influenced Atari's future marketing plans?

<STRAMIEL> My new office, which has a better view than my old one, is so far quite satisfactory. And Richard Miller is in my old office. The Forbes article was a mish-mash and misconstrued article full of half truths. We are anxiously awaiting the release of the Atari Falcon to bring us back to the forefront. The article has given us some laughs, but otherwise has not affected us.

<OAWALKER> zEvening Sam Evening Sam (SBACE) PLEASE SHOW falcon at Glendfale for all the So Cal Boys.

<STRAMIEL> We will try our best to show it. There will be a number of fine developers there, like Lexicor Software showing Atari Falcon applications.

<[SteveJ] S.JACOBS6> Would you please name some of Falcon's designers?

<STRAMIEL> You mean our engineers?

<[SteveJ] S.JACOBS6> Yes.

<STRAMIEL> The Atari Falcon was totally designed in house at Atari, and it is not our practice to give out individuals names. So many people are, and were involved in the project. They all worked very hard to bring this to a reality!

<[wants unix] JM.HAWTHORNE> Is the expansion bus VME?

<STRAMIEL> No, it is not a VME bus. It is a direct processor slot that gives developers more flexibility.

<[Marc] M.RHODES8> How do you think the Falcon will compare w/ the industry dominating IBM platform?

<STRAMIEL> There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon is far superior to the PC platform. Our challenge is to get a lot of software for the platform, and a lot of people to buy it.

<[Gary] G.STOLLMAN> Sam, you mentioned IBM emulation...How close to true IBM 386 speed and power will this actually be...??? By this I mean like a 386 33 SX...?? Will this require an add on unit for more speed??

<STRAMIEL> Hi Gary. Bill Rehbock assures me that a PC Board will be shown at Duesseldorf. We will give you specs after the show.

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Any comments about performance?

<STRAMIEL> Not until after the show, Jeff. Sorry. It's not our product.

<P.LORIMER> Will the Falcon be sold with Multi-TOS, and will multi-TOS be in the ROM's? From what I've heard it takes up close to a MEG if in RAM.

<STRAMIEL> Yes, the Atari Falcon will be sold with MultiTOS. It will be a combination of ROM and disk based.

<S.AGARWAL> Sam, Why no DMA (ACSI) port .... How shall I connect my SLM 804 to the falcon ?

<STRAMIEL> We felt that the DMA port was not enough of a standard port. That's why we went to SCSI II. There are several third party companys that are working on a converter box to allow you to connect up your SLM to the Atari Falcon 030. The SCSI is much faster than DMA, too.

<NEVIN-S> Thanks for coming tonight, Sam. As a developer who depends on sales of Atari software for a good portion of my living, I am excited about the new Falcon. On the other hand, I see more and more people being fired from Atari, entire divisions being closed down, etc. Atari seems to be very good at cutting costs, but is this really the time to cut costs? I am concerned that once again Atari will have a great machine technically, but that the corporation behind it won't be strong enough to make the Falcon fly.

<STRAMIEL> We are "right sizing" our company to reflect our current rate of sales. We must conserve assests for future growth with products like Atari Falcon. Example, with the new North America free trade agreement, we felt that we could handle Canadian sales logistically from Sunnyvale and have sales people in Canada and the US handling both countries in a north/south direction.

We will support the Atari Falcon throughout the world. And need developers like you to support it as well.

<[The EDGE] C.ROSE4> I've been using 1040 ST because of it's MIDI capabilities. I also use C-lab's Notator. I wanted to buy a TT, but Notator won't run on it. Will the Falcon support this product?

<STRAMIEL> The new version of Notator will run fine on a Falcon, just as the new version will run on the TT030.

<E.MONACO> Is 16Mhz viable running multiple aplications? What can we expect?

<STRAMIEL> We've found it to work just fine. The 68030 is well suited for multi-tasking.

<B.SALDANA1> the Falcon inspired me to design an attractive monitor stand for it called the STATION [faxed B.Rhebock]. Has it been inspiring new or old software devlopers? {I'll send you one Sam>

<STRAMIEL> At a recent Atari Falcon devloper conference, {organized by the capable Bill Rehbock} in the UK, I was very happy to learn about new developers and some exciting software which is already being developed. The machines spec are so novel, that developers really have to figure out all the new, wonderful things that they can do with it. I'm sure that we'll see great software within the next 6 months. Thanks for the offer of the monitor stand, I'll look forward to it!!!

<[J.M.T.] J.TORRES17> Sir, Is the Falcon fully 1040STe compatable (graphics, 8Mhz, TOS, etc)? or more like the TT?

<STRAMIEL> The Atari Falcon is VERY STE compatible. Much more so that the TT030 is. We really try to make our products as compatible as possible.

<[Not Sam T.] SAM-RAPP> Does this "Official Announcement" mean that all these "Gagged" developers can start talking nitty gritty with us info starved masses? At least some info? ;>

<STRAMIEL> No more on our product, but they will be welcome to discuss the applications that they are developing that will be Falcon specific.

<WORDFLAIR> Sam, we are excited about the Falcon. We will be launching several new products that take full advantage of its power later this fall. The products are being developed by us and by Digital Arts, GmbH, the former development team for 3K Computerbild.

<STRAMIEL> Lauren, it's always a pleasure to have you as part of the Atari team. Thank you for your support!!

<[Ron] AD-VANTAGE> The Falcon sounds wonderful Sam!

Could you discuss in general terms some of the new software in development for the Falcon and what do you think the most significant impact of the DSP hardware will be on such new applications?

<STRAMIEL> I cannot give exact details tonight, but I think that the DSP hardware will open up a whole new realm of communications type software. I'm pushing very hard for voice mail type applications for the home.

<[Mike] M.HILL13> You mentioned the SCSI 2 port is DMA driven and the DSP too I believe, but is the Localtalk port DMA driven like on the TT or is it like the Mega STE localtalk port. I hope it is DMA driven.

<STRAMIEL> It is not DMA driven, sorry Mike. We think that it is satisfactory at this level.

<[Peter] ABC.SOLN> Can you comment on the future of existing machines, especially the TT030. (there have been reports that it is out of production) For instance, will upgrades to multiTOS be available ? Will trade-up deals be offered ?

<STRAMIEL> The TT030 is still in production, and we do have plans to release Atari MultiTOS for the TT030. It is not a practice for us to offer trade up deals. That is something that is for the descretion of the dealers.

<M.RIVMAN1> MR.T. (Sam), welcome! As good as the new machine looks on paper, we have all been hard hit by lack of support by dealers/developers

PLEASE- sell me on staying with the ATARI platform when all my friends scream MAC for MIDI DTP, graphics!!!

<STRAMIEL> We have been reluctant to attack the US market with the old machines. We feel that the Atari Falcon is truly a giant step forward and we hope that this will turn on users in the US. This will help get our marketplace going. We are signing up new dealers, and as more software becomes available, you will be seeing us advertise in the US. But as I said earlier, I will not go into details at present.

<W.RENKEL> When will they arrive in the US, and where do they fit into the current product line??

<STRAMIEL> They will be available in mid-October, and they fit very well into our product line! :)

<[Connor] CONNOR> Good evening Sam. I assume that the release date for the Falcon will be the same in Canada as in the United States, is this correct?

<STRAMIEL> If anything, it might be earlier in Canada. That's because I'm a Canadian, eh.

<[Curt] C.FLUEGEL> will it be possible to record/playback on just a single of the sound channels, or will they only work in pairs??

<STRAMIEL> According to Bill Rehbock <my trusty technical assistant>, yes, you can record on a single channel.

<[Advertise] T.MCCOMB> Will MultiTOS be available for the rest of the ST line? If so, what kind of time frame for availablity? -Tom. Please tell me there will be a MAJOR marketing effort in the USA otherwise only us Chickens will know about the Falcon.

<STRAMIEL> MultiTOS will be available for TT030 and for future 68030 and above machines. We already answered the other marketing questions.

<[Steve] S.JOHNSON10> You said the Falcon 030 (is it actually going to be called that, by the way?) has a 16-bit 65,536 color mode. Will that work at 640x480 or is that mode limited to lower resolutions and, if so, which one(s)?

<STRAMIEL> Steve, the machine is called the Atari Falcon 030. The 16 bit true color mode will work in 640x480 interlaced on a TV or ST style monitor.

True Color will also work in 320x480 on VGA monitors.

<[Chuck.] HAINES> For ram expansion up to the max of 14meg, is the ram standard simms or proprietary type packages? If not is this the type thing good chip merchants will have readily in stock.

<STRAMIEL> It is a custom board, but not proprietary. We will have it readily in stock, and we are a great chip merchant! :)

<[Network 23] R.MARTIN22> Thanks for being here tonight. I'm thinking of becoming an Atari dealer. What support can I expect from Sunnyvale? Are the analog ports you mentioned the same as those on the STE?

<STRAMIEL> Please contact new US sales director Art Pruzynski regarding your dealer interest. We will support you fully. Yes, the analog ports are the same as on the Atari 1040 STE.

<[Chris C.] C.CASSADAY> From your answer about MultiTOS and the ST, it seems as if 68000 based machines may not be in Atari's production future. Also, when, and in what form can we expect MultiTOS for the TT030.

<STRAMIEL> Hi Chris, the future of the 68000 machines all depends on the market wants. IE, what sells. MultiTOS will be available from Atari for the Atari TT030 as an upgrade. We'll supply details later on, after Duesseldorf. From what I have seen, MultiTOS is fantastic, and is just as much a major advance as the hardware for the Atari Falcon. No Guru meditation errors, and some really great graphic features, and wonderful technical features.

<[ScottJ] S.CORLEY1> Sam, why did Atari choose to use the fixed point 56001 DSP instead of the newer, more powerful 96002 DSP which has floating point? Also. could you give more detail about Falcon graphics capacities, i.e resolutions, # of colors, scan rates, interlacing , etc.

<STRAMIEL> Scott, the primary reasons were price...the 96002 is much more expensive. The newer chip doesn't have the software tools available to take advantage of it yet.

We'll post more graphic details <grin> in the bulletin board after Duessledorf.

<[Chris] C.OATES2> The Advantge article mentioned 16 bit in only 320 x 200. Any other innacuracies we should know of in their specs?

<STRAMIEL> We have released the specifications of the Atari Falcon tonight. You are getting all of the information straight from the horse's mouth. We'd rather not comment about the Advantage article.

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Anyone who missed the specs at the beginning of the RTC, they'll be in the transcript that I'll put in the library tomorrow.

<[Mike Allen] M.ALLEN14> Does your comment about the FCC indicate that the falcon is NOT Class B yet? If this is so how can you have significant quantities in the US by Mid-October?

<STRAMIEL> We have not yet even given the machine to the FCC. And we are only applying for Class B approval. According to our "experts", it should pass Class B. We will not have significant quantities of Atari Falcon until later in the year. October will be just the beginning.

<[Veg] R.ALBRIGHT7> Have any As-of-Yet Non_Atari Vendors expressed intentions to produce applications taking advantage of the tremnendous new capabilities of the Falcon. Software from a well known vendor could do wonders for enticing users of other platforms.

<STRAMIEL> Yes, there are some 30 new developers that are producing software for the Atari Falcon. Several of the developers are also NeXT developers, for example.

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Folks ... we have about 5 - 10 minutes left before we have to let Sam and friends go. We won't be able to get to everyone, but we'll try to squeeze in as many as possible.

<R.PAINTER3> Will it be possible to upgrade to a 040, or should I hold out for the better machine (I can't aford both).

<STRAMIEL> The Atari Falcon030 cannot be upgraded to an 68040, as far as the design goes. I'm sure that you'll find the Atari Falcon030 very cost effective. Buy one! :)

<[wants unix] JM.HAWTHORNE> How fast will the serial ports be, and how many?

<STRAMIEL> The serial port (there is one) is driven by the SCC chip. It is capable of full local talk speed, 250K baud. Also, we feel that the DSP port will have great telecommunications applications with very high speed things, like ISDN.

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> We have time for two more people to ask questions. R.PECORA and M.RHODES8.

<R.PECORA> Is a Mega-type version Falcon a possibility in the near future?

Many of us prefer the external keyboard arrangement.

<STRAMIEL> Sorry, as I indicated before, no comment about future machines.

Thanks for your input on the external keyboard.

<[Marc] M.RHODES8> Do you think the 'major' retailers (ala CompUSA, Computerland) will carry the Falcon? Being here in San Francisco, I only have 2 or 3 places I can go for Atari equipment, and I would love to see the Falcon supported in these outlets. GA and Good Night! :)

<STRAMIEL> We sure hope that some "major retailers" will pick up the Atari line. A good friend, that you all know, named Greg Pratt, now runs Intelligent Electronics. Why don't you write him, and push him to sell Atari products? :)

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> To everyone who we didn't get to, my apologies. But we _have_ run through an incredible number of questions and answers during this time.

Thank you all for attending and participating.

Sam, many thanks to you and the Atari crew for being here and filling us all in about the Falcon. Many best wishes for its success.

Do you have any closing statements you'd like to make before we adjourn?

<STRAMIEL> Yes, Jeff. Thanks for joining us here tonight. And we appreciate your support of Atari. I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon production coming off the lines. Let's hope this new offering will make it in North America. I know that the specs are great. We should have a good chance, with all of your support.

Good night, thank you again for attending tonight!

<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Thanks again to Sam and all who turned out here.