Another great post about an obscure bit of computer history! The name of this unit definitely hearkens back to an even older period--I'm thinking of 50s and 60s sci-fi, with all their talk of "positronic brains" and what-not. Most people think of Data from ST TNG when "positronic brain" is mentioned, but the term was used much earlier in various episodes of Doctor Who during the 60s (Patrick Troughton's tenure).
It's a shame this unit doesn't work, though. Any idea what the problem may be? Perhaps the aforementioned mold smell might indicate water damage to the internals?
It may be any of the things Mark said, which are typical of older systems. Someday I'll pick up the skills or know someone who can properly troubleshoot it. In the mean-time, it looks like I can trade a spare Spectavideo SV-328 and some accessories and software to the gentleman at the Atari Protos Website for a working VideoBrain and quite a few of the cartridges. We'll see.
It's funny you mention 60's sci-fi. I'm reading a free 60s sci-fi e-book from the early 60's right now and besides being aggressively sexist (no really, the author seems to go out of his way to be) typical of books from the era, it also mentions the "ship's brain" and various other euphemisms for "computer", while never actually mentioning "computer".
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
Another great post about an obscure bit of computer history! The name of this unit definitely hearkens back to an even older period--I'm thinking of 50s and 60s sci-fi, with all their talk of "positronic brains" and what-not. Most people think of Data from ST TNG when "positronic brain" is mentioned, but the term was used much earlier in various episodes of Doctor Who during the 60s (Patrick Troughton's tenure).
It's a shame this unit doesn't work, though. Any idea what the problem may be? Perhaps the aforementioned mold smell might indicate water damage to the internals?
It may be any of the things Mark said, which are typical of older systems. Someday I'll pick up the skills or know someone who can properly troubleshoot it. In the mean-time, it looks like I can trade a spare Spectavideo SV-328 and some accessories and software to the gentleman at the Atari Protos Website for a working VideoBrain and quite a few of the cartridges. We'll see.
It's funny you mention 60's sci-fi. I'm reading a free 60s sci-fi e-book from the early 60's right now and besides being aggressively sexist (no really, the author seems to go out of his way to be) typical of books from the era, it also mentions the "ship's brain" and various other euphemisms for "computer", while never actually mentioning "computer".
======================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
======================================
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.