This came out of nowhere: a printed Atari magazine in English language, written and layouted on an Atari Falcon 060 with PCI-graphics card using Calamus.
Kroll strikes back, even more professional than before with this surprising piece of Atari press which will be available worldwide and also in some Polish shops (the famous Empik stores). The content seems very interesting, covering games, demoscene and obviously including some deeper research, e.g. "The History of the Polish Demoscene on 8-Bit Atari - It didnโt begin with crackers. It began at the computer markets of 1980s Poland."
This seems to be fascinating work!
๐ย Atari Legacy magazine
Comments
Obviously I don't want to knock someone's effort here but i think it would be a real shame if this is actually case, especially given the price.
As an example, the way the article on the Atari 8 bit demoscene history in Poland is approached is a strong indicator for me that this is rather top notch, deep research and/or knowledge based journalism - as there is basically very little information available about that topic.
(I can't wait to get to know more about that as it always interested me, and also supports the thesis, that demoscene origins are not in every case cracktros, as proclaimed by "mainstream" demoscene history writers.)
But in the end, who knows, and yes, we have seen some rather low quality retro publications along the way, which sadly also made me hesitative on purchasing generally.
But at the same time it would be a double shame to judge every new and passionate project in advance because of that.
Kroll has an excellent reputation, both from his former Atari publications (former Atari fan co author) and also from the Atari enthusiasm and knowledge he is known for.
So, I really hope this magazine will be for sale at Atari events, e.g. Sillyventure parties, because then I will definitely buy it.
"Could you please show us the exact keypresses you used to produce an em-dash?"
Works a charm with student work!! :)
I mean, it's not bad to use AI per se, but these signs do add up...
I doubt that the glyphs left of the backspace key exist in any Atari keyboard. Unless they released a Klingon localised one?
I didn't even look at the image, but you're right. And also, why is one hand pointing down at a key like that in a totally weird/unnatural way and in shadow, whilst the other hand is fully lit and natural? Definitely a decision that a human would make!
As we're seeing all over various forums at the moment, people are clearly gonna AI for retro projects, as much as that pains me. But when it's for something commercial like this? That leaves a truly bad taste and just isn't ethical imo.
Or as Uncle X famously says: "lol.fuck AI"
Quote:(source: https://www.iamats.com/shop/atari-legacy-issue-01-magazine/)
If there is a contrary of modesty, this is probably it.
Such statements are presumptuous towards the community and ultimately put me off quite a bit. Let's see if the mag can prove itself by it's content.
Sorry to say that I was probably a bit naive and overenthusiastic in the initial announcement.
I can't believe they didn't even bother correcting the word "book" to "magazine"..... "slop of all slop"
I hate that em-dash has become questionable. I have always liked and used it :(.
Regards
Quote:What does it even mean? "a lesson in [...] reliability lessons"?
What does it even mean? "a lesson in [...] reliability lessons"?
As most (all?) of us here will know, using the likes of Windows was quite a backwards step - particularly with earlier iterations - compared to using Atari kit.
Atari hardware doesn't reboot on you, for a start, when you're in the middle of a project & then start complaining about needing an update, when there's no network connection available. This was definitely the case with Windows 95 & 98.
Atari stuff was always more reliable anyhow.
But going on to the magazine, I've read the copy that CiH bought and was impressed with the content within the articles. Even if AI * may * have been slightly used, the impression I get is that stuff has been rewritten, so it is almost colloquial in many areas. Have bought a copy myself as a result, so when Jakub gets some more copies in stock then it should arrive.
Regarding Kroll defining himself as an international expert within the Atari scene - I'm of the impression that this could be from the scene as viewed from Poland - which is fair enough. People in different countries view things in different ways - we have similar examples here in the UK too.
Well, that's good to hear. Apparently, the phrase "Never judge a book (or magazine) by its cover" applies here as well. I'm glad you (as someone who actually read the magazine) reported back on this.
Then they wanted 32 eur shipping on top of that, all within EU.
So in the end, a 45 eur magazine. I'll pass.
The shipping is not great, but I hope he will find different distribution for future issues.
All this secrecy and silence makes the genuine effort (I have no doubt that there was a lot of genuine work put into this) completely wasted.
Exactly the process i went through. I do not mind to pay a follies toll but there is a limit.