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When Atari shipped UNIX: 1992's Atari System V
The Atari TT030 Workstation was an early 1990s, UNIX powered beast... that has long been forgotten.
September 10, 2023
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Back in 1990, Atari released the TT030 workstation.

It was a beastly machine. Powered by a 68030 CPU at 32 MHz. A dedicated FPU. Two different types of RAM - System RAM (up to 10 MB) and TT RAM (up to 256 MB). A 3.5” floppy, a 50 MB hard drive, SCSI, MIDI, VGA, RS-232 (four of ‘em). And a resolution of up to 1280×960 (monochrome) or 320×480 (256 colors).

In 1990. This was one seriously powerful rig.

Originally the TT030 shipped with a version of Atari TOS.

AtariTOS is a fork of GEM. Learn more about GEM (and Atari TOS and Multi TOS) in “Looking at 1980's GEM in 2021”. It is a fascinating system.

But, by 1992, a variant of the TT030 (known as the TT/X) shipped with a full blown UNIX operating system: Atari System V

From the official Atari TT030 brochure

So what did a UNIX System V look like on an Atari? Well. It looked like this:

Screenshot courtesy of AtariUNIX.com

For the modern day UNIX (and Linux, etc.) users out there… this is going to look immediately familiar. A nice little xterm shell, xedit, even good old xeyes.

You can find a full listing of the packages included in Atari System V developer pre-release release notes. Which include, you’ll note, X-Windows, Motif window manager, and a complement of GNU compilers and build tools

The Atari System V Developer Prerelease notes courtesy of Archive.org

An Atari TT030 workstation could dual-boot both TOS and Atari System V UNIX. System V even included a graphical tool to select the preferred operating system to boot.

Screenshot courtesy of AtariUNIX.com

When Atari System V shipped in 1992… this is the box it came in…

The Atari System V box (courtesy of AtariUNIX.com)

And the floppies it installed from…

A version of NCSA Mosaic was even ported. Which means the early web is accessible from an Atari TT030.

AtariUNIX.com hosts a small collection of software ports (including Mosaic). As well as some disc images for Atari System V, MINIX, and Net BSD for the TT030.

Neither the TT030, nor the Atari port of System V, saw much success. The TT030 workstation was abandoned in favor of the, more consumer focused, Atari Falcon. And, rather quickly, Atari’s adventures into the land of UNIX were forgotten by almost all.

It was, just the same, an incredibly powerful OS, backed up by what was (for the time) one heck of a machine.

What could have happened in the workstation space had Atari seen some additional success in the market? Could Atari have effectively competed against SGI, SUN, HP and the rest of the UNIX workstation crowd?

It certainly would have been interesting to see.

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Lunduke Lifetime Discount Ends in 1 Day; Zelda, Larry, SQ, & Keen Walls Available

TL;DR: Lifetime Subscription discount ends in one day. There are currently 4 “Lifetime Walls” with space available for more names (the Oregon Trail Wall is now full).

We’ve been running a massive discount on Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriptions for the entire months of June and July. And it has been an absolute blast. There are now 21 (twenty-one!) retro computer walls overflowing with your names.

Pure insanity. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported The Lunduke Journal.

But the discounted price only runs through July 31st… and that moment is just about here.

When the calendar ticks over into August (just a hair over 24 hours from now), the Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription price goes back to normal.

  • If the calendar still says it’s July, the Lifetime price is still discounted to $125.

  • If the calendar says August… the price returns to $300.

There are, as of this exact moment, 4 retro game themed “Lifetime Walls” which still have some space for more names (check Lunduke.com for the full list):

  1. Legend of Zelda

  2. Commander Keen 4

  3. Space Quest 4

  4. Leisure Suit Larry

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (scroll down for the details), then email Lunduke (bryan at lunduke.com) with which Wall you’d like to appear on.

 

First come, first served. Once a Wall is full, it’s full. So if there’s a specific Wall you’d like to be on, don’t dilly dally.

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub. All of them work great. Choose whichever works best for you!

Remember: These discounted prices go back up to normal ($300) on August 1st.

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

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  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

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Nice, right?

Worth noting: The “TRS-80 Model 100” has very limited screen resolution (240 x 64), which means only a small number of names can fit on that wall. If you want on it, I’d let me know right away.

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (if you don’t already have one), then let me know (email “bryan at lunduke.com”) which Wall you’d like to see your name on.

Huge high five to everyone who has already added their name to a Wall. At the current rate, we’ll have over 20 retro computer themed walls, filled with all of your names, by the end of the month.

And, doggone it, that’s amazing.

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