D.I.Y. Atari 800 XE laptop

Posted on Nov 17, 05 12:12 PM PDT

Ben Heck, modder extraordinaire, have created a masterpiece that geeks will drool over. He claims that his Atari 800 XE laptop is his dream portable video game device. With his wealth of experience in building portable videogame devices, this ranks as the pinnacle of his achievements. How long did it take him to achieve this feat? Nothing less than a couple of years. That, ladies and gentlemen, is perseverance in pursuing a dream. (Specs below) Via Make

• Uses (what's left of ;) an Atari XE GS (Game System) the last model Atari 800 type computer from 1987
• 8" TFT active matrix display
• Compact Flash "hard disk drive" utilizing MyDOS 4.53 for maximum drive size of 16 megabytes. Card is removable for swapping
• Built-in NiMH battery pack and charger (uses external plug like a normal laptop) Also battery is removable from base as with most laptops
• Full (Atari 800) sized keyboard
• Built-in Player 1 & 2 controls, plus joystick ports. Built-in joypads great for playing Robotron 2084!
• Brushed aluminum and wood grain all over
• Cursor control knob - Allows you to move the cursor around the screen without pressing control+arrow keys. That's awesome if you're an old-school Atari programmer "from the day"
• Slim (compared to an original SIO port) DB25 printer-style port for connecting to disk drives, printers or PC's using an SIO2PC cable

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