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(Intelligent Machines Journal 79 Jun 11 p8) In addition to business & household management software, educational applications promised: Algebra (would ship as: Basic Algebra), Economics (would ship as: Principles of Economics), Auto Mechanics (never shipped), Sociology (would ship as: Basic Sociology), U.S. History, Zoology (never shipped), Counseling Procedures, Vocabulary Builder (never shipped), Basic Psychology, Spelling, Spanish (never shipped), Accounting (would ship as: Principles of Accounting), Carpentry (never shipped), Great Classics, Statistics (never shipped), Basic
Electricity, World History. Entertainment applications promised: Chess (would ship as: Computer Chess), Backgammon (never shipped), business simulations, Stock Market Simulation (never shipped), space adventure, strategy games, Four-Player Basketball (would ship as: Basketball), Superbug Driving Game (never shipped), Game of Life (would ship as: Video Easel), Super Breakout. Also promised: Atari BASIC

May 21: In response to Texas Instruments' technical reply to the U.S. FCC regarding its Class I waiver request, which said its interference standards exceeded Computer & Business Equipent Manufacturers Association (CBEMA) standards, Atari had filed a followup noting that CBEMA standards were for commercial computers up to 30 meters from a TV, enclsing photos of broken-up
TV pictures reportedly caused by a home computer with TI standards. (TVDigest 5/21/79 p13)

June 3-6: At the Summer CES in Chicago Atari promised that the 400/800 base units would ship fall 1979, and featured a firmed 400/800 product line including suggested retail prices. 400 system with BASIC cartridge and Atari BASIC (Wiley Self-Teaching Guide): $549.99; 800 system with BASIC cartridge, Education System Master Cartridge, Atari BASIC (Wiley Self-Teaching Guide),
410 Program Recorder, and Guide to BASIC Programming cassette: $999.99; 810 Disc Drive: $749.99; 820 Printer: $599.99; 410 Program Recorder: $89.99; 8K
RAM Memory Module: $124.99; 16K RAM Memory Module: $249.99; Driving Controller Pair: $19.95; Paddle Controller Pair: $19.95; Joystick Controller Pair:
$19.95; ROM cartridges: Education System Master Cartridge (would ship as: Educational System Master Cartridge), Basketball, Life (would ship as: Video Easel), Super Breakout, Super Bug (never shipped), Atari BASIC, Assembler
Debug (would ship as: Assembler Editor), Music Composer, Computer Chess, Home Finance (earlier: Checkbook; later: Personal Finance; never shipped); Educational System cassette programs: U.S. History, U.S. Government, Supervisory Skills, World History (Western), Basic Sociology, Counseling Procedures, Principles of Accounting, Physics, Great Classics (English), Business Communications, Basic Psychology, Effective Writing, Auto Mechanics (never shipped), Principles of Economics, Spelling, Basic Electricity, Basic Algebra; BASIC game and program cassettes: Guide to BASIC Programming (would ship as: An Invitation to Programming 1: Fundamentals of BASIC Programming), BASIC Game Programs (never shipped); diskettes: Blank Diskettes (would ship
as: 5 Diskettes), Disk File Manager (would ship as: Master Diskette). Don Kingsborough remained director of sales and marketing for Atari (Consumer).

June 15: Atari announced U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Type I approval for the Atari 400 and Atari 800 personal computer systems, along with the Atari Program Recorder (410).

June: Atari microcomputer systems engineer Joe Decuir departed the company. (Fun p387)

June: Completion date for the Atari 400/800 Operating System Rev.A.

Month?: Bill Carris joined Atari (Consumer) as manager of technical services (personal computers).

Month?: Steve Wright, previously Atari manager of LSI test, would become an Atari (Consumer) training manager. Carl J. Nielsen would join Atari as director of LSI design and test, replacing Wright as well as LSI design
manager Richard Simone who departed the company (to Maruman Integrated Circuits).

July 2: Atari personal computers were in the Penny fall-winter catalog at $550 & $995. (TVDigest 7/2/79)

July: Robert A. Hovee, previously of Questor, joined Atari (Consumer) as personal computers sales & marketing VP, in part replacing Donald Kingsborough who departed the company (to rejoin D.K. Marketing).

August: Atari (Consumer) software manager Larry Kaplan departed the company
(to work with Atari (Consumer) programmers Alan Miller, David Crane, and Bob Whitehead on a business plan for a new company. Kaplan would join the others at Activision in December 1979.)

August: Atari (Consumer) chip design engineer Doug Neubauer departed the company (to Hewlett-Packard). (Compute! #3 Mar/Apr 80 p75)

August?: On pages 654-655 of the Wish Book for the 1979 Holiday Season Sears featured the Atari 400 personal computer system ($549) and accessories.

Summer/Fall: The Atari plant at 1173 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale CA, previously Atari's pinball manufacturing plant, was repurposed for 400/800 computer line manufacturing.

September 4: The New York Times reported on p. D7, "Atari Inc., the maker of home video games, will introduce two new personal computer systems in the
fall. The inaugural ad campaign, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach, will break
in October in 12 national publications. TV commercials will also be aired in Los Angeles in November and December."

September: Atari (Consumer) senior programmers / game designers Alan Miller
and David Crane, and then Bob Whitehead, departed the company. (Activision, Inc. would be established by Miller/Crane/Whitehead together with former GRT Corp. VP Music Tapes division Jim Levy on 10/1/79.)

September: An Atari computer running Star Raiders was shown by Ludwig Braun at an "education-and-computers" conference. (cc 6/80 p34) WHAT CONFERENCE????

September 19: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a new set of "Technical Standards for Computing Equipment" (FCC 79-555, 79 FCC 2d. 28). The new Class A (commercial) and Class B (residential) digital device standards were both less stringent than the earlier Type I standard which, among home computers released and announced to date, only the Atari 400/800
had succeeded in complying with. Atari, among others, would formally protest the new standards.

September 24: Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. (staff engineer Paul Laughton for SMI) completed the File Management System (FMS) for the Atari personal computers.

September/October: Atari (Consumer) programmer Dennis Koble, previously of the division's Electronic Toys & Games group, became (Consumer) software manager, replacing the departed Larry Kaplan. Koble would report to Atari (Consumer) director of software development George Simcock.

October: Steve Bristow, previously Atari VP Engineering and Plant Manager Pinball Production, became Atari VP Engineering, Consumer and Home Computer Division, replacing John Ellis who departed the company. Engineer Niles
Strohl would be promoted to director of Consumer engineering, replacing Wade Tuma who departed the company. (Ellis and Tuma would together establish Compower Corp. on 5/19/80).

October: "Atari's production lines were stalled for about a week in October
due to yield problems at one of its chip suppliers, Synertek. The low yields at the semiconductor manufacturer resulted in significantly reduced delivery
of the MPU to Atari, resulting in about a 3-week delay in getting the
computers into the marketplace." Electronic News, December 10, 1979, p. 83.

November: Conrad C. Jutson, previously of Texas Instruments, joined Atari (Consumer) as VP Sales & Marketing, Personal Computers, replacing Robert Hovee who departed the company. (TVDigest 1/21/80p14; Compute!s 1st Book p2 for
date)

November?: Dale Yocum, previously of Telesensory, joined Atari (Consumer) to establish and manage a 400/800 programmers group as Applications Software Manager (personal computers). Yocum had been hired by software manager Dennis Koble, but (like Koble) would report to director of software development
George Simcock.

November: Atari shipped the 400 personal computer system (NTSC; 8KiB RAM) and, shortly thereafter, the 800 personal computer system (NTSC; 8KiB RAM), each boxed with the BASIC Computing Language cartridge (Atari BASIC by SMI) and the Atari BASIC (Wiley Self-Teaching Guide) book; the 800 additionally shipped
with the 410 program recorder and the Educational System Master Cartridge (Dorsett Educational Systems), which each also shipped separately.
"The first "real" consumer units were shipped in Nov. of '79 and were 400s
to Sears followed very shortly by 800s." --Jerry Jessop

November 26: On procedural grounds, the U.S. FCC had denied Atari's motion for a stay of the waiver given to Texas Instruments to sell an independent RF modulator for home comptuers & video games, saying Atari hadn't presented any new evidence. (TVDigest 11/26/79) (Atari would try again.)

November/December?: Programmer Lane Winner, previously of Versatec, joined Atari (Consumer) as an applications programmer (personal computers). Winner would report to application programmers group manager Dale Yocum.

November/December?: For the 400/800 Atari shipped: Basketball, Video Easel (previously: Life), Super Breakout, and the Talk and Teach Courseware cassettes: U.S. History, U.S. Government, Supervisory Skills, World History (Western), Basic Sociology, Counseling Procedures, Principles of Accounting, Physics, Great Classics, Business Communications, Basic Psychology, Effective Writing, Principles of Economics, Spelling, Basic Electricity, Basic Algebra

December: "Atari is funneling large quantities of its 400 and 800 personal computers and software to Sears, Roebuck, while retail computer stores have been faced with late hardware deliveries and received very little, if any, software. Sears is offering the Atari 400, priced at $549, through its
catalog [1979 Wish Book pages 654-655], and is spot-marketing the machine in its retail stores throughout California and the Chicago area. In addition,
the firm is selling the Atari 800, priced at $999.99, in its California
stores, but not through the catalog, a Sears spokesman said." Electronic
News, December 10, 1979, p. 83.

1980
January 5-8: At the Winter CES in Las Vegas, for the 400/800
($549.99/$999.99), Atari introduced the 825 printer, 830 modem, and 850 interface, introduced 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, Star Raiders, and Calculator, and again promised Music Composer, Assembler Editor (previously: Assembler Debug), and Personal Finance (previously: Home Finance; never shipped). Atari announced a license agreement to market 8 investment-application programs designed by Control Data Corp. from CDC's Cyberware library, including: bond yield, bond price and interest, bond switch, stock rate of return, stock dividend
analysis, stock charting, mortgage analysis, portfolio analysis. (WSJ Jan8p37; TVDigest 1/14/80p13)

January?: Atari shipped: Computer Chess, 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, Star Raiders

January: Chris Crawford, previously an Atari (Consumer) game designer, transferred to the personal computer application programmers group (reporting to group manager Dale Yocum).

January 21: Atari and Control Data announced an agreement whereby Atari computer systems could be repaired through the nationwide network of Control Data repair centers. Approximately 20 centers throughout the country were open; more were scheduled. (Dr. Dobb's Journal)

Winter: Atari shipped the 810 disk drive with Master Diskette (DOS I developed by SMI), and shipped the 820 printer. (US$449.95).

Winter: William (Bill) Kaiser, previously of Xerox, joined Atari (Consumer) in finance.

February 11: The Sears spring-summer catalog featured the Atari 400 at $549, and the Atari 800 at $999. (TVDigest 2/11/80p10)

March?: Atari shipped Music Composer.

March: Science Research Associates (SRA) and Atari announced that SRA would develop educational computer courseware in reading, language arts,
mathematics, science, and social studies, intended for Atari personal
computers used in the home; Atari would have the right to market this
software. Additionally, SRA would have primary responsibility for the sale of Atari personal computers and services to the educational community (public and private, pre-school through university level).

April 9: Atari's petition to the U.S. FCC to rescind the waiver of Class I TV rules granted to Texas Instruments was rejected by the commission. (TVDigest 4/7/80 p11; 4/14/80 p12)

April?: Tandy Trower, previously of WICAT, joined Atari (Consumer) as an evaluator of 3rd party software titles (personal computers). He was hired by Atari (Consumer) Manager of Software Planning (personal computers) Peter Rosenthal.

Spring: For the 400/800 Atari had shipped: An Invitation to Programming 1
(PDI; previously: Guide to BASIC Programming), Biorhythm, Hangman, Kingdom, Blackjack (6/1/80 price list)

May 19-22: Atari featured the 400/800 personal computer systems at the 1980 National Computer Conference at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim CA.
Also at the show, Personal Software introduced the Atari 800 version (and the Commodore PET/CBM version) of VisiCalc by Software Arts. (The original Apple version had shipped Oct. 1979.)

May/June?: John R. Powers, III, co-founder and previously of The Authorship Resource, Inc. (ARI; developers of software for the CyberVision home
computer), joined Atari (Consumer) as director of software development (personal computers), in-part replacing George Simcock who departed the
company (retired). (Powers was hired by VP engineering Steve Bristow.) Brian Johnston, previously Atari (Consumer) game developer (electronic toys &
games), became Atari (Consumer) systems software manager (personal computers). Johnston and application programmers group manager Dale Yocum would both
report to Powers.

June 1: Atari increased suggested retail prices for the 400/800. The 400 personal computer system (still 8KiB RAM) was now $630 (previously: $549.99); the 800 personal computer system, now with 16KiB RAM (previously: 8KiB RAM), was now $1,080 (previously: $999.99/8KiB RAM). (TVDigest 6/2/80 p11 and price list)

June 15-18: At the Summer CES in Chicago, for the 400/800 ($630/$1,080) Atari introduced: 815 dual disk drive with DOS 2.0D ($1499.95; never shipped), 822 printer ($449.95), and Light Pen (CX70; $74.95), and again promised the 825 printer ($999.95), 830 modem ($199.95), and 850 interface ($219.95). (CC Sep80p30; 6/1/80 price list) 400/800 software Atari announced or again promised (6/1/80 price list): Mortgage & Loan Analysis (Control Data), Bond Analysis (Control Data), Stock Analysis (Control Data), Stock Charting
(Control Data), An Invitation to Programming 2: Writing Programs One and Two (PDI), An Invitation to Programming 3: Introduction to Sound and Graphics (PDI), Astrology (never shipped), Conversational French (Thorn EMI), Conversational German (Thorn EMI), Conversational Spanish (Thorn EMI), Mailing List, Touch Typing, Calculator, Graph It, Statistics I, Energy Czar, States & Capitals, European Countries & Capitals, TeleLink I (previously: Terminal Emulator), Space Invaders (title by Taito), Assembler Editor. Atari also previewed The Atari Accountant series (by BPI; would consist of: General Accounting System; Accounts Receivable System; Inventory Control Program; series never shipped).

Also, Atari had modified the 800 personal computer system package. The 800 would now ship with one CX853 16KiB RAM module installed (previously: one
CX852 8KiB RAM module); the 410 program recorder and Educational System Master Cartridge were removed from the package; the BASIC Reference Manual was added to the package.

Month?: Jeff Burton joined Atari International as International Market Manager - Europe.

Month?: Nancy Garrison, previously of Revlon, joined Atari International in marketing

July: Engineer Larry Plummer, previously General Manager, Computer Products at Heathkit, joined Atari (Consumer) as personal computer systems director of engineering (replacing Atari (Consumer) director of engineering Niles Strohl
in the role). Engineer Carl Goy would join Plummer in moving from Heath to Atari.

July: Electronics engineer and programmer Tim McGuinness, previously of Plantronics / Zehntel, joined Atari (Consumer) as a personal computer systems engineer.

Summer?: Atari (Consumer) game designer Carol Shaw departed the company.

August 19: Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. (staff engineer Paul Laughton for
SMI) completed the File Management System (FMS) for Atari DOS II.

Summer/Fall: For the 400/800 Atari shipped: 822 printer, 825 printer, 830 modem, 850 interface, CX70 Light Pen, Assembler Editor (SMI), TeleLink I (original "small box" release with 1 hour of access to CompuServe), Space Invaders (original cassette release), States & Capitals, European Countries & Capitals, Mortgage & Loan Analysis, Energy Czar

September: Roger H. Badertscher joined Atari to be president of the new Personal Computer Division. Badertscher was previously VP and general manager of the microprocessor division of Signetics, an electronics semiconductor manufacturer. (InfoWorld 7/26/82p29 for date) Bruce W. Irvine would join
Atari (Personal Computer) as VP software.

September: The Atari (Consumer) Software Support Group began offering
telephone Customer Software Support for Atari 400/800 users. (AtariConnection v1n1p24)

September 15-December 31: Atari-sponsored dealer promotion: Free 410 plus Educational System Master Cartridge and choice of one Talk & Teach series
title with purchase of 400 computer. Or, free CX852 8KiB RAM module with purchase of 800 computer (which shipped with one CX853 16KiB RAM module installed).

October: Atari spun off a new Personal Computer Division from the Consumer Division. (BusWk 6/15/81 for date) Conrad Jutson, previously Atari
(Consumer) VP Sales & Marketing for Personal Computers, became Atari VP planning (corporate). Peter Rosenthal, previously Atari (Consumer) manager of software planning (personal computers), became Atari (Personal Computer) director of marketing (replacing Jutson in the role, in part). Stephen Davis, previously Atari (Consumer) product marketing manager (personal computers), would be Atari (Personal Computer) product marketing manager. Keith E. Schaefer joined Atari (Personal Computer) as National Sales Manager (replacing Juston in the role, in part). Brenda K. Laurel, previously Manager, Educational Product Design at The Authorship Resource, Inc. (ARI), joined
Atari (Personal Computer) as Manager, Software Strategy and Marketing (replacing Rosenthal in the role). Tandy Trower, previously an evaluator of
3rd party software titles (personal computers), became an Atari (Personal Computer) product manager. Kevin McKinsey, previously Atari (Consumer) industrial desginer, would be Atari (Personal Computer) manager of industrial design and graphics. Bill Kaiser, previously of Atari (Consumer), would be Atari (Personal Computer) director of finance.

October: Atari (Personal Computer) hired Ken (Charles) Balthaser, previously designer and programmer at The Authorship Resource, Inc. (ARI), as a consultant.

Fall: Robert A. Kahn, previously an educational computer applications consultant (and prior to that, director of the Computer Education Project at the University of California, Berkeley), joined Atari (Personal Computer) as Manager, Educational Software Products. He was hired by Atari (Personal Computer) director of marketing Peter Rosenthal. Chris Bowman, previously director of media services at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, would join Atari (Personal Computer) as national manager of educational sales, as Atari would take the sale of Atari personal computers
and services to the educational community in-house (previously: outsourced to Science Research Associates (SRA)).

December: Gene B. Rosen joined Atari as VP of engineering for the Atari Computer Division (replacing Bristow in the role). (ComputerWorld 3/16/81p74)

December: Atari (Personal Computer) software consultant Ken (Charles)
Balthaser joined the company as an applications programmer (reporting to applications software supervisor Dale Yocum).

December: At Atari (Personal Computer), Applications group programmer Chris Crawford (having completed Energy Czar and SCRAM) was promoted to supervisor
of the Software Development Support Group.

Atari reportedly lost $10 million on sales of computer equipment of $13
million in 1980 (InfoWorld 9/14/1981)

Atari had sold 35,000 400/800 computers through 1980. (source?)

1981
January 1?: The Atari Personal Computer Division would now be known as the Atari Computer Division.

January/February: First issue of A.N.A.L.O.G. 400/800 Magazine, published by Lee Pappas and Mike DesChenes. 4000 copies printed.

January 6: Warner Amex Cable Communications, Atari, and CompuServe jointly announced the availability of the CompuServe information service to Columbus
OH subscribers of the Warner Amex QUBE two-way interactive cable television system. An Atari 800 personal computer was lent to the subscriber as part of the service.

January 8-11: At the Winter CES in Las Vegas Atari announced that the 400
would now ship in two versions: original 8KiB RAM version at the new list
price of US$499.95 (previously: US$630), or new 16KiB RAM version for US$630. Atari introduced/featured (CC Mar81p54; Analog#1): Asteroids, Missile Command, SCRAM (A Nuclear Power Plant Simulation), Atari PILOT, Conversational Spanish (Thorn EMI), Personal Fitness Program (ultimately released via APX), Atari Accountant: General Accounting System (BPI; "Accounting Primer Manual" by Arthur Young & Company; never shipped), Atari Accountant: Accounts Receivable System (BPI; never shipped), Atari Accountant: Inventory Control Program (BPI; never shipped), Atari Word Processor. Also announced or again promised (1981 Software Catalog): An Invitation to Programming 2, An Invitation to
Programming 3, Astrology (never shipped), Personal Financial Management System (replacement for the canceled Personal Finance). Again promised (Analog #1): Conversational German, Conversational French. Privately announced (Analog#1): Conversational Italian

January: Atari (Computer) marketing established a Users' Group Support
Program; Earl Rice would be Marketing Manager, Users' Group Support Program.

Winter: Atari released Master Diskette II (DOS II version 2.0S developed by SMI/Atari).

Winter: Atari shipped: Bond Analysis, Stock Analysis, Stock Charting, Mailing List, Touch Typing, Graph It, Statistics I (Analog#2p47)

February 2: Atari announced that Rigdon Currie, previously of Xerox subsidiary Diablo, had joined Atari as VP marketing for the Computer Division. Roger Badertscher remained president of the Computer Division. (Compute!#11p166). Peter Rosenthal, previously Atari (Computer) director of marketing, became Atari (Computer) VP business planning (new position).

February: Fred Thorlin joined Atari (Computer) as director of software acquisitions (new position, hired by Atari (Computer) VP software Bruce Irvine).

February: Mark A. Lutvak, previously product program general manager at Memorex, joined Atari (Computer) as director of product management, replacing Stephen Davis who departed the company (to Corvus Systems Inc.).

February: Andrew Soderberg, previously a partner at a computer retailer called Computer Connection, joined Atari (Computer) as an assistant product manager. He had been hired by product manager Tandy Trower.

February?: Paul Laughton, previously Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. (SMI) staff engineer, joined Atari (Computer) as a systems software programmer (hired by manager of systems software Brian Johnston).

February 25: The source code to Atari BASIC (including Atari OS FPP), the FMS component of Atari DOS 2.0S (DOS.SYS), and the Atari Assembler Editor were purchased from Shepardson Microsystems, Inc. (SMI) by Optimized Systems Software (OSS), headed by former SMI employees Bill Wilkinson and Mike Peters.

March: Jim Tittsler, previously Director of Software Development at International Remote Imaging Systems (and before that a Software Engineer at Heath Zenith (Heathkit)), joined Atari (Computer).

April 2-30: Atari-sponsored dealer promotion: Free $100 subscription to The Source with purchase of Atari Communicator System: choice of 400 or 800 computer with 850, 830, and TeleLink I.

April 3-5: At the 6th West Coast Computer Faire, San Francisco Civic
Auditorium and Brooks Hall, Atari (Computer) announced the Atari Software Acquisition Program (ASAP), which would involve the creation of ASAP regional centers where qualified developrs could work with Atari equipment and receive technical assistance (the first ASAP center was expected to open in the Sunnyvale CA area in mid-May), and Atari Program Exchange (APX), a free quarterly mail-order catalog of user-written software (first edition due for publication in May). Programs accepted for the APX catalog would qualify for $100,000 in prizes to be awarded over the coming year, including a grand prize of $25,000 cash. Bruce W. Irvine was Atari (Computer) VP software; Fred Thorlin was Atari director of software acquisitions (ASAP and APX) (see Compute! #12 5/81 p150). The event also featured Atari's "first annual" invitational hospitality suite for Atari computer users' group officers and their guests. About 20 persons attended, on behalf of about 30 total groups registered with Atari Users' Group Support.

April 3?: Dale Yocum, previously Atari (Computer) applications software supervisor, had become APX manager, software acquisition department (ASAP and APX). Paul V. Cubbage, previously of The Wollongong Group, joined Atari (Computer) as Manager, Software Review, Software Acquisition Department (ASAP and APX). Fred Thorlin remained Atari (Computer) director of software acquisitions (ASAP and APX). Ken Balthaser, previously an Atari (Computer) applications programmer, had been promoted to manager of applications software development (replacing Yocum in the role).

April 3-5: Also at the West Coast Computer Faire, Optimized Systems Software (OSS) introduced BASIC A+, CP/A (would ship as: OS/A+), and EASMD (enhanced, disk-based versions of Atari BASIC, Atari DOS 2.0S and Atari Assembler Editor, respectively).

April 23-24: An Atari Seminar for developers. The Atari Software Development Support Group included: Chris Crawford (graphics), Lane Winner (BASIC, cassette), Mike Ekberg (OS, DOS), Kathleen Armstrong (Kathleen Pitta), Jim Cox (graphics & utilities), Gus Makreas (assembly language), John Eckstrom
(pascal)

Spring: First issue of The Atari Connection, the glossy magazine published by Atari (Computer) in support of the 400/800.

May 1-August 31: Atari offered a free CX853 16K RAM Module ($99.95) with purchase of an Atari 800 personal computer; offered the 825 printer at $800 instead of $1000; and offered the 850 interface at $170 instead of $220

May 4-7: At the National Computer Conference in Chicago, Atari announced that the 8KiB Atari 400 was being discontinued and that the price on the 16KiB version was being reduced to US$399 (was US$630); also, the Atari BASIC cartridge and Atari BASIC (Wiley Self-Teaching Guide) book would no longer be included with the now "mass market packaged" 400. Other price reductions: CX852 8KiB RAM module now US$49.95 (was US$124.95), CX853 16KiB RAM module now US$99.95 (was US$199.95), 820 printer now US$299.95 (was US$449.95). Atari also introduced: Personal Financial Management System (PFMS; $74.95), Dow
Jones Investment Evaluator ($99.95; never shipped), Atari Microsoft BASIC ($89.95), Program-Text Editor (would ship as a standalone title via APX), Sorcim Macro Assembler (the latter two titles would ship together as: Macro Assembler and Program-Text Editor). Also introduced: Conversational Italian (by Thorn EMI). Additionally, new production units of TeleLink I would
include one hour of time on each of: Dow Jones Information Service, The
Source, CompuServe (previously: CompuServe only).

May: Jon D. Ebbs joined Atari, where we would be VP of Consumer Product Service. By January 1982, in support of both Atari Consumer and Atari
Computer division products, the unit would establish a new national network of Atari Factory Authorized Service Centers ("Atari Service Factory Authorized Network"). The new network would replace Control Data Service Centers for Atari computer repairs.

June: Atari's Cyan Engineering senior engineer Steve Mayer became Atari VP research and development, replacing Al Alcorn who departed the company. (Cyan Engineering director Larry Emmons would now report to Mayer.) Steve Bristow, previously Atari VP Engineering, Consumer Game Division, would establish and head a new Advanced Technology group (new product development) as Atari VP Advanced Technology (reporting to Mayer?).

Month?: The Atari Software Development Support Group released De Re Atari. Atari made the book available to registered developers.

Summer?: Atari created the Atari Institute for Educational Action Research, which began awarding major grants of Atari home computer products, cash stipends, and/or consulting services to selected individuals and non-profit institutions or organizations interested in developing new educational uses
for computers in schools, community programs, or in the home. Founded and directed by Dr. Ted M. Kahn, Ph.D. More than US$250,000 would be awarded in the program's first year.

Summer?: Barry Berghorn, previously of Memorex, joined Atari (Computer) as sales & marketing VP, replacing Rigdon Currie who departed the company. (WeeklyDigest 1981p.dxxx/530)

Summer?: J. Peter Nelson joined Atari (Computer) as public relations manager.

Summer: Atari sold the rights to their Talk & Teach series of educational software titles, plus the Educational System Master Cartridge, back to the developer, Dorsett Educational Systems.

Summer: By mid-1981 Atari had sold over 50,000 400/800 computers to date. (InfoWorld 9/14/1981)

Summer: Atari shipped: Conversational Spanish, Conversational French, Conversational German, An Invitation to Programming 2, An Invitation to Programming 3, SCRAM (A Nuclear Power Plant Simulation), Missile Command, Asteroids, Atari Word Processor, plus TeleLink I new "large box" version with one hour of time on each of: Dow Jones Information Service, The Source, CompuServe

Summer: First edition of the Atari Program Exchange (APX) catalog, a component of the Atari Software Acquisition Program (ASAP). See http://www.atariarchives.org/APX/. Listings for the 400/800: Newspaper Route Management Program, The Computerized Card File, Text Formatter (FORMS), Lemonade, Mugwump, Avalanche, Outlaw/Howitzer, Preschool Games, Roman
Checkers, Space Trek, Castle, Wizard's Gold, Sleazy Adventure, Alien Egg, Chinese Puzzle, Sultan's Palace, Anthill, Centurion, Tact Trek, Comedy Diskette, Graphics/Sound Demonstration, FIG FORTH (this version never
shipped), Sound Editor, BASIC Program Compressor (MASHER), BASIC Cross- Reference Utility (XREF), BASIC Renumber Utility (RENUM), Disk Fixer (FIX), Variable Changer, Character Set Editor, Extended WSFN, Supersort. APX also introduced several hardware products: DE-9S with DE51218 Shell (controller plug), 5-pin DIN connector, 13-pin I/O plug, 13-pin I/O socket, DA-15P with DA110963-2 Shell (850 printer plug), DE-9P with DE110963-1 Shell (850 serial plug), 2716 EPROM cartridge. APX location: 155 Moffett Park Dr, Sunnyvale CA

August 1: In the UK, Atari consumer products distributor Ingersoll Electronics shipped the Atari 400/800 computers (new UK versions for PAL-I; 345 pounds / 645 pounds incl. VAT; both with 16KiB RAM).

August: James Alan Cook (Jamie Cook) joined Atari as VP and Counsel of Atari's Computer division.


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