So I've been working with my Atari 800XL computer more as of late. I recently acquired a device called an sio2pc-usb which, in conjunction with a program called AspeQt, allows me to use my computer as a disk drive (several, simultaneously, actually), and thus allows me to use files between the two computers. It even works in conjunction with my Atari 1050 disk drive, so long as I make sure the drive numbers don't conflict.
This has given me the opportunity to make more use of a cartridge-based program I acquired shortly after the 800XL itself, AtariArtist. It's a basic paint program that uses the bundled-in Atari TouchTablet to create images at a dazzling 320 x 192 resolution and maximum four colors from the built-in palette. Works much better than it sounds. The tablet is responsive, although no match for a modern one like my Wacom Intuos4, and although it doesn't have an undo or erase feature it's still fairly easy to use.
So I've been doing some artwork. The program I use to convert the images from the native Atari format to PNG is called RECOIL. I've posted these on my almost-never-used Tumblr account, but here they are, and there will probably be more to follow. Just because. It's retro fun and an interesting challenge, with its limitations.
Peace,
JT
