Watching this Computerphile clip on the basics of software emulation <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6l3Elk7-Hg>, I discovered that the
Atari 2600 had a chip in it called the ?RIOT? ...

... and immediately, what came to mind was an old band I remember from
when the local University still had a functioning student radio
station, called ?Atari Teenage Riot? <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Teenage_Riot>.

Now, nowhere in that article does it mention the origin of the band
name. The ?Riot? part could be plausibly explained away as part of
their hardcore anti-Fascist views (opposing NATO bombing of
Yugoslavia? Must have taken some guts) ... but why ?Atari?? Because
that now suggests a deeper, nerdier basis for the name ...

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

... but why ?Atari?? Because that now suggests a deeper, nerdier basis
for the name ...

This interview in Music Technology suggests that they were inspired by
the Atari ST: https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/teenage-kicks/7611

"Yes, we do almost everything on the Atari as a sequencer, but then
everybody does, I think. That's only one side of it. It's a bit
difficult to explain, but for us it's a kind of symbol. There are techno
acts, like The Prodigy, who are named after synthesisers, and to us the
Atari was a stronger symbol, a symbol of Japan, of Tokyo, of computer
games and everything."

--
Adam Sampson <ats@offog.org> <http://offog.org/>

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2025-11-04 16:24, Adam Sampson wrote:

Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

... but why ?Atari?? Because that now suggests a deeper, nerdier basis
for the name ...

This interview in Music Technology suggests that they were inspired by
the Atari ST: https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/teenage-kicks/7611

"Yes, we do almost everything on the Atari as a sequencer, but then
everybody does, I think. That's only one side of it. It's a bit
difficult to explain, but for us it's a kind of symbol. There are techno acts, like The Prodigy, who are named after synthesisers, and to us the
Atari was a stronger symbol, a symbol of Japan, of Tokyo, of computer
games and everything."

Kindof funny/weird, considering that Atari was never a Japanese company.
The ST came about while Atari was run by Jack Tramiel (of Comodore
fame). But since it did come with a built-in MIDI interface, I can see
that it was popular among musicians.

Johnny


--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Johnny Billquist wrote this post by blinking in Morse code:

On 2025-11-04 16:24, Adam Sampson wrote:

Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

... but why ?Atari?? Because that now suggests a deeper, nerdier basis
for the name ...

This interview in Music Technology suggests that they were inspired by
the Atari ST: https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/teenage-kicks/7611

"Yes, we do almost everything on the Atari as a sequencer, but then
everybody does, I think. That's only one side of it. It's a bit
difficult to explain, but for us it's a kind of symbol. There are techno
acts, like The Prodigy, who are named after synthesisers, and to us the
Atari was a stronger symbol, a symbol of Japan, of Tokyo, of computer
games and everything."

Kindof funny/weird, considering that Atari was never a Japanese company.
The ST came about while Atari was run by Jack Tramiel (of Comodore
fame). But since it did come with a built-in MIDI interface, I can see
that it was popular among musicians.

The Atari ST got me started on MIDI (and bulletin boards).

--
The problem with engineers is that they tend to cheat in order to
get results.
The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy problems in order to get results.
The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at
toy problems in order to get results.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)