GameLine
GameLine was a dialup game distribution service for the Atari 2600, developed and operated by Control Video Corporation (CVC). Subscribers could install the proprietary modem and storage cartridge in their home game console, accessing the GameLine service to download games over a telephone line. GameLine had an exclusive selection of games, and its pioneering business model eventually gave rise to America Online. Despite being ahead of its time, it wasn't very popular, possibly due to its price of $60 for the hardware, $15 for the membership fee, and $1 per game, which you could only keep for a week. In 1983, cable pioneer William von Meister was looking for a way to use his modem transmission technology, which was previously acquired in ill-fated attempts of sending music to cable companies. Legal issues caused cable providers to step away from the service, leaving Von Meister with a delivery tool and no content. He then converted his variable speed adaptive modem technology ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017–present), Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), who went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client launched in 1988, eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source (online service), The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users. AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the United States. It originally online service, provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, pioneered instant messaging, and in 1993 began adding internet access. In 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Von Meister
William F. von Meister (February 21, 1942 – May 18, 1995) was an American entrepreneur who founded and participated in a number of startup ventures in the Washington, D.C., area. These included The Source, an early online service and CompuServe competitor, and Control Video Corporation, a predecessor company to AOL. Early years William Ferdinand von Meister was born of noble German descent on February 21, 1942 in New York City, to F. W. von Meister and Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld. His father, F. W. von Meister, was the godson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his mother was a countess. William von Meister attended high school at Middlesex Academy in Massachusetts, and a finishing school in Switzerland. He then attended Georgetown University. Though he never completed his undergraduate education, he persuaded nearby American University to enroll him in its master's program for business. Career After leaving Georgetown in 1973, von Meister started a wholesale liquor company, but f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Case
Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer Services, as a marketing vice-president in 1985, became CEO of the company (renamed AOL) in 1991, and, at the height of the dot-com bubble in 2000, orchestrated with Gerald M. Levin the merger that created AOL Time Warner, described as "the biggest train wreck in the history of corporate America." Since resigning as chairman of the company in 2003, he has launched a venture-capital firm, Revolution LLC, based in Washington, D.C., and authored ''The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future'', which in 2016 became a ''New York Times'' bestselling book. In 2022 he published his second book, ''The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places Are Building the New American Dream''. Life and career Steve Case was born ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridgeinitially ''Combat'' and later ''Pac-Man''. Atari was successful at creating arcade video games, but their development cost and limited lifespan drove CEO Nolan Bushnell to seek a programmable home system. The first inexpensive microprocessors from MOS Technology in late 1975 made this feasible. The console was prototyped as codename Stella by Atari subsidiary Cyan Engineering. Lacking funding to complete the project, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. The Atari VCS launched in 1977 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Windbreaker
A windbreaker, or a windcheater, is a thin fabric jacket designed to resist wind chill and light rain, making it a lighter version of the jacket. It is usually of lightweight construction and characteristically made of a synthetic material. A windbreaker often uses elastic waistbands, and/or armbands, and a zipper to allow adjustments for the current weather conditions. Regular jackets, coats, etc. may include a type of windbreaker as an interlining that can be removed when desired. Windbreakers sometimes include a hood that may be removable and/or stowable. Many windbreakers may also include large pockets on the inside or the outside which allows belongings to be covered from weather such as light wind or rain as mentioned above. Windbreakers may offer ''light to moderate'' insulating protection, more so than a sweater, but less than an overcoat. Windbreakers are primarily worn during the warmer seasons when wind or rain are expected, or as part of a layering strategy du ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deadly Duck
''Deadly Duck'' is fixed shooter for the Atari 2600 released on January 20, 1982 in North America. It was designed by Ed Hodapp for Sirius Software and published by Fox Interactive, 20th Century Fox Games. It was later ported to the VIC-20. Gameplay Cranky crabs are attempting to get the ducks out of their ponds. The crabs fly in the air while throwing bricks and bombs at the ducks. To fight back, the ducks are armed with a bill that is also a gun barrel that shoots a limitless supply of bullets straight up. The player starts with four lives and a bonus life is awarded when all eight crabs in a level have been shot. If the player is hit by a brick they lose a life. When bricks land at the bottom of the play area they impede player movement for a temporary period. References 1982 video games Atari 2600 games VIC-20 games Fixed shooters Fox Video Games games Sirius Software games Video games about birds Video games developed in the United States {{Atari-console-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cosmic Ark
''Cosmic Ark'' is an Atari 2600 game designed by Rob Fulop and published by Imagic in 1982. The objective is to gather specimens from different planets in a spaceship which contains the survivors from the city of Atlantis. There are two versions of the cartridge. One allows the player to toggle the starfield display with the Black & White / Color TV switch. In the other the starfield cannot be disabled. Gameplay In the first stage, the player must fend off meteor showers from all four sides of the screen by pushing the joystick to fire in the desired direction, similar to the 1980 arcade game ''Space Zap''. The second stage requires the player to pilot a shuttle to a planet and use its tractor beam to pick up life forms. While near the planet's surface, planetary defenses will fire at the shuttle. If hit, one previously captured specimen will be freed, forcing the player to retrieve another. After a set period of time, a klaxon will warn of renewed meteor activity, and the play ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bank Heist (Atari 2600)
''Bank Heist'' is a maze game written by Bill Aspromonte for the Atari 2600 and published by 20th Century Fox in 1983. Gameplay Each level in ''Bank Heist'' is a maze-like city (similar to ''Pac-Man''). The objective of the game is to rob as many banks as possible while avoiding the police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a .... The player controls a car called the ''Getaway Car''. The car has a limited amount of fuel, which can be refilled by changing cities. Robbing a bank will cause a cop car to appear, as well as another bank. Up to three cars can be present in a city at a time. Cars can be destroyed by dropping dynamite out the tail pipe of the Getaway Car (however, dynamite can also destroy the Getaway Car). The player starts out with four spare cars (lives ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atlantis (video Game)
''Atlantis'' is a fixed shooter video game released by Imagic in July 1982 for the Atari 2600. It was written by Dennis Koble who also wrote ''Trick Shot'', ''Solar Storm'', and ''Shootin' Gallery'' for Imagic. ''Atlantis'' was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20, Intellivision, and the Magnavox Odyssey 2. The game was inspired by Taito's 1981 ''Colony 7'' arcade game. ''Atlantis'' was the subject of Destination Atlantis, a video game competition in which players of the Atari 2600 version were encouraged to mail photos of their high scores to Imagic to receive a special edition of the game named ''Atlantis II''. Plot and gameplay The player controls the last defenses of the City of Atlantis against the Gorgon invaders. The city has seven bases, which are vulnerable to attack. Three of these have firepower capabilities to destroy the Gorgon ships before they manage to fire death rays at one of the settlements. The gun bases have fixed cannons; the center base fires s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alien (Atari 2600)
''Alien'' is a 1982 maze video game for the Atari 2600 published by 20th Century Fox. Based on the 1979 film, ''Alien'' is a maze game written by Doug Neubauer, but credited in the packaging as "Dallas North." Neubauer is best known for 1979's ''Star Raiders''. ''Alien'' for the Atari 2600 is the first officially licensed game of the ''Alien'' film series. Gameplay The player controls a member of the human crew pursued by three aliens in the hallways of a ship. The goal is to destroy the alien eggs laid in the hallways (like the dots in ''Pac-Man''). The player is armed with a flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World Wa ... which can temporarily immobilize the aliens. Additionally, "pulsars" (like the power pills in ''Pac-Man'') occasionally appear which turn th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Airlock (video Game)
''Airlock'' is a platfom video game for the Atari 2600 published by Data Age in 1982. The player runs and jumps through the interior of a crippled submarine with only ten seconds to complete each level. Gameplay Reception Frank Lovece, writing for ''Electronic Fun with Computers & Games ''Electronic Fun with Computers & Games'' was a video game magazine published in the United States from November 1982 to May 1984. For the last two issues it was renamed ''ComputerFun''. Content The magazine was split up into the following sect ...'' in 1982, disliked that "there's little to the game once you've passed the first level." He pointed out that because the remaining time carries over to subsequent levels, the game gets easier as you progress. In a review long after the game's release, Keita Iida concluded: "Graphics are drab in typical Data Age fashion, and sounds consist of nothing more than blips and beeps. On the other hand, it's one of the better efforts by one of the first ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by Steve Ross as Warner Communications, and Time Warner was created in 1990, following a merger between Time Inc. and the original Warner Communications. The company has film, television and cable operations, with its assets including WarnerMedia Studios & Networks (consisting of the entertainment assets of Turner Broadcasting, HBO, and Cinemax as well as Warner Bros., which itself consists of the film, animation, television studios, the company's home entertainment division and Studio Distribution Services, its joint venture with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, and, together with CBS Entertainment Group, through its Warner Bros. Entertainment subsidiary, a 50% interest in The CW television network); ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |