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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 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Identification Number
A personal identification number (PIN), or sometimes redundantly a PIN number or PIN code, is a numeric (sometimes alpha-numeric) passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system. The PIN has been the key to facilitating the private data exchange between different data-processing centers in computer networks for financial institutions, governments, and enterprises. PINs may be used to authenticate banking systems with cardholders, governments with citizens, enterprises with employees, and computers with users, among other uses. In common usage, PINs are used in ATM or POS transactions, secure access control (e.g. computer access, door access, car access), internet transactions, or to log into a restricted website. History The PIN originated with the introduction of the automated teller machine (ATM) in 1967, as an efficient way for banks to dispense cash to their customers. The first ATM system was that of Barclays in London, in 1967; it accepted c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 20th Century Fox Games. It was later ported to the VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the .... 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and th .... 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 (live ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... which can temporarily immobilize the aliens. Additionally, "pulsars" (like the power pills in ''Pac-Man'') occasionally appear which turn the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 sec ...'' 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] |
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); Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128, also known as the C128, C-128, C= 128,The "C=" represents the graphical part of the logo. is the last 8-bit home computer that was commercially released by Commodore Business Machines (CBM). Introduced in January 1985 at the CES in Las Vegas, it appeared three years after its predecessor, the bestselling computer in the 80s Commodore 64. The C128 is a significantly expanded successor to the C64, with nearly full compatibility. The newer machine has 128 KB of RAM in two 64 KB banks, and an 80-column color video output. It has a redesigned case and keyboard. Also included is a Zilog Z80 CPU which allows the C128 to run CP/M, as an alternative to the usual Commodore BASIC environment. The presence of the Z80 and the huge CP/M software library it brings, coupled with the C64's software library, gave the C128 one of the broadest ranges of available software among its competitors. The primary hardware designer of the C128 was Bil Herd, who had worked on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Link
Quantum Link (or Q-Link) was an American and Canadian online service for the Commodore 64 and 128 personal computers that operated starting November 5, 1985. It was operated by Quantum Computer Services of Vienna, Virginia, which later became America Online. In October 1989 the service was renamed America Online, and made available to users of PC systems as well. The original Q-link service was terminated November 1, 1995 in favor of the America Online brand. The original Q-Link was a modified version of the PlayNET system, which Control Video Corporation licensed. Q-Link featured electronic mail, online chat (in its People Connection department), public domain file sharing libraries, online news, and instant messaging using On Line Messages (OLMs). Other noteworthy features included multiplayer games like checkers, chess, backgammon, hangman, and a clone of the television game show "Wheel Of Fortune" called 'Puzzler'; and an interactive graphic resort island, called Habit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
