Editing Atari 8-bit computers (section)

=== Development ===

Management identified two [[Sweet spot (economics)|sweet spot]]s for the new computers: a low-end version known internally as "Candy", and a higher-end machine known as "Colleen" (named after two Atari secretaries).<ref>{{cite web|author=Fulton, Steve|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080825070844/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3766/atari_the_golden_years__a_.php?page=4|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 25, 2008|title=Atari: The Golden Years &nbsp; A History, 1978&nbsp;1981|website=Gamasutra|date=August 21, 2008|page=4}}</ref> Atari would market Colleen as a computer and Candy as a game machine or hybrid game console. Colleen includes user-accessible expansion slots for [[Random-access memory|RAM]] and [[Read-only memory|ROM]], two 8&nbsp;KB [[ROM cartridge]] slots, [[RF modulator|RF]] and [[composite video|monitor output]] (including two pins for separate luma and chroma suitable for superior [[S-Video]] output) and a full keyboard. Candy was initially designed as a game console, lacking a keyboard and input/output ports, although an external keyboard was planned for [[Atari joystick port|joystick ports]] 3 and 4. At the time, plans called for both to have a separate audio port supporting [[cassette tape]]s as a storage medium.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=455}}

A goal for the new systems was user-friendliness. One executive stated, "Does the end user care about the architecture of the machine? The answer is no. 'What will it do for me?' That's his major concern. ... why try to scare the consumer off by making it so he or she has to have a [[electrical engineering|double E]] or be a computer programmer to utilize the full capabilities of a personal computer?" For example, cartridges were expected to make the computers easier to use.<ref name=tomczyk>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.atariarchives.org/c1ba/page002.php|title=Compute!'s First Book of Atari|publisher=Compute! Books|author=Tomczyk, Michael S.|author-link=Michael Tomczyk|year=1981|pages=2|isbn=0-942386-00-0|chapter=Atari's Marketing Vice President Profiles the Personal Computer Market}}</ref> To minimize handling of bare circuit boards or chips, as is common with other systems of that period, the computers were designed with enclosed modules for memory, ROM cartridges, with keyed connectors to prevent them being plugged into the wrong slot. The operating system boots automatically, loading drivers from devices on the serial bus (SIO). The [[#Disk Operating System|disk operating system]] for managing floppy storage was menu-driven. When no software is loaded, rather than leaving the user at a blank screen or machine language monitor, the OS goes to the "Memo Pad" which is a built-in full-screen editor without file storage support.<ref name=dere/>

As the design process for the new machines continued, there were questions about what the Candy should be. There was a running argument about whether the keyboard would be external or built-in.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=456}} By the summer of 1978, education had become a focus for the new systems. The Colleen design was largely complete by May 1978, but in early 1979 the decision was made that Candy would also be a complete computer, but intended for children. As such, it would feature a new keyboard designed to be resistant to liquid spills.{{sfn|Goldberg|Vendel|2012|p=460}}

Atari intended to port [[Microsoft BASIC]] to the machine as an 8&nbsp;[[kilobyte|KB]] ROM cartridge. However, the existing 6502 version from Microsoft was around 7,900&nbsp;bytes, leaving no room for extensions for graphics and sound. The company contracted with local consulting firm [[Shepardson Microsystems]] to complete the port. They recommended writing a new version from scratch, resulting in [[Atari BASIC]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Wilkinson, Bill|title=Inside Atari Basic|publisher=COMPUTE! Books|year=1982 |url=http://www.atariarchives.org/iad/introduction.php}}</ref>