Editing Atari ST (section)

== Release ==
After six months of intensive effort following Tramiel's takeover, Atari announced the 520ST at the Winter [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] in January 1985.<ref name="3years"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Winter CES 1985 Report|url=http://obligement.free.fr/articles_traduction/winter_ces_1985_en.php}}</ref> ''InfoWorld'' assessed the prototypes shown at computer shows as follows:<blockquote>Pilot production models of the Atari machine are much slicker than the hand-built models shown at earlier computer fairs; it doesn't look like a typical Commodore 64-style, corner-cutting, low-cost Jack Tramiel product of the past.<ref name="iw19850415">{{cite magazine |date=1985-04-15 |title=GEM on ROM for the Atari ST |page=13 |magazine=InfoWorld |volume=7 |issue=15 |editor-last=McCarthy |editor-first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |access-date=4 February 2015}}</ref></blockquote>Atari unexpectedly displayed the ST at Atlanta [[COMDEX]] in May.<ref name="sanger19850513">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/13/business/atari-is-facing-new-doubts.html |title=Atari is Facing New Doubts |last=Sanger, David E. |date=1985-05-13 |work=The New York Times |access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> Similarities to the original [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] and Tramiel's role in its development resulted in it being nicknamed '''Jackintosh'''.<ref name="chin19850128">{{cite news|last=Chin | first=Kathy|title=Atari Announces Six New Computers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15|work=InfoWorld|publisher=IDG|date=1985-01-28|access-date=2011-03-19|pages=15–16}}</ref> Atari's rapid development of the ST amazed many,<ref name="3years" /><ref name="chin19850128" /> but others were skeptical, citing its "cheap" appearance, Atari's uncertain financial health, and poor relations between Tramiel-led Commodore and software developers.<ref name="chin19850128" /><ref name="sanger19850513" /><ref name="chinsoft19850128" />

In early 1985, the 520ST shipped to the press, developers, and [[user group]]s, and in early July 1985 for general retail sales. It saved the company.<ref name="3years" /><ref name="maremaa19850603" /><ref name="previewdate">{{cite news | last=Powell | first=Jack | title=ST Product News: First ST review | newspaper=[[ANTIC (magazine)|ANTIC]] | volume=4 | issue=6 | page=26 | date=October 1985 | url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n6/STproductnews.html}}</ref> Atari ST print advertisements stated, "America, We Built It For You", and quoted Atari president Sam Tramiel: "We promised. We delivered. With pride, determination, and good old ATARI know how".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1985-10-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_065_1985_Oct#page/n21/mode/2up | title=America / We Built It For You / The Atari ST (advertisement) | work=Compute! | date=October 1985 | access-date=16 October 2013 | pages=19}}</ref> By November, Atari stated that more than 50,000 520STs had been sold, "with U.S. sales alone well into five figures".<ref name="harris19851111">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18 | title=Atari Sales Underestimated | work=InfoWorld | date=1985-11-11 | type=letter | access-date=8 January 2015 | author=Harris, Neil | pages=18}}</ref> The machine had gone from concept to store shelves in a little under one year.

Atari had intended to release the 130ST with 128&nbsp;KB of RAM and the 260ST with 256&nbsp;KB. However, the ST initially shipped without TOS in ROM and required booting TOS from floppy, taking 206&nbsp;KB RAM away from applications. The 260ST was launched in Europe on a limited basis.<ref name="Atari 8BitChip">{{cite web | url=http://atari.8bitchip.info/stTOShist.html | title=Little history of Atari ST, with focus on TOS | date=May 2018 | access-date=14 January 2019 | author= Atari 8BitChip}}</ref> Early models have six [[read-only memory|ROM]] sockets for easy upgrades to TOS.<ref name="byte198601" /> New ROMs were released a few months later and were included in new machines and as an upgrade for older machines.

Atari originally intended to include GEM's Graphical Device Operating System (GDOS), which allows programs to send GEM VDI ([[Virtual Device Interface]]) commands to drivers loaded by GDOS. This allows developers to send VDI instructions to other [[Device file|devices]] simply by pointing to it. However, GDOS was not ready at the time the ST started shipping and was included in software packages and with later ST machines. Later versions of GDOS support [[vector fonts]].

[[File:ST BASIC - J.R. Bob Dobbs.gif|thumb|An ST BASIC program to display the face of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs]]

A limited set of GEM fonts were included in the ROMs, including the ST's standard 8x8 pixel graphical character set. It contains four characters which can be placed together in a square, forming the face of [[J. R. "Bob" Dobbs]] (the figurehead of the [[Church of the SubGenius]]).<ref>{{cite web |author=Robert Anton Wilson |author-link=Robert Anton Wilson |url=http://feastofhateandfear.com/archives/rawilson.html |title=Religion For the Hell of It |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927143915/http://feastofhateandfear.com/archives/rawilson.html |archive-date=2011-09-27 |url-status=dead |work=Hot Press |date=1986}}</ref>

The ST was less expensive than most contemporaries, including the [[Macintosh Plus]], and is faster than many.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/3015/16bit.html |title=price comparison |access-date=2003-10-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026193531/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/3015/16bit.html |archive-date=2009-10-26 }}</ref> Largely as a result of its price and performance factor, the ST became fairly popular, especially in Europe where [[exchange rate|foreign-exchange rates]] amplified prices. The company's English advertising slogan of the era was "Power Without the Price". An Atari ST and [[terminal emulation]] software was much cheaper than a [[Digital Equipment Corporation|Digital]] [[VT220]] terminal, commonly needed by offices with central computers.

By late 1985, the 520ST<sup>M</sup> added an [[RF modulator]] for TV display.

=== Industry reaction ===
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that Tramiel's poor pre-Atari reputation would likely make computer stores reluctant to deal with the company, hurting its distribution of the ST.<ref name="oxner198605">{{cite magazine | title=Hobby & Industry News | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | issue=28 | date=May 1986 | url=https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_28.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | access-date=17 April 2016 | last=Oxner | first=Bill | pages=4}}</ref> One retailer said, "If you can believe [[Lucy Van Pelt|Lucy]] when she holds the football for [[Charlie Brown]], you can believe Jack Tramiel";<ref name="steele19850709">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SprPDrQRvM8C&pg=PA34 | title=COMDEX: Nothing New Under the Georgia Sun | work=PC Magazine | date=1985-07-09 | access-date=28 October 2013 | last=Steele | first=William | pages=34}}</ref> another said that because of its experience with Tramiel, "our interest in Atari is zero, zilch".<ref name="maremaa19850603">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8C4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23 | title=Atari Ships New 520 ST | work=[[InfoWorld]] | volume=7 | issue=22 | department=News | date=1985-06-03 | access-date=26 April 2024 | last=Maremaa | first=Tom | page=23}}</ref> Neither Atari nor Commodore could persuade large chains like [[ComputerLand]] or BusinessLand to sell its products.<ref name="nyt19851216" /> Observers criticized Atari's erratic discussion of its stated plans for the new computer, as it shifted between using [[mass merchandiser]]s, specialty computer stores, and both. When asked at COMDEX, Atari executives could not name any computer stores that would carry the ST. After a meeting with Atari, one analyst said, "We've seen marketing strategies changed before our eyes".<ref name="sanger19850513" />

Tramiel's poor reputation influenced potential software developers. One said, "Dealing with Commodore is like dealing with Attila the Hun. I don't know if Tramiel will be following his old habits ... I don't see a lot of people rushing to get software on the machine."<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Large business-software companies like [[Lotus Development|Lotus]], [[Ashton-Tate]], and Microsoft did not promise software for either the ST or Amiga,<ref name="nyt19851216" /> and the majority of software companies were hesitant to support another platform beyond the [[IBM PC]], Apple, and [[Commodore 64]]. [[Philippe Kahn]] of [[Borland]] said, "These days, if I were a consumer, I'd stick with companies [such as Apple and IBM] [[orphaned technology|I know will be around]]".<ref name="mace19851202">{{cite news|last=Mace|first=Scott|title=Christmas Contenders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My8EAAAAMBAJ&q=mecc&pg=PA28|access-date=2011-01-22|newspaper=InfoWorld|date=1985-12-02}}</ref>

At Las Vegas COMDEX in November 1985, the industry was surprised by more than 30 companies exhibiting ST software while the Amiga had almost none.<ref name="nyt19851216">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/16/business/this-season-s-computer-war.html | title=This Season's Computer War | work=The New York Times | date=1985-12-16 | access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref> After Atlanta COMDEX, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that "more than 100 software titles will be available for the [ST], most written by small software houses that desperately need work",<ref name="sanger19850513" /> and contrasted the "small, little-known companies" at Las Vegas with the larger ones like [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Activision]], which planned Amiga applications.<ref name="nyt19851216" />

[[Trip Hawkins]] of Electronic Arts said, "I don't think Atari understands the software business. I'm still skeptical about its resources and its credibility." Although [[Michael Berlyn]] of [[Infocom]] promised that his company would quickly publish all of its games for the new computer, he doubted many others would soon do so. [[Spinnaker Software|Spinnaker]] and [[Lifetree Software|Lifetree]] were more positive, both promising to release ST software. Spinnaker said that "Atari has a vastly improved attitude toward software developers. They are eager to give us technical support and machines".<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Lifetree said, "We are giving Atari high priority".<ref name="chinsoft19850128" /> Some, such as [[Software Publishing Corporation]], were unsure of whether to develop for the ST or the Amiga.<ref name=chinsoft19850128>{{cite news|author=Chin, Kathy|title=Atari Promises Software For ST|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15
|work=InfoWorld|publisher=IDG|date=1985-01-28|access-date=2011-03-19|page=17}}</ref> [[John C. Dvorak]] wrote that the public saw both Commodore and Atari as selling "cheap disposable" game machines,<ref name="dvorak198509">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_21_1985-09_Ion_International_US#page/n3/mode/2up | title=Image | work=Ahoy! | date=September 1985 | access-date=27 June 2014 | last=Dvorak | first=John C. | pages=5}}</ref> in part because of their computers' sophisticated graphics.<ref name="webster198512">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-12/1985_12_BYTE_10-13_Computer_Conferencing#page/n363/mode/2up | title=Microcomputer Color Graphics-Observations | work=BYTE | date=December 1985 | access-date=28 October 2013 | author=Webster, Bruce | pages=405}}</ref>