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Atari 1050
The Atari 1050 is a floppy disk drive for Atari 8-bit computers released in June 1983. It is compatible with the 90 kB single-density mode of the original Atari 810 it replaced, and added a new "enhanced" or "dual density" mode that provided 130 kB. Based on a half-height Tandon mechanism, it was smaller than the 810 and matched the styling of the new 600XL and 800XL machines.
By the time it was available, a wide variety of third party drives had been introduced for the 8-bit platform, many of which were faster and offered true double-density support for 180 kB. The lack of double-density support on the 1050 was a mystery to onlookers at the time, as the hardware had full support for this format. The launch was further marred by releasing it with the older Atari DOS 2.0S, S for "single", which did not support the 130 kB capacity.
Atari eventually replaced 2.0 with DOS 3.0 which supported the enhanced density mode. However, it also used an entirely new format that was incompatible with earlier disks. This led to further criticism and the widespread use of 3rd party DOSes that avoided these issues. The release of DOS 2.5 in 1985 finally addressed these issues, but by that time many of the 3rd party solutions had become entrenched.
The 1050 was launched directly into the rise of the Commodore 64 and the videogame crash of 1983 when sales of the entire 8-bit line plummeted. When Jack Tramiel purchased Atari in 1984 there were warehouses filled with unsold 1050s, which delayed production of a replacement. It was not until 1987 that the Atari XF551 was introduced, offering both double-density and double-sided capabilities and a double-speed transfer mode.
When the 8-bit series was first announced in 1978 it was often shown with two floppy disk drive systems, the 810 and 815. The 810 was an entry-level model, supporting only single-density FM encoding at 90 kB total storage. The 815 used two double-density MFM encoding drives in a single large housing, each drive offering 180 kB of storage. For reasons unknown, the 815 was produced only in small numbers starting in 1980 and then abandoned, leaving the platform only with the 810 which were described by InfoWorld as "noisy, slow and inefficient."
In April 1982, Atari began the process of designing an improved version of the 8-bit series, which were to be known as the 1000 and 1000X. Among the changes was a new design language from Regan Cheng using off-white and black plastics with brushed metal overlay on switches and other fixtures. Along with the machines, a new line of peripherals would be released with matching styling, numbered in the 1000's in the same fashion that earlier devices had been numbered in the 400 and 800 series.
Ultimately Atari introduced only one new computer model, named 1200XL. When it was introduced at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in December 1982, it was shown with the new Atari 1010 cassette deck, and the 1020 plotter and 1025 printers. There was no sign of a new floppy drive, and one reviewer noted that when he went looking all he could find was the "old model 810 clunkers", speculating that "we will be seeing a new drive from Atari within the next half year".
This prediction came true; when the 1200XL finally reached the market in June 1983, it was accompanied by the new Atari 1050. The disk mechanism moved from the original Tandon used in the 810 to the new "thinline" design that was slightly shorter and led to a more compact case. It offered the new "enhanced" or "dual density" option that improved formatted capacity to 130 kB. To take advantage of the new enhanced density mode, a new version of Atari DOS was needed, 3.0. This was not available at launch, and the early examples shipped with DOS 2.0S instead, meaning they could not take advantage of the new features.
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Atari 1050 AI simulator
(@Atari 1050_simulator)
Atari 1050
The Atari 1050 is a floppy disk drive for Atari 8-bit computers released in June 1983. It is compatible with the 90 kB single-density mode of the original Atari 810 it replaced, and added a new "enhanced" or "dual density" mode that provided 130 kB. Based on a half-height Tandon mechanism, it was smaller than the 810 and matched the styling of the new 600XL and 800XL machines.
By the time it was available, a wide variety of third party drives had been introduced for the 8-bit platform, many of which were faster and offered true double-density support for 180 kB. The lack of double-density support on the 1050 was a mystery to onlookers at the time, as the hardware had full support for this format. The launch was further marred by releasing it with the older Atari DOS 2.0S, S for "single", which did not support the 130 kB capacity.
Atari eventually replaced 2.0 with DOS 3.0 which supported the enhanced density mode. However, it also used an entirely new format that was incompatible with earlier disks. This led to further criticism and the widespread use of 3rd party DOSes that avoided these issues. The release of DOS 2.5 in 1985 finally addressed these issues, but by that time many of the 3rd party solutions had become entrenched.
The 1050 was launched directly into the rise of the Commodore 64 and the videogame crash of 1983 when sales of the entire 8-bit line plummeted. When Jack Tramiel purchased Atari in 1984 there were warehouses filled with unsold 1050s, which delayed production of a replacement. It was not until 1987 that the Atari XF551 was introduced, offering both double-density and double-sided capabilities and a double-speed transfer mode.
When the 8-bit series was first announced in 1978 it was often shown with two floppy disk drive systems, the 810 and 815. The 810 was an entry-level model, supporting only single-density FM encoding at 90 kB total storage. The 815 used two double-density MFM encoding drives in a single large housing, each drive offering 180 kB of storage. For reasons unknown, the 815 was produced only in small numbers starting in 1980 and then abandoned, leaving the platform only with the 810 which were described by InfoWorld as "noisy, slow and inefficient."
In April 1982, Atari began the process of designing an improved version of the 8-bit series, which were to be known as the 1000 and 1000X. Among the changes was a new design language from Regan Cheng using off-white and black plastics with brushed metal overlay on switches and other fixtures. Along with the machines, a new line of peripherals would be released with matching styling, numbered in the 1000's in the same fashion that earlier devices had been numbered in the 400 and 800 series.
Ultimately Atari introduced only one new computer model, named 1200XL. When it was introduced at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in December 1982, it was shown with the new Atari 1010 cassette deck, and the 1020 plotter and 1025 printers. There was no sign of a new floppy drive, and one reviewer noted that when he went looking all he could find was the "old model 810 clunkers", speculating that "we will be seeing a new drive from Atari within the next half year".
This prediction came true; when the 1200XL finally reached the market in June 1983, it was accompanied by the new Atari 1050. The disk mechanism moved from the original Tandon used in the 810 to the new "thinline" design that was slightly shorter and led to a more compact case. It offered the new "enhanced" or "dual density" option that improved formatted capacity to 130 kB. To take advantage of the new enhanced density mode, a new version of Atari DOS was needed, 3.0. This was not available at launch, and the early examples shipped with DOS 2.0S instead, meaning they could not take advantage of the new features.
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