ANTIC Interview 399 - Jim Tittsler, Atari 1600 prototype

Jim Tittsler, Atari 1600 prototype Jim Tittsler got my attention with a tweet, an old photo of a computer in a PC-style case, connected to Atari joysticks and disk drive. In the tweet, Jim wrote: "A prototype of what we hoped would become the #atari 1600: an Atari 800 grafted on to an IBM PC compatible. A Jekyll/Hyde mashup allowing you to plug in cartridges, SIO drives, and  PC expansion cards. It seemed a good idea at the time." So I reached out to Jim to learn more about that computer, and his time at Atari. Jim worked in Atari's Special Projects Group, where he worked on several pie-in-the-sky, unreleased, home computer projects including the Atari 1600. When Atari was sold to Jack Tramiel, he was re-hired, where he worked on the Atari ST, the Atari PC-1 IBM compatible, and other projects. He worked at Atari for more than a decade. This interview took place on September 9, 2020. Video version of this interview at YouTube Jim's Atari 1600 tweet Atari Museum on the Atari 1600