A few many months back I obtained an Atari 65xe from AtariAge forum user ApolloBoy. ApolloBoy had originally bought this on Ebay for the price of 85$ dollars. I obtained it from him for vaguely the same price. While similar to a stock Atari 65XE, it had some external differences.

The first was, where there should be an Atari Badge, a sticker had been places that says 'Computer Orthoptics (tm)'. There is also a piece of masking tape on the side with a serial number of sorts: A1511009678. This means at some point in this computer's life, It had been used in a Optometrists Office or similar setting that works with equipment related to eyecare. Most likely to control some sort of machine or machines.

ApolloBoy eventually contacted the company, which was still in business all these years, and got reply from the parent company 'Home Therapy Systems'. They did not have a partnership with Atari, so most likely purchased them and modified them. And speaking of modifications- the inside of the unit has been modified with a jumper to prevent stock Atari 65XEs from running their software! This jumper sits between pins 3 and 10 on the GTIA. This means it pushes the button on Joysticks 3 and 4. Since the Atari 65XE only has two Joystick ports, 1 and 2-- this acts as a form of hardware check for 'Computer Orthoptic's Software' to make sure it's running on their modded system.

Sadly, that's where the story ends when it ends up in my care. It works as a standard 65XE and anything I've run on it hasn't had any problems yet. I am looking for some software for this- though it isn't a priority, just-- some interest on what it looks like.

Just thought I'd tell the story of one of the odder pieces in my collection!

Original Source: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/303349-%E2%80%9Ccomputer-orthoptics%E2%80%9D-65xe-variation

It's now time to talk about the Bittboy PocketGo V2.1 as I alluded to in my original Bittboy review! I meant to get to this sooner, but life has a way of kicking you off course! Regardless, let's review the PocketGo V2.1!

First, let's talk about the outside. Mine came in the color white, with rainbow buttons. The system has four face buttons labeled Y, X, B, A, Start & Select, a D-pad, and an analog control stick. The top of the system has two L and R buttons for each side. As well as the power button, 3.5 mm audio jack, USB-C connector and a volume up and down button. The bottom has two Micro SD cards, and a reset button. There is a third, unlabeled button over the start and select buttons whose function I am unsure of- but believe it's there for software to take advantage of as a 'free button'.

It's easy to hold and my hands typically don't hurt after holding it for a while. The only complaint I have is the analog stick isn't of the best quality and it feels...for lack of a better term 'gritty'. Everything else works pretty well otherwise- but if you intend to play systems or games that might use the analog stick

It has a large amount of emulators and game ports on it. Enough that I won't sit here and name them all. But includes all the systems and ports you'd expect by now-- NES, SNES, PS1, Doom, Wolf 3D and such. They all run pretty great! Things made for the RG350 tend to work just fine on the PocketGo V.2.1, though some may need control reconfiguration. I also understand it's compatible with the RG350 firmware, but I have not been able to confirm this yet. So don't take my word on that!

One thing I did not like, was how difficult it was to add roms or other files to the system. The USB-C cord the system comes with is not 'Data' compatible, and one that is data compatible is required to add files to the system. It uses a wired 'network' connection to connect onto the system via FTP. While you can just plug the SD card into your computer, the partition required to be read to add files onto isn't readable by Windows based systems due to it being a Linux partition. This part of the system is not newbie friendly, I am just used to using FTP and associated systems enough that it's easy for me.

Overall, I don't regret buying the Pocket Go V2.1. I wish the analog stick felt better to use, but otherwise, has kept my entertained on my doctors visits and overall places where I need to wait around without anything better to do!

Please checkout Bittboy.com to see about obtaining your own!

Version 2 of my new cover art pic I'm using. #retrogaming #fantasyzone pic.twitter.com/zvvQFQWxEu

— Retrocade Romp! (@RetrocadeRomp) November 24, 2020

Just letting you folks know that I have moved webhosts. So I apologize for any website downness that happened or can happen in the near future due to DNS propogation and just general trouble getting things setup! Any problems? Please comment with the link below this post! Finally designed a background I kinda like. Simple. Uses the same color, but adds some interesting little retro related panache to the website! The Technical Docs. page has gotten updated with the most recent FAQs I could find, and added some more systems aswell! I will look for more to add later. Any suggestions? Lemme know in the comments!

I imported all the news into a new content system. This should help the site run better and prevent front page overcrowding. Any issues? Lemme know at retrocaderomp@gmail.com!

Been on an Intellivision kick in recent memory. Got myself a Sears Super Arcade, and some rarer games like Thunder Castle and Blockade Runner- which I'm enjoying a lot. Which is why I'm gonna suggest you go visit INTV Funhouse, an informative website, with reviews, screenshots and overlays- run by Steven A. Orth as a hobby. Been learning a lot browsing through their website!

Got myself one of these! A review soon when I am able.

I finally found a modded PSone (PS 1 'Slim' after much searching. Can't wait to get it! 

Went ahead and moved URLs. Old URL has a redirect. Updating my old hyperlinks on websites where able!