{"id":22033,"date":"2025-08-13T08:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=22033"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:46:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:46:46","slug":"vin104","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin104\/","title":{"rendered":"Atari Mega ST2"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Atari Mega ST2<\/h2>\n<p>[Vin 104]<\/p>\n<p>The Atari Mega ST2, released in 1987, was a notable vintage computer aimed at small business and desktop publishing markets, featuring 2MB of RAM, a battery-backed clock, and a Blitter co-processor that enhanced graphics performance. It was important historically for its role in popularising graphical user interfaces with the TOS and GEM environment, as well as for its built-in MIDI ports, which made it highly popular among musicians for music sequencing. The Mega ST2 found particular popularity in European markets and in educational settings before being eclipsed by PCs, but it remains a significant piece of computing history for combining affordability, multimedia capabilities, and expandability in a mid-1980&#8217;s personal computer.<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-22051\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"Atari Mega ST2\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250715_180705949-1-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Atari Inc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Personal computer<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: 1987<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: $1,700 (~$5,300 adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 1 (1,000 KIPS)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: Motorola 68000 running at 8 MHz<\/li>\n<li><strong>Memory<\/strong>: 2 MB<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: Blitter coprocessor for enhanced graphics performance<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clock<\/strong>: Battery-backed real-time clock<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sound<\/strong>: Built-in MIDI ports for music sequencing<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong>: ~10 kg (22 lbs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW136206418 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"marker:text-textOff list-disc\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"my-0\"><strong>Operating System<\/strong>: TOS operating system (The Operating System) combined with the GEM (Graphics Environment Manager) graphical user interface, which provided a user-friendly, GUI-based environment for the computer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"my-0\"><strong>Supported Languages<\/strong>: Assembly, BASIC, C, Pascal, Fortran, Lisp, Modula-2, COBOL, Forth, Logo, and many others. This made it versatile for both business and hobbyist programming. Notably, Pascal and C were popular for developing software on the platform, with various compilers and development tools available at the time.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Atari Mega ST2 holds a notable place in computing history as a professional and desktop publishing-oriented evolution of the Atari ST line, combining affordability and advanced features for its time.<\/li>\n<li>It was one of the first personal computers to include a powerful Blitter coprocessor to speed graphics operations, a built-in real-time clock, and detachable keyboard with improved key action, an upgrade over earlier ST models that improved user experience.<\/li>\n<li>Its built-in MIDI ports were revolutionary, making it a favorite in music production and sequencing, significantly influencing the music and creative industries by providing an accessible yet powerful tool for musicians.<\/li>\n<li>It&#8217;s recognized for bridging home and professional use with its mix of business and multimedia capabilities. It was also one of Atari\u2019s early &#8220;workstation&#8221; style systems aimed at serious users beyond gaming and hobbyists. Its monochrome high-resolution display option made it well-suited for desktop publishing<\/li>\n<li>In vintage computing circles, the Mega ST2 is recognized for bridging home and professional use with its mix of business and multimedia capabilities. It was also one of Atari\u2019s early &#8220;workstation&#8221; style systems aimed at serious users beyond gaming and hobbyists. Its monochrome high-resolution display option made it well-suited for desktop publishing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Dr. Arlen Michaels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Atari Mega ST2 [Vin 104] The Atari Mega ST2, released in 1987, was a notable vintage computer aimed at small business and desktop publishing markets, featuring 2MB of RAM, a battery-backed clock, and a Blitter co-processor that enhanced graphics performance. It was important historically for its role in popularising graphical user interfaces with the TOS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Atari Mega ST2 - School of Computer Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Atari Mega ST2 The Atari Mega ST2, released in 1987, was a notable vintage computer aimed at small business and desktop publishing markets, featuring 2MB\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin104\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin104\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin104\/\",\"name\":\"Atari Mega ST2 - 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