This campsite relies on an Atari ST

It doesn’t always have to be the latest hardware. A campsite in Holland has been using an Atari ST for site management for 36 years.

When the Atari ST was presented at the Hanover Fair in 1985, one year before Cebit was founded, the local trade press was enthusiastic. “Sensational” was the headline of the computer magazine, for example c’t And last but not least, he also meant the price of only 2,995 D-Marks for the computer and monitor. Taking inflation into account, the bargain at the time cost about the same as a new M1 iMac with maximum equipment, but the device was still surprisingly cheap for the time. For the family that runs a campsite in the Netherlands, the purchase was really worth it, because they still use their Atari ST for site management today.

Campsite occupancy is still organized on the Atari ST even after 36 years. Campsite operator Bos wrote its own software for this decades ago, just like him in one Video of the Dutch youtuber Victor Bart explains. According to Bos, the hardware has also been doing its job since the computer was bought in 1985. Only the floppy disk drive was replaced by an adapter for USB memory sticks. After all, you move with the times. Friends of retro computing should also take a look at the Homepage of the campsite throw. It may not have the 80s charm of the Atari ST, but it is all the more reminiscent of the beginnings of the web in the 1990s.

The fact that an Atari ST is still used for administrative purposes in a company today is clearly a rarity. However, it is not completely absurd that people still use the decades-old computer today. For example, some musicians still use the Atari ST in the studio today because of its MIDI capabilities. In this area, too, it was largely replaced by newer devices, but some fans are still loyal to the home computer in this environment. After all, the device was also used in the studio by well-known names such as the Pet Shop Boys or Depeche Mode.