The ATARI 400/800 Computer Consoles, see Figure 1-1, are personal microcomputers designed to provide entertainment, in the form of games; education, using interactive, audio-visual, education programs; information, providing a serious tool for home and business information management; plus perform all the functions of a fully programmable general purpose computer.

The ATARI 400 Computer Console contains the central processor unit (CPU) and memory in the form of the Operating System read-only-memory (ROM) and 8K (8 x 1024 bytes) of user programmable random access memory (RAM), expandable to 16K (16 x 1024 bytes). The Console also holds the keyboard, cartridge slot, controller jacks, and a serial I/O port for connecting to peripheral devices.

The ATARI 800 Computer Console contains the central processor unit (CPU) and memory in the form of the Operating System read-only-memory (lOK ROM) and 8K - 16K (standard) of user programmable random-access- memory (RAM), and two Expansion Sockets for additional RAM modules (maximun 48K). The Console also holds the keyboard, cartridge slots, controller jacks and a serial I/O port for connecting to peripheral devices.