Introduction#

PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system. Starting in 1960, it ran on the University of Illinois' ILLIAC I computer. By the late 1970s, it supported several thousand graphics terminals distributed worldwide, running on nearly a dozen different networked mainframe computers. Many modern concepts in multi-user computing were originally developed on PLATO, including forums, message boards, online testing, e-mail, chat rooms, picture languages, instant messaging, remote screen sharing, and multiplayer video games.

ROM image#

• The Learning Phone ; original Atari software for PLATO on cartridge and with manuals
• The Learning Phone-patched.rom ; thank you so much AtariAge
• Learning Phone (2400 baud, alt character set).rom ; thank you so much AtariAge

PlatoTerm#

by Thomas ‘Thom‘ Cherryhomes (tschak909)

Terminal software for access to the PLATO system. Availabe for: for Atari 8 Bit and PC, Mac, Linux.
For up to date software, please see Thom's IRATA online site:

• PLATO box with cartridge from AtariAge ; thank you so much Albert, Thomas ‘Thom‘ Cherryhomes and Steve „Mr. Robot“ Boswell
• PLATOTerm 1.0-Atari ; PLATOTerm 1.0 on an ATR image, thank you so much Thom! Great work! :-)
• PLATOTerm 1.0-Atari ; same as above, but on github as source for the latest versions
• PLATOTerm 1.0-Atari ; PLATOTerm 1.0 on an ATR image, thank you so much Thom! Great work! :-)
• Pterm 5.0.8 for PC ; PTerm 5.0.8 for use with an PC, thank you so much Thom! Great work! :-)
• Pterm 5.0.8 for macOS ; PTerm 5.0.8 for use with macOS, thank you so much Thom! Great work! :-)

To connect to IRATA.ONLINE, use the following connection information:
Host: IRATA.ONLINE
Port: 8005 (ASCII Protocol)

Manuals#

• Introduction to Tutor-University of Illinois (1974) ; size: 2.3 MB ; 163 pages with OCR ; thank you so much Thom! Great work!
• PLATO User's Guide (1981) ; size: 14.4 MB
• The TUTOR Language by Bruce Arne Sherwood (1978) ; size: 14.7 MB ; 288 pages with OCR
• The Plato IV Architecture by Jack Stifle (1972) ; size: 2.6 MB ; 24 pages
• PLATOTerm Cart Manual Draft - 20190324.pdf ; size: xx.x MB ; in progress

PLATO-Servers:#

• https://cyber1.org/index.asp
• https://www.irata.online/

Movies#

• IRATA.ONLINE - demonstration ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes, incredible good demonstration about PLATO. Highly recommended by AtariWiki. Really worth the time! :-) Thank you so much Thom, this is an incredible good and outstanding work! Please go ahead with it!
• Why I started IRATA.ONLINE ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• Demonstrating PLATO on Atari and PC ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• Demonstrating the Atari and PLATO cartridge ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• Using IRATA.ONLINE from any web browser. Even your fridge! ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA ONLINE - VCFMW 2018 ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• VCF West XIII -- Thom Cherryhomes -- IRATA Online Plato System ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE - One Community, Many Platforms ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• VCF East XIII -- Thomas Cherryhomes -- IRATA.ONLINE PLATO Environment ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA Online - Atari, Ti, and Spectrum ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE - Getting Started with PLATOTerm for Atari 8-bit systems ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA ONLINE - PLATOTerm Amiga WIP 20181115 ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE presentation at VCF Midwest 13 ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE - About Linesets ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE - Character Sets ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE and PLATOTerm - Many Platforms, One Codebase - Teleconferencing Example ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE Presentation at VCF East - 2018-05-23 ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• IRATA.ONLINE - Using the Notesfile Sequencer ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• PLATOTerm for Atari computers ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• Atari XL Home Computers - Atari Mindlink - Atari PLATO Access ; from The Atari Museum ; thank you Curt!
• PLATOTERM lite 1.3 for Atari 8-bit Computers ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• Spasim - The first (1974) multiplayer 3d first person shooter game ; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!
• ATARI PLATO Router Demonstration ; size: 59.7 MB; from Thomas 'Thom' Cherryhomes ; thank you Thom!

Hardware#

• WiModem232 w/OLED ; needed to access PLATO with real Atari hardware

References#

• PLATO (computer system) english
• PLATO (computer system) deutsch
• The Learning Phone ; all the starting stuff needed. Thank you so much Atarimania! :-)
• PLATO RISING from ANTIC VOL. 3, NO. 3 / JULY 1984
• PLATO LEARNING PHONE from ANTIC VOL. 4, NO. 12 / APRIL 1986
• The Friendly Orange Glow - The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture by Brian Dear
• Thom's site about PLATO on Atari ; You really have to check in, this is such an oustanding work from Thom, you have to see for yourself! Incredible! Thom, the Atari community is deep, deep in your debt! Thank you so much! :-)))
• PLATO discussion on AtariAge ; highly recommended!

Presentations#

• PLATO presentation at Fujiama 2019 ; size: 12 MB

Pictures#

PlatoTerm box 1 created by Steve "Mr. Robot" Boswell. Incredible work Steve, your art is outstanding and stand by excellent. Please go ahead, we really love your work!

PlatoTerm box 2 created by Steve "Mr. Robot" Boswell. Incredible work Steve, your art is outstanding and stand by excellent. Please go ahead, we really love your work!

PLATO cartridge label created by Steve "Mr. Robot" Boswell. Incredible work Steve, your art is outstanding and stand by excellent. Please go ahead, we really love your work!

PLATO Educational Courseware ad from Control Data from 1983

PLATO terminal emulation of different computers parallel running on just one computer

PLATO terminal emulation on original Atari hardware connected to Cyber1

Adapter for the Atari 850 interface needed to run PLATO on original Atari hardware with connection to modern routers

PLATO terminal commands

PLATO terminal connected to Cyber1

Game Berzerk on a PLATO terminal

Cyberserv.org - Command Mode

Introduction to FORTRAN arithmetic on PLATO

Games on PLATO

Graphics on PLATO

IRATA.ONLINE - Main Menu with Atari logo

IRATA.ONLINE - established successful connection

Battleships on PLATO

Checkers on PLATO

Normal text on PLATO

Example for the Tutor language to create sites for PLATO