Jack Tramiel's axe has fallen on the Atari 600XL. Heads have rolled down the corridors of the executive suite since his takeover of Atari - now the product range is suffering its first casualties.

The 600XL is not yet officially discontinued in the UK but a spokesman said last week: "The main emphasis now is on the 800XL."

Atari's market research, he said, showed that the market (i.e. people buying micros) was moving towards 64K machines. "The 64K 800XL will naturally take precedence over the 600XL, which will continue to be sold while current stocks last."

The expression "current stocks" is the death knell for the 600XL. Mr. Tramiel, founder of Commodore and now apparently determined to grind the company he founded into the dust, is reported in the US to have discontinued all Atari's home micros with the exception of the 800XL. That machine now costs £200 in this country.

The 600XL's number came up two weeks ago, when it too came down in price to below £100. Prior to this (issue 74), a London store jumped the gun by offering it at £99.99.

Atari will continue to support the 600XL, and the compatibility within its range will ensure that users aren't left high and dry. They will also have the option of adding the £90 memory module that effecetively turns it into an 800XL.

As to the future, Atari UK has cancelled a press conference at which Jack Tramiel was to have spoken on his view of the company's development. The reason given was that further developments of new products demand his attention in the US - these will be the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit machines that it is said to be working on.