| Atari realized that for its
Atari 800 computer to truly be more than just a home
computer, it would need a more capable keyboard with a
proper Numeric Keypad layout and also some additional custom
function keys as users were seeing on IBM PCs and large
scale computers in businesses.
Instead of releasing a new Atari
800 with wider case and a larger keyboard, in 1982 they
released a Numeric Keypad accessory that plugged into the
front controller port and by loading a small driver, the
computer could then see and use these keys in any program
just as if the keys were being pressed in the built in
keyboard.
This allowed for programs
such as the Atari Bookkeeper to be more user friendly for an
Accountant or a user who would need to do a lot of number
crunching which a numeric keypad made the task of entering a
lot easier.
The disk that was provided
with the CX-85 also contained the Source Code to the driver
to allow programmers to incorporate the driver into any
program making them natively load the driver and having
access to the use of the CX-85.
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