[Coco] CoCo Progression...

[Boisy G. Pitre]

On Sep 24, 2004, at 11:32 PM, Steve Batson wrote:

> Mark, All,
>
> Understand, I'm not trying to stir things up, just trying to 
> understand some things.
>
> On the one hand, I hear that people don't want emulators because it's 
> not "Real Metal" or the real thing or "It's not Vintage 
> Computing"...on the other hand, I hear about people wanting to add USB 
> and all this stuff that is not vintage computing technology. I stated 
> in my first post that I understand people want to do that for the fun 
> or challenge, so there is no need to go into that...I understand that 
> just as any other hobby or area of interest someone may have. I 
> wouldn't think of discouraging that or making fun of it.
>
> Over the years people have repackaged thier CoCo's into PC Cases, 
> installed enhanced keyboards, etc. I don't see how that can feel any 
> more like the vintage coco than an emulator on a PC using the same 
> keyboard.

Personally, I have always had a fundamental problem with repacking for 
the very reason you mention.  It is stripping the CoCo from its true 
"home" and trying to retrofit it into, of all things, a PC case.  To 
me, part of the CoCo being a CoCo is seeing it in its small white case.

The subject of emulation brings up an entire set of philosophical 
questions.  At what point does a CoCo cease to become a CoCo?  For 
example, almost everyone believes that you can replace a 6809 with a 
6309 and still have a genuine CoCo.  But at what point do you take 
enough original components out of the CoCo, such that the "soul" of the 
machine is lost?

Here are my feelings:

	- Enhancing the CoCo with external peripherals like USB and other 
storage devices does not take anything away from a CoCo.  These things 
are merely adding to it.

	- Exchanging the CoCo keyboard with a PC keyboard takes away a "piece" 
of what the CoCo is, but doesn't void the CoCo from being a CoCo.

	- The SuperBoard will add features internally to the CoCo 3 while 
still using the basic motherboard.  I would call it a CoCo 3+

	- Removing a CoCo from its case and sticking it in a PC case is taking 
away its basic identity.  Sure, it's still running CoCo software, etc., 
but the "spirit" of the CoCo is sacrificed in such a configuration.

	- Running a CoCo emulator on a PC or Mac, while useful and fun, is 
just an imitation.  It fails to capture the essence of the true CoCo 
experience.

> I'd be just as intersted in seeing a new or extended hardware coco 
> design as I would a good emulator (trademark, patent and copyright 
> issues aside) but I tend to doubt that is ever going to happen. Once 
> the CoCo hardware supply has dried up, then what? A motherboard can 
> only handle so many trace cuts and soldering.

There has been talk of a "CoCo 4" for well over 15 years now.  What has 
come down the pike has never really claimed the title succinctly.  I 
believe with today's technology, something closer to a real CoCo 4 is 
possible, though time and financial commitments needed to make it 
happen would still be beyond the reach of most.

> Technically, there is no reason a CoCo Emulator could not be designed 
> to be 100% compatible with the coco as powerful as today's computers 
> are. And that is what I was really trying to get at. Once that is 
> achieved, it would be so much easier to get parts for and add support 
> for newer hardware. And, while I don't know why, if someone needed the 
> feel of the chicklet keyboard (one of the first hacks I did to my coco 
> was putting a real keyboard in it) or on old joystick, that would be 
> much easier to interface then some of the other projects being worked 
> on.
>
> This is all just some food for thought...again, I wouldn't want to 
> talk you out of your hacking any more then I would your coin 
> collecting or other interests.

I see your point, but for those of us who feel that "it ain't a CoCo if 
it ain't a CoCo," emulation is a less than desirable route to preserve 
the CoCo as we know it.  That said, a CoCo 4 design could easily 
incorporate some elements of emulation on a new motherboard running a 
more modern processor.  For instance, GIME memory management (if 
desired to be kept) could be done within software running on a fast CPU 
such as a MIPS.  But then we can get into a whole new discussion on 
what a CoCo 4 should or shouldn't be.

Boisy