[Coco] Nitros9 and Smartwatch

[Stephen H. Fischer]

Links to the original Tandy disks for OS-9 are here:

http://www.tandycoco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=177 

Read quickly, that site may go away soon.

SHF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "piperfox74" <piperfox74 at gmail.com>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2016 7:55 AM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Nitros9 and Smartwatch


> Thanks Robert.
> 
> I’m fine with reading documentation. :-) There just needs to be documentation to read.
> 
> I have both Rainbow guides to OS-9 and OS-9 Level II, but I’ve found at least through some cursory trial and error that there are sufficient differences between Tandy/Microware OS-9 and the modern NItrOS-9 that learning material for the former doesn’t help all that much with the latter. Especially when compounded with attempts to integrate with modern software and hardware such as DriveWire and CocoSDC.
> 
> One thing that might help would be access to original Tandy/Microware OS-9 media, with no modifications. That would at least offer a better transition from being able to understand OS-9 to then understanding how NitrOS-9 differs. As it stands today, I only have access to either very modified OS-9 boot disks or modern NitrOS-9, neither of which really corresponds well to the OS-9 manuals and books I have available.
> 
> I understand I’ve got two separate issues. My eagerness to get a RTC working (without reliance on DriveWire and being tethered to a DW server), and my lack of thorough understanding of OS-9 and NitrOS-9.
> 
> It’s coming along, though. I find this kind of playful exploratory learning suits me well, I'd just benefit from some up to date documentation that tries to pull all the variables into a cohesive picture.
> 
> Christopher
> 
> 
>> On Dec 6, 2016, at 22:56, Robert Gault <robert.gault at att.net> wrote:
>> 
>> piperfox74 wrote:
>>> <snip>
>>> <rant on>
>>> Regarding software and documentation, I find it a bit odd to argue that any piece of software, no matter how simple, “does not need documentation”. I’d say a pervasive attitude like that in the community could turn away newcomers. I’ve been away from the CoCo seen for a very long time, and I was quite young back in the ‘80s and ‘90s when I was heavily into these computers. I’m eager to get back in, learn as much as I can, and help out others if possible, but the overall lack of consistent documentation for all of the new toys (especially DriveWire and Nitros-9) make this endeavor more of a struggle than it perhaps needs to be.
>>> 
>>> Regarding the Smartwatch integration in Nitros-9. All I could find was the repository disk image smartwatch.dsk with three executables: getclk, swread and swset. No documentation at all. How is a newcomer supposed to know how these work, and know there’s “no good reason to use getclk”?
>>> 
>>> I’m not meaning this to sound like I’m jumping on you. I appreciate your help, as I appreciate this entire community of bright, eager people looking to keep the CoCo alive as long as possible. I’m just hoping to express that focusing a bit on documentation and covering those topics that the “old timers” consider common knowledge or too simple to document might encourage more participation and help bring in new people to the community.
>>> <rant off>, and thank you!
>>> 
>>> Christopher
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> If you are serious about understanding OS-9/NitrOS-9, you will have to do much reading and studying. At least go through the Level-2 owner's manual. It looks like the manual has been broken up into several parts in the O section of
>> http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/coco/Documents/Manuals/Operating%20Systems/
>> 
>> Unfortunately you will find that the OS has evolved since sold by Tandy and many of the efforts found in the NitrOS-9 project are undocumented. Getclk seems to turn the Smartwatch into a stop watch based on a test I ran today.
>> 
>> Your current problem with the Smartwatch not working has nothing to do with lack of documentation. You could determine what is wrong via tests of your hardware which is what I asked.
>> You have shown you can read EPROMS in both sockets of the Disto mini controller. That should mean that the Smartwatch would work if plugged correctly into either socket and suggest that your Smartwatch may be either damaged or the battery has failed.
>> 
>> Robert
>> 
>> 
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