[Coco] The CoCo Crew Podcast -- Episode 35 is available!

[Dave Philipsen]

On 4/17/2018 3:17 PM, Deny Wilson wrote:
> As I've gotten older, I've become more and more interested in the more
> "rare" or "weird" systems. After Tandy dropped the CoCo, I ended up buying
> a homebrew PC XT with a monochrome monitor. Man, that thing felt like a
> step backwards compared to the CoCo, and I only had a CoCo 2 64K non-ECB
> system at the time. So, I lusted after the Amigas, which was rare to me (in
> my hometown, there was I think 1 person with an Amiga). I never ended up
> getting one, unfortunately, and now, the one I want is priced into luxury
> land for me. Since then, I've been interested in the Japanese systems (the
> MSXs, the Sharp 68000, the FM Towns, etc), which are, for the most part,
> also into luxury land. But I still read everything about them that I can
> because 80's computers fascinate me.
>
> I get what you're saying about the original systems, and I agree, it's the
> original systems that get the most love and support. Homebrew software for
> the CoCo is alive and well. Sometimes, though, I dream of a CoCo with 256
> colors @ 320x255, hardware sprite support, and better sound, so I can
> appreciate add-on boards for old computers. Heck, the ZX Spectrum Next is a
> thing that happened, so maybe someday, someone will build my ultimate CoCo
> Next system.

The CoCo3FPGA has 640x450 256-color graphics and 16-bit audio and it 
uses the stock CoCo ROMs.  Why not give it a try?


Dave


>
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 17, 2018 at 1:48 PM, Bill Loguidice <bill at armchairarcade.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Well, industries tend to consolidate, so it's not surprising that
>> everything moved to something, with just a few small niche players
>> remaining (like the Macintosh). It would have definitely been interesting
>> to see "alternative" CoCo's post Tandy's stoppage of production, but they
>> likely wouldn't have been sustainable businesses for very long anyway, so
>> it's probably for the best.
>>
>> About the only relevant example I can think of of something like that
>> reaching market was the 1987 Geneve add-on for the TI-99/4a (with PEB),
>> which helped extend the life of that computer for true die-hards and had a
>> reasonable amount of homebrew-like software/conversions made for it. In the
>> big picture, though, I'm not really sure what it achieved, and I really
>> don't know what kind of numbers it moved. I don't think much, because while
>> TI-99/4a's are still a dime a dozen, and even the PEB is reasonably easy to
>> get, every time a Geneve card very occasionally goes up for auction, it's
>> fought over like it's something super rare. I would imagine just like in
>> other orphan computer communities, most TI enthusiasts simply moved on
>> after a few years. That may be for the best since I think for many of us
>> it's the original versions of these computers that we were and are most
>> passionate about, not off-shoots.
>>
>> And congrats on 3 years to the CoCo Crew podcast!
>>
>> ========================================================
>> Bill Loguidice, Managing Director; Armchair Arcade, Inc.
>> <http://www.armchairarcade.com>
>> ========================================================
>> Authored Books
>> <http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Loguidice/e/B001U7W3YS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_1> and
>> Film <http://www.armchairarcade.com/film>; About me and other ways to get
>> in touch <http://about.me/billloguidice>
>> ========================================================
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 17, 2018 at 3:36 PM, Deny Wilson <deny.wilson at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Happy 3rd Birthday CoCo Crew Podcast!
>>>
>>> It's amazing to think that it's already been 3 years. I wasn't a listener
>>> from the start... I think I discovered it a year into the podcast, but I
>>> have gone back and listened to all the episodes, and enjoyed them all.
>>>
>>> On an unrelated (but sorta not, since it's mentioned in ep. 35), I'm
>> amazed
>>> at how many machines came out of trying to continue the legacy of the
>> CoCo.
>>> I remember Mark mentioning the Kix-30 a while ago, but I hadn't really
>>> looked it up until today. It's really too bad that FHL couldn't make a go
>>> of it after Tandy dropped support of the CoCo. They had some very
>>> interesting machines come out of the labs. I still curse the fact that
>>> Microsoft and Intel basically destroyed all the interesting computers
>> from
>>> the 80's.
>>>
>> --
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>>