[Color Computer] Re: [Coco] Hidden 256-color mode

[jdaggett at gate.net]

Mike 

Again I have to reitterate that what maybe included in a prototype board may or 
may not appear in the final product. The CoCo3 prototype board may be just that, a 
prototype board and may have functions and features that at the 9th hour were 
removed. This could be due to hardware not working or that software support of the 
feature features causes an over run of memory budget. Designing * bit computers 
like the CoCo did not have the luxury of modern PC designs today. MicrosSoft is 
blessed that if their operating systems and applications programs get so big they 
can just tell the consumer to buy a bigger harddrive and more memory. The budget 
for memory usage of systems like the Coco 25 yrs ago were very limited. 

Remember when contemplating what features the Coco could h ave or sh ould have 
had, th at you have to temper that with the tools and technology of the early 80's. 
Today, the Coco 3 can now be done in one chip. That is CPU,  PIAs, sound,  serial 
port, VDG and 512K  of ram. 

James
On 10 Aug 2005 at 9:35, Mike Pepe wrote:

To:             	ColorComputer at yahoogroups.com
From:           	Mike Pepe <lamune at doki-doki.net>
Date sent:      	Wed, 10 Aug 2005 09:35:49 -0400
Subject:        	Re: [Color Computer] Re: [Coco] Hidden 256-color mode
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> The third thing that comes to mind concerns the prototype versus
> production GIME. If the mode was in the prototype, yes, it may be in
> the production model. However disabling the feature on the silicon may
> be a simple matter of disconnecting or masking off a few gates in the
> production version. In short, disabling the feature doesn't strike me
> as requiring any significant effort.