[Coco] Coco4 thoughts

[Carlos Santiago]

Paul, et al,


My view of the Coco family of computers has always been as a hobbyist.  
Over the years, I struggled with the same issues with my kids. The  
reality is that back then or even today, the use of a computer for  
school required knowledge of the applications. It was really not easy  
to have my children work on a book report or essay until they learned  
to use the applications. This was true for the Coco, Apple, Amiga,  
Mac, PC, etc. I have used all of them an also worked with my  children  
so they would learn to use the applications.

Anyone that is interested in a Coco as their primary machine, will  
demand many new features and applications that already exist in a PC  
or Mac. These users will have a hard time because they will try to  
mould the Coco into something that it is not.

As for a Coco4.exe Steve Bjork is already working on this along with a  
new version of Basic. These will satisfy the need for something that  
runs on the PC, but it will not allow you to develop any new Coco  
specific hardware.

The Coco has alway been a computer for those interested in writing  
programs and adding new and interesting hardware features.  A hobbyist  
computer.

My interest is to rekindle that spirit.

A new Coco4 will allow those who had great ideas about Coco software  
and hardware to implement them. Imagine the ability to revive some of  
the old Coco program and games with new graphics and sound. Maybe  
improve some games that were limited only by the available memory or  
storage capability.

In the early days, I would modify the graphics mode and colors of  
games to make them look better or more like the originals. I really  
enjoyed modifying and writing 6809 code for the Coco.

I would like to start a list of people that are interested  in the  
idea of a Coco4 and also those of you that are capable of  
contributing. This would be a project for the Coco community to  
provided those of you with the type of machine you dream about. Some  
of the feedback I received was that it would cost too much. Or that  
the design would be too complex. I have been a hardware engineer since  
1979 and have spent much time developing products that are low cost  
and feature rich.


On thing that is clear is that the Coco4 may materialize in the near  
future as software or hardware. If you would like a specific feature  
or capability, the only way to obtain it is by being involved. I mean  
in the real sense, not just to request a crazy feature to see if it  
can be done. The start of al this will be a development document that  
will define the boundaries of the project. Once this is complete and  
agreed upon, the design work can start.


Thanks,
Carlos