[Coco] first CoCoNet prototype

[Roger Taylor]

The first bitbanger CoCoNet Pak has been assembled out of 4 prototype 
copies.  It looks like the final product will and is VERY nice (and 
simple).  These initial boards were expensive to have made because 
that's how the PCB companies like to do it for small test runs.

I'm looking for 2 beta testers who would like to trade their time 
playing around with the system in exchange for a free pak board (the 
case will come later) and a new HQ 5-foot bitbanger cable with DB-9 
connector for the PC.  Windows is required at this point for the 
PC.  Testers need to own an arrangement of hardware or else it would 
defeat the purpose of being a tester.  At least one USB to Serial 
RS-232 adaptor is suggested but the more the better, and a standard 
DB-9 COM port on the PC, a CoCo 1, 2, and 3, and Multi-Pak Interface 
which is not required but I want to see if the pak can be selected 
and whether your unselected floppy controller can still be active.  A 
floppy controller is not required if someone wants to go 
all-virtual.  If you own all of that or more and want to do stuff 
like CoCo-to-CoCo communication through the internet, multi-player 
games, web disks, and other wild ideas contact me for more 
details.  The second you turn on your CoCo, drive 0 will be mounted 
with a PC virtual disk, and drive 1 will be mounted with a web 
disk.  The web disk is semi-live which means you get a snapshot of 
the latest build of the CoCoNet sample disk stored on a web 
server.  As I make changes to demos, you just turn on your CoCo and 
you get them RIGHT THEN.  Isn't that amazing?

I also plan to make the CoCoNet Pak auto-patch itself over the 
internet the second the CoCo is turned on to keep from having to burn 
a new EPROM every time I update the client code in the pak.  If the 
patch can't be fetched after so much time has passed, the CoCo would 
still boot normally and use the EPROM code as usual.  Since a CoCo 3 
stays in all-RAM mode, this will work great.  Any other CoCo 1 or 2 
would have to have 64K of RAM to be able to auto-update itself on 
each power-up.  The client code would automatically detect this and 
know what to do, and it will be very quick.

CoCoNet is transparent to BASIC.  The only snag is something any 
DriveWire user probably already knows... any game or app that has 
it's own low-level DSKCON routine (one that does not call on the one 
in Disk BASIC) will not be able to access a virtual disk.

Drives can switch between physical and virtual disks.  Internet files 
are fetched and stored onto the currently mounted virtual disk.
-- 
Roger Taylor

http://www.wordofthedayonline.com