From exile at weylan-yutani.com Sun Dec 1 08:40:48 2024 From: exile at weylan-yutani.com (R. Allen Murphey) Date: Sun, 01 Dec 2024 07:40:48 -0600 Subject: [Coco] The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 390, November 30, 2024 Message-ID: <0ddd90a5b3a990f35fa88fea41578a93871d4687.camel@weylan-yutani.com> The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 390, November 30, 2024 =================================================================== Collected by L. Curtis Boyle Upcoming conventions/trade shows of interest to Coco people: ------------------------------------------------------------ Virtual Coco/Tandy Fest is January 25, 2025, and now has it's own website site up: Mark Overholser is the driving force for it, and can give updates on speakers, etc. https://tandyretroshow.com/ VCF-SoCal - Feb 15-16 (Hotel Fera in Orange, California. https://www.vcfsocal.com/ VCF East is April 4-6, 2025 - same facility as this year. Info Age Science Museum, Wall, NJ. https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ CocoFest is May 2-3, 2025 (with takedown on the morning of May 4/Sunday) at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Carol Stream (Wheaton), Illinois. Hotel rooms at the special Fest rate are available now ($122/night for two queens or 1 king bed), and apply for May 2-5. You will need to use the Group Rate code of G30 to get this rate, and getting the special rate ends April 7. Bookings for tables will be going up in January. https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Tables go on sale January 1 at noon, Central standard time. VCF-SW in Texas has been booked with dates: June 20-22, 2025 at the Davidson Gundy Alumni Center, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas. Tables & Tickets will go on sale January 2025. $20/adult ($25 if bought at the door), $10/student ($15 at the door). 17 and under are free (with accompanying adult). Tables are $50. https://www.vcfsw.org/ Tim Lindner let me know that next year's Portland Retro Gaming Expo runs from October 17-19 in 2025 (they just had this years Sept 27-29). https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ Coco 1/2/3 (and multi-platform) ------------------------------- 1) Ron Klein posted a blog update for the Coco Pi Project, including the latest on how it is being built and different ways you can install it: https://coco-pi.com/coco-pi-project-update-2024-11-27/ 2) Wi-Fi Sheep on YouTube put up a more full length video of the Cambridge Retro Computer Festival 2024 (he showed us some Coco / Dragon stuff specifically after the show). One area of interest is the special 6847 display, showing a variety of computers that used the same VDG as the Coco 1/2, MC-10/Alice, and Dragon 32/64 used: https://youtu.be/9y8GMrjAPyo?si=4ifWr5MxIwIwz8S0&t=599 3) Ciaran Anscomb has announced that XRoar 1.7.3 has been released. This fixed some bugs that crept into 1.7.2: http://www.6809.org.uk/xroar/ 4) Daniel Wilson of the Think Tank Podcast, interviewed Wes Kussmaul, the creator of the online system Delphi. Like the older Compuserve, Delphi was filled with forums, downloads, etc. and they had an agreement with Rainbow magazine to run Coco forums, which Rainbow had a monthly column mentioning which new downloads, etc. were newly added. It goes through how Delphi started as an online encyclopedia to what he is doing now. It also covers Daniel's history with the Coco 2: https://aithinktankpodcast.com/articles/f/the-early-days-of-the-internet---show-9 YouTube video version of the interview: https://youtu.be/J5EREYob3N4?si=fb40RTann_RZZBmC 5) David Collins posted a video on Facebook in the Motorola 6809/6309/6800 Assembly Language programming group showing his HB63C089M single board 6309 based computer, and showing a text based Mandelbrot set being generated using a 6309 assembly program. It completes it in about .3 seconds... an that's writing it to a virtual terminal. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6809assembly/posts/3528218010804889/ MC-10 ----- 1) Jim Gerrie released an MC-10 port of "A Spacecraft Simulator" originally written by Gary Sivak for BYTE magazine, November 1979.: https://youtu.be/kPrI6feDyKA?si=7nvafJSi9EEpjY3U Dragon 32/64 ------------ 1) robcfg on the World of Dragon Forums has announced a new utility, DragonCas2 (sequel to DragonCas_GUI). He has also released a test version for Windows: https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11212 Direct link: https://bitbucket.org/robcfg/dragoncas2/src/master/ 2) Julian Brown posted an update for his RAM replacement board for his Dragon 32 repro board. This is a simpler design that he hopes fixes a bug. From some testing yesterday, it is working better than his earlier version, but still isn't fully working... yet: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragon32/posts/3878989832360657/ 3) Richard Harding has posted some high resolution original artwork for Dragon software titles, this time in poster format (23" x 15.5") at 300 DPI: http://dragondata.co.uk/Publications/posters-8/POSTERS-8.html 4) YouTube channel Retro4u received a fair number of UK computers that he goes through, including a Dragon 32: https://youtu.be/nw_U6KVrcUQ?si=B-OWOL4ZQXdqj8PZ&t=279 5) German YouTube channel MIGs Yesterchips (ran by the Yesterchips Museum) received a Dragon 32 as a hardware donation, and need a little repair to get the color working. Rather than doing a video showing he complete testing, etc. he goes into figuring out was wrong with some photos, making a shorter video: https://youtu.be/O46BTTJSN_I?si=GxhPeVTia1uuGeif 6) Henry Gernhardt III put up part 2 of his video series on creating both the hardware and software for a USB keyboard interface for the Coco (and Dragon): https://youtu.be/MjQjr-vsv1U?si=x_uDEwFEVlWPaIB3 7) A follow up to last week's episode where a person in the live chat revealed that he was the author of Hidden BASIC that was sold by Spectrum Projects in 1983, and he was trying to find a copy. Well, Paul Fiscarelli found a copy, and it is now on the archive! https://colorcomputerarchive.com/ 8) RetroTechTime put up a YouTube short with some photos of an "extensive Coco collection" that he saved from getting thrown out (I think there are other Tandy, non-Coco items included as well): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6bVAYD8Xtjo He did a same style video showing a few photos of Tandy/TRS80 collection: https://youtube.com/shorts/nxxXPBciDQ8?si=b5ttuG6UtfWjGhgs Game On news (all Coco related platforms): ========================================== 1) Lee Perkins put up a video update for his port of the Cloud Kingdoms game to the Coco 3 - showing level selection and game play of a few different levels, completing them. Note: At this stage, you can't get damaged, so it's a bit easier to play than the final version will be (it's also better for testing): https://youtu.be/WxmSOFYJwSA?si=Vin-AHgGGQ2UgyTu 2) Pere Serrat has released the 6th & 7th Supersprite FM+ upgraded games packs, with the new colour palette. The 6th pack includes: Flype 2.0 Foggy's Quest Funky Fungus Level 1 Funky Fungus Level 2 Funky Fungus Level 3 Funky Fungus Level 4 https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11211 And the 7th has: Forward to the Past Bubble Frenzy 1.1 Gherbert Groundhog In Save the Date The Goblin Mr. Hair and the Kitty Katakombs Janky Joe https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11213 3) Emerson Costa posted in the Motorola 6847 group on Facebook about a Mine Sweeper port (called Campo Minado) written in BASIC for the CCE MC-1000 computer... a Z80 based machine that used the same video chip as the Coco 1/2, Dragon 32/64 and MC-10/Alice. It is done in 256x192x2 PMODE 4: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173737063356725/posts/1659108941486189/ Github link (note that the info.txt is in Portuguese, since this was written by Emerson in Brazil): https://github.com/ensjo/mc1000-software/blob/master/emerson/Campo%20minado/info.txt 4) The NMI channel on YouTube release a YouTube short showing Clowns and Balloons running on his Coco 3 with a CM-8 (Which unfortunately just shows black and white graphics with no artifacting https://youtube.com/shorts/Rm3Q7MIlKc8?si=3yUJJxA1jZq5vgLT 5) Jostive Fiverzer did a longplay game video of Dave Edson's Catch 'Em from Aardvark Software: https://youtu.be/WsE5m5o3UYA?si=R_lgkQhcWlYybJiC He also did one of Computerware's Shark Treasure by Greg Anderson: https://youtu.be/38CUyQu6el4?si=W6oOPTYTpqo2QHbR 6) Tim and AJ do their first Coco game in awhile that *isn't* Dungeons of Daggorath - Paul Shoemaker's new release, Lava Hero. AJ loves the game: https://youtu.be/62kx9ZsdyBo?si=bWcj4xHktY1tWEbA 7) Guillaume Major announced that he has made a Coco port of Kings Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (which was backported to the AGI engine to run on older PC's by Brandon Kouri... and that's the same engine that the Coco 3 versions of Sierra games use) available on the Color Computer Archive. He posted some screenshots on the Coco Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162095029932641/ The webpage for the original PC backport: https://kq6agi.com/ 8) The Amigos did their annual Thanks-For-Giving Marathon (8 hours of game playing on a variety of platforms), and a "Super Cut" version (thanks Aaron!) sans game loading times and general banter (although the latter *is* one of the reasons to watch and listen to the Amigos!) cut down to just over 5 hours is now up on their YouTube channel. The Coco is represented early on with One on One, Dino Wars and Demon Attack (although their Dino Wars seems corrupt - there is no way normally to kill your opponent with just one bite): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoY7cU3LCCE&t=2320s (If you want to see the full 8 hour version with banter and loading/switching systems - check out their Twitch page) ============================================================================== Speak your mind! Let us know what you think at: feedback at TheCoCoNation.com If replying on a mailing list, please trim replies to the specific items. Get connected with more of the CoCo, Dragon and MC-10 community here: https://thecoconation.com/community/ -- R. Allen Murphey Weylan-Yutani Corporation -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 833 bytes Desc: This is a digitally signed message part URL: From psergm at gmail.com Tue Dec 3 03:46:13 2024 From: psergm at gmail.com (Pere Serrat) Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2024 09:46:13 +0100 Subject: [Coco] Pack #NP08 of AGD converted games for the SuperSprite-FM+ with new palette In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <68356a85-1072-46c5-ad0f-cdbe1c598227@gmail.com> This is pack #NP08 of AGD games converted from Spectrum to our SuperSprite-FM+ module (by John Whitworth) using the new colours palette. These are the games that come in it. Diamond Geezer by TommyGun (C)2013 Magic Able by Packobilly (C)2020 Meteormania by Allan Turvey (C)2018 The Hair-raising Adventures of MrHAIR by Lee Stevenson (2019) Nixy the Glade Sprite by Andy Johns & John Blythe (C)2018 Papyrus by F.J. Urbaneja (C)2020 These are the links to the pages where you could download the games and have a look at some screenshots https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11214 https://retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?t=200040919 From farna at amc-mag.com Tue Dec 3 07:56:31 2024 From: farna at amc-mag.com (farna at amc-mag.com) Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2024 05:56:31 -0700 Subject: [Coco] CoCo-Pi project -- install on almost any Linux platform? Message-ID: <6278e62e72ed9a47fb2ceec8631fe4f6@amc-mag.com> I found this to be the most interesting item in the recent CoCo Podcast briefing: 1) Ron Klein posted a blog update for the Coco Pi Project, including the latest on how it is being built and different ways you can install it: https://coco-pi.com/coco-pi-project-update-2024-11-27/ After reading it appears that Ron has made something that should work on almost any Debian based Linux platform. So you can take an older laptop or desktop and turn it into a quasi CoCo. I know the emulators can be used for this, but this should work better -- can make it almost transparent on boot up. Of course it will run on a Raspberry Pi, but could be put on other single board computers with a Debian based Linux and the right resources. -- Frank Swygert Fix-It-Frank Handyman Services E-mail: farna at att.net Phone: 803-604-6548 From go4retro at go4retro.com Tue Dec 3 16:46:03 2024 From: go4retro at go4retro.com (RETRO Innovations) Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2024 15:46:03 -0600 Subject: [Coco] Fwd: [cctalk] A bit of humor to test the list In-Reply-To: <2044054011.295344.1733257196597@email.ionos.com> References: <2044054011.295344.1733257196597@email.ionos.com> Message-ID: Of potential humorous interest to those on the list. -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [cctalk] A bit of humor to test the list Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2024 15:19:56 -0500 (EST) From: Will Cooke via cctalk Reply-To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts To: cctalk at classiccmp.org CC: wrcooke at wrcooke.net I found the picture on the front page of this web site humorous. It's a place that sells old Jeep parts. Note the computer surfing the web. https://www.kaiserwillys.com/ Will -- RETRO Innovations, Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems www.go4retro.com store.go4retro.com From psergm at gmail.com Fri Dec 6 04:46:15 2024 From: psergm at gmail.com (Pere Serrat) Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2024 10:46:15 +0100 Subject: [Coco] Pack #NP09 of AGD converted games for the SuperSprite-FM+ Message-ID: <3d07a47b-a109-4d21-8ebd-f6d4e43b4b01@gmail.com> This is pack #NP09of AGD games converted from Spectrum to our SuperSprite-FM+ module (by John Whitworth) using the new colours palette. These are the games that come in it. Page's Castle Quest by David Pagett (C)2014 Robot, the Impossible Mission by Simon Ferr? (C)2019 Springbot - Mars Attack by Andy Farrell (C)2020 Sprouty by Dave Hughes (C)2019 Stars (Gumi) 2 by Kas29 (C)2022 Ufo by Packobilly (C)2020 Yokai Monk by Poe Games (C)2022 These are the links to the pages where you could download the games and have a look at some screenshots https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11215 https://retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?t=200040932 From joel.rees at gmail.com Fri Dec 6 21:25:19 2024 From: joel.rees at gmail.com (Joel Rees) Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2024 11:25:19 +0900 Subject: [Coco] CoCo-Pi project -- install on almost any Linux platform? In-Reply-To: <6278e62e72ed9a47fb2ceec8631fe4f6@amc-mag.com> References: <6278e62e72ed9a47fb2ceec8631fe4f6@amc-mag.com> Message-ID: Looks like an easy way to get Mame's Color Computer related instances and the XRoar, OVCC, and trs80gp emulators all installed on a dedicated box. Interesting. trs80gp is now running on Linux without Wine. This could be interesting. On Tue, Dec 3, 2024 at 9:56?PM Frank Swygert via Coco wrote: > > I found this to be the most interesting item in the recent CoCo Podcast > briefing: > > 1) Ron Klein posted a blog update for the Coco Pi Project, including the > latest on how it is being built and different ways you can install it: > https://coco-pi.com/coco-pi-project-update-2024-11-27/ > > After reading it appears that Ron has made something that should work on > almost any Debian based Linux platform. So you can take an older laptop > or desktop and turn it into a quasi CoCo. I know the emulators can be > used for this, but this should work better -- can make it almost > transparent on boot up. Of course it will run on a Raspberry Pi, but > could be put on other single board computers with a Debian based Linux > and the right resources. > > -- > Frank Swygert > Fix-It-Frank Handyman Services > E-mail: farna at att.net > Phone: 803-604-6548 > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco -- Joel Rees http://reiisi.blogspot.jp/p/novels-i-am-writing.html From johnguin at hotmail.com Fri Dec 6 22:05:52 2024 From: johnguin at hotmail.com (John Guin) Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2024 03:05:52 +0000 Subject: [Coco] Making the round on Hacker News: Coco Assembly Message-ID: https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.3 Reading through it now. "The definitive guide to writing assembly language subroutines for Extended Color BASIC" Enjoy! From sean at conman.org Fri Dec 6 22:45:30 2024 From: sean at conman.org (Sean Conner) Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2024 22:45:30 -0500 Subject: [Coco] Making the round on Hacker News: Coco Assembly In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20241207034530.GE15067@brevard.conman.org> It was thus said that the Great John Guin via Coco once stated: > https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.3 > > Reading through it now. "The definitive guide to writing assembly > language subroutines for Extended Color > BASIC" There's the previous post as well: The definitive guide to writing assembly language subroutines for Color BASIC https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.2 A summary: you *can* pass strings to USR() (Color BASIC only), but *must* return a number. For USRn() (ECB), you can pass and return strings. -spc From exile at weylan-yutani.com Sun Dec 8 09:28:57 2024 From: exile at weylan-yutani.com (R. Allen Murphey) Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 08:28:57 -0600 Subject: [Coco] The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 391, December 7, 2024 Message-ID: <9586aa8cf8d75b6f8bd18abea91f82725e524d63.camel@weylan-yutani.com> The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 391, December 7, 2024 =================================================================== Collected by L. Curtis Boyle Upcoming conventions/trade shows of interest to Coco people: ------------------------------------------------------------ Virtual Coco/Tandy Fest is January 25, 2025, and now has it's own website site up: Mark Overholser is the driving force for it, and can give updates on speakers, etc. https://tandyretroshow.com/ VCF-SoCal - Feb 15-16 (Hotel Fera in Orange, California. https://www.vcfsocal.com/ VCF East is April 4-6, 2025 - same facility as this year. Info Age Science Museum, Wall, NJ. https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ CocoFest is May 2-3, 2025 (with takedown on the morning of May 4/Sunday) at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Carol Stream (Wheaton), Illinois. Hotel rooms at the special Fest rate are available now ($122/night for two queens or 1 king bed), and apply for May 2-5. You will need to use the Group Rate code of G30 to get this rate, and getting the special rate ends April 7. Bookings for tables will be going up in January. https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Tables go on sale January 1 at noon, Central standard time. VCF-SW in Texas has been booked with dates: June 20-22, 2025 at the Davidson Gundy Alumni Center, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas. Tables & Tickets will go on sale January 2025. $20/adult ($25 if bought at the door), $10/student ($15 at the door). 17 and under are free (with accompanying adult). Tables are $50. https://www.vcfsw.org/ Tim Lindner let me know that next year's Portland Retro Gaming Expo runs from October 17-19 in 2025 (they just had this years Sept 27-29). https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ Coco 1/2/3 (and multi-platform) ------------------------------- 1) D. Bruce Moore & David Kroeker put up another video of them working on the CocoMP3 hardware card, this time on trying to get audio levels correct from the Coco cassette port into a TV: Quick blog post: https://coco.gracenote.ca/trying-to-get-proper-audio-levels-through-the-coco-cassette-port-and-into-a-tv/ YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/oq1LsY6gTPI?si=KPuli_rkP5G6dfHf 2) ugBASIC 1.16.5 RELEASED. Release notes: "In addition to containing strong optimizations on the generated code, and numerous fixes and corrections for all targets (especially for the TRS-80 Color Computer 1/2/3), 32-bit division has finally been implemented for the 6809 processor and the code generation has been improved. The MIDI to IMF converter has been improved, with support for volume changing and specific percussion handling and automatic instrument calculation that composition software takes for granted, and improvements have also been made to multitasking interleaving capabilities. From this release the additional data type IMAGEREF is now available, which allows you to modify the graphic resources at run time, thus allowing you to create games with great aesthetic variability. A whole set of instructions has been added, to manage (automatically) the animations and movements of graphic elements, taking advantage of the improved multitasking. In particular, the ANIMATE command allows you to activate and drive animations while the program is running, and so does the MOVE command, which allows you to move objects in parallel, even synchronized with the animation. The new PATH data type, together with the TRAVEL instruction, allows you to calculate all the intermediate points of a path between two points, thus allowing you to easily create "programmed paths", such as those associated with graphic adventure animations. The PRINT RAW is now available, to print characters without escape sequence parsing. The "retro compatible hacks" have been updated which ensure that previously written games can run without any issues, although there have been some small changes in the specifications." There have been multiple hot and cold fixes to the main branch since the 1.16.5 version release this past week as well" Main website: https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/ Fixes since the main version release: https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/changelog/main 3) Fedor Steedman posted a link to a hackaday article titled "The 6809 8-bit Microcomputer: A father-son odyssey" on the Coco Facebook group. The article is written by Heidi Ulrich. https://hackaday.com/2024/12/06/the-6809-8-bit-microcomputer-a-father-son-odyssey/ The project page by Eric Lind and his son (they posted about the upcoming "Stage 3" on December 2): https://hackaday.io/project/199060-lind-micro-lind 4) Logiker's Vintage Computing Christmas Challenge has been announced (for all retro computers). This is their contest (running from Dec. 12 until Dec. 25) where you try and re-create their Christmas related shape in as small of code as possible, in any language. They released a video showing the shapes from previous Christmas challenges, and explains the rules. There are prizes: https://youtu.be/3q5ZWJmMhgQ?si=aR6tFMNDQAKlWEKq 5) Spanish YouTube channel RetroComputo did a video about how to create real disks from DSK files using a Multipack and the CocoSDC: https://youtu.be/hKrcteMcs6w?si=N92ICL5cc7uZ-Hfl 6) The Boston Diaries (Sean) did a 3 part blog post about how to call assembly routines from BASIC. Part 1 is about how his own 6809 assembler makes BASIC code (data statements, POKE loop, etc. to make it easier to write the code in assembly and then not have to manually translate it to BASIC yourself: https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.1 Part 2 covers how to call these routines from regular Color BASIC using the single USR command, and some steps needed to pass strings using it: https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.2 Part 3 covers how to do it from Extended BASIC, which adds up to 10 USR's and the DEFUSER command used to set them up, which makes sending and retrieving values & strings easier and takes less steps than regular Color BASIC required. https://boston.conman.org/2024/11/26.3 MC-10 ----- 1) Jim Gerrie ported (and translated) and educational program for the Metra Alice called The Combustion Engine, originally by Infogrames in 1984: https://youtu.be/oKxwjlFrDQs?si=AzYXFXxXJvZ_yGUP He also posted a link to a french site with screenshots and photos of the original packaging: http://alice32.free.fr/programmes/le-moteur-a-explosion/index.html 2) Simon Jonassen is working on a Christmas demo for the MC-10, and put up a video in the MC-10 Facebook group showing the 2 voice/square wave music, and will be adding graphics shortly: https://www.facebook.com/groups/731424100317748/posts/8652829471510465/ Dragon 32/64 ------------ 1) Game On news (all Coco related platforms): ========================================== 1) Pere Serrat has released 2 more game packs with the updated palettes for the Supersprite FM+ board (for the Dragon 32/64 and Coco 1/2): Game pack #8 has 6 games: Diamond Geezer Magic Able Meteormania The Hair-raising adventures of Mr. Hair Nixy the Glad Sprite Papyrus https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11214 Game pack #9 has 6 games: Page's Castle Quest Robot, the Impossible Mission Springbot - Mars Attack Sprouty Stars 2 UFO Yokai Monk https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11215 This puts the number of games that support the Supersprite FM+ board to over 50 games now. 2) The Wargaming Scribe has released his review of Battle for Tunis for the Coco in 1984 from Ark Royal games. As usual, he does his very detailed, full review of the game: https://zeitgame.net/archives/16184 3) Gregg Steffensen has officially released "The Caverns of Narzod" on the Color Computer Archive, a game that is now fully working and patched for disk. This was originally published in Australian Coco magazine, October 1985, and is a BASIC/ML hybrid (the original listing needed some patching for disk). He also posted a link to Jim Gerrie's original video we showed a few weeks ago of the cassette version, although I think that still had a few bugs from typing it in that are now fixed: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162139419842641/ 4) Paul Shoemaker released a new Coco 3 Christmas themed game called Christmas Match. It was a memory match game where one flips over two tiles at a time, and tries to find the matching tiles (which removes them from the playfield) in as few moves as possible. It can is a free download from his itch.io page, and requires a Coco 3 with 128K and a disk drive: https://pshoemaker70.itch.io/christmas-match Some gameplay footage https://youtu.be/-MOODqqRaWM?si=9VpFJ2uc0mV_9BCB 5) Richard Kelly uploaded a DSK image to the Coco Facebook group that has the Kenneth Del Signore collection, including DataFall (ironically the only game that does not run if you use the DOS command based menu system that Richard included). These are games that were published by T&D magnazine, written by Ken. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162137350892641/ 6) Chronologically Gaming covered another Coco game release from November of 1982 - a movie adaptation that was unique to the Coco - Poltergeist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P609_OETpH8&t=1438s 7) YouTube channel WhiteHat94 did a 20 minute play video of Super Pitfall on the Coco 3, using a MiSTer FPGA. This is a actually a speed run, and he is very familiar with the Nintendo original one (see around 17:40 for a sub-level most people have not seen). He wins the game in 19 minutes, 47 seconds: https://youtu.be/x8MwTjjPa6c?si=RxNbInp_4PGEbYhb. ============================================================================== Speak your mind! Let us know what you think at: feedback at TheCoCoNation.com If replying on a mailing list, please trim replies to the specific items. Get connected with more of the CoCo, Dragon and MC-10 community here: https://thecoconation.com/community/ -- R. Allen Murphey Weylan-Yutani Corporation -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 833 bytes Desc: This is a digitally signed message part URL: From psergm at gmail.com Tue Dec 10 05:05:44 2024 From: psergm at gmail.com (Pere Serrat) Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:05:44 +0100 Subject: [Coco] BigPack - SSBP-NP01 of AGD converted games with new palette Message-ID: <0e553fa1-5ba5-478f-8f21-681e46ffcae8@gmail.com> Hello, Lately I have uploaded all of the packs of AGD converted games for our module SuperSprite-FM+ (by John Whitworth) with the new colors palette, so I have decided to publish the current collection as a big pack (SSBigPack#NP01) just to make things easier to have all of the games in just one download, we already have 55 games! This pack contains, as usual, all of the virtual files for both machines (DSK, VDK) and besides I have added a zip with all of the readme files and another with the screenshots of these games. enjoy! cheers! Pere Serrat You could download the games and other files at https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11217 https://retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?t=200040950 From johnmarkmelanie at gmail.com Wed Dec 11 21:19:13 2024 From: johnmarkmelanie at gmail.com (johnmarkmelanie at gmail.com) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2024 20:19:13 -0600 Subject: [Coco] Glenside Color Computer Club, Inc. Business Meeting is 12-12-2024 Message-ID: <033301db4c3c$3cf74b70$b6e5e250$@gmail.com> All, The Glenside Color Computer Club, Inc. Business Meeting is 12-12-2024 https://www.glensideccc.com/ https://www.glensideccc.com/glenside-club-meeting-thursday-december-12-2024- 730pm-central/ John Mark Mobley From exile at weylan-yutani.com Sun Dec 15 09:36:56 2024 From: exile at weylan-yutani.com (R. Allen Murphey) Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2024 08:36:56 -0600 Subject: [Coco] The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 392, December 14, 2024 Message-ID: The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 392, December 14, 2024 =================================================================== Collected by L. Curtis Boyle Upcoming conventions/trade shows of interest to Coco people: ------------------------------------------------------------ For those in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada area, the winter meetup for the Manitoba Retro Computer and Gaming Club is being held January 4 from noon until 4 PM and features a variety of retro computers. They have a theme this meetup about the TRS-80, and since David Kroeker, D. Bruce Moore and myself are all planning on attending, there will definitely be a Coco flavor as well: https://www.facebook.com/events/870247295316209/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22group%22%7D]%7D Virtual Coco/Tandy Fest is January 25, 2025, and now has it's own website site up: Mark Overholser is the driving force for it, and can give updates on speakers, etc. https://tandyretroshow.com/ VCF-SoCal - Feb 15-16 (Hotel Fera in Orange, California. https://www.vcfsocal.com/ VCF East is April 4-6, 2025 - same facility as this year. Info Age Science Museum, Wall, NJ. https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ CocoFest is May 2-3, 2025 (with takedown on the morning of May 4/Sunday) at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Carol Stream (Wheaton), Illinois. Hotel rooms at the special Fest rate are available now ($122/night for two queens or 1 king bed), and apply for May 2-5. You will need to use the Group Rate code of G30 to get this rate, and getting the special rate ends April 7. Bookings for tables will be going up in January. https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Tables go on sale January 1 at noon, Central standard time. VCF-SW in Texas has been booked with dates: June 20-22, 2025 at the Davidson Gundy Alumni Center, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas. Tables & Tickets will go on sale January 2025. $20/adult ($25 if bought at the door), $10/student ($15 at the door). 17 and under are free (with accompanying adult). Tables are $50. https://www.vcfsw.org/ Tim Lindner let me know that next year's Portland Retro Gaming Expo runs from October 17-19 in 2025 (they just had this years Sept 27-29). https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ Coco 1/2/3 (and multi-platform) ------------------------------- 1) After a lengthy hiatus, TRS-80 Retro Programing returns with a different type of project - Disappearing Ghosts (originally written in 1984 by Angela Bradshaw from the book The Color Computer Playground). It's a subtraction game for kids: https://youtu.be/FdKSPLo5AaY?si=IqZc61GJFWK8NwKn 2) Grant Leighty passed on to me that CocoFest table registration won't be until February 1st (rather than January). "Randy is doing a major update on the registration system and needed more time to complete it." (Please note that the Glenside CocoFest webpage has not been changed yet to reflect this): https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ 3) 8 Bit Doodads on YouTube are doing a Retro Computer Adventu Calender... and an episode is about the Coco (it has some mistakes, but the hosts admit that neither has owned one): https://youtu.be/HGZ1m7HGVq4?si=qJtB6FcnYF1axNfv 4) Christmas themed posts on both Facebook and YouTube using Coco's have started appearing. Some of these we have covered in previous years, but since more and more people are joining (or re-joining) the Coco community, I think it is worth covering: - Michael Pittsley posted some screenshots from the Sierra Christmas demo. I will mention that it is included with NitrOS-9/EOU, and can be found in the DEMOS -> SIERRA_XMAS (and launched from MultiVue): https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162153232332641/ Michael Eric Sezter pointed out the Tandy in store Coco 3 graphics demo from Christmas 1986 that Spectral Associates wrote: https://youtu.be/PaoqNDcYmOI?si=0SqblGL-4Pf8-EJ- bng0072 on YouTube released graphic/song videos of two Coco 1/2 Christmas themes, which are called XMAS Fantasia & XMAS Fantasia II, and are about 17 minutes and 27 minutes long respectively. Maybe have them playing on a TV in the background during the Christmas season (I think David Ladd has presented these before in previous years): XMAS Fantasia: https://youtu.be/5cHbHGaNBGk?si=x9aEcaxg5e7r6UdR XMAS Fantasia II: https://youtu.be/Cbo5EoNzcR8?si=3lHCxxvfziaBr7XK 5) Another theme is people sharing photos of their Coco systems (back in day, sometimes after receiving them at Christmas). These include: - Rodger Williamson shows his setup from the mid-80's, and mentions using it while he attended Clemson University): https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162152639702641/ - Rob Cookenour posted a 5 second video(!) of him and his brand new Coco on Christmas morning, 1983 (just a few months after the Coco 2 was released) https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162145479247641/ 6) Jack Chadwick posted a link on the Coco Facebook group to Coco 2 11 ounce coffee mugs that are for sale on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1429675299/tandy-64k-color-computer-2-computer 7) Anthonu Kulla pointed out that the pilot episode of Moonlighting (starring Bruce Willis) has a Coco 1 in it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162142202352641/ 8) Italian Youtube channel does a pretty thorough review of the 6809 (there are a few mistakes) but mentions how it wasn't often used. They mention the Fujistu FM-7, the Thomson machines - but don't mention the Dragons, Coco's, Vectrex, etc.: https://youtu.be/Do8lWLDRczc?si=-Wiex-nVXka5hE7J MC-10 ----- 1) Jim Gerrie converted a program called Sphere which first appeared in Colorcue magazine's Dec/Jan 1982 issue (originally for the Compucolor II computer): https://youtu.be/szxcO8hIcck?si=CuQVm6zs6fyGlRk3 2) Jim also pointed out an article about Chess AI from the University of Waterloo Computer Museum, written by Amy VanderLaan. They pitted a MASTER 2200X Chess Computer (which was sold by Radio Shack in 1996) vs. an MC-10 at the easiest level on each. Suprisingly, even with the computer & program being 12-13 years older than the dedicated Chess machine... the MC-10 won: https://uwaterloo.ca/computer-museum/chess-ai Dragon 32/64 ------------ 1) Dave's 8-bit Basement put up a half hour video on the Dragon 32 - part 3 of a series he is working on. He shows some hardware replacement boards that he is making (and uploading the files for): https://youtu.be/grrBP0ieFRY?si=zUqsmc874HA3qlA4 2) German YouTube channel "Jungsis Corner" does a quick review about using the CocoSDC on a Dragon 32: https://youtu.be/sWfY9XhIkCk?si=EUitk5YZ0c9o-xs8 Game On news (all Coco related platforms): ========================================== 1) Jim Gerrie ported the TRS-80 Model 1/3 game "All Together" to the MC-10, originally by David Chance from his 1981 book "Computer Graphics With 29 ready-to-run Programs": https://youtu.be/IsMlNjh9X_8?si=fosKuLEjFxWLQNfP He also ported Flying Witches, originally written by Jenny Tyler and Chris Oxlade in the 1984 book "Weird Computer Games" by Usborne books. Done completely with text characters, it is actually a side scroller where one has to fly their witch to pick up objects as they scroll by: https://youtu.be/bHQgaJdnyuo?si=_cap97r_7ruX1Mm2 2) Paul Shoemaker has made a Coco 1/2 version of his Christmas Match game: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162143852062641/ It is on the same disk image as the Coco 3 version, which you can get from his itch.io: https://pshoemaker70.itch.io/christmas-match And Ciaran Anscomb has made a hybrid disk that allows it to run on the Dragon as well, and has made this available in the World of Dragon forums: https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11216 3) Pere Serrat has now uploaded the "Big Pack" version of his SuperSprite FM+ updated AGD games, putting all 55 games into one zip for the Dragon or Coco (as well as separate ZIP's with instructions, screen shots, etc.): https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11217 4) Non Maskable Interrupt on YouTube did some more gameplay videos on his CM-8 equipped Coco 3 (so no artifact colors). Bagitman: https://youtube.com/shorts/jiX31s4-Apo?si=PVxLY0eqseDFXM6i 5) Jostive Fivezer did some gameplay videos as well: Squeeze: https://youtu.be/OcgqoNmYB1g?si=jWBK5uiu-3hckwvh Android Attack (longplay): https://youtu.be/70v3815nnMw?si=fp_2P0S7GO39I1u6 6) simonwgb played almost 3 hours of some of his favorite Dragon 32/64 games, including 45 minutes with Wizard's Quest: https://youtu.be/wdVaBXZSR2U?si=6cKUQ69I9JUL8vzW ============================================================================== Speak your mind! Let us know what you think at: feedback at TheCoCoNation.com If replying on a mailing list, please trim replies to the specific items. Get connected with more of the CoCo, Dragon and MC-10 community here: https://thecoconation.com/community/ -- R. Allen Murphey Weylan-Yutani Corporation -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 833 bytes Desc: This is a digitally signed message part URL: From david17361 at gmail.com Wed Dec 18 20:31:32 2024 From: david17361 at gmail.com (David Gettle) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:31:32 -0500 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help Message-ID: I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. From davbrdavbr at hotmail.com Wed Dec 18 21:09:16 2024 From: davbrdavbr at hotmail.com (David Broman) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 02:09:16 +0000 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: For drivewire 4, I'd recommend using this. It comes with its own (local) copy of Java, so nothing needs to be installed system-wide. https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases For drivewire 3, I believe you can find the links here: http://www.cloud9tech.com/Cloud-9/Hardware/DriveWire3.html -----Original Message----- From: Coco On Behalf Of David Gettle via Coco Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 5:32 PM To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts Cc: David Gettle Subject: [Coco] drivewire help I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From ooogalapasooo at aol.com Thu Dec 19 06:21:35 2024 From: ooogalapasooo at aol.com (Bill Pierce) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:21:35 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1082641785.4347398.1734607295023@mail.yahoo.com> Drivewire 4 requires an older copy of Java... 7 I think. Someone was working on an updated version that require no download, but I don't know what happened. On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:54 PM EST, David Gettle via Coco wrote: I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From david17361 at gmail.com Thu Dec 19 07:46:36 2024 From: david17361 at gmail.com (David Gettle) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 07:46:36 -0500 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: <1082641785.4347398.1734607295023@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1082641785.4347398.1734607295023@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: DriveWire3 is gone... downloaded DriveWrire4 with Java, will see what happens later... On Thu, Dec 19, 2024 at 6:21?AM Bill Pierce via Coco wrote: > Drivewire 4 requires an older copy of Java... 7 I think. Someone was > working on an updated version that require no download, but I don't know > what happened. > On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:54 PM EST, David Gettle via > Coco wrote: > > I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > From jccyc1965 at gmail.com Thu Dec 19 08:08:52 2024 From: jccyc1965 at gmail.com (Juan Castro) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 10:08:52 -0300 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I made this a while agor, it doesn't have the full feature set but maybe it will help: https://sourceforge.net/p/dwlite/ Juan Castro Enviado do meu Olivetti Programma 101 http://retropolis.com.br Em qua., 18 de dez. de 2024 ?s 22:31, David Gettle via Coco escreveu: > > I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From qbancoffee at yahoo.com Thu Dec 19 08:52:03 2024 From: qbancoffee at yahoo.com (Rocky Hill) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 13:52:03 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> Hi David, There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo and they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will run without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not interfere with your current java installation if you have one. Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4.https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe Good luck, Pedro On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via Coco wrote: I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From qbancoffee at yahoo.com Thu Dec 19 08:55:41 2024 From: qbancoffee at yahoo.com (Rocky Hill) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 13:55:41 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> References: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1416156595.208593.1734616541863@mail.yahoo.com> I forgot this... This is a version for Windows that does not come with an installer. Just unzip this version, navigate into the folder anddouble click on the bat file. https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windowsx64/drivewire4_java17_windows_x64.zip On Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 08:52:03 AM EST, Rocky Hill wrote: Hi David, There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo and they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will run without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not interfere with your current java installation if you have one. Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4.https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe Good luck, Pedro On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via Coco wrote: I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From aawolfe at gmail.com Fri Dec 20 00:41:22 2024 From: aawolfe at gmail.com (Aaron Wolfe) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:41:22 -0500 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> References: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I'd like to again say thank you to Pedo for working on this and making drivewire easier for lots of people. -Aaron On Thu, Dec 19, 2024, 8:53?AM Rocky Hill via Coco wrote: > Hi David, > There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo and > they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will run > without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not > interfere with your current java installation if you have one. > Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a > nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4. > https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe > Good luck, > Pedro > > On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via > Coco wrote: > > I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > From qbancoffee at yahoo.com Fri Dec 20 07:24:15 2024 From: qbancoffee at yahoo.com (Rocky Hill) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 12:24:15 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <562558136.600520.1734697455578@mail.yahoo.com> It was my pleasure! On Friday, December 20, 2024 at 12:41:40 AM EST, Aaron Wolfe via Coco wrote: I'd like to again say thank you to Pedo for working on this and making drivewire easier for lots of people. -Aaron On Thu, Dec 19, 2024, 8:53?AM Rocky Hill via Coco wrote: >? Hi David, > There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo and > they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will run > without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not > interfere with your current java installation if you have one. > Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a > nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4. > https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe > Good luck, > Pedro > >? ? On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via > Coco wrote: > >? I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I attempt > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine online. > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From coco at jechar.ca Fri Dec 20 15:26:50 2024 From: coco at jechar.ca (coco at jechar.ca) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:26:50 -0500 Subject: [Coco] EPROM for Coco 3 Motherboard Message-ID: <16dd6abfd44450a547724ed5b927d4b6@jechar.ca> All Where would I get a 32KByte EPROM EEPROM or Flash Memory that could be a dropin replacement for the Coco 3's Motherboard ROM or even better a 64KB with some kind of switch to determine which 32KB the Coco will see. Charlie From brucep.borer at gmail.com Fri Dec 20 15:50:35 2024 From: brucep.borer at gmail.com (Bruce Borer) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:50:35 -0500 Subject: [Coco] EPROM for Coco 3 Motherboard In-Reply-To: <16dd6abfd44450a547724ed5b927d4b6@jechar.ca> References: <16dd6abfd44450a547724ed5b927d4b6@jechar.ca> Message-ID: I am working with SST39SF040 Flash. Which gives me 64 pages of 8Kx8 or 32 pages of 16Kx8. You would need an adaptor PCB but there is room in the CoCo 3 main board or as I am using it in the FD 502 Disk Controller. It works with 5 volts and has a similar pinout as the CoCo 3 ROMs. I am in the process of testing my unit to be programmed in circuit using additional circuitry. If you would like to know more please reply to this. Bruce P. Borer P.Eng. Ret. On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 3:26?PM coco--- via Coco wrote: > > All > > Where would I get a 32KByte EPROM EEPROM or Flash Memory that could be a > dropin replacement for the Coco 3's Motherboard ROM or even better a > 64KB with some kind of switch to determine which 32KB the Coco will see. > > Charlie > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From davidwladd at gmail.com Fri Dec 20 16:14:27 2024 From: davidwladd at gmail.com (David Ladd) Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:14:27 -0600 Subject: [Coco] EPROM for Coco 3 Motherboard In-Reply-To: <16dd6abfd44450a547724ed5b927d4b6@jechar.ca> References: <16dd6abfd44450a547724ed5b927d4b6@jechar.ca> Message-ID: On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 2:26?PM coco--- via Coco wrote: > All > > Where would I get a 32KByte EPROM EEPROM or Flash Memory that could be a The CHIP that is in my CoCo3 is a: SST27SF256 I got them off of AliExpress a couple years ago. The TL866II+, TL866II-3G, and T56 support the chip. > > Sincerely, David Ladd ***END OF LINE*** From david17361 at gmail.com Sat Dec 21 14:46:49 2024 From: david17361 at gmail.com (David Gettle) Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2024 14:46:49 -0500 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: <562558136.600520.1734697455578@mail.yahoo.com> References: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> <562558136.600520.1734697455578@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: The Color computer is not recognizing Drivewire. I suspect it is a problem in the windows machine, I've used the same boot disk for NitrOS-9 for over a decade, and it worked fine before I had to reinstall windows in the Wintel machine. On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 7:24?AM Rocky Hill via Coco wrote: > It was my pleasure! > On Friday, December 20, 2024 at 12:41:40 AM EST, Aaron Wolfe via Coco < > coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote: > > I'd like to again say thank you to Pedo for working on this and making > drivewire easier for lots of people. > > -Aaron > > > > On Thu, Dec 19, 2024, 8:53?AM Rocky Hill via Coco > wrote: > > > Hi David, > > There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo > and > > they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will > run > > without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not > > interfere with your current java installation if you have one. > > Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a > > nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4. > > > https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe > > Good luck, > > Pedro > > > > On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via > > Coco wrote: > > > > I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I > attempt > > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine > online. > > > > -- > > Coco mailing list > > Coco at maltedmedia.com > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > > > > -- > > Coco mailing list > > Coco at maltedmedia.com > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > From barry.nelson at amobiledevice.com Sun Dec 22 04:11:15 2024 From: barry.nelson at amobiledevice.com (Barry Nelson) Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2024 04:11:15 -0500 Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Check the connection type, device, and baud rate that your Drivewire server is set to run with. Make sure it's set to the same baud rate that your previous Windows Drivewire installation was using, and the connection type and device COM port are set properly. On 2024-12-22 01:18, coco-request at maltedmedia.com wrote: > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2024 14:46:49 -0500 > From: David Gettle > To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts > Subject: Re: [Coco] drivewire help > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > The Color computer is not recognizing Drivewire. I suspect it is a > problem > in the windows machine, I've used the same boot disk for NitrOS-9 for > over > a decade, and it worked fine before I had to reinstall windows in the > Wintel machine. From qbancoffee at yahoo.com Sun Dec 22 09:08:43 2024 From: qbancoffee at yahoo.com (Rocky Hill) Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2024 14:08:43 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Coco] drivewire help In-Reply-To: References: <267572330.5211912.1734616323203@mail.yahoo.com> <562558136.600520.1734697455578@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2057737208.6163358.1734876523532@mail.yahoo.com> Does Windows list all of your available serial ports? You can check available ports and assigned COM number in device manager under "Ports". Did you run the DriveWire "Simple Config Wizard"? If you haven't, you can run it from the Config menu option. Does DriveWire list the available ports? Did you select the correct instance of the DriveWire server? If you haven't you can do so under "File-->Choose Instance" On Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 02:47:06 PM EST, David Gettle via Coco wrote: The Color computer is not recognizing Drivewire. I suspect it is a problem in the windows machine, I've used the same boot disk for NitrOS-9 for over a decade, and it worked fine before I had to reinstall windows in the Wintel machine. On Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 7:24?AM Rocky Hill via Coco wrote: >? It was my pleasure! >? ? On Friday, December 20, 2024 at 12:41:40 AM EST, Aaron Wolfe via Coco < > coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote: > >? I'd like to again say thank you to Pedo for working on this and making > drivewire easier for lots of people. > > -Aaron > > > > On Thu, Dec 19, 2024, 8:53?AM Rocky Hill via Coco > wrote: > > >? Hi David, > > There are several releases for Windows and Linux in my DW4 github repo > and > > they all come with a Java Runtime Engine(JRE).This means that DW4 will > run > > without the need to install Java on your computer and that it will not > > interfere with your current java installation if you have one. > > Here is a link to a Windows installer version. The advantage is that a > > nice DW4 launcher will be available for you to start DW4. > > > https://github.com/qbancoffee/drivewire4/releases/download/4.3.3p_Windows_installer/DriveWire4_installer.exe > > Good luck, > > Pedro > > > >? ? On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 08:31:55 PM EST, David Gettle via > > Coco wrote: > > > >? I need help getting drivewire 4 working. I downloaded a new copy from > > sourceforge, and downloaded the current distro of java, but when I > attempt > > to start drivewire on my windows 10 machine it tells me there is a java > > exception. can someone email a link to me of a working zip file of > > drivewire3 so I can at least get my CoCo connected to my windoze box? > > > > I moved and had a hard drive crash. I cannot locate a working version of > > drivewire on my computer or one that will work on my wintel machine > online. > > > > -- > > Coco mailing list > > Coco at maltedmedia.com > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > > > > -- > > Coco mailing list > > Coco at maltedmedia.com > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > > > -- > Coco mailing list > Coco at maltedmedia.com > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco > -- Coco mailing list Coco at maltedmedia.com https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco From exile at weylan-yutani.com Sun Dec 22 10:41:09 2024 From: exile at weylan-yutani.com (R. Allen Murphey) Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2024 09:41:09 -0600 Subject: [Coco] The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 393, December 21, 2024 Message-ID: <2f9955902ceaa76fba92d422f340ad6fa158b759.camel@weylan-yutani.com> The Coco Nation News stories for Episode 393, December 21, 2024 =================================================================== Collected by L. Curtis Boyle Upcoming conventions/trade shows of interest to Coco people: ------------------------------------------------------------ The next episode of TRS-80 Trash Talk Live (#42) is tonight (Dec. 21) at 9 pm Eastern: https://www.youtube.com/@TRS80TrashTalk For those in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada area, the winter meetup for the Manitoba Retro Computer and Gaming Club is being held January 4 from noon until 4 PM and features a variety of retro computers. They have a theme this meetup about the TRS-80, and since David Kroeker, D. Bruce Moore and myself are all planning on attending, there will definitely be a Coco flavor as well: https://www.facebook.com/events/870247295316209/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22group%22%7D]%7D "Tandy Showcase" (Ed on the TRS-80 Discord, and the person who hosts the history of Videotex on the web), posted that there is a Winter Retro Computing Meetup on Saturday, January 18th from noon to 4 PM, sponsored by DFW Retro Computing & the Vintage Computing Collective of North Texas. It takes place at Bingo Bingo in Grand Prairie (and there will be a concession stand open). Quote from Ed: "**The Winter Event for the DFW Retro Computing Group has been announced (Sat Jan 18); here's their event listing. "Anyone in/near the Dallas-Fort Worth area is encouraged to attend the free event.** *The Winter Retro Computing Meetup of 2025 will be on Saturday, January 18th. Brought to you by the DFW Retro Computing Meetup group and the Vintage Computing Collective of North Texas. Sponsored by Mouser Electronics who has, for the second year, graciously donated to cover the cost for the venue rental. The meetup will begin at 12:00pm and end at 4:00pm and is taking place at Bingo Bingo in Grand Prairie who will also have their concession stand open so please bring cash and support them for allowing us to use their venue. We encourage you to bring something for show and tell. It could be a new addition to your collection or a favorite system you've showcased before. Don't be shy ? we love seeing the unique treasures our community has to offer. And if you're not quite ready to exhibit, no worries--just bring yourself and your passion for retro computing. As on prior meetups, you are welcome to bring your items for swap, sale, or giveaway. However, you must ensure that all items are removed from the venue at the end of the meetup. We cannot leave behind boxes of donation items. You are welcome to bring your family. If you bring young children, please keep an eye on them. When parking, please be careful to observe the parking lot markings, and only park in marked parking spaces. Last time, some people parked in areas intended for parking lot navigation, which can cause issues with parking lot traffic and fire/first responder access. We look forward to seeing all of you there!*" https://www.meetup.com/DFW-Retrocomputing/events/305135267/ Virtual Coco/Tandy Fest is January 25, 2025, and now has it's own website site up: Mark Overholser is the driving force for it, and can give updates on speakers, etc. https://tandyretroshow.com/ VCF-SoCal - Feb 15-16 (Hotel Fera in Orange, California. https://www.vcfsocal.com/ VCF East is April 4-6, 2025 - same facility as this year. Info Age Science Museum, Wall, NJ. https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ CocoFest is May 2-3, 2025 (with takedown on the morning of May 4/Sunday) at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Carol Stream (Wheaton), Illinois. Hotel rooms at the special Fest rate are available now ($122/night for two queens or 1 king bed), and apply for May 2-5. You will need to use the Group Rate code of G30 to get this rate, and getting the special rate ends April 7. Bookings for tables will be going up in January. https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ Tables go on sale January 1 at noon, Central standard time. VCF-SW in Texas has been booked with dates: June 20-22, 2025 at the Davidson Gundy Alumni Center, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas. Tables & Tickets will go on sale January 2025. $20/adult ($25 if bought at the door), $10/student ($15 at the door). 17 and under are free (with accompanying adult). Tables are $50. https://www.vcfsw.org/ Tim Lindner let me know that next year's Portland Retro Gaming Expo runs from October 17-19 in 2025 (they just had this years Sept 27-29). https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ Coco 1/2/3 (and multi-platform) ------------------------------- 1) Coco Town has released a text/webpage version of his assembly language optimizations video, including some new examples and more detailed explanations. Great reference (it's divided into 3 parts): https://cocotownretro.wordpress.com/2024/12/16/8-surprising-6809-assembly-optimizations-and-3-unsurprising-ones-part-1/ 2) D. Bruce Moore and David Kroeker did a quick blog post and accompanying video with further progress on their CocoMP3 project - Testing and Selecting the best audio amplifier solution. There is also an appearance by an old Coco serial to parallel converter running a line printer, and more: https://coco.gracenote.ca/cocomp3-research-development-testing-and-selecting-the-best-audio-amplifier-solution/ 3) ACKRobert has released his almost 1.5 hour walkthrough/mini-interviews of this past VCF SoCal. This includes a brief talk with Henry Strickland, who goes through the CoPiCo project (Wireless networking), Rick Ulland's Ethernet board, etc. https://youtu.be/vF2s2qcEsbQ?si=ZTQxdP7tuqbLjZla&t=3298 4) Mike ("seat safety switch" on the Coco Discord) posted a link to his blog about Fujinet, and his experience building and using it on the Coco: https://www.leadedsolder.com/2024/12/17/coco-fujinet.html 5) Thomas Cherryhomes showed a post by Andrew Diller that is a review of Fujinet's accomplishments in 2024, including hardware and software (including the Coco): https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162162731727641/ Show 'fujunet 2024.jpg' from my desktop, as Facebook won't let me scale the very tall image enough to read properly 6) Terry Steege posted a teaser video on the Coco Facebook group under his Retro Tech Time brand, that will lead into a full showcase video about the AgVision - boxed and complete - which was the blue branded Videotex terminal that came out before the Coco 1 but shares it's design and a lot of it's hardware with the Coco: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162159382347641/ 7) Paul Sisco posted photos (some in the comments) of a small daughterboard with wires going to multiple place on an F board Coco 1 that he has no idea what it is for. Comments have speculated about multiple things it could be - any ideas from the panel or chat? https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/posts/10162156384747641/ 8) I missed it when it was released (November 28), but Pierre Sarrazin released 'hiresttxt' version 0.4.2 for the CMOC compile. This redirects printf() to a hi res screen (black on green) allowing 42x24 or 42x24 text. It has an option to support some VT52 terminal sequences, includes lowercase and Latin-1 characters, supports both inverse and bold on/off, works on all Coco's and can even run under OS-9 Level 1 or 2. http://perso.b2b2c.ca/~sarrazip/dev/cmoc.html (search for 'hirestxt') 9) As per usual, both the main and beta branches of ugBASIC have had updates throughout the past few weeks: Main branch changelog (mostly bugfixes to the 1.16.5 release over the past few weeks): https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/changelog/main Beta branch changelog (bug fixes plus things like support for SPRITE PRIORITY, SPRITE SET, MOB SET, FADE, etc.: https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/changelog/beta 10) Ben Cossette on YouTube posted a video of the educational Coco program "Goofy Covers Government: Inside Congress", including the original multimedia voice acting that came on the tape: https://youtu.be/Zeslv_66hQY?si=9lHRvudaBoqe9Yui 11) Henry of The Break Key on YouTube (and our regular panel!) put up a special Christmas themed video showing how to use the higher semigraphics modes to create a nice Christmas scene. He uses modern tools to create the the final image on the Coco: https://youtu.be/02t30UANoy4?si=VmISPwoCXA_Dgg7W 12) EJ Jacquay has released version 2.1.9.1 of VCC this past week, which does bugfixes, enhancements to the text paste, multiple debugger enhancements, and more: Full list of changes, and download: https://github.com/VCCE/VCC/releases MC-10 ----- 1) The Clueless Engineer on YouTube released a part 1 video looking at the Matra & Hachette Alice - a First look. It includes him going through the hardware, and getting the video output working: https://youtu.be/JoOMIVsprkE?si=2RQr5VJBjjomuROo Dragon 32/64 ------------ 1) Ciaran posted on the World of Dragon forums in response to a user request that he has added a new ASSERT pseudo op to his ASM6809 assembler. Currently it's on the github, but hasn't had an official release yet (and he may not have time to do so before Christmas): https://archive.worldofdragon.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11218 2) Dave's 8-bit basement released Dragon re-power part 1 - a video followup to his previous one we covered recently, where he now has the power supply replacement boards he was waiting for to get his Dragon 32 up and running. This video shows soldering the parts and wires onto the board: https://youtu.be/P5vSDNjBuJ8?si=GlgtagFiOCkYrKgP Game On news (all Coco related platforms): ========================================== 1) As speculated last week, the MC-10 version of Paul Shoemaker's Christmas Match game has been released for free on his itch.io page. Is is in the .C10 cassette format): https://pshoemaker70.itch.io/christmas-match Video demo with sound (it's doing 4 part harmony with 1 bit sound for it's little music intro): https://www.facebook.com/groups/731424100317748/posts/8720532308073514/ 2) I am not sure when this article was published, but I just found out about an interview with the creator of the first Chess game on any microcomputer (Microchess), Peter Jennings. It's on a Norwegian site, but in english. It goes through the original history of Peter himself, the Kim-1 release, and mentions the other major ports (including a mention of the Coco version, which along with Peter's Checkers were his contribution to the Coco's launch titles in 1980): https://spillhistorie.no/interview-with-microchess-creator-peter-jennings/ 3) Jim Gerrie ported over "Rubiks", originally written by Roger Safford and published as a type in listing for the CompuColor II computer from it's magazine, Colorcue (June/July 1982 issue). This program lets one both play, and have the computer solve, a Rubik's cube: https://youtu.be/30h6354Iu9k?si=aPBiDSLHXS27GZTT WAV file download from Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10HhvW22xPej6TpwhYgOp_LjF0RSofG4W/view 4) UK retro games podcast Retro Asylum released episode 343: 8 Bit Wars Budget Edition. This reviews games on a variety of 8 bit systems, focusing on the cheap, budget titles. The Dragon and Coco get mentioned a few times (24:20 is where they ask their American co-host about the market in the US in this time period, and he mentions the Coco specifically). The majority of the show is comparing ports of the same game on the C64, Spectrum and BBC Micro: https://youtu.be/FR63vL7iPkc?si=nWuaiZ4nkZJOhPdU ============================================================================== Speak your mind! Let us know what you think at: feedback at TheCoCoNation.com If replying on a mailing list, please trim replies to the specific items. Get connected with more of the CoCo, Dragon and MC-10 community here: https://thecoconation.com/community/ -- R. Allen Murphey Weylan-Yutani Corporation -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 833 bytes Desc: This is a digitally signed message part URL: From db388696 at gmail.com Wed Dec 25 23:12:56 2024 From: db388696 at gmail.com (dlb) Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2024 22:12:56 -0600 Subject: [Coco] C Coding question Message-ID: <604a7a26e2b83555368bc563e5474521428ee784.camel@gmail.com> I'm disassembling a program and came across something that was interesting, to say the least. Here's what I have: The disassembly of this particular function was: 1066 0762 34 40 L0762 pshs u 1067 0764 cc ffbc ldd #-68 1068 0767 17 f992 lbsr _stkchec 1069 076A 20 13 bra L077f 1070 076C 17 185b L076c lbsr L1fca 1071 076F ed 7e std -2,s 1072 0771 26 1c bne L078f 1073 0773 cc 0001 ldd #1 1074 0776 17 1cfb lbsr L2474 1075 0779 1083 ffff cmpd #-1 1076 077D 27 10 beq L078f 1077 077F dc 35 L077f ldd = D0037) == 0) { if ((L1fca() != 0) || (L2474(1) == -1)) { break; } } } The comment in the code above states my question. Wouldn't what my suggestion do the same? I cannot understand why anyone would write code like that unless there's something I am missing.