[Coco] Re: [Color Computer] Fw: Strange CoCo 2B model

[Torsten Dittel]

Jan,
do you have more info on the Mini DIN Peritel connector of the French
version? There's one line I don't understand.

Regards,
Torsten


Jan Vanden Bossche schrieb:

> 

> Hallo

> 

> Neil, feel free to cross-post this back to any appropriate groups or mailing

> lists.

> 

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "Neil Morrison" <neilsmorr at hotpop.com>

> 

> > ----- Original Message -----

> > From: "Frank Durda IV" <uhclem at nemesis.lonestar.org>

> >

> >

> > > [-]> I just bought a strange CoCo 2B PAL 50Hz model on ebay (don't have

> > > [-]> it yet) from France which seems to be unmodifed but doesn't have an

> > > [-]> antenna connector but some kind of DIN video out which connects to

> > > [-]> the European SCART. Another strange thing is a french keyboard

> > > [-]> layout.

> 

> For those who want to know:

> & é " ' ( p è ! c à ) -

>  A Z E R T Y U I O P ^ $

>   Q S D F G H J K L M ù u

>  < W X C V B N , ; : =

> 

> Commonly known as the AZERTY layout. (BTW, numbers are shifted) Now, most

> keyboards in the world are 'almost' identical to the US-QWERTY layout. Only

> a few countries devated from that standard. France and Germany. Belgium

> adapted the French layout, yielding a slightly different settings of the

> keys. Actually, come to think of it, the above is a Belgian AZERTY.

> 

> Germany adopted a QWERZU layout, and some other countries in its influence

> Tsjechia, (German-speaking) Switserland adapted that again. But for the rest

> of the world, most had their own variation of the US-QWERTY layout, imposed

> by deviating characters in their written language.

> 

> > > [-]> Has there ever been a "french keyboard" version which was e.g.

> > > [-]> sold in Canada?

> 

> AFAIK, Canada also uses a variation of the QWERTY, even for French, so an

> AZERTY keyboard would not be well received there. The only other market for

> an AZERTY model would be Belgium or the French colonies.

> 

> > > [0]ISTR that Radio Shack made these for schools so they could use

> > > [0] monitors. Am I correct?

> > >

> > > Sorry, but I am not well informed on the CoCo line and do not know this

> > > sort of detail about that line.

> > >

> > > Overseas models of several Tandy/Radio Shack computers were made, and

> > > for those using television receivers/monitors for display the correct

> > > video output connectors and signal appropriate to that market would be

> > > offered.

> > > PAL was likely the format used for anything sold in Europe, as I can see

> > > where Tandy would have wanted to avoid to do both PAL and SECAM

> > > versions, as only France used SECAM (in markets where Tandy sold goods).

> 

> That's why, for that market, Tandy struck a deal with Matra, allowing them

> to produce the french-marketed models, with AZERTY layout and for the Coco

> and MC-10, SECAM output. Problem was, their AZERTY model III and 4 were also

> sold in Belgium, and they used crappy keyboards.

> 

> Matra sold their own version of the MC-10, called the Alice, with a bright

> red casing and ... an AZERTY layout. Look at

> www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=60

> 

> > > I know that in the R&D facility, we had this old PAL television and

> > > power converter that let it be used for testing these European models.

> > >

> > > As to keyboards, there were several keyboards on many models.  Model Is

> > > had probably the largest number of international styles.

> 

> ??? I have never seen a model I with anything else than a QWERTY-keyboard.

> Do you have any records, or photos ?

> 

> > > The Model 4

> > > had three (US, German, French), Model III had four to six, and so on.

> 

> AFAIK, the III also had just 3. QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERZU are almost

> fundamentally different, but the differences between the regional versions

> are minor, so a QWERZU would be fine for all german-influenced regions, and

> the Belgians got the french AZERTY. No one complaned. Touch typists are

> happy when the alphabet matches.

> 

> > > Not sure what the CoCo had, but you can be certain that to sell any in

> > > France, you had to have the "deadkey" and AZERTY keyboard layout.

> 

> O yes, that was one way of protecting their market. If you want to know what

> a deadkey is, try this: (windows machines) change your keyboard layout to

> US-international, reboot, and then type " and e. You should have ë on your

> screen. That's the way to put accents on characters, because you can't have

> all accented characters on your keyboard.

> 

> > > I remember when someone in the chain was demanding that an Icelandic

> > > keyboard be done for the Model 4 and [..] we didn't do an Icelandic

> > > keyboard.

> 

> [G]

> 

> > > Nearly every machine was eventually offered with at least QWERTY, QWERTZ

> > > and AZERTY keyboard models.  When we got to just doing PC/AT clones, the

> > > keyboards for other countries were just used as they came from the

> > > vendors and once done didn't need revisiting for each new computer

> > > model.

> 

> Just some games insist on scanning the keyboard themselves, bypassing the

> localised driver. That is pretty upsetting for people with a different

> layout: you can't find the proper keys! (e.g. DOOM)

> 

> > > MS-DOS and later Windows or whatever would have to provide drivers

> > > appropriate for any significant deviation from the US-101 scan code

> > > keyboard.

> > >

> > > Frank Durda IV - only this address works:|"The Knights who say "LETNi"

> 

> Greetings from the TyRannoSaurus

> Jan-80

> 

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