[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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