[Coco] [Color Computer] Complete Commodore 64 home computer on a single chip

[jdaggett at gate.net]

Mark

Yepper your math is correct. The problem is a small time individual 
needs capital to get started. If you are going to do a brand new IC 
from scrath and develop a product around that, you are  going to 
need between a half a million to one million dollars to just be able to 
manufacture and sell those first 70,000 units.

james


On 22 Dec 2004 at 13:42, mark at cloud9tech.com wrote:

From:           	mark at cloud9tech.com
To:             	coco at maltedmedia.com
Date sent:      	Wed, 22 Dec 2004 13:42:29 -0600
Subject:        	Re: [Coco] [Color Computer] Complete 
Commodore 64 home computer on a
	single chip
Send reply to:  	mark at cloud9tech.com,
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> James,

> 

> As all of these numbers are impressive, it is really small potatoes.

> Take the numbers from the article. $30 a unit times 70,000 units sold

> on the first day, $2.1 million, first day!. Depending upon what type

> of contract she entered.. This could of course greatly alter her net

> pay. No if, ands, or butts about this though. She had at least one of

> these that she demoed to the investors and sold them on it. Did she

> have that much invested? I bet not. 

> 

> Aaaaaahhhhhh this what makes America great!

> 

> Regards,

> 

> Mark

> 

> >Boisy

> >

> >With say about $250,000, one can put a complete Coco 3 hardware in

> >one

> ASIC. 

> >That wil get the design done and the first 40 ICs at a cost of about

> >$5000

> per chip. 

> >

> >That will get you 40 parts in 0.18 micron mixed mode 1.8V to 3.3V

> >CMOS. Production runs are far cheaper and could bring the die cost

> >down into the

> $10 to 

> >$15 range. Packaging adds about $0.05 per pin. 

> >

> >A cheaper initial cost and low volume way is to do the ASIC in FPGA

> >and

> then you 

> >are looking at about $600 to $1000 per chip. The only thing that

> >would not

> go into 

> >the FPGA would be the 2 MB of RAM.  

> >

> >

> >Actual  production runs would yield die costs more in the $10 to $25

> range. The you 

> >can bond the die directly to a PCB  and have a Coco 3 on a PCB about

> >1.5

> inch 

> >square board. 

> >

> >james

> >

> >On 22 Dec 2004 at 9:48, Boisy G. Pitre wrote:

> >

> >From:           	"Boisy G. Pitre" <boisy at boisypitre.com>

> >Subject:        	Re: [Coco] [Color Computer] Complete Commodore 64

> >home computer on a 	single chip Date sent:      	Wed, 22 Dec 2004

> >09:48:48 -0600 To:             	ColorComputer at yahoogroups.com,

> >	CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>

> >Copies to:      	Send reply to:  	CoCoList for Color Computer

> >Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com> 	<mailto:coco-

> >request at maltedmedia.com?subject=unsubscribe> 	<mailto:coco-

> >request at maltedmedia.com?subject=subscribe>

> >

> >> 

> >> On Dec 22, 2004, at 1:23 AM, Neil Morrison wrote:

> >> 

> >> >

> >> >

> >> > FYI

> >> >

> >> > "Jeri Ellsworth has squeezed the entire circuitry of a

> >> > two-decade-old Commodore 64 home computer onto a single chip,

> >> > which she has tucked neatly into a joystick that connects by a

> >> > cable to a TV set. Called the Commodore 64--the same as the

> >> > computer system--her device can run 30 video games, mostly

> >> > sports, racing and puzzles games from the early 1980s, all

> >> > without the hassle of changing game cartridges.

> >> 

> >> This is certainly becoming a trend, isn't it.  I've noticed lately

> >> that there is a groundswell of interest in retro-computing and the

> >> mainstream press is starting to pick up on this phenomenon.  It's

> >> no surprise that the Commodore 64 is the main beneficiary of this

> >> attention, since it has the most name recognition and appears to be

> >> the main computer that everyone thinks of when focusing on the 80s

> >> home computer age.  I suspect that in the not too distant future,

> >> other classic home computers like ours will be garnering some

> >> national media attention as well.

> >> 

> >> Actually, her idea of putting a Commodore 64 inside of a joystick

> >> isn't too far-fetched for a CoCo.  Though I wonder what sales would

> >> be like of such a device, and if Radio Shack would consider doing

> >> something like that.

> >> 

> >> Boisy

> >> 

> >> 

> >> -- 

> >> Coco mailing list

> >> Coco at maltedmedia.com

> >> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

> >

> >

> >

> >-- 

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> >

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