[Coco] Re: Coco Digest, Vol 22, Issue 145

[farna at att.net]

I wasn't pointing any fingers, George!! But I should have been clearer too. It's obvious to most here that the only real use for a USB port will be through OS-9 LII or Nitros9 (referred to interchangeably as OS9 from now on). At that point you need a driver for a device, which will take some time, but once the hardware is made and source is available for one device, almost any could be connected. So one printer driver should work for nearly any USB printer -- just redirect output in OS9 to the USB port. Set it in your boot file and forget. If the chip will support multiple USB ports (say four) you won't need a disk controller. One cartridge in the side, four cables running to a 1.44 floppy, a hard drive, a printer, and a thumb drive -- all easily available at the local PC store. When was the last time you were able to just go pick up any old piece of hardware for a CoCo? It's been a long time since serial printers were made, and it's getting harder to find parallel port models. Make a boot ROM socket in that board too, just to be safe. I don't see why a simple boot that just sets up the port and drive access can't be in that ROM, which then allows you to reboot your custom disk from one of the attached devices. Do you need a real serial port? Buy one of those USB to RS-232 cables now! Those aren't exactly cheap, but no more than a serial card IIRC. I suppose you can connect a hub to the device as well. If that's the case, the card can be made cheaper by just having a single port. Adding three ports on the card will probably cost more than a readily available $15+ USB 1.1 powered hub. Would save power from the CoCo as well. 

Now if there were only a way to make it available in RSDOS it would be perfect! But the only future for the CoCo as a real tool and not just a simple dedicated controller is in OS9. I was really just an RSDOS person myself, but even I could see OS9 was the real power in -- and the future of -- the little white box. 

--
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Independent 
Magazine" (AIM)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AIM.html
(free download available!)
			

 -------------- Original message ----------------------

> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 14:29:54 -0500
> From: "George Ramsower" <yahoo at dvdplayersonly.com>
> Subject: [Color Computer] [Coco] Re: CoCo USB
> To: <ColorComputer at yahoogroups.com>
> Message-ID: <00bb01c59606$3e50cca0$e4b8b1d8 at heart>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> The following message is NOT a slam on the project. I endorse anything that 
> anyone builds for a Coco.
> 
>  However.....
> 
> In my original query, I asked:
> "What's the point?"
> 
>  Everything that uses USB has to have software to support it. A single 
> driver is not enough.
> 
>  If I had this proposed USB interface and a driver to operate it,  wouldn't 
> I need software to operate anything that connects to it?
>  Seems to me that I would have a piece of hardware that I couldn't use.
> 
>   I've noticed, over the years, that folks build tools to use on a coco, but 
> rarely do we have a useful application that a computer user can use.
>  I don't write C or ASM. I can't use those tools.
>  I have a purpose for my Coco and the "tools" to make the application I do 
> use is Basic09 because it's the only thing I DO understand(sort of). I only 
> write these applications because there isn't anything readily available that 
> will do that.
>  If I could find a program for this &^%$DOS/XP box that would do what I 
> want, and the hardware to boot, I would use this ^%&*/DOS/XP box. But I 
> can't.
>  So, I use one of my cocos to do the task. My needs are unusual and I'm sure 
> there isn't much demand for what I do with it. So there wouldn't be much 
> market for it and whoever writes such a program would starve to death trying 
> to market such a thing.
> 
>  My point is:
> 
>  USB is cool on this box I"m typing on.
> 
>  But on  a COCO?
> 
>  Will someone be writing software to utilize all the devices that can be 
> connected to a USB port?
>  How long will we have to wait to scan an 8 1/2 X 11 page at 300 DPI into a 
> Coco and where would we save the data?
>  How long will we have to wait to print that image to a printer.... 
> providing we have the software to drive an Ink Jet printer?
> 
> Mr. Diffendaffer has taken on a hardware project that is not too complex. 
> KUDOS on that!!
> 
> The driver will be more difficult.
> 
>  The software to support the hard drives, flash memory, CD drives, Cameras, 
> Scanners, Printers, and anything else that we use is unattainable. We could 
> expect software to support the author's equpment, but that's about it. My 
> Lexmark Z45 is probably not going to be supported, nor will my Epson 
> Perfection 1250.
>  I expect my digital camera won't have a way to get these picture into my 
> coco. I wouldn't want to anyway! The files are larger than my Coco.
> 
>  I would like to see a better RS232 port. The 6551 is not the best. I want a 
> better solution for communications.
> 
> 
>  So, THERE!!!!
> 
>  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
> 
> George 
>