[Coco] CoCoNet beta release

[Roger Taylor]

At 01:06 PM 12/24/2009, you wrote:
>Thanks Roger!
>
>But I thought we were going to be getting our SD card Drive Paks for 
>Christmas!

No, the Drive Pak is a preorder with a release date I have not 
announced yet... but it's soon.






>On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 11:38 PM, Roger Taylor <operator at coco3.com> wrote:
> > Merry Christmas all,
> >
> > Now that we're on the subject of CoCo to PC and storage solutions for the
> > CoCo - this might be a good time to throw a basic version of CoCoNet out
> > there to get some feedback.
> >
> > The CoCoNet ROM is 16K and is a replacement for Disk BASIC 1.1  It works on
> > any CoCo with Extended BASIC.  CoCoNet is currently primarily a multi-drive
> > system with the ability to mount PC and web .dsk files and save 
> remote files
> > onto remote-mounted virtual disks.  These basic features combine to form a
> > very powerful and unique storage system for almost any CoCo.
> >
> > We've got several ROMs out there that only give one or two types of disk
> > drives.  My ROM will continue to add more DOS-compatible "drives" 
> to the mix
> > over time.  This includes RAM disks, hard drives, Flash drives, MicroSD pak
> > drives (blazing 230400 bps), bitbanger drives, floppy drives, network
> > drives, and any others I can think of.
> >
> > The ideal solution for letting the CoCo deal with remote files and
> > networking features is to have the PC server deposit files onto virtual
> > disks for the CoCo, offloading 99% of the work and hassle.  The CoCo
> > basically says "give me this file or disk" and then it appears to the CoCo
> > in a native format it already has support for in Disk BASIC.
> >
> > Use a CoCo-to-PC cable (mine) or a DriveWIre cable, or any other 
> basic 4-pin
> > CoCo bitbanger serial cable and get 115200 bps virtual drives for 
> using .dsk
> > images stored on your PC or the web.
> > Use a Tandy RS-232 Pak or my Deluxe Wireless RS-232 Pak, and get 115200 bps
> > virtual drives.  With the wireless pak, the CoCo finds your PC and connects
> > automatically within a few seconds.
> > Using a Drive Pak (MicroSD card pak), CoCoNet gets a massive 2gb of storage
> > (that's a lot for a CoCo).
> > Real drives are supported as well.
> >
> > All drive types are possible at the same time.  You can mount one of each
> > drive type to each CoCo drive 0-3, or 4 of each, 2 and 2, etc.  BACKUP,
> > COPY, LOAD, SAVE, etc. between all drive types (web disks are read-only,
> > however).
> >
> > RAM disks haven't been added yet, but should be in the official release or
> > 1.1.
> >
> > There are currently a few bugs/issues that could leave the CoCo in an
> > undesired state after an error occurs in BASIC.   CoCoNet switches between
> > the ROM and All-RAM map at times and currently doesn't have error trapping
> > to put the CoCo back in it's native mode.  I know how to do this, but I've
> > been short on time.
> >
> > The CoCoNet server applet should work on any Windows PC that has the .NET
> > framework 2.0 installed.  The .ini file controls what disks are initially
> > mounted over the serial links, and all sorts of other settings.  You can
> > also mount disks by pathname or URL *FROM THE COCO*.
> >
> > CoCoNet finds the most likely important disk drive system out of the ones
> > available and attempts to run *.BAS on startup from that device.  The track
> > 34 scanner has been disabled for now, where a 'DOS' command would be issued
> > automatically on powerup if the disk is bootable that way.
> >
> > A 6551 remote copy of NitrOS-9 is premounted on drive 0 with this beta
> > release.  In other words, NitrOS-9 boots on the CoCo over your 
> serial pak or
> > wireless pak, and the .dsk resides on your PC as you use it on your CoCo.
> >
> >
> > http://www.coco3.com/community/coconet_beta.zip
> > --
> > ~ Roger Taylor
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> >
>
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-- 
~ Roger Taylor