[Coco] Any news on the so called CoCo4 or Next CoCo project that Bjork was heading?

[Aaron Wolfe]

Personally, I see the FPGA solution the Gary Becker has created as the
best "CoCo 4" experience available.
It's hard to describe how amazing it is to use.  I am not one to buy
into the "user experience" hype normally, but using the CoCo3FPGA on
and Altera DE1 feels "real".  It feels like a real CoCo in a way that
no emulator ever has to me.
It turns on and offers the OK prompt instantly, just like a real CoCo.
 It resets instantly with the push of a button, just like a real CoCo.
 And.. there is more to it than just that... hard to put into words.
One example I can offer is that although I've had emulators running on
my PC for some years, I never bothered to mess around in BASIC like I
did as a kid.  The very first time (and several times since) I turned
on the CoCo3FPGA, I was just draw to it.. started writing little BASIC
programs and experimenting, remembering the stuff I'd done as a kid.


Why use a general purpose PC, with all the extra overhead and
configuration needed for even the simplest emulator only
configuration, when FPGA hardware can be put together more cheaply and
can provide a better CoCo experience.  I am not a hardware guy, but it
would seem creating adapters for connecting real coco peripherals to
an FPGA board would be simpler than some PCI or USB solution as well.

-Aaron


On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 1:51 PM, Frank Swygert <farna at att.net> wrote:
> The point of emulating a mythical machine in software is that it can be done
> quickly and cheaply. Ideally the emulation would be pared down into a total
> OS/emulator merged together. Just boot it straight into the emulator without
> all the extra things the OS needs to run other programs. With Linux that
> should be easy, but something like VCC or the DOS emulator would be needed.
> A port of either to Linux would be fantastic! Of course it might be just as
> easy to pare down MESS into just a CoCo emulator, then customize something
> like DSL or Puppy to run just that.
>
> Ideally I'd think the best solution for the hardware would be to optimize
> the system for a particular small board computer. One of the ITC boards, for
> instance. Something readily available and low cost, and small. I've seen a
> VIA ITC board mounted in a Commodore 64 case, "upgrading" the Commie. Some
> have mentioned keeping the CoCo keyboard, but we've had adapters to get away
> from that for a long time! Mount a mini USB keyboard on the CoCo case if you
> must have the keyboard on the case.
>
> The second step might be a card to allow legacy hardware to be attached, but
> I think that's a moot point (this was "step two" of Bjork's project -- a
> card with cartridge, joystick, and I think another legacy port or two). Much
> of the old hardware is on its last leg or unobtainable. It's way to easy to
> emulate it in such a way that it can even be improved on. I can almost see a
> use for 5.25" floppy connectivity, but almost everything ever on floppies is
> now available in DSK files or some other downloadable file format. Plus the
> RS drives can be connected to a standard floppy controller already on the
> MB... at least some will still work with 360K drives, but that might be hard
> to come by. 1.2MB drives will generally read 160-360K disks, but the
> controller might not work with the smaller capacity drives... I don't think
> they do anymore. Making 3.5" drives work should be easy enough though. The
> lack of a 5.25" drive shouldn't be more than a nuisance for a few people.
> USB thumb drive or SD card support would be more important.
>
> What would REALLY be needed is a way to connect the machine to the real
> world. The CoCo has always been a good experimenter's machine because it
> could be connected to various things through the joystick and cartridge
> ports. I don't see a real need for connecting to legacy devices of that
> type, but I CAN see a need for easy to program I/O. Something simpler than
> the PCI card slot. Maybe a card with a cable and legacy CoCo connector on
> it, but even those are hard to find. I still think that reprogramming the
> parallel printer port to be accessible as a PIA or something similar (maybe
> just add some special commands to "DECB4" or whatever, and a driver for
> OS-9). I looked at it before, and don't think there are enough lines to
> reprogram the PP to emulate a legacy cartridge port. The PP IS programmable
> on a PC though, and it has been used for different I/O in the past.
>
>
> -----------------
> From: Mark McDougall <msmcdoug at iinet.net.au>
> Sent: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:38:51 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Any news on the so called CoCo4 or NextCoCo
> projectthatBjork was heading?
>
>> > But I also have a netbook thanks to my job, and that works just fine
>> > as an emulator box, and weighs a lot less than a CoCo. So I would
>> > agree that 'coco 4' hardware might be kind of silly.
>>
> On the contrary, my view is that 'Coco 4 Software' is kind of silly.
> Personally, I really don't see the point; either faithfully emulate the Coco
> in software, or use a modern PC. What's the point of 'emulating' a mythical
> machine in software?
>
> OTOH, having 'Coco 4 Hardware' makes a lot more sense. And what I mean by
> that, is fully-compatible hardware that integrates not only with legacy
> peripherals (cartridges, floppies etc) but also with more modern
> peripherals, like SD card, USB joysticks, etc. You get the *full* legacy
> experience (ideally it would be a Coco mobo replacement), with the benefit
> of modern convenience where desired. A bit like "pimping" your Coco with an
> unlimited credit account at Cloud9!
>
> There's also the opportunity to enhance the hardware as well, say, more
> colours, custom palette etc. But this is not the primary point of the
> exercise, just stuff that is done "because you can". And because
> programmable logic makes it that much easier.
>
> --
> Frank Swygert
> Publisher, "American Motors Cars"
> Magazine (AMC)
> For all AMC enthusiasts
> http://www.amc-mag.com
> (free download available!)
>
>
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