[Coco] PopStar Pilot blog offline

[Al Hartman]

I actually didn't have a hand in that product.

I had left Zebra for a year to go back to work selling Corvus Networks.

The plan for the Car Sign Designer was to try to anticipate a fad. Stewart 
wanted to make every possible version, and get them all out at the same 
time. He wanted to sell them to the bookstores. And was afraid if he 
released each platform as it was ready, someone else would do versions for 
the platforms not yet written for.

Zebra called the development of that software, "The Super Project." and I 
was not allowed to know anything about it. Basically, by the time all the 
versions were done, the "Baby on Board" fad had passed. he had sunk over 
$40k in developing the software, writing the manuals, designing and printing 
the boxes, sign holders and suction cups as well as buying cases of the 
yellow paper in 100 sheet packs. He never got that back.

I don't have copies of all the versions, but I think I have the PC, Coco, 
and Commodore disks. I don't have the Apple ][ version. I'm on the lookout 
for one. I only have the PC and Commodore manuals too. I'm looking for the 
others. I have every remaining car sign holder and suction cup in boxes in 
my storage room. I tried listing the IBM and Commodore versions on eBay, and 
nobody bought them. I blew money I didn't have at Staples making copies of 
the manuals I had.

I wish they had listened to me, and instead had written the Zebra Writer 
software for the Coco. I think that would have been a top seller and a 
classic program today.

Stewart was not very enthusiastic about the Greeting Card Designer. The day 
the software was complete, and I was about to sit down and write the manual 
so we could ship it out, he wanted to cancel it. I convinced him that it 
would sell well (knowing that Print Shop and it's clones were big sellers, 
and Coco people would jump on something like it.) Zebra ended up living off 
of the Greeting Card Designer, and the later Coco Graphics Designer programs 
as the rest of the business wound down.

Silly decisions at Zebra carried on here and there. When we sold the Timex 
Portugal Disk system here in the U.S., I tried to talk Stewart out of using 
the Amdek 3" drives, and just use regular 5.25" drives or even 3.5" drives. 
He went with the 3" drives, and the high price as well as scarcity of media 
really cut down the sales of the system.

Stewart wanted to develop a cartridge for the Coco that would enhance it by 
adding a precision mouse and better sound (Stewarts first micro computer 
product was the Music Box which the Orch-80 was a lower cost clone of.) 
called the Turbo Port. But, the failure of the Car Sign Designer basically 
put an end to it.

We had also developed a lower-cost Parallel to Serial converter for the Coco 
which worked fine in prototype, but the production boards never worked. 
Scrapped every one of them.

So, when people on the list are talking about adding better sound and a true 
serial port to the Coco, I just shake my head and think of what could have 
been a great product from Zebra if only we had zigged instead of zagged.

-[ Al ]-


-----Original Message----- 
From: Brian Blake

Al,

I'm not trying to treat you like that. I'm simply trying to point out
how your email came across. Nothing more. I'm not trying to diminish
your products - pretty sure I bought a copy of the Car Sign Designer a
few years back (have two, one came from eBay). The software you had a
hand in creating was cool stuff.

Nick was throwing ideas out there for a feature improved MPI. And I
could see your point of view, and don't explicitly disagree. However,
the email you sent was pretty heavy handed - rude, in my opinion. That's
all I'm trying to point out. Nick has written some pretty impressive
software as well and is pretty well versed in software development, and
I sure wouldn't blame him for being offended. That may not have been
your intent, but, it came across that way too me.

I've never authored software (unless you count a program written in
AutoLISP for AutoCAD) or built an electronic device to be sold. I used
to be a mechanical design engineer. Equipment that I designed and helped
build resided in Ford Michigan truck plant, St. Louis plant and the GM
truck plant in Moraine, Ohio (may it R.I.P.) and the Needmoore Road
Delphi plant in Dayton, Ohio. I'm now MIS Director for a non-profit in
Florida. None of which has anything to do with the CoCo.

My first computer being a CoCo is why I'm on this list. Since I don't
code or design, I have a website, blog, and provide a seldom used forum
for people to discuss CoCo related topics. That's the only way I have of
giving back.

I don't want anybody to leave to CoCo community, not Al, Nick or anybody
else. I just want the attrition rate of CoCoNutz to drop to zero. Not
many of us left, and the more infighting we have, the worse it's going
to get. If we don't start doing positive things to get others
interested, and keep them, Tom's prediction of the group eating it's own
will happen.

-- 

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