[Coco] The COCO vs The Apple II

[Mark McDougall]

On 10/01/2015 7:11 PM, Tony Cappellini wrote:

> I'm having fun though, learning all of this, but it begs the question..
>
> How did the Apple II being having such a primitive basic, DOS, & CPU outsell
> and be so much more popular than the Coco? The Apple II was approximately
> 3-4 times the cost of the Coco.

Heh, this thread has the potential to be longer than the old Coco4 thread...

As others have noted, it's all about timing, advertising budgets, software 
support and brand loyalty. Beyond that, capabilities do come into it at some 
point.

My father opted for a TRS-80 Model I so I was "married" to Tandy for many 
many years. I found the hires Apple II graphics enviable but to me, the 
gameplay of the TRS-80 titles were superior to Apple titles.

Eventually my father got sick of me using his Model I and he bought me a 
Coco. Although I was well versed in Z80 by then, I never really learned 6809 
and after playing games on it for a few years my father eventually bought me 
a "serious" computer to study Computer Science - A TRS-80 Model 4P! That got 
me through 4 years of uni, including a ray tracing assignment!!! :O

I've since dabbled in 6809 and more recently ported Apple II Lode Runner 
(6502) to the Coco 3 - that was a real eye-opener! Ever the Z80 fan boy, 
I've been converted to 6809 since that exercise and despite its limitations, 
even manage to recognise the 6502's strengths (though still not on par with 
Z80 IMHO).

Aside from a TRS-80 Model I, 4P, Coco 2 & 3, these days I also own an Apple 
IIe, IIGS, Commodore VIC20 & C64, and Atari 130XE 8-bit computers - amongst 
others. And knowing a lot more about them now, I can appreciate their 
strengths and weaknesses and give a nod to the fan boys of the day.

But for me it'll come down to nostalgia and what I knew growing up. I still 
think the TRS-80 held its own in the day, despite the lack of hires or 
colour graphics, or any sound to speak of. The Coco 3 was too little, too 
late and could have been a lot more successful under different circumstances.

Regards,

-- 
|              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do it
|  <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug>   |   with less resistance!"