CoCo's *are* real... (was: OT: PC Motherboard with a vacuum tube

From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch_at_30below.com>
Date: Fri Sep 6 14:29:01 2002

At 09:32 09/06/2002 -0600, Ben Franchuk <bfranchuk_at_jetnet.ab.ca> wrote:
[snip]

>Well if they still sold real hi-fi they might. If they still sold real
>parts too you might find CMOS ram even. Still upset over RS for not designing
>the COCO as the REAL computer rather than selling all the Z80 trash**.

Define "real" -- Admittedly, the CoCo1's chicklet keyboard sucked bigtime,
but The CoCo2/3's keyboard is as good as anything made nowadays... (that's
why the newest keyboard I use on any PeeCee is an IBM "klackety" keyboard
from '84 or so... and wouldn't mind having an interface for these on my
CoCo...) and although they were a little harder to upgrade than today's
machines, they were easier to hack & interface to. Sure, they weren't on
par to the minis & mainframes of the same timeframe, but that's true today;
and it was still a very capable, affordable & expandable computer in it's
own right.

[whew... just had to get that out of the way; 6809's being my favorite &
all... ;-) ]

>Nobody in the USA made a nice 6809 machine.

Huh? That's where I beg to differ with you! I *lusted* over the ads in
HotCoCo & Rainbow mags for the Chieftain (methinks... weren't many of those
ads), and even more so, the Gimix... The Gimix was one *bitchin'* box - ran
OS-9 level 2 (wasn't there a level 3 for that?), it could take 512K of RAM
if you wanted it to, and this was by '83 or '84... It truly was a mini, as
it was designed to run multiuser apps on multiple terminals with no
problem... I dunno if they ever made a video card for it....

<MODE="Shameful Begging">

Anyone have a Gimix that needs a new, loving home??? hint, hint, hint...

</MODE>

>Mind you in hindsight 64k ram
>is too small many real problems on a computer.

Maybe if the "real" problems you are talking about are displaying JPGs &
whatnot... the only thing I can think of that doesn't involve grafix which
is too much for it involves Crypto...

>Split code and data (64k)
>is better but I don't think the 6809 would let you do that.
>** one mans trash is another mans ...

No, it couldn't - it was a flat memory space. However, with the right SAM,
bank switching was available & with some "creative memory accounting" it
worked quite well, especially with OS-9.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it...
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
Received on Fri Sep 06 2002 - 14:29:01 BST