10 Apr
1997
10 Apr
'97
6:23 a.m.
On 11-Apr-97, classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu wrote:
I remember demonstrating my Tandy CoCo-3 in 1988 to
some PC-goon or
other. He had a 386 PC running MS-DOS. I had a 2 mHz 6809 running OS-9. He
was totally amazed that 'that little video game' could have several
programs running at once, displaying their output in different windows
(something his PC didn't do at that time), and that I could even log on to
my machine from a remote terminal.
I still want to find a disk system for my CoCo-3 so that I can run OS-9 on
it. OS-9 is still amazing to this day, which is why any number of companies
use it for the base OS for cutting edge stuff such as set-top boxes for the
TV. Until I saw it, I would've never thought you could put a Unix-like OS
witch was multitasking and multiuser on a 128k 8bit machine! I've heard
mention of there being a version that runs on the Commodore 128 as well, but
haven't been able to find anything out about it.
I don't play computer games that much, but IMHO the
games from 10-15 years
ago are much more fun than the modern ones. OK, so now we have 3D rendered
graphics, real sound effects, but no 'plot' - nothing to do except blast
everything in sight. I personally prefer a good text-only adventure with
some logic behind it, and no sound.
I agree. The excitement just isn't there, even though the technology is
years ahead in graphics and sound. About the only game I've enjoyed recently
was a 3d bitmapped update of 'Asteroids' on the Mac, which I play on my Amiga
3000 under emulation. I'm also a big fan of INFOCOM's text adventure games,
as well as the Basic 'Star Trek' game that seems to have been ported to nearly
every platform known. I have a number of original disks for my Atari and
Commodore's that have the INFOCOM games on them.
Jeff jeffh(a)eleventh.com
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
// Amiga: Today's Technology Ten Years Ago
// -------------------------------------------------------
\// True 32bit pre-emptive multitasking GUI, plug&play hardware,
\/ stereo sound, and 4096 color video modes since day #1
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Collector of classic home computers:
Amiga 1000, Atari 800, Atari 800XL, Atari Mega-ST/2, Commodore
C-128 & C128D, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore VIC-20, Kaypro 2X,
Mattel Aquarius, Osbourne Executive, Sinclair ZX-81, TI-99/4A,
Timex-Sinclair 1000, TRS-80 Color Computer-3, and a TRS-80 Model 4.
Plus Atari SuperPong and Atari 2600VCS game consoles.
11 Apr
11 Apr
5:48 a.m.
I still want to find a disk system for my CoCo-3 so
that I can run OS-9 on
I assume you realise that a CoCo2 disk drive + controller will work.
That's what I currently use.
The very first CoCo disk controller needed a -12V line for the main
controller chip (1793?), and won't work in later CoCo's unless you add an
external PSU. This is possible, though.
it. OS-9 is still amazing to this day, which is why
any number of companies
use it for the base OS for cutting edge stuff such as set-top boxes for the
TV. Until I saw it, I would've never thought you could put a Unix-like OS
witch was multitasking and multiuser on a 128k 8bit machine! I've heard
Actually, you can run OS-9 level 1 in 64K. A CoCo 2 will do it (although
the 32*16 text display, upper case only, makes programming a pain!). OS-9
level 2 needs an MMU (the GIME chip on the CoCo3 gives you that), and
probably 128K.
mention of there being a version that runs on the
Commodore 128 as well, but
haven't been able to find anything out about it.
There may be Unix-like OS's for the Commodore 128, but they won't (AFAIK)
be OS-9. OS-9 uses some neat features of the 6809 chip, like the ability
to write truely position-independant code (the 6809 has relative
subroutine calls, and PC-relative addressing for data, for example).
Jeff jeffh(a)eleventh.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
6:12 a.m.
New subject: Coco disk controller (was: Re: How did you get started?
On Fri, 11 Apr 1997, A.R. Duell wrote:
I remember getting one of these earlier disk controllers, and running a
wire from the disk drive's 12V power supply to one of the pins on the
controller cartridge. (I still have this, and can dig-it-out if needed .
..)
I still
want to find a disk system for my CoCo-3 so that I can run OS-9 on
I assume you realise that a CoCo2 disk drive + controller will work.
That's what I currently use.
The very first CoCo disk controller needed a -12V line for the main
controller chip (1793?), and won't work in later CoCo's unless you add an
external PSU. This is possible, though.
9997
days inactive
9998
days old
2 comments
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