CoCo Mugs!

The CoCo has quite a mug on it, and now its mug is on a mug. haha! (Sorry... okay, that was bad.) In an effort to drive donations, coco3.com is offering a limited edition Holiday CoCo coffee mug with each contribution of $20.00 or more. The listing is currently on the main page of the site.

Discuss this entry in The CoCo Hut Message Board. Now Open!

FOR SALE: CoCo Lounge

Alas, Glen VanDenBiggelaar has decided to discontinue the popular CoCo Lounge website. Glenn is offering to sell the site and the entire online store inventory to an interested party. See his announcement on the site for details. Let's hope that someone will step up to do it, since the information on the Lounge is a great reference.

Discuss this post on The CoCo Hut Message Board! Get some CoCo Love!

240 or 256 colors on the 320x192 screen

Hows this for a gem of a program. I have downloaded and tested it out on a real 512k Coco 3.
And boy does it look super. You can see the different shades of Green, Red, Blue, Plus you can see Different shades for Pink, Yellow and So forth.
Download it and see for yourself. And By what Chris says. If he uses a lower Color chart. Say 140-160 colors. He will be able to do animation. Now this will be perfect for Games. So looks like the Coco 3 will be seeing a new lease of life after all. Why design games using 16 colors. When you can get a mode utilizing 140-160 colors in a 320x192-225 mode.

http://www.lomont.org/Software/Misc/CoCo/

This must show the world what a great Graphics chip the GIME was. And how powerful it is when partnered with a 6809 chip.

laters

Briza(CocoDownunder)

Lamont updates CoCo Docs and some Math

Chris Lomont has made several updates to his CoCo page since we last visited back in June (I really need to get out and about more). There's an article called "Retro Supercomputing" in which he tackles some heavy duty computational tasks with a CoCo 3. Okay, mathematics are not my strongest area, whereas Chris is a PhD, but just seeing the programs run on a CoCo is pretty darn amazing once you understand what they're doing inside. Chris's description of the inner workings of both the E and TM computations is clear and easy to follow in the article and in the programs themselves. The way he gets around some of the inherent programing limitations of the CoCo is pretty slick as well (such as overwriting an unused portion of the program itself to free up more RAM) and certainly worth studying if you're planning to do some memory intensive CoCo'ing. Can't wait to see what he does with Pi.

In other news, he recently updated his CoCo hardware programing documentation. It's easier to navigate around and there are many new additions from the last version. If, like me, you're learning assembler again, grab these docs right now. Just being able to see how all this stuff works and interrelates is a huge kick to the ol' learning curve. Between Mr. Lomont's docs and the Barden and Leventhal books, I'm actually starting to get it. Well, mostly, but way better than I was previously. If you're already a whiz with a CoCo assembler, Chris's docs will serve as a welcome and frequently used reference.

Angel's Luck,
Capt.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Vcc Updated to Version 1.14

Jack has updated his Vcc Color Computer 3 emulator several times since last reported (in just the last couple of weeks!). The current version is 1.14 and includes additional tweaking of the sound, separating out the virtual hard disk, new keymaps, and several bug fixes. Also some doc cleaning by our very own Bob Devries. :) See the full list of updates by version number on the download page.

If you haven't snagged Vcc yet, go get it. I think what I like most about it is a) it's Windows based, so it uses the various windows APIs and plays nicely with XP and Vista, b) it's extensible via .dll (Chris Lamont is working on a machine monitor/debugger for Vcc!) and c) it "feels" more like a real CoCo than any emulator I've used. I'll grant the latter is subjective and certainly up to debate. Your mileage may vary. But it works and it works very well. I've even fired up Disk EDTASM on it and poked around a bit with assembler finally (not saying I'm getting far enough to write programs, mind you, but it's a start!) The potential of almost unlimited expandability makes it a top notch contender for the ultimate "virtual CoCo." Two huge CoCo-lovin' thumbs up.

Angel's Luck,
Capt

CoCoist from Downunder

Looks like the Downunder gang is all here now, so jump in and give 'em a big welcome. We've got Briza, Bob, and RicoJack joining the CoCo Hut to bring you heaps of CoCo Goodness with an Aussie flavor. As I'm pretty sure everyone reading this knows, these are the talented gents that had CoCo Downunder with it's great blog posts, file selection and CoCo docs. Welcome aboard!

I'm fiddling now and trying to secure file space on the Club LTD Studios server for file hosting. At the very least I'd like to get FTP running so there's a place for all the CoCo stuff these guys have amassed.

With luck, a few more esteemed CoCoists will be joining us soon as well. Stay tuned!

In additional Hut news: The message board IS working fine, it's secured and everyone is welcome to post in there. Remember that you MUST email me at captcpu@clubltdstudios or coco@clubltdstudios.com to get access. This is terribly unfortunate, but it's also the only way to beat the spammers that attack the board on a daily basis. You can see the effect by looking at the user list, which is packed with bad usernames and inactive accounts. Until I can find time to upgrade the phpBB software, though, there's no easy way to weed those out. They're harmless, just don't click on any links in the user profiles. ;)

I also updated the review for Roy Justus' RGB-toVGA converter and have completed the moving around and reorg of the website at coco.clubltdstudios.com. The new PC should allow me more time to update the site a little more frequently, as well.

Happy CoCoing!

Angel's Luck,
Capt.

PS Bob mentioned Vcc, a new CoCo 3 emulator for Windows. The link has been added to the Linkage section on the right. Go get it. Now. :P

Discuss this entry and its comments in The CoCo Hut Message Board!

New(ish) VCC Emulator... It's great mate!

For the last couple of hours I have been trying out the VCC emulator.

I must say I'm very impressed, and will be using this from now on.
The only thing missing is output to a printer, which may not be important to a lot of people. Also, I wonder if RS-232 emulation would be doable?

I'll need to keep up with updates for this software.

Regards, Bob Devries
Dalby, Queensland, Australia

Discuss this entry and its comments in The CoCo Hut Message Board!

Sockmaster non-CoCo Fun

While searching out weekend project do while on vacation, and figuring out a Fall project as well (I know I haven't finished the two projects I have going for summer... sheesh!) I stumbled upon this on Instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/member/sockmaster/

Both LED projects by our very own Sockmaster! My wife took one look at the fridge project and said "That's awesome! If you touch my fridge I'll kill you." (On the other hand, both our iRobot cleaners died recently, neither of which I was allowed to touch before, so now I get to have a whack at those... bwahahaha!) From reading through it, looks like it could be modified to go somewhere else. Then I got to thinking about how cool it would be to build an LED grid and then hook it up to the CoCo somehow so that you could program it via a PIC to display simple pictures like this... and then promptly realized I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to go about it. Still, it'd be cool... heh

Anyhow, if you like to Make stuff, be sure to check out Instructables, and in particular Sockmasters contributions. The LED indirect light project is one I've already got several uses for and have started putting together to light bookcases and my wife's makeup stand. Very cool stuff!

Angel's Luck,
Capt

Powered by ScribeFire.

Becker CoCo 3 FPGA Nearly Complete

Exciting news for CoCo fans everywhere! Gary L Becker has nearly completed his implementation of a CoCo 3 in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). See it and get the technical details here:

coco3fpga

Mr. Becker says he'll be releasing the code to program an FPGA via the GNU General Public License, which means that soon, those inclined will be able to build their own CoCo 3 using this technique. He also posted information to the maltedmedia CoCo list about the board he used. It's available here:

Digilent Inc. - Digital Design Engineer's Source

This opens up a world of possibilities for developing the CoCo in hardware. Very cool stuff. Check it out!

Angel's Luck,
Capt.

Powered by ScribeFire.

CoCo Group on MySpace

Nemo has started a CoCo group on Myspace.

http://groups.myspace.com/colorcomputer

While there's certainly a spam factor on MySpace, I've never had much trouble. Plus it's fun to play with. heh... Only a couple of users so far, so join in!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Lomont does 6309s

Chris Lomont of lomont.org has obtained a batch of Hitachi 63C09EPs and is offering them up for sale at $20 a piece plus $8 shipping in the U.S. You can order them from his CoCo blog at http://www.lomont.org/Software/Misc/CoCo/

This is a great deal because these chips often go for $30 to $50 or more each! The 6309 is a replacement for the CoCo's 6809. The C version of the EP chip is perfect for pimping out a CoCo 3. This was the last revision of the part and can run at 3Mhz. (Although getting a CoCo to actually run at 3Mhz is a bit tricky, from what I've read so far.) The chip was also produced in A and B versions. This is a direct and fully compatible replacement chip for the Motorola 68B09EP that comes with the CoCo 3. The Hitachi part also includes optimizations and extra instructions that can speed up operation, with the right software, even without clocking the chip faster. NitrOS-9 even comes in a 6309 version. Serious soldering/desoldering skills are required to perform this upgrade.


Trivia: Did you know that Commodore made a 6809-based machine?!? Yup. The SuperPET 9000 was a duel processor machine that had both a MOS 6502 and a Motorola 6809 in the same box! Commodore almost got it right. ha!


Discuss this entry and its comments in The CoCo Hut Message Board!

New Edition CoCo Nutz! E-Zine

Mary Kramer and crew have published the latest edition of CoCo Nutz! E-Zine. Now subtitled, "The Life and Time of the Color Computer." If that sounds familiar, that's because Steve Bjork is doing the typesetting and layouts. :) It's gorgeous. There are now two versions to download; a print version with much sharper graphics, and a screen version with lower res pics, but much smaller file size. The screen version is fine for reading through, but high speed users will probably want to grab the print version of the pdf anyhow. Big difference.

This issue, Vol.2 Iss. 2, is packed with CoCo Goodness. I still haven't read through everything yet, but highlights include an interview with Steve Bjork, an interview with Sockmaster (plus some bonus Sockmaster one liners), and a review of Sock's Donkey Kong by Briza. I'll run it down a bit more in tonight's Sunday CoCoist. But in the meantime, get ye to one of the sites below and get to reading this latest issue. Top notch and two big thumbs up!

http://coco.etechwds.com/coconutz/index.shtml
On Steve's Life and Times of The Color Computer site.

http://www.coco3.com
Kinda hard to find on coco3.com, scroll down to "Non Categorized Content" near the middle of the page. Back issues are available here as well.

Angel's Luck,
Capt.

Discuss this entry and its comments in The CoCo Hut Message Board!

CoCo Downunder Downloads!

If you haven't popped by CoCo Downunder lately, get thee there in a quick! Briza, David, Randy and Bob have added piles of great CoCo software including apps and games for download. Great stuff. Rare stuff you won't see anywhere else. Tis true CoCo joy. They've also started a OS-9 downloads section that contains stuff that might actually even get me to get serious about the OS. ;)



Hit it here:

Coco Downunder

Angel's Luck,

Capt.

Note: This post was edited on 4/21/07 to update and add a correction. See Comments.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Wintermute tips the Hut

Blog Tipping.  Love it.  Haven't heard that one before, but then again I don't read a lot of blogs that aren't about CoCos. :)  Wintermute was kind enough to give The CoCo Hut, Brian's CoCo/Model III Repak blog, and David and Briza's CoCo Downunder a mention on his April 2, 2007 entry.  You can read it here:



Blogtipping for April 2007 - Wintermute's Blog



Many thanks, amigo, and glad you like it. 



As for the posting frequency he tips, well... I'll work on it.  See, if I picked a regular posting frequency I'd never hit it.  And then I'd be all in fits trying to get caught up.  And then it wouldn't get done because I'd lock up.  And then...   Okay, I'll try. :)



I think one way to do a regular entry would be having a regular column of sorts.  The Comments just kind of pop up when they stick and my head WHILE I happen to be sitting at the computer (see previous post on ATTR command).  Clearly, those aren't planned.  News when it occurs, of course.  Can't help that.  Pimp My CoCo is contingent on me actually getting out in the Evil Lab and actually working on it.  (Sans little girls running around while I'm using power tools and electricity.  Bad combination.)  So...



Two off the top my head thoughts.  First, I could go back to doing a regular CoCo history post.  I use to this in the old CoCo Collector and it always went over big.  This would be me picking something pretty much at random (whatever strikes my fancy at the moment... yes, I have a fancy... shuddap) and posting everything I come up with. Another similar concept would be posting about a particular aspect of the CoCo, like BASIC command of the month, or hack of the month, or something like that.  Couldn't promise that more than once a month, but I could pick a due date and mostly stick with it.



The second would be a weekly CoCo Roundup.  I did this a bit early on, but it never got a lot of responses.  And when I quite, no one noticed.  Course I'm pretty sure there were only two readers at the time, and one of them was my wife (who has since lost complete interest).  I'm pretty sure there's at least four readers now.  Well, apparently five.  :)  Anyhow, that could be done, say, late Sunday nights for posting every Monday.  It involves me hitting certain sites, message boards, mailing lists and google searches and just yammering about what comes up.



Regardless, drop a note this way and let me know if something more regular like the above, or anything else for that matter, would be of interest.  Just hit the comment link below, or email this way.



And thanks again to Wintermute for the mention!  While you're over there, be sure to read through the rest of his posts.  Great stuff on technology, implications and how to use it (and not).  I can sympathize. heh...



Angel's Luck,

Capt.



discuss this post (and other CoCo Goodness) in the CoCo Hut Message board!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Color Computer Games page does RSS

L. Curtis Boyle has been busily adding tons of new game listings to:



Tandy (TRS-80) Color Computer Games



He also has The Last Ninja screen shots and movies shot by Allen Huffman at CoCoFest.  Great stuff!  Keep your fingers crossed that we'll see this game sometime soon.



More important, though, Curtis has added an RSS feed to the page.  Now you can get the updates as they occur via your RSS reader (I recommend Firefox, of course. heh!)  Great stuff and two enthusiastic thumbs up.



Another interesting bit is the edition of an Author Index and a Timeline index.  While these aren't entirely complete yet, they make fantastic additions to the site and aid in historical research as well.



Just this month, Curtis has added tons of downloads and author collections.  If  you need games to play on your CoCo, there's more here than you could get to in a lifetime.  Kudos and thanks to Curtis!



Angel's Luck,

Capt.



Stop in the CoCo Hut Message Board to discuss this site and others!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Allen Huffman blog, last ninja, and CoCoFest

Not only does Allen Huffman (of Sub-Etha Software) have a blog up now (woo hoo), but he's also posted tons of pics and a movie of The Last Ninja, the long lost game Steve Bjork showed at CoCoFest 07. Also posted are some pictures of this year's CoCoFest! Hope over and have a look:


Blog


Update: YouTubed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je9UsL1Ai54

Very cool. Really want to play that game! :)

Powered by ScribeFire.

Armchair CoCoFesters

Okay, maybe "fester" isn't the best word. Still, those that couldn't attend the CoCoFest in Chicago managed to congregate in the coco3.com chat room and were treated to some great times. Rumor at this early date is that a lot of folks took video and pictures at the Fest. Hopefully we'll be seeing those soon, and I've course I'll link them here as I come across them.

The big announcement, of course, was SockMaster's "translation" of the original Donkey Kong to the 6809 CoCo. The Donkey Kong arcade machine was originally run on a Z80 processor. SockMaster has all the technical bits on his website. What was great about it was the anticipation and build up to the release. Lots of CoCoists, lots of excited CoCoists. The CoCo community really needs to do this sort of thing more often!

http://www.axess.com/twilight/sock/dk/index.html

On Sunday, we got word that Steve Bjork was there (yes, THE Steve Bjork) and had all sorts of goodies. The main one that made everyone's eyes pop was an unfinished version of The Last Ninja. This game was done for other systems, but never finished for the CoCo 3. Alas, Tandy had too tight a deadline and by the time Steve got to it, it was too close to the deadline to finish. Is it possible it could get finished now? Stay tuned. And check out Steve Bjork's CoCo site at:

http://coco.etechwds.com/

Apparently there was a forum about creating the CoCo 4 and a project was started along those lines. This would be a "VR CoCo 4" with super enhanced graphics capabilities and other goodies. Stay tuned for more on this project as it develops.

Briza and I logged some of the chats. While unedited, they are currently living at:

http://clubltdstudios.com/files/coco/cocofest07/

Some great reading in there if you can wade through. If not, wait for the edited versions. ;)

There's been a bit of controversy of the last year regarding attendance at the Fest, versus folks that just want to (or have to) armchair it. I won't get into that here. :) But I will say that this "Fest" brought more CoCoists online and in contact with each other than anything else over the last couple of years. As I write this, there's still a large crowd in the coco3.com chatroom discussing lost games, the coco 4, and other CoCo items. There's even people just bantering. It's a Good Thing. We need more of this... if we can have a VR CoCo, then we can certainly do more things together for VR CoCo gatherings!

Give the chat a try. Give a message board a shot. Post something. Just sit and chit chat. But get out there and show your CoCo Love!

Angel's Luck,
Capt

YACCS Announces 2006 Asimov Award Winners

Diego over at YACCS (Yet Another Color Computer Site) has announced the winners of the first Asimov Awards. The awards, named after the famous science fiction author who also did Radio Shack ads back in the 80s, are open to all CoCo programmers.



The 1st prize entry was Mister Mind, a gorgeous CoCo 3 Master Mind game clone from Christian Bilodeau. 2nd place went to James McKay for his awesome Gauntlet clone for the CoCo 1/2/3 called Glove. Special mention also went to James and Charlie Gerrie for their game Sentinel, which looks rather intriguing.



With luck, Mister Mind and Sentinel will be available on dsk soon. Glove is available from Mr. McKay at



http://www.sclaudia.net/coco/AA/aa2006.html



Congrats to all the winners! Thanks to Diego and looking forward to the 2007 Asimov awards! Take a look at all the winners at



The Asimov Awards

powered by performancing firefox

New name, plus gallery

There's a few changes around the old hut. Mostly some Spring cleaning. Clearing out the server. Added a new theme to the message board. Finally changed the Christmas title header on this blog... heh. Oh, took down the Christmas lights on the house, as well. Figured it best be done before St. Paddy's. :D

One of the main changes, though subtle and most probably won't notice, is that the website and blog are changing names. The website will come later, since the main page and structure are currently in major redesign "offline." Anyhow, it's now just The CoCo Hut. Dropped the "Capt's" part. Mainly because there's several people contributing, and several more coming along soon, to the blogs and web site. Not really "mine" any more. Besides, it looks better in a logo.

Also, I added a blog gallery. Scan down on the right for the regular link. This is automagic now at blogger.com and a handy little service at that. It galleries all the images uploaded to the blog for easy reference. I'll go through and add captions now and then as well. Pretty neat feature.

Capt's CoCo Hut

Angel's Luck,
Capt.

CoCo Downunder Up and Running

Briza and David have put up their blog at



http://cocodownunder.com/blog/



Coco Downunder



And no one told me. Sheesh! Apparently it has been running since January! Well, it's mentioned here now and in the bloglist to the right. It is a combo website and blog. And it includes the beginnings of Briza's software collection for the CoCo! :)



Also contains reviews and some great news articles. The massive CoCo blogsphere continues to expand! Onward!



Angel's Luck,

Capt.

powered by performancing firefox