[PLUG] Looking back...

[plug_0 at robinson-west.com]

August 1990, Rainbow color computer magazine.

"The Future of the CoCo," by William Barden Jr.

"There's no point in  denying it, MS-DOS systems
such as the Tandy 1000 series and  IBM PS/2 are
big business.  They consitute the bulk of computer
sales all over the world..."

He compares DOS's 640k of memory to a CoCo 3's 512k.

He says that the IBM's 640x200 CGA monitor is comparable
to 640 x 192 on a color computer CM-8 monitor.

He sets the price of the IBM at $1200 equipped and says
a comparable color computer would cost $750.

"...Multi-Pak interface for many of these...  CoCo options 
are generally a third to half the cost of a comparable 
option on an MS-DOS system..."

"...Software is another factor in computing the two types
of systems.   There's a great deal of software for MS-DOS
systems; however, the CoCo also has a large amount of 
reasonably priced software for basic applications. - data
communications, spreadsheets, wordprocessing, and the
like.  Again, CoCo software is much less expensive                             
                                           
than the MS-DOS variety - about one-third to one-half the
cost."

...

"BASIC still remains the most popular computer language.  BASIC
is bundled with most computers as part of the system software.
Fortunately for the computing community, BASIC used with all
MS-DOS systems and with the CoCo is Microsoft BASIC.  I'm not
a big fan of monopolies in computer software, but in this case
Microsoft basic has standardized BASIC programming."

"The 80x86 instruction set...  is a hodge-podge of instructions
that date back to one of the original Intel microprocessors, the
8008."

He briefly mentions that Windows 3.0 has just come out claiming
that OS/2 and OS-9 are more interesting, especially when you add
BASIC09.

All efforts to carry on after the coco 3 failed essentially.  If
you go to http://www.cloud9.net/, you may be able to support a
hobby level interest in color computers.   Overall though 16
years later, the color computer is essentially dead.  You can't
even buy floppy disks for them anymore let alone upgrade to a
modern and compatible variant.  If I'm not mistaken, the IBM PC 
has been around for about 26 years.  For 10 of those years, there
was the color computer.  Today, Intel even makes the processors
in Macs, the only surviving large volume IBM PC competitor.   
Games are increasingly becoming tied to restrictive gaming systems 
that their makers try to purposely hobble so you can't use them 
for personal computing, XBOX for example.

The Tomcat was a bust along with the MM1.  I don't know if there
were any other major attempts to clone the color computer with
a faster more powerful machine.  Why these efforts failed, I'm
not certain.

Regards,

Michael C. Robinson

-------------------------------------------------
This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/