Coco3.com?

[lumbee74]

I had heard that the site got "trashed". Are there plans to relaunch another coco site?

 

Nasty rumors. CoCo3.com has never been trashed in 10 years. It was hit by a few lucky Russian bots before but we came back quick and blocked the offending sources. Other than that, CoCo3.com has been the longest standing CoCo community site and is home to tens of thousands of CoCo posts made on various forums (some before the internet went public), since 1985.

 

I was just attempting humor as in trash-80. I am a member of the site and always enjoyed interacting with everyone on there.

 

Now I get it. Back in school they used to say Trash-80 a lot, which Radio Shack hated to hear.

 

I have enjoyed your coco3.com site. Recently got into collecting for the coco and your site has been great. I wish I could have bought stuff from your site, but money never was right. I hope you eventually make more drive paks now that i am stable financially now or maybe you will come out with something even better. Keep up the good work

[Charlie_]

This isn't a CoCo site, so I don't even know why you guys brought this topic onto these guy's Atari forum, and I'm ashamed that I was lured here to defend myself on an Atari forum.

 

Let's take this back to the CoCo forums where we belong.

 

Roger Taylor

 

Your right Roger. This isn't a Coco site. I think it is better than any CoCo site there ever was. There are actually people here in these forums. It's an open forum too.. take for example TI-99/4a. That community has a force here on Atariage and they post new games all the time in that section of these forums. I've always supported coco3.com and never even asked for whatever was being offered for donations... anyway you come off as being way too defensive here.... people are just saying what they have heard. I've heard your products are top notch. I really like your games and wish you would make more! I play them all the time!

 

Good luck to you.

 

-Charlie

[tjb]

I hate to be negative about the guy but he still owes me a CoCoRoundup DVD and a MicroSD Drive Pak. I ordered them around September of last year. I emailed him one time and he apologized and said he get the DVD in the mail ASAP but never did. As for the MicroSD Pak he said he was still constructing a batch of those. I guess I'm probably SOL.

 

tjb

 

If this is Timothy Henley, I just looked up your order(s) and I show that a CoCo-to-PC data cable and CoCo Roundup DVD was mailed on Sep 21, 2010 with USPS tracking #9101010521297613929752.

You know that the Drive Pak is a pre-order, much like how the Atari cartridge pre-order works. You get the item when it's your turn, and I'm building these now.

 

SAN ANTONIO, TX, 78254, US 09/23/2010 10:10 AM DELIVERED

SAN ANTONIO, TX, 78238, US 09/23/2010 9:10 AM OUT FOR DELIVERY

SAN ANTONIO, TX, 78238, US 09/23/2010 8:40 AM SORTING/PROCESSING COMPLETE

SAN ANTONIO, TX, 78238, US 09/23/2010 4:19 AM ARRIVAL AT UNIT

GLADEWATER, TX, 75647, US 09/21/2010 4:00 PM ELECTRONIC SHIPPING INFO RECEIVED

75647, US 09/21/2010 10:52 AM Electronic Notification

 

If this isn't Tim, please contact me in private so I can figure out why I'm showing no customers from San Antonio, TX ordering anything during Sep 2010. The only San Antonio customer is Tim Henley and I have all records and information that you need.

 

 

Please accept my apologies. I wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything I honestly didn't recall receiving delivery of the cable and DVD. Obviously I was wrong. As GoldenAx can attest to I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from a number of people and do forget what I bought from whom. At the time I wrote the post I was thinking that I had not received the cable and DVD and that I also pre-ordered your development IDE and heard nothing else about it. So with that in mind I was starting to feel like I purchased a number of items but never received any of them. Again I was mistaken and I do apologize. I also understand about the Drive Pak and I'm grateful that you are offering such a cool item to begin with. I realize you are doing this for the community and I doubt very seriously you are actually making any money on it (I would imagine you are actually losing money if you include the time spent on assembly). At any rate I hope there are no hard feelings.

 

tjb

[random_rodder]

I've spent the better part of three straight weeks lurking here on my spare time. I can honestly say this is one of the best forums of any type I've ever been on. I'm sure there's some B.S. drama here, somewhere other than this thread, but I've not found it yet - and it's a good thing. Everybody seems enthusiastic about the retro-computing hobby.

 

I've supported Cloud 9 and Roger - as a CoCoNut, the bickering between them is enough to make me sick. I was hoping at that, at the least, it would not find it's way here.

 

I've talked to one C9 rep on the phone, the other via email, and I've talked to Roger at length about a couple of projects via email. They are all great guys and are very helpful, which is why I find this continuing problem so perplexing.

 

Roger, you know full well I'd go to bat for you if I felt it was needed - I have in the past and would do so again in the future. In this case, you opened up a whole can of worms, about yours and Cloud9's bickering, and mentioned someone by name who was not even involved in the thread; that can didn't need opened here.

 

I'd like to ask all involved to just stop the public attacks on each other. They are pointless and do nobody any good at all. Say what you will in private, but, stop the public B.S. - it's fair to say it's driven many people away from the active CoCo community.

 

 

edited for clarity...

Edited August 4, 2011 by random_rodder

[potatohead]

Oh there is some goofy drama here, which I like, and there is some straight up drama, which I mostly don't. But! It's really not much, leaving the signal to noise ratio favorable.

 

What I like the most is the diversity of retro gear discussions here. Lots of capable people frequent this forum, and that's sometimes worth a lot.

 

For me personally, it's a great place to check in to see the various goings on, and I like the blog / PM features. Al runs a fairly tight ship, and the results have been more good than bad, and I've been here for a while. Good to see you in the building Roger, and yes I am one who really doesn't frequent the CoCo scene much, despite really enjoying the machine, and it's the overall atmosphere that keeps me from doing more than the occasional check in.

 

(that 256 artifact NTSC colors guy you convinced to buy a CoCo 3 outta frustration a while back)

[Charlie_]

Yeah, growing up with the coco, the days of Delphi were excellent. Lots of software being written and friendly people to help with the harder stuff like OS9...

 

Now I'm all grown up (an opinion my wife doesn't share) and , for the most part, look at the coco community as disappointing. I don't want to offend anyone because there are many fantastic, smart, and helpful people in the community. However for the most part I see it as "stuffy" and taking itself way too seriously. Seems to me they are always arguing just to prove how smart they are. Also, the coco community seems very obsessed with the hardware stuff pushing it to do amazing things. However there is rarely anything on the software side. I see the c=, a8, Ti, even ST fans releasing games and software demos all the time.....

 

Anyway, just my thoughts on it..

[random_rodder]

Yeah, growing up with the coco, the days of Delphi were excellent. Lots of software being written and friendly people to help with the harder stuff like OS9...

 

Our local CoCo club was awesome. We met twice a month. Everybody shared their knowledge and helped others with projects. One guy had a CoCo in a Model IV case (inspiration for my repack project), others had CoCo's in PC cases or just brought their regular setups. There was a library that was available to the members to check out software - try before you buy. I think it was called DACCUG (Dayton Area Color Computer Users Group).

 

 

Now I'm all grown up (an opinion my wife doesn't share) and , for the most part, look at the coco community as disappointing. I don't want to offend anyone because there are many fantastic, smart, and helpful people in the community. However for the most part I see it as "stuffy" and taking itself way too seriously. Seems to me they are always arguing just to prove how smart they are. Also, the coco community seems very obsessed with the hardware stuff pushing it to do amazing things. However there is rarely anything on the software side. I see the c=, a8, Ti, even ST fans releasing games and software demos all the time.....

 

There are some truly fantastic people involved with the CoCo. You have a very valid point on the release of software. The last great thing to be released was Sock Master's Donkey Kong port/emu. Roger put out an excellent 8 bit version of BeJeweled a few years back for the CoCo3. And there are some guys currently working on new games for the CoCo. And this guy has pushed the CoCo beyond belief in his demos.

 

But, there are some royal jerks as well. I've had the unpleasant experience of interacting with a few of them.

 

 

Anyway, just my thoughts on it..

 

Unfortunately, a lot of people feel the same way...

[The Usotsuki]

Every fandom has its jerks.

[AtariLeaf]

I'm sure there's some B.S. drama here, somewhere other than this thread, but I've not found it yet

 

Oh there's some William Shatner inspired drama that is just a pure joy to read.

[AtariLeaf]

Yeah, growing up with the coco, the days of Delphi were excellent. Lots of software being written and friendly people to help with the harder stuff like OS9...

 

Now I'm all grown up (an opinion my wife doesn't share) and , for the most part, look at the coco community as disappointing. I don't want to offend anyone because there are many fantastic, smart, and helpful people in the community. However for the most part I see it as "stuffy" and taking itself way too seriously. Seems to me they are always arguing just to prove how smart they are. Also, the coco community seems very obsessed with the hardware stuff pushing it to do amazing things. However there is rarely anything on the software side. I see the c=, a8, Ti, even ST fans releasing games and software demos all the time.....

 

Anyway, just my thoughts on it..

 

Unfortunately that's how I see the coco community too. Very smart and inventive people, including Roger, Boisy, Mark, and of course, Steve Bjork, not to mention others whose name I don't know but Random_Rodder mentioned. Hard to put my finger on it but its just not a happy go lucky fun little community. Its almost very business like for what is essentially a hobbyist computer.

 

That said I still really respect and admire those who've made the coco what it is today and have really expanded it beyond its originally capabilities.

[RangerG]

It sounds like the CoCo development community is about as much fun as the Colecovision one.

[potatohead]

Well, maybe we can change it up a little?

 

Need some AA'ers to get Drive PAKs.

[aaronwolfe]

As someone who just got back into older computers a couple years ago, I can totally understand the comments here about the CoCo community. It is not always a fun place, and that is unfortunate for a group with so much to offer. Despite the negative types, there are many people who carry on creating great projects on the CoCo. In just the short time I've been involved I've seen:

 

 

The first full screen video player for the coco (can play full length movies!) which made it to Hack A Day: http://hackaday.com/2011/04/21/tandy-color-computer-coco3-color-video-playback/

 

An awesome FPGA implementation that takes the CoCo to new heights (I dare not say "coco 4") :

 

 

and more info at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CoCo3FPGA/

 

A team of coco fans including myself won the Retro Computing Challenge Winter Warmup competition with DriveWire (we even created the CoCo's first web server): https://sites.google.com/site/drivewire4/

 

 

Long and short of it... the coco community is to a large degree what you make of it. There are some really great people doing great things. I've met lots of new friends and am certainly glad I did get involved. In fact I'm packing up to go meet some fellow coconuts in Dallas right now...

 

So don't be scared, ignore the negative folks, and you will find lots of people who just like playing with this great old computer.

 

(from the mailing list):

 

The Cloud-9 team are about to embark from our respective locales to Arlington, Texas for the Vintage Computer Festival Southwest 2.0. We'll be met there by Gary Becker, of CoCo3FPGA fame, so it's sure to be a fun weekend.

 

Attending this show is a new venture for us. Cloud 9 has been supporting the CoCo community by attending the CoCoFest in Chicago for nearly two decades, but we hope to introduce potential new coconuts to the great things that the CoCo community is doing by expanding to new shows like the VCF.

 

If you're in the Dallas area, stop by our booth and say hello. I will also attempt to provide a live webcam feed at www.cloud9tech.com if it is possible, so be sure to check the website for details over the weekend. The show is Saturday and Sunday.

Edited August 5, 2011 by aaronwolfe

[AtariLeaf]

Sounds like fun Aaron. Being in Canada, being there is a no go but I'd be very interested in any video or pics you take while there. Have a great time

[AtariLeaf]

Well, maybe we can change it up a little?

 

Need some AA'ers to get Drive PAKs.

 

Maybe someday when I can get some cash put aside for one.

[UKRetrogamer]

Roger, I've PM'd you regarding my outstanding MicroSD Pack/DVD/Phoenix IDE orders.

 

Please respond via PM as soon as you get the opportunity.

 

Regards

Mark

[cocotower]

Please accept my apologies. I wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything I honestly didn't recall receiving delivery of the cable and DVD. Obviously I was wrong. As GoldenAx can attest to I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from a number of people and do forget what I bought from whom. At the time I wrote the post I was thinking that I had not received the cable and DVD and that I also pre-ordered your development IDE and heard nothing else about it. So with that in mind I was starting to feel like I purchased a number of items but never received any of them. Again I was mistaken and I do apologize. I also understand about the Drive Pak and I'm grateful that you are offering such a cool item to begin with. I realize you are doing this for the community and I doubt very seriously you are actually making any money on it (I would imagine you are actually losing money if you include the time spent on assembly). At any rate I hope there are no hard feelings.

 

tjb

 

No worries Tim. And I apologize for contributing to this out of control thread. I think I jumped in to defend my good self at one point and every time I turn around there's a new topic being brought up here. I just wanted to let others know to be sure of an accusation because I've got detailed records back to the year 2000 of every conversation I've had with every person of importance in the CoCo community, all shipping records, tracking #'s, QuickBook records, special notes and requests, etc.

 

I'm behind on the Drive Pak preorders due to several serious problems beyond my control and not my fault, yet I've absorbed all of the blame, and I continue to work hard to catch up on the orders and have customers every few days that can prove that I'm still shipping.

 

Hang in there, my friend.

[cocotower]

Oh there is some goofy drama here, which I like, and there is some straight up drama, which I mostly don't. But! It's really not much, leaving the signal to noise ratio favorable.

 

What I like the most is the diversity of retro gear discussions here. Lots of capable people frequent this forum, and that's sometimes worth a lot.

 

For me personally, it's a great place to check in to see the various goings on, and I like the blog / PM features. Al runs a fairly tight ship, and the results have been more good than bad, and I've been here for a while. Good to see you in the building Roger, and yes I am one who really doesn't frequent the CoCo scene much, despite really enjoying the machine, and it's the overall atmosphere that keeps me from doing more than the occasional check in.

 

(that 256 artifact NTSC colors guy you convinced to buy a CoCo 3 outta frustration a while back)

 

What baffles me beyond anything is that since the early BBS days when we were teens, there is still a serious problem with typed out messages being perceived the wrong way and offending people when they're not really meant to. To those people I say quit creating drama and then accusing one of the thread contributors as being the one who *really* started the drama. Read messages thoroughly and take them with a grain of salt before jumping to too many conclusions. It's easy to stir up a fire and it's even easier to blame anyone in the room as being the fire starter, and when he defends himself, he actually looks like the one who started it. I admit It's a great political trick but I'm not amused when I see people doing it.

 

When things starting getting political, it's time to go fishing and forget about it.

[cocotower]

Roger, I've PM'd you regarding my outstanding MicroSD Pack/DVD/Phoenix IDE orders.

 

Please respond via PM as soon as you get the opportunity.

 

Regards

Mark

 

 

Yep, I wrote you a private e-mail a few minutes ago about your pre-orders. Thanks.

[cocotower]

This isn't a CoCo site, so I don't even know why you guys brought this topic onto these guy's Atari forum, and I'm ashamed that I was lured here to defend myself on an Atari forum.

 

Let's take this back to the CoCo forums where we belong.

 

Roger Taylor

 

Your right Roger. This isn't a Coco site. I think it is better than any CoCo site there ever was. There are actually people here in these forums. It's an open forum too.. take for example TI-99/4a. That community has a force here on Atariage and they post new games all the time in that section of these forums. I've always supported coco3.com and never even asked for whatever was being offered for donations... anyway you come off as being way too defensive here.... people are just saying what they have heard. I've heard your products are top notch. I really like your games and wish you would make more! I play them all the time!

 

Good luck to you.

 

-Charlie

 

 

Sorry, I missed this message somehow. Maybe because it's truthful and positive, which people don't seem to read.

 

I know each and every one of you guys from years of delivering CoCo goods and services. You know me well.

 

I've got lots more CoCo goodies coming!