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Mike Harris

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  1. Unless the mod makes the output better than stock output then there is no reason. I used a color monitor back in the 80's with composite and it was fantastic. Now I use a standard composite to HDMI upscaler which works great despite a short delay when first turned on. If anything the standalone ADAM has one too many composite outs. They could have saved money on each unit by just using the optional 7 pin din cable. Seriously, you have either TV or a great picture with no sound because they did not have an RCA jack for sound, just a video out. OR, make the experience better by including the 7 pin cable but back in the 80's if you could afford a monitor then you could afford to buy an extra cable. That said, the out circuitry is essentially the same as the Colecovision. Just another thing they could have improved upon yet took the easy route by not creating separate equipment which helped a lot on repairs and quality control.
  2. I know you also created a really great Coleco emulator with debugging call EmulTwo. I followed a link on github that has a new version with ADAM support which looks amazing but that is dated from April. Any news on the updates?
  3. If anyone out there has any more questions about what's what then I recommend that you download and read the PDF Electronic Fun with computers and games issue for June 83. They have an entire article feature the hands on review of the SGM or the mock up depending on who you ask. In the article it states better graphics and colors as well more memory and loading times. With the ability to save high scores. That is the jist of what the Super Game Module was intended to be. Now how you get better graphics while passing through the Colecovision is a mystery because you have to pass through the same circuitry unless you are a complete unit that only relies on the power supply and passes through the audio/video out like the Atari 2600 EXP#1. You can't say that it would have used the external video overlay which from what I understand is disabled on the Colecovision and ADAM. Even if it did then we are talking about a whole new video chip which what would have been what successor to the TMS9928 in order to be backward compatible. If all of that was the case then you are increasing the price to past the $130 and might as well create the full computer which they did. Now we get back to the backward compatibility and being an EXPANSION to the Colecovision so they shot themselves in the foot with no new hardware other than anything that was not related to Audio or Video. So 2 years after the Colecovision was released you have all these new systems out and Coleco releases the same old "Coleovision PLUS" with nothing new and an increased price to $700 something dollars. It came with a ton of problems along with a very annoying printer. Not even 40 columns much less 80 because the same old graphics chip designed around 1979. I love my ADAM and it's unique software but Coleco's newest system would have been around 1987 and more of an Apple 2 clone instead of what they established. If ADAM from the beginning had been updated to more like a PC Junior then Coleco would have survived but they had to stick with this expansion idea that had already been abandoned by Atari and Intellivision long before Coleco released their Exp #3 or the ADAM. Intellivsion and Mattel has their own story but Atari evolved their systems right up until the Atari ST same as Commodore. Coleco stuck with their same old business model so to say that the video game crash of 84 killed them is an excuse. Nintendo flooded the market purposely to kill off competition ala Star Bucks so why pay a weeks allowance at the arcade for a 5 minute game when you can have anything you want at home like Zelda which is a one time cost. Of which they IMPROVED their system with the SNES then the 64 ect.... Coleco did none of these things despite dominating the home video game market in 83 along with their cabbage patch line but then you have to face the suits who are not engineers you will always lose because they see $$ instead of will it work.
  4. The Spinner was created in it's present form because of the expense of using an optical based solution. Also when they designed the SAC Controller they wanted to avoid using batteries for the power supply like the other two controllers. Paul Jaquays gave a speech with a Q&A stating that he was opposed to the controllers but at least the inventor got to do this... While sliding his hand across the controller. Personally I will say that the ADAM was one of the first home computers to have a working mouse. It may be upside down but that is all a trackball is. Not only that the SAC Controller 1 spinner is either Horizontal or Vertical while SAC Controller 2 is the opposite. Paul Jaquays loves to put down the design but in one controller you get true 8 directional movement 16 buttons and a paddle. Something unheard of at the time. ADAM is a marvel of engineering and it is a crying shame that it gets so much smack. The Commodore 64 without it's SID chip is junk and that garbage that came out of Atari could not compare.
  5. The most you will get are likes while someone will copy and paste this into cannon so I took the liberty to do a spell check. Hope you get full credit. Murph74 (insert real name here) June 6, 1983 - Adam announced. Coleco stock soars to 65 a share within 48 hours, up 14 points August 9, 1983 - Reports suggest this is the date Coleco filed for FCC approval of the Adam. August 14, 1983 - Investors worry about Coleco's ambitious goal of selling 500,000 Adam computers (wholesale $525, retail $600 = $250 million in sales) by year end. Any FCC delay could derail that, according to article from Dan Dorfman. He says Coleco *could* be the 4th tech casualty of the year behind Warner, Mattel and Texas Instruments-- all three reporting $100 million+ losses. At this time, the stock is down to 35 1/4 from it's high of 65, but still over it's 1982 low of 3 7/16. Arnold Greenberg says they expect to file for FCC approval within days and get pushed thru within 30 days. This article claims an FCC official told him it would take 2-3 months, hence starting the rumors of missing Christmas retail sales. The article also breaks the news that K-Mart will NOT carry the Adam due to it's price tag and limited 14% markup. Further, Dorfman reports Greenberg and VP Morton Handle both sold large quantities of stock when it was in the 50's, and suggests an Adam failure could bring the stock into the teens- implying they may know something. August 17, 1983 - Reports published that Adam delivery will be delayed until September instead of late August as awaits FCC approval. Stock drops to 29 7/8. August 30, 1983. The TI 994a drops to under $100 after rebate. Additional software and peripherals are also deeply discounted. Apple discounts it's package pricing to under $1800 for a IIe system including disc drive, joystick and a $100 rebate certificate. Atari announces bundles as well, including the 600XL, 1027 Printer and word processing software for under $600. Mattel pushes the Aquarius package by giving a free color TV (value appx $300) to anyone buying their package that includes a PC, data recorder, printer and program expander for about $300. All this is said to be in direct response to Coleco's All-In_one approach with Adam, per syndicated writer David Hajdu. September 1, 1983 - As the Dow climbs, so does Coleco. The stock recovers to 42 5/8 as the Adam computer is due soon. September 6, 1983 - David Hajdu writes column on the Adam, noting the man Adam didn't get this much publicity when God created him. Also notes at least one reason the name Adam was chosen was to 'take a bite out of Apple'. The article talks about awaiting FCC approval and the slow release of technical info to 3rd party software makers, slowing down that entire process. September 7, 1983 - Article published about Coleco hosting reporters to show off the completed Adam. Wholesale costs will stay at $525 while retailers will set their own price. A $25 million ad blitz will soon hit TV and some print, while 400,000 Adam units are already committed to from retailers. The noise of the printer is called into question, as the article claims the units should hit store shelved by month end. September 9, 1983 - Paine Webber lowers earnings estimates suggesting Coleco would not be able to ship enough units by year end now to generate earlier estimates. Stock closes at 40 3/8. September 11, 1983 - Dorfman again writes of fears over Coleco. Not just the likely further delay of Coleco, but inability to meet year-over-year earning from Q1 1983 in Q1 1984. He also cites analyst observations of excessive sitting inventories and fewer raw materials acquisitions in all products. Noted in the article, Becker Securities has now withdrawn it's BUY recommendation. Stock is at 39 3/8 in heavy trading. September 13, 1983 - Stock hits 37 5/8 amid speculation the Adam won't appear in 1983. FCC announces it has begun testing the Adam. September 14, 1983 - Stock moves to 38 3/4 as it's revealed Coleco belatedly provide the needed software to the FCC for testing the Adam's printer. September 19. 1983 - Stock is at 37 3/4 as Coleco says software issues have been ironed out and they are awaiting FCC approval. September 20, 1983 - David Hajdu reports Coleco is developing a $150 peripheral to tie a Laserdisc player to the Colecovison or the Coleco Adam. While it will be "months off" according to the article, he notes Coleco paid some $2 million for the home rights to Dragon's Lair, a laser disced based arcade game. September 21, 1983 - Coleco delays Adam shipments again, now to Mid-October, as FCC testing continues. It's expected to be completed next week. September 23, 1983 - Coleco was notified that the FCC has passed the Adam Printer the previous afternoon, and Coleco is free to begin marketing the system. It's revealed that the other components of the system had been given FCC clearance more than a week earlier. Analysts now suggest Coleco will struggle to get 350,000 units out by year's end. Coleco is still expecting to ship "significant quantities" of Adam by Mid-October. September 30, 1983 - Stock drops to 30 3/8 after reports surface of quality issues with the Adam's word processing software. October 5, 1983 - A group of shareholders is suing on charges of stock manipulation for allegedly concealing the problems with the Adam home computer. October 11, 1983 - Coleco trims Adam's ad budget by $4 million. Execs say it's just been 'rearranged' to Q1 1984. Coleco closes at 28. October 12, 1983 - Three large retailers expect an Adam shipment Monday 10/17/83. The stock is up a bit to 30 3/4. October 19, 1983 - It's announced the first Adam's have shipped on Tuesday 10/18/1983, but how many and to who isn't revealed. November 1, 1983 - IBM announces the PC Jr. ($600 base model), scheduled to hit stores in Q1 1984. Analysts are seeing a new segment in the PC market for higher priced PC's like IBM's and the Adam. Coleco closes at 24 3/8. November 2, 1983 - Coleco's close was at 21 7/8. In related news, TI shuttered it's home computer operations earlier in the week. Atari announced it will only be able to fill 60% of 600XL and 800XL orders for Christmas due to 'production snags' in Hong Kong. November 4, 1983 - Top retailers deny Wall Street rumors that 'large numbers of Adams' are defective. Coleco stock is at 20 7/8. November 6, 1983 - Colecovision is now advertised at $118.86 at major retailer Service Merchandise. Exp Module 1 is now $69.97, and games are $24.97. A promotion for "up to $150 in vacation savings' with system purchase before 2/28/84 is also listed. November 15, 1983 - JC Penny has decided, like K-Mart, to not carry the Adam for Christmas. November 30, 1983 - Coleco stock tries to recover on strength of Cabbage Patch Kids, but Adam hold it down to 22 a share. Reports continue that many Adams are being returned, Coleco concedes "the instruction manuals were deficient". December 1, 1983 - Dorfman published another Coleco column. This time burying the credibility of the Greenberg brothers, citing worthless info 60% of the time dating back to 1973. Cited also is a 1977 issue with the Telstar product, the Adam is called a 'replay' of that. A separate article appears about Coleco's production of Adam falling short and the company now expects to ship 125,000 to 140,000 units by year's end. These are all Stand alone Adam's. The expansion module #3 version will not be produced until sometime in Q1 1984. Coleco expects to up production to 150,000 units per month in January. Greenberg says 'less than 10%' of Adams have been returned for defects, but still leans on the manuals being the problem. He also says no orders have been cancelled to date. Stock sits at 21. December 6, 1983 - It's reported by Dan Gutman that Atari is RAISING the price of it's XL computers by $40 starting in January. 5 Hours later, Coleco announces a $50 hike in Adam to $650 MSRP. He suggests getting your Atari now, "or your Adam-- if you can find one". December 21, 1983 - Standard and Poor's downgraded Coleco' debentures. Stock is now at 22 1/4. CPK still leads the way for Coleco. December 22, 1983 - With the stock now at 19, Coleco says defects cited in a critical Consumer Reports article have been fixed. December 28, 1983 - Coleco announces agreement with Honeywell to service the Adam computer. Stock at 21 1/4 January 10, 1984 - Coleco announces it will post a Q4 '83 loss citing Adam production problems, but a profit for Y/E 1983. Coleco expects a quick return to profitability. Stock at 19 3/4 February 2, 1984 - Dorfman is back with a "Moment of truth for Coleco" column. The article cites a 'gloomy' 1984 ahead for Coleco and claims a 50% return rate on the Adam. In the column, Coleco admits some orders for Adams have now been cancelled, Production did not meet 100,000 units in January (citing inventory taking 10 days), and Dorfman claims the $650 price is now wholesale, not MSRP, which would mean it was a $125 price hike on 12/6/83 if Dorfman is correct. He says about 95,000 Adams were made in 1983. Coleco is trading at 17. February 15, 1984 - Stock drops to 13 3/8 amid reports of layoffs at the Hartford, CT headquarters. March 11, 1984 - First Adam Computer ad surfaces in the Post Dispatch, from Children's Palace. The headline tells of the new 180 day warranty and $699.97 price tag. March 14, 1984 - Coleco stock drops to 10 7/8 as 100 workers are laid off at the Amsterdam, NY plant where the Adam is made. March 18, 1984 - Target's Sunday ad lists the first STL P-D mention of the Adam Exp Module 3 for $549.99 and the Colecovision console for $99.99. March 31, 1984 - Coleco stock is at 12 1/8 as it's announced 1,300 workers are being laid off at the Adam production plant. June 27, 1984 - Dan Gutman's column covers his Chicago CES trip. He mentions Coleco showed their Disk Drive and several household software packages. August 8, 1984 - Gutman reports news of Coleco's $500 scholarship promotion for purchasing an Adam, and says it will be spread over 4 years. August 26, 1984 - Target features the Adam computer in their Sunday ad. This time it's the Stand Alone model at $649.99, and lists the Scholarship offer. September 19, 1984 - Dan Gutman devotes nearly 1/2 his column to pitching the $500 scholarship offer when buying and Adam using the hook of "want a free computer?", leaning heavily on the Expansion module 3 price. He says Coleco has sold more than 1.5 million Colecovision systems, but virtually no Adam expansion modules. October 3, 1984 - Gutman's column mentions the release of Expertype for the Adam. October 14, 1984 - Midwest chain Dolgin's lists the Adam at $649.71 and the Exp Mod 3 at $498.97. DDP's also make the ad at $6.97/each. October 25, 1984 - Coleco offsets the wholesale price of the Adam by offering $175 worth of software to dealers. The company calls it a deliberate move to get more software into the marketplace, and claims sales are already increasing as a result. October 28, 1984 - Children's Palace has a full page in their Sunday ad devoted to Coleco. The Adam is at 699.97, the EM#3 is at $579.97. EM#1 is $59.97, SA Controllers are 68.88, CV console at 99.97, Smartlogo at $69.97. Burgertime, Bump n Jump, War Games, Antarctic Adventure and SA Football are all listed at $22.97. Plus more! November 13, 1984 - Local St. Louis store Video Visions lists the CV console at $79.99 with free CPK doll, Adam @ $499 and EM#3 at $399. Coleco trades at 17 1/2 November 20, 1984 - Video Visions now advertises the Disk Drive at $229.99 and the Adamlink modem at $89.99. November 22, 1984 - Service Merchandise runs correction saying their insert that day incorrectly lists the Adam (2410ECJ) at $697.82, and says it should read $497.82. November 29, 1984 - Service Merchandise runs a partial page ad for the Adam and Atari computers. The price is 497.82 for the Adam, but it pictures a EM#3. Of note as well, in the middle of a healthy list of CV games is Berenstain Bears (Item 2658ECJ) for $9.70. December 2, 1984 - Dorfman is back again. "Game May Be Almost Over For Coleco" is the headline. The article is about a Chicago group that sold short 500,000 shares of Coleco, expecting bankruptcy in 1985. It's the first mention of a projected discontinuation of Adam. The article suggests a $100 Million dollar inventory is sitting with little demand as the holidays approach, adn expects a $124 Million write off which would put Coleco at a negative net worth. A big part of the logic hinges on CPK demand diminishing. With an estimated 12.5 million females between 3 and 9 years old and 15 million dolls sold, that's more that 1 per child, and market saturation. Also noted is that Coleco does NOT own CPK, but has a licensing arrangement that expires in 1988. In the same paper, Children's Palace is now at $499.97 for the Adam and $399.97 for the EM#3. Stock is at 15 1/4. December 4, 1984 - Video Visions advertises the Adam at $479. December 5, 1984 - Dan Gutman's column focuses on 3 computers that might be right for you. The Macintosh, the PC Jr and the Adam. He's pretty favorable to the Adam here, especially for those without computer experience. December 11, 1984 - Video Visions runs the same Adam pricing, adding Atari 2600 @ 39.99, 5200 @ $69.99 800XL @ $119.99, Intellivision II @ $49.99 and Intellivoice @ $9.99 December 18, 1984 - Video Visions is now at $79.99 for the CV console, $449.99 for the Adam, and $349.99 for the EM#3. The pricing would hold in multiple ads thru the end of the year. (The same ad lists 15 2600 games at 5/$10) January 3, 1985 - Coleco's announcement of getting out of the computer business is reported. All inventory was being sold to an unnamed retailer. Coleco intends to stay in Video Games, though. Stock rose to 14 3/8 on the news. January 8, 1985 - Video Visions now drops Adam prices to $349.99 for the stand alone and $249.99 for the EM#3. Intellivision II drops to $39.99. Other consoles still at 12/11/84 pricing. Some 2600 games now 99¢. January 15, 1985 - Video Visions raises price on Adamlink modem to $99.99. July 10, 1985 - Kay Bee Toys advertises the Adam at $299.99 for the standalone model. October 6, 1985 - Kay Bee Toys lists the Adam at $299.99 again, and multiple Atari and Intellivison games at 99¢ in an ad. November 17, 1985 - Famous Barr (St. Louis department store similar to Macy's) lists the Adam at $299.99 and the Colecovision at $49.99. Adam software is $12.99, CV games are $9.99. (NOTE: I believe there was an agreement between Famous Barr and Kay Bee for Kay Bee to run their toy departments at this time) Coleco is at 19. January 11, 1987 - Radio Shack runs ad listing the black Colecovision controller for $1.99. This would be the last search result for "Adam Computer" out side of classified ads in the Post Dispatch Archives. Coleco was trading at $9 a share.
  6. Of course...moderation now. You guys enjoy.
  7. It didn't start out as a fight and I don't care who buys their crap. But the more you dig into their system the more you find out how they ripped off the community. Either way, not my dance and As I said I have way much more to do that is more important. At the moment of I have my attorney putting together a patent package because I have a deadline for next years release of the **********. So I'm kind of indisposed to be putting on a show for Atari Age. I don't hear from you much, why the special occasion.
  8. OR...It might be possible that they like to shoot the messenger and it hurts their business model to be called out as THIEVES.
  9. I took that out. It was meant towards Collectorvision. But either way I have way too much else going on to be bothered. Some of us actually have real life to deal with.
  10. This seems to be the end result when calling people out. Is it vulgar language. NOPE Is it personal insults. NOPE Call people out for the truth and you get banned. This was the case for the ColEM area and now the Collectorvison Phoenix Next it will be the Opcode Area. You people are a bunch of entitled, Millennial assholes that can't handle the truth. It doesn't matter the contributions, the help or any other things I do around here but as long as you aren't triggered.
  11. I'm done ranting... I know I will lose cred and I don't want to piss off my friends. In any case, lets hope I don't get banned for expressing what I BELIEVE to be the truth.
  12. Great job.... I am pretty sure that everyone out there is using it for original and physical cartridges and not just a rom off an SD Card. Go for it.
  13. Being as I wasn't there I can't prove you wrong. All I know is I paid for all my dev kits, parts, cases, chips...out of my pocket and I owe nothing to nobody. All source code in Verilog is mine, the operating system is mine....IMPROVEMENTS over products, mine...the new, experimental and prototype CPU and graphics chip 100% mine. The 16 bit bus is mine... Maybe I am just comparing Apples and Oranges and should just congratulate you on your successful nice try.
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