Cuttle Cart 3 Software Improvement

[jaybird3rd]

What prices are those parts in dollars? I get redirected to the UK site which is expensive. I've used the FTDI cable(s) in other products so it'd be interesting to compare prices.

The FTDI wire-ended USB cable is $36.00, and the 2.5mm stereo cable assembly is $4.35. That's $40.35 in total, or about £25.5 according to my calculations.

[+GroovyBee]

Wow! More expensive than I can get them from over here. That's a surprise. FTDI also do a version that terminates in a 3.5mm jack. Not sure of the wiring on it tho.

[+intvnut]

The fact that Chad doesn't accept PayPal as a payment option probably had something to do with it, too.

 

I don't speak for Chad, but from what I remember it wasn't entirely up to him. Thanks to pressure from Nintendo, PayPal and eBay have policies against the sale of "flash carts" or anything that remotely resembles such a thing, and they're inflexible enough that it didn't even matter that Intellivision Productions had given its blessings to the Intellicart.

 

There's no shortage of reasons to complain about PayPal, but that part was pretty insurmountable.

 

Edit: In other words, I think it's fair to say "PayPal won't accept payment for the Intellicart or CC3."

 

Hey, neat! A serial bridge chip inside an integrated wire-ended USB cable! I'll have to remember that one for my own projects. I love FTDI's chips—they're incredibly handy for hobbyists—but I had no idea they were being offered this way.

 

The one I linked outputs RS232 levels. They also offer a TTL level version, so you can skip the MAX232 (or equiv) driver. And that one has a clear connector, and nice bright blinkenlights.

Edited February 3, 2012 by intvnut

[+intvnut]

Wow! More expensive than I can get them from over here. That's a surprise. FTDI also do a version that terminates in a 3.5mm jack. Not sure of the wiring on it tho.

 

It wouldn't surprise me. While Mouser often has good prices on most things, that did seem on the high side. Plus side, their warehouse is about an hour from my house, so even the cheapest shipping option is "next day" in practice.

[jaybird3rd]

I don't speak for Chad, but from what I remember it wasn't entirely up to him. Thanks to pressure from Nintendo, PayPal and eBay have policies against the sale of "flash carts" or anything that remotely resembles such a thing, and they're inflexible enough that it didn't even matter that Intellivision Productions had given its blessings to the Intellicart.

 

There's no shortage of reasons to complain about PayPal, but that part was pretty insurmountable.

 

Edit: In other words, I think it's fair to say "PayPal won't accept payment for the Intellicart or CC3."

Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall that it was an issue with PayPal's policies. So it certainly isn't Chad's fault at all, and as far as I'm concerned, the CC3 is more than worth the "extra trouble" of buying a money order and a stamp.

[+thegoldenband]

Kind of a loopy idea, but I've wondered before if it might be worth Chad's while to consider partnering with Stone Age Gamer. SAG seems to have found a way to take PayPal payments for flash carts -- perhaps because he has a varied product line so the powers that be don't care as much? -- and could supply cart shells and do all those things he does for the EverDrive line.

 

Maybe it's too old-school for SAG's customer base, though, or maybe Chad would prefer to keep things under his wing (which would be understandable).

[ls650]

So how does AtariAge get away with taking PayPal for the Harmony Cart..?

[ApolloBoy]

So how does AtariAge get away with taking PayPal for the Harmony Cart..?

Batari sells the Harmony cart, not AtariAge.

[ls650]

Ok. So how does Batari get away with it?

Edited February 4, 2012 by ls650

[Rev]

Ok. So how does Batari get away with it?

 

 

i think they sell it with NO roms/games on it is how. someone correct me if im wrong!

[+GroovyBee]

batari only recently started taking Paypal for Harmony again. Prior to that it was Google checkout after Paypal f*cked him over at the start.

[ls650]

Ah.. Because I bought mine quite some time ago with Paypal.

[Rev]

The fact that Chad doesn't accept PayPal as a payment option probably had something to do with it, too.

 

I don't speak for Chad, but from what I remember it wasn't entirely up to him. Thanks to pressure from Nintendo, PayPal and eBay have policies against the sale of "flash carts" or anything that remotely resembles such a thing, and they're inflexible enough that it didn't even matter that Intellivision Productions had given its blessings to the Intellicart.

 

There's no shortage of reasons to complain about PayPal, but that part was pretty insurmountable.

 

Edit: In other words, I think it's fair to say "PayPal won't accept payment for the Intellicart or CC3."

 

Hey, neat! A serial bridge chip inside an integrated wire-ended USB cable! I'll have to remember that one for my own projects. I love FTDI's chips—they're incredibly handy for hobbyists—but I had no idea they were being offered this way.

 

The one I linked outputs RS232 levels. They also offer a TTL level version, so you can skip the MAX232 (or equiv) driver. And that one has a clear connector, and nice bright blinkenlights.

 

If someone wanted to accept paypal for something like this, couldnt they call is something else besides flash cart. how about just call it ;atari game' or something generic. The person doesnt have to call it 'flashcart' do they?

[+intvnut]

If someone wanted to accept paypal for something like this, couldnt they call is something else besides flash cart. how about just call it ;atari game' or something generic. The person doesnt have to call it 'flashcart' do they?

 

That might work if you're selling one or two. But, if you're selling them as a business, PayPal's not exactly stupid. And if they decide you've tried to dupe them, it's a great way to trigger them to freeze your account, and even claw back money out of your checking account if you've linked it to your PayPal account. They froze all the revenue from Space Patrol (including money paid to cover shipping), and refused to unfreeze it until they could prove that every last copy had gotten delivered, even though I was clear that the money was for pre-orders.

 

They don't care. They don't have to. They're PayPal.

[Rev]

If someone wanted to accept paypal for something like this, couldnt they call is something else besides flash cart. how about just call it ;atari game' or something generic. The person doesnt have to call it 'flashcart' do they?

 

That might work if you're selling one or two. But, if you're selling them as a business, PayPal's not exactly stupid. And if they decide you've tried to dupe them, it's a great way to trigger them to freeze your account, and even claw back money out of your checking account if you've linked it to your PayPal account. They froze all the revenue from Space Patrol (including money paid to cover shipping), and refused to unfreeze it until they could prove that every last copy had gotten delivered, even though I was clear that the money was for pre-orders.

 

They don't care. They don't have to. They're PayPal.

 

 

Yeah, I guess if something weird like that happens, you have to play by their rules. They dont make it easy do they.

[Games For Your Intellivision]

I have decided I am not going with Paypal for distribution of D2K Arcade. My site will be accepting Visa/Mastercard through the TD Bank, so people will be able to order in confidence.

 

I don't need Paypal holding my money and making unreasonable demands.

[OutlawTorn71]

I don't speak for Chad, but from what I remember it wasn't entirely up to him. Thanks to pressure from Nintendo, PayPal and eBay have policies against the sale of "flash carts" or anything that remotely resembles such a thing, and they're inflexible enough that it didn't even matter that Intellivision Productions had given its blessings to the Intellicart.

 

There's no shortage of reasons to complain about PayPal, but that part was pretty insurmountable.

 

Edit: In other words, I think it's fair to say "PayPal won't accept payment for the Intellicart or CC3."

Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall that it was an issue with PayPal's policies. So it certainly isn't Chad's fault at all, and as far as I'm concerned, the CC3 is more than worth the "extra trouble" of buying a money order and a stamp.

I have decided I am not going with Paypal for distribution of D2K Arcade. My site will be accepting Visa/Mastercard through the TD Bank, so people will be able to order in confidence.

 

I don't need Paypal holding my money and making unreasonable demands.

 

I'm with Jay - I am more than happy to get a MO and a stamp and that keeps more $$$ in the pockets of the people who deserve it

[ls650]

I have had accounts with the TD Bank for 25 years. They are a very reputable company.

[townparkradio]

Shoot, I love PayPal. Y'all remember the first posts I made? Some scumbag bilked my wife out of a hundred dollars for what he claimed was an Ewok Adventure prototype. Not only was it not a proto but a repro, but it didn't even work. He threw a hissy fit because the first thing I did was file a dispute with PayPal, but it turns out this guy had scammed dozens before and because they were too "polite" to use PayPal's buyer's protection fast enough, he successfully scammed them all. Eventually PayPal froze his account and kicked him entirely off their service.

 

If it weren;t for having used PayPal rather than a money order, the best we could have done was filed a negative feedback.

[pimpmaul69]

Shoot, I love PayPal. Y'all remember the first posts I made? Some scumbag bilked my wife out of a hundred dollars for what he claimed was an Ewok Adventure prototype. Not only was it not a proto but a repro, but it didn't even work. He threw a hissy fit because the first thing I did was file a dispute with PayPal, but it turns out this guy had scammed dozens before and because they were too "polite" to use PayPal's buyer's protection fast enough, he successfully scammed them all. Eventually PayPal froze his account and kicked him entirely off their service.

 

If it weren;t for having used PayPal rather than a money order, the best we could have done was filed a negative feedback.

if it wasnt for paypal i would have lost 750 dollars from a scammer. he never sent my item. even after paypal gave me my money back the guy left a nasty freakin feedback saying i was the ripoff.. a few days later he was booted from ebay. paypal gave me the money even though they never recovered the money back from the scammer.

[Rev]

For the most part, I think Paypal is fine for Ebay transactions (except for all the fees..LOL)

 

But it sounds like for selling any type of homebrew product or maybe other similar items , it could be a pain real easy.

[Games For Your Intellivision]

Well, technically, this is not a 'homebrew'. This is a real company selling a product through a bank's Visa/Master Card system. This isn't a fly by night operation.

 

By the way, our overlay is ready to be sent to the printer.

 

Valter is previewing the overlay various places.

[Rev]

Well, technically, this is not a 'homebrew'. This is a real company selling a product through a bank's Visa/Master Card system. This isn't a fly by night operation.

 

By the way, our overlay is ready to be sent to the printer.

 

Valter is previewing the overlay various places.

 

I guess all games may fall under the "homebrew" name....I personally consider games even like the 2600 versions of boulder dash and halo "homebrew".

 

It is just easier to say homebrew than anything else.

 

 

oh, and the new overlay is pretty cool!

Edited March 8, 2012 by revolutionika