Perhaps if the 1983 Coleco ADAM production problems could have been avoided

[JamesD]

When you say "plain", you mean completely void of any text or other markings on the box? As was mentioned and as you probably know, the Red and Blue ADAM boxes were shipped to retailers in a brown corrugated box with Coleco emblems and text on them, but it sounds like your "plain" box is the size of the inner box and not this brown corrugated box. Seeing as it also sounds like everything fits in this box just the same as a retail box and there is no handle, maybe you have two bottoms but without the handle slits.

 

At the end when everything was being liquidated, anything was possible to get thrown together for no rhyme or reason.

Sorry, I meant it didn't have the full color box with nice pictures. It does say COLECO and such in blue letters on the cardboard.

It has a shipping label and may have gone direct to a customer but I can't remember.

Perhaps a replacement machine and it was never opened? The tape looked like the original stuff and the keyboard looks new.

[adamcon]

Sorry, I meant it didn't have the full color box with nice pictures. It does say COLECO and such in blue letters on the cardboard.

It has a shipping label and may have gone direct to a customer but I can't remember.

Perhaps a replacement machine and it was never opened? The tape looked like the original stuff and the keyboard looks new.

 

Hang onto it. It must be a rare box for the ADAM. unless more show up. As NIAD pointed out, towards the end, Coleco just put stuff together and got rid of it; lock, stock and barrel

[NIAD]

One picture even shows the Coleco ADAM without the Digital Data Drives and instead two Coleco 3.25 inch disk drives are located inside the memory console.

I was always under the assumption that the four ADAM Memory Consoles that are pictured in that link are as follows (from left to right):

 

#1) Original design of the Expansion Module #3 with Data Drives. The DDPs would have been inserted sideways similar to a car stereo tape deck, but with the exposed tape side inserted first.

 

#2) The Stand-Alone version of the Memory Console with built-in ColecoVision and Data Drives... as with #1, the DDPs would be inserted sideways.

 

#3) The second design of the Expansion Module #3 with Data Drives, but this time the DDPs are inserted upright just as the final Data Drives work.

 

#4) The final Stand-Alone Memory Console and Data Drive which we all know. The Disk Drive sitting on top of the Memory Console is the original design of the 5 1/4" F.D.D., but no idea if it contains a Double-Sided or Single-Sided drive.

 

If anyone knows otherwise, please share.

[NIAD]

Sorry, I meant it didn't have the full color box with nice pictures. It does say COLECO and such in blue letters on the cardboard.

It has a shipping label and may have gone direct to a customer but I can't remember.

Perhaps a replacement machine and it was never opened? The tape looked like the original stuff and the keyboard looks new.

Pretty cool stuff!

[HDTV1080P]

Sorry, I meant it didn't have the full color box with nice pictures. It does say COLECO and such in blue letters on the cardboard.

It has a shipping label and may have gone direct to a customer but I can't remember.

Perhaps a replacement machine and it was never opened? The tape looked like the original stuff and the keyboard looks new.

 

The colorful retail box for the ADAM came in an outer cardboard box that says COLECO on it in blue letters. What may have happen is Coleco ran out of retail boxes after January 1985 and may have placed everything in the outer cardboard boxes (NIAD also mentioned that theory). I believe I still have at least one of those outer cardboard boxes in storage with the blue Coleco words on it. Perhaps one day if I have time I can take a picture of it and then you can compare it to your cardboard box to see if it’s the same.

Edited May 3, 2013 by HDTV1080P

[JamesD]

The colorful retail box for the ADAM came in an outer cardboard box that says COLECO on it in blue letters. What may have happen is Coleco ran out of retail boxes after January 1985 and may have placed everything in the outer cardboard boxes (NIAD also mentioned that theory). I believe I still have at least one of those outer cardboard boxes in storage with the blue Coleco words on it. Perhaps one day if I have time I can take a picture of it and then you can compare it to your cardboard box to see if it’s the same.

I'm sure once the machine was cancelled they refused to order more full color boxes and just used the cardboard.

No need for photos, I'm sure it will be the same.

[HDTV1080P]

I was always under the assumption that the four ADAM Memory Consoles that are pictured in that link are as follows (from left to right):

 

#1) Original design of the Expansion Module #3 with Data Drives. The DDPs would have been inserted sideways similar to a car stereo tape deck, but with the exposed tape side inserted first.

 

#2) The Stand-Alone version of the Memory Console with built-in ColecoVision and Data Drives... as with #1, the DDPs would be inserted sideways.

 

#3) The second design of the Expansion Module #3 with Data Drives, but this time the DDPs are inserted upright just as the final Data Drives work.

 

#4) The final Stand-Alone Memory Console and Data Drive which we all know. The Disk Drive sitting on top of the Memory Console is the original design of the 5 1/4" F.D.D., but no idea if it contains a Double-Sided or Single-Sided drive.

 

If anyone knows otherwise, please share.

 

NIAD your assumption is most likely correct. When I saw those small pictures, I thought those were 3.25 inch disk drives instead of Digital Data Drives. Someone once told me that Coleco had a 3.25 inch prototype disk drive that fit inside the ADAM memory console, however it’s been around 30 years since I spoke with that person. If those are Digital Data Drives in those pictures then Coleco must have been consider a sideways mount like the wafer drive. In theory the advantage of the sideways mount is that when the eject button is pushed the Digital Data Drive would automatically stop moving before ejecting the tape. The problem with the existing manual eject on the Digital Data Drives is a young child or Adult can destroy the tape by ejecting the Digital Data Pack while the drive is moving or by inserting the Digital Data Pack while the drive is still moving at high speed. It’s too bad the existing Digital Data Drives could not instantly turn off if the eject button is pushed. One had to first press or pull the cartridge reset button and wait 10 seconds or so for the Digital Data Pack to stop moving. Some people destroyed a few Digital Data Packs by turning off or on the power while the tape was still in the drive, or inserting or removing the Digital Data Packs while the drive was still moving. Once Coleco improved the Digital Data Drives and people learned the proper way to use them, they became much more reliable (Disk drives were of course much better).

 

I wish Coleco would have released the 256K 3.25 inch two disk drive design that sat on top of the ADAM computer. It appears Coleco was considering selling the unit with one 3.25 inch disk drive and a second 3.25 inch disk drive could be purchased later. This would have been an ideal add on to have the two 256K 3.25 inch disk drives on top of the Digital Data Drives. Better yet if Coleco would have designed the ADAM from the ground up with no Digital Data Drives at all, then Coleco could have made a ADAM memory console that shipped with one 256K 3.25 inch disk drive and a slot to add a second 3.25 inch disk drive. I believe the ADAM would have been much more popular with that design. If Coleco would have known in advanced that many customers would be disappointed with the Digital Data Drives I am sure Coleco would have waited a year and released a 100% floppy disk based ADAM. It’s hard to predict the future and what customers want. Coleco at the time did what they believed was the best for the company and consumers.

 

Another issue is that the prices for ColecoVision and ADAM products that were in demand were inflated in value above the official Coleco suggested list price. For example the Zaxxon game cartridge for the ColecoVision had a list price of around $29.99, however when it first came out the cheapest dealer that had it in stock was charging $50. Another example is the Digital Data Drive suggested list price from Coleco had a list price of $99.99, however the 1984 Montgomery Wards Christmas catalog is selling the Digital Data Drive for $149.99. Even though the 1984 Coleco 160K 5 ¼ inch Disk Drive had a list price for $199.99, NIAD mentioned that in the USA the Coleco Disk Drive was selling for $249.99 when it first came out, I remember only some ADAM dealers stocking the Coleco disk drive and it also was many times out of stock in late 1984. In fact in the mid 80’s and late 80’s it was hard for some people to locate a new or used Coleco 160K 5 ¼ inch disk drive. New Coleco disk drives in the mid 80’s could be purchased for $199.99 however like NIAD mentioned up to $249.99 in the USA was possible. One time a mail order company shocked the ADAM community by offering a refurbished or new Coleco disk drive around 1986 for only $99.99 without the retail box. They sold out their entire supply in a week or less since it was half the price compared to the retail box version. It was awesome that toward the late 80’s that Micro Innovations came out with a wide selection of disk drives and hard drives for the ADAM computer. Micro Innovations in the 80’s and early 90’s was the best third party hardware developer for the ADAM. The price of the 160K Coleco disk drive went down in value after factory new 320K, 720K, and the top of the line 1.44MB disk drives started appearing on the market. Now of course since both Coleco and Micro Innovations no longer make disk drives for the ADAM they are in great demand. A 1.44MB 3.5 inch Micro Innovations disk drive has excellent build quality and a used one normally sells for around $500 on EBAY.

 

In the summer of 1983 I remember seeing retailers charging $600 for Expansion module #3 ADAM and later on when the standalone ADAM was released it was selling for $800. The ADAM computer in the 1983 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog was listed for $588, however in 1984 the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog listed the exact same ADAM computer for $649.99. In 1985 or 1986 people were buying the complete ADAM standalone system for only $199.99 as retail stores were clearing them out.

Edited May 3, 2013 by HDTV1080P

[JamesD]

I've said this before in another thread. The data tape drive should have been external. One expansion slot could have been where the data drives attach and the computer could have been much smaller and cheaper. By making the drive external it becomes easy to sell the unit with tape, floppy, or whatever without a redesign.

Everything but a memory expander should have been attached over AdamNET.

[HDTV1080P]

I've said this before in another thread. The data tape drive should have been external. One expansion slot could have been where the data drives attach and the computer could have been much smaller and cheaper. By making the drive external it becomes easy to sell the unit with tape, floppy, or whatever without a redesign.

Everything but a memory expander should have been attached over AdamNET.

 

That is an excellent ideal. The internal Digital Data Drive which uses Adamnet and the printer power supply could have been designed with an external enclosure that required its own power supply, which would also have raised the price of the Digital Data Drive when it shipped with the ADAM computer.

 

However, the big advantage to JamesD idea is that when Coleco started getting negative feedback regarding the Digital Data Drive, Coleco could have included an external disk drive in all future retail ADAM computer packages without having to completely redesign the ADAM computer. With the Digital Data Drive being built into the ADAM memory console, Coleco had locked themselves into that design. For Coleco to drop the Digital Data Drive design completely they would have had to come out with an ADAM II.

Edited May 3, 2013 by HDTV1080P

[JamesD]

That is an excellent ideal. The internal Digital Data Drive which uses Adamnet and the printer power supply could have been designed with an external enclosure that required its own power supply, which would also have raised the price of the Digital Data Drive when it shipped with the ADAM computer.

Just remember, the extra money spent on a small enclosure for the data drive would be more than offset by a smaller case and smaller motherboard for the computer,

 

However, the big advantage to JamesD idea is that when Coleco started getting negative feedback regarding the Digital Data Drive, Coleco could have included an external disk drive in all future retail ADAM computer packages without having to completely redesign the ADAM computer. With the Digital Data Drive being built into the ADAM memory console, Coleco had locked themselves into that design. For Coleco to drop the Digital Data Drive design completely they would have had to come out with an ADAM II.

It also could have meant that defective drives could have been exchanged without returning the entire computer.

People could have continued to use the computer for some word processing, as a typewriter, or as a game system even without the drive.

Edited May 3, 2013 by JamesD

[NIAD]

HDTV....

 

Sidways mounted Digital Data Drives would have been extremely hard to remove an eaten or partially eaten DDP from unlke the Data Drives that were eventually used. I know on a number of occassions, I had DDPs eaten by the drive and was able to save them by removing the 5 small screws that join/fasten the two plastic halves of the DDP case and re-spooling the part of the DDP that was eaten.

 

If Coleco had delayed the ADAM any longer, they might as well of scrapped the whole system and took the next step up with a 16-bit system or just stuck with the ColecoVision only.

[DoctorTom]

I think the concept was sound: everything all-in-one, but they pushed too fast on the practical limits of going from idea to market. And they promised everything before anything was ready. And they cut corners. The problems were all pretty much about the corporate decisions, not really so much about the device itself.

 

Plus, you practically have to dedicate a whole table to the thing. And, of course, the Commodore 64 and Apple II were both better designed and better quality.

 

And the PC.

[fiddlepaddle]

And the PC.

 

I'm not sure the PC, as it existed when it existed, really qualifies as an equivalent device. It was almost universally monochrome, didn't work with a TV, no sound capabilities, etc at least without extra boards and configuration efforts. IBM offered the PC Jr, but that had it's own problems. The good thing, though, was because of the support, the PC evolved more than anything. It eventually became what we still buy at every retail store today. I suppose it's even possible that if Coleco had been more successful with the Adam, they could have cornered the market, and with the right set of circumstances, maybe even moved into the business machine and out-competed IBM. Then we would all be loading Ubuntu on our "Coleco-compatibles."

[HDTV1080P]

According to information on the first page of the April/May 1993 NIAD newsletter, there was also a Coleco 3.25 inch prototype disk drive that installed inside the Adam Memory console in place of the Digital Data Drive.

 

Quote"

 

“This disk drive unit installs inside the Memory Console in place of Data Drive #1….”

Edited May 3, 2013 by HDTV1080P

[JamesD]

HDTV....

 

Sidways mounted Digital Data Drives would have been extremely hard to remove an eaten or partially eaten DDP from unlke the Data Drives that were eventually used. I know on a number of occassions, I had DDPs eaten by the drive and was able to save them by removing the 5 small screws that join/fasten the two plastic halves of the DDP case and re-spooling the part of the DDP that was eaten.

Anyone who had a cassette deck in their car knows how tough it is to remove a tape when it gets eaten. A sideways drive would have been more expensive and may have made matters worse.

 

If Coleco had delayed the ADAM any longer, they might as well of scrapped the whole system and took the next step up with a 16-bit system or just stuck with the ColecoVision only.

I think if the drive had been external from the beginning the core computer could have been finalized much sooner.

[DoctorTom]

I'm not sure the PC, as it existed when it existed, really qualifies as an equivalent device. It was almost universally monochrome, didn't work with a TV, no sound capabilities, etc at least without extra boards and configuration efforts. IBM offered the PC Jr, but that had it's own problems. The good thing, though, was because of the support, the PC evolved more than anything. It eventually became what we still buy at every retail store today. I suppose it's even possible that if Coleco had been more successful with the Adam, they could have cornered the market, and with the right set of circumstances, maybe even moved into the business machine and out-competed IBM. Then we would all be loading Ubuntu on our "Coleco-compatibles."

 

I disagree entirely. I was playing fun games in color on my PC as early as 1984 (and in 1983 at my neighbor's house) -- way more fun than anything exclusively offered on ADAM. In fact, I bought a PC with color monitor and printer precisely because my ADAM kept crashing while attempting to do word processing. (I agree sound was very limited.) The ADAM was a piece of junk that ruined Coleco's reputation and never had any chance of cornering any market -- it was only was worth having for its ColecoVision games.

Edited May 3, 2013 by DoctorTom

[sega_SHARK]

The ADAM was a piece of junk that ruined Coleco's reputation and never had any chance of cornering any market -- it was only was worth having for its ColecoVision games.

That was the view of my parents in '83/'84. They never would have purchased a computer manufactured by Atari or Coleco. There was a credibility gap that existed in my household that neither company could have crossed. My parents (those with purchasing power to buy a computer) poo-pooed the idea of owning a computer produced by a toy company. That's just my household though, I'm sure others have had different experiences.

[NIAD]

According to information on the first page of the April/May 1993 NIAD newsletter, there was also a Coleco 3.25 inch prototype disk drive that installed inside the Adam Memory console in place of the Digital Data Drive.

 

Quote"

 

“This disk drive unit installs inside the Memory Console in place of Data Drive #1….”

Yeah, I know, I wrote that!

[NIAD]

I disagree entirely. I was playing fun games in color on my PC as early as 1984 (and in 1983 at my neighbor's house) -- way more fun than anything exclusively offered on ADAM. In fact, I bought a PC with color monitor and printer precisely because my ADAM kept crashing while attempting to do word processing. (I agree sound was very limited.) The ADAM was a piece of junk that ruined Coleco's reputation and never had any chance of cornering any market -- it was only was worth having for its ColecoVision games.

Indeed, the PC had advanced considerably by the time the ADAM was finally in widespread release at the end of 1983, but a full blown PC with all the bells and whistles (color monitor, dot matrix or daisy wheel printer, sound card, CGA video card, one joystick (two would have required an additional gameport card), word processor, programming language and one game) like Coleco provided with the ADAM would have been a HUGE financial investment at this time. Even in 1988 when I bought my first PC, a Zeos 386SX, it was a $2,000 investment and I still had to buy a number of other items to bring it up to snuff. So in 1983, for the price of roughly $500 for the Expansion Module #3 or $700 for the Stand-Alone ADAM, this almost became an impossible option to pass up for those looking to purchase their first computer or a computer for their child and who didn't have the financial ability to afford a PC.

 

Now, when it comes to the ADAM, I am very biased because of my long history in using and supporting it by numerous means, but it was not and still to this day is not a piece of junk. Yes, there were numerous problems with the system initially, corners were cut, bad decisions where made, the decision to orphan the system was made prematurely shortly after the system seemed to finally get it's legs under it and most importantly... people who spent their hard earned money felt wronged. While I sympathize with all the people that experienced issues with their ADAM in 1983, I fortunately was not one of them as my Exp. Mod. #3 ADAM worked flawlessly from de-boxing on X-Mas '83 until the day I parted with it in 1998... that's a 15 year run for a so-called piece of junk and that far outpaces any other system that I have owned throughout the years. Yes, there were many issues initially that squarely fall on the shoulders of Coleco Execs for rushing the system out the door, but there was a lot of user error and sometimes people have to look squarely and honestly in the mirror.

 

I guess if we really want to place the blame on someone, we would have to blame Eric Bromley (the father of the ColecoVision) and Nuvatec. The initial ColecoVision design was one of a dedicated gaming system, but Nuvatec changed and enhanced the architecture of the CV to make it open to expandibility with the Expansion Interface on the front of the unit. With this one simple enhancement made in early 1982, the direction of the ColecoVision was changed drastically to one that would offer expandibility into a full-fledged home computer... it states it on the front of the CV box. So, I guess to make a long story short, Nuvatec caused this tremendous fiasco of the ADAM Computer.

 

As far as cornering the market, that would have been a tough one to pull off with all the competition that was already in place (Apple, Atari, Commodore, TI, etc.) in the lower end marketplace, but it would have been interesting to see how things would have played out if the ADAM had been handled properly by Coleco.

[Osgeld]

That was the view of my parents in '83/'84. They never would have purchased a computer manufactured by Atari or Coleco. There was a credibility gap that existed in my household that neither company could have crossed. My parents (those with purchasing power to buy a computer) poo-pooed the idea of owning a computer produced by a toy company. That's just my household though, I'm sure others have had different experiences.

 

same here, we had a colecovision, that was a toy for playing games, then we had an apple II, that was for work & school. I had edutainment on the apple, but I really didnt play any games on the apple II until I got my IIc in 2008 (pc is a different matter)

[DoctorTom]

Didn't mean to offend anyone, but having the ADAM crash TWICE after writing a five page term paper in 9th grade -- and twice losing my work entirely -- left me in tears and secured my opinion that the ADAM was a CV masquerading as a computer. At BEST it was a rushed product, and I stand by my claim that at least the early model was in fact a piece of junk -- if you can't do word processing on a computer, it is nearly worthless. For me, the whole ADAM experience was like a bad practical joke. I didn't know one person who had a working unit.

Edited May 4, 2013 by DoctorTom

[NIAD]

Didn't mean to offend anyone, but having the ADAM crash TWICE after writing a five page term paper in 9th grade -- and twice losing my work entirely -- left me in tears and secured my opinion that the ADAM was a CV masquerading as a computer. At BEST it was a rushed product, and I stand by my claim that at least the early model was in fact a piece of junk -- if you can't do word processing on a computer, it is nearly worthless. For me, the whole ADAM experience was like a bad practical joke. I didn't know one person who had a working unit.

No offense taken as everyone is entitled to their opinions especially when those opinions are based off of real life experiences... like your's are. What you have to share about the ADAM holds a lot more credence than all the nay-sayers that never turned on an ADAM Computer in their life and solely base their opinions on things that they have read.

 

I know I'm not the "luckiest guy in the world", but I guess I was lucky enough that my parents were handed "the right" ADAM system wherever they bought it from (probably Service Merchandise) and it worked like a champ for many years.

 

Since I have gotten back into the CV & ADAM scene over three years ago, I have had roughly 20 ADAMs come through my door and out of all those systems, I have had:

 

- two issues with the Memory Console (1 dead ADAM Logic Boards and 1 dead CV Delta Board) that were easily swapped out with working boards

- 1 issue with the ADAM printer (a dead Printer Logic Board that I can replace easily, the Power Supply is good)

- roughy 8 bad Data Drives and three of them were fixed by installing a new Timing Wheel, the others were completely shot.

 

So, for a system that is approaching 30 years old, that is a tremendous track record in my opinion, but then again the experience that I have with them is very advantageous.

[65Gamerguy]

I bought an ADAM (expansion module 3) from Montgomery Wards sometime in 1984, I don't remember the exact date, it seems like the weather was nice so maybe that summer. They had one on display at the store with the game Super Buck Rogers in the Digital Data Drive, and I played it several times before I finally bought my own. I never really had any problems with it. I used to type letters to my friends in college on it, play games, and do some basic programming. I even bought the spreadsheet ADAMcalc, but it was way over my head for a 19 year old.

 

I used it until the early 1990's when it stopped working, which I suspected was a problem with the ColecoVision and not the ADAM itself, so I gave it to a friend of mine and when he got it home and hooked it up it worked perfectly, DOH! A few years later (mid 1990's) I asked him if he still had it, and that I wanted it back, he was fine with that since he had not used it much. Once I got it home I fired it up and put in Super DKJ. It made some funky sounds and the game wouldn't load. Come to find out, and I don't know for sure but I think one of his daugters put something in the drive, because there was a sticky substance on the tape and the drive itself. I orderd a new drive from Adam's House and found another copy of Super DKJ, and the thing worked just fine. I still have it but I haven't used it since the late 1990's.

 

The only issue I ever had was that sometimes it would eat one of the tapes, sometimes worse than others. But I found that if you take the tape out and place a pencil in one of the drive holes and rewind the tape by hand, by spinning the pencil, to the beginning and put some tension on the tape and let it sit for a few days to get the crinkles out of it, the tape would work fine.

 

I guess I got mine after the initial kinks were worked out since I never had a major failure or anything.

[Tony Cruise]

My two cents is I think that Coleco should have worked closer with Spectravideo i.e. let Spectravideo handle the computer side of things, Coleco the game console and have a common cartridge slot design between the two of them.

Spectravideo had a full range of powerful perhiperals, including reliable disk drives, CPM support, but they totally lacked the software support (on the games side). They built the Coleco adapter for the Spectravideo computers so they obviously had the smarts, but I suppose they were also dragged off task by Nishi of Microsoft pushing for the MSX standard.

The Spectravideo with its direct support from Microsoft had the most powerful version of Microsoft Basic at the time, compared with Commodore, Atari and even Apple at the time (as they didn't want to continue to pay Microsoft licensing fees to get the newer versions - well I can't blame them ).

So between the two of them their combined efforts might have allowed them to make a larger impact on the American market and would have alleviated all the money wasted on the Adam by Coleco. But back then it really was every man(company) for themselves.

[adamcon]

I bought an ADAM (expansion module 3) from Montgomery Wards sometime in 1984, I don't remember the exact date, it seems like the weather was nice so maybe that summer. They had one on display at the store with the game Super Buck Rogers in the Digital Data Drive, and I played it several times before I finally bought my own. I never really had any problems with it. I used to type letters to my friends in college on it, play games, and do some basic programming. I even bought the spreadsheet ADAMcalc, but it was way over my head for a 19 year old.

 

I used it until the early 1990's when it stopped working, which I suspected was a problem with the ColecoVision and not the ADAM itself, so I gave it to a friend of mine and when he got it home and hooked it up it worked perfectly, DOH! A few years later (mid 1990's) I asked him if he still had it, and that I wanted it back, he was fine with that since he had not used it much. Once I got it home I fired it up and put in Super DKJ. It made some funky sounds and the game wouldn't load. Come to find out, and I don't know for sure but I think one of his daugters put something in the drive, because there was a sticky substance on the tape and the drive itself. I orderd a new drive from Adam's House and found another copy of Super DKJ, and the thing worked just fine. I still have it but I haven't used it since the late 1990's.

 

The only issue I ever had was that sometimes it would eat one of the tapes, sometimes worse than others. But I found that if you take the tape out and place a pencil in one of the drive holes and rewind the tape by hand, by spinning the pencil, to the beginning and put some tension on the tape and let it sit for a few days to get the crinkles out of it, the tape would work fine.

 

I guess I got mine after the initial kinks were worked out since I never had a major failure or anything.

 

I can agree with you completely. While I had to wait until 1989 as my kids pulled me into the ADAM, our hardware is still clicking along nicely. Of course, there are the occasional data pack problems and the data drive timing wheel meltdowns, but the actual hardware is lasting much longer than Coleco intended. The second generation (and some first generation) ADAM was and still is a dependable computer, more dependable than most any of the ibm stuff I have used since then. Too bad it was so short lived, but hwat can you expect from a company that made a living off short lived games and dolls.