Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!sunc.osc.edu!malgudi!caen!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpda!hpcupt1!stachnik
From: stachnik@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com (George Stachnik)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.m6809
Subject: Re: SHOULD I BUY COCO3 NOW?
Message-ID: <-286509998@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com>
Date: 18 Oct 90 23:54:36 GMT
References: <1990Oct18.104630.17418@cbnewsl.att.com>
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 52

/ hpcupt1:comp.sys.m6809 / rl@cbnewsl.att.com (roger.h.levy) /  3:46 am  Oct 18, 1990 /

I've noticed that Radio Shack is selling the CoCo 3 for $100 this month.
Is this a good time to buy or is the machine being phased out?  

==> I'm told it is indeed being phased out.  Software will be cheap for
==> a while, then impossible to get.  

I have the following:
	J&M floppy controlleri
==>  I don't believe that the J&M controller can be used with the coco3...

	TV as monitor
==>  To get the most out of the COCO3, you need to buy their RGB monitor,
     which (the last time I checked) was about $200.  This is what always
     made me think twice about upgrading my COCO2...

	OS9 Level I, C Compiler, Pascal Compiler (all version 1.0 ?)
===> While this stuff will work on the COCO3, it will not work any better
     than it did on the COCO2 - i.e. it won't take advantage of memory
     beyond the 64K line.  To use the (up to) .5 Meg you can pack into 
     a coco3, you'll need OS9 Level II and you'll probably need to replace
     some (if not all) of the compiler software.  Make sure you still can.

	Do I upgrade to 512K by chip replacement, e.g. replace 16
	   4164 with 16 41256?  What speed?  I have surplus 41256.
	   Can I get more than 512K and do I need it?
===> Not sure.  Check Rainbow Magazine.  They published the chip upgrade
     directions a year or two ago.

	Are there applications that I'll really like better than what
	   I have on a PC (e.g. Lotus, Wordperfect, DBase) or is the
	   attraction primarily hacker appeal?
===>  If you like Un*x, you'll like OS/9 and its app's.  Personally, I'll
      stick with my PC until I feel like hacking....

	Are there games that will make my 8 year old son stop wishing
	   for a Nintendo?
===>  Only until his best buddy at school gets a Nintendo.  Then he'll
      want one too.  You could have a Cray, and he'd want a Nintendo.
      This is ghod's honest truth.  Trust me.

	Is color graphics a big part of the attraction?  Will I be
	   unhappy with a monochrome setup?
===>  The graphics on the coco3 are better than the coco2.  They're comparable
      to IBM's EGA graphics.

	How will performance compare to my XT-style PC with a 12 MHz
	   '286 accelerator board?
===>  How are you planning to compare them?  COCOs do a few things better
      than PCs.  PCs do lots of things better than COCOs.  The two machines
      do very few things in the same way.