Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!psuecl!peg
From: peg@psuecl.bitnet (PAUL E. GANTER)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: 1802 et al.
Message-ID: <83243@psuecl.bitnet>
Date: 3 Feb 90 16:55:38 GMT
References: <3218@uceng.UC.EDU> <914@xroads.UUCP> <1874@neoucom.UUCP> <80541@psuecl.bitnet> <12991@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>
Organization: Engineering Computer Lab, Pennsylvania State University
Lines: 34

In article <12991@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>, knudsen@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (michael.j.knudsen) writes:
>> available.  What rumors from Commodore can't you believe?  The one that
>> says they have been selling a multitasking home computer with color
>> graphics and a reasonably small OS for under $1000, and doing it for
>> over 4 years?
>
> Nor can I resist pointing out the "rumor" that Radio Shack has been
> selling a multitasking color grafix home computer with an OS
> of about 24 to 32K bytes for about 6 years, and at half the
> cost of an Amiga 500.

Sheet!  I had almost forgotten about it!  You are right!
>
> It uses a 6809, the last and best of the 8-bitters, as an earlier
> poster mentioned.  That's the Color Computer running OS-9 from
> Microware.  The 6809 is almost as fast in tight corners as the 6502
> and a heck of a lot better C-language machine.  THe 6502 is a little
> too RISCy for high-leel languages.

The system manager here is a big fan of the 6809, he first pointed
out the CoCo with OS9.  He has designed some impressive devices with
the 6809 (data muxers, etc.) that make use of "multitasking".

> Not to rag on the Amiga, since the above posting did not claim
> that it was the *first* M-Tasking home machine.
> Actually, both the Amigas and the Color Computers join forces
> whenever someone from Microsoft or International BM points to
> their PS2 and OS/2 systems and says you need $10000 worth of hardware
> and 4 MB of software to do multitasking with windows.

You mean I haven't been multitasking with my 1 Meg of RAM?  I'll have
to run out and buy that Model 80 with 4 Meg this afternoon!

Paul