New TRS-80's
Uncle Sam
think it was about $25 or so and came with a bunch of games in ROM.
I'd like to see Radio Shack do something similar with the TRS-80. Design a
limited edition retro version.
License this -
http://thegadgetfan.com/mobile-smartphones/now-a-25-computer-most-realistic-one-so-far.html
and build a custom retro looking case for it, along with a keyboard and
display.
The device should be capable of emulating the entire 8-bit and 16-bit line.
Mark McDougall
> Atari sold a retro version of their VCS game console a few years back. I
> think it was about $25 or so and came with a bunch of games in ROM.
The original version wasn't actually an emulation, but a port of some Atari
games to a NOAC-based (NES-on-a-chip) device. I didn't discover this until
I'd bought one - quite pee'd off about it. Apparently the 2nd version *was*
actually an Atari emulation... though the case & joysticks are pretty cheap
and nasty...
> I'd like to see Radio Shack do something similar with the TRS-80. Design a
> limited edition retro version.
Not enough market. The C64 version sold reasonably well - for a while - as
did the Atari. But AFAIK neither is still on the market. The TRS-80 only has
a fraction of the market either of these machines had... just not going to
happen. :( At least the C64 version was hackable - you could more-or-less
turn it into a fully-fledged C64 working with real 1541 disk drives!
Regards,
--
| Mark McDougall | "Electrical Engineers do it
| <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug> | with less resistance!"
Uncle Sam
http://thegadgetfan.com/mobile-smartphones/now-a-25-computer-most-realistic-one-so-far.html
For $25 you could get a complete ARM computer capable of running Android
and/or Chromium. TRS-80 emulation would be just one of many things this
device could do. It could come with software that would act as a media
player (like Apple Tv), allowing you to watch Netflix on demand or other
similar services.
Radio Shack could package it and easily sell it for $100. It would somewhat
look like a 1977 era computer but be capable of doing so much more.
I don't think people care much about disk drives anymore. I'd rather have an
SD card reader than a physical disk drive. A single SD card could probably
hold a copy of every TRS-80 program ever sold. Floppy disks aren't made
anymore and any you might find lying around are probably unreadable.
"Mark McDougall" wrote in message
news:BJadnQQHX9nTwI3T...@westnet.com.au...
winstonsmith
Mark McDougall
Just last night I tried to read a CD that I'd written about 5 years ago...
the end result was Windows hanging for about 20 mins until I killed
Explorer... now I've lost that for good :(
I still have two boxes of TRS-80 floppies in the garage... betting that none
of them will make NEWDOS/80 hang for 20 mins! ;)
Clocky
"Uncle Sam" <uncl...@hatesspam.com> wrote in message
news:iurdrm$9al$1...@dont-email.me...
> Look at this
>
> http://thegadgetfan.com/mobile-smartphones/now-a-25-computer-most-realistic-one-so-far.html
>
> For $25 you could get a complete ARM computer capable of running Android
> and/or Chromium. TRS-80 emulation would be just one of many things this
> device could do. It could come with software that would act as a media
> player (like Apple Tv), allowing you to watch Netflix on demand or other
> similar services.
>
> Radio Shack could package it and easily sell it for $100. It would
> somewhat look like a 1977 era computer but be capable of doing so much
> more.
>
> I don't think people care much about disk drives anymore. I'd rather have
> an SD card reader than a physical disk drive.
The uIEC SD drive has completely eliminated my use of real Commodore drives
on all my C64's, C64DTV and VIC20's.
Definitely the way to go IMO.
Clocky
"Mark McDougall" <msmc...@no.spam.iinet> wrote in message
news:9tydnYdAIPUg1ozT...@westnet.com.au...
> On 4/07/2011 2:37 PM, winstonsmith wrote:
>
>> Oh, they still sell them. And yes, many are readable... they appear to be
>> more reliable than CDs... and when you *do* lose a file, it is usually
>> just the one...
>
> Just last night I tried to read a CD that I'd written about 5 years ago...
> the end result was Windows hanging for about 20 mins until I killed
> Explorer... now I've lost that for good :(
>
Probably not, all my discs still read fine but some newer drives are fussy
about older media and recording and causes the effects you describe... try
another drive - I have two in my PC and if one doersn't read the disk
chances are the other will.
> I still have two boxes of TRS-80 floppies in the garage... betting that
> none of them will make NEWDOS/80 hang for 20 mins! ;)
>
3.5" disks don't seem to be as hardy as the old 5.25" ones in my experience.
Aside from physical surface damage, nothing much seems to affect 5.25"
disks. I have cut open molten warped sleeves to recover the media and placed
them in a good sleeve and recovered the data and most read fine.
james
<msmc...@no.spam.iinet> wrote:
|On 4/07/2011 2:37 PM, winstonsmith wrote:
|
|> Oh, they still sell them. And yes, many are readable... they appear to be
|> more reliable than CDs... and when you *do* lose a file, it is usually
|> just the one...
|
|Just last night I tried to read a CD that I'd written about 5 years ago...
|the end result was Windows hanging for about 20 mins until I killed
|Explorer... now I've lost that for good :(
|
|I still have two boxes of TRS-80 floppies in the garage... betting that none
|of them will make NEWDOS/80 hang for 20 mins! ;)
|
|Regards,
Mark
I seem to remeber an article I read about a year or two ago that
mentioned data retention versus burning speed. The article was saying
that the newer and higher speeds were actually resulting in less
retention time. That disks burned at slower speeds hold data longer.
I guess in the world of highpace need for speed mentality, the need
for retention was sacrificed.
james
Bootstrap Bill
"james" wrote in message news:gjon37538fipsclpp...@4ax.com...
Mark
james
------
It also depends on the brand of media you buy. I bought a bunch of generic
CD's from Fry's Electronics in the early 2000's and they didn't last four
years. Most of the surface flaked off in storage.
You get what you pay for.