Tandy's Little Wonder (1993)(Farna Systems).pdf - TRS-80 Color ...

system by marketing Steve Odneal’s conversion which, atthe time, utilized the Exatron disk system. In an attempt topacify software reviewers who had been waiting for the longoverdue Super Color Writer, Nelson shipped their SuperColor Terminal. Magazine articles at this time includeShawn McClenahan’s detailed instruction on various 64Kupgrades, a non-Kitsz hardware project for those of us whowere tired of constantly switching the modem and printercables from the back of the CoCo, and Frank Hogg’s articleon moving ROM to RAM in your "new" 64K CoCo. Perhapsin light of February’s information flood, both CoCo publicationsseemed to have had a lack-luster March issue. If I hearabout the double-speed poke one more time, I’m going toscream!!!!!!With 2 FLEX operating systems available for the CoCo,Microware started looking into the possibility of portingits OS-9 operating system. Meanwhile, Dale Puckett’sarticle "FLEX Comes To The Color Computer" along withthe first installation of Frank Hogg’s column "64K Korner"appeared in the April issue of CCN, marking their increasedFLEX coverage. Clay Abrams’ article, "Amateur Radio andthe TRS-80 Color Computer", dealt with the reception ofSSTV pictures. Wonderful information for ham operators,but it seemed like all the useful utility listings that had cometo be expected from CCN were starting to disappear.The Rainbow, which by April had grown to 52 pages,contained the first part of Dennis Lewandowski’s columncalled "The Assembly Corner", plus Rainbow On Tape.Telewriter’s disk version was being marketed by this timealong with several other new CoCo products, such as HUM-BUG, a machine language monitor program from Star-Kits,various software from Prickly-Pear Software, Auto Runfrom Sugar Software, The Solution (the first hi-res screenutility) from Snake Mountain Software, and NANOS Systemsreference card.Wayne Green must have freaked out when, in May, Tandyopened a 100,000 square foot plant in Fort Worth specificallyto build Color Computers. Several New Jersey schoolsalso started using the machine at this time. Seems likeeverywhere Wayne Green looks, there are CoCos (dieing ofneglect, no doubt)!CCN celebrated its first year anniversary with apologiesfrom Bill Sias about the "double" issue but, said it was neededto get back on schedule. While still a source of valuableinformation, the number of good articles and programsseemed to be declining.Some CoCo firsts in May included an EPROM burner fromComputer Accessories, Disk Doctor from SuperiorGraphics, Spell ‘N Fix from Star-Kits, and the first BA-SIC Compiler from Aardvark. Spectrum Projects debutedas Bob Rosen dropped the name Connection-80. Andfinally, a review of Super Color Writer from Nelson.The first national CoCo Users Group was inaugurated inJune when CompuServe started it’s Color Computer SIGwith a membership of 52 and Wayne Day as sysop. 80Micro ran an interesting biography about Bob Rosen andhis Connection-80 BBS. Thanks for the plug, Bob! Newlyintroduced CoCo support included Micro Technical Products’LCA-47 lowercase kit (the first kit featuring switchselectable inverse screen), and the Rainbow Seal of Certification.Started by The Rainbow magazine, certificationinsures that the product does, in fact, exist. John Walco’s 3part article on picking winning NFL teams with the CoCobegan but, unfortunately, there would be no winners that yearbecause the NFL went on strike.Was it my imagination, or were both Color Computermagazines getting stale? Due, perhaps, to the sudden abundanceof CoCo information in the second year, both appearedto be getting a bit thin.THE THIRD YEAR (Jul '82 - Jun '83)Despite rumors of its demise, the COCO celebrated its thirdbirthday in fine health. With year 1 shrouded in mystery, andyear 2 producing tons of information and software, whatcould we expect from year three?.. ARCADE GAMES andHARDWARE!First shown at the West Coast Computer Fair in February,George Associates’ CoCo CP/M expansion unit hit themarket in July. Although it looked impressive, who wasgoing to drop $1200.00 to upgrade a CoCo? Did anyone outthere buy one of these??In July, in "the best get better" department, The MicroWorks unveiled its disk based editor/assembler, MACRO-80C. Tony DiStefano’s first "Color Clinic" column in 68Micro explained why some CoCos would not accept thedouble-speed poke, and Donald J. Sommer of Seattle,Washington, detailed the steps required to upgrade a pre E-board CoCo to 64K. CCN continued putting more emphasison FLEX, OS-9, and other CoCo operating systems but,features Darrel Wright’s utility to convert Telewriter textfiles from binary to ASCII and vice-versa, and some picturestaken at a Cincinnati TRS-80 users meeting. Plans weredisclosed to offer CCN on Tape and winners of the firstCCN programming contest were announced. They were: J.Ventling for the George C. Scott portrait, Garry Howard forthe William Tell Overture, and Regena’s Cookie File program.The Rainbow’s first anniversary issue was a beauty!!Featuring its first full-color cover and typeset copy throughout,it’s hard to believe that it started out in a drugstore a yearago. Rumors circulate that the 4K CoCo will be discontinuedand a 64K version will be introduced in the near future.The first CoCo hardware to reach the market in Augustincluded F&D Associates’ EPROM board, Color Portfrom Maple Leaf Systems, Botek Instruments’ serial toparallel printer interface, plus Shawn McClenahan’s ar-Tandy's Little Wonder page 11