Category: TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo)
NOTE: If what I describe in this article applies to other implementations of BASICs that use reserved string space, please leave a comment and let me know. I was in junior high school when I started learning to program BASIC. Initially, this was done by reading a book a classmate had and then writing programs out on paper. We’d then…
The most famous Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer (“CoCo”) easter egg has to be the hidden photo of the CoCo 3 programmers that shows up if you hold down CTRL-ALT while turning the machine on. (Alternatively, you can hold down CTRL-ALT and hit the reset button on the back of the machine to also display it.) I had the pleasure of…
Although I started out my home computer life with a Commodore VIC-20, I ended up moving to a 64K Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer (“CoCo”) mostly because of its Microsoft Extended BASIC. Having built-in commands like PLAY, DRAW, PAINT, LINE and CIRCLE let me do graphics that anyone with an Extended BASIC CoCo could run. On my VIC-20, I had…
RetroRGB is THE portal to learn all about how to get the picture the best way out of such retro consoles to your modern TVs! Robert Neal is the master behind behind this portal which is the go-to address for console info of all kind as well, thanks to its extensive Wiki which is a whole database, YouTube videos, podcast…
(Article partially reproduced from trs8bit newsletter) This year’s competition centred on the popular Wordle 5-letter word guessing game. There were two ways to enter: write a version of Wordle for your favourite TRS-80 (the “Beauty” section) or show us how well the Wordle dictionary and answer list can be compressed (“Beast” section). Before getting into the winners, I’d like to…
Previously, I shared my discovery that the new ChatGPT artificial intelligence program had some understanding of programming languages such as C, BASIC and even COBOL. In the days since that discovery, I have continued to experiment with this technology and have found it to be quite useful. It has already helped me with my day job. It was able to…
CoCoBan is a self-discovery action puzzle game derived from Sokoban and Picoban with a few added twists. Use the keyboard to push or pick up objects to make your way to the green emerald goal. Game progress is automatically saved to disk when you advance a level. Be sure to turn up the volume to hear the sound effects! CoCoBan…
I think I missed the memo when version 1.0 of XRoar came out back in November 2021. I knew the emulator for many years and since I am a macOS user, it was always a good choice for me to emulate the CoCo 2, since, from my knowledge, it emulates the Dragon and CoCo 1 and 2. Because I am…
I got my first computer when I was 13 years old, and it was a JR Sysdata, a TRS-80 Model I clone. I loved that machine and learned a lot from it, but as soon I saw the CP-400 advertisements with its silver fancy design and all those colors, I started the campaign to upgrade to one as soon as…
The Retro Hour podcast, although it has most of its focus on retro gaming news and interviews, it also covers, from time to time, different technologies from the old days. I guess on could say that one of the advantages of being a very professional and well-known podcast (well-deserved btw) is the ability to attract very important guests, usually figures…
