I think that a 68000 would be slow enough to allow modern processors to emulate. There probably are several console emulators using it already, so a lot of code may exist to emulate the chip itself on a X86 chip.

“What about the 6809?” I would think that the 68000 could be used under OS9/K, and then the 6809 could be emulated, which might seem slow, but perhaps the 20MHZ 68000 could emulate the 1.86 mhz 6809.

The 6809 code could be launched using an emulation layer, in the same way Rosetta emulates the PowerPC in the ’86 Mac. Perhaps the emulator could be written as a OS9 device driver.

Admittedly OS9′s disk handing was richer than DEB, so, additionally, all the DEB software could be stored on OS9 virtual HD’s.

The OS9 people would be able to access 16MB of physical memory. In keeping with the CC3, OS9 could deal memory out in 8KB blocks. The emulation would run 16 bit code, at a 20mhz speed, with a hardware divide and everything.

Perhaps all the virtual ports could be USB, keyboard, printer, ect. For disk operation, USB Flash drives, and USB floppies could be emulated. The emulator will boot from virtual USB devices. Eliminating the multipak emulation.

For sound, a sound-blaster chip could be emulated with stereo in’s and outs. The could be added through virtual USB.

[Perhaps a Fat32 disk driver could be made in OS9.]

For video, I could think that 640×480, true color, VGA would be a good place to start.

I would think that it would take 2 teams, one working on the emulator, and another reworking OS9 to work on 68000, if OSK could not be used.

So it’s a 16 bit 20Mhz processor with 16mb memory. It has, 8-16 simulated USB ports; 2 Drives, 1 Keyboard, 1 mouse, sound, printer, and extras.

It seems like something that could be made in hardware for $300, dosen’t it? There are versions of the 68000, that take very little power.

First of all, the name of the project is V.R. CoCo 4. The V.R. stands for Virtual Reality, not reality. (Not a real CoCo 4.) This is a SIMULATION of a CoCo 4 could be.

Why a simulation?

Costs. It would cost too much money ($1,000′s) to make real CoCo 4 for the small quantities that the market could support.

Why do this project in the first place?

First, our race of CoCos are facing extinction. Without new CoCos being manufactured to replace the ones that fail, they soon will be gone. A simulation running on another (modern) computer will keep the CoCo environment alive.

The other point, why limit the simulation to a CoCo 3?

We can fix the simi-graphics 24 bug in the CoCo 3 so it all coco 1&2 games work on the V.R. CoCo 4. What about adding the two missing bits from both the Memory Management Unit and the Color Palette Registers? This will give us for 2 Megabytes of Memory and 256 colors in place of 64 color palette. There are just a few of the quick fixes that could be done.

Why not expand the simulation to include the capabilities of modern computer?

Let’s take advantage of the modern computer’s hardware like hard drives, flash memory, Networks, Mouse, Keyboard and much more. There will be backwards compatibility so the new hardware devices can be used by old software. But let’s not forget about new software taking full advantage of the hardware. Let’s create a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) for a standardize software interface.

What about those that like to do a little hardware hacking?

There are many USB to I/O ports interfaces on the market and it would be easy (via the BIOS) to use them under DECB or OS-9. Yes, you heard right, you can make the V.R CoCo 4 talk to the outside world in a way a real CoCo never could (without extra hardware.)

While most will run the V.R. CoCo 4 on their PC (Windows, Linux) or Mac. You could put hardware like a PC-104 or Micro form-factor PC motherboard inside an old CoCo case. These board are so small that there is also room for other hardware like a hard drive, power supply and small AT Keyboard too. For all those people that want a easy to carry “all-in-one” computer with a build in monitor, just use a laptop computer.

Let’s get back working on what the V.R. CoCo could be and stop talking about what it is not. We all know that it won’t be the end all “CoCo 4″ but then again, it’s a V.R. CoCo 4.

Steve “6809er” Bjork

For years, many of us in the CoCo community have talk about what we love to see in the next version of the Color Computer. But the sad true is that Tandy stopped the CoCo line of computers almost 20 years ago so there is no hope of a true CoCo 4.

In the past two decades we’ve seen PC and Mac system become so advance that they can emulate a CoCo 3 system with plenty of power left over. And why not used the extra power emulate a more powerful CoCo? That is the cornerstone of the V.R. CoCo 4 Project.

Why not make a real CoCo 4?

The bottom line is cost. While the PC can sell for less than $500 because of the large production runs, a small production run computer like a CoCo 4 with just be too costly.

What about adding new hardware to the CoCo3?

Third-party CoCo companies have done a great job expanding the CoCo with new hardware. Cloud-9′s Super IDE Interface and soon to released Super-Board are great examples of products that add new features. (I too have a deposit on the Super-Board.) But they do not take the CoCo to the next level.

By using software only we hope to create a Virtual Reality (V.R.) CoCo 4 that runs on a PC (via Windows or Linux), Mac and possible other systems. This will let use already existing hardware that most users already have or could get for nearly free.

What we are hoping to create.

This is not a hardware project! The goal of the project is to create the next level of a CoCo but only in software via an emulator. Some of the features of the V.R. CoCo 4 will be:

6309 with faster speed: CPU speed is selectable from .89 MHz, 1.78 MHZ, 3.58 MHZ and 7.12 MHz. (The higher speeds maybe limits by the Target System’s CPU speed.)

More Memory: 128k, 512k and 2,048k RAM modes.

The following hardware additions are driven by commands sent from the CoCo to the V.R. System. The interface logic to be defined later. (Undefine instructions, Hardware ports and/or software Interrupts.)

V.R. Memory: 256 MB or more of ram for use by the V.R. “hardware” additions.

High-resolution Raster Graphics system with 320 by 224, 640 by 480, 800 by 600 and 1024 by 764 in 256, 6,565,536 16,777,216 color modes with hardware assist from the target system. The 256 color mode will use color palette registers with the other color modes based on direct (16 or 24 bit) color.

Game Graphic system with Sprites and 4 Char (scrolling) Map screens. The above raster graphics system in 320 or 640 (256 colors) modes can be use as the background screen too.

Sound System: A software DSP for wave out to create sound and music.

V.R. Printer Interface system: A number of old printers from the days when the CoCo was first produced will be emulated so old programs will still print. Additional V.R. CoCo printers with be created to help new program take advantage of modern printer capabilities.

A Math FPU for fast fix and floating point calculations including matrix transformation. (3-D math.)

V.R. BIOS Standard I/O and control system for the new V.R. system. The V.R. system interface with all the I/O ports of a modern computer including the RS-232, Printer Port, USB and Network protocols. These calls will be used by OS-9 via drivers or by the new V.R. Micro O.S. for non-OS-9 games and programs. This would also handle I/O functions of the V.R. Memory system. (Loading and saving of V.R. data and more.)

This is not by any means the limit to the VR CoCo 4 project. (Just a starting point for discussion.)

What are your ideas on the project?

Fast forward to today: emulation and the virtual creation of older computers has reached a point in modern computing that the design of such virtual vintage systems raises confusion and deep questions. At what point does a CoCo (or any other vintage computer) become just a PC with an emulator? What truly makes a computer unique and special with a sense of identity?

[b:4a28514c0b]What Makes A CoCo?[/b:4a28514c0b]
Ask any Color Computer user this question, and a variety of responses can be expected, but all would agree that what makes a CoCo a CoCo is a combination of several factors:
the exterior: the case, keyboard, ports and general layout
the interior: the motherboard and all of the chips/parts that make it up
The unique combination of common integrated circuits, along with special chips like the GIME and the stylized case make a Color Computer what it is. Years of using this oddly shaped computer known as the CoCo has created a bond that endears us to this hunk of plastic and metal.

So if there is a soul to a CoCo, it is embodied by its design, its look and its feel.

[b:4a28514c0b]Can There Be A CoCo 4?[/b:4a28514c0b]
In name, there will probably never be a CoCo 4. The Color Computer was a creation of Tandy and sold through Radio Shack Corporation. The relationship between the CoCo and its progenitor is a connection that is embedded in the brains of all Color Computer owners. It is historically significant and a part of the CoCo’s legacy that cannot be changed.

If Tandy were to somehow miraculously decide to create a new CoCo, then it would be fair to consider that the CoCo 4 could exist. However, the likelihood of that happening is very close to nil.

In spirit, there can be something akin to a CoCo 4. The idea of a community coming together to design what they wish they had in a successive CoCo, but never got the chance to make, could be the foundation for a new and unique computing system. This new ideal could be a computer which would retain compatibility with the CoCo 3, yet gently but firmly push the envelope in ways that would enhance the user’s experience and still keep it a CoCo experience.

[b:4a28514c0b]Does a PC emulating a CoCo make the PC a CoCo?[/b:4a28514c0b]
No. A PC emulating a CoCo does not make that PC a CoCo, no more than a pauper pretending to be a rich man makes him rich. The CoCo exists in reality as a product born solely of Tandy. Emulating something that already exists is simply that: emulating it.

[b:4a28514c0b]What About Emulating a CoCo successor?[/b:4a28514c0b]
The answer is not so cut and dried here. Much like the GIME made the CoCo 3 what it was, could an x86 based chip running a low level operating system and the MESS emulator become the heart and soul of a so-called CoCo 4?
Emulation is emulation only if it emulates something that exists. The CoCo 3 exists, so hence it can be emulated. The CoCo 4 does not exist; hence, it is reasonable to conclude that a PC configured to be a CoCo 4 could indeed be thought of as a real CoCo 4.

It takes some time to get used to this way of thinking, but if you abstract out the fact that an Intel (or AMD, or whatever) processor is under the hood, and think of that as the fabric of the whole computer, just like the GIME or the 6809 is the fabric of the CoCo 3, then it is easier to picture. The computer is the sum of is parts, not just the individual parts themselves.

An x86 emulating a Hitachi 6309 is, from a purely physical point of view, no different than a real 6309. Both are made of silicon, both have conductive paths and transistors. The difference is the make up and organization of each chip. Programming an x86 to act like a Hitachi 6309 could be akin to a PAL being programmed with specific equations for a specific application. Even the Hitachi 6309 is a microcoded microprocessor, meaning that it has some internal programming to maintain flexibility.

We still think of it as a 6309.

It is easy to become hung-up on identities of specific chips, and no doubt, the lack of love for the Intel architecture may keep many CoCo users from seeing the abstract beauty of this chip as a basis for a CoCo 4. However, there is no denying that the scaling up of power in modern computer processors has provided ample room for them to morph into whatever creative minds can comprehend.

This type of power and flexibility wasn’t at everyone’s fingertips 20 years ago when the CoCo 3 was introduced. Today, this power is everywhere, and it opens the doors for all sorts of creations.

[b:4a28514c0b]Is Emulation An Artificial Experience?[/b:4a28514c0b]
As pointed out earlier, emulation can be found at the hardware level and has been around in some form for a long time. How close one is to the levels of abstraction that make up a product will change the view that that person has to what is being considered. For the engineers of the CoCo 3, they probably did not see a lovable, easy to use computer that would win the hearts of thousands, nearly as much as they saw a collection of ICs, capacitors, resistors, and other parts.

In much the same way, the builders of a CoCo 4 will see the creation of such a computer as a collection of hardware and software which will come together to create a unique system. Whether or not this new machine will have the same appeal as the Color Computer is to be seen, but it is not likely. That’s because the CoCo 4, as an emulated system, could conceivably be run on any PC with minimum hardware requirements. Gone is the small hardshell plastic case and unique keyboard. There is no unique external identity which marks a computer as a CoCo 4.

And that is probably the sense of loss that any CoCo 4 would experience at the hands of its user. The idea of a CoCo in the sense of what Tandy gave us is probably gone forever. That idea is replaced by a newer, more modern version of what a CoCo successor can be: a mostly software invention that pulls together the collaboration of many people to make it what it is. That is truly the empowerment of technology that was unattainable in the days of the original Color Computer.[b:4a28514c0b][/b:4a28514c0b][b:4a28514c0b][/b:4a28514c0b][b:4a28514c0b][/b:4a28514c0b]