Future beyond Commodore?

[Chuckt]

Is everyone content with their computers or do you have room for one more?  Is the Minimig enough?  What is after our Commodore computers stop working?

I heard about Apatco's NCS-EB50 Complete Kit w/W65C816S CPU but I don't want to stop there. 

I submitted a proof of concept of a new computer to a computer company to see if they would like it.  If it falls through, I would be stressed to build such a machine because it is something that companies do: writing Basic or other languages, writing a kernal, developing the hardware with the operating system.  I think it would take me a couple of years.

I have some ideas but if they don't think my computer idea is viable then will the users here help me in terms of putting one out?

[commodorejohn]

I'd be open to buying some kind of newly-developed computer system if it were A. inexpensive ($100-300) and B. an interesting design (i.e. something besides the various "let's make a microcontroller act like an old computer" projects.)

[RobertB]

...do you have room for one more?

In my case, it's pretty tough getting room for one more. 

Is the Minimig enough?

No Minimig here.

What is after our Commodore computers stop working?

Then I pull another one out of storage, or I turn in the current one for Ray Carlsen to fix.

              Truly,
              Robert Bernardo
              Fresno Commodore User Group
              http://videocam.net.au/fcug

[Chuckt]

I'd be open to buying some kind of newly-developed computer system if it were A. inexpensive ($100-300) and B. an interesting design (i.e. something besides the various "let's make a microcontroller act like an old computer" projects.)

It would use a 65C816 16 bit processor and only use microprocessors for video and sound because you can't get stuff like that made unless you do FPGA or buy something relaly expensive.

[Chuckt]

When you order chips in 100's or 1,000's, the price goes way down so you really are paying for freight, labor, support, returns, development, etc., because it shouldn't cost $200.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

I'd be open to buying some kind of newly-developed computer system if it were A. inexpensive ($100-300) and B. an interesting design (i.e. something besides the various "let's make a microcontroller act like an old computer" projects.)

I'm working toward something that sounds like what you describeâ€"and there's no microcontroller, just a W65C816S MPU, 128K of static RAM, a dual channel ACIA and a real-time clock.  The design has no aspirations of imitating anything.  It has been run with a 12 MHz Ø2 clock.

[Chuckt]

That board looks good.  Please, let me know if it becomes available for sale.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

That board looks good.  Please, let me know if it becomes available for sale.

Take a look at this.

[Chuckt]

That board looks good.  Please, let me know if it becomes available for sale.

Take a look at this.

It looks very in depth and more than I can do right now.  It is wonderful.


If you would like to look at what kind of computer I have in mind, please email me privately and I will show you in confidentiality what I have in mind.  There seems to be little interest, it is an expense for me and I know people aren't going to do it for me but with the help I haven't received, I may go with a more younger processor.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

There seems to be little interest, it is an expense for me and I know people aren't going to do it for me but with the help I haven't received, I may go with a more younger processor.

The W65C816S is current production, you know.    If you mean younger as in a newer design, there aren't many of those around.  Even the most recent iterations of AMD and Intel products are based upon a design that is fundamentally like that of the 80386, which was released 23 years ago.

Part of the charm of working with the 65xx family is the MPU's straight-forward design and reasonable cost.  Yes, a quad-core AMD x86-64 goes like a raped ape, but good luck trying to build a hobby around it.  You can develop a pretty powerful design around the '816, at a realistic cost and without having to invest years of study to understand it.

[Chuckt]

I'll probably have a quote on processors by Monday from WDC.

I have some experience with the C-64.  I took different languages in college and I have Jim Butterfield's books on programming the Commodore 64 in ML.  I have two books on the 6502 but I've never programmed much in ML.

I could try making a computer with a 16 bit W65C816S processor but then I think I could get an intel chip and program on it instead.  A friend suggested I should go to a Maker Faire.  I already have some beginner kits for microcontrollers but it is like starting from scratch for me with the W65C816S.

What would the Commodore 64 or 128 have been in a 16 bit version today?  It would have been more powerful, faster, have just about as much memory or more.  It would have had Basic 7.0 or greater, more character sets, maybe more colors, a hard drive and an SD card (or compact flash).  I could see a more modern one using Wii remotes.  Having a ML monitor built in would be great.  I could see using a second sid chip.  I can't buy that stuff new today so I'll have to settle on a microcontroller.  I'll probably have to buy two or three components as I expect to burn some of these components up in experimentation.

[Blacklord]

What would the Commodore 64 or 128 have been in a 16 bit version today? 

Well the C65 sorta showed what C= had planned for the family and that's something I'd like to see on a single chip computer. I'd definitely buy one.