The Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer was known to be called "coco" (Color Computer) by its users. It uses its own version of BASIC, "Tandy Color BASIC" instead of the world famous Microsoft BASIC.
More information about the various Tandy Color BASIC versions from Lee Veal
:
In reality, the 'dialects' of BASIC on all versions of the TRS-80 Color Computer 1s & 2s were written by Microsoft for Tandy. That includes Color BASIC (CB), Extended Color BASIC (ECB) and Disk Extended Color BASIC (DECB).
In fact, with very few modifcations, BASIC programs from an IBM-PC or compatible using Microsoft BASIC could run on a CoCo and vice versa. (The way I know that is that I did it. Some were quite complex graphics oriented programs.)
Within one-half K of the beginning the Color BASIC ROM address, there's a character string that reads "COLOR BASIC 1.0(C) 1980 TANDYMICROSOFT". When you fire up a CoCo 1 that has only the Color BASIC ROM, you'll see on the screen
COLOR BASIC 1.0
(C) 1980 TANDY
The authors of Tandy's Color BASIC (Microsoft) left their name in the code, but they left it off the opening display.
Subsequent levels of CoCo BASIC (Extended CB and Disk Extended CB) had Microsoft prominently displayed in the opening display. Thus, Color BASIC was quite compatible for obvious reasons with the BASIC that Microsoft develped for the PC. Extended and Disk Extended versions of CoCo BASIC were even more compatible with Microsoft's BASIC for the PC.
On the other hand, the BASIC dialects contained in computers like the Commodore-64, TI-994A, etc were quite incompatible with any version of Microsoft BASIC.
The BASIC developed by Microware (the developers of the OS-9 operating system and originally Tandy's first choice of a BASIC developer), called BASIC09, was NOT compatible with Microsoft BASIC. BASIC09 is and was a powerful language that compiled to intermediate code but it is more akin to Pascal then BASIC.
HAVE ONE WITH BOX AND ALL. DO NOT NEED. SOMEONE MAY LIKE TO HAVE IT....CHECK OUT MY ART SITE FOR E-MAIL....RICHARDFMAGIN.ARTISTWEBSITES.COM
Friday 3rd February 2012
RICHARD MAGIN (USA)
People, I have to tell you, if you''re going to learn a computer language that has extreme versatility, over and above even any of the C deviations, you MUST learn Extended Color Basic (including Basic)... add to this the inter-machine compatibility of the 6809 Machine-code language via the ''USR'' command in BASIC or the ''DEFUSR'' command in Extended Color Basic and things all of a sudden take on a very Dossy aspect. Of course then there was the progression to Deskmate which seemed to be an earlier version of Windows... however, time ticks on and now that it seems there never will be that IBM/Tandy merger I heard about on the bit-bangers grape-vine back in t'' eighties, seems like all I got to look forward to is someone who''ll adapt Extended Color Basic Boot n ROM to x86 and I''ll be convinced the world is going the right way again... regards
Thursday 22nd December 2011
johng (Australia)
Wow! I started researching ubuntu on wikipedia and ended up reminscing here like the rest of you how I got my start in computers.
At school I got excelled math classes and learned Basic on the U of M''s mainframe (even though I was only in 7th grade, mind you) and the next year bought my first TRS-80 CoCo after saving my 3 paper route monies for a year just to get the computer. Took me more years to buy the disk $ controller, then printer and speech card.
It is so funny and cool to see so many other people reminscing about their past CoCo''s. I built the single transistor driver provided in Rainbow magazine so I could use a reall greenscreen monitor for BBSing purposes which were very active here. Yes, Rainbow was a pricey magazine for its time. I met hundreds of local techies that way. Went to a couple of CoCo meetings where guys had ''supercharged'' their comps with 10 meg hds which was almost unfathomable at the time
What''s sad is not too long ago I moved and threw some of my equipment out because until this minute I never knew there existed this kind of support for it. A friend gave me a few more and I bought another one which had a custom ram bank to 512K which ran so hot it was mounted by the previous guy ON TOP of the grey case to help keep it cool. During hot weather I babied it by putting a small fan on low to run over it and it still worked last I disconnected it.
Too bad I threw away so many magazines, maybe the multipak and all kinds of other items. But you can''t store everything forever you know. I''ve got enough of my dad and his dad''s tools I keep derusting and sharp to prove that....Stanley Saws and planes and a that go back to their first house built near Staten Island when they immigrated in 1911 or so. I still use some of them, too.
Well, I''m digressing but reading all of your messages is really bringing back memories and that I should go through that stuff and see what I have and maybe even try to put it to use as a security system or home automation center with the X-10 units or find some use for it. It was an incredible machine for its day.
Coincidentally enough the movie WARGAMES is playing and that is bringing back memories, too. I spent a lot of hours programming back then. And conquering the Tape Game Madness and the Minotaur before I got a few of the cartridges.
If it''d be possible to link it to this computer it might be worth putzing with. I always wondered if this would make the ideal solar powered computer due to its easy, and minimal, voltage requirements. With no inverters needed.
Soon I have to move all of that stuff to another, smaller, more compact storage space. I''ll have a chance to go through it then. I always had bad luck with the printers.
Actually my mother would probably be more comfortable using it as a WP than any IBM machine. Any suggestions what printer might work well with it? Quiet a must. My DMP-250 was so noisy I soldered together an extension cord using a 25 foot telephone cord for the serial port connector and bought the connectors from RS. Then I put the DMP-250 on another floor in the closet. Making paper, for school reports and papers, was one of the most important things back then. Now we''re trying to go paperlless! LOL
Sunday 4th July 2010
The_Biking_Viking (Minnesota)
NAME
Color Computer
MANUFACTURER
Tandy Radio Shack
TYPE
Home Computer
ORIGIN
U.S.A.
YEAR
1980
BUILT IN LANGUAGE
Tandy (Microsoft) BASIC interpreter
KEYBOARD
QWERTY, calculator type keyboard
CPU
Motorola 6809 E
SPEED
0.895 MHz (or 1.79 MHz)
RAM
4 KB (up to 64 KB)
ROM
8 KB
TEXT MODES
max : 16 x 32, min : 16 x 8
GRAPHIC MODES
Several graphic modes, max : 256 x 192 (with 2 colors)
COLOrsc
9
SOUND
1 voice
SIZE / WEIGHT
36.9 (W) x 34.4 (D) x 9.4 (H) cm
I/O PORTS
Tape, RGB, Joystick (2), Monitor, Cardridge, Serial RS232
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