Line #7 Platform/ColorComputer


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trs80colorcomputer1_3858.jpg]]
2
3	The Color Computer, or [=CoCo=] to its fans, was Tandy/Radio Shack's first microcomputer not limited to a black-and-white display. When it debuted in June 1980, the TRS-80 Color Computer was the cheapest home computer that could display multiple colors, until the Commodore Platform/VIC20 came out the next year. Its output was designed to be shown on an ordinary color TV set.
4
5	The [=CoCo=] was initially co-developed by Tandy and processor manufacturer Motorola with help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the "Green Thumb" project. By using some of Motorola's chips, including a new, inexpensive color video processor, they built a teletex device aimed at farmers that could plug into a regular color TV. Using the built-in modem, farmers could get information on weather, crop prices and other useful information. A general consumer version called the "Videotex" was released, built around use with [=CompuServe=]. It was only a short step to turn the terminal into a full computer.
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7	The original Color Computer came in a silver case with a built-in chiclet keyboard, similar to the Platform/TRS80 Model I. However, despite the use of the "TRS-80" name (which Tandy phased out later in the 1980s), the [=CoCo=] was completely incompatible with software written for other TRS-80 models.[[note]]In fact, it didn't even use the Z80 CPU that gave the TRS-80 line its name in the first place. [[InNameOnly The use of the TRS-80 name was pure marketing]].[[/note]] Like many other microcomputers of the time, the [=CoCo=] could only handle uppercase letters. Graphics on the [=CoCo=] were limited to two predefined four-color palettes, one of which had neither black nor white. The [=CoCo=]'s Motorola 6809E CPU was underclocked, running slowly even by 1980 standards. TRS-80 was sometimes joked as meaning "Trash-80".
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9	The [=CoCo=]'s first two models went through several revisions each: the silver case was replaced with a white one, the keyboard acquired proper keys, memory was increased, a newer version of BASIC became available, and the "TRS-80" branding was dropped. Microware's popular Platform/{{Unix}}-like OS-9 operating system was first offered for the [=CoCo=] in 1983. The final model, the Color Computer 3, was introduced in 1986. The [=CoCo=] 3 had significantly expanded memory and could output high-resolution graphics (up to 16 simultaneous colors) or mixed-case text to a monitor. But by then, the [=CoCo=] was in decline, and Platform/IBMPersonalComputer clones, including Tandy's own [[Platform/Tandy1000 1000 series]], were becoming more popular as home computers. The [=CoCo=] still remained in production until 1991.
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11	The British Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 computers had very similar hardware to the [=CoCo=], and were advertised as being 98% compatible.
12	----
13	!!Games:
14
15	[[index]]
16	[[AC:Original Titles]]
17	* ''VideoGame/CaladurilFlameOfLight''
18	* ''VideoGame/TheCrystalCity''
19	* ''VideoGame/{{Doubleback}}''
20	* ''VideoGame/{{Downland}}''
21	* ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDaggorath''
22	* ''VideoGame/TheInterbankIncident''
23	* ''VideoGame/StellarLifeLine''
24	* ''VideoGame/{{Varloc}}''
25
26	[[AC:Ported or Concurrently Developed]]
27	* ''VideoGame/{{Arkanoid}}''
28	* ''VideoGame/{{Bedlam}}''
29	* ''VideoGame/DemonAttack''
30	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' (an unofficial ArcadePerfectPort)
31	* ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}''
32	* ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1984''
33	* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman''
34	* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry1InTheLandOfTheLoungeLizards''
35	* ''VideoGame/LunarLander''
36	* ''VideoGame/ManicMiner''
37	* ''VideoGame/PacMan'' (unofficial port)
38	* ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}} II'' (and ''VideoGame/SuperPitfall'')
39	* ''VideoGame/{{Planetfall}}''
40	* ''VideoGame/{{Pooyan}}''
41	* ''VideoGame/RaakaTu''
42	* ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}''
43	* ''VideoGame/RescueOnFractalus''
44	* ''VideoGame/RoboCop''
45	* ''VideoGame/RobotOdyssey''
46	* ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}''
47	* ''VideoGame/TheSacredArmourOfAntiriad''
48	* ''VideoGame/{{Shamus}}''
49	* ''VideoGame/{{Shanghai}}''
50	* ''VideoGame/{{Silpheed}}''
51	* ''VideoGame/{{Sokoban}}''
52	* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}''
53	* ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}}''
54	* ''VideoGame/TimeBandit''
55	* ''VideoGame/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego''
56	* ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}''
57	* ''VideoGame/{{Zork}}''
58	** ''VideoGame/{{Enchanter}}''
59	** ''VideoGame/{{Wishbringer}}''
60	[[/index]]

Context Platform / ColorComputer