The esp32 would have been a good graphics controller and would have been very cheap and simple. It would have provide VGA NTSC, PAL and wifi.
The fpga graphics controller seems like overkill to me.
Commander X16
61–70 of 116 posts
Re: Commander X16
#62>Pictured: Commander X16P concept art
clearly art https://imgur.com/Y36FUCg
Re: Commander X16
#63Something I’d buy, and that the Raspberry Pi almost might have been, is a computer running a “retro OS” (instantly boots, BASIC-like commands, direct access to hardware) on a semi-modern ARM chip with a few megs of RAM and HDMI out. That would be fun to tinker with and program for. The problem with this is that it’s so incredibly hard to do anything in 8-bit, I can’t imagine many people going to all that trouble if t…
Here you go -- exactly what you asked for. FOSS, available today.
https://www.riscosopen.org/wiki/documentation/show/Software%...
Re: Commander X16
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
AFAIK, the "instant on" aspect is a big part of the draw. Linux boot time doesn't cut it.
And it's not just Linux. A little known fact is that during startup, before running a single instruction of Linux kernel code, the Pi spends the first several seconds booting the closed source OS that runs the weird Broadcom "VideoCore". Only then does it initialize the ARM processor and start the Linux kernel.
Yup. ThreadX from Express Logic, now part of Microsoft.
Re: Commander X16
#65I'm a big retrocomputing enthusiast (in the C64 and Apple // realms) and the people doing this project are well-known in the community, but I just have trouble believing this will be successful. I don't want a computer that's kinda like a C64. I have a C64, and anyone who really likes that platform can either buy one on ebay or emulate it. A new platform that is a shadow of a platform from 40 years ago is such a nich…
8-bit guy is known for destroying rare prototypes with his lack of engineering knowledge
https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1309664882283950081
https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/izuswa...
Re: Commander X16
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought the Foenix was canceled. We had a discussion about it the last time the Commander X16 came up: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23801266
Yes, I thought so too, and I also thought it sounded like a shame because the tiny scraps of information I'd heard sounded good. But there's no info about it on that website. Is there anywhere that I can read about design, specs etc?
Stefany's YouTube channel has some additional info: https://www.youtube.com/user/SerasChronicles/videos
I vaguely remember an announcement video there where she discusses the sunsetting process of the project, delivering what was built, etc. But either there has been a change or I'm mistaken.
Re: Commander X16
#67I'm a big retrocomputing enthusiast (in the C64 and Apple // realms) and the people doing this project are well-known in the community, but I just have trouble believing this will be successful. I don't want a computer that's kinda like a C64. I have a C64, and anyone who really likes that platform can either buy one on ebay or emulate it. A new platform that is a shadow of a platform from 40 years ago is such a nich…
8-bit guy is known for destroying rare prototypes with his lack of engineering knowledge https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1309664882283950081 https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/izuswa...
calling someone a sociopath over making a mistake that affects only an inanimate object that was already defective is maybe a bit of an overreaction
Re: Commander X16
#68I'm a big retrocomputing enthusiast (in the C64 and Apple // realms) and the people doing this project are well-known in the community, but I just have trouble believing this will be successful. I don't want a computer that's kinda like a C64. I have a C64, and anyone who really likes that platform can either buy one on ebay or emulate it. A new platform that is a shadow of a platform from 40 years ago is such a nich…
I think part of the excitement over real hardware is the potential that clever programmers can find ways to get more out of the hardware than it was designed for as in the real 8-bit era. While I think things like Pico-8 are interesting, there really isn't the possibility for things like new graphics modes that weren't programmed in by its creator the way real hardware can surprise you.
"Hey, Retro-8 owners! I got a new hack for you — burn this new image onto your FPGA to get a dual-core 6502 that supports 32-bit addressing!"
Yeah, not the same appeal.
Re: Commander X16
#69> Multiple output formats (VGA, NTSC Composite, NTSC S-Video, RGB video) at a fixed resolution of 640x480@60Hz Hmm. Please HDMI? Please wide screen? (I mean 853x480 or even 426x240 not 1080p). I don't see the retro monitor this is supposed to be paired with for sale.
Agree with HDMI. But you can get plenty of new 4:3 aspect ratio displays — primarily meant for security cameras, backup cameras and the like.
Re: Commander X16
#70When David Murray (8-bit-guy) first announced his 'dream computer' I was quite excited. His early descriptions were akin to something like a C128 but with more colours, faster CPU and modern connections, all in a single case, like the C128(not D) or C64. Plug into a screen or TV and just 'go'. Somewhere along the way serious scope-creep happened, and now we've got something that looks and feels just like a mini-ITX D…
Where did it lose the retro vibe for you? I see a board with very few simple chips where you could reasonably understand the whole system top to bottom. The hardware is still very limited.
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