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Boisy G. Pitre

CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy’s Underdog Computer 1st Edition

by Boisy G Pitre (Author), Bill Loguidice (Author)

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CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer is the first book to document the complete history of the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo), a popular 8-bit PC series from the 1980s that competed against the era's biggest names, including the Apple II, IBM PC, and Commodore 64. The book takes you inside the interesting stories and people behind this unique, underdog computer.
Both noted computer science and technology advocates, authors Pitre and Loguidice reveal the story of a pivotal period in the home computing revolution from the perspective of Tandy's CoCo. As these computers were sold in Radio Shack stores throughout the United States and other countries, they provide a critical point of reference for key events in the unprecedented evolutionary period for the PC industry in the 1980s. The book also features first-hand accounts from the people who created and promoted the CoCo, from the original Tandy executives and engineers to today's active product creators and information keepers.
The CoCo impacted many lives, and this book leaves no stone unturned in recounting this fascinating slice of the PC revolution that is still in play today. From early telecommunications experiments to engineering and budgetary challenges, it covers all the aspects that made the CoCo a truly personal, useful computing experience in as small and inexpensive a package as possible.

ISBN-10

1466592478
ISBN-13

978-1466592476
Edition

1st
Publication date

December 10, 2013
Language

English
Dimensions

6.13 x 0.46 x 9.25 inches
Print length

203 pages
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" … an extensive yet accessible history of one of the first home computers … Highly Recommended."
―CHOICE

About the Author

Boisy G. Pitre
Boisy Pitre has been an avid and passionate advocate for the Color Computer for nearly 30 years. In 1992, he joined Microware Systems Corporation, the makers of OS-9, as a software engineer, and has worked in the industry ever since. Today, he remains a part of the CoCo community, leading various open source initiatives and working with his partner Mark Marlette at Cloud-9 to provide hardware and software for the Color Computer hobbyist.

Boisy is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he obtained his Master and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. Boisy and his wife, Toni, reside in the quiet countryside of Prairie Ronde, Louisiana.

Bill Loguidice
Bill Loguidice is a critically acclaimed technology author and documentary producer, as well as co-founder and Managing Director for the online publication, Armchair Arcade. A noted videogame and computer historian and subject matter expert, Bill personally owns and maintains well over 500 different systems from the 1970s to the present day, including a large volume of associated materials.

Bill resides in Burlington, New Jersey, with his wife and regular co-author, Christina, and his three daughters, Amelie, Olivia, and Evangeline.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CRC Press; 1st edition (December 10, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 203 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1466592478
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1466592476
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.46 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #738,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #94 in Computer Graphics
- #165 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #166 in Computer Hardware Design & Architecture

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4.7 77 ratings

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Bill Loguidice
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Bill Loguidice is a critically acclaimed technology author and journalist. He is the co-founder and Managing Director for the online publications, Armchair Arcade and fullSTEAMahead365, and co-founder of creative services firm, Armchair Creative Services. He excels in the modern remote work environment, thriving in collaborations with today’s cross-functional, culturally diverse worldwide teams to get the job done right.
Bill has written for major publications like How-To Geek/Review Geek, Physician’s Weekly, Screen Rant, Lifewire, TechRadar, PC Gamer, and Ars Technica, and was an Editorial Board Member for the lifetime of The Computer Games Journal. He was also the Director of Strategy and Content for AtGames Digital Media, a leader in interactive videogame and computer entertainment experiences.
Bill is the author of the following major books: Fortnite For Dummies (2019, Wiley), Atari Flashback: The Essential Companion (2017, Prima Games), My Xbox One (2014, Que Publishing), Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time (2014, Focal Press/Taylor & Francis Group), CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy’s Underdog Computer (2013, CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group), My PlayStation Vita (2012, Que Publishing), My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE (2012, Que Publishing), Motorola ATRIX For Dummies (2011, Wiley), Wii Fitness For Dummies (2010, Wiley; making use of his AFTA personal training certification), and Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario and the Most Influential Games of All Time (2009, Focal Press; which received an Italian translation).
Bill was also a writer and producer on the 2015 LUX Digital Pictures feature film documentary on the history of videogames entitled, Gameplay: The Story of the Videogame Revolution, distributed by Gravitas Ventures and PBS.
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Boisy G. Pitre
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Boisy Gene Pitre is a computer scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, author, speaker, professional software developer, musician, computer historian, and retro-computing hobbyist. He has worked in the software industry since 1992, focusing on embedded, real-time and mobile computing. His thesis, "Compiler-Assisted Energy Reduction for Microprocessors: Measurement and Analysis" (2010), focuses on the nexus between time, space and energy optimizations for compilers. From 1992 to 2000, he was a software engineer at Microware Systems Corporation, the creators of the OS-9 operating system.
His retro-computing interests lie primarily in the home computers of the 1980's, notably the Tandy Color Computer (aka CoCo). Along with Bill Loguidice, Boisy co-authored the book ''CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer'' (2013), published by Taylor & Francis.
In 2014, he authored "Swift for Beginners" which is part of Peachpit Press' Develop and Design series of technical books. The second edition was released in 2015.
Boisy received his Bachelor and Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He resides with his wife in Prairie Ronde, Louisiana.
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Eric Crichlow

The old saying goes, “always leave them wanting more”. This book does precisely that.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is a well-crafted history of the Color Computer. In reading it I found it to evoke a surprising mixture of, “oh yeah, I had forgotten about that,” and, “wow, I never knew that.”

Having been around since the middle of the CoCo 2 era, I was present for the majority of the CoCo glory days. So it was good to read about some of the early history that pre-dated the Color Computer, as well as key points concerning the development of the CoCo 2 and the mysterious “Deluxe Color Computer”, (one of those things I had forgotten about until it was brought up.)

But most important to me was information pertaining to the development of and lifetime of the CoCo 3. The time around the announcement and release of that computer having been one of the most exciting times of my computing life, I was very-much looking forward to getting a peek behind the curtain at what went on amongst those in the know and within the walls of Tandy at that time. The book delivers. Probably the biggest, “wow, I had no idea” moment of the book for me relates to this.

With all of the expectations some of us have had knowing about the development of this book, it’s probably important to understand going in what it’s not. It is not “A History of the Color Computer Community.” While it would have been great to know “whatever happened to” some of the big names in CoCo software development, the book is very light on this, really only divulging such information about the people related to the development and selling of the hardware. It also is not, “A Detailed Look Into the Hardware Comprising the Various Color Computers.” As a software guy who knows just enough about hardware to know what to get excited over, the book delves a bit into some of the more notable hardware design issues of the CoCo models, and why some trade-offs were made. This is enough to give you an understanding of what and why the computers were, but not much more. And finally, the book is not, “The Continuing Legacy of the Color Computer.” Mention is made of modern-day efforts in CoCo hardware and software development, the online communities and the emulation scene, but almost just in passing.

What the book IS, however, is a comforting trip down memory lane, guaranteed to make you smile repeatedly if you grew up with the CoCo.

And perhaps the book is something more. Reviving these old memories, new questions emerge and old questions are remembered. Perhaps the book will serve the purpose of bringing those questions back to light such that they can be asked of the people who could answer them, and whole new chapters to this history can be discovered.

Having directly participated in some of the bigger “controversies” in the Community, I have an affinity for the conflicts that heated up over time. Some mention is made of some of them, but the book generally keeps a very positive tone. So it would be very interesting if some of the darker stories were revived and got to see the light of day.

One thing is practically certain. If you were a fan of the Color Computer during its heyday, you will almost certainly enjoy every moment you spend reading this book.

4 people found this helpful

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tcv

For me, an unsung hero...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Admittedly, I have never laid hands on a Color Computer. I may not have laid hands on any of Tandy's computers, although that strikes me as a little too simplistic. Radio Shack is as ubiquitous today as it was back in the late 1970s through the 1980s. I certainly remember going into the stores as far back as I can remember, and I can remember staring wish-fully as one does at the bright computers Tandy put in their catalogs. Alas, my wish was to own every microcomputer of the era. My friends (and parents) hitched our wagons to Commodore, however. So, the Color Computer never made it into my life.

All of that is a way to explain that I have no personal experience with the Color Computer (CoCo). I have heard of it. I have also heard the "Trash-80" slur, although that -- as I now understand it -- had very little if anything to do with the CoCo itself.

For many people of my age and my background, this is a grand time to be interested in microcomputers of days past. Whereas the history of computers, companies, and/or systems has been a genre found within any bookstore, it has been a very slim one until very recently. Each book that has come out recently allows the reader to get a real sense of what once was.

CoCo, the book, is no different. Despite my complete unfamiliarity with the line, this book gave me a world-wide tour into the past, present and -- yes, believe it or not -- future of the Color Computer. I was fascinated by the people and their stories, multiple histories brought to life, all vivid as if it were today. The authors have culled a tremendous amount of published materials and even managed to score some very nice interviews. CoCo does a wonderful job detailing the animate and the inanimate and allowing the reader a way to touch some of the enthusiasm the CoCos proponents have known all these years. You'll learn much.

Indeed, little tidbit about the Trash-80 phrase above? That is one thing among so very many that you'll find in the book.

If I have any complaints, they are terribly minor and have more to do with stylistic choices. I found myself sometimes lost in the narrative, slowly realizing that the topic had changed. The authors aren't opposed to visually signalling when a topic has changed radically, but it seemed to me that some kind of visual cue -- a blank line between two paragraphs, for instance -- would have better equipped me to understand that we're leading into something else.

But, as I said, that is minor. CoCo strikes right into your nostalgic core, pining for those heady days of the microcomputer. Whether or not you actually owned a Color Computer, you may find yourself a bit more interested in one when you finish CoCo.

4 people found this helpful

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Brian G.

Great Book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 15, 2022

Verified Purchase

As an avid old computer collector, having the backstory on this line of computers is a great addition to my collection.

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Glen VanDenBiggelaar

CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was a teenager in the 1980's and my first computer was the CoCo. While all the other 8 bit machines of the day used the 6502 CPU,the CoCo used the 6809, a far more powerful CPU. Here was the rebel, the true underdog of the day.Many people balk and say that it didn't have the graphics or the sound capabilities to match the C64, it was designed and built years before the C64 ever saw the light of day. It was truly more of a successor to the 68000 systems than any other 8 bit micro at the time.
There was really no internet back them, so you had to read magazines and the Radio Shack Catalog to keep up with what was going on with the CoCo. This book shows that there was so much more to it, From Tandy looking it at first to not much more than a toy and was shocked that people were using it for Business to the rise of the Unix like OS- OS9. To the Rainbowfest and User groups to the canceled "Deluxe Color Computer" and the last CoCo 3. This book has interviews with the people that were there from the start to the end of production and beyond. This book has so much, but it just scratches the surface and hopefully, someday there is a Vol.2 with even more interviews and revelations.
If you had a CoCo, this book is for you. If you wondered why so many people had it and loved it, this book is for you. If you grew up with a C64 and couldn't understand why the CoCo was the main competition for it, this book is for you. I couldn't put it down and read it all in 2 sittings in less than 2 days.The CoCo spirit truly lives on to this day, and this book shows you why.
When I was a teen, all I had was a 16K CoCo 1 with a tape drive, Today, I have owned at one time or another, most of the CoCo's and Peripherals- Why can't I just move on from this machine that a modern cell phone is a billion times faster? Read the book and find out. Chances are you will want to grab a CoCo and just go nuts after reading this book.

3 people found this helpful

D. Bruce Moore

Fabulous

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

A treasure trove of history on the beloved “Coco”. So, THAT’S how it happened! Thanks, Boisy, for this labour of love!

Pablo

The complete story of one of the most US popular computers.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

If during the '80s you own and enjoy a Coco, you must read this book. I enjoyed it very much....

S DAVIES

Very interesting read, only complaints being the price and ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

Very interesting read, only complaints being the price and very US centric (then again what can I expect from a US company). Also the magazine coverage is very much Rainbow only, little of the competition gets a look in which is a shame.

Schwertmeister

Ein Großartiges Buch (auf Englisch) für (Ex-) Coco Besitzer

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on June 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

Ein Großartiges Buch (auf Englisch) für (Ex-) Coco Besitzer- in dem Buch findet man viele Hintergrundgeschichten um den Coco2 herum und viele Fotos u. Screenshots aus alter Zeit. Tolles Buch, wenn man den Coco kannte und mochte!

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