EdgeStar SW5L 70D User Manual download pdf (Page 99)

page 98 Tandy's Little Wonder

The "Colour" Computer Down Under - Seigfred Remin

The history of the Colour Computer in Australia has been

and continues to be a checkered one. The CoCo community

here has seen the highs and lows reminiscent of a volatile

stock on the worlds stock markets.

Although Tandy introduced the Colour Computer to Austra-

lia, it could be argued that it was given its real start in this

country by Greg Wilson. Greg was instrumental in produc-

ing the first magazine dedicated to the CoCo in Australia;

The CoCo Magazine. Although it was heavily dependent on

material from The Rainbow Magazine in its infant days, it

quickly became an almost totally Australian content maga-

zine. Greg also brought into Australia the first non-Tandy

software from the USA, a move that Tandy was reluctant to

make in the early years.

The early to mid eighties could be recorded as the hey day of

the CoCo in Australia. During this time a plethora of com-

panies sprang into existence supporting what at the time was

considered the ultimate home computer and a rival to the

Commodore as a games machine. Also during this time a

great number of user groups and CoCo clubs came into

existence all over the country, some of these are still in

existence today, years later. These user groups and CoCo

clubs seemed to be made up of a different sort of computer

enthusiast. Unlike those using other machines, the CoCoists

seemed to genuinely want to help each other and were more

interested in learning about the computer than pirating the

latest software. That is not to say that an amount of pirating

did not go on, to say other wise would be a travesty, but,

compared to those clubs dedicated to the other machines, it

was insignificant.

Support for the colour computer in the eighties was phe-

nomenal. There were the user groups and CoCo clubs, The

CoCo Magazine, Softgold magazine, The Australian Rain-

bow, The (American) Rainbow, Tandy, and hundreds of

businesses ranging from chemists (drug stores in the USA)

to dedicated computer stores Australia wide.

During this time a strong bond was forged between CoCoists

not only in Australia but around the world. Letters and

articles in the various publications ensured that contact was

maintained between CoCoists in Australia, America, Europe

and numerous other countries. It was not unusual to see a

letter to the editor in an issue of Softgold asking for help

with a particular problem from someone in New Zealand or

even Holland.

The advent of the CoCo 3 further advanced the CoCo com-

munity in Australia. At last there was a comparable memory

Tid-Bits...

miscellaneous items of interest to CoCo users...

on board without more expensive add ons, and the introduc-

tion of OS-9 Level II put the CoCo ahead of the other, more

expensive machines. OS-9 also saw a great number of

programming gurus come forward and share their abilities

with the community at large. The National OS-9 User

Group in Brisbane, Queensland was formed, and is still

going today.

The mainstay of the CoCo community in Australia was The

CoCo Magazine started by Greg Wilson and then taken

over by Graham Morphett on Greg’s untimely death. In the

pages of this magazine was the contact needed by CoCoists

from the vast outback of the country with those closer to the

cities and the software and hardware vendors world wide.

The magazine gave hope and a sense of belonging to those

who were without telephones and received mail only once a

month. Content included helpful hints, reviews of the latest

soft and hard ware, and allowed users from the very young to

the most experienced to share their programming abilities.

Two things happened in the late eighties which almost saw

the death of the CoCo in Australia. One was the loss of The

CoCo Magazine produced by Graham Morphett and the

second was the discontinuing of the CoCo by Tandy. These

two events caused a large section of the CoCo community to

move to other machines or to place their CoCos in the

cupboard and forget about them for a while. It was also at this

time that the majority of the businesses which had been

supporting the CoCo decided to go to other machines or

leave the computer business.

Non-existent support resulting from these events left the

remaining CoCo community in a very precarious position.

They still used their CoCos and found more uses for them,

but were slowly being forced to lean towards other machines

as parts, software, hardware, and contact became scarce.

It was at this time that Robbie Dalzell, a member of a CoCo

club in South Australia, decided to do something about this

state of affairs and began to produce a magazine called

CoCo-Link. CoCo-Link again gave some support to the

remaining CoCo community. It maintained contact, gave

assistance to those still learning, and shared new found

knowledge amongst those who subscribed. Robbie’s maga-

zine again kept the CoCo community together for a further

period of four years. Notwithstanding the contact and sup-

port provided by the CoCo-Link magazine, software and

hardware still became increasingly harder to obtain. Those

few who still carried products in Australia charged inflated

prices which the community could not afford and those who

were producing their own software had no way of marketing

the products.

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