Commander X16 2023 update

[BruceRMcF]

Even worse, since the YM2151 and its DAC is a set, and if you cannot assume that the YM2151 is available you cannot assume that its dedicated DAC is available, so you couldn't just bring out digital outputs from the FPGA, you'd need to do a DAC on the daughterboard so now you are sending the YM analog audio lines through to the mixer on bodge wires so somewhere on the audio out traces from the OPM's DAC.

There's no reason to do that. VERA already has a DAC. An FM VERA would just make use of that.

At the very least, this means rolling back the recently added option to send the FM and PSG signals separately to be mixed by an external mixer under I2C control.

I don't know whether that is a drop dead problem, but it's an issue that comes up if the idea comes up to hunt around for an FPGA with enough logic resources and also with 1MBit of RAM of some sort (in addition to the other memory resources needed for the PCM queue).

After all, this is Dave's dream computer, not mine, and in addition to being the 8-bit Guy, he's also the 8-bit Keys guy.

[Cyber]

Why does "Chicken Lips" come up so often here? I never heard the term before, only in the context of the CX16

"Chicken lips" is a popular way to describe the Commodore logo:

Commodore-logo.png (6.39 KiB) Viewed 8670 times

Also there was an April Fools joke video about X16 and Chicken lips:

[grml]

"Chicken lips" is a popular way to describe the Commodore logo:

Oh alright, thanks for filling that gap for me.

[bicyclesonthemoon]

In the video they say, that soon it will be possible to buy from "texelec".
But I didn't understand where and how this will be announced.
Will the announcement be reposted to this forum?
I'm afraid to miss the announcement.

[BruceRMcF]

In the video they say, that soon it will be possible to buy from "texelec".

But I didn't understand where and how this will be announced.

Will the announcement be reposted to this forum?

I'm afraid to miss the announcement.

It seems likely that the announcement will be on both Facebook and also in a video on the 8bit guy video channel.

However, the thing is, there are people who are members of this community who chat regularly on the community discord. No matter WHERE the announcement appears, there is absolutely no way that they will ALL miss the announcement!

So, yes, I think we can be very confident that it's going to get reposted on this forum.

[ahenry3068]

VISA is ready.............................lol.................

[voidstar]

Exciting stuff !

IMO this "launch" kind of needs to be low-key. What I mean is, the initial focus of the "Developer edition" (as I understand it) is it needs to be sold (mainly) to developers -- folks who can write manuals or develop software or peripherals and work out the "usability-kinks" of this system. This in turn should make it more enjoyable for non-technical or non-developers who would come next.

[ I had this experience with the AgonLight2 - yes, it was only $50, but my young nephews couldn't stomach going through github to figure out how to do anything with it {such as how to load BASIC, since it's not actually built in} - and we also went through 9 USB keyboards till we found one that actually worked with it ].


I'm somewhat concerned a very public launch could get rushed by non-developers, who either then just set the system on a shelf or make it difficult for developers to obtain. Or worse, folks review and complain how there are no proper manuals or software or some odd-yet-to-be-found issue -- which is precisely what this initial Developer edition is trying to address.

But I suppose the price of the Developer edition should help solve some of this concern. Before the $600 Altair 8800, Intel sold a similar development kit called the Intellec/8 over a year earlier for ~$7000 (the price reflects more than just parts and time - the time Intel spent making those kits was time NOT making already-profitable memory products - but for that price, Intel did also include development tools like compilers and lots of technical docs).

[BruceRMcF]

Exciting stuff !

IMO this "launch" kind of needs to be low-key. What I mean is, the initial focus of the "Developer edition" (as I understand it) is it needs to be sold (mainly) to developers -- folks who can write manuals or develop software or peripherals and work out the "usability-kinks" of this system. This in turn should make it more enjoyable for non-technical or non-developers who would come next.

[ I had this experience with the AgonLight2 - yes, it was only $50, but my young nephews couldn't stomach going through github to figure out how to do anything with it {such as how to load BASIC, since it's not actually built in} - and we also went through 9 USB keyboards till we found one that actually worked with it ].

Though note that there's has been a much more robust software development ecosystem for the X16, so there's a number of X16-exclusive games and other software plus ports of existing software ready to go.

Plus there's 1,000 keyboards sitting in David's garage, ready to go.

I'm somewhat concerned a very public launch could get rushed by non-developers, who either then just set the system on a shelf or make it difficult for developers to obtain. Or worse, folks review and complain how there are no proper manuals or software or some odd-yet-to-be-found issue -- which is precisely what this initial Developer edition is trying to address.

The odd-yet-to-be-found issue is one thing this "beta pre-release" of just shy of 100 would be hoping to find out.

I expect the release won't be seen as "low key" until we see the hype for the X16console, aka "Gen2", and then we'll see that the first Dev board public release was a little low key by comparison.

[ahenry3068]

My approach has been to put a link to TEXELEC on my Home screen and check it a minimum
of 3 times a day.....