Commodore Free 8/Commodore_Free_Issue_08_2007_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/t.c64 mark 2

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 7KB | 234 lines

uC64 Mark 2 A dream vision of a C=
future

I had a dream, nothing unusual about
that; but this was a C= dream & in it I
thought about C= making a comeback & I
was Product Development manager of C=.

C= had assigned me the task of bringing
back the C64 not in its old version but
in a format to sell in 2007+. I had a
large budget & asked NOT to spend it
all since some will be for marketing;
my first thought was to contact Jeri
Ellsworth to use DTV components & work
she did on C-1 & DTV. Also wanted her
to work on C64 as a full time employee.

I managed to convince her that C= was
back to stay. Next lawyers were called
to check paperwork. Eventually
documents were signed, resigned
amended, copied, faxed, lost, signed
resigned ...

I wanted to use FPGA logic in the new
C64 & so the design finally started to
take shape. The shape was a laptop. We
contacted the designer of Picco 64,
Jason & offered him a job at C=

Looked at various off shelf components,
searched sites for H/W to use with
minimal changes & little cost in the
laptop. Why should we reinvent the
wheel when someone had a wheel design
they were selling.

A quick way to extend the design was to
purchase CMD from Maurice Randall of
www.cmdrkey.com He had rights to CMD
products & produces hardware in spare
time. We asked for a price for
everything CMD including S/W & H/W.
After talks & showing cash Maurice
agreed to a reasonable amount. Paid him
& looked at our inventory. Of course C=
directors were unhappy as money was
dwindling & we only a pile of chips &
some paper to show for efforts; & the 4
or 5 C64 bought from eBay we used to
test various applications, ok we were
playing games but thats a form of
testing!

C= suits demanded a progress report; &
expected a full redesigned machine in 3
weeks We decided on a Mobile of Pigs
Flying for presentation & for above the
door.

In true C= style we made a prototype of
wood, & managed to bluff thru a
presentation. Suits being businessmen &
not H/W or computer buffs were bluffed;
& happy the money was being spent
wisely. I was worried I may be sacked,
or even worse I may wake up.

Concentrated our efforts trying to make
money, since we had spent what C= had
supplied & had nothing but a
presentation to show for efforts. Now
in process of saving we knew CMD
products could be produced as is to
recoup funds & ease tension about CMD
products.

Jens Schofield & I talked about CMD
design; considerd new ways to
manufacture products & toyed with mock
designs on paper. Times have changed
since CMD manufactured items; Jens
looked over the designs & thought for a
moment. We deciceed to use less
components & more Programmable logic.
That way we could offer Free upgrades &
fixes, even user groups could find
fixes for us & offer downloads.

Using fewer components is cheaper to
build; produces less errors & reduces
size of the devices. Since we had the
S/W we had nothing more to do than
recode chips, machines could be ready
in days. Everyone wins, C=, us &
buyers, with better, stable designs &
cheaper!

We needed to get product out as soon as
possible. I thought about users needing
these devices & the small market that
was dwindling since they couldnt obtain
H/W, or were turned-off with C= & CMD.
The faster we act the more market we
generate. If these devices become
common, programmers will enhance S/W to
use the H/W.

Weeks passed like days; testing took
forever & working 24 hr days mistakes
were common; needed more staff but no
money to recruit. C= put pressure on to
reveal projects, fended them off with
smoke & mirrors & days later; we had
items renamed for mass production to
market.

C= Hardware products
Hard disk drive
3.5 Floppy disk drive
R/L with MMC card reader
Super Cpu 128

Products moved to marketing for
promotion, & design aesthetics Small
changes marketing had were minimal. We
could see the goal & needed the
products in the shops as soon as
possible. Small changes were due to
reduced part list, streamlied design,
logos & manuals.

With the number of items mass produced
we reduced cost by 60% & set products
for sale on the C= website. C= users
who purchased the designs said they
worked with 100% compatibility with old
CMD products. This generated interest &
sales, how many C= users are in the
world? It seems everyone wants these
devices

Open to user suggestions Tweaks & tips
were put on a wish list with more
ideas.  We produced circuit only
versions for building C= custom tower
cases; one of many suggestions but
something planned from the start.

Used C= Gaming case as test system &
devised special power units so real C=
machines could be put in custom cases,
the marketing team created literature &
items were put on the website, C= was
reuniting the old H/W with new ways &
new H/W, C= was innovating.

Contacted magazines & clubs to announce
new products, suggested a loyalty
scheme for users coming back to get 5%
discounts on products if purchased from
the site.

Marketing team contacted online C= H/W
suppliers & quanyity discounts were
offered to keep loyal C= supporters on
our sides. Feedback seemed positive
from all, made special points to offer
to buy up designs or work with other
H/W producers to mass produce, this way
small developers could have H/W mass
produced & not worry about
implementation.

Other products we needed were adaptors
for joysticks like play-satation
sticks, products using memory cards for
storage. Since we started with ramlink
design. I wanted a IDE 64. We looked to
incorporate the products where
applicable into the old CMD products &
create an up to date design.

Sales & Press coverage was good for a
dead system. The C= brand never dies,
it may sleep but never dies.

Asked by the Press of progress & what
now questions, I said we were working
with Jens on something like the C=1, a
new machine for C= gamers, it would be
a games console & as a computer with
operating system & BASIC. Ready to use
with nothing more to purchase. System
would look like an Amiga 1200 with
internal CD Hard disk & memory card
readers; design would have USB &
Firewire standard; we hoped to price it
at 300.

At our next meeting, we still didnt
have a machine to sell, suggestions for
our new machine were C64/128
compatibility at the H/W level to
ensure 100%. S/W & H/W would run on the
machines, we thought this possible via
FPGA chips so we now had to work on the
new design

We devised 2 main designs; Amiga 1200
style & C= laptop

15" LCD monitor
Custom C= kybrd
Floppy drive
CD ROM
USB
Firewire
External Monitor points

I awoke & looked for my C= official
workware, then realised I was still in
bed & this was a dream. I thought,
would I buy these products? Many people
find PCs complex for everyday work so
why shouldnt a C= sell?

Got my thoughts together, dressed & had
breakfast, then set out for my day job

Wonder if I will finish the dream in
the future?