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Re: Apple II VGA Video Generator Card Project
Mark McDougall wrote:
Michael J. Mahon wrote:
But with all those different "wants", doesn't it seem likely that the
number of people who would acquire any specific thing is a little thin?
Yes, but I'm always surprised at how many people seem to be making a
business out of selling hardware for retro systems - though perhaps
they're not actually making any money out of it?!?
I have the same feeling, but hope springs eternal...
This sounds like a very fragmented "market". And, starting from a
"user base" many times larger, how many C-One's have been sold?
Sadly, I fear it is far less than what was originally projected. I've
heard that one distributor has been stuck with a lot of stock and has
been trying to sell it at a loss - still with no takers. Also, it does
still appear to have teething problems with the firmware, and support is
rather 'informal' at best.
This is not an unusual situation.
The folk(s) who did the initial creation were driven by the desire
to show that it could be done. After that's accomplished, they seldom
have the patience for the slow and tiresome business of making it "just
right".
With the initial enthusiasm spent, and the slogging work ahead, a
project often loses focus and grinds to a virtual halt.
Pity, because it's a great idea, and I've almost been tempted to get one
myself. Trouble is, there are only a couple of (unfinished) cores
available for it, including VIC-20, C-64 and Amstrad CPC (not exactly
setting the world on fire). Also personally, I think the FPGA is a
little small, and there's a 2nd closed-source FPGA on there to interface
with Compact Flash, video and I/O which I think detracts from the appeal
to home-brew developers somewhat.
Yep--feasibility demonstrated, focus lost.
Of course, if someone wants to invest their time, effort, and money to
build something interesting *just because they want to*, I love it!
I'd be happy to develop a product if only I could be sure that I'd get
my money back - or perhaps enough profit for a few beers! I don't mind
doing this stuff just for the love of it!
Just out of curiosity, how much would it cost to "get your money back"?
(I'm glad to hear it's OK not to get your time back.)
-michael
Music synthesis for 8-bit Apple II's!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/
"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it is seriously underused."