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HOT CoCo
|
MISSING PHOTO | |
| Name | HOT CoCo |
|---|---|
| Date | 1983-1986 |
| Year | DATE NEEDED |
| Notes | Published by Wayne Green Communications |
| Info Source | Allen Huffman,John Guin |
| About the Info Box | |
Hot Coco ran from June 1983 to February 1986, with 6 extra monthly columns under the name Hot Coco, which was carried in 80 Micro magazine after Hot CoCo ceased publication. Initial size of the magazine was 146 pages, but it shrank over the years to 80. Hot CoCo was printed on slick paper and stapled for binding (as opposed to the square binding used by The Rainbow).
Originally published by Wayne Green Communications, and later sold to CWI (52 magazines! 4 million subscribers!), Hot CoCo was one of the "Big 3" of Color Computer magazines. At best, Hot Coco was a second place finisher to The Rainbow, but its run from June 1983 to February 1986 can be used be as good a definition of the "CoCo Heyday" as any other.
A typical issue contained the standard fare of the day: game programs, utilities, assembly language tutorials, ROM disassemblies, reviews and hardware projects. Another standard feature was a common topic for some of the magazines: education, business or graphics were typical themes.
Highlights included a hardware interface using the 6821 Peripheral Interfacce Adaptor which allowed a motor driven mouse and Tomy "Armitron" based robotic arm to be interfaced to the CoCo. James j. Barabello started the series in July of 1984, but by then the magazine had already shrunk to 114 pages- a total that remained to the last issue. This particular series concluded in October 1984.
The most popular monthly column, as rated by the readers, was "Doctor Ascii," a technical support question and answer column by Richard Esposito with Ralph Ramhoff and others over the course of its publication. At about 2 or 3 pages per issue, it was one of the few ways to get answers to just about any Color Computer related question a reader had. Just about all hardware and software available for the CoCo was fair game for questions.
The November 1984 issue had one of the more unusual articles published. It seems a standard TRS-80 Color Computer outperformed an IBM 3081 mainframe in accuracy in a rather obscure Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT). This was not the only case of such a performance. The article's author, Scott Norman, references the April 1984 edition of Scientific American for another test in which the Coco turned in a "similarly stirring performance!"
Theere was a cassette supplement available monthly called "Instant CoCo." There was also a "Best of Instant CoCo" available for 1983, 1984 andd 1985.
Some misc. facts:
- Total issues: 33
- Total weight: 15 pounds
- Cost of first issue: US$2.95
- Cost of final issue: US$2.95
- First article: publisher's editorial (by Wayne Green)
- First listed article in final issue: "The Final Fix" by Robert Gault
- Last article (in 80 Micro): a review of the word processor "The Last Word"