Program Pak - Revision history

Carney at 03:25, 8 February 2025

2025-02-08T03:25:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:25, 7 February 2025
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	At launch and during the early period of the CoCo's lifecycle, most Radio Shack-branded software titles were released on Program Paks. Tandy soon began offering programs on cassette, and then, later, on diskette as well.		At launch and during the early period of the CoCo's lifecycle, most Radio Shack-branded software titles were released on Program Paks. Tandy soon began offering programs on cassette, and then, later, on diskette as well.

	Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape from the start since that was much cheaper, since tapes and floppy disks were an industry standard and commonly available medium. However, there were a few non-Radio Shack program cartridges, such as ''Ghost Gobbler''.		Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape from the start since that was much cheaper, since tapes and floppy disks were an industry standard and commonly available medium. However, there were a few non-Radio Shack program cartridges (such as ''Ghost Gobbler'', ''8-Ball'', and ''Whirlybird Run'' -- all of which were from Anteco Software.)

	While (thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600, as well as the Atari 800, TI-99/4A, Commodore VIC-20, and similar competitors) cartridges had long been associated with video games, and while most early Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, there were other, non-gaming programs also available in the cartridge format, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		While (thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600, as well as the Atari 800, TI-99/4A, Commodore VIC-20, and similar competitors) cartridges had long been associated with video games, and while most early Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, there were other, non-gaming programs also available in the cartridge format, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.
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	The most notable third party non-disk controller cartridge was probably the</br>		The most notable third party non-disk controller cartridge was probably the</br>
	[[CoCo Max]] Joystick Driver.		[[CoCo Max]] Joystick Driver.

			One unusual cartridge-based peripheral was the Keyboard Beeper, reviewed by Peter Paplaskas in [https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Magazines/Hot%20Coco/Hot%20Coco%20Vol.%201%20No.%2012%20-%20May%201984.pdfon p. 28 of the May 1984 issue] of ''[[HOT CoCo]]''. It's a cartridge that made the computer beep each time a key on the keyboard was pressed. While that may seem pointlessly annoying, it was meant for people typing in text or programs who needed to make sure that each keystroke was properly registered by the computer without having to take their eyes off the source text to glance at the monitor. That this product was even imagined, let alone actually made and sold, seems a clear indicator that the CoCo keyboard was either unreliable, or at least created a problem from the lack of a tactile "click" telling the user when a key had been depressed far enough.

Carney at 18:05, 6 February 2025

2025-02-06T18:05:06Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:05, 6 February 2025
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	Some other expansions from Radio Shack/Tandy included:</br>		Some other expansions from Radio Shack/Tandy included:</br>

	*Speech/Sound ~~Pak~~		*[[Speech/Sound Cartridge]]
	*Orchestra 90/CC		*[[Orchestra-90 CC]]
			*[[Deluxe RS-232 Program Pak]]
			*[[Direct Connect Modem Pak]]
	*Hard Drive Controller		*Hard Drive Controller
	*Disto Super Controller		*[[Disto Super Controller]]
	*XPad Controller		*XPad Controller
	*80 Column ~~Card~~ (for CoCo 1/2)		*WordPak RS 80 Column Adapter (for CoCo 2)[https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/c1988_rsc-19.html?fb3d-page=27]

	The most notable third party non-disk controller cartridge was probably the</br>		The most notable third party non-disk controller cartridge was probably the</br>
	[[CoCo Max]] Joystick Driver.		[[CoCo Max]] Joystick Driver.

Carney at 17:53, 6 February 2025

2025-02-06T17:53:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:53, 6 February 2025
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	[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Each Program Pak's contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which was pushed back into the cartridge when the cartridge was inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back to its protective covering position when the cartridge was removed.		[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot.

	~~By far~~, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). ~~While~~ cartridges ~~had long been associated with video games~~, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming ~~software was~~ also available on the ~~cartridges~~, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		Each Program Pak's contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which was pushed back into the cartridge when the cartridge was inserted into the CoCo, and which sprang back to its protective covering position when the cartridge was removed. This went a long way to making Radio Shack cartridges more durable than most other cartridge formats, in particular less vulnerable from their contacts being damaged by scratches, dust/dirt, and corrosion from being directly touched.

			At launch and during the early period of the CoCo's lifecycle, most Radio Shack-branded software titles were released on Program Paks. Tandy soon began offering programs on cassette, and then, later, on diskette as well.

			Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape from the start since that was much cheaper, since tapes and floppy disks were an industry standard and commonly available medium. However, there were a few non-Radio Shack program cartridges, such as ''Ghost Gobbler''.

			While (thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600, as well as the Atari 800, TI-99/4A, Commodore VIC-20, and similar competitors) cartridges had long been associated with video games, and while most early Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, there were other, non-gaming programs also available in the cartridge format, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.

			The format was also used to expand the CoCo's capabilities, most notably to provide the CoCo with floppy disk capability. Both Tandy/Radio Shack disk drives, as well as third-party drives, used a cartridge to give the CoCo floppy driver firmware and a loader for a disk operating system (or at least a version of BASIC that could use the disk drive and had some core commands such as load, save, copy, list, delete, etc.).

			Some other expansions from Radio Shack/Tandy included:</br>

			*Speech/Sound Pak
			*Orchestra 90/CC
			*Hard Drive Controller
			*Disto Super Controller
			*XPad Controller
			*80 Column Card (for CoCo 1/2)

			The most notable third party non-disk controller cartridge was probably the</br>
			[[CoCo Max]] Joystick Driver.

LeoO at 17:46, 27 June 2006

2006-06-27T17:46:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:46, 27 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which ~~were~~ pushed back into the cartridge when inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.		[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Each Program Pak's contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which was pushed back into the cartridge when the cartridge was inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back to its protective covering position when the cartridge was removed.

	By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.

LeoO at 17:44, 27 June 2006

2006-06-27T17:44:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:44, 27 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when ~~were~~ inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.		[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.

	By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.

LeoO at 17:43, 27 June 2006

2006-06-27T17:43:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:43, 27 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when were inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.		[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's expansion/cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when were inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.

	By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.

LeoO at 17:40, 26 June 2006

2006-06-26T17:40:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:40, 26 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when were inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.		[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when were inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.

	By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.		By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. (Third party developers usually released their titles on disk and/or tape). While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.

LeoO at 17:39, 26 June 2006

2006-06-26T17:39:06Z

New page

[[Program Pak]] was Tandy/Radio Shack's name for its format of software cartridges designed for the CoCo's cartridge slot. Program Pak contact pins had a distinctive spring-loaded protective hard plastic sleeve which were pushed back into the cartridge when were inserted into the CoCo, and which sprag back in position when removed.

By far, most Radio Shack branded software titles were released on Program Paks. While cartridges had long been associated with video games, thanks to consoles such as the Atari 2600 and similar competitors, and while most Radio Shack CoCo video games were also on Program Paks, other, non-gaming software was also available on the cartridges, such as the [[Color SCRIPSIT]] and [[Color SCRIPSIT II]] word processors and others.