knudsen@ihnss.UUCP (04/06/84)
Since the Shack is unloading X-Pads for $99 thru April (original price: $350!!!!), I'd like to know if anyone out there has had any experience with them. Ease of use? Reliability? Know of any decent software that uses them? I'm developing a graphic music editor and would like to use the X-Pad, which brings up the question: How many Coconuts even have one of the things? Not very many up till now, I would presume. TIA, mike k
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (04/07/84)
A CoCo X-pad for only $99 is a true steal. I have had one for a few months
now (bought it when it was sale-priced at $199) and it is quite simple to
use. It provides three fully decoded memory-mapped I/O registers which
indicate X position, Y positiom and pen position; reading the X register
latches the other two. Its resolution is only roughly that of the CoCo
PMODE 4 screen--256 x 192, surrounded by 4 border regions for menus.
Still, this is not at all bad for $99! Peeks and pokes work just fine,
both in R/S BASIC and OS-9 BASIC09. The X-pad controller works with any
expansion device, including the R/S Multi-Pak interface.
I do, however, find the stylus a bit tiring to use, especially when the
multi-pak expansion interface is present--this requires placement of the
tablet sufficiently far away that you have to stretch your arm. I would
love to see a true "mouse" attachment for this, in place of the stylus.
This shouldn't be too hard to do.
--
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPAsdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (04/07/84)
I said "peeks and pokes work just fine"--sorry, one needn't "poke" anything.
All three registers are read only.
--
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA