Community Edition is released!
After weeks of work, the latest version of the CoCo-Pi distribution is being released into the wild. There have been many changes since the last version. Most notably, a “unified” SD card image that is compatible with the RPi3, RPi4 and RPi400 as well as an X-Windows desktop environment. This new image is based on the latest version of the Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) so it has a plethora of the latest Linux based software ready to go.
As with previous versions of the CoCo-Pi distribution, this latest version continues to provide a great platform for CoCo, MC-10 and Dragon software development by including the latest versions of development tools, compilers, etc..
The latest versions of MAME, XRoar and now OVCC (forked from the Windows version of VCC) are included.
For those with real CoCo, MC-10 or Dragon hardware, the built-in drive emulation includes pyDriveWire (with support for the EMCEE protocol) and the legacy Java based DriveWire. You can connect one (or multiple devices) to a single CoCo-Pi (with the proper serial cables/adapters).
While I’ve tried to squash as many issues/bugs as possible, I’m sure others will present themselves. I will continue to resolve these as best I can and provide support as my time allows. Thankfully, there are many in the community who also provide a great deal of help with this and I appreciate that.
Big thank you’s to the emulator authors, maintainers, etc., as well as the people who create and share the numerous development tools and retro software for our old computers.
I would also like to thank those that have (and continue to) host the CoCo-Pi project and files along with the community podcast/blogger/show hosts that help promote the project by sharing it’s existence with others.
As I’ve stated many times, the CoCo-Pi project is based on the hard work of so many in our community. I’ve simply rolled it all up into something that works on (relatively) inexpensive Raspberry Pi’s. With the high costs of retro computer hardware these days, the CoCo-Pi project can provide a bit of nostalgia and fun with a look and feel of these fondly remembered devices, but at a lower cost of entry and with a significantly smaller footprint.
Enjoy!
