As the person behind the Cody Computer I can explain a bit. The constraints are a design feature; this isn't intended for someone who wants a high-end computer with a 6502 attached. There are certainly technical constraints in terms of the Propeller selection, and you could probably slap a Pi Zero or more powerful MCU on there and bit-bang the 65C02 bus from ARM assembly, but that's not what this was trying to be. Someone like yourself really isn't the target audience for it, and I'm not sure there was a target audience for it aside from the parts that made a dog smile or wag his tail; the three of us had fun working on it over the years, and it's shared because someone else might be inspired from it the way other projects gave me ideas.
It's a computer, but in reality, it's more of a toy. It captures the essence of an early home computer. It can exchange files and data over serial communications (instead of a cassette port), it has an expansion port, you can make a cartridge for it, you can program in a simple BASIC and assembly, and it has an intentionally limited feature set that would let you make simple games or programs for it. It's not trying to compete even with the more advanced systems of its era much less something like the Mega65 or Commander X16 or whatever else. A kid today isn't going to have the same sense of wonder with a computer that I did with my Commodore 64 at the age of three, but I think something like this might have come close as a family project and modern-day equivalent.
Think of it like a radio kit, either an old crystal radio kit or a more modern one; those aren't going to compete with what a Raspberry Pi and a software-defined-radio setup are going to do. Or in model rocketry where one might build simple, fun rockets with limited payloads, things you can study, understand, and then take down to the local park or salt flats; if you're just interested in putting something in the air, you're better off just buying a drone. Or in model railroading where you could go for a system with DCC or you could build one using traditional wiring, switches, lights, and solenoids.
My wife once introduced me to a PBS program, The Woodwright's Shop, from North Carolina public television. The presenter not only did woodworking but talked about its cultural significance. He went so far as to quote Jacob Bronowski in The Ascent of Man, discussing how once man began working with wood and stone it changed our conception of working with materials and the external world, how they could be cut, crafted, manipulated according to underlying principles. I think that I was lucky enough as a kid to have toys that encouraged the same spirit, and that's what this thing is trying to be.
I remember in the summer of 2019 when I got the original breadboard more or less working, then Cody walked around it on the living room floor and sniffed all the ICs. I knew at that point that if a very smart Pomeranian was checking out all those black rectangles that came in the mail and got plugged into a breadboard, a smart kid building something like this with mom or dad would also be interested in what all those obvious, visible parts did too. You can also see that philosophy in the 3D printed side of it or the nature of the PCB design.
From a purely practical perspective, by the time you end up with a more modern 65C02 or 65816 system with many of the advanced features you describe, you might be better off with an FPGA or emulated system anyway. At best you'd probably end up plugging an FPGA board or Pi Zero into something with a 65816 and calling it a day. You could assemble it at home, but I'm not sure it would have the same impact. By way of comparison, why write games in the Pico-8 "fantasy console" when you can do so much more without it? The simplicity and the limitations are part of the charm. This is like that for people who have an interest in retro electronics, computing, and also brandish a 3D printer and a soldering iron.
The other issue with a more fully-featured design is that it can often take away from the simplicity and intentional limitations that make something educational or fun. Saint-Exupery said it best although in a different context: Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher. Au terme de son évolution, la machine se dissimule. In this case, of course, we don't want the machine to disappear, but we want it to show itself in a simple way that also levels the playing field.
It's not really aimed at computer people, at least not that kind or in that sense.
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timeasmymeasure
Intentional constraints
Date: 2025-01-05 06:17 am (UTC)As the person behind the Cody Computer I can explain a bit. The constraints are a design feature; this isn't intended for someone who wants a high-end computer with a 6502 attached. There are certainly technical constraints in terms of the Propeller selection, and you could probably slap a Pi Zero or more powerful MCU on there and bit-bang the 65C02 bus from ARM assembly, but that's not what this was trying to be. Someone like yourself really isn't the target audience for it, and I'm not sure there was a target audience for it aside from the parts that made a dog smile or wag his tail; the three of us had fun working on it over the years, and it's shared because someone else might be inspired from it the way other projects gave me ideas.
It's a computer, but in reality, it's more of a toy. It captures the essence of an early home computer. It can exchange files and data over serial communications (instead of a cassette port), it has an expansion port, you can make a cartridge for it, you can program in a simple BASIC and assembly, and it has an intentionally limited feature set that would let you make simple games or programs for it. It's not trying to compete even with the more advanced systems of its era much less something like the Mega65 or Commander X16 or whatever else. A kid today isn't going to have the same sense of wonder with a computer that I did with my Commodore 64 at the age of three, but I think something like this might have come close as a family project and modern-day equivalent.
Think of it like a radio kit, either an old crystal radio kit or a more modern one; those aren't going to compete with what a Raspberry Pi and a software-defined-radio setup are going to do. Or in model rocketry where one might build simple, fun rockets with limited payloads, things you can study, understand, and then take down to the local park or salt flats; if you're just interested in putting something in the air, you're better off just buying a drone. Or in model railroading where you could go for a system with DCC or you could build one using traditional wiring, switches, lights, and solenoids.
My wife once introduced me to a PBS program, The Woodwright's Shop, from North Carolina public television. The presenter not only did woodworking but talked about its cultural significance. He went so far as to quote Jacob Bronowski in The Ascent of Man, discussing how once man began working with wood and stone it changed our conception of working with materials and the external world, how they could be cut, crafted, manipulated according to underlying principles. I think that I was lucky enough as a kid to have toys that encouraged the same spirit, and that's what this thing is trying to be.
I remember in the summer of 2019 when I got the original breadboard more or less working, then Cody walked around it on the living room floor and sniffed all the ICs. I knew at that point that if a very smart Pomeranian was checking out all those black rectangles that came in the mail and got plugged into a breadboard, a smart kid building something like this with mom or dad would also be interested in what all those obvious, visible parts did too. You can also see that philosophy in the 3D printed side of it or the nature of the PCB design.
From a purely practical perspective, by the time you end up with a more modern 65C02 or 65816 system with many of the advanced features you describe, you might be better off with an FPGA or emulated system anyway. At best you'd probably end up plugging an FPGA board or Pi Zero into something with a 65816 and calling it a day. You could assemble it at home, but I'm not sure it would have the same impact. By way of comparison, why write games in the Pico-8 "fantasy console" when you can do so much more without it? The simplicity and the limitations are part of the charm. This is like that for people who have an interest in retro electronics, computing, and also brandish a 3D printer and a soldering iron.
The other issue with a more fully-featured design is that it can often take away from the simplicity and intentional limitations that make something educational or fun. Saint-Exupery said it best although in a different context: Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher. Au terme de son évolution, la machine se dissimule. In this case, of course, we don't want the machine to disappear, but we want it to show itself in a simple way that also levels the playing field.
It's not really aimed at computer people, at least not that kind or in that sense.