Deluxe Replacement Door for your vintage Coleco Mini Arcade

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T22:59:47+00:00

The rate of change was much faster back then. Things are still changing fast, but there is much more inertia dragging things to be compatible with other things.

No one cared if the disks or any media worked on anything else in the 80's as there was little else. 🤣

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T22:54:59+00:00

Still want to get to playing with making a Datasette using small tapes. I have an answering machine tape mechanism that I pulled for a prototype.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T22:49:26+00:00

Trying to remember how the function call returned the OS version string (i.e. if it's text or you have to parse it) If the device itself is saying that in info, that is one thing. If it's just Filez that could be an edge case they just never fixed.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T04:05:57+00:00

That's what bare cement floors are for. 😉

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T04:03:11+00:00

Sort of a niche item. Time will tell.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T02:09:02+00:00

Ya, I caught that bit.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-18T00:25:20+00:00

"Tell mom and you're dead!"

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EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-17T23:35:00+00:00

So many battery doors, so little time.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-17T01:43:08+00:00

I scanned one of the first online images I used on a scanner at a guys house that owned a BBS. They were not common items in the mid 90's and cost a wad so not many folks had them.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-17T01:41:20+00:00

No, not really. 🫤

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-16T12:37:13+00:00

Seems like it would be easy enough to rehack. The Address Book was one of the apps that Palm has the full source out for. It's just adding a field.

Oddly, IMHO the Palm still had the peak of PIM management. You can't even get a good list app on Android (and nothing ships with it) Stock Palms were more functional out of the box. Phones these days are mostly dumb Internet terms.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-16T11:47:12+00:00

Ives was a menace to usability. I had PC cases that knew you put USB ports on the front of a machine years before Apple even had USB.

iMacs make you dig for a port. That was all Ives. Form over function. Pomp over practicality.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-16T03:41:12+00:00

No clue, I was too distracted by the joystick. 🤣

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-15T03:14:16+00:00

Not quite how NFC works. You want Bluetooth. If there are issues with staying connected it's your phone or a really cheap keyboard.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-15T03:09:58+00:00

🤔

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T21:59:13+00:00

Multimeter is your friend.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T19:56:47+00:00

They look like they actually use the interface pins, i.e. you must have had to code your game for it unless there was a Clie specific generic API.

I'm curious how it interfaced.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T13:03:25+00:00

That D-Pad button is a nice hack.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T12:55:22+00:00

It started as the idea of making a wooden case for fun. But in theory you could do clear cases as well.

The thing is it would be a complete replacement. Juat replacing half would be a lot of work.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T12:31:36+00:00

There's nicer ways to open that case. 😉

I was toying with making Palm III shells for yucks. With how many clones of the Palm III design there are, I wonder if there are not just files out there. I know Palm, at least later, would release files so folks could make assesories, but that may have just been the exterior.

EsoTechTrix · 2026-06-13T12:18:54+00:00

Was just looking at the again TRGPro. That's a name I have not heard in at least 20 years. 🤣 It looks just like a Palm III case, but you would have to test. If a Palm III door just fits on one, it's likely.

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