The Notorious MW Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Yep. These kits were the cornerstone of imagination for geek kids at the time. I had one of mine hooked up to a garbage can lid and I swear I was receiving some sort of coded message. The only logical thing to do was hook my Apple II to it, via my newly acquired Hayes MicroModem II. I discovered I was in contact with Voyager II. Some time later, it would be for real in a roundabout way. I dialed into JPL and got the pictures directly from their server as they came in. Thats actually a really awesome story Keatah 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I know this is pretty far off, but James Rolfe (AVGN) recently uploaded a video thanking his viewers for 2 millipn subscribers. He said in the very end that his next episode will be "a kind of Retro". At some point, Rolfe might have to do a show on "Shit that was so bad, it never even came out". Tops on the list: Phantom, Chameleon, Knight Rider 2600, Action Master... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Agreed; some folks are placing a lot of stock in this 7 day deadline and seem to think we will get a detailed account. I doubt very much that we get get anything a) on day 8 or b) much of anything at all. They do say on the Facebook post that they would post "a report," but that could simply be "It wasn't what we were looking for at this time" or something similar. I remain to be convinced that "COLECO" are good guys, here. I don't think there is any good or bad guys in this mess Just think a few people that didn't want follow sound PR, design, and common sense on a project and they got burned Pretty, sure this project has been killed a week ago and they hoped this mess would die down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 I don't think there is any good or bad guys in this mess Just think a few people that didn't want follow sound PR, design, and common sense on a project and they got burned Pretty, sure this project has been killed a week ago and they hoped this mess would die down When Mike was putting ColectorVision against Piko for the pack-in game (and I venture neither had yet a contract despite all the earlier promises) was that from a good guy, a bad guy or neither? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Yeah; I was gonna say that there's at least one bad guy, here. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) When Mike was putting ColectorVision against Piko for the pack-in game (and I venture neither had yet a contract despite all the earlier promises) was that from a good guy, a bad guy or neither? Pretty, sure no one had a contract in this mess. Also good or bad doesn't really relate in the inability to run a project like this Edited March 8, 2016 by enoofu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I noticed that the rate of posting in this thread really seemed to have taken off in the last month or so, so I pulled the html down and knocked together a quick Python script to take a look at the life of the two threads. The inverted y axis on the first image is intentional totalposts.pngpostsperday.pngallposters.pngtopposters.pngminutesbetweenposts.png As of yesterday, 375 different users have made 11,407 posts. That's an average of 30 each but some people have made considerably more. Times are all in UTC which sometimes credits the next day with posts when we had a busy evening here in North America. If you want to do some analysis let me know and I can share the source data to save you scraping it (I made the download spread out over a few hours so I hope that's OK). I can update charts in the future when the thread has grown more- no spam posting to try to get yourself on the charts though! If I get time next week maybe I'll analyse 'liked' posts Nice graphs. What did you use? The bar graphs send a chill down my spine (SPSS) Clear to see how events look like they correlate with the number of posts. I am wondering if there is also increase when certain people post. If that person posts, are certain individuals more likely to respond than others? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 They say that the coverup is always worse than the crime. While that's not true in every situation, I think it fits this one. While we are on the cliche train: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, absolute power corrupts absolutely, wait for your ship to come in, what's good for the goose is good for the gander 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I noticed that the rate of posting in this thread really seemed to have taken off in the last month or so, so I pulled the html down and knocked together a quick Python script to take a look at the life of the two threads. Wow, very interesting! Thanks for putting these charts and graphs together. I'm honored to "officially" be a Top 10 Hater Brigader! That probably means that I'm permanently blackballed from any future Mike Kennedy projects, but that's okay ... because after all this, I don't think there will be any future Mike Kennedy projects! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Pretty sure everyone is safe from future Mike Kennedy projects for at least a while 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Nice graphs. What did you use? The bar graphs send a chill down my spine (SPSS) Clear to see how events look like they correlate with the number of posts. I am wondering if there is also increase when certain people post. If that person posts, are certain individuals more likely to respond than others? Just Excel 2013, they updated the default graph colours and settings a bit in this version, I didn't bother tweaking much. I've used SAS and Stata more myself, if you want to try taking the analysis further I can give you the data files! The other thing that could be teased out of the raw HTML as well as likes is 'replies', might be interesting to see whose posts just get ignored 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Nick Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Thanks for all of the advice, and awesome stories! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 AtariAge Analytics.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I just discovered that the user Janus, who had been trolling in this thread (including repeatedly calling people here "haters") until I finally kicked "her" out, is actually Mark Kaminski, who works for RETRO Magazine. ..Al Neat! When something gets really popular, the forum software sticks a gold star on it! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnaRyuu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Brings me back. I had the Radio Shack 200-in-1 and used to have my own pirate AM Radio station in my bedroom. My dad was in the other room of the house listening to 710AM KEEL, and me and my friend Kelly tuned in, flicked the switch, and I yelled into the piezoelectric ear piece, "Attention Earthlings, we are commandeering this radio station..." and my dad was like "Son! Y'all knock it off; I'm trying to hear the news..." and my friend and I were sitting there laughing as I flicked it off. I don't think it had a range much more than 50 feet, but I had the antenna lead wired to my antique bed springs because it was the biggest hunk of steel in my bedroom. Anyway, KEEL was a pretty strong station, and I was using a 9V battery when the circuit called for a 4.5V. We were little pirates! I don't remember what I did, don't remember if it was intentional or I was trying to create a time machine or some shit, but I actually melted two kits at the same time LOL 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I don't remember what I did, don't remember if it was intentional or I was trying to create a time machine or some shit, but I actually melted two kits at the same time LOL I blew the little metal can lid off a transistor on one of those kits, which was quite a surprise. I had the solar one first and then the wooden box 75 in 1, exactly the images already posted. I dreamed of having the 200 in 1 with the real dials on the front. In the UK they were sold by Tandy stores. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PikoInteractive Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Yeah no contract for me. I saw it twice and twice I asked for changed. Never got those; never signed it. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atm94404 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Chris was not on board when the original ColecoVision flashback was conceived and released. it was handled by River West Brands. Mark Thomann (CEO River West Brands) is well aware of the issues of the first flashback, I have discussed this with him back when we he was interviewed for the ColecoVisions Podcast. Being product released before Chris came on board, Chris most likely was not fully informed of the issues. everyone makes mistakes, Chris knows the issues now though. This is why I have little confidence in "Coleco". Chris is supposed to be "the guy" for taking the "Coleco" brand to greatness. Even though the Flashback may have been released before his involvement, he's had many months to educate himself on it. When you had him on the first time he talked about how hot the brand was because of the "impressions" it's generated on social media. I already did a rant about how worthless "impressions" are. The "fauxtotype" (great name, Willie, you should register that!) generated millions more of those "impressions", but I bet RWB will just see that as "the brand is really taking off". The Flashback generated a ton of "impressions" but a lot were of the variety "damn, they f'd up the controllers!" -which is pretty hard to do considering how awful the standard Colecovision controllers are. When I join a project, I learn as much as possible about the current project. I don't show up to meetings and say "that happened before I joined, so don't ask me". How many products does "Coleco" have in the wild right now? Two? Three? How hard would it have been for Chris to Google "Colecovision Flashback" or watch a few youtube videos to find out the story behind those "impressions"? Not very. If there was going to be a Flashback 2 or another Colecovision-inspired system, it is important to know how the previous product did beyond sell-thru numbers and "impressions". Why did it sell relatively poorly? Was it the price? Was it the game selection? Was it the build quality? Maybe the answer is in the quality of those "impressions". "Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." Between that and "Does anyone know how to contact Mattel>", I get the "impression" that Chris isn't a detail kind of guy. The job he has requires being very detail-oriented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Somebody still works for Retro magazine? Must be empty in there office by now 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Looks like "Coleco" pulled the plug. http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/coleco-pulls-support-from-chameleon/ 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PikoInteractive Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Should we call it a dead project now? (originally seen from RupanIII)https://twitter.com/RiverWestBrands?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Edited March 8, 2016 by PikoInteractive 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Somebody still works for Retro magazine? Must be empty in there office by now It's always been freelancers, no "offices" to close. You should ask them Have a question? Contact us today! MEDIA INQUIRES: Daniel@ReadRETRO.com BIZ DEV: Mike@ReadRETRO.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Should we call it a dead project now? (originally seen from RupanIII) https://twitter.com/RiverWestBrands?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Looks like it is the end, at least under this name. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoofu Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 So do you think this project return in 50 years from Mike's Closet 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Looks like "Coleco" pulled the plug. http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/coleco-pulls-support-from-chameleon/ !!! Guess they couldn't front anymore. Interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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