Re: Commodore: Why they never made a 64D?

BASIC 7.0 is only "slow" because of all the commands it has to support
and process. You can always kick it into FAST mode (2 Mhz) if the speed
bothers you so much.

The Plus/4 is basically halfway between the C64 and 128 in
capabilities, sans sprites and the SID chip. BASIC 3.5 is better than
BASIC 2.0, but lacks many of the commands of BASIC 7.0.

I actually used CP/M quite a lot, as my grandfather has some old Kaypro
II software and I used that when in CP/M 3.0 mode. It was quite
interesting. Not exactly my cup of tea -- I was mainly into games and
programming -- but it wasn't useless, either.

The C-128 too expensive??? For the price, you are literally getting
three computers in a single package: A C64, a C128 and CP/M. At an
initial price of $299, that's a _FANTASTIC_ bargain.

The C-128D is large for an 8-bit machine simply because it incorporates
a C-128 motherboard with a 1571 disk drive. All that space is needed
for the electronics.

The 80-column mode HAD to be on a separate chip; otherwise, a new VIC
chip -- with some compatibility problems -- would have been designed,
causing the machine to be less compatible overall. That's not what the
designers were aiming for. Rather, they were aiming to please both the
gamers and business people who wanted both a 40 and 80-column machine
capable of games AND acceptable word processing/speedsheet
capabilities.

Overall, anyone who doesn't like the Commodore 128 is too attached to
the C64. Why buy a C64 when you can buy a C128 with all the features
mentioned above -- PLUS a C64 mode?

The C64 was a cheap computer that sold well, mainly due to marketing
and the VIC/SID chip.

The C128 was a fairly cheap computer that sold well, mainly due to C64
compatibility and 80-columns (in 128 mode).

The Amiga...well...that's not an 8-bit machine, is it?

Paul

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Benchmarks question
    ... they obviously have little reflection on the CPU power of the systems. ... The VIC-20 wins over the C64 most likely for 2 reasons, ... 8-bits because it was reasonably powerful with graphics/sound ... commands, had disk commands like reading the directory, etc. ...
    (comp.sys.cbm)
  • Re: Benchmarks question
    ... I always thought the Plus/4 had the best BASIC of any of the Commodore ... commands, had disk commands like reading the directory, etc. ... Plus/4 BASIC runs faster than the C64 if you were trying to do ... if token = 37 then jump to command 1 ...
    (comp.sys.cbm)
  • Re: Commodore Free and CP/m (fwd)
    ... The C64 survived because of the games and the scene, ... CP/M survived because of the programmers. ... Archives like Burton Craddock's will see to that: ... The gamers on the C64 and Apple II have created a niche maket for hardware ...
    (comp.sys.cbm)
  • Re: COMMODORE BASIC rules
    ... At one time I was using CP/M ... daily just to UNZIP files, because the software had not yet been ... Wasn't there a "hack" or something to also run with 2 MHZ in the C64 ... My Commodore 64 classic game music page at ...
    (comp.sys.cbm)
  • Re: How many C=128 CP/M disks are there?
    ... Even using a "real" CP/M machine like a Kaypro, ... implementation of CP/M. ... The C64 had only CP/M 2.2, ... My new project: Try http://www.z80.eu for CP/M computer infos. ...
    (comp.sys.cbm)