Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!indri!lll-winken!uunet!yale!sekora-jay
From: sekora-jay@CS.YALE.EDU (Jay Sekora)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Commodore !1Meg/C64
Message-ID: <67911@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jul 89 15:52:51 GMT
References: <841@mrsvr.UUCP>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: sekora-jay@CS.YALE.EDU (Jay Sekora)
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why on earth aren't they making it talk to a 1541/1571?  since they
have to have CIAs anyway if their C64 mode is truly compatible (like
C64 mode on the 128), why don't they spend the extra 72/c per ma-
chine and put in a serial port?  at the very least, even if they don't
have C64 hardware, they could rewrite the OS to use a few lines of one
of the ports they have as a CBM serial bus, and sell an adaptor.  as
far as i know, there is very little C64 software out on 3.25" disks,
and compatibility with all your C64 stuff is a big selling point for
the C128.  if commodore is trying to get people to buy all-new serial
peripherals when they upgrade, and to get software houses to come out
with new versions of all their stuff, and then get people to BUY new
versions of all their software, i'm afraid they're going to discover
that's not how the industry works.  (of course, i could be wrong: look
at the immense sales volume of the C16 and +4, not to mention the
B128.)  if their C64 mode isn't going to be able to communicate with
C64 peripherals, and so isn't going to be able to read off-the-shelf
C64 software, then they might as well scratch the C64 mode and use the
ROM for something else, like maybe GEOS-in-ROM, or COMAL, or something.

other than that one problem (which, of course, may well not exist at
all--we're still just talking about a rumor), it sounds like an interes-
ting and worthwhile machine.  anybody heard rumors about what processor
they're using?  my guess is the 16-bit version of the 6502 (whose number
i forget).  anybody heard anything about price?  it sounds like it would
be cheaper to build than the 128, but they might want to price it above
the 128 anyway.

sorry if i started to ignite.

-j.

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