Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!bpa!cbmvax!fred
From: fred@cbmvax.UUCP (Fred Bowen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: C128,C128D, and C128C??? Questions
Keywords: C128,C128D
Message-ID: <6222@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 13 Mar 89 15:25:20 GMT
References: <270@dekalb.UUCP>
Reply-To: fred@cbmvax.UUCP (Fred Bowen)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 52

From: murphyjo@dekalb.UUCP (john):
>From: izot@f171.n221.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Geoffrey Welsh):
>	1.  What besides the disk drive is different on the new system(I have 
>read a while back in a product reveiw that the newer machine had 64K 80-col
>video RAM, instead of the 16K on the older models).
>
>>   I think that's it. I have no idea why Commodore didn't put 64K video RAM 
>>in the first place but, then again, I have plenty of "why didn't you do that 
>>in the first place" questions for the designers of the C128...

	Yup, that's about it.  There are some chip differences (32K ROMs,
	different DOS controller, etc.)	but no new features other than more
	video RAM.  I have plenty of "why didn't we do that" answers, BTW...

>	2.  What is Quantom Link and is it worth joinning???

	QuantumLink (aka QLink, or just Q) is an online service that is
	billed as the "official" Commodore service.  Whether that is still
	true I am unsure.  Some folks like it, some do not.  I don't use it
	for anything personal- I just answer questions there as I do here.
	It requires a C64 (or C64 mode of C128) and special software.

>	3.  In reguards to #1(above) how can this video RAM be accesed [...] ?
>
>>   The extra video RAM can be used for more character sets, more "screens" 
>>(you can now page flip through video RAM in the same way some C64 "animators" 
>>page flip the VIC sreen through normal RAM). You can also try to play with 
>>high resolution screens (the expanded memory will remove the limitation that 
>>640 * 200 cannot be used with block colouring, etc.) although I am told that 
>>there is a bug in the VDC that prevents interlace and hi-res modes from being 
>>used at the same time (more's the pity, because that would allow 640 * 400 and 
>>perhaps slightly higher resolutions).
>> 
>>   I am told that a package called BASIC 8 will take advantage of the extra 
>>VDC RAM (I believe it supports hires graphics for the 80-column screen).

	Geoffrey's discription (deleted) was good, but the info above is
	incorrect.  Interlaced screen resolutions up to 640x600 (that's six
	full Doodle screens complete with color) are possible.  BASIC-8 is
	probably the most popular software available in the US for accessing
	the graphic modes of the 8563 (RGBI video chip)- BASIC-8 is, as its
	name suggests, an extension to the built-in C128 graphical BASIC
	commands.  It's available from Briwall (800-638-5757).  Examples of
	C128D interlaced and overscan screens have been published in TC128,
	and are available on QLink, GEnie, and probably elsewhere.
--
-- 
Fred Bowen			uucp:	{uunet|rutgers|pyramid}!cbmvax!fred
				arpa:	cbmvax!fred@uunet.uu.net
				tele:	215 431-9100

Commodore Electronics, Ltd.,  1200 Wilson Drive,  West Chester,  PA,  19380