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So reading about the Commodore 128, it seems due to CP/M being past it's prime and the C128 slower CP/M mode, that applications for that old OS was used all that much. I have to wonder why Commodore even bother with supporting it in the first place.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_128#CP/M_mode
Personally if I ran the Company back, I would have chosen the WDC 65816 which would have given C64 owners an upgrade path and Commodore could have release a new Machine sooner then the C128 was. Using the WDC 56816 would have resulted in a far simple and cheaper to produce machine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDC_65C816

Granted We have the benefits of Hindsight but still...

CP/M may have been past its prime by then, but it still had a huge (for 1985) ecosystem of applications. Keep in mind that the C64/C128 were always intended to be inexpensive machines that anyone could afford.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with your mention of a potential C64 upgrade path; the 65C816 was not pin-compatible with the C64's CPU.

just brew it! wrote:

CP/M may have been past its prime by then, but it still had a huge (for 1985) ecosystem of applications. Keep in mind that the C64/C128 were always intended to be inexpensive machines that anyone could afford.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with your mention of a potential C64 upgrade path; the 65C816 was not pin-compatible with the C64's CPU.

The upgrade path would be Commodore releasing new faster and better computer design that was backward compatible with existing C64 software. This video mentions that only ~1% of C128 owners even used CP/M anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzMsgnnDIRE
Using the WDC 65816 would have resulted in in a much simpler and improved System instead of the complex two CPU thing that was the C128. And the New Design could also have been out much sooner.

Ahh, OK. I see where you're coming from. Yeah, 20/20 hindsight is a bitch, isn't it?

TBH they subsequently got it mostly right with the Amiga. But ultimately it didn't matter, since the IBM PC (and clones) and Apple Macintosh were about to steamroller pretty much everything else into oblivion.

just brew it! wrote:

Ahh, OK. I see where you're coming from. Yeah, 20/20 hindsight is a bitch, isn't it?

TBH they subsequently got it mostly right with the Amiga. But ultimately it didn't matter, since the IBM PC (and clones) and Apple Macintosh were about to steamroller pretty much everything else into oblivion.

Perhaps but Commodore kept trying to turn the Amiga into a Business Machine instead of Playing to it's Strengths. Such as being one the first Multimedia Systems, Advance Game System, and Being capable of Video Production. And of course being the only Personal Computer capable of Preemptive Multitasking w/ GUI at the time.

The Commodore "816gs" I would have the designers come with would have been a major improvement. Note: the LCD system that the new CEO had dropped could have made the Company into a major player in the Laptop market.

I guess the Second link I posted answered my question here about CP/M Mode usage of the C128.

How many folks here on the Forum ever used a C128?

Most of the time, the Commodore 128 was just a prettier version of the C-64 with faster I/O. My brother's C-128 is probably still in my parents' attic. I only ever used its CP/M mode for the experience.

The resources that Commodore spent developing the Amiga should not have been diverted to upgrading the C-64 or C-128.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The resources that Commodore spent developing the Amiga should not have been diverted to upgrading the C-64 or C-128.

Given that both the C64 and C128 were cheaper and had a huge software library available, I will have to disagree. And then there is the Good Enough Rule. Commodore didn't divert any resources in developing the Amiga, they merely brought the Company that designed the platform and give Atari a $1,000,000 after they found out that Jack Tremel brought Atari after he lost the company he founded. Atari funded the development of the Amiga.

The Morals of that Story? Don't waste cash reserves on Petty Revenge against another Company. And always retain enough Stock in your company,so The Board of Directors can't you out the of Company you founded.