Date   : Tue, 02 Sep 1986 14:00:23 ULG
From   : UZ32112%SG2.BITNET@wiscvm.ARPA
Subject: NOTE from UZ32112

Date: 2 September 1986, 13:57:59 ULG
From: Andre PIRARD              +32 (41) 520180(449) UZ32112  at BLIULG12
      SEGI - Universite de Liege
      15, av. des Tilleuls
      B4000 LIEGE (Belgique)
      UZ32112%BLIULG12.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
To:   INFO-CPM at AMSAA
Subject: Commodore 128

[line eater bait]

I am the owner of a Commodore 128 and a 1571.
I bought it for its versatility and would not mind its slow speed if
there were no exageration and it were bug free. But it is not the case.
I would like to know if these problems show up on U.S. or recent machines
or does anyone have comments or cure for the following:


128 Mode:

-The DOS shell file copy function exhibits the stange behaviour of
adding one byte to the file being copied. Harmless for program files,
it is a nuisance for text files. I'd be glad to have a correction
for this otherwise very handy program.

-The 1571 is double sided and faster than the 1541... until I get to
filling side two. On that side, writing is VERY slow. The drive
alternately accesses the data and the directory sectors for EACH
sector being written. Looks like it reads and/or writes the BAM (block
availability map) for each sector. On side one, the directory is
accessed only between a group of records. The SAVE command does however
fill both sides without directory access. It only occurs during other
I/O's (e. g. program output or file copy).

-The capslock key has no effect on the letter Q.

CP/M mode:

-Is there a way to assign the printer logical unit to the user port to
a parallel printer?
-There is a device driver supposed to drive a 6251 rs232 chip. But the
128 has none. What is it there for? I would appreciate to do rs232 I/O
(not modem).
-There is an evident lack of keyboard buffering and auto repeat.
-The screen output is very slow (80 column).
-Commodore statement of a 4MHz Z80 is a very subtle lie. It DOES 4MHz,
but only HALF of the time (each other half cycle of a 2MHz clock).
Really 2MHz. Would they pay half time employees at full rate?
-The CPM+ makes ridiculous little use of the alternate memory bank for
I/O buffers.
-In other words, is there a better CP/M than the one we get with the
machine?

[These are not opinions, but facts]