Re: about the plus4

From: Michał Pleban <lists_at_michau.name>
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:46:32 +0200
Message-ID: <4F913078.3070404@michau.name>
Hello!

didier derny wrote:

> but I dont see any real use :(
> - bad machine for games
> - bad machine for professional use

Well, it depends on how you define "professional use" ;-) Back in the 
old says, I had both C64 and Plus/4. I found both machines had viable 
applications for me:

C64:
  * Games, obviously.
  * Desktop publishing with GeoWrite (on hacked Centronics interface to 
a Polish Mera-Blonie D100 printer ;-) ).
  * Electronic schematics drawing with GeoPaint.

Plus/4:
  * BASIC programming, including physics simulations and drawing 
graphics in BASIC 3.5.
  * Assembler programming with built-in monitor.

The Plus/4 has several advantages over C64:

  * Better BASIC with graphics and sound commands. So you could write 
quick and dirty progams for plotting data, etc. in no time. I especially 
liked the split graphics mode, where 80% of the screen was hires 
graphics, and bottom 5  lines were text so you could see the BASIC 
commands typed and yet still see the graphics results immediately.
  * Built-in machine language monitor for quick assembler hacking.
  * Better keyboard. This point is arguable, as the keyboard is mostly a 
personal taste, but I find the Plus/4 keyboard the best Commodore ever 
made for their 8-bit machines. As much as I love CBM-II, placing cursor 
keys in the top row is a usability nightmare, as is C64's way of using 
Shift with two cursor keys instead of proper four ones. And the keys of 
C64/CBM-II are too high, especially now after ten years of using 
ThinkPad keyboards ;-) The Plus/4 keyboard is simply right in every 
aspect for me, making it the best for long typing/programming sessions.

Regards,
Michau.


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Received on 2012-04-20 10:00:05

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