You hit it spot on, Mark. The C-64 CP/M cartridge was exactly as you said. I'll add that it's notoriously buggy and crash prone. A lot of software was coverted to work on the C-64's 1541 disk format (there were plenty of incompatible formats, with the most incompatible (a crude way of putting it) being on the Apple II) and 40 columns, which was not necessarily unusual in the CP/M world (the Coleco Adam popularly used this format as well), but was not the norm, where 80 columns ruled.
It's fairly collectible as these things go and I still haven't acquired a C-64 CP/M cartridge yet myself, though I'm a CP/M enthusiast having a wide variety of systems and add-ons for other systems. Boxed, complete, they can sell as high as $50 - $60 depending upon condition, though usually hit the ~$40 range.
In short, it's a fun novelty on the C-64, but not something you want to really use CP/M with, though like I said, you CAN run plenty of CP/M software that was specifically converted to the 1541 format and 40 column use.
You hit it spot on, Mark. The C-64 CP/M cartridge was exactly as you said. I'll add that it's notoriously buggy and crash prone. A lot of software was coverted to work on the C-64's 1541 disk format (there were plenty of incompatible formats, with the most incompatible (a crude way of putting it) being on the Apple II) and 40 columns, which was not necessarily unusual in the CP/M world (the Coleco Adam popularly used this format as well), but was not the norm, where 80 columns ruled.
It's fairly collectible as these things go and I still haven't acquired a C-64 CP/M cartridge yet myself, though I'm a CP/M enthusiast having a wide variety of systems and add-ons for other systems. Boxed, complete, they can sell as high as $50 - $60 depending upon condition, though usually hit the ~$40 range.
In short, it's a fun novelty on the C-64, but not something you want to really use CP/M with, though like I said, you CAN run plenty of CP/M software that was specifically converted to the 1541 format and 40 column use.
Books!
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.