I got a good deal and picked up a working Commodore 128 and have been playing with it lately. But I'm very unimpressed with it.
The C128 is actually 3 computers:
1. A Commodore 64.
2. A Commodore 128 with 40 or 80 columns.
3. A Z80 (usually CP/M) machine.
By the time the C128 came out, CP/M and the Z80 were on the decline - close to being not sold at all. I understood why they wanted to add the Z80, but their timing was way off. And unless you also purchased the new 1571 floppy drive, disk access was WAY slower than the other CP/M systems. Useless.
In C128 mode, there's a problem. There are 2 video outputs. The old style C64 one - which only does 40 column mode and the IBM-PC CGA-like one - which only does 80 column mode.
The problem is that no one wrote code for the 40 column C128. It's all 80 column. 99% of the software is targeted at the C64. Which means you will need 2 monitors - or a brand new monitor that can do both the old and new video plugs. Yuck!
The end result is that the C128 is pretty much a C64 with some useless added hardware. Oh, it does have a better keyboard with a modern layout, though. So that's a plus.
But over all, it's just a C64 and that's a disappointment.
I find myself enjoying using my Plus/4 over the C128.
