[Coco] Was this advertisement "true"...?

[Stephen Castello]

That $99 was for the extended basic rom upgrade.

On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:43:07 -0700, Andrew <keeper63 at cox.net> had a
flock of green cheek conures squawk out:

>This was posted today on a site I frequent:
>
>http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2011/09/27/commodore-vic-20/
>
>Now, Captain Kirk aside, what struck me most about this ad (which I 
>commented on if you care to look), was the statement in the table that 
>"Microsoft Basic" cost an extra $99.00, and that it was "standard" on 
>the VIC-20...
>
>What is the truth here? Didn't the Color Computer always come with 
>Microsoft Color Basic in ROM, as part of the machine? Also, what version 
>(if anyone knows?) of Microsoft Basic did the VIC-20 come with? The 
>VIC-20, AFAIK, didn't have any of the "low-res" graphics commands in its 
>basic command set (SET, RESET, POINT, COLOR, etc); any graphics had to 
>be done via POKES/PEEKS (ML). I've always considered these hallmark 
>commands of Microsoft Basic; similar commands appear in their later 
>versions of BASIC interpreters and compilers (up to and including VB - 
>heck, I think there's still traces in VB.NET).
>
>If the VIC-20 did come with a version of Microsoft Basic - then it would 
>have to have been an earlier version without these commands, such as was 
>seen on older 8-bit machines of the era (from what I've read)?
>
>For that matter - what version of BASIC did the Commodore Pet have, if 
>anyone knows? I know this is slightly off-topic; my apologies...
>
>:)
>
>Andrew L. Ayers, Glendale, Arizona

-- 

Stephen

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