Since only the B128-80 and 610 really made full production, this is going to be a rather short page as this subject was one of the key reasons for the failure of this Commodore product line to reach the true potential that the engineering design could have supported. Basically, there were two offerings of commercial software, those from Commodore itself and those from third parties. Of course, many users wrote their own software, and still many others ported software from other Commodore products. Well, after the failure of the product line had been realized, the Chicago B128 Users Group (CBUG) was instrumental in making sure that two alternative software platforms saw the light of day - MS-DOS® and CP/M-86. Thusly the B-Series had a total of three potential operating platforms for software development.
It's interesting to note that, unlike the later Commodore 128s' CP/M® support, the diskette format of the B-Series for both MS-DOS® and CP/M-86 had to be Commodore proprietary GCR encoding and not industry-standard MFM. This can be attributed to the lack of diskette drive product from Commodore that could support this, even though the 1982 Commodore annual stockholders report mentions these new drives as under development. No special diskette drive, like a 1571 for the Commodore 128, was available. Standard Commodore production IEEE-488 storage devices, including diskette and hard disk types, could be used with CP/M-86 1.1 or MS-DOS® 1.25 on the B-Series. However, the hard disk drives were not supported by the MS-DOS® version 1.25 ported to the B-Series - only the CBMTM diskette drives could be used here. There was never any commercial software made for the B-Series for the MS-DOS® or CP/M-86 operating systems, though user groups and private owners brought over a number of CP/M-86 programs.
Most all B-Series native software titles were copy- protected in some form. This was the norm at the time of the B-Series introduction, and some titles even required dongles or ROM expansion cartridges. I can recall one that plugged into the DatassetteTM port, for example. Because of the various copy protection schemes, commercial B-Series software can only be collected in its original diskette format today. All titles were on CBMTM 8050 100 tpi DSQD format diskettes which supported only the CBMTM 8050. Many titles will not load at all on the CBMTM 8250, SFD1001 diskette drives or the Commodore 8250LP dual disk drive even when those drives are programmed for 8050 emulation.
Based on the product-numbering scheme, Commodore managed to plan for some thirty "B" series software titles numbered B001 thru B031 before management pulled the plug on the product. The 1983 edition of the Commodore Software Encyclopedia (printed in May, 1983) lists on page 792 four CP/M-86 titles (Wordstar, Calcstar, Multiplan and Mailmerge) of which only Wordstar has ever been seen along with those that are known to have been released. Also planned for release were EasyCalc, EasyFile, EasyScript, EasySchedule, EasyPlot, and EasySpell. In reality, though, less than half of the possible 30 actually made it into development, and half of those into production in the U.S. only. These titles, like some of other Commodore platforms (like the VIC-20, 64, and 128) were to be marketed under the Commodore brand name. The Commodore-branded titles that made it into official production that I am aware of are listed here, and others I know exist but don't know the CBM part number I have indicated. But that still leaves 25 or so titles unaccounted for. Today, we assume that these never came to exist. But it would be interesting to know what they originally were planned to be, or if prototypes exist such as do for Wordstar, Microsoft® DOS 1.25, and CP/M-86 1.1.
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B0?? Multiplan |
This company also sold software directly besides licensing titles to Commodore.
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SuperScript III |
SuperBase II |
SuperOffice |
Easy Script |
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Word Result |
It is interesting to note that Handic's Calc and Word Result above are the only known commercial titles for the B-Series with a cartridge!
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700 Assembler |
700 Workshop |
This title was initially available on cartridge, but was finally released on diskette only. I have a 24KB RAM expansion cartridge for bank 15 from JCL also which they probably made available after changing plans!
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Point of Sale |
The above titles required Commodore/Precision Software's SuperBase to run.
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BeeLine |
This title will only function on systems with the 128K BASIC ROMs. It will not function on 256K ROM BASIC.
The CBUG collection represented the world’s largest collection of B-Series software ever assembled. Some 70 uncompressed megabytes of disk images at the core! I am very proud to have been able to largely re-assemble this collection from both my original membership during the mid-80s to the remaining CBUG printed, microfiche, and diskette library assets turned over to me as well as my own collecting efforts over the years since 1997. Many of these disk images contain rare information CBUG saved from destruction by Commodore. I am currently in the process of converting the library assets of original 8050 diskettes into ZIP-compressed D80 images. I have already gained the formal permission from the last legally authorized custodian to host the collection for the free enjoyment of the B-Series internet community today, subject to copyrights still in force. In addition, I am making several non-CBUG collection items and other items of interest available at Funet, where there is a pointer back to this site as well. There are still 11 library diskette images not accounted for though!! If you have CBUG#16,17a,20,23,34,35,45,77.11,80,82 or #PR7 please contact me. I have the permission to make them freely available here, too, if I can locate them. When you see a "CBUG#.number" format below it means that the item spanned multiple diskettes and was orginally delivered that way. If it has a letter "a" it was superceding or altering the prior number, and if it has an "R" it is a case where CBUG accidentally used the same library number (thought CBUG #96 appears the only case of this)!
These images contain material(s) which is (are) copyrighted by their original author(s). They are not freeware, nor are they covered by open-source licensing such as the GPL. Their use is copyright restricted; see the terms and conditions page of this site for details. Your access of these files constitutes your acceptance of the sites terms and conditions of use.
The following websites have images of original user group library diskettes, user written software, and copies of commercial software titles listed above.
Independent Commodore Library |
The images at this site are largely from
CBUG and Toronto PET User Group (TPUG) collections.
Working with the Internet:
In order to get software from the internet onto your B Series computer, you will need the following additional hardware and software items:
Here's the basic idea:
To copy diskettes into images you can host on the internet, this is what works
for the B Series.
First, you have to get the simple machine language code that runs on B series
side to the computer. The only way to do this without a copy already on
diskette is to use the null modem serial cable setup described earlier and
Xmodem it over from the PC. You can use Hyperterminal on the PC side. You have
to use either Teleterm 80 from CBUG diskette #11, or if you do not have this
you will have to locate and type in from the internet one of the Commodore 64
Xmodem programs. Use 2400 N81 Half Duplex for line settings on both ends to
transfer the file. Alternatively, you can write me about getting a physical
copy of Teleterm 80.
For D80 and D82 images (e.g., 8050, SFD 1001, and 8250/8250LP type diskettes) or D64
images (e.g., 2031, 2031LP, or 4040), you attach the PC to the B-Series
computer using the null modem serial cable setup described earlier. You then
use CBMLINK software running on both computers (PC & B) to copy real diskettes from
the B Series' diskette drive to diskette images on the PC’s hard disk or
visa versa. You can use VICE here again to view the images and even to load and
test files within them with the emulator.
The command to do this is simply:
cbmlink -c serial COM1 -dr0,3 filename.dxx
The COM1 is for the default serial port on your Windows based PC, it may be something other than COM1 for you. The 0,3 specifies a drive 0 interleave factor of 3. The "xx" will be either 64, 80, or 82 depending on your source drive model. This will copy an 8250LP
image in 20 minutes or a 2031LP image in 12 minutes. Make sure to not put a
space after the "dr”.
If you want to move the programs from the internet over to your B-Series
system physically, then you just reverse the above steps. Going from the
image(s) back to the physical diskette(s). Of course the 1541 format
represented by the D64 image was incompatible with the usual B Series diskette
storage devices such as the 8050, 8250, 8250LP, and SFD 1001. So this is why
you will need to have either a 2031, 2031LP, or 4040 drive with your B Series
in order to receive and read the 1541 format diskette contents. You can find
these drives on Ebay on
occasion. The command to write an image file to a genuine diskette drive
diskette is:
cbmlink -c serial COM1 -dw0,3 filename.dxx
You might also be able to use a 2040 drive - an older version of the 4040 - but
the others may have trouble reading 2040 diskettes depending on the ROM level.
Also note that most, if not all, commercial "B" computer titles were
copy-protected 8050 diskette format. So in some cases an 8250, 8250LP or
SFD-1001 will not be able to run them - you will need a genuine CBMTM 8050 dual diskette drive.
Either way, these here are about the only ways to do it once you have the
needed cable(s) and software.
The B-Series computers included an advanced version of Commodore BASIC 4.0 known as 4+. In particular it includes new commands to deal with banks, if/then/else and print using constructs. While it is another CBM implementation of Microsoft® BASIC, there are several differences to keep in mind when porting to/from other Commodore platforms.
The B-Series computers use the MOS 6581 sound interface device (SID) for audio operations. This is the same device used in the Commodore 64. But this chip is clocked at 2Mhtz on the B-Series (except for the P500), though it is actually only a 1Mhtz part. The result is that you cannot read information from the chip, only write to it. Also note that the starting address of the SID on the B-Series is at decimal 55808, unlike the Commodore 64. Make adjustments for the different starting address, REM code that attempts to read from the 6581, and it should run just fine on the B-Series.
The B-Series computers use the MOS 6509 microprocessor clocked at 2MHz (except for the P500, which runs at 1MHz). There may be an "A" on the chips silkscreen which indicates this clock speed more formally. The 6509 is upwardly compatible with the MOS 6502 as used in the Commodore PET, CBM, and VIC-20 computers. Though the chip number is lower, it is superior in functionality to the MOS 6510 and upwardly compatible with that part as well. There were other MOS parts not utilized in Commodore products such as 6503, 6505, 6506, and 6507 that were also software-compatible as well as the 6504 which Commodore used in the Chessmate and 4040 dual diskette drive, or the 6508 which had an auxiliary role in the Commodore 900.
The memory map of the B-Series computers is not compatible with any other Commodore product (and there are even incompatibilities between some earlier B systems and the later ones), so machine language will need significant rework to function properly. Stay with KERNAL routines as much as possible; they will be different but it will be easier to port because Commodore at least maintained a subset of the functionality of these from machine to machine. Commodore 64 programs making heavy use of color graphics are best ported to the P500 only.
On the B-Series there were 16 banks of memory at 64K total each that comprised how the 6509 could address up to 1MB of total memory. The 128KB models utilized bank 0 and 1. The 256KB models utilized banks 0, 1, 2 and 3. All models had ROM, expansion ROM/RAM, and some limited SRAM in bank 15. Keep the machine language code running within bank 15, the system bank. Otherwise, the KERNAL routines will not be accessible. You may want to map additional RAM into bank 15 using cartridge expansion.
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