Comments on: Commodore 64

By: Alistair

Alistair — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 23:57:47 +0000

I swapped my SH101 synth for a Commodore 64 back in 1984 the moment that I saw a program called Electrokit which allowed you to create and sequence whole tracks of music just like in the games like Commando.
My Commodore took all sorts of electrical flac as I insisted on trying to connect various bits of equipment to the parallel ports etc and eventually I blew up my 2nd PIO chip, but surprisingly the computer still ran.
I did loads of music with it up until the 90′s when I got to use expensive recording equipment at music college that sounded great but all the sequencing principles I learned on the 64 helped immensely. Amazing computer – I used to sync it with my spectrum using the specdrum software/DAC which meant big drum sounds etc.
Great days.

By: Nymdok

Nymdok — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:29:11 +0000

In 6th grade I laid my hand on a c64 for the first time and for the next 6 years never looked back. So much computer for 400$ (900$ in todays money).
It was a high watermark for what could be delivered in technology and done at such a thin margin that it was wildly successful.
It was not intuitive (Remember Peek and Poke?). Had no GUI to speak of and no hard drive (till the 1 MB Lt Kernel) but it was an inexpensive gateway to an idea.
It was writing a few small BASIC programs that taught kids to structure their ideas. Think Rationally and systematically. Break down big ideas and problems into small ideas and problems. And of course, play some of the most compelling and interesting games EVER.
Impossible Mission
Airborne Ranger
The Bard’s Tale
Racing Construction Set
Mail Order Monsters
Archon

The list is almost endless…and I still miss Touchterm as a modem client :)

By: Chris Marshall

Chris Marshall — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:17:06 +0000

Thanks for the info, especially about the book Home Computer Wars. Its nice to meet another “fanatical Commodore user”. I was like that. I was 32 when I got my first C128 in 1986 and I was hooked. It was love. I taught myself basic programming on this machine, writing a detailed, custom financial management package which I used until 1992. One time, I hacked my work’s “telemail” system with my C128 to voice my dissatisfaction which created quite a scandal. Ahh, the good old days. Nowadays, I program Visual Basic macros in Excel. I still have alot of C128 equipment, some of which is I display in my home. Its a curiousity for visitors. I still marvel at how intelligent and well done the engineering was on the C128.

By: Lanny

Lanny — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 02:58:20 +0000

Great article. In grade 8 (1982) I signed up for our school computer club, which consisted of about 6 people, which worked out perfectly because we had 6 Commodore PETs in our lab. When all my friends went to play sports after school I’d go to the lab and geek out. Those days were awesome! Got my Vic-20 in 1983, then Commodore 64 in ’84 or ’85. The 64 changed my life. As soon as I got my own phone line I set up my own Commodore 64 BBS, and being the only BBS in my small town, my phone line was occupied non-stop. At all hours of the night my phone would ring, I’d excitedly get out of bed and turn on my monitor to see who was logging in and what they were doing. We were all sending e-mails to each other long before the Internet. Those days were magical. The C64 will always be much more than a machine to me.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:29:47 +0000

Thanks for the entry. I remember using C64 and the modem, to program, play games (mostly bootlegged) sorry I was young! and to log onto BBS, some of which were connected to the Internet. I really didn’t have the understanding of what it was at that time.

By: Jane Hadley

Jane Hadley — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:21:18 +0000

I’m a 76yr. retired teacher. I did a search for CIS and saw you had written about them. When I got on your website “Commodore 64″ caught my eye. I was taking a programming class (Basic, & a little Cobol & Pascal). The day before the class ended, a local computer shop opened and ran an ad for the Commodore-$149.95. I went straight to the shop and bought one after class next day and spent the rest of the day working with it. I returned the next day and bought the drive – same price and began hunting for a printer. I had to travel 40 mi. to get a Star Micronics printer and paid over $400 for it. The first program I wrote was one to manage my students grades. We formed a users group. It was there,I learned of a little spring that would prevent the knocking in the drive, and I installed one. I also learned of a magazine “Transactor”, printed in Canada. I had just sent a check to renew for 3 yrs., when an English Co. took over. That was the last I heard of my money or the magazine. I still have the copies that I had received up ’til then – along with many other computer magazines. Those computer magazines had a habit of going out of buisness and leaving me holding the bag.
The school began using Apple IIe computers, and I got an Apple clone made by Franklin, who makes spellcheckers, etc.
It was far superior to the Apple, but Apple sued and out them out of the computer buisness. That is another interesting story in computer history.
I’ll be looking into the book to see if it mentions the Commodore calculator.