35 years in the life of the C64
The Commodore 64, one of the most popular computers of all time and the iconic machine of the 1980s turned 35 years old this year. Most sources date its market release to August 1982 while others put it to September. The C64 was not without predecessors in the product range of Commodore, a company that was extremely innovative and successful at the time.
The company was founded by Jack Tramiel(1928-2012), a Jewish immigrant from Poland and an Auschwitz survivor. He emigrated from Europe to the United States, where he joined the army. He wanted to find a military-style name for his company, which initially sold and later also manufactured typewriters and calculators. Since names such as General or Admiral were already taken his choice fell on Commodore (a naval commander).
The company already had a line of personal computers (KIM-1, PET) in the 1970s.
The C64 was the direct successor of the VIC-20, a compact home computer released in 1981 and named VC-20 Volkscomputer (people’s computer) in German language speaking countries.
The VIC-20 was one of the first computers to be mass produced in millions of units and remarkable for its colour graphics (16-colour capability, 184*176 resolution display). The VIC-20 was already released in a compact “breadbox” case with a built-in keyboard, which was also adopted by its successor with slight alterations.
The C64 was announced in January 1982 and released for market sale at a price of 595 US dollars in August. It was based on the 1 MHz 6510, which was an enhanced version of the MOS 6502 8-bit microprocessor, and instead of the 5 KB RAM of its predecessor, it had a 64 KB RAM memory, which was standard for personal computers for business purposes at the time
It had 40*25 character resolution in text mode and a maximum of 320*200 pixels in graphics mode. The SID chip responsible for sound effects featured 3 channels, 8 octaves and 4 different waveforms, and the music it generated is still popular with a subculture of fans.
The C64 with a number of capabilities comparable to professional personal computers in 1982 was initially thought to be a machine that could equally be used for playing games and performing business functions. Later when PCs with better capabilities were released, the C64 came to be ranked among game computers. Similar to other home computers in the market at the time, the C64 also had built-in BASIC programming language and as a result it was used in education as well.
The C64 was manufactured for 11 years until 1993 and sold about 20 million units. It was given a number of “facelifts” in its lifetime and released with slight alterations and modified design. In addition to the basic version, there were special editions: in 1984 the C64 seemed to be well-received by executives and as a result the suitcase-size SX-64 with a built-in cathode ray tube monitor and floppy unit was released.
At the other extreme, there was the C64GS (Game System) introduced in 1990, which did not even have a keyboard and was only a game console with a ROM cartridge.
The software available for the C64 made the machine unique, especially with its game software on offer in Europe, which was only comparable to that of the British ZX Spectrum. Initially as smuggled or terribly expensive second-hand goods, the C64 also arrived in Hungary, and not only in our homes.
The C64, used beyond its capabilities, made Western European visitors smile after a while at its sight at significant Hungarian companies.
The C64 also had a couple of surprises for us. In 1986 GEOS with icons and a graphical user interface was introduced, which created an environment comparable to that of the Macintosh and Amiga with much more advanced capabilities.
With time, the offer of peripherals also went beyond the quartet of television, data recorder, floppy and joystick. An Italian newspaper gave news of an espresso maker designed to be controlled by the C64 while other expansions included a speech synthesizer or a robot arm controlled by this little computer.
It was only the limits of imagination that set boundaries to development.
It is difficult to let go of the C64. Even the early 21st century witnessed its comeback in a version contained in a joystick (C64DTV) and the announcements of remakes still stir excitement among internet users.
The favourite of a generation, “the Volkswagen beetle” of the computer industry has been kept alive by its fans.
The John von Neumann Computer Society and Károly Nagy, private collector have organized a new exhibition with the title (The 8-bit) Makes no difference, which puts a focus on the C64 and its contemporaries, the 8-bit home computers.
The iconic computer will be on display at the exhibition to be opened on 4 September in Újpest, Budapest. What’s more visitors can even try their hand at it. Entrance is free.
GK
The C64 is also on display at NJSZT’s Exhibition on Computer History. Detailed description:
http://ajovomultja.hu/commodore-64
An SX-64 was added to our collection in 2016. Description: