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Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

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Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#91

Post by Towaway69 »

noir_lord wrote: post #36
Towaway69 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The magic in the air in those days will never be replicated. You say it “magic”, it wasn’t “better” or “different” or “worse”, it was a kind of magic that happens when tech is new and folks experiment. I’m sure many will look back in 40 years and say the same about AI - we’re living through the magical age of AI. Just as we did when we got our C64’s back in the day ;) EDIT: Perhaps I should clarify what I meant. Th…

Not so sure that that is true. You have to consider the backdrop/time as well - back then there was no BigTech(TM), there wasn't social media/the pervasive backdrop of everything you do with tech been monetised or commoditised. Fundamentally you felt like when you bought a computer/OS/Software you were the customer not the product . Your Commodore 64/BBC Micro didn't do everything it could to gather all your data for…

I’ve installed my AI on my local hardware (that I own!) and play around with it there. So there is less of the “I’m the product” feeling for me.

Of course, I’m not using fable or the latest top of the line AI but neither was that the case with the C64. After all, it wasn’t exactly a mainframe!

But certainly, today’s renter’s economy discourages tinkering with devices since these are either not owned or intended to be resold when newer devices come out, so shouldn’t be altered.

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#92

Post by radicalbyte »

b800h wrote: post #54
radicalbyte wrote: post #24

I'm loving my C64U. The original C64 got me into tech. The most accessible way to get into assembly / machine code. Those of the engineers who skipped that (including most in their mid-40s like me) just don't have that level of understanding of computers. It's a shame. I think that everyone should start on machines like this. Or even a level lower.

Same, got it last Christmas and it became the "family computer". At the moment I'm trying to beat Wizball on it. Great stuff!

Impossible Mission for me; didn't realise that it's actually a good game. Very very good for the time too.

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#93

Post by weinzierl »

nathell wrote: post #77
weinzierl wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

POKE 53280, 0 POKE 53281, 0 POKE 1,0

POKE 1,0 would mess up the bank switching of addresses above $A000 and switch on the Datasette motor. Probably not what you wanted. I guess you meant POKE 646,1 (white text on black screen).

I memory serves me the sequence turns the screen black and POKE 1,0 hangs it. At least that is what I intended, maybe it was POKE 0,1?

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#94

Post by madmoose »

apetersonBFI wrote: post #57
MobileVet wrote: post #12

LOAD *.*,8,1

I had a Commodore 128 but that command is still totally in my brain. I can't remember how you switched to 64 mode anymore though. i remember switching to CP/M mode and being utterly lost.

You either held in the Commodore key while powering it on or you typed in GO64.

It's firmly lodged in my fingers still.

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#95

Post by dododore »

asdefghyk wrote: post #22

I never had a Commododore , but I had several other computers starting from around 1979. From that era , from arount 1975 forward there where often SEVERAL NEW different computers released each year. That include SBC Single board computer that was sold as the board , often without a power eupply or case and S100 systems and DIY hobbyiest build systems I still have most of books and magazines from that era, most of my…

[dead]

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#96

Post by noir_lord »

stevekemp wrote: post #51
noir_lord wrote: post #13

Grew up in that era, I always wanted a C64 (I had a Spectrum and as much as we'd argue about the relative merits on the playground, deep down us Speccy users knew the C64 was better). I still occasionally consider buying one but then I remember it'll just sit on a shelf collecting dust, better someone who actually uses it gets one.

Hey now! The C64 might have been technically better with sprites, etc, but the Spectrum was way more quirky and British. Something about the scrappy underdog making awesome games despite the attribute clash, and having the terrible keyboard really set the vibe. Plus the Z80 processor was way more interesting than the 6502, and really set the speccy-folks up for the move to intel in later years. Back in the day I don'…

I'll always love the speccy because if it hadn't have existed I wouldn't have had a computer til the early 90's, family couldn't/wouldn't have spent C64 money on what was effectively a toy for noir_lord.

So in that respect it holds a special place in that my entire life/career changed the day I plugged it in.

On the other hand, I'd absolutely have traded it for a C64 if offered that trade even back then.

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#98

Post by jz391 »

le-mark wrote: post #41
gxd wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Speccy is mostly unknown in the US but in some ways it's more important than the mighty C64. It was way less capable but much more affordable. In many poor countries, as well in large portions of Europe, the Speccy dominated because people could actually afford one. It was the VW Beetle of computers. Can you tell which one I had as a kid? :)

I was jealous of the speccy basic. The ms basic the c64 shipped was anemic, you had to have deep, hard to obtain hardware knowledge to do anything with it. Custom characters and character gfx were the most accessible for kids. I pieced together switching out character ram by comparing games in magazines when I was 13. Really impressed my father.

And, of course, with the Speccy you had the Microdrive - an affordable middle ground between tape recorder and a disk drive. I still remember the excitement of not having to record/rewind/play (to verify). Good old times...

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#99

Post by noir_lord »

kwanbix wrote: post #85
mkovach wrote: post #30

Ahh, the Commodore 64. I never had one. I had a TI-99/4A with a Forth cartridge, while my friends had VIC-20s and C64s. Such an odd and wonderful time to be into computers. I managed to put together a decent Space Invaders clone in Forth that beat their Commodore BASIC version. I considered this an important victory and still have bragging rights when I see one of them. Eventually my parents realized that, despite th…

Similarly for me. My dad bought a fully expanded TI-99/4A from a friend who was selling it to buy a C64. On the TI, I learned LOGO and then BASIC, and played Parsec, BurgerTime, and others. Cartridges were super expensive in my home country. A few years later, we traveled to New York and bought an IBM PC XT with a 20 MB (yes, MB!) hard drive, 640 KB of RAM, a floppy drive, and a CGA monitor. At the time, IBM had alre…

My first PC was an XT Clone I suspect around the same time, One of these https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/15452/Olivetti-PC1-P...

I adored that thing (coming from a ZX Speccy it felt like a proper computer), I've considered buying/tracking down a non functional one and putting a high performance ITX build into it a few times over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe77esw9-nU (PC1 booting into a game) - that instantly takes me back more than 30 years.

EDIT: I forgot, one came up on Adrien's Digital Basement a while back - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-_sHTxwc4

Re: Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

#100

Post by msabalau »

I happened to be the oldest teen in a new subdivision, so I earned a bunch of babysitting money from parents who no longer had to drive 20 minutes to pick up and drop off a sitter for date night.

So I was able to pre-order the C64 before it was released, which earned me a "free" tape drive to actually store programs--the disk drive had to wait a bit. But my serial number was something in the 700s.

I programed it, even if I never became a programmer. But having early and strong intuitions about computers paid off for years to come, and set me up enjoy being an "early adoptor" of things to come, rough edges and all.

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