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silky1's avatar

Does anyone remmeber the Commodore 64 computer system?

Asked by silky1 (1510points) March 10th, 2011

They were popular in the 80’s.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

16 Answers

RareDenver's avatar

Yes, with the tape loader “sqeeeeeel, squeeelchhhh, crrrrrrrrrrrrak, weeeeee, errrrrrrrsquaaaaaaaaark” half an hour of listening to that to load some shit version of space invaders

mammal's avatar

yes, marginally better than the ZX Spectrum. Were they an American company?

Russell_D_SpacePoet's avatar

Oh yes. I remember. There was a 32 version before that.

mrentropy's avatar

I lived through the era so I remember it very well.

@Russell_D_SpacePoet What was this 32K version called, because I don’t remember there being one unless it was European only.

answerjill's avatar

Yes, we had one. I remember playing a game on it called “Tooth Invaders,” where the goal was to brush away plaque and defend the mouth against decay monsters. (My dad was a dentist.)

mrentropy's avatar

@mammal Speaking of the ZX Spectrum, it seems it’ll be re-launched for its 30th birthday.

And, yes, Commodore was an American company.

the100thmonkey's avatar

I think the 32 version was called the Vic-20, wasn’t it?

You know you want it.

mrentropy's avatar

@the100thmonkey The VIC-20 had 5K of memory, 4.5K of which was usable by the user. There was nothing “32” about it. Not even text columns, since the screen was 20 characters wide.

The Commodore 64 got the “64” part from the amount of memory it had. While there were a lot of CBM computers that had 32K, like some of the PETs, I can’t find any info on a computer that had the internals of the C64 but with 32K. I know that Atari had some computers in Europe that were slightly different than the US counterparts, and I was wondering if that was the case here but I still can’t find any info on one.

Lightlyseared's avatar

Remember it? I still have one. And it works.

Russell_D_SpacePoet's avatar

@mrentropy I think it was actually called the PET.

Lightlyseared's avatar

The Vic-20 could have 32kb of RAM but it required an expansion cartridge. You could also get them in 64kb versions as well if you really wanted to splash out. The vic-20 looked an awful lot like early C64’s (or more acurately C64 looked like a Vic-20).

mrentropy's avatar

Okay. PETs and the C64 are different beasts. The VIC-20 is closer to a PET than a C64 is.

@Lightlyseared Being able to add memory through the cartridge port was handy; some game cartridges had additional memory built into them. The cases were virtually identical, except for the color. I imagine this was by design to show that it was a home computer versus their business models. Probably shaved money off the design, too.

Lightlyseared's avatar

@mrentropy I would say the VIC 20 has more in common with the C64 than the PET. The PET was aimed at busines and school market and included an integral monitor. The VIC 20 was aimed at the home market and was connected to the TV It also had better video and sound (the PET was just about able to beep). The 64 was a clear evolution of the VIC 20.

mrentropy's avatar

@Lightlyseared I would say the same thing.

anartist's avatar

didn’t have one. remember. wasn’t their max disk storage or memory or something 64k?

Nullo's avatar

I find them now and then at yard sales and junk stores. I’ve never worked up the courage to plop down the $10 and take it home.

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