A History of Commodore - comp.sys.cbm

"A Brief History of Commodore International" By: Paul Panks (Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A.) Long time computer pioneer Commodore International remains in the background of computer history. Indeed, people still confuse Commodore with Amiga, a company integrated into Commodore in 1984, along with their advanced Amiga computer. I used to get frustrated when people confused Amiga with Commodore. Actually, Commodore was smart to totally disassociate their brand name with the Amiga technology they first acquired in 1984 (and then produced in late-1985 through early-1994). In fairness, though, Commodore's rather unique and robust history deserves a brief mention. Founded by Jack Tramiel in 1958, Commodore International was originally a typewriter company. Eventually, though, Commodore moved towards electronic calculators, some even based on new microprocessor technology. By 1977, Commodore introduced one of the first personal computers not sold in kit form: the Commodore PET. Designed by legendary Commodore engineer Chuck Peddle, the PET was essentially a full-fledged computer in a molded plastic case, with a monitor and cassette drive built-in (used for running software on cassette tapes). With the success of the PET, Commodore engineers designed a cheap, inexpensive color computer eventually called the VIC-20. The VIC was very successful, selling over 9,000 units a day at peak production, and introducing millions of consumers to the world of computers. In 1982, Commodore introduced, among other machines, the Commodore 64. It was originally priced at $599. The 1541 disk drive was separate, and could be had for as little as $249. But the $599 price of the system soon dropped, courtesy of Mr. Jack Tramiel, which single handedly dropped the price of the 64 virtually overnight to more respectable $279. Texas Instruments and other companies tried to compete, except there was one small problem: Commodore owned MOS Technologies, the company behind the unique chips in the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 computers. This meant they could price the Commodore 64 (or VIC-20) at virtually any level and still make some money off of it. The early success of the Commodore 64 would not have come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. It was a cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive (probably the first one ever to include separate microprocessors on the disk drive's motherboard, freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted while the disk drive was issued a command. There was, of course, so much demand for the 1541 disk drive, especially in summer of 1983, that Commodore was caught off guard and had to ramp up production just to meet consumer demand. The old datasette, which read tapes instead of disks, was fast becoming obsolete. Many consumer products took advantage of the slowness of the 1541 disk drive to offer "enhancements", usually in the form of plug-in cartridges which boosted the speed of the disk drive, sometimes by over 5-7 times. A good example of a more popular brand was the Epyx Fastload Cartridge. Early versions produced in 1984 were a bit unstable, and could even destroy disk data at unpredictable times. Eypx, thankfully, corrected this bug and re-issued the Fastload Cartridge in 1985 with the bugs removed. Commodore's financial peak came in 1984, when the Commodore 64 had a robust 43% (or so) of the total computer market share. In those days, that was a complete domination because there were so many different brands (over 150 at one time!). By the beginning of fiscal year 1984, Commodore was a $2-billion-dollar-a-year company producing more computers on a daily basis than IBM, Apple and Tandy combined. Commodore also made a number of blunders in 1984, though. The Commodore Plus/4 and C-16 computers made their respective debuts in the Fall of 1984, to mixed reviews. On the one hand, the Plus/4 was truly unique, having selectable software in ROM on the computer motherboard. These included a spreadsheet, word processor and other applications. The original idea was for the merchant to ask the consumer what applications they wanted, and then install that particular ROM into the Plus/4. However, Commodore felt this was far too confusing for the average consumer, and so just settled for the revamped +4 application suite (which wasn't very useful, unfortunately). Both the Plus/4 and C-16 featured an upgraded BASIC (version 3.5), which offered advanced commands for hi-res graphics, sound and easy-to-use disk commands, such as HEADER, SCRATCH, DSAVE, DLOAD and DIRECTORY. But the main drawback of both machines was the lack of Commodore 64 software compatibility. Indeed, the ill-fated machines weren't just largely incompatible in software -- some of the hardware connections and peripherals were different as well. As expected, both machines failed to sell in large quantities and were discontinued by Commodore fairly quickly. Commodore also had the brilliant idea of re-packaging the Commodore 64 into a "portable" computer known as the SX-64. This was essentially a Commodore 64 w/ built-in 1541 disk drive crafted into a case with a 5" color monitor for around $899. It didn't sell very well -- after all, who really needed a portable Commodore 64, other than hardcore hobbyists? In the Summer of 1984, upon Jack Tramiel's departure, Commodore management purchased the struggling Amiga Corporation right under Atari's nose. Atari tried to sue, claiming that they had reached an agreement with Amiga to distribute their revolutionary computer, but Amiga apparently backed out of the agreement and went with Commodore at the last possible moment. Commodore also decided the TED-series Commodore Plus/4 and C-16 were lacking Commodore 64 compatibility, a key feature for everyone who owned one. They apparently listened, and began designing the later-named Commodore 128 around the Commodore 64, with 100% compatibility in mind. At the Winter CES, Commodore engineers were still struggling to make the Commodore 128 prototype work. There is a story often circulated and told where one Commodore engineer, who was responsible for the CP/M and Z80 mode of the machine, "fixed" the problem by placing an ice cube on the 80-column VDC chip, squeezing a few hours of operation out of the quirky video chip, and thereby cooling it down enough for both the machine and power supply. Apparently, the introduction of the Z80 chip and CP/M saved the Commodore 128's design, because both the VDC and VIC-II chips were different beasts. The Commodore 128 would have rolled out to the production lines on time, for the Winter CES, except that FCC approval was delayed for another six months (due to a blunder by Commodore management, I am told). Thus, the long-awaited "upgrade" to the Commodore 64 didn't begin shipping until around June 1985, and by then, the Commodore 64 users who wished to upgrade were fairly upset. The C-128 sold for a very reasonable $299 without disk drive, and the 1571 (an upgrade to the 1541 disk drive) could be had for as little as $279. It also included an upgraded BASIC (version 7.0), which was essentially the BASIC 3.5 of the Plus/4 and C-16 (with several new commands added). But trouble lurked in later 1985, when Commodore was still getting adjusted to new management upon Jack Tramiel's departure the previous summer (to lead Commodore's arch nemesis -- Atari Corporation). Although the Commodore 64 still sold well, the planned release of the Amiga continued to be delayed due to a variety of factors, including marketing consideration and machine code rewrites. The Amiga was thus a very complex machine and the new technology forced Commodore to be as careful as possible in developing the software. Indeed, the Amiga even touted an expansion ability to run 100% IBM PC-compatible software. The Amiga 1000 was finally introduced in late-1985, with a lavish marketing campaign and more than a few celebrities. However, the Amiga was so far ahead of it's time that consumers either passed on it entirely, or purchased it with a curious (though wary) eye. It was truly a remarkable machine, boasting 4,096 colors, 256KB of RAM and true multi-tasking abilities. This was in addition to TV and Video editing capabilities (the TV show "Babylon 5" reportedly used a series of Amigas to produce the stunning special effects in every episode). By 1986, Commodore owed millions of dollars to the bank, and didn't recover financially until late 1986. At this time, the computing industry was moving over to the IBM PC-compatible market in droves. Commodore fought this by introducing their own IBM-PC compatibles, including the Commodore PC-10. Still, the damage was already done. Also in 1986, Commodore repackaged the trusty Commodore 64 into a new beige case, with a sleek "C-128"-like design and feel. The new Commodore 64C computer included Q-Link, a modem telecommunications software package, along with the hardware. This assured that millions of Commodore users could venture online to BBSs, telneting their way to news, sports, weather and financial information. The more curious, of course, downloaded software and other applications, making the Commodore 64 one of the first home computers to be used with a telecommunications device en mass. GEOS was also introduced around this time, courtesy of Berkley Softworks. This was a Macintosh-like, icon driven Operating System for both the Commodore 64 and 128 computers. Along with the Commodore 1351 mouse and an assortment of quality printers then on the market, the average Commodore user could produce stunning hi-res graphics in GEOPaint, compose letters in GEOWrite, and even compile data into spreadsheets, courtesy of GEOCalc. The innovations of GEOS and the Amiga helped to bolster Commodore, revitalizing the 8 and 16-bit flagships of the company. This, in turn, led to the resurgence of Commodore as a computer company (at least for a while). The only real problems consumers faced were increasingly poor customer service for their beloved Commodores. Indeed, RUN magazine (a Commodore-specific trade journal which ceased publication in late-1992) even highlighted this problem in issues published during the spring and summer of 1989. Other Commodore magazines, including Ahoy!, folded entirely by the late-1980s (although mega-popular "Compute!'s Gazette" became incorporated into parent Compute! magazine by 1990). Disk-based magazine Loadstar, however, continued on for several years thereafter. By 1988, though, Commodore ran straight into a brick wall -- of their own making. Marketing was still struggling how to pitch the Amiga to consumers, while sales of the Commodore 64 -- peaking in 1987 -- dwindled to less than 1.5 million units sold, per fiscal year, by 1989. The 8-bit market was quickly drying up, and the industry was still struggling to find a niche for the advanced (but largely out of place) Amiga. Commodore management decided the future lay chiefly in the Amiga, and so the Commodore 64/128 began to be de-emphasized in favor of the newer technology. The Commodore 128, despite being revitalized into the C-128D model with a detachable keyboard and built-in disk drive, was discontinued in 1989 (much to the dismay of many a Commodore user). Commodore's reasoning centered on the high cost of production for the machine, and emphasized their continued production of the less-expensive (and more profitable) Commodore 64. By 1990, Commodore was in serious financial trouble. Despite the success of the Commodore 64, and the Amiga, the company itself was in shambles. Chairman Irving Gould was a sensational globetrotter, spending much of his time flying between Canada, America and the Bahamas (where Commodore International was based). Over time, several Commodore executives were forced out, in one case even physically (Thomas J. Rattigan, who replaced Marshall Smith in 1986, who in turn replaced Jack Tramiel). Also in 1990, Commodore decided to venture into a new project, which was a mixture of existing Amiga technology and the new interactive CD medium. This was termed "CD-TV" by Commodore, and although it was essentially an Amiga running CD-hardware, the machine was still innovative and ahead of market expectations. As with the Amiga, Commodore jumped into a new technology too soon, and the CD-TV faded into obscurity with few units sold and a stockpile of unsold hardware at 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA (then Commodore's headquarters in the United States). The once proud company was desperate to recapture the glory days of the Commodore 64, and so they began work in earnest on an ultra-elaborate successor to the 64 called the Commodore 65. The C65 was a unique machine, a fusion of existing C64 technology with new, more advanced Amiga designs. It was to be largely 64 compatible (estimates range from between 70-80%), incorporating a new BASIC 10.0 into the C-65 mode and the newly designed "VIC-III" chip into the hardware. However, just months from release in 1991, Irving Gould pulled the plug on the 65 project, calling it "the Son of Plus/4". This angered several Commodore engineers, who promptly quit in protest. Despite this, Commodore somehow managed to earn $1 billion dollars in 1991, which came as a shock to most observers due to the perceived failure of Commodore to capitalize on the Amiga technology. The bulk of Commodore sales, however, were largely overseas, with upwards of 85% of their total revenue being acquired in the U.K. and Ireland. By 1992, Commodore 64 sales had dwindled to a less than positive 800,000 units sold in that fiscal year. And the Amiga, despite several incarnations, wasn't selling to expectations. Commodore responded by closing down several manufacturing plants, slashing payroll and firing a vast majority of their workforce. By mid-1993, Commodore was essentially a skeleton company ran by less than 100 people. However, Commodore made one last attempt at recovery, launching the Amiga CD32, a gaming console system based on existing Amiga technology (more or less an Amiga 500, with additional hardware upgrades). The system flopped, however, with just over 30 games produced in a very short shelf life. It went virtually unnoticed in the press and media, who had already written off Commodore to history. By early 1994, Commodore was nearly finished. When creditors came calling on outstanding loans, Commodore didn't have the financial resources to pay them off. On April 29, 1994, a Friday, Commodore announced they were closing down for good, liquidating their remaining assets and firing all remaining staff. Commodore was thus finished. In 1995, German computer maker ESCOM purchased the Commodore patents for a meager sum of $10 million. This bankruptcy court decision included the rights to the Commodore name, patents and intellectual property. ESCOM had plans to resurrect the Amiga in various countries, including Europe and Asia. However, ESCOM itself was also in financial trouble, and soon filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1996. Eventually, Commodore's original patents and technology fell to Tulip Computers (another overseas computer maker). Unlike ESCOM, Tulip made good on their promises, re-launching the Commodore brand name in 2003, backed by full support of Ironstone Partners, who handled the sales of Commodore 64-related products and even the main C64 internet portal itself. Commodore's history has been largely forgotten, obscured by revisionist history written by the success of Microsoft, the PC and Apple's Macintosh. But the truth remains vivid in the mind of this computer user, for I remember a time when Commodore ruled the computing universe (even if they failed to rule themselves). References: "Commodore 64 Makes a Comeback", July 14, 2003. Web address: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111556,00.asp. "Global re-launch of COMMODORE by TULIP COMPUTERS N.V. and IRONSTONE PARTNERS LIMITED", June 11,2003. Web address: http://www.tulip.com/news/article.asp?nid=109 "R.I.P. Commodore 1954-1994", August 1994. Web address: http://www.byte.com/art/9408/sec14/art1.htm "Amiga - Wikipedia", March 2004. Web address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga "History of the Amiga Computer", circa 2003. Web address: http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/amiga/history.html "Chronological History of Commodore Computer", circa 2004. Web address: http://www.commodore.ca/history/company/chronology_portcommodore.htm "Commodore History", circa 2004. Web address: http://amiga.emugaming.com/commodore.html Sincerely, Paul Allen Panks dunric@yahoo.com -- panks@sdf.lonestar.org SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org

"Paul Allen Panks" <panks@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote in message news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com... > In fairness, though, Commodore's rather unique and robust > history deserves a brief mention. Commodore deserves more than a brief mention, so much happened. > Texas Instruments and other companies tried to > compete, except there was one small problem: Commodore > owned MOS Technologies, the company > behind the unique chips in the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 > computers. This meant they could price the Commodore > 64 (or VIC-20) at virtually any level > and still make some money off of it. It's "MOS Technology, Inc."! A lot of people make this mistake, even Wikipedia! Everything is labeled "MOS Technologies" I've tried to edit it, but for some reason, the move option doesn't work for me. :( Anyone else want to have a go? > The early success of the Commodore 64 would not have > come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. It > was a cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive > (probably the first one ever to include separate > microprocessors on the disk drive's motherboard, > freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted while > the disk drive was issued a command. Cheap!? I don't think the 1541 was ever cheap, especially in Europe! I think the PET and Atari 810 disk drives had a CPU in 1979, well before the C= 1540/1 came along. Otherwise not a bad article. :) -Bill.

"Paul Allen Panks" <panks@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote ... [snipped] You left my favorite Commodore history out of your bibliography. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/history.html This web site really contains a wealth of information about the early years of Commodore. -- Best regards, Sam Gillett Change is inevitable, except from vending machines!

Hallo Paul, Bill, > > The early success of the Commodore 64 would not have > > come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. It > > was a cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive > > (probably the first one ever to include separate > > microprocessors on the disk drive's motherboard, > > freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted while > > the disk drive was issued a command. > > > Cheap!? I don't think the 1541 was ever cheap, especially in Europe! > I think the PET and Atari 810 disk drives had a CPU in 1979, > well before the C= 1540/1 came along. And what about the IEEE-drives: the 2040, 3040, 4040 and many others? I haven't any ide when the first one came out but my gues is 1978. -- ___ / __|__ / / |_/ Groetjes, Ruud \ \__|_\ \___| http://Ruud.C64.org

"Ruud Baltissen" <Ruud.Baltissen@abp.nl> wrote ... > And what about the IEEE-drives: the 2040, 3040, 4040 and many others? > I haven't any ide when the first one came out but my gues is 1978. The Commodore hard drives were IEEE also weren't they? I haven't seen the five megabyte CBM hard drive mentioned yet in this thread. I know they existed, because at least two sysops in this area had one on their BBS. While we are on the IEEE subject, does anyone remember the name of the third party that manufactured the adapter that allowed an IEEE drive to be connected to the C64 expansion port? -- Best regards, Sam Gillett Change is inevitable, except from vending machines!

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 23:16:51 +0100, "Bill Bertram" <ADSR6581_removethis_@aol.com> wrote: >Cheap!? I don't think the 1541 was ever cheap, especially in Europe! >I think the PET and Atari 810 disk drives had a CPU in 1979, >well before the C= 1540/1 came along. > I agree; the (slow & unreliable) 1541 was more expensive than the computer, and the other peripherals were high also. When my first C= 64 system was purchased in early 1985, the C-64 was $200, the 1541 was $250 and the MPS-801 printer (what a rip-off for a slow, 40cps, unidirectional lo-res piece-o-crap) was around $250. Was bought at K-Mart, where else? Not to complain about the equipment or anything, but when you're strapped for cash it hurts to pay $250 (in 1985 dollars)! The Randman =*Commodore 64 user and fan since 1983*=

Maybe - well - I think I might have to build a history page/sub-site of Commodore starting with every piece of known information that I can access about Commodore. Pictures of several computers and it be fun but a slow project though. I find it fun to see though. While I may think about it - a few upfront projects need to move forward. "Paul Allen Panks" <panks@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote in message news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com... > "A Brief History of Commodore International" > By: Paul Panks (Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A.) > > Long time computer pioneer Commodore International > remains in the background of computer history. Indeed, > people still confuse Commodore with Amiga, a company > integrated into Commodore in 1984, along with > their advanced Amiga computer. > > I used to get frustrated when people confused Amiga > with Commodore. Actually, Commodore was smart to > totally disassociate their brand name with the Amiga > technology they first acquired in 1984 (and then > produced in late-1985 through early-1994). In > fairness, though, Commodore's rather unique and robust > history deserves a brief mention. > > Founded by Jack Tramiel in 1958, Commodore > International was originally a typewriter company. > Eventually, though, Commodore moved towards electronic > calculators, some even based on new microprocessor > technology. > > By 1977, Commodore introduced one of the first > personal computers not sold in kit form: the Commodore > PET. Designed by legendary Commodore > engineer Chuck Peddle, the PET was essentially a > full-fledged computer in a molded plastic case, with a > monitor and cassette drive built-in (used for > running software on cassette tapes). > > With the success of the PET, Commodore engineers > designed a cheap, inexpensive color computer > eventually called the VIC-20. The VIC was very > successful, selling over 9,000 units a day at peak > production, and introducing millions of consumers > to the world of computers. > > In 1982, Commodore introduced, among other machines, > the Commodore 64. It was originally priced at $599. > The 1541 disk drive was separate, and could be > had for as little as $249. But the $599 price of the > system soon dropped, courtesy of Mr. Jack Tramiel, > which single handedly dropped the price of the 64 > virtually overnight to more respectable $279. > > Texas Instruments and other companies tried to > compete, except there was one small problem: Commodore > owned MOS Technologies, the company > behind the unique chips in the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 > computers. This meant they could price the Commodore > 64 (or VIC-20) at virtually any level > and still make some money off of it. > > The early success of the Commodore 64 would not have > come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. It > was a cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive > (probably the first one ever to include separate > microprocessors on the disk drive's motherboard, > freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted while > the disk drive was issued a command. > > There was, of course, so much demand for the 1541 disk > drive, especially in summer of 1983, that Commodore > was caught off guard and had to ramp up > production just to meet consumer demand. The old > datasette, which read tapes instead of disks, was fast > becoming obsolete. > > Many consumer products took advantage of the slowness > of the 1541 disk drive to offer "enhancements", > usually in the form of plug-in cartridges which > boosted the speed of the disk drive, sometimes by over > 5-7 times. A good example of a more popular brand was > the Epyx Fastload Cartridge. Early versions produced > in 1984 were a bit unstable, and could even > destroy disk data at unpredictable times. Eypx, > thankfully, corrected this bug and re-issued the > Fastload Cartridge in 1985 with the bugs > removed. > > Commodore's financial peak came in 1984, when the > Commodore 64 had a robust 43% (or so) of the total > computer market share. In those days, that was a > complete domination because there were so many > different brands (over 150 at one time!). By the > beginning of fiscal year 1984, Commodore was a > $2-billion-dollar-a-year company producing more > computers on a daily basis than IBM, Apple and Tandy > combined. > > Commodore also made a number of blunders in 1984, > though. The Commodore Plus/4 and C-16 computers made > their respective debuts in the Fall of 1984, to mixed > reviews. On the one hand, the Plus/4 was truly unique, > having selectable software in ROM on the computer > motherboard. These included a spreadsheet, word > processor and other applications. The original idea > was for the merchant to ask the consumer what > applications they wanted, and then install that > particular ROM into the Plus/4. However, Commodore > felt this was far too confusing for the average > consumer, and so just settled for the revamped +4 > application suite (which wasn't very useful, > unfortunately). > > Both the Plus/4 and C-16 featured an upgraded BASIC > (version 3.5), which offered advanced commands for > hi-res graphics, sound and easy-to-use disk commands, > such as HEADER, SCRATCH, DSAVE, DLOAD and DIRECTORY. > But the main drawback of both machines was the lack of > Commodore 64 software compatibility. Indeed, the > ill-fated machines weren't just largely incompatible > in software -- some of the hardware connections and > peripherals were different as well. As expected, both > machines failed to sell in large quantities and were > discontinued by Commodore fairly quickly. > > Commodore also had the brilliant idea of re-packaging > the Commodore 64 into a "portable" computer known as > the SX-64. This was essentially a Commodore 64 w/ > built-in 1541 disk drive crafted into a case with a 5" > color monitor for around $899. It didn't sell very > well -- after all, who really needed a portable > Commodore 64, other than hardcore hobbyists? > > In the Summer of 1984, upon Jack Tramiel's departure, > Commodore management purchased the struggling Amiga > Corporation right under Atari's nose. Atari tried to > sue, claiming that they had reached an agreement with > Amiga to distribute their revolutionary computer, but > Amiga apparently backed out of the agreement and went > with Commodore at the last possible moment. > > Commodore also decided the TED-series Commodore Plus/4 > and C-16 were lacking Commodore 64 compatibility, a > key feature for everyone who > owned one. They apparently listened, and began > designing the later-named Commodore 128 around the > Commodore 64, with 100% compatibility in mind. > > At the Winter CES, Commodore engineers were still > struggling to make the Commodore 128 prototype work. > There is a story often circulated and told where one > Commodore engineer, who was responsible for the CP/M > and Z80 mode of the machine, "fixed" the problem by > placing an ice cube on the 80-column VDC chip, > squeezing a few hours of operation out of the > quirky video chip, and thereby cooling it down enough > for both the machine and power supply. Apparently, the > introduction of the Z80 chip and CP/M saved the > Commodore 128's design, because both the VDC and > VIC-II chips were different beasts. > > The Commodore 128 would have rolled out to the > production lines on time, for the Winter CES, except > that FCC approval was delayed for another six months > (due to a blunder by Commodore management, I > am told). Thus, the long-awaited "upgrade" to the > Commodore 64 didn't begin shipping until around June > 1985, and by then, the Commodore 64 users who wished > to upgrade were fairly upset. The C-128 sold for a > very reasonable $299 without disk drive, and the 1571 > (an upgrade to the 1541 disk drive) could be had for > as little as $279. It also included an upgraded BASIC > (version 7.0), which was essentially the BASIC > 3.5 of the Plus/4 and C-16 (with several new commands > added). > > But trouble lurked in later 1985, when Commodore was > still getting adjusted to new management upon Jack > Tramiel's departure the previous summer (to lead > Commodore's arch nemesis -- Atari Corporation). > Although the Commodore 64 still sold well, the planned > release of the Amiga continued to be delayed due to a > variety of factors, including marketing > consideration and machine code rewrites. The Amiga was > thus a very complex machine and the new technology > forced Commodore to be as careful as possible in > developing the software. Indeed, the Amiga even touted > an expansion ability to run 100% IBM PC-compatible > software. > > The Amiga 1000 was finally introduced in late-1985, > with a lavish marketing campaign and more than a few > celebrities. However, the Amiga was so far ahead of > it's time that consumers either passed on it entirely, > or purchased it with a curious (though wary) eye. It > was truly a remarkable machine, boasting 4,096 colors, > 256KB of RAM and true > multi-tasking abilities. This was in addition to TV > and Video editing capabilities (the TV show "Babylon > 5" reportedly used a series of Amigas to produce the > stunning special effects in every episode). > > By 1986, Commodore owed millions of dollars to the > bank, and didn't recover financially until late 1986. > At this time, the computing industry was moving over > to the IBM PC-compatible market in droves. Commodore > fought this by introducing their own IBM-PC > compatibles, including the Commodore PC-10. Still, the > damage was already done. > > Also in 1986, Commodore repackaged the trusty > Commodore 64 into a new beige case, with a sleek > "C-128"-like design and feel. The new Commodore 64C > computer included Q-Link, a modem telecommunications > software package, along with the hardware. This > assured that millions of Commodore users could > venture online to BBSs, telneting their way to news, > sports, weather and financial information. The more > curious, of course, downloaded software and other > applications, making the Commodore 64 one of > the first home computers to be used with a > telecommunications device en mass. > > GEOS was also introduced around this time, courtesy of > Berkley Softworks. This was a Macintosh-like, icon > driven Operating System for both the Commodore 64 and > 128 computers. Along with the Commodore 1351 mouse and > an assortment of quality printers then on the market, > the average Commodore user could produce stunning > hi-res graphics in GEOPaint, compose letters in > GEOWrite, and even compile data into spreadsheets, > courtesy of GEOCalc. > > The innovations of GEOS and the Amiga helped to > bolster Commodore, revitalizing the 8 and 16-bit > flagships of the company. This, in turn, led to the > resurgence of Commodore as a computer company (at > least for a while). The only real problems consumers > faced were increasingly poor customer service for > their beloved Commodores. Indeed, RUN magazine (a > Commodore-specific trade journal which ceased > publication in late-1992) even highlighted this > problem in issues published during the spring and > summer of 1989. Other Commodore magazines, including > Ahoy!, folded entirely by the late-1980s (although > mega-popular "Compute!'s Gazette" became incorporated > into parent Compute! magazine by 1990). Disk-based > magazine Loadstar, however, continued on for several > years thereafter. > > By 1988, though, Commodore ran straight into a brick > wall -- of their own making. Marketing was still > struggling how to pitch the Amiga to consumers, while > sales of the Commodore 64 -- peaking in 1987 -- > dwindled to less than 1.5 million units sold, per > fiscal year, by 1989. The 8-bit market was > quickly drying up, and the industry was still > struggling to find a niche for the advanced (but > largely out of place) Amiga. > > Commodore management decided the future lay chiefly in > the Amiga, and so the Commodore 64/128 began to be > de-emphasized in favor of the newer technology. The > Commodore 128, despite being revitalized into the > C-128D model with a detachable keyboard and built-in > disk drive, was discontinued in 1989 (much to the > dismay of many a Commodore user). Commodore's > reasoning centered on the high cost of production for > the machine, and emphasized their continued production > of the less-expensive (and more profitable) Commodore > 64. > > By 1990, Commodore was in serious financial trouble. > Despite the success of the Commodore 64, and the > Amiga, the company itself was in shambles. Chairman > Irving Gould was a sensational globetrotter, > spending much of his time flying between Canada, > America and the Bahamas (where Commodore International > was based). Over time, several Commodore executives > were forced out, in one case even physically (Thomas > J. Rattigan, who replaced Marshall Smith in 1986, who > in turn replaced Jack Tramiel). > > Also in 1990, Commodore decided to venture into a new > project, which was a mixture of existing Amiga > technology and the new interactive CD medium. This was > termed "CD-TV" by Commodore, and although it was > essentially an Amiga running CD-hardware, the machine > was still innovative and ahead of market expectations. > As with the Amiga, Commodore jumped into a new > technology too soon, and the CD-TV faded into > obscurity with few units sold and a stockpile of > unsold hardware at 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA > (then Commodore's headquarters in the United States). > > The once proud company was desperate to recapture the > glory days of the Commodore 64, and so they began work > in earnest on an ultra-elaborate successor to > the 64 called the Commodore 65. The C65 was a unique > machine, a fusion of existing C64 technology with new, > more advanced Amiga designs. It was to be largely 64 > compatible (estimates range from between 70-80%), > incorporating a new BASIC 10.0 into the C-65 mode and > the newly designed "VIC-III" chip into the hardware. > > However, just months from release in 1991, Irving > Gould pulled the plug on the 65 project, calling it > "the Son of Plus/4". This angered several Commodore > engineers, who promptly quit in protest. > > Despite this, Commodore somehow managed to earn $1 > billion dollars in 1991, which came as a shock to most > observers due to the perceived failure of Commodore to > capitalize on the Amiga technology. The bulk of > Commodore sales, however, were largely overseas, with > upwards of 85% of their total revenue being acquired > in the U.K. and Ireland. > > By 1992, Commodore 64 sales had dwindled to a less > than positive 800,000 units sold in that fiscal year. > And the Amiga, despite several incarnations, wasn't > selling to expectations. Commodore responded by > closing down several manufacturing plants, slashing > payroll and firing a vast majority of their workforce. > By mid-1993, Commodore was essentially a > skeleton company ran by less than 100 people. > > However, Commodore made one last attempt at recovery, > launching the Amiga CD32, a gaming console system > based on existing Amiga technology (more or less an > Amiga 500, with additional hardware upgrades). The > system flopped, however, with just over 30 games > produced in a very short shelf life. It went virtually > unnoticed in the press and media, who had already > written off Commodore to history. > > By early 1994, Commodore was nearly finished. When > creditors came calling on outstanding loans, Commodore > didn't have the financial resources to pay them off. > On April 29, 1994, a Friday, Commodore announced they > were closing down for good, liquidating their > remaining assets and firing > all remaining staff. Commodore was thus finished. > > In 1995, German computer maker ESCOM purchased the > Commodore patents for a meager sum of $10 million. > This bankruptcy court decision included the > rights to the Commodore name, patents and intellectual > property. ESCOM had plans to resurrect the Amiga in > various countries, including Europe and Asia. However, > ESCOM itself was also in financial trouble, and soon > filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1996. > > Eventually, Commodore's original patents and > technology fell to Tulip Computers (another overseas > computer maker). Unlike ESCOM, Tulip made good on > their promises, re-launching the Commodore brand name > in 2003, backed by full support of Ironstone Partners, > who handled the sales of Commodore 64-related products > and even the main C64 internet > portal itself. > > Commodore's history has been largely forgotten, > obscured by revisionist history written by the success > of Microsoft, the PC and Apple's Macintosh. But the > truth remains vivid in the mind of this computer user, > for I remember a time when Commodore ruled the > computing universe (even if they failed to rule > themselves). > > References: > > "Commodore 64 Makes a Comeback", July 14, 2003. Web > address: > http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111556,00.asp. > > "Global re-launch of COMMODORE by TULIP COMPUTERS N.V. > and IRONSTONE > PARTNERS LIMITED", June 11,2003. Web address: > http://www.tulip.com/news/article.asp?nid=109 > > "R.I.P. Commodore 1954-1994", August 1994. Web > address: > http://www.byte.com/art/9408/sec14/art1.htm > > "Amiga - Wikipedia", March 2004. Web address: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga > > "History of the Amiga Computer", circa 2003. Web > address: > http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/amiga/history.html > > "Chronological History of Commodore Computer", circa > 2004. Web address: > http://www.commodore.ca/history/company/chronology_portcommodore.htm > > "Commodore History", circa 2004. Web address: > http://amiga.emugaming.com/commodore.html > > Sincerely, > > Paul Allen Panks > dunric@yahoo.com > > > -- > panks@sdf.lonestar.org > SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org

Hallo Sam, > While we are on the IEEE subject, does anyone remember the name of the third > party that manufactured the adapter that allowed an IEEE drive to be > connected to the C64 expansion port? _the_ third party? I myself have at least 4 different IEEE-cartridges. And that does not include the one that Commodore produced. Can give you two names: DAMS interface and BrainDOS. I also have an inteligent one (forgot the name) which you have to connect to the IEC-bus. Although intelligent, it only works one way, it is not possible to connect a 1541 to a CBM :( -- ___ / __|__ / / |_/ Groetjes, Ruud \ \__|_\ \___| http://Ruud.C64.org

"Bill Bertram" <ADSR6581_removethis_@aol.com> wrote in message news:2lb86vFa81nlU1@uni-berlin.de... > It's "MOS Technology, Inc."! A lot of people make this mistake, > even Wikipedia! Everything is labeled "MOS Technologies" > I've tried to edit it, but for some reason, the move option > doesn't work for me. :( Anyone else want to have a go? The move page is working now, so I'm slowly editing all the links for anything MOS related. If there's any broken links it's my fault, but I'm working on it. :) -Bill.

Hi Paul, thanks for this article, it's really good! I just got hold on several issues of the German "64er" Magazine of the years '84 to '86, and in one of them there was an Interview with the Vice President of Commodore Europe, I think it was '86. He was talking about "great future projects" and stuff. Anybody interested? The nI'll try to scan it and post it somewhere... And in General: Is there an archive of the 64er Magazines sopmewhere on the Web? I got some of them, but not all, and I remember quite a lot of interesting stuff was in it. So wouldn't it be great to scan all issues and post them somewhere? Maybe first one should ask the "Markt & Technik Verlag" for permission. Would be a great knowledgebase, I think. David

David Mueller wrote: > And in General: Is there an archive of the 64er Magazines sopmewhere on > the Web? Yes and no. Projekt 64'er (http://www.zock.com/64er) was started several years ago, but seems stalled now. Mostly, I guess, because they not just scanned the articles, but OCRed them, too, adding to their workload. > Maybe first one should ask the "Markt & Technik > Verlag" for permission. Would be a great knowledgebase, I think. Markt & Technik as we knew it in the 80s and early 90s no longer exists. The book branch is now an imprint of Pearson Education; the magazine branch was bought by Weka. Projekt 64'er, BTW, received permission from Weka. Regards, Michael P.S.: Did you get my e-mail from Sunday?

"Ruud Baltissen" <Ruud.Baltissen@abp.nl> wrote ... > Hallo Sam, > >> While we are on the IEEE subject, does anyone remember the name of the >> third party that manufactured the adapter that allowed an IEEE drive to be >> connected to the C64 expansion port? > > _the_ third party? I myself have at least 4 different IEEE-cartridges. > And that does not include the one that Commodore produced. Can give > you two names: DAMS interface and BrainDOS. Neither of those names rings a bell. I may not remember correctly, but it seems the story I heard went like this... When Commodore discontinued their hard drives, a US liquidator (a firm that disposes of discontinued or overstocked items at greatly discounted prices) bought all of Commodore's remaining stock, both North American and European. There were not enough genuine Commodore interfaces for all of the drives, so they commissioned a small US company to clone the Commodore interface. They then sold the drives with interface at about twice the price of a 1541. Not a bad price, as third party hard drives at the time were close to a thousand dollars. The drawback was that third party drives were more compatible. One of the two BBSes I mentioned having one of these drives earlier was running C=Net. The authors of C=Net had a patch that allowed using the C= HD. The other was running EBBS and had to write an assembly routine to redirect I/O, and hack the EBBS source to point to the ML routine for that drive, and then recompile to get his BBS to work with it. On the other hand, almost all BBSes were compatible with the LtKernel and Data Chief hard drives. -- Best regards, Sam Gillett Change is inevitable, except from vending machines!

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_02A0_01C46F75.CD1C3090 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Somewhere along the way the PET got shortchanged here. In Canada, (where = Commodore started to my knowledge), the original PET with cassette drive = didn't sell a lot of units. It was quickly replaced by the Pet 2001 = which was really designed to paired with the 2040, later 4040, twin 180K = drives and the newer disk operating system 4.0 with relative files etc. = This was followed in quick succession by the 80 column 8032 machines, = still with 32k memory. THESE were sold in large numbers here and used in = business and education. There was a successor version or retrofit which = punched these out to 98K with twin boards. These were supported by the = 8050, (0.6 meg/disk) and 8250, (1.2 meg) twin drives. This was the = backbone of Commodore in business usage. The Pets/CBM were the = development machines of nearly ALL of the heavy duty assembler, P-code = compilers, ROM chips/epromwriters/tools i.e.. for = Toolbox/Commando/Commander/ROMSwitchers... etc. It would seem to be a secret that for a brief time there were some = Commodore CBM's, (alias PETs), which were "Top Hats" for factory = applications where process control and tests of all sorts reported to a = CBM central computer for analysis and/or recording on magnetic = media/print out. The tension tester where I worked did just this with a = PET interface. The IEE488 bus was, after all, designed to be a parallel = instrument bus. =20 "Paul Allen Panks" <panks@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote in message = news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com... > "A Brief History of Commodore International" > By: Paul Panks (Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A.) >=20 > Long time computer pioneer Commodore International > remains in the background of computer history. Indeed, > people still confuse Commodore with Amiga, a company > integrated into Commodore in 1984, along with=20 > their advanced Amiga computer. >=20 > I used to get frustrated when people confused Amiga > with Commodore. Actually, Commodore was smart to > totally disassociate their brand name with the Amiga > technology they first acquired in 1984 (and then=20 > produced in late-1985 through early-1994). In > fairness, though, Commodore's rather unique and robust > history deserves a brief mention. >=20 > Founded by Jack Tramiel in 1958, Commodore > International was originally a typewriter company. > Eventually, though, Commodore moved towards electronic > calculators, some even based on new microprocessor > technology.=20 >=20 > By 1977, Commodore introduced one of the first > personal computers not sold in kit form: the Commodore > PET. Designed by legendary Commodore=20 > engineer Chuck Peddle, the PET was essentially a > full-fledged computer in a molded plastic case, with a > monitor and cassette drive built-in (used for=20 > running software on cassette tapes). >=20 > With the success of the PET, Commodore engineers > designed a cheap, inexpensive color computer > eventually called the VIC-20. The VIC was very > successful, selling over 9,000 units a day at peak > production, and introducing millions of consumers=20 > to the world of computers. > =20 > In 1982, Commodore introduced, among other machines, > the Commodore 64. It was originally priced at $599. > The 1541 disk drive was separate, and could be=20 > had for as little as $249. But the $599 price of the > system soon dropped, courtesy of Mr. Jack Tramiel, > which single handedly dropped the price of the 64 > virtually overnight to more respectable $279. >=20 > Texas Instruments and other companies tried to > compete, except there was one small problem: Commodore > owned MOS Technologies, the company=20 > behind the unique chips in the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 > computers. This meant they could price the Commodore > 64 (or VIC-20) at virtually any level=20 > and still make some money off of it. >=20 > The early success of the Commodore 64 would not have > come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. It > was a cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive > (probably the first one ever to include separate > microprocessors on the disk drive's motherboard, > freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted while > the disk drive was issued a command.=20 >=20 > There was, of course, so much demand for the 1541 disk > drive, especially in summer of 1983, that Commodore > was caught off guard and had to ramp up=20 > production just to meet consumer demand. The old > datasette, which read tapes instead of disks, was fast > becoming obsolete. >=20 > Many consumer products took advantage of the slowness > of the 1541 disk drive to offer "enhancements", > usually in the form of plug-in cartridges which > boosted the speed of the disk drive, sometimes by over > 5-7 times. A good example of a more popular brand was > the Epyx Fastload Cartridge. Early versions produced > in 1984 were a bit unstable, and could even=20 > destroy disk data at unpredictable times. Eypx, > thankfully, corrected this bug and re-issued the > Fastload Cartridge in 1985 with the bugs > removed. >=20 > Commodore's financial peak came in 1984, when the > Commodore 64 had a robust 43% (or so) of the total > computer market share. In those days, that was a > complete domination because there were so many > different brands (over 150 at one time!). By the > beginning of fiscal year 1984, Commodore was a > $2-billion-dollar-a-year company producing more > computers on a daily basis than IBM, Apple and Tandy > combined. >=20 > Commodore also made a number of blunders in 1984, > though. The Commodore Plus/4 and C-16 computers made > their respective debuts in the Fall of 1984, to mixed > reviews. On the one hand, the Plus/4 was truly unique, > having selectable software in ROM on the computer > motherboard. These included a spreadsheet, word > processor and other applications. The original idea > was for the merchant to ask the consumer what > applications they wanted, and then install that > particular ROM into the Plus/4. However, Commodore > felt this was far too confusing for the average > consumer, and so just settled for the revamped +4 > application suite (which wasn't very useful, > unfortunately). >=20 > Both the Plus/4 and C-16 featured an upgraded BASIC > (version 3.5), which offered advanced commands for > hi-res graphics, sound and easy-to-use disk commands, > such as HEADER, SCRATCH, DSAVE, DLOAD and DIRECTORY. > But the main drawback of both machines was the lack of > Commodore 64 software compatibility. Indeed, the > ill-fated machines weren't just largely incompatible > in software -- some of the hardware connections and > peripherals were different as well. As expected, both=20 > machines failed to sell in large quantities and were > discontinued by Commodore fairly quickly. >=20 > Commodore also had the brilliant idea of re-packaging > the Commodore 64 into a "portable" computer known as > the SX-64. This was essentially a Commodore 64 w/ > built-in 1541 disk drive crafted into a case with a 5" > color monitor for around $899. It didn't sell very > well -- after all, who really needed a portable > Commodore 64, other than hardcore hobbyists?=20 >=20 > In the Summer of 1984, upon Jack Tramiel's departure, > Commodore management purchased the struggling Amiga > Corporation right under Atari's nose. Atari tried to > sue, claiming that they had reached an agreement with > Amiga to distribute their revolutionary computer, but=20 > Amiga apparently backed out of the agreement and went > with Commodore at the last possible moment. >=20 > Commodore also decided the TED-series Commodore Plus/4 > and C-16 were lacking Commodore 64 compatibility, a > key feature for everyone who=20 > owned one. They apparently listened, and began > designing the later-named Commodore 128 around the > Commodore 64, with 100% compatibility in mind. >=20 > At the Winter CES, Commodore engineers were still > struggling to make the Commodore 128 prototype work. > There is a story often circulated and told where one > Commodore engineer, who was responsible for the CP/M > and Z80 mode of the machine, "fixed" the problem by > placing an ice cube on the 80-column VDC chip, > squeezing a few hours of operation out of the=20 > quirky video chip, and thereby cooling it down enough > for both the machine and power supply. Apparently, the > introduction of the Z80 chip and CP/M saved the > Commodore 128's design, because both the VDC and > VIC-II chips were different beasts. >=20 > The Commodore 128 would have rolled out to the > production lines on time, for the Winter CES, except > that FCC approval was delayed for another six months > (due to a blunder by Commodore management, I=20 > am told). Thus, the long-awaited "upgrade" to the > Commodore 64 didn't begin shipping until around June > 1985, and by then, the Commodore 64 users who wished > to upgrade were fairly upset. The C-128 sold for a=20 > very reasonable $299 without disk drive, and the 1571 > (an upgrade to the 1541 disk drive) could be had for > as little as $279. It also included an upgraded BASIC > (version 7.0), which was essentially the BASIC=20 > 3.5 of the Plus/4 and C-16 (with several new commands > added). >=20 > But trouble lurked in later 1985, when Commodore was > still getting adjusted to new management upon Jack > Tramiel's departure the previous summer (to lead > Commodore's arch nemesis -- Atari Corporation). > Although the Commodore 64 still sold well, the planned > release of the Amiga continued to be delayed due to a > variety of factors, including marketing=20 > consideration and machine code rewrites. The Amiga was > thus a very complex machine and the new technology > forced Commodore to be as careful as possible in > developing the software. Indeed, the Amiga even touted > an expansion ability to run 100% IBM PC-compatible > software. >=20 > The Amiga 1000 was finally introduced in late-1985, > with a lavish marketing campaign and more than a few > celebrities. However, the Amiga was so far ahead of > it's time that consumers either passed on it entirely, > or purchased it with a curious (though wary) eye. It > was truly a remarkable machine, boasting 4,096 colors, > 256KB of RAM and true=20 > multi-tasking abilities. This was in addition to TV > and Video editing capabilities (the TV show "Babylon > 5" reportedly used a series of Amigas to produce the=20 > stunning special effects in every episode). >=20 > By 1986, Commodore owed millions of dollars to the > bank, and didn't recover financially until late 1986. > At this time, the computing industry was moving over > to the IBM PC-compatible market in droves. Commodore > fought this by introducing their own IBM-PC > compatibles, including the Commodore PC-10. Still, the > damage was already done. >=20 > Also in 1986, Commodore repackaged the trusty > Commodore 64 into a new beige case, with a sleek > "C-128"-like design and feel. The new Commodore 64C > computer included Q-Link, a modem telecommunications > software package, along with the hardware. This > assured that millions of Commodore users could=20 > venture online to BBSs, telneting their way to news, > sports, weather and financial information. The more > curious, of course, downloaded software and other > applications, making the Commodore 64 one of=20 > the first home computers to be used with a > telecommunications device en mass. >=20 > GEOS was also introduced around this time, courtesy of > Berkley Softworks. This was a Macintosh-like, icon > driven Operating System for both the Commodore 64 and > 128 computers. Along with the Commodore 1351 mouse and > an assortment of quality printers then on the market, > the average Commodore user could produce stunning > hi-res graphics in GEOPaint, compose letters in > GEOWrite, and even compile data into spreadsheets, > courtesy of GEOCalc. >=20 > The innovations of GEOS and the Amiga helped to > bolster Commodore, revitalizing the 8 and 16-bit > flagships of the company. This, in turn, led to the > resurgence of Commodore as a computer company (at > least for a while). The only real problems consumers > faced were increasingly poor customer service for > their beloved Commodores. Indeed, RUN magazine (a=20 > Commodore-specific trade journal which ceased > publication in late-1992) even highlighted this > problem in issues published during the spring and > summer of 1989. Other Commodore magazines, including > Ahoy!, folded entirely by the late-1980s (although > mega-popular "Compute!'s Gazette" became incorporated > into parent Compute! magazine by 1990). Disk-based > magazine Loadstar, however, continued on for several > years thereafter. >=20 > By 1988, though, Commodore ran straight into a brick > wall -- of their own making. Marketing was still > struggling how to pitch the Amiga to consumers, while > sales of the Commodore 64 -- peaking in 1987 -- > dwindled to less than 1.5 million units sold, per > fiscal year, by 1989. The 8-bit market was=20 > quickly drying up, and the industry was still > struggling to find a niche for the advanced (but > largely out of place) Amiga. >=20 > Commodore management decided the future lay chiefly in > the Amiga, and so the Commodore 64/128 began to be > de-emphasized in favor of the newer technology. The > Commodore 128, despite being revitalized into the=20 > C-128D model with a detachable keyboard and built-in > disk drive, was discontinued in 1989 (much to the > dismay of many a Commodore user). Commodore's > reasoning centered on the high cost of production for > the machine, and emphasized their continued production > of the less-expensive (and more profitable) Commodore > 64. >=20 > By 1990, Commodore was in serious financial trouble. > Despite the success of the Commodore 64, and the > Amiga, the company itself was in shambles. Chairman > Irving Gould was a sensational globetrotter,=20 > spending much of his time flying between Canada, > America and the Bahamas (where Commodore International > was based). Over time, several Commodore executives > were forced out, in one case even physically (Thomas > J. Rattigan, who replaced Marshall Smith in 1986, who > in turn replaced Jack Tramiel). >=20 > Also in 1990, Commodore decided to venture into a new > project, which was a mixture of existing Amiga > technology and the new interactive CD medium. This was > termed "CD-TV" by Commodore, and although it was > essentially an Amiga running CD-hardware, the machine=20 > was still innovative and ahead of market expectations. > As with the Amiga, Commodore jumped into a new > technology too soon, and the CD-TV faded into > obscurity with few units sold and a stockpile of=20 > unsold hardware at 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA > (then Commodore's headquarters in the United States). >=20 > The once proud company was desperate to recapture the > glory days of the Commodore 64, and so they began work > in earnest on an ultra-elaborate successor to=20 > the 64 called the Commodore 65. The C65 was a unique > machine, a fusion of existing C64 technology with new, > more advanced Amiga designs. It was to be largely 64 > compatible (estimates range from between 70-80%), > incorporating a new BASIC 10.0 into the C-65 mode and > the newly designed "VIC-III" chip into the hardware. >=20 > However, just months from release in 1991, Irving > Gould pulled the plug on the 65 project, calling it > "the Son of Plus/4". This angered several Commodore > engineers, who promptly quit in protest.=20 >=20 > Despite this, Commodore somehow managed to earn $1 > billion dollars in 1991, which came as a shock to most > observers due to the perceived failure of Commodore to > capitalize on the Amiga technology. The bulk of > Commodore sales, however, were largely overseas, with > upwards of 85% of their total revenue being acquired > in the U.K. and Ireland. >=20 > By 1992, Commodore 64 sales had dwindled to a less > than positive 800,000 units sold in that fiscal year. > And the Amiga, despite several incarnations, wasn't > selling to expectations. Commodore responded by=20 > closing down several manufacturing plants, slashing > payroll and firing a vast majority of their workforce. > By mid-1993, Commodore was essentially a=20 > skeleton company ran by less than 100 people. >=20 > However, Commodore made one last attempt at recovery, > launching the Amiga CD32, a gaming console system > based on existing Amiga technology (more or less an > Amiga 500, with additional hardware upgrades). The > system flopped, however, with just over 30 games > produced in a very short shelf life. It went virtually > unnoticed in the press and media, who had already > written off Commodore to history. >=20 > By early 1994, Commodore was nearly finished. When > creditors came calling on outstanding loans, Commodore > didn't have the financial resources to pay them off. > On April 29, 1994, a Friday, Commodore announced they > were closing down for good, liquidating their > remaining assets and firing=20 > all remaining staff. Commodore was thus finished. >=20 > In 1995, German computer maker ESCOM purchased the > Commodore patents for a meager sum of $10 million. > This bankruptcy court decision included the=20 > rights to the Commodore name, patents and intellectual > property. ESCOM had plans to resurrect the Amiga in > various countries, including Europe and Asia. However, > ESCOM itself was also in financial trouble, and soon > filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1996. >=20 > Eventually, Commodore's original patents and > technology fell to Tulip Computers (another overseas > computer maker). Unlike ESCOM, Tulip made good on > their promises, re-launching the Commodore brand name > in 2003, backed by full support of Ironstone Partners, > who handled the sales of Commodore 64-related products > and even the main C64 internet=20 > portal itself. >=20 > Commodore's history has been largely forgotten, > obscured by revisionist history written by the success > of Microsoft, the PC and Apple's Macintosh. But the > truth remains vivid in the mind of this computer user, > for I remember a time when Commodore ruled the > computing universe (even if they failed to rule > themselves). >=20 > References: >=20 > "Commodore 64 Makes a Comeback", July 14, 2003. Web > address:=20 > http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111556,00.asp. >=20 > "Global re-launch of COMMODORE by TULIP COMPUTERS N.V. > and IRONSTONE=20 > PARTNERS LIMITED", June 11,2003. Web address:=20 > http://www.tulip.com/news/article.asp?nid=3D109 >=20 > "R.I.P. Commodore 1954-1994", August 1994. Web > address: > http://www.byte.com/art/9408/sec14/art1.htm >=20 > "Amiga - Wikipedia", March 2004. Web address: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga >=20 > "History of the Amiga Computer", circa 2003. Web > address: > http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/amiga/history.html >=20 > "Chronological History of Commodore Computer", circa > 2004. Web address: > http://www.commodore.ca/history/company/chronology_portcommodore.htm >=20 > "Commodore History", circa 2004. Web address: > http://amiga.emugaming.com/commodore.html >=20 > Sincerely, >=20 > Paul Allen Panks > dunric@yahoo.com >=20 >=20 > --=20 > panks@sdf.lonestar.org > SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org ------=_NextPart_000_02A0_01C46F75.CD1C3090 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV> <SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Somewhere along the way the PET got = shortchanged here.=20 In <?xml:namespace prefix =3D st1 ns =3D=20 "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"=20 /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: = 12pt">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN=20 style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">, (where Commodore started to my knowledge), = the=20 original PET with cassette drive didn't sell a lot of units. It was = quickly=20 replaced by the Pet 2001 which was really designed to paired with the=20 2040, later 4040, twin 180K drives and the newer disk = operating=20 system 4.0 with relative files etc. This was followed in quick = succession by the=20 80 column 8032 machines, still with 32k memory. THESE were sold in large = numbers=20 here and used in business and education. There was a successor = version or=20 retrofit which punched these out to 98K with twin boards. These = were=20 supported by the 8050, (0.6 meg/disk) and 8250, (1.2 meg) twin drives. = This was=20 the backbone of Commodore in business usage. The Pets/CBM were the=20 development machines of nearly ALL of the heavy duty assembler, = P-code=20 compilers, ROM chips/epromwriters/tools i.e.. for=20 Toolbox/Commando/Commander/ROMSwitchers... etc.<?xml:namespace prefix = =3D o ns =3D=20 "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> It=20 would seem to be a secret that for a brief time there were some = Commodore CBM's,=20 (alias PETs), which were "Top Hats" for factory applications where=20 process control and tests of all sorts reported to a CBM = central=20 computer for analysis and/or recording on magnetic media/print = out.=20 The tension tester where I worked did just this with a PET = interface. The=20 IEE488 bus was, after all, designed to be a parallel instrument=20 bus.<o:p></o:p> </DIV> <DIV>"Paul Allen Panks" <<A=20 href=3D"mailto:panks@sdf.lonestar.org">panks@sdf.lonestar.org</A>> wrote in=20 message <A href=3D"news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com">news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com</A>...</DIV>> "A Brief = History of=20 Commodore International" > By: Paul Panks (Phoenix, Arizona=20 U.S.A.) > > Long time computer pioneer Commodore=20 International > remains in the background of computer history.=20 Indeed, > people still confuse Commodore with Amiga, a = company >=20 integrated into Commodore in 1984, along with > their advanced = Amiga=20 computer. > > I used to get frustrated when people confused = Amiga > with Commodore. Actually, Commodore was smart to > = totally=20 disassociate their brand name with the Amiga > technology they = first=20 acquired in 1984 (and then > produced in late-1985 through = early-1994).=20 In > fairness, though, Commodore's rather unique and = robust >=20 history deserves a brief mention. > > Founded by Jack = Tramiel in=20 1958, Commodore > International was originally a typewriter=20 company. > Eventually, though, Commodore moved towards = electronic >=20 calculators, some even based on new microprocessor > technology. = >=20 > By 1977, Commodore introduced one of the first > personal = computers not sold in kit form: the Commodore > PET. Designed by = legendary=20 Commodore > engineer Chuck Peddle, the PET was essentially = a >=20 full-fledged computer in a molded plastic case, with a > monitor = and=20 cassette drive built-in (used for > running software on cassette=20 tapes). > > With the success of the PET, Commodore=20 engineers > designed a cheap, inexpensive color computer >=20 eventually called the VIC-20. The VIC was very > successful, = selling over=20 9,000 units a day at peak > production, and introducing millions = of=20 consumers > to the world of computers. >   > In = 1982,=20 Commodore introduced, among other machines, > the Commodore 64. It = was=20 originally priced at $599. > The 1541 disk drive was separate, and = could=20 be > had for as little as $249. But the $599 price of the > = system=20 soon dropped, courtesy of Mr. Jack Tramiel, > which single = handedly=20 dropped the price of the 64 > virtually overnight to more = respectable=20 $279. > > Texas Instruments and other companies tried = to >=20 compete, except there was one small problem: Commodore > owned MOS = Technologies, the company > behind the unique chips in the = Commodore 64=20 and VIC-20 > computers. This meant they could price the = Commodore >=20 64 (or VIC-20) at virtually any level > and still make some money = off of=20 it. > > The early success of the Commodore 64 would not=20 have > come about if it weren't for the 1541 disk drive. = It > was a=20 cheap, fairly reliable, inexpensive disk drive > (probably the = first one=20 ever to include separate > microprocessors on the disk drive's=20 motherboard, > freeing up the computer to do whatever it wanted=20 while > the disk drive was issued a command. > > = There was,=20 of course, so much demand for the 1541 disk > drive, especially in = summer=20 of 1983, that Commodore > was caught off guard and had to ramp up = >=20 production just to meet consumer demand. The old > datasette, = which read=20 tapes instead of disks, was fast > becoming obsolete. > = >=20 Many consumer products took advantage of the slowness > of the = 1541 disk=20 drive to offer "enhancements", > usually in the form of plug-in = cartridges=20 which > boosted the speed of the disk drive, sometimes by = over > 5-7=20 times. A good example of a more popular brand was > the Epyx = Fastload=20 Cartridge. Early versions produced > in 1984 were a bit unstable, = and=20 could even > destroy disk data at unpredictable times. = Eypx, >=20 thankfully, corrected this bug and re-issued the > Fastload = Cartridge in=20 1985 with the bugs > removed. > > Commodore's = financial peak=20 came in 1984, when the > Commodore 64 had a robust 43% (or so) of = the=20 total > computer market share. In those days, that was a > = complete=20 domination because there were so many > different brands (over 150 = at one=20 time!). By the > beginning of fiscal year 1984, Commodore was = a >=20 $2-billion-dollar-a-year company producing more > computers on a = daily=20 basis than IBM, Apple and Tandy > combined. > > = Commodore=20 also made a number of blunders in 1984, > though. The Commodore = Plus/4 and=20 C-16 computers made > their respective debuts in the Fall of 1984, = to=20 mixed > reviews. On the one hand, the Plus/4 was truly = unique, >=20 having selectable software in ROM on the computer > motherboard. = These=20 included a spreadsheet, word > processor and other applications. = The=20 original idea > was for the merchant to ask the consumer = what >=20 applications they wanted, and then install that > particular ROM = into the=20 Plus/4. However, Commodore > felt this was far too confusing for = the=20 average > consumer, and so just settled for the revamped = +4 >=20 application suite (which wasn't very useful, > = unfortunately). >=20 > Both the Plus/4 and C-16 featured an upgraded BASIC > = (version=20 3.5), which offered advanced commands for > hi-res graphics, sound = and=20 easy-to-use disk commands, > such as HEADER, SCRATCH, DSAVE, DLOAD = and=20 DIRECTORY. > But the main drawback of both machines was the lack=20 of > Commodore 64 software compatibility. Indeed, the > = ill-fated=20 machines weren't just largely incompatible > in software -- some = of the=20 hardware connections and > peripherals were different as well. As=20 expected, both > machines failed to sell in large quantities and=20 were > discontinued by Commodore fairly quickly. > >=20 Commodore also had the brilliant idea of re-packaging > the = Commodore 64=20 into a "portable" computer known as > the SX-64. This was = essentially a=20 Commodore 64 w/ > built-in 1541 disk drive crafted into a case = with a=20 5" > color monitor for around $899. It didn't sell very > = well --=20 after all, who really needed a portable > Commodore 64, other than = hardcore hobbyists? > > In the Summer of 1984, upon Jack = Tramiel's=20 departure, > Commodore management purchased the struggling = Amiga >=20 Corporation right under Atari's nose. Atari tried to > sue, = claiming that=20 they had reached an agreement with > Amiga to distribute their=20 revolutionary computer, but > Amiga apparently backed out of the=20 agreement and went > with Commodore at the last possible = moment. >=20 > Commodore also decided the TED-series Commodore Plus/4 > = and C-16=20 were lacking Commodore 64 compatibility, a > key feature for = everyone who=20 > owned one. They apparently listened, and began > = designing the=20 later-named Commodore 128 around the > Commodore 64, with 100%=20 compatibility in mind. > > At the Winter CES, Commodore = engineers=20 were still > struggling to make the Commodore 128 prototype = work. >=20 There is a story often circulated and told where one > Commodore = engineer,=20 who was responsible for the CP/M > and Z80 mode of the machine, = "fixed"=20 the problem by > placing an ice cube on the 80-column VDC = chip, >=20 squeezing a few hours of operation out of the > quirky video = chip, and=20 thereby cooling it down enough > for both the machine and power = supply.=20 Apparently, the > introduction of the Z80 chip and CP/M saved = the >=20 Commodore 128's design, because both the VDC and > VIC-II chips = were=20 different beasts. > > The Commodore 128 would have rolled = out to=20 the > production lines on time, for the Winter CES, except > = that=20 FCC approval was delayed for another six months > (due to a = blunder by=20 Commodore management, I > am told). Thus, the long-awaited = "upgrade" to=20 the > Commodore 64 didn't begin shipping until around June > = 1985,=20 and by then, the Commodore 64 users who wished > to upgrade were = fairly=20 upset. The C-128 sold for a > very reasonable $299 without disk = drive,=20 and the 1571 > (an upgrade to the 1541 disk drive) could be had=20 for > as little as $279. It also included an upgraded = BASIC >=20 (version 7.0), which was essentially the BASIC > 3.5 of the = Plus/4 and=20 C-16 (with several new commands > added). > > But = trouble=20 lurked in later 1985, when Commodore was > still getting adjusted = to new=20 management upon Jack > Tramiel's departure the previous summer (to = lead > Commodore's arch nemesis -- Atari Corporation). > = Although=20 the Commodore 64 still sold well, the planned > release of the = Amiga=20 continued to be delayed due to a > variety of factors, including = marketing=20 > consideration and machine code rewrites. The Amiga was > = thus a=20 very complex machine and the new technology > forced Commodore to = be as=20 careful as possible in > developing the software. Indeed, the = Amiga even=20 touted > an expansion ability to run 100% IBM = PC-compatible >=20 software. > > The Amiga 1000 was finally introduced in=20 late-1985, > with a lavish marketing campaign and more than a = few >=20 celebrities. However, the Amiga was so far ahead of > it's time = that=20 consumers either passed on it entirely, > or purchased it with a = curious=20 (though wary) eye. It > was truly a remarkable machine, boasting = 4,096=20 colors, > 256KB of RAM and true > multi-tasking abilities. = This was=20 in addition to TV > and Video editing capabilities (the TV show=20 "Babylon > 5" reportedly used a series of Amigas to produce the = >=20 stunning special effects in every episode). > > By 1986, = Commodore=20 owed millions of dollars to the > bank, and didn't recover = financially=20 until late 1986. > At this time, the computing industry was moving = over > to the IBM PC-compatible market in droves. = Commodore > fought=20 this by introducing their own IBM-PC > compatibles, including the=20 Commodore PC-10. Still, the > damage was already done. > = >=20 Also in 1986, Commodore repackaged the trusty > Commodore 64 into = a new=20 beige case, with a sleek > "C-128"-like design and feel. The new = Commodore=20 64C > computer included Q-Link, a modem telecommunications > = software package, along with the hardware. This > assured that = millions of=20 Commodore users could > venture online to BBSs, telneting their = way to=20 news, > sports, weather and financial information. The = more >=20 curious, of course, downloaded software and other > applications, = making=20 the Commodore 64 one of > the first home computers to be used = with=20 a > telecommunications device en mass. > > GEOS was = also=20 introduced around this time, courtesy of > Berkley Softworks. This = was a=20 Macintosh-like, icon > driven Operating System for both the = Commodore 64=20 and > 128 computers. Along with the Commodore 1351 mouse = and > an=20 assortment of quality printers then on the market, > the average = Commodore=20 user could produce stunning > hi-res graphics in GEOPaint, compose = letters=20 in > GEOWrite, and even compile data into spreadsheets, > = courtesy=20 of GEOCalc. > > The innovations of GEOS and the Amiga = helped=20 to > bolster Commodore, revitalizing the 8 and 16-bit > = flagships of=20 the company. This, in turn, led to the > resurgence of Commodore = as a=20 computer company (at > least for a while). The only real problems=20 consumers > faced were increasingly poor customer service = for >=20 their beloved Commodores. Indeed, RUN magazine (a > = Commodore-specific=20 trade journal which ceased > publication in late-1992) even = highlighted=20 this > problem in issues published during the spring and > = summer of=20 1989. Other Commodore magazines, including > Ahoy!, folded = entirely by the=20 late-1980s (although > mega-popular "Compute!'s Gazette" became=20 incorporated > into parent Compute! magazine by 1990). = Disk-based >=20 magazine Loadstar, however, continued on for several > years=20 thereafter. > > By 1988, though, Commodore ran straight = into a=20 brick > wall -- of their own making. Marketing was still >=20 struggling how to pitch the Amiga to consumers, while > sales of = the=20 Commodore 64 -- peaking in 1987 -- > dwindled to less than 1.5 = million=20 units sold, per > fiscal year, by 1989. The 8-bit market was = >=20 quickly drying up, and the industry was still > struggling to find = a niche=20 for the advanced (but > largely out of place) Amiga. > = >=20 Commodore management decided the future lay chiefly in > the = Amiga, and so=20 the Commodore 64/128 began to be > de-emphasized in favor of the = newer=20 technology. The > Commodore 128, despite being revitalized into = the=20 > C-128D model with a detachable keyboard and built-in > = disk=20 drive, was discontinued in 1989 (much to the > dismay of many a = Commodore=20 user). Commodore's > reasoning centered on the high cost of = production=20 for > the machine, and emphasized their continued = production > of=20 the less-expensive (and more profitable) Commodore > 64. > = >=20 By 1990, Commodore was in serious financial trouble. > Despite the = success=20 of the Commodore 64, and the > Amiga, the company itself was in = shambles.=20 Chairman > Irving Gould was a sensational globetrotter, > = spending=20 much of his time flying between Canada, > America and the Bahamas = (where=20 Commodore International > was based). Over time, several Commodore = executives > were forced out, in one case even physically = (Thomas >=20 J. Rattigan, who replaced Marshall Smith in 1986, who > in turn = replaced=20 Jack Tramiel). > > Also in 1990, Commodore decided to = venture into=20 a new > project, which was a mixture of existing Amiga > = technology=20 and the new interactive CD medium. This was > termed "CD-TV" by = Commodore,=20 and although it was > essentially an Amiga running CD-hardware, = the=20 machine > was still innovative and ahead of market = expectations. >=20 As with the Amiga, Commodore jumped into a new > technology too = soon, and=20 the CD-TV faded into > obscurity with few units sold and a = stockpile of=20 > unsold hardware at 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA > = (then=20 Commodore's headquarters in the United States). > > The = once proud=20 company was desperate to recapture the > glory days of the = Commodore 64,=20 and so they began work > in earnest on an ultra-elaborate = successor to=20 > the 64 called the Commodore 65. The C65 was a unique > = machine, a=20 fusion of existing C64 technology with new, > more advanced Amiga = designs.=20 It was to be largely 64 > compatible (estimates range from between = 70-80%), > incorporating a new BASIC 10.0 into the C-65 mode = and >=20 the newly designed "VIC-III" chip into the hardware. > > = However,=20 just months from release in 1991, Irving > Gould pulled the plug = on the 65=20 project, calling it > "the Son of Plus/4". This angered several=20 Commodore > engineers, who promptly quit in protest. > = >=20 Despite this, Commodore somehow managed to earn $1 > billion = dollars in=20 1991, which came as a shock to most > observers due to the = perceived=20 failure of Commodore to > capitalize on the Amiga technology. The = bulk=20 of > Commodore sales, however, were largely overseas, with > = upwards=20 of 85% of their total revenue being acquired > in the U.K. and=20 Ireland. > > By 1992, Commodore 64 sales had dwindled to a=20 less > than positive 800,000 units sold in that fiscal = year. > And=20 the Amiga, despite several incarnations, wasn't > selling to = expectations.=20 Commodore responded by > closing down several manufacturing = plants,=20 slashing > payroll and firing a vast majority of their = workforce. >=20 By mid-1993, Commodore was essentially a > skeleton company ran = by less=20 than 100 people. > > However, Commodore made one last = attempt at=20 recovery, > launching the Amiga CD32, a gaming console = system >=20 based on existing Amiga technology (more or less an > Amiga 500, = with=20 additional hardware upgrades). The > system flopped, however, with = just=20 over 30 games > produced in a very short shelf life. It went=20 virtually > unnoticed in the press and media, who had = already >=20 written off Commodore to history. > > By early 1994, = Commodore was=20 nearly finished. When > creditors came calling on outstanding = loans,=20 Commodore > didn't have the financial resources to pay them = off. >=20 On April 29, 1994, a Friday, Commodore announced they > were = closing down=20 for good, liquidating their > remaining assets and firing > = all=20 remaining staff. Commodore was thus finished. > > In 1995, = German=20 computer maker ESCOM purchased the > Commodore patents for a = meager sum of=20 $10 million. > This bankruptcy court decision included the = > rights=20 to the Commodore name, patents and intellectual > property. ESCOM = had=20 plans to resurrect the Amiga in > various countries, including = Europe and=20 Asia. However, > ESCOM itself was also in financial trouble, and=20 soon > filed for bankruptcy protection in July 1996. > = >=20 Eventually, Commodore's original patents and > technology fell to = Tulip=20 Computers (another overseas > computer maker). Unlike ESCOM, Tulip = made=20 good on > their promises, re-launching the Commodore brand = name > in=20 2003, backed by full support of Ironstone Partners, > who handled = the=20 sales of Commodore 64-related products > and even the main C64 = internet=20 > portal itself. > > Commodore's history has been = largely=20 forgotten, > obscured by revisionist history written by the=20 success > of Microsoft, the PC and Apple's Macintosh. But = the >=20 truth remains vivid in the mind of this computer user, > for I = remember a=20 time when Commodore ruled the > computing universe (even if they = failed to=20 rule > themselves). > > References: > >=20 "Commodore 64 Makes a Comeback", July 14, 2003. Web > address: = >=20 <A = href=3D"http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111556,00.asp"><FONT=20 face=3DArial=20 size=3D2>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111556,00.asp</= A><FONT=20 face=3DArial size=3D2>. > > "Global re-launch of COMMODORE = by TULIP=20 COMPUTERS N.V. > and IRONSTONE > PARTNERS LIMITED", June = 11,2003.=20 Web address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://www.tulip.com/news/article.asp?nid=3D109">http://www.tulip.com/news/article.asp?nid=3D109</A> <F= ONT=20 face=3DArial size=3D2>> > "R.I.P. Commodore 1954-1994", August = 1994.=20 Web > address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://www.byte.com/art/9408/sec14/art1.htm">http://www.byte.com/art/9408/sec14/art1.htm</A> > > "Amiga - Wikipedia", March 2004. Web = address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_Amiga</A> <FONT= =20 face=3DArial size=3D2>> > "History of the Amiga Computer", = circa 2003.=20 Web > address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/amiga/history.html">http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/amiga/history.html</A><= BR><FONT=20 face=3DArial size=3D2>> > "Chronological History of Commodore = Computer",=20 circa > 2004. Web address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://www.commodore.ca/history/company/chronology_portcommodore.= htm"><FONT=20 face=3DArial=20 size=3D2>http://www.commodore.ca/history/company/chronology_portcommodore= ..htm</A> <FONT=20 face=3DArial size=3D2>> > "Commodore History", circa 2004. Web = address: > <A=20 href=3D"http://amiga.emugaming.com/commodore.html">http://amiga.emugaming.com/commodore.html</A> > > Sincerely, > > Paul Allen = Panks >=20 <A href=3D"mailto:dunric@yahoo.com">dunric@yahoo.com</A> > = >=20 > -- > <A = href=3D"mailto:panks@sdf.lonestar.org"><FONT=20 face=3DArial size=3D2>panks@sdf.lonestar.org</A> > SDF Public Access UNIX System - <A=20 href=3D"http://sdf.lonestar.org">http://sdf.lonestar.org</A></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_02A0_01C46F75.CD1C3090--

Somewhere along the way the PET got shortchanged here. In Canada, (where Commodore started to my knowledge), the original PET with cassette drive didn't sell a lot of units. It was quickly replaced by the Pet 2001 The original PET with calculator-type keys and cassette drive built in WAS called the 2001. Tom Lake

"3 Ball Banditt" <mwestbye@cogeco.ca> wrote in message news:z0GLc.45418$XY6.3666382@read2.cgocable.net... Somewhere along the way the PET got shortchanged here. In Canada, (where Commodore started to my knowledge), the original PET with cassette drive didn't sell a lot of units. It was quickly replaced by the Pet 2001 which was really designed to paired with the 2040, later 4040, twin 180K drives and the newer disk operating system 4.0 with relative files etc. This doesn't make sense - I have a PET 2001 *with* internal cassette (& 4k of ram) (bought new in 1978). Where do you get the notion the 2001 was the 2nd PET release ? cheers, Lance

"Paul Allen Panks" <panks@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote in message news:ccpjon$8uh$1@chessie.cirr.com... > By 1977, Commodore introduced one of the first > personal computers not sold in kit form: the Commodore > PET. Designed by legendary Commodore > engineer Chuck Peddle, the PET was essentially a > full-fledged computer in a molded plastic case, with a > monitor and cassette drive built-in (used for > running software on cassette tapes). The 2001 (& it's direct offspring) had metal cases. > There was, of course, so much demand for the 1541 disk > drive, especially in summer of 1983, that Commodore > was caught off guard and had to ramp up > production just to meet consumer demand. The old > datasette, which read tapes instead of disks, was fast > becoming obsolete. Not in Australia - 1541's were expensive & never really hit market penetration until the 1541-II's - almost all software here was released on tape as well as disk. > Commodore also had the brilliant idea of re-packaging > the Commodore 64 into a "portable" computer known as > the SX-64. This was essentially a Commodore 64 w/ > built-in 1541 disk drive crafted into a case with a 5" > color monitor for around $899. It didn't sell very > well -- after all, who really needed a portable > Commodore 64, other than hardcore hobbyists? Did reasonably well here in Oz - I have quite a few ads from that time - it was squarely aimed at the business market, not the home or hobbyist market (again, at least here in Oz). > However, Commodore made one last attempt at recovery, > launching the Amiga CD32, a gaming console system > based on existing Amiga technology (more or less an > Amiga 500, with additional hardware upgrades). The > system flopped, however, with just over 30 games > produced in a very short shelf life. It went virtually > unnoticed in the press and media, who had already > written off Commodore to history. Errrr... I have 66 in my own collection & there are at least 30 others I'm aware of & haven't got yet - this info is US-centric, right ? cheers, Lance