Commodore? Risen from the dead?
by subacati
It was in 2004 that I finally got rid of my Commodore 128D. I just couldn't justify the space that it took-up anymore! :awww:.
But when I got my netbook, I quickly found the VICE emulator and realised that, thanks to modern technology, I hadn't lost much! :hat:. …
Commodore USA LLC is a new company that has aquired the Commodore brand worldwide. (according to their website) And they have recently launched a reborn 'classic' 'Commodore 64' computer. :left:.
As I C=64 enthusiast, I should be ecstatic! but I'm not! :awww:. I'm not even pleased to be honest! :left:. Their effort totally misses the point. Anyone could take an old Commodore box and put a modern motherboard into it. But let's be honest, the original C=64 was butt fugly! :yuck:. This new pretender has none of the soul of the original. It doesn't have any of the original's propriety ports. (something which, strangely enough, is catered for by most emulators) That lack of propriety ports is the first major flaw in this pathetic attempt to cash in on the nostalgia of an enthusiast. At the very least, they should have included the two Atari® style game ports and the Commodore serial port! (The latter for connecting legacy Commodore printers and disk drives) :rolleyes:.
Anything less than this is just a glorified case-mod, which many Commodore enthusiasts have done anyway, usually including some legacy ports as well! :irked:.
I've read some comments where people see this as a 'good' option for Linux enthusiasts. The fact that, after buying this usurper, you still need to buy an external keyboard to use it properly with a modern operating system makes this a bad choice for that. There are countless cheap pc's out there that could serve the needs for a modern system much better!
So who is this actually aimed at? I really don't know but I don't believe any hard-core Commodore enthusiast would touch this thing with a ten-foot barge pole! :insane:.
And who, other than an enthusiast, would even want a 'Commodore 64' anyway? :confused:.
Some case mods.
http://mini-itx.com/projects/c64/
http://waitingforfriday.com/index.php/C64_VICE_Front-End
http://m.engadget.com/default/article.do?artUrl=http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/31/connect-your-commodore-64-keyboard-to-your-pc-via-usb/&category=classic&postPage=1
subacati 
::: Putting on my Mud Repellent Rubber Suit and Goggles :::Splish Splash Splat Sphloorzpt!!!:insane: Oh my goodness! The word on the grapevine was correct.There IS a full blown New Commodore 64 Dragging through the Mud / Mud Slinging Fest going on here. Your honor … I object.The original Commodore 64 was NOT Butt Fugly. It was Slick, Awesome, Revolutionary, Envy-eliciting, Culture-setting, Efficient and … and Neato. :headbang: Come on, Aadil. Breathe in. Breathe out.Serenity now.Now get one and give that Linux CD a try and you just might be: by the New Gen Commodore 64.
It's missing some basic necessities, like a Commodore serial port and a couple of Commodore joystick ports! :rolleyes:.Without those, this is no different from me using VICE. And what's the bet that they use VICE anyway as their emulator of choice? :whistle:. (rebranded of course, they'd be be sure to rebrand it! :rolleyes:)
Maybe they used the strategy that if the original Terminator was great and set a standard … and Terminator II shattered that standard, well, lightning could strike twice. Bad to the Bone!And NO, I don't mean THAT kind of Bad as in to the Bone. I mean :norris: to the Bone.Am I getting out of hand yet? Am I flirting with losing plausibility?
I've updated the post with this great link. :up:.http://waitingforfriday.com/index.php/C64_VICE_Front-Endthis is a rather old 'case mod' that produces almost the exact same machine that's been offered now with one major improvement. It includes joystick ports. :up:.
I drew a blank on that last link. :p
I was a Spectrum kid. Time to teach you a lesson, mister.*cracks knuckles threateningly*
Then you'll love this one! :up:.http://technabob.com/blog/2009/04/12/sinclair-zx-spectrum-linux-pc-casemod/
Originally posted by pman45:
It was working earlier! :faint:.
most enthusiasts still have a few lying around. :p.And they're of such simple design that you can actually make one yourself. :whistle:.But no, you can't get a new one to my knowledge.
Can you even buy Atari style Joysticks anywhere anyway?I mean in the regular real world, NOT Online.And in the real world, I mean a store, NOT out of the car trunk of some scruffy dude's car while you're over at the car wash. :insane:
I rebuilt my ZX spectrum into a larger case with a real qwerty keyboard that some company in Britain made and threw the original case in the bin. 😀
😆
you idiot! :mad:.
There was a store near I live where they used to sell old hard- and software, both C64s and other old stuff. Looked like a cool place, but the financial crisis took it. :awww:
Originally posted by pman45:
I'm imagining a box made out of plywood … covered with an Amphibians-themed retro Wall Paper. Is that about right?
But, Aadil ….. if you made your own Atari style Joysticks, they wouldn't be genuine :insane: and that would subsequently render any possibly available genuine Atari style Joysticks Ports moot.
I remember those Atari style Joysticks were real cheesy and real quickly started getting unsatisfactorily responsive. Sometimes I'd be playing Space Invaders or Centipede and pushing that Joystick beyond the limits of one extreme or the other, trying to get it to have me avoid disaster and the Joystick would not respond. I'd actually hear the Joystick crack from me pushing it beyond the limit. 😆 I'd be, "Aww C'mon!!! :bomb: Son of a BEACH! You sorry Fugging Piece of Shi™! 😡 It's all YOUR fault! :furious: "
The actual Atari joystick was well near indestructible! :hat:. But not the most comfortable device. My one brother managed to snap one of at the base though! :insane:.The atari style port allowed a wide range of joysticks, paddles, graphics tablets, lightpens and even voice controllers to be connected to the Commodore. All such legacy equipment, barring the lightpen for technical reasons, could still be used by enthusiasts today. Some enthusiasts use an original C=64 while using their PC as a glorified diskdrive! :faint:.(sid emulation is imperfect)the only reason lightpens won't work today, even with an original machine, is because they only work with older crt tv's and monitors. An lcd screen doesn't flicker properly to work with a lightpen. :up:.
I was not interested in computers back then 😆 So, I don`t feel anything about that old hardware now. It is just what it is – old hardware :left:
Originally posted by Suntana:
:no: It was specially designed for the Spectrum and I bought it because it was nearly impossible to write something in Basic on the original keyboard. Some of the functions were buried 6 layers deep under the key. :faint: The whole kit looked really flashy but I did not like the rubbery feel you got when you start to type. :yuck: Well …. You win some and you loose some. 😀
I'm like Darko, never was interested in a computer back then so it's like he said, old hardware. I like the photo you put up on Peter's blog about this. 🙂
😆 😀
Nah! Those aren't old hardware. Old hardware is what I currently have. :doh: The Commodore, Atari and ZX Spectrum are pioneering hardware.
Never having messed around with a ZX Spectrum, Peter, I'm confused. Are you saying that with the ZX Spectrum in its as is, out of the box state, you couldn't just plain ole flat out TYPE in the BASIC commands? You had to use some built-in One Key method of inserting the BASIC commands? If that's the case, that would surely suck if as you say, you had to search 6 layers deep for the commands.It sure sounds like the ZX Spectrum was even worse than my Atari 400 with its infamous Flat Membrane Keyboard. :insane: On that one I could directly type in the BASIC commands, but it was very slow — Beep Beep Beep Beep :ko: :faint:
they were some of the first computers to be used by 'normal' people. Before these pioneers, only university students and professors used computers. :up:.
Originally posted by Suntana:
That it surely was! They were affordable to the upcoming generation who had use computers at work and test their skills at home.
the ZX Spectrum used various control keys to enter commands. Once you got used to it, it was much quicker than typing. But the keyboard was not well suited to typing on anyway being of the rubber eraser style often found on calculators and remotes. :left:.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/3/33/20050602122715!ZXSpectrum48k.jpg
You hit the spot Suntana. 😆 It was designed for playing games so that was what 80% of the buyers were doing with it. Some of them never went any further than ……. "Print Ba, Ba, Black Sheep …. Have You Any Wool":faint:
Aadil, that last link of yours just brought me back down memory lane. :jester:
One of the attractions of the original C-64, which was my first computer BTW, was the mechanical keyboard which had a very nice action from what I can remember. A review I read of this new machine pointed out that what it is really lacking is a wireless video connection so that you can use it in the sitting room with your TV from the couch.
the Amiga CDTV is a nice addition to your sitting room. :up:.Actually, what this new 'Commodore' company doesn't understand is that the Commodore 64 became a classic because it was cutting edge technology when first released. Just like the Amiga was cutting edge at the time. :left:.There is nothing innovative about a glorified case mod. :irked:.(they seem to have copied a documented case mod directly)I believe they will disappear from the scene soon anyway because it's a really bad time to start a business and unless you have something original to offer, you're gonna have an uphill battle trying to develop a customer base. :left:.
Originally posted by gdare:
I think Darko is right .
Originally posted by raniakasim:
:lol:.
Originally posted by pman45:
That reminded me of my cousin. Back in 84, he decided he had had it. That was it. He was tired of his job. He was ready to start making the BIG Bucks. So, he was going to go all out and get himself a "Computer Job." I'm not sure what that meant. But, he was ready to put his all into this new Big Bucks embarkment. Therefore, he enrolled in some free night Computer Classes … and bought himself a Commodore 64. :headbang:The plan was in motion. I even heard him myself seriously tell his wife something along the lines of, "You just watch. I don't bullshit around. When I put my mind to something, I do it. I'll GET myself a Computer Job."I helped him set up his Commodore 64.I demonstrated a little bit of BASIC programming.Right … you know, how to scroll a zig zag pattern of your name. That was probably the most complex thing he learned. I don't recall seeing him messing around with his Commodore 64. I'm not even sure if he ever finished those free night Computer Classes. But, about all they taught him was no doubt Ba Ba Black Sheep 101. He never did get that Computer Job.
The Amiga was cutting edge at the time? :eyes:I think I know of ONE person who had an Amiga computer. 😀
The Amiga was the world's first multimedia computer with built-in video capture back in 1987. The problem was that nobody could imagine what that meant back then. :lol:. People thought it was a games machine, not realising just how amazingly powerfull it was. :headbang:.Pretty much the only serious job it was used for was medical imaging. (used for rendering MRI's and similar uses)It was also used by a few movie makers and TV production houses. :hat:.It had 4069 colours (if I recall correctly) Which made the 256 colours on other machines a joke. :lol:.
Oh, Okay. I guess I never paid attention to the Amiga.I was too enthralled by the Commodore 64.4069 colors, Eh?That's 1 color less than what some of Peppermint's Blog Designs have.
:lol:.True. :p.The Amiga also used a 32 Bit cpu while Intell PC's at the time were still using 16 bit cpu's :rolleyes:.People in the industry often criticized Commodore products for the strangest reasons. For example, the 64 was criticized for it's 1541 disk drive not been compatible with the mfm disk format used by most cp/m based machines. (and later by MSdos) and the Amiga was criticized for not using the 16bit cpu from Intel and hence not being MSdos compatible. :doh:.
Originally posted by qlue:
Does this mean people now have to fill it with firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software? Does it mean a 2-minute startup, as opposed to just being able to turn the thing on (a feature I miss in modern computers … when you could just switch the bloody things on and you were ready to go)?I was an old TRS-80 guy back in the day, but I had some friends who had the Commodore 64, and there were some wicked games for it (which, at that age, of course, was the main thing I cared about). 😆
Yes David. Yes to all of the above. :awww:.You can still find the hands scattered around the Net. For Commodore I recommend VICE and for Spectrum I recommend fuse. Both decent emulators. (fuse requires a bit of ingenuity to install on Ubuntu And for VICE you'll have to find the rom's and 'install' them manually)
Ahhhhh! So the Amiga was NOT such an Amiga because she wasn't MSDOS compatible. So, the Amiga pulled an Apple, huh? Being a little too different. Being a little too Linux-ish. That'll teach Commodore to be a rebel. 😆
Hands = games in careless T9.
Yeah. What Mik said. :doh:.