The computer that started it all

When you think of vintage computers, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the Commodore 64. And for good reason – it was one of the most popular and influential home computers of the 1980s. But did you know that the Commodore story actually starts way before that?

In the early 1970s, a man named Jack Tramiel was running a typewriter repair business. But he had bigger aspirations. He saw the potential in the emerging computer market and decided to jump in. And, Commodore Business Machines was born.

The first Commodore computer, the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor), was released in 1977. It was a basic machine, but it was affordable and easy to use, which made it a hit with schools and small businesses. But the real game-changer came a few years later with the release of the Commodore 64.

The C64, as it was affectionately known, was a true powerhouse for its time. It had 64 kilobytes of memory (hence the name), a built-in keyboard, and could even connect to a TV for display. But what really set it apart was its price – it was significantly cheaper than most other home computers on the market. This made it accessible to a whole new market of consumers, and it quickly became the best-selling computer of all time (until the release of the Macintosh in 1984).

But the Commodore story doesn’t end there. The company continued to release new models, such as the Commodore 128 and the Commodore Amiga, which were popular with home users and gamers alike. And although the company eventually went bankrupt in the mid-1990s, the impact of the Commodore computers can still be felt today.

Many of the features that we now take for granted, such as the ability to connect to a TV for display and the use of a keyboard and mouse, were first introduced by the Commodore 64. And the Amiga, with its advanced graphics and sound capabilities, was a precursor to the modern gaming systems we have today.

So the next time you’re playing a video game or typing up a document on your computer, take a moment to think about the little machine that started it all – the Commodore 64. It may not have been the first computer, but it was certainly one of the most important.

So, Let’s raise a glass and cheers to the Commodore, for being the computer that started it all!