[–] Prepackaged 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
It was a great machine. You didn't even need a special monitor, it hooked up to your TV.
Then the 128 came out. It was a better machine but you needed to buy a monitor. The public thought a monitor as TV that you could only use with the computer, you not watch TV on it. And that is why the 128 is not the best selling computer in history.
[–] effusive_ermine 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
The real reason the 128 didn't do as well as the C64 is that it was too little too late. Don't get me wrong, the C128 was an amazing piece of hardware with 80-column text, built-in C64 and built-in Z80 machine all with 128K of memory. Unfortunately, Apple had already begun selling 16 and 32 bit machines which made the 128 seem ... regressive in comparison.
Now the Amiga ... that was the computer which truly could have changed the world. If only someone at Commodore had the vision to understand how to market that amazing machine. So many years ahead of its time ... so much potential wasted.
[–] AreWeHuman 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Had marketing not failed I'm sure the PC market today would have looked very different. The creativity it opened up for simply blew my mind back then. I'm sure it's the Amigas fault that I'm a full time programmer, hobby musician, and enjoy painting. Not saying I'm an expert at everything, but at least I don't suck completely. The Amiga kickstarted (pun intended) some interest that I have enjoyed ever since.
[–] Prepackaged 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Except that is not the reason my family did not buy one. It was because they wanted to sell us a monitor. We could not fathom why they wanted us to buy this specialty-thing when the TV had always worked just fine.
We did get an explanation about how the computer needed it and we asked, "Then why did you build it so that it needed it? Would it have been so hard to build one that I could hook up to my TV?" They said "No" and we said "Bullshit" and when the C64 died we went without a computer for over a decade.
It really was the need to purchase a monitor. Not flops, not bytes, not any computer hardware. It was what we saw as an attempt to get more of our money for what was we thought of as a toy.
[–] effusive_ermine 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Z80 Video Pack 80Turn your C64 into an 40 or 80 column black and white display. It had a Z-80 processor built into it so you could use CP/M! A company called “Data 20” produced these in the early days of the C64. This is an extremely rare find that would have been emensely helpful. As such we assume it did not work very well, was incompatible with most software or was very expensive. If you have any information on this device please contact us.
It might have been helpful if you wanted to run WordStar or other CP/M programs. I've never seen one of these, but I'm guessing it would have provided a monochrome 80 column text mode. Such things were nice for programmers, but if your program made use of the hardware then it would require that hardware to work. Given that these are truly rare, I'm guessing not enough were sold to make supporting software financially viable: chicken vs. egg.
[–] [deleted] 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
[–] AreWeHuman 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Had mine at age seven. Still remember the minutes I ran the first game of Pitstop.