The Commodore 64 (briefly: C64, colloquially also 64er) is an 8-bit home computer with 64 KB RAM.

The C64 center to end of the 1980er years both and play console and for software development, built by Commodore, was extremely popular. It is considered as the usually-sold home computer and enjoys also today of still large popularity. Contrary to modern PCs the C64 ordered all programs over no internal mass storage devices, had from external drive assemblies, how are loaded the Datasette or the VC1541-Diskettenlaufwerk. Only the basic functions are in 8 KB a large Rome chip, the so-called Kernel (with Commodore KERNAL and stood for K'eyboard entry READ, network, and L'ink was called) stored, a substantial component were thereby the programming language Commodore BASIC V2, which occupied further 8 KB in the ROM.

Development

Up to its first conception in January 1982 on the winters Consumer Electronics show had already built quite successfully smaller office computers for Commodore Business Machines (CBM) like the PET, in addition, the home computer VC 20. Firm founder Jack Tramiel coined/shaped the sentence "„computers for the of measure, emergency the classes! "“, which also succeeded to it with the C64 finally. In September 1982 the C64 came for 595 US$ on the American and at the beginning of of 1983 to the starting price of DM 1,495, - on the German market and was very successful in Germany as in all important markets the world (with exception of Japan). Main competitor was '' the Atari 800 XL represented strongly in the USA ''. Many plays were offered at the same time to Alternate Reality (front C64, back Atari) on a 5,25-Zoll-Diskette for both systems, as for instance the computer game of roles, which can be regarded as reference to the dominance of the two marks.

The C64 was produced by Commodore approx. eleven years long almost invariably, over 17 million pieces was sold. Thus the C64 applies as the usually-sold computer of the world.

During this time optical and smaller technical changes took place again and again, in order to use more modern manufacturing possibilities and lower production costs. Although the interior life of the first C64 differs nearly completely from that the last version, the developers had succeeded in nevertheless holding all versions almost by hundred percent compatibly to each other - which meant that the efficiency of the computer was not increased during the production cycle. For example the complete motherboard layout, by CCU, was changed sound chip and other construction units newer versions was used, and almost all logical chips were integrated into a Custom chip. This highly integrated version was driven out for the first time over Discounter and came as Aldi-C64 into disrepute, since the hardware layout was so far changed that these computers were no longer compatible to many internal extensions of foreign manufacturers.

On the housing the C64 carries the label "„for personal computers "“. Thus it comes to the expression that equipment for the use in the private surrounding field actual was years before computer large machines, which were accommodated in computing centres. With Commodore there was at the beginning of the 1980er years the organization into the two sections "„PC "“for home computers and "„systems "“for office computers, before IBM with its PC came and collided with this phraseology. With the today's PC the C64 had hardly a technical similarity, although the general operational principle of a program controlled and machine binary counting did not change since the invention of the computer by Konrad Zuse until today fundamentally.

The C64 is called by German fans sometimes also "„bread box "“, because the original housing variant has similarities with such. The housing of the C64C of 1986 however has (used rarely) the pointed name "„door wedge "“, already 1987 returned Commodore to the original shape of the housing.

Articles in category "Commodore 64"

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Related Websites

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• C64.com
  Huge Commodore 64 game archive with screenshots and downloads.


• Commodore 64 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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• Commodore 64 computer
  The C-64 looks nearly identical to the Commodore VIC-20, released in 1981. ... It is to be an enhanced Commodore 64 with 128KB RAM expandable to 896KB. ...


• OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum
  Several versions of the Commodore 64 were launched : ... So, although the case might look the same and the label says "Commodore 64", the boards may be ...


• Wikipedia: Commodore 64
  Wikipedia's history of the Commodore 64. Includes hardware specs and game screenshots.