Twenty-six years ago in April of 1994 Commodore Computers, at least as it was known, went out of business. The company that had launched a competitively priced home computer and pushed the Commodore 64 to become the all-time best selling computer ended. What had been a battle between Microsoft, Apple, Commodore, and others lost perhaps its most loved competitor. Today, the Mac from Apple and various computers with the Microsoft operating system dominate the world. Sure you can take the Linux leap and have your own independent computer and there will always be alternatives, but nobody is building new Commodores. Yes, we can all turn to the 64 mini, or the new full-sized “The C64” or you may even find a Pentium based model floating around somewhere – but simply put, there are no new Commodores.
The Amiga 1200 and 4000 marked the end of the Commodore line. An attempt was made to produce a game systems, but it ultimately failed in the wake of the company going bankrupt.
Today, the Vic-20, Commodore 64, and several Amiga models have a large following. Facebook pages, websites, and Twitter accounts to post updates, news, and information. Questions and answers are asked, repair advice are given, and if a person did not know better and read the post, he or she would think Commodore is alive and well today. Today Commodore 64 systems can average anywhere from $90 to $200 or more on sites like E-bay. Collectors are gathering up systems so they will have parts well into the future.
Writing about Commodore is something I love, but have not been keeping up with as I should. For those reading this blog, I apologize. We had a couple of great contributors initially, and I wrote some articles. I also run an online news site (FourStatesNews.us) and I operate a consulting business. As you can imagine, that takes a lot of time. Since the pandemic hit, I have not taken time to play a single Commodore game or do anything with my small collection…I know, a terrible sin! Overall, though, I have had to ignore this site. So, I’m reaching out to the Commodore lovers.
If you love Commodore, have a story to share, news, a great find, a program you want to share – just about anything related to a Commodore- I want you to share it. Please send it to me. An article, some pictures, your name, and email is all I need to post. I will be happy to share your story with the world of Commodore Computer Lovers! Here are some ideas:
“I wrote a great Commodore Program”
“I am reviewing the old Commodore Game XYZ”
“The Day I received my first Commodore…”
“Look what I found on E-Bay”
Even articles like…. “I’ve decided to sell my Commodore collection because…”
So, if you have the time and desire, get cracking and send me what you want to publish. Until next time…keep those drives spinning.
