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The New Commodore 64

Posted by samzenpus on from the blast-from-the-past dept.

An anonymous reader writes "After nearly 30 years, the Commodore brand has taken on new management and is re-releasing its flagship computer, this time with all the amenities of a modern-day computer packed inside. From the article: 'The new Commodore 64, which will begin shipping at the end of the month, has been souped-up for the modern age. It comes with 1.8 gigahertz dual processors, an optional Blu-ray player and built-in ethernet and HDMI ports. The new Commodore is priced between $250 to $900.'"

11 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. So the question is... by dskzero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... Why would I buy one?

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    1. Re:So the question is... by LastGunslinger · · Score: 5, Funny

      FTA: “Thirty years ago computers were an all-in-one product, with the keyboard, memory and components built inside,” Mr. Altman explained. “Over the years that has changed, and we believe there is a huge potential to revive the early format.” Gee, I wish they made computers with all the components built together as one unit. Maybe they could call it a laptop or tablet.

    2. Re:So the question is... by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

      1. Nostalgia
      It sure is a novelty item besides being a computer. And if it's a fully functional PC, too, you actually get a pretty usable office machine that way.

      2. All-in-one
      Computer and keyboard rolled back into one. At a price tag that a laptop probably cannot meet (due to flatscreens still being not free) while taking most likely much less real estate around your desk than the traditional PC, no matter whether it's tower or desktop.

      Where I see its space is (home) office users who don't need high end specs but want a simple computer while already having a screen to plug it to. In other words, average computer users. And they're plentiful. Add a few nostalgic geeks and you have a market share.

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    3. Re:So the question is... by bigredradio · · Score: 5, Informative

      Apparently that is what it ships with. From their site:

      Note: Commodore OS 1.0, along with emulation functionality and classic game package, will be mailed to purchasers when available. In the meantime, units come with the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS operating system on CD ready to install.

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    4. Re:So the question is... by LWATCDR · · Score: 5, Insightful

      1. It is too expensive for Nostalgia.
      2. It is too thick to be comfortable to type on.

      I really think they are blowing this. I would love to see a modern C-64 but this isn't it. If I was building one I would start with one of the new AMD fusion chips. Put that into a a thin all in one keyboard that is no thicker than a Notebook. Include an HDMI port so you can hook it to a TV. Install a small Flash drive and no hard drives or CD/DVD. Include few USB 3 ports and maybe a Firewire port for people to add mass storage, and throw on a network port and possibly include wifi.
      Put A good Linux on it and a price of $100 to $200.

      If you want a DVD and or windows that will be extra.
      Schools would love it because it is cheap and should have no moving parts. Kids could use it with a TV in their room and it would actually work out. Of course many people could live with just a monitor anyway since cable boxes have HDMI out anyway. Don't make a copy of the C-64 make an new C-64. A cheap computer that will do what most people want it to do.

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  2. Alternate headline by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Yet Another Company Sells Retro Computer Case"

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    1. Re:Alternate headline by jandrese · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem is that they're missing the entire point of the Commie-64. Every one should come with a full copy of LiveCode or something that lets kids mess around with building their own apps right out of the box, without the training overhead that comes from so many modern IDEs. ROM Basic is too primitive to be of much interest anymore (even with the sprite generator and SID chip), but there are lots of products that are similar and could engage a whole new generation. It needs to be simple enough that clever kids can figure it out by reading the (always available) source in existing programs, and powerful enough to be able to do something interesting.

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  3. Re:As long as I can still play my old favourites by powerlord · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to their site, you can "Play all your favorite 8-bit era games within seconds ... by selecting the C64 icon from the boot menu to run a C64 emulator directly".

    Yes, but they also say:

    ote: Commodore OS 1.0, along with emulation functionality and classic game package, will be mailed to purchasers when available. In the meantime, units come with the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS operating system on CD ready to install.

    So it doesn't sound like they've worked out all the details yet, and don't expect to be able to just pop in your old Floppies and run the programs (hey, I still have my old Amiga Floppies somewhere ... probably time to get rid of them though).

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  4. Re:No numpad? FAIL by Tumbleweed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think that unless it comes with a seperate numpad, this is going to fall flat on its face. The tactile response of the keyboard may be nice (assuming they use individual switches for each key), but the lack of keys will make it close to useless.

    What part of 'Comodore 64' did you not get?

  5. Could have been great... by FrankSchwab · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Now, if they had followed through ...

    OS in ROM - no Virus worries or update hell. All the machines are the same.
    BASIC (replaced with something modern) in ROM - make it easy and attractive to program.
    Applications in ROM - Build in OpenOffice, FireFox, whatever else is commonly needed and make it front and center. Build an entire Linux Distro of applications in that are available with a bit of digging. But mostly, make it really friendly to start writing a letter, using the internet, whatever.
    Cartridge slot for commercial apps.
    An HDMI porrt

    Make the computer an appliance again. Don't require the owner to be a SysAdmin to use it. Sure, you lose some flexibility, but you gain hugely in usability. I know precisely the number of times my mother has opened her computer to install a new add-in card - zero.

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  6. It's a fake! by Hatta · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is nothing but a PC in a custom case with a famous trademark. I read a lot of vintage computing sites and no one has expressed an interest in these. It's a dumb idea, not worthy of mention,

    What is worthy of mention, yet no one reports on, is all the custom retro modern hardware available these days. Want a C64 or Amiga without the hassle of maintaining old hardware? Try a C-One, an FPGA platform that implements both C64 and Amiga computers. Or, do you have a C64 but tire of floppy swapping? Get a 1541-Ultimate, a cycle accurate 1541 emulator that even emits the sounds of a real disk drive. Or, do you love the sound of the SID audio chip inside the C64? Control it via MIDI with the MSSIAH cartridge. Any of these projects are more worthy of attention in the tech media than the crass money grab we see in TFA.

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