Monday, December 14, 2009

Remembering the VIC-20



Does anyone else remember the VIC-20? Am I dreaming? Did this $299 consumer appliance (the first "personal computer" to ship a million units) really transform people's lives? Or just mine?

I wonder if William Shatner remembers being in this ad?

Commodore's computer-in-a-keyboard, you may recall, came with a grand total of 5 KB of RAM (enough to run the operating system and leave 3583 bytes left over for you, the discerning consumer, to play with). Fear not, though: RAM was expandable up to 40 KB with an add-on memory cartridge.

Does anyone else recall logging onto CompuServe with a 300-baud modem, using the VIC-20 wired to a TV as a monitor? Or am I showing my age?

On second thought, don't answer that.