The Commodore 64: Not Dead Yet

Thirty years ago next summer there were two great divisions among geek culture: Commodore and Apple. Much as was the case with Ford vs. Chevy a generation earlier (and among gearheads to this day), most geeks belonged to one camp or the other, and maintained that group identity in the face of all arguments of reason or logic. There were people who espoused loyalty to Tandy TRS-80 machines, Kaypros, Osbornes, Franklin ACE units, and even more obscure brands – just as there are gearheads who champion Nissans, Toyotas, Hondas, Studebakers, Packards, Hudsons, and many other forgotten car makes – but mainstream users were generally either Commodore or Apple. Back in 1981-1982, at the dawn of the personal computer age, IBM was still ignoring the PC market, as were Wang, Xerox, Cannon and Hewlett-Packard; the chairman of Digital had gone on record as saying that no one would ever want a computer for home-use, and Michael Dell was still in high school…

What most people do not realize is that while Apple has evolved to the point where the personal computer is no longer the focus of their business model (or the mainstay of their income, either) while the original Commodore corporation slowly went bankrupt in the early 1990s, the Commodore 64 computer itself never actually went away. To this day, there are dozens (possibly thousands; no one really knows) being used to run simple computer-controlled equipment left over from the 1980s, such as electronic message signs and even computerized manufacturing equipment. Their limited capability and miniscule memory may seem laughable by today’s standards (I’ve sent emails of more than 64K size in the last week alone) – but the new models coming off the line won’t…

According to the story that ran last week on the New York Times technology page , a new start-up company has purchased the old Commodore logos and console designs, and will be offering an upgraded version of the old all-in-on computer for the new Century. It’s the same size and shape as the old model 64 (the size of a large keyboard unit, which it actually is), but the new version features a 1.8 gigahertz dual-core processor, an optional Blu-ray player and built-in Ethernet and HDMI ports, as well as Windows capability (it comes with Linux). Functionally, the concept lands somewhere between a conventional desktop and a laptop machine; the new Commodore (like the original) needs to be plugged into a screen, but you can easily unplug it, tuck it under your arm, and walk off with it. The real question with the resurrected product is will anyone buy it?

It seems likely that there will be at least a few fans of the original machine who will buy it for the sake of nostalgia, and with the current vogue for “retro” design styling, the company should be able to manage a few sales on the basis of how much these things look like the best-seller from a generation earlier. That said, the original company was not able to compete in its niche market, either, and the new company will need more than just the handful of nostalgia sales if it wants to succeed. It may be possible for them to sell the convenience and portability of the all-enclosed design to the public, especially if they can find some way to make the purchase of large, high-definition screens separate from the CPU housing attractive to the buyer. If the new Commodore management can arrange some kind of strategic alliance with the people who make HD display units, they might do quite well indeed. Alternately, if they can find some way to bring greater functionality to their product at lower prices than you would pay for a typical desktop machine, they could probably compete on price and/or features…

So should we start looking forward to television commercials that begin with “Hi, I’m a Mac! And I’m a PC! And I’m a Commodore 64!” Or will the new company follow its predecessor onto the ash heap of history? Only time will tell…