Like many people my age (ahem!) the Commodore 64 was my first computer and I loved it and it's responsible for my long software development career.
But I don't want that Commodore 64 today.
I want the Commodore 64 of 2025. A machine where middle schoolers can learn the basics of programming while having fun with graphics and sound. Maybe even have a simple 2D gaming engine built-in. I don't know. I want the spirit of the Commodore 64, not the actual machine itself.
psadri · 6m ago
I agree. I recently started exposing my kids to programming and I chose a C64 emulator. The BASIC REPL is so simple/limited that it doesn’t overwhelm the kids with irrelevant syntax (those can come later, if they are interested). The fact that a 1..100 loop can introduce a noticeable delay. You can literally see the computer working. Primitive graphics and sound provide immediate feedback which makes learning engaging and fun.
aduwah · 44m ago
Am I the only one who gets sad when looking at the site? The resentment of modern computing and interconnected life feels extremely wrong with a Commodore brand on it.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have the box, but to me commodore means the complete opposite. It was the tech that inspired me to start learning and later building complex systems. The evolution of tech after this machine did not steal anything from me, but enriched my life both financially and otherwise.
tines · 26m ago
You may be the only one who doesn’t resent the enshittification of technology. Are you a Meta investor by chance?
ghusto · 1h ago
I get how they're using nostalgia, but it doesn't seem to be coming from a cynical place. The transformation of technology from a utility to a nuisance at best and a disease at worst, strikes a chord for me.
Computers used to be fun and yet require actual interest and effort, it's why I ended where I am. What a bait and switch.
_spduchamp · 1h ago
I want is someone to fab real 6581 SID chips so I can do stuff like this and have it sound as it should.
10 FORL=54272T054295:POKEL,0:NEXT
15 POKE54296,15:TI$="000000"
20 POKE54277,255:POKE54278,255
25 POKE54284,255:POKE54285,255
30 POKE54276,17:POKE54283,17
40 FORA=8TO1STEP-1:FORB=ATO1STEP-1
45 T=TI+2952/B
50 POKE54273,3: POKE54272,A
55 POKE54288,3:POKE54279,A+B
60 PRINTA,A+B
70 IFTI<TTHEN70
80 NEXT:NEXT
90 POKE54276,16:POKE54283,16
derdi · 1h ago
Big props for the website footer: "Only essential cookies here - no tracking, no popups, just focus-friendly computing the Commodore way."
elvis70 · 34m ago
Good intentions, but the site is hosted by Wix which add their own trackers.
mgkimsal · 1h ago
Was at a friend's place a few years ago. He had an original c64, tape drive, disk drive, okidata printer, and a trove of disks. We'd been friends since high school, but I think he'd stopped using his by then, and I was more of the computer guy (we bonded over guitars, not code).
This was just sitting in his garage. "Take it - take it all" he said. Then... was sort of forceful with it, and started putting it in my car. :)
I took it back home, and... realized I can't connect it to anything. And I'm not a hardware guy. I hate hacking on that sort of stuff. So I ended up giving it all to a friend who was getting in to retro stuff with his son. I think they got it working and connected up to something. I also gave him my C128.
I still have the original Commodore 'Prolog' and (IIRC) 'Forth' packaging somewhere in the office here. :)
Looking at these (and probably some other incarnations) I'm tempted to get one only because of the built in HDMI.
I've poked around with some emulators online and it's fun, but the combination of the original keyboard and shape plus HDMI might be enough to get me to commit. Probably just the original beige though.
mdtancsa · 52m ago
Its so funny you mention the color. Looking at the image on the website, I was struck by the fact that beige could strike a visceral exciting nostalgia reaction in me. I mean, its beige FFS, the ultimate "boring" color :) I went from a totally disengaged / disinterested teen in school to paying out of my own pocket (I think $50 at the time) to take a course taught be Steve Punter in the basement of a library on the other side of Toronto on 6502 assembler -- in the summer!
th0ma5 · 1h ago
If it is all original, you'll want to be careful with the power supply. It's known to fail in a way that over voltages. Replacement ones can be made or bought relatively inexpensively.
mgkimsal · 30m ago
That was also in the back of my mind. Even back in the 80s, I remember those bricks being a source of heat and... shock sometimes. I'm just not a hardware guy, so gave it to someone who I think loves tinkering with that sort of stuff... :)
JKCalhoun · 1h ago
Pretty inexpensive? I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the pre-order.
I have a couple of KIM-1 "clones" and enjoy them as well. I feel like, in my old age, whenever that comes, I will enjoy them even more. Diving at long last deep into assembly....
allthedatas · 1h ago
While I did get to use a Vic20 in school I did not have a c64 but my friend did. At home I had an Apple IIe (which I still have) and it was great but boy was I jealous of all those color C64 games and also the modem they had for it! I didn't get a modem until I switched to a PC in 1989.
nucleative · 2h ago
In going to follow this project closely. This is looking like a case of aiming for the moon and actually getting it.
Let's see!
LeftHandPath · 1h ago
I grew up hearing the coders and hackers of yore regaling tales of their youth, the days they invested in things like the commodore or the IBM PC. I was born at the end of the 90's and never touched any of those things and always felt like I missed out.
I've done a lot of work with the IBM i Series (AS400), which has an interface from that era, but no games.
allthedatas · 57m ago
Keep manually refreshing that AS400 screen! In the late 90s while I was in college, for a while I had a graveyard shift job running backups and printing shipping labels at a large retailer and most of the work was done on an AS400 and also SCO UNIX before they became a zombie copyright troll.
LeftHandPath · 12m ago
Interesting. We use it for MAPICS (now INFOR/XA) and I've written some add-on software for it (mostly PHP/TS/SQL-based web apps, running in PASE, that help people avoid the greenscreen. And some old-school SEU programming and database stuff using RPG, DDS, etc).
The cool thing is you can now make it imitate unix (via PASE), and you can use plain old ODBC to connect to your physical files and read them as if they were SQL tables (so long as they aren't joint-record-formatted, which is where my experience with the IBM langs comes from). I built a whole timekeeping & PTO system on it, with an export tool that reformats approved data to be read and handled by MAPICS.
woodrowbarlow · 1h ago
with the name "ultimate" plus the hints in the original video, will this use Gideon's ultimate64? and it includes a case, keyboard (maybe mechboard64?), and flash cassette -- all for less than the cost of an ultimate64 mainboard? pretty light on details but potentially an incredible deal.
austinallegro · 49m ago
10 PRINT "POOPY PANTS"
20 GOTO 10
RUN
gramie · 1h ago
Is Thomas Middledich (the central character in the TV show Silicon Valley) really the Chief Creative Officer?
Jeri Ellsworth as Technical Advisor is also a solid member of the C64 community.
boltzmann64 · 12m ago
I am sorry, but people are still using Commodore 64 these days?
the_af · 1h ago
A nice emulated alternative used to be TheC64. I own one, not sure if it's available at a reasonable price anymore. Not a real Commodore -- it's running a version of VICE in an ARM chip -- but with the actual form factor of a breadbin C64 and with a working keyboard, which brings back memories!
You can play games and even program (basic, assembly, etc) using a real keyboard. Pretty cool!
I like this is hardware based rather than emulated. However, I'm unconvinced by the color changing case, which the C64 didn't have...
logical_proof · 1h ago
If the folks who bought the Commodore name 'Atari' this thing I will be disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed. If this pans out its going to be awesome. Warily optimistic.
But I don't want that Commodore 64 today.
I want the Commodore 64 of 2025. A machine where middle schoolers can learn the basics of programming while having fun with graphics and sound. Maybe even have a simple 2D gaming engine built-in. I don't know. I want the spirit of the Commodore 64, not the actual machine itself.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have the box, but to me commodore means the complete opposite. It was the tech that inspired me to start learning and later building complex systems. The evolution of tech after this machine did not steal anything from me, but enriched my life both financially and otherwise.
Computers used to be fun and yet require actual interest and effort, it's why I ended where I am. What a bait and switch.
10 FORL=54272T054295:POKEL,0:NEXT
15 POKE54296,15:TI$="000000"
20 POKE54277,255:POKE54278,255
25 POKE54284,255:POKE54285,255
30 POKE54276,17:POKE54283,17
40 FORA=8TO1STEP-1:FORB=ATO1STEP-1
45 T=TI+2952/B
50 POKE54273,3: POKE54272,A
55 POKE54288,3:POKE54279,A+B
60 PRINTA,A+B
70 IFTI<TTHEN70
80 NEXT:NEXT
90 POKE54276,16:POKE54283,16
This was just sitting in his garage. "Take it - take it all" he said. Then... was sort of forceful with it, and started putting it in my car. :)
I took it back home, and... realized I can't connect it to anything. And I'm not a hardware guy. I hate hacking on that sort of stuff. So I ended up giving it all to a friend who was getting in to retro stuff with his son. I think they got it working and connected up to something. I also gave him my C128.
I still have the original Commodore 'Prolog' and (IIRC) 'Forth' packaging somewhere in the office here. :)
Looking at these (and probably some other incarnations) I'm tempted to get one only because of the built in HDMI.
I've poked around with some emulators online and it's fun, but the combination of the original keyboard and shape plus HDMI might be enough to get me to commit. Probably just the original beige though.
I have a couple of KIM-1 "clones" and enjoy them as well. I feel like, in my old age, whenever that comes, I will enjoy them even more. Diving at long last deep into assembly....
Let's see!
I've done a lot of work with the IBM i Series (AS400), which has an interface from that era, but no games.
The cool thing is you can now make it imitate unix (via PASE), and you can use plain old ODBC to connect to your physical files and read them as if they were SQL tables (so long as they aren't joint-record-formatted, which is where my experience with the IBM langs comes from). I built a whole timekeeping & PTO system on it, with an export tool that reformats approved data to be read and handled by MAPICS.
20 GOTO 10
RUN
Jeri Ellsworth as Technical Advisor is also a solid member of the C64 community.
You can play games and even program (basic, assembly, etc) using a real keyboard. Pretty cool!
I like this is hardware based rather than emulated. However, I'm unconvinced by the color changing case, which the C64 didn't have...