Jari LehtonenMar 11, 2025
John Bull

The latest part of my history of home computing is now available. This one looks at the rise of Commodore and Jack Tramiel.

He was a complex man. A brutal manager, but a holocaust survivor who was determined to build a better future. Computers for the "masses not the classes".

Unpicking his story has meant navigating a lot of established truths and myths.

His fear that the US was complacent about thinking fascism could rise there, hits hard now #history #technology https://every.to/the-crazy-ones/the-first-king-of-home-computing

How Commodore Invented the Mass Market Computer

The untold story of Jack Tramiel, Holocaust survivor and home computing's first king

Mar 10, 2025 at 5:47pmWeb
Show threadDave T-WMar 10, 2025
@garius Tickled to discover that the C64 game "Jack Attack" was named after him. It was all about squishing bugs, shifting boxes, and keeping an eye on your platform so you didn't get squished yourself or end up drowning.
Show threadJohn BullMar 10, 2025
@davoloid yup!
Show threadPaul BarnfatherMar 10, 2025
@garius such a great story. The first computer I ever encountered (aged 10) was a PET. I was hooked, and I absolutely loved my VIC-20. Amazing what could be done with just 3.5KB RAM!
Show threadTwoowls Elt 🦉 🦉Mar 10, 2025
@clanger9 @garius same here, mum brought home a PET from work to learn code, and that Christmas I got a Vic20!
Show threadPaul BarnfatherMar 10, 2025
@twoowls73 @garius that machine changed my world. Over 40 years later, I can *still* remember the memory locations. 36878 for volume, 36877 for white noise... 🤓
Show threadHighlandLawyerMar 11, 2025
@clanger9 @twoowls73 @garius
7680 for the first screen character unexpanded, but 4096 with the 16k rampack
Show threadSteve KilbaneMar 13, 2025
@garius Great article, well told. Thanks!
Show threadLee HauserMar 15, 2025
@garius Excellent article. The C64 was my machine from 1983, when I was 28, until about 1990, and my ears always prick up when I hear it mentioned. Tramiel was a difficult hero, but a hero nonetheless.