C= C= COMMODORE FOREVAR C= C=

September 24, 2015 1:46 PM

Here's a retro computing oddity, info on the first portable color computer, the Commodore SX64, with a 5 1/4-inch floppy drive and a seriously tiny CRT monitor. Here's a demonstration and teardown. Here's a somewhat ridiculous commercial for it. Commodore had a lot of unreleased prototypes, but the SX actually made it to market. Not a prototype but still interesting is Steve Gray's hack on an old monochrome Commodore PET to display color. And he also has an archive of old Commodore brochures.
posted by JHarris (46 comments total)

I don't even remember these. Looks like something from Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
posted by Cookiebastard at 1:59 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

**** COMMODORE  64 BASIC V2 ****
64K RAM SYSTEM 38911 BASIC BYTES FREE

10 ? "C=64 FOREVER"';
20 GOTO 10

RUN

posted by entropicamericana at 2:01 PM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

Wow, that ad. Women, enjoy your silly little "jogs" and "swims," the men are busy pretending to be able to read their post-it-sized screens and pointing proudly at their heads
posted by theodolite at 2:04 PM on September 24, 2015 [8 favorites]

Looks like at least there was an output jack for a 1702.
posted by MtDewd at 2:09 PM on September 24, 2015

I can't help imagining "The Commodore" as an evil sea captain, following me around the globe, tapping his head and pointing and smiling and OH GOD MAKE HIM STOP
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:10 PM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

An evil sea captain with a giant rooster-head
posted by smidgen at 2:12 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I owned one of these. It was amazing. I could take it to the cottage and play Ultima II instead of having to swim or go fishing or basically go outside at all.

I really wish I still had it. I'm sure it would still work perfectly.
posted by 256 at 2:13 PM on September 24, 2015 [7 favorites]

Wow, that ad. Women, enjoy your silly little "jogs" and "swims," the men are busy pretending to be able to read their post-it-sized screens and pointing proudly at their heads

Yeah, that was retrograde as fuck, but aside from the explicit sexism, what really hit me was the overtness of the repetitive look at these serious guys in suits thing. I mean, we live in a time when the presence of serious guys in suits is the kind of thing most of the computery types I know will take as a sign they probably ought to be considering their next place of employment with a quickness...
posted by brennen at 2:17 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I had an SX-64 bought at a overstock type place called C.O.M.B. in the mid-late 80s. It was actually the payment for my first real coding gig ever, which had been done on my newly boring, old C64 that weighed less than me and had ugly wires and such coming off of it unlike this beauty. I also got GEOS in the deal and that was life changing.

That thing was amazing. I actually dragged it along to parties and such with my parents and when it got late and the smoke and drink got too think for young me I went upstairs and played Jumpman Jr. and H.E.R.O. and 1985 all damn night.

That commercial is more than somewhat ridiculous.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:17 PM on September 24, 2015 [5 favorites]

I wanted one of those so bad. I had an overnight job in a college power plant that involved eight hours of watching gauges and periodically dumping something made of white and blue granules into a tank in the basement. I ended up making one for myself with a portable black-and-white tv, some fake leather vinyl, and adhesive-backed velcro.
posted by mph at 2:23 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

COMMODORE BX256 WHAT? What???
posted by GuyZero at 2:24 PM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm trying to pin down the genre of that commercial's music. The best I can come up with is "lumpenprog".
posted by nom de poop at 2:26 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Obviously the Commodore has a yellow slicker and follows you everywhere in a primer grey Camaro with the lights turned off, just out of earshot.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:28 PM on September 24, 2015

Also of note:

At 0:11, the jogger overtly checks out Mr. Business's wife / girlfriend.
at 0:47, one of the SX64 guys has his shirt completely unbuttoned.

What.
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:32 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

He was working on his sweet portable computer by the pool while his hot younger wife did woman things like swimming, right?
posted by brennen at 2:34 PM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

Nevermind the shittiest diving form ever.
posted by smidgen at 2:39 PM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

I remember a volunteer bringing an SX in for our scout group to try out. It was really ridiculous having some 15 boys crowded around trying to see that little screen.

My elementary school was fortunate enough to have a computer lab filled with about a dozen PETs. We shared them, two or three students to a computer, for about 30 minutes, maybe once every couple of weeks. Some smaller schools would have field trips to our school, to have a chance to use the computers. I have very fond memories of their warm green glow, and the lawn-mowing game.

Now get off my nice green glowing lawn you kids.
posted by Kabanos at 2:40 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

The unbuttoned shirt guy at the end also had his shirt unbuttoned at the pool but it was hard to tell, so consistency I guess?

I didn't even notice the jogger checking out the wife/girlfriend because I was waiting for the computer. Then I realized that if I watched this in the 80s (which I may have - the song is familiar) I am very sure I wouldn't have seen the joggers or swimmer and I would've only noticed the suits because they were partially blocking the view of the fancy new Commodore. That hasn't actually changed too much for me in 30 years though.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 2:41 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

I managed to cram a TRS-80 Model II backplane into an old Kaypro box at some point in the early 90s. It even mostly worked, although I don't think I solved the problem of making disks fit. I wonder how much trouble it would have been to do a C64?
posted by wotsac at 3:23 PM on September 24, 2015

I still have my C-64 but it's the regular desktop one. I never got the portable which probably explains why I also never got a poorly coordinated trophy wife and am unable to properly point at my head. Water under the bridge I guess...
posted by MikeMc at 3:24 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'll just show what happens when you die.

OK, that was cool.
posted by wallabear at 3:52 PM on September 24, 2015

This was my very first computer!!!! My friends were all on VC20s and C64s with monochrome monitors. I was the first with a color monitor (though tiny obviously).
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:21 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I remember when the C128 came out, a guy from Commodore came to the Chicago Commodore User Group with C128 serial #1.

He had it set up on a table behind him, and a couple of us went up to inspect it closely while he was extolling its many virtues. Since nobody had checked my pockets for screwdrivers when I came in, it didn't take long before we had field-stripped that sucker.

You should have seen his face when he turned around.... Priceless.

It worked when we put it back together, too.
posted by pjern at 4:25 PM on September 24, 2015 [7 favorites]

I just sold my damned Coleco ADAM and Psion 5MX, I can't know about this!!!
posted by 1adam12 at 4:29 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

My friends were all on VC20s

And presumably also in Germany?
posted by acb at 4:45 PM on September 24, 2015

as of right now that damnable song has been stuck in my head for a solid two hours. those of you who've gotten this far down in the thread without watching the advertisement: DON'T WATCH THE ADVERTISEMENT. it's too late for me, but you still have a chance to save yourselves.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:53 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

acb:

"And presumably also in Germany?"

Yup.

I also just remembered that this was my first hands-on encounter with a computer. When I unpacked it the SX-64 had a protective cardboard piece in the floppy drive which I promptly mistook for some sort of tray. I was heartbroken at first because the damn thing wouldn't load from the floppies I crammed in there along with the cardboard.

Two years later the thick-as-a-finger connector cable for the keyboard gave out.... it was definitely one of the weakest links in that system... short, stubby, always being bent and twisted. I didn't have enough money to buy a new one and didn't want to ask my parents for reasons I can't remember. So I decided to use some scrap wires I found in my brother's room which he'd used for some electronics project to make my own... connecting pin to pin manually. I was quite proud of myself until I turned the machine on and smoke started rising almost instantly from my keyboard. I had totally fried the keyboard and the controller or whatever of the other side. I quickly disposed of the makeshift cable and blamed the whole mess on a short in the original cable.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm trying to pin down the genre of that commercial's music. The best I can come up with is "lumpenprog".

Hey, I had a C64.
posted by lumpenprole at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

I remember wanting to buy the original Apple II (or Apple ][) and not being able to afford it's >$1000 price tag. Then Commodore dropped the price of the original C64 from $599 to $299 and I turned my back on Apple and never went back. Which I'm sure has broken their little trillion-dollar valuation hearts.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:18 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

I feel sad that in my lifetime human vision has devolved to the point where a screen like that seems small. Once, we were as gods and eagles!
posted by Chitownfats at 5:27 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh my god I remember that ad! That jingle is now with me forever. Curse you, internet.
posted by h00py at 5:51 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

It worked when we put it back together, too

Duh
posted by wotsac at 5:53 PM on September 24, 2015

Oh my god I remember that ad! That jingle is now with me forever. Curse you, internet.

I warned you!!
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:59 PM on September 24, 2015

13-year-old me coveted the SX64 more than any other item on Earth.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:00 PM on September 24, 2015

That jingle is the best thing ever. You can actually hear the singer's feathered hair.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:44 PM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

I had, at one point, I think three of these that I put together from parts of five.

I kept one, and brought it to the swap meet at a synagogue miles from my house.

The SX-64 ROM was slightly newer than the C=64 version, and some timings were different, so some software just plain didn't work the same, especially demos.

Man did I love those machines.
posted by tomierna at 6:47 PM on September 24, 2015

I mean, we live in a time when the presence of serious guys in suits is the kind of thing most of the computery types I know will take as a sign they probably ought to be considering their next place of employment with a quickness.

That was true of computery types then, as well.

Back in the heyday of 8 bit computers, stuff like colour graphics, animation capabilities, and sound were all quite new, at least in anything mere mortals could afford. Those capabilities primarily got used for games, as did a huge majority of the millions of machines sold.

However there was a definite trend across most of the computer manufacturers to try and portray their machines as serious business tools, rather than as mere games machines. Hence a lot of publicity material showing off the colour/graphics capabilities with some dude in a suit looking at clunky bargraphs etc.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 7:25 PM on September 24, 2015

I just watched a shameful number of computer ads on Youtube and found this one, which is the Commodore 64 version of the one in the OP - exact same song, rad pixel wipes, and bizarre camera-saluting. But this one shows women and teens instead of Four Guys In Suits, so it seems like the SX was marketed for Important Business, while the 64 was the workaday computer of friendly neighborhood hardware stores and space class.
posted by theodolite at 7:35 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

It's important to remember that the whole idea of "computer" was still pretty vague to a lot of people. So it became important for manufacturers to differentiate their home computers, which was a box that attached to your television, from mere video games, which was also a box that attached to your television.

Little Billy: "Mom and Dad, can I have a Commodore64 for Christmas?"
Mom and Dad: "What for? You never play Atari anymore and we just(*) bought that thing."

(*) Meaning, "Sometime last decade"

The shorthand for this was to show serious Men In Suits thoughtfully staring at a picture of a pie chart or bar graph on the screen to illustrate that this box that attaches to your television was also for serious business and therefore worth hundreds of extra dollars, which was big money back then. I suppose there must have been people who, for some weird reason, ran their dentist office or antique shop on a Commodore64 but I never saw one. That machine was, as far as I can tell, the world's only computer exclusively for teenage nerds.

That said, I once knew a guy who wrote entire books on his SX-64.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 9:11 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

We bought Batteries Included's Paperclip, their BI-80 80 column card that connected to an amber composite monitor, and a Brother HR-15 daisy wheel printer that along with the C64 made quite a good word processor.
posted by rfs at 9:48 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

♪ In a world of fun and fantasy ♪

OPTIMAL PRODUCTION QUANTITY
posted by jjwiseman at 10:20 PM on September 24, 2015

Amber composite... oooooo
posted by smidgen at 11:13 PM on September 24, 2015

It ain't so.
The SX64 (1983) was NOT the first color computer . That distinction belongs to the Radio Shack TRS 80 Color computer (the CoCo ! ) back in 1980 - a full three years before the SX 64
posted by AGameOfMoans at 1:17 AM on September 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

Not first color computer, first color portable computer. There were plenty of computers beforehand capable of outputing a color video signal. It was the SX64's built-in monitor that gave the distinction of portability -- it wasn't the first computer with a built-in monitor either (Commodore's own PET line had them), the overall form factor was really the distinguishing element.
posted by JHarris at 2:53 AM on September 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I suppose there must have been people who, for some weird reason, ran their dentist office or antique shop on a Commodore64 but I never saw one. That machine was, as far as I can tell, the world's only computer exclusively for teenage nerds.

My dad is a mechanical engineer, and he bought one on a business trip to Brussels sometime in the mid-80s. He maybe had one tape with work programs (stuff like HVAC calculations) and also once invited all his friends over and they ran some clunky sports-betting prediction thing. By about 1987 it was clearly mine, used for things like playing Judge Dredd, this ninja infiltration game (name is gone by now, I only remember dropping off a hang-glider to sneak into a building) and also writing 20 GOTO 10 programs.
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:15 AM on September 25, 2015

I also totally forgot about this machine. I love how it's basically the same design as a bench-top "portable" oscilloscope or meter with the handle acting as the kickstand.

It would make an awesome retro electronic music instrument with the SID chip audio processing. You could program a custom interface or instrument and mirror it to a projection screen with the external video out.
posted by loquacious at 1:47 PM on September 25, 2015 [4 favorites]