The Golden Age of Commodore Computers

For many Americans, just mentioning the name "Commodore" conjures up images of friendly home computers, red joysticks, and 8-bit video games that you stayed up all night playing when you were supposed to be doing your homework. For others, it may recall the distinctive screech of a modem while using the machines to go online for the first time (connecting to BBSes or larger services like CompuServe or Quantum Link) or the satisfying thrill of writing a BASIC program that did exactly what you wanted it to do.

So it should be obvious, then, that Commodore was much more than just a personal computer manufacturer —it was a cultural movement that gifted a love of technology to an entire generation of users around the globe. Today, we're living in a world made by those Commodore kids, who have grown up to develop the smartphones, apps, and Internet technology that grease the wheels of the world economy as we know it.

Founded by Auschwitz survivor Jack Tramiel in 1954, Commodore originally specialized in adding machines and electronic calculators. The firm took its first steps into the personal computing realm in 1977 and found quick success under the guidance of its ambitious leader, resulting in literally dozens of different computer models released over the next decade.

During those first 10 years, Commodore produced many classic machines—and quite a few that most Americans have never heard of. In the gallery ahead, let's take a look at some of the favorites that will be most familiar to those who grew up during the golden age of Commodore.

When you're done reading, I want to hear about your Commodore experiences. When did you first use a Commodore? How did that computer affect what you do today? And be sure to check out 7 Forgotten Commodore 64 Gaming Classics.

1. Commodore PET 2001 (1977)

Commodore's first in-house personal computer, the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor), included a built-in cassette tape drive for data storage, a small monochrome monitor, and an awkward chiclet keyboard baked into a heavy, all-in-one metal case. Despite its eccentricities, it found early success in American schools. The original PET is often remembered as one of the famous 1977 trio of mostly integrated machines (with the Radio Shack TRS-80 and Apple II) that launched consumer personal computers in a big way. Commodore followed up this 2001 model with many compatible successors in similar cases throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.

(Photos: Steven Stengel, Kit Spencer)

2. Commodore VIC-20 (1981)

The VIC-20 marked a bold move for Commodore into low-cost home computers -- launching at $299.95 (about $782 when adjusted for inflation), this diminutive machine sported a mass market price that launched it to over one million unit sales (a first for a personal computer) within two years of its release. What it lacked in technical capability (only 5K RAM, 22-column text display), it made up for in attractiveness to home users by including BASIC built-in, Atari 2600 compatible controller ports, and color graphics that suited themselves well to video games.

(Photo: Commodore)

3. Commodore 64 (1982)

Commodore followed up the VIC-20 with one of the most famous and successful PCs of all time, the Commodore 64, which gained its name from its integrated 64KB of system RAM -- a significant amount of memory for a computer in its price range ($595 at launch, about $1,461 today adjusted) at the time. Coupled with impressive graphical and sound capabilities that rivaled home video game consoles, consumers fell in love with the C64. Commodore sold an estimated 12-17 million units of this popular machine over its lifespan, and vendors released over 10,000 software applications for the platform. Today, the Commodore 64 remains an undisputed icon of the early PC era.

(Photo: Commodore)

4. Commodore SX-64 (1984)

In 1984, Commodore experimented with packaging its popular Commodore 64 home PC into a portable bundle with an integrated color monitor and disk drive that would hopefully appeal to business users. The result was the SX-64, which was quite possibly the first portable PC with a color display. Of course, this achievement came at a cost -- the machine still required a standard AC power outlet to operate (no batteries here), and it weighed 23 pounds. Most business users shied away from the heavy machine (being merely a portable version of a very consumer machine), and it did not sell as well as Commodore hoped. The firm discontinued the SX-64 in 1986.

(Photo: Commodore)

5. Commodore Plus/4 (1984)

In its quest to undercut itself and everyone else before fears of a Japanese takeover of the American PC market, Commodore released several low-cost home computers in 1984. The first was the Commodore 16, an intended replacement for the VIC-20 which was nonetheless completely incompatible with every Commodore machine before it (including mostly different peripheral ports). It flopped hard in the US. After the departure of its founder, Jack Tramiel, Commodore took another stab with the Plus/4, which used the Commodore 16 architecture, stuck it in a new case with 64KB of RAM, and included four limited, built-in office apps: a spreadsheet, word processor, database, and chart graphing program. As a new platform arriving in an era of IBM PC business dominance (and C64 home dominance), the Plus/4 made absolutely no sense as a product -- but it makes a neat collectible today.

(Photo: Commodore)

6. Commodore 128 (1985)

After its missteps with the Commodore Plus/4 the previous year, Commodore finally launched a capable 8-bit follow-up of its flagship Commodore 64 called the Commodore 128. The 128 included 128KB of RAM and two CPUs: a 2MHz 8502 (for C64 and new C128 software) and a 4MHz Zilog Z80A for running the CP/M operating system. The machine, an intended stopgap before the launch of the 16/32-bit generation, also improved upon the C64 by allowing an 80-column display, better floppy disk data transfer speeds, and a more modern and capable version of BASIC. The C128 was essentially three machines in one, and it sold fairly well despite launching at the end of the 8-bit home computer era.

(Photo: Commodore)

7. Commodore Amiga (1985)

In mid-1985, Commodore launched a new platform that would carry the company throughout its remaining decade in business: the Amiga. Incompatible with previous Commodore machines, the Amiga 1000 utilized a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU, which was also used in the Apple Macintosh and the Atari ST series. The Amiga stood out initially for its impressive graphics and sound capabilities -- which came courtesy of custom chips exclusive to the machine -- and for its mouse-driven multitasking graphical operating system. The Amiga platform faced stiff competition from Atari, Apple, and IBM, but it eventually gained a foothold in the TV production world where it proved capable at generating on-screen graphics and video effects. It was successful enough to transition Commodore away from its 8-bit products and into the 1990s, where the firm ultimately caved under pressure from omnipresent and ever-more-capable IBM PC compatible machines.

(Photo: Commodore)

8. More From the Golden Age

For more trips down memory lane, be sure to check out The Golden Age of IBM PCs, like the one above, as well as The Golden Age of Atari Home Computers, and The Golden Age of TRS-80: A Look Back At RadioShack Computers.