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[on:]

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19055707

Duane B

rcarduino.blogspot.com

[Reply #1 on:]

Atari 800 was the way to go back then.  Commies were late-to-the-party wannabes.  

[Reply #2 on:]

The C64 was the second computer I owned.  It had better sound, graphics, and was faster than the Atari.  I remember standing there in the store typing my prime number testing program into each machine...

[Reply #3 on:]

In Germany, there was no real contest. Atari was a distant second to the C64 and later models also trailed the Amiga significantly. Apple gear was practically invisible thanks to the very high comparative cost.

I still remember the tape drive and the various programs we could use to speed loading such as Ultra-Load. Pretty amazing what programmers achieved on that platform. The SID chip in particular made for some pretty remarkable music.

[Reply #4 on:]

Commodore and Sinclair dominated the UK.

I was a little too far ahead of the curve and had a much ridiculed Commodore Vic 20 I was reminded on a daily basis that it had only 3.5K useable memory by all the 48K and 64K Spectrum and C64 owners.

[Reply #5 on:]

The C64 was the second computer I owned.

Vic 20?  Wait, the C64 was the THIRD computer I owned!

[Reply #6 on:]

I've still got my C64 and Vic20 in the loft somewhere. Along with a Toshiba MSX, a couple of Amigas, an IBM PS2 Model 30 (nice looking machine) ...

It seems to be forgotten that there was a 5.25" floppy drive for the C64, and I do remember someone in the UK producing a 3.5" version.

[Reply #7 on:]

That 1541 was good for more than just floppy reading... you could also make it hum tunes. Still remember using hole punches and razors to convert single sided floppy disks into dual-sided ones.

A few years later, I got to have fun with removable HD platters from a VAX750/PDP-11. Had to wear gloves while throwing them like frisbees. Heavy suckers. The hard drive (all 400MB) was the size of a fridge and required the installation of a dedicated transformer by the computer room. Drew something like 50A on startup. Fun!

[Reply #8 on:]

Not often i come across a fellow msx owner, i have the sanyo version, i wrote a lot of games on that thing, it had easy to use sprites available in basic.

Duane B