23 Apr
2002
23 Apr
'02
7:07 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ethan Dicks" <erd_6502(a)yahoo.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 11:01 AM
Subject: C-64 vs the world (vintage flamebait) (was Re: Micro$oft Biz'droid
Lusers)
Compatibility? Could the PC easily read Commodore 64 diskettes?
Dick
--- Bryan Pope <bpope(a)wordstock.com> wrote:
My partner and I sold "grey market" PC/XT's in that time-frame for $1450.
We
provided our own drive/controller, but got the 8-slot motherboard in the
standard IBM box from VAR's who had to buy more than they could use. I didn't
like the retail business, BTW.
I don't understand how you can call the
Commodore 64 a "video toy".
I certainly don't. For several years, it was the source of my paycheck.
My C64 was used for games, but it was also used
to do spreadsheets and
word processing.
I didn't do
Now compare the cost of the 64 to a PC/AT at the
time...
More like the original PC - both came out about the same time - 1982.
The C-64 was $595 (no disk), the original PC was $2880, 64KB of RAM
and, also, no disk. The PC-AT came out several years later with a
standard configuration price (including hard disk) of $5K.
August of '81, IIRC. I got my technical reference in March of '82.
ISTR it took several years until the PC (and descendents) beat the C-64 in
total sales in dollars and years after that until it passed in total
units sold (the C-64 had a run of about 17 million, IIRC).
And I believe
that the C64 graphics kicked the PC/AT's ass... ;)
Up until EGA, that was true.
But it wasn't the graphics that did it - 80 column text was important
to the PC, as was compatbility between home and work.