Newsgroup: it.lavoro.informatica
Titolo: Addio a Jack Tramiel inventò il Commodore 64

http://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2012/04/10/news/addio_a_jack_tramiel_invent_il_commodore_64-33060584/
 
 
 

 
http://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2012/04/10/news/addio_a_jack_tramiel_invent_il_commodore_64-33060584/
 
 
Un misto tra sua intuizione e abilitą dei suoi ingegneri che si fecero il 
popo' cubico.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
 
 
"
In January 1981, MOS Technology, Inc., Commodore's integrated circuit design 
subsidiary, initiated a project to design the graphic and audio chips for a 
next generation video game console. Design work for the chips, named MOS 
Technology VIC-II (graphics) and MOS Technology SID (audio), was completed 
in November 1981.[3]
 
Commodore then began a game console project that would use the new 
chips-called the Ultimax or alternatively the Commodore MAX Machine, 
engineered by Yash Terakura from Commodore Japan. This project was 
eventually cancelled after just a few machines were manufactured for the 
Japanese market.
 
At the same time, Robert "Bob" Russell (system programmer and architect on 
the VIC-20) and Robert "Bob" Yannes (engineer of the SID) were critical of 
the current product line-up at Commodore, which was a continuation of the 
Commodore PET line aimed at business users. With the support of Al 
Charpentier (engineer of the VIC-II) and Charles Winterble (manager of MOS 
Technology), they proposed to Commodore CEO Jack Tramiel a true low-cost 
sequel to the VIC-20. Tramiel dictated that the machine should have 64 kB of 
random-access memory (RAM). Although 64 kB of dynamic random access memory 
(DRAM) cost over US$100 at the time, he knew that DRAM prices were falling, 
and would drop to an acceptable level before full production was reached. In 
November, Tramiel set a deadline for the first weekend of January, to 
coincide with the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[3]
 
The product was code named the VIC-40 as the successor to the popular 
VIC-20. The team that constructed it consisted of Bob Russell, Bob Yannes 
and David A. Ziembicki. The design, prototypes and some sample software was 
finished in time for the show, after the team had worked tirelessly over 
both Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends.
 
The machine incorporated Commodore BASIC 2.0 in ROM and available 
immediately at startup.
 
When the product was to be presented, the VIC-40 product was renamed C64 to 
fit the then-current Commodore business products lineup which contained the 
P128 and the B256, both named by a letter and their respective total memory 
size (in KBytes).
 
The C64 made an impressive debut at the January 1982 Winter Consumer 
Electronics Show, as recalled by Production Engineer David A. Ziembicki: 
"All we saw at our booth were Atari people with their mouths dropping open, 
saying, 'How can you do that for $595?'" The answer, as it turned out, was 
vertical integration; thanks to Commodore's ownership of MOS Technology's 
semiconductor fabrication facilities, each C64 had an estimated production 
cost of only US$135.
"
 

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
 
 
tanti lo usavano solo per i videogame, ma milioni di persone nel mondo (me 
compreso) si sono appassionati alla programmazione con il C64 .
 
Andrea
PS: ripensandoci ... io mi sono appassionato gia' con il VIC20
 
 


quoto
oltre a giocare a outrun, ghost n goblin, double dragon, e un gioco che 
assomigliava a pacman ma con le mele (non ricordo il nome), per citare i 
mie preferiti.
 
il mio primo programma in assoluto scritto in basic con il successore 
del C64, il fu poco apprezzato C128, alla tenera età di 9 anni.
 
un listone di una decina di pagine prese dalla rivista jackson editori
all'epoca potevo solo che copiare, ma mi affascinava vedere come delle 
righe scritte (all'epoca non sapevo cosa era un sorgente) si tramutavano 
in una pallina che rimbalzava sullo schermo :)
 
Ma la passione ha le sue fondamentà lì.
 
ciao