My first computer was a Commodore VIC-20. Having quickly outgrown the 3,583 usable bytes of RAM on the VIC-20, the Commodore 64, with 39,811 bytes free, became my second computer. Many late-night hours of my childhood was consumed pushing the limits of the BASIC language, and some assembly code, on these two marvels of computing technology. I loved to write games on these machines and my younger sister loved testing them out for me. I can easily state that Commodore shaped my career trajectory from a young age and I owe a lot of what I’ve accomplished over the years to the time I spent with these computers.
In 1994, Commodore International, the parent company of Commodore Business Machines, declared bankruptcy and went into voluntary liquidation. In the following years, the Commodore brand has been bought and sold multiple times. As much as I loved the Commodore brand, I would have to be content with the joy it brought me at the start of my technology journey knowing I wouldn’t be purchasing any newer Commodore products as I progressed in my career.
Over the years, I’ve collected a few Commodore machines for pure nostalgia and the fun of poking around with the BASIC language (I still have both my original VIC-20 as well as C64!). On several occasions, I’ve thought:
What would a Commodore device look like today? What would a Commodore tablet or laptop look like? What features would these devices have that others don’t?
This has always been nothing more than a though experiment. But, just maybe?…
On June 28th, just a few days ago as of this writing, Christian Simpson (a.k.a. Peri Fractic) announced on his Retro Recipes YouTube channel that he is now acting CEO of Commodore Corporation. This is the result of a seven-month effort to acquire the Commodore brand, including related trademarks, in a deal valued in the “low seven figures”. The end result of this is that he has signed a shared purchase agreement with the previous owners of Commodore and has set this up as a public benefit operation.
Simpson intends to drive Commodore in the direction of “honoring the past, innovating the future.” With this, they plan to develop and release new products that reflect Commodore’s past creations such as the Commodore 64 and Amiga while also encapsulating the technological gains we’re accustomed to seeing in current-day products.
As a life-long Commodore fan, I am super excited by this news. The thought of being able to buy a brand-new, 64-bit, Commodore device is enticing. So, what are some of the possibilities?
Commodore Laptop
Having a sleek, 64-bit, Commodore-branded laptop would be amazing. However, it would need to bring more to the table that the typical laptops available today. Here’s my short list of what a Commodore-branded laptop should provide:
- 64-bit architecture. Maybe ARM-based?
- Quality display, preferably touch-enabled.
- PETSCII graphics symbols printed on the keycaps, similar to the VIC-20 and C64.
- A dedicated Commodore (i.e., chicken lips) key.
- Ability to boot into multiple emulators/operating systems, including the Commodore VIC-20, C64, AmigaOS, etc. and, for serious work, a Commodore variant of Linux – BinOS maybe? 🙂
- SID-quality sound so you feel like you’re playing your games on an actual C64!
- Multiple color options, including: Commodore 64 gray, VIC-20 white, etc.
- Naturally, the icon “chicken lips” logo should be in the center of the top of the laptop. Bonus design points if the logo is backlit!
- A well-designed and written user’s manual explaining how to get the most use out of your Commodore laptop. Bonus if it’s spiral bound!
This laptop would boot into “BinOS” by default (this should be configurable, of course) where I could utilize all the modern apps available for Linux today. However, it could also boot directly into one of several Commodore emulators where many classic games would be preinstalled and ready to play. So, basically, you’d be able to revel in Commodore nostalgia while also using it as a serious, modern-day device.
Commodore Handheld Game Device
There are a ton of great classic video games for the VIC-20, C64, and Amiga available to play today on your PC. How cool would it be if you could play these on the go with a dedicated handheld gaming device similar to the Switch Lite?! Features for this device should include:
- Easy-to-use controls that allow you to utilize a “Joystick” with either hand.
- A curated set of preloaded games to allow for game play as soon as you unbox your new device.
- A Commodore “Market” where developers can upload newly-built games or classic (properly licensed) games. All uploaded games would go through a vetting process to ensure quality.
- The “Market” should support free-to-play games as well as in-game purchases and commercial games.
- SID-quality sound so you feel like you’re playing your games on an actual Commodore!
- Multiple color options, including: Commodore 64 gray, VIC-20 white, etc.
- A well-designed and written user’s manual explaining how to get the most use out of your Commodore gaming device. Bonus if it’s spiral bound!
Commodore Tablet
Sometimes you want a form factor that’s larger than a smartphone but without the keyboard. A Commodore-branded tablet would fit the bill perfectly! The features of a Commodore tablet might be a simple combination of some of the laptop features as well as some of the handheld gaming device features, such as:
- A Commodore variant of Linux – BinOS? – optimized for touch-based use.
- Ability to use a finely curated set of classic Commodore (VIC-20, 64, etc.) apps that lend themselves to touch-based control.
- Multiple color options, including: Commodore 64 gray, VIC-20 white, etc.
- Naturally, the icon “chicken lips” logo should be in the center of the back of the tablet.
- A well-designed and written user’s manual explaining how to get the most use out of your Commodore tablet. Bonus if it’s spiral bound!
Modern Developer Support
While some of us cut our technological teeth on classic Commodore products, there are many since that have never used – or possibly even seen – a Commodore product. To help garner developer support, I believe a few things are absolute must haves for this new venture to be a success.
Developer Guidance
The Commodore of years past was known to provide great user documentation. This included instructions on setting up your computer to learning the BASIC computer language as well as a deep dive into the inner workings of the computer. As the new Commodore company works to develop and release new products, as well as attract new developers, they should follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.
While the majority of this documentation could be provided online, I believe it would be beneficial to provide at least some of it in printed form (for those that desire it). Looking back on my experiences with the VIC-20 and C64, I have a lot of great memories of reading (and re-reading) the various user guides and programming manuals provided by Commodore. I believe this would fit nicely into the “honoring the past” portion of Commodore’s mission.
Modern SDK
With the hypothetical products I detailed above (Commodore laptop, handheld gaming device, and tablet), they would all have the ability to run modern apps (e.g., using the hypothetical BinOS platform) as well as classic applications written to run on various Commodore computers. Since these devices would have the ability to run emulators for the most common (maybe all?) Commodore platforms, we could take this a step further for new “classic” applications.
For example, Commodore could provide modern extensions in the BASIC language (as an example) that is run on the VIC-20, C64, etc. This extended BASIC language would have to be a superset of the original BASIC language provided by each platform for backward compatibility. However, with an extended version, you could include all sorts of new capabilities, such as:
- Network connectivity – make it easy to connect to a network (wired or Wi-Fi)
- Internet connectivity – make it easy to utilize HTTP/S
- Provide support for other common protocols such as FTP, SMTP, POP3, etc.
- Graphics support – add in advanced graphics commands, extend the number of sprites, etc.
- Touch support – provide support for touch-based screens
By including some of these capabilities that most applications today make use of, it will help to attract new developers to the Commodore ecosystem.
In line with a modern SDK, a modern code editing platform would be a must. For example, being able to write code in a tool such as Visual Studio Code and quickly test it on the appropriate emulator would be huge! This would also allow for other modern software engineering practices such as version control (i.e., GitHub) and unit testing.
Commodore Market
With great developer guidance and extended capabilities, developers can build some amazing experiences for the new Commodore ecosystem. However, once you build it, how do you get it out there so others can enjoy all that is available for their devices? Used to be you would have to purchase your applications and games on a physical cartridge, cassette tape, or floppy disk. For the most part, none of these formats are utilized today (you do still see some game cartridges floating around out there).
Taking a cue from our smartphones, Commodore could create the Commodore Market. This would work similarly to the app stores on our smartphones in that a developer could upload an application whereby it would be scanned, reviewed, and ultimately published on the market. From there, Commodore users could download and install the app on their device. Basic monetary support should be included as well for commercial and in-app purchases.
So, will any of this bear fruit?
It’s easy to see that I’m excited at the potential of what could be with this new acquisition of Commodore. However, we’ve all seen companies come and go over the years and we’ve seen many startups fail. In fact, the original Commodore itself arguably failed in the end. But can it be saved?
I have no idea what Christian Simpson, acting CEO of Commodore, is planning for the future of Commodore. I can only tell you what I’d like to see from yet another attempt at reviving Commodore. If Commodore can focus their designs on simplicity, friendliness, and a touch of nostalgia, they might find a niche that works.
In the end, only time will tell!
Happy computing!