C-64¶
327 words on eBay
This week we received the latest bit of retro-computing equipment that we bought for our flat as a communal birthday present (everybody had their birthday within eight weeks or so, so we decided we'd get a well-thought-out present from everyone to everyone, saving us the hassle of having o have several good yet cheap ideas): A Commodore-64 microcomputer.
I got it on eBay. There are always a handful of these machines on offer but they're still darn expensive these days, setting us back about €50 (including shipping) for the complete set consisting of rThe computer itself (first generation), a '1541' disk drive, a box full of disks which luckily includes classics as Summer Games and Winter Games but sadly doesn't include Giana Sisters and two 'QuickShot' joysticks, one of which is very odd though – it looks like a giant trackball.
The machine proved a little troublesome at first. It wouldn't show an image on the telly. Then, a day later, it did. We didn't understand why but won't complain. Then not all of the keys were working. This included the space bar which was bit odd (but not essential for the LOAD"*",8,1 routine.) By now those key work as well. Self-fixing hardware or something (actually the problem seems to be the second joystick).
What can I say. I never owned a C-64 myself (and have been ridiculed as 'Atari owner' by my flatmates for that fact) and had to rely on friends for that joy at the time. It's quit fun so far, though loading times are eternal. In fact this is the first computer with a 5,25" 'floppy' disk drive that I have had a stake in. Amazing how well a 20 year old machine still works. Even most of the disks still load without problems – despite people saying that magnetisation No drivers needed. No 'detecting' of hardware. Apart from the initial glitches it 'just works'.
10 PRINT "DER C-64 IST DOOF!" 20 GOTO 10 RUN
