Commodore 64…that’s a name that people will fondly remember similar how Atari affected a generation. My memory of the Commodore 64 goes way beyond it being just a really cool machine and at the time, it was a rare novelty called the personal computer. During the Commodore 64’s time, the personal computing world was just a few companies like Tandy, IBM, Microsoft and of course, Apple. And computers weren’t a normal household item, but my best childhood friend had one and my entire Geek World was born! Whenever I’d go over to my buddy’s house to play some Atari Video Games, he’d have this weird looking brown thing in his room with a keyboard, mouse and a screen. Now computers were available at school which were mainly by Apple and which were used for educational games. But the Commodore 64 was a computer made for only True Nerds. We were able to play a few Video Games on the Commodore and my favorite was this Bruce Lee side scrolling action game. It was very similar to Mario Bros but with Ninjas, Sumo Wrestlers and of course, Bruce Lee.
PC Gaming existed way before World of Warcraft and that Bruce Lee game will always be my first true PC Gaming experience. Gaming wasn’t what the Commodore 64 or any computer was made for at the time. Computers were productivity and development tools and this is where I first learned how to do computer programming. The Commodore 64 had a whopping 64K of internal storage/memory so it was pretty powerful at the time. It also came with a programming guide so that you can type in commands in its native computer BASIC language. Programming for the first time was such a revelation as it was so awesome to create a program that would actually perform an action on the computer screen. With this computing experience, my life would forever be changed!
From my childhood on towards adulthood, I became obsessed with technology. Eventually I finished college with a degree in Information Technology which then led to years in the Technology sector. This love for Tech eventually turned into what I’m doing today on the Internet. It’s actually funny how having Fun gaming and programming would determine the course of your life. I will always cherish those amazing days computing with the Commodore 64.
-Geek Outside!
