Comparing Apples and Oranges
but this time …..
TECHNOLOGY!!

My last post was about Recycling, but .. prefaced with a mea culpa of ‘Comparing Apples and Oranges‘. I liked that concept so much, I am going to do it again … and whenever the mood strikes me!

How about camparing Apples to … Commodores! Yes, compare a few ingredients between my first ever computer – a Commodore SX-64 and a new iMac! An earlier post was entitled “Open the Pod Bay Door HAL. . . or Computers I Have Owned or Worked With” and talks a bit about my beloved Commodore SX-64!

I will still go out on a limb and say that the SX-64, that I still own, and still WORKS, is the fastest computer ever built! EVER! Well, EVER .. for startup!

I will prove it too! BUT in a future post about how fast computers are! You will have to stay tuned for that!

Okay, so Google is your friend and I will display a few offerings when I searched for “compare commodore 64 with new mac“.

SX-64 vs iMac (Apples vs Oranges!)

INSTALLED	SX-64	iMac
RAM	64K	Up to 32GB 2666MHz DDR4
STORAGE	HAHA!	1TB SSD
SCREEN	4"	21.5"
MOUSE	Joystick!	Wireless
WIRELESS	HAHA x 2!	Oh, yeah!
INTERNET	HAHA x ♾	Can't live without it...
PROCESSOR & SPEED	MOS Technology 6510 @ 1.02 MHz (NTSC version) @ 0.985 MHz (PAL version)	3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
Operating System	Commodore KERNAL Commodore BASIC 2.0	macOS 11 Big Sur

INSTALLED

SX-64

iMac

RAM

64K

Up to
32GB 2666MHz DDR4

STORAGE

HAHA!

1TB SSD

SCREEN

21.5"

MOUSE

Joystick!

Wireless

WIRELESS

HAHA x 2!

Oh, yeah!

INTERNET

HAHA x ♾

Can't live without it...

PROCESSOR & SPEED

MOS Technology 6510 @ 1.02 MHz (NTSC version) @ 0.985 MHz (PAL version)

3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor

Operating System

Commodore KERNAL Commodore BASIC 2.0

macOS 11 Big Sur

And that is about it! Definitely .. Apples and ~~Oranges~~ Commodores!

Yes, a bit cheeky, but just think about how much technology has not only changed, but IMPROVED! Look below for a comparison between a mobile phone and the computers used to … LAND A MAN ON THE MOON! And don’t be so hasty to dismiss …. older technology!

Oh, and … learned about inserting a TABLE here too! BONUS! Tables are very curious beasties here at OAC. A bit of fiddling but .. they do work. Just fussy! And I did learn about them! And that will be a future post too!

Wonderful Wednesday
. . . . .
Commodore 64 Marketing!

My first computer I EVER purchased! I think I might even have my original receipt! I will have to dig around my own computer archives aka ‘The Garage’ and see if I can come up with that papyrus document! And … drum roll …. I FOUND IT! Click on the image to see it in a bigger tab!

And why did I buy a C-64, specifically, the SX-64, the World’s First Luggable Computer? It cost me $901.95 (note there was no tax!) and that was a huge amount, in today’s dollars! Actually, it works out to be …. $1,962.18 in ‘today’s’ money! I used the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, which I did not know existed until this morning!

There were a few reasons – I had just started to work in a classroom that was FILLED with Commodore-64 computers, I was taking a graduate course at the U of C about Technology/Computers in Education and … a buddy of mine could buy it through his company AT A DISCOUNT! But none of those beat out … THIS IS SUCH A COOL COMPUTER! So had to buy the Commodore SX-64, which was also known as the Executive 64 or VIP-64 in Europe!

So it got me to wondering about how the Commodore became, at the time, the single best home computer EVER SOLD! And I came to the conclusion that … I don’t know why! LOL! Oh, well, maybe marketing has alot to do with it! Just look at Apple! I have posted about how Apple have made such fantastic ads before! (Yup, product placement!)

My ultimate, non-academic conclusion is that …. EVERYONE COULD OWN A HOME COMPUTER!!! And if Commodore could make it cheap, easy, small, available and FUN – then they found the magic recipe to sell MILLIONS OF THEIR COMPUTERS! And, literally:

The Commodore 64, also known as the C64 or the CBM 64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, January 7–10, 1982). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 10 and 17 million units. (From Wikipedia)

And it is a bit unknown as to how many SX-64 computers were sold. There was a rumoured DX-64 with dual floppy drives, but that never appeared.

The exact number of SX-64 sold from 1984 to 1986, when it was discontinued, is unknown. The serial numbers of over 130 SX-64s from series GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5 and GA6, with serial numbers ranging over 49,000 for series GA1, 1,000 for GA2, 17,000 for GA4, 11,000 for GA5, and 7,000 for GA6 have been reported. (From Wikipedia)

I will have an SX-64 dedicated post in the future, showing how fast it booted, cartridges that I have and how I can connect it to my Toshiba large screen tv too!

It really was an amazing computer! And speed – it boots up in about 5 seconds! And it only had the one floppy drive! Remember sorting through floppy disk banks! Good times, good times!

Fun Fact – did you know that Commodore actually made other computers, including a Commodore PC compatible and another one called the Commodore 128? Fun Fact!

Be sure to look closely at some of the vintage print ads I included after all of this! William Shatner HIMSELF – CAPTAIN KIRK – was a spokesman for the Commodore VIC-20 – the computer that came out BEFORE the C-64!! I can legitimately say – I own an Official Star Fleet Computer!