6 ms·
Commodore 64 Ultimate
- jadbox 1y agoI'm sorta turned off that it doesn't include the joysticks.. and they are $40 each!
- dirtikiti 1y agoI get the retro thing... But... How about a new operating system with backwards compatibility that runs on modern arm hardware...
- wvenable 1y agohttps://www.ami64.com/product-page/the-c64-maxi https://www.ami64.com/product-page/the-c64-maxi and https://myretrocomputer.com/ https://myretrocomputer.com/
- dirtikiti 1y agoNeither of those are what I said. I don't care about a keyboard. I don't care about retro computing. What I care about is a modern amiga operating system, running on modern hardware. And make it backwards compatible for the retro computing crowd. I hate to break it to you all, but retro hardware is a novelty, nothing more.
- wvenable 1y ago> modern amiga operating system This is an oxymoron. If retro hardware is a novelty then so is retro software. So is retro inspired software. It's novelty all the way down. You can emulate anything; you don't need backwards compatibility. Both of those hardware devices are modern except for the software.
- dirtikiti 1y ago"Both of those hardware devices are modern except for the software." Right. The most important part of using the hardware -- the software -- is not modern. You're not emulating anything with non-modern software. You're not doing much of anything, tbh.
- woodrowbarlow 1y agocommodore OS vision is sort-of a "modern amiga OS". https://myretrocomputer.com/commodore-os-vision/ https://myretrocomputer.com/commodore-os-vision/ it's mostly just a skin on Linux Mint, though.
- dirtikiti 1y agoI can already run Linux. I dont want a skinned Linux. Amiga os was better than its competition. That's what set it apart. That's what needs to happen again. That's what y'all don't understand. Once places like RadioShack existed, it wasn't about hardware anymore.
- wvenable 1y agoAmiga OS no longer better than anything. There is literally no chance of anyone building a better OS than Linux. Even if you could, you'd just end up with an OS that doesn't have any software. Why does this need to happen again?
- sgt 1y agoI want one !
- nucleative 1y agoIn going to follow this project closely. This is looking like a case of aiming for the moon and actually getting it. Let's see!
- ghusto 1y agoI get how they're using nostalgia, but it doesn't seem to be coming from a cynical place. The transformation of technology from a utility to a nuisance at best and a disease at worst, strikes a chord for me. Computers used to be fun and yet require actual interest and effort, it's why I ended where I am. What a bait and switch.
- spacemadness 1y agoIt reads like Mark Fisher’s observation about capitalism absorbing all resistance. Resistance becomes the next market. So it’s doubly cynical as it’s a cash grab of sorts hoping to ride on everyone’s burnout from modern tech. I agree, it’d be better to just ride the nostalgia itself and let others come to their own conclusions about why they are nostalgic. All that said I do miss this era of computing greatly where one could understand it inside out and that was encouraged. I loved the C64 demo scene in the 80s.
- ta8645 1y agoI've been watching the new CEO's videos for a few years. He seems like a genuine person who isn't cynical about this at all. I don't think it's a cash grab, but a real hope that a community and something wholesome can be created around this nostalgic company. Either way, it's never going to be a huge cash cow, only a quiet niche.
- spacemadness 1y agoThat’s cool and I hope it works out then. The C64 is my favorite computing device ever produced since it’s how I learned to program and introduced me to music trackers. The marketing made it feel like a cash grab since there is another wave of retro revival going on.
- panick21_ 1y agoIts the cynical people who believe everything else is always cynical. If somebody wants to do a crash grab they could do crypto or some AI scam with much less effort. > absorbing all resistance Because its was not resistance in the first place ... > hoping to ride on everyone’s burnout from modern tech And with 'everybody' you mean a tiny group of nerds who know what a C64 is?
- logical_proof 1y agoIf the folks who bought the Commodore name 'Atari' this thing I will be disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed. If this pans out its going to be awesome. Warily optimistic.
- LeftHandPath 1y agoI grew up hearing the coders and hackers of yore regaling tales of their youth, the days they invested in things like the commodore or the IBM PC. I was born at the end of the 90's and never touched any of those things and always felt like I missed out. I've done a lot of work with the IBM i Series (AS400), which has an interface from that era, but no games.
- 486sx33 1y agoSNAKE/400 Play snake against your AS/400 https://github.com/projectvulcan/snake400 https://github.com/projectvulcan/snake400
- allthedatas 1y agoKeep manually refreshing that AS400 screen! In the late 90s while I was in college, for a while I had a graveyard shift job running backups and printing shipping labels at a large retailer and most of the work was done on an AS400 and also SCO UNIX before they became a zombie copyright troll.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- _spduchamp 1y agoI want is someone to fab real 6581 SID chips so I can do stuff like this and have it sound as it should. 10 FORL=54272T054295:POKEL,0:NEXT 15 POKE54296,15:TI$="000000" 20 POKE54277,255:POKE54278,255 25 POKE54284,255:POKE54285,255 30 POKE54276,17:POKE54283,17 40 FORA=8TO1STEP-1:FORB=ATO1STEP-1 45 T=TI+2952/B 50 POKE54273,3: POKE54272,A 55 POKE54288,3:POKE54279,A+B 60 PRINTA,A+B 70 IFTI<TTHEN70 80 NEXT:NEXT 90 POKE54276,16:POKE54283,16
- vunderba 1y agoAbsolutely love the SID chip. The clever way of imitating chord-based triads by just rapid arpeggiating on a single channel was super cool to me as kid.
- smilespray 1y agoWasn't Rob Hubbard one of the guys behind that trick?
- vardump 1y agoArpeggio was everywhere, doable on pretty much any sound chip. I think what sets SID apart are things like high/low pass filters, finely adjustable PWM width and maybe even finely tunable pitch.
- _spduchamp 1y agoThe SID chip is an analog semi-modular synth with digital control. The arpeggios unfortunately seem to be so heavily leaned on that it pretty much defines the chiptune sound, and those arpeggios could be played on lots of other systems, but the SID, when you dig into the beat frequencies and filters is a rich sonic world like no other. Here is that BASIC beat frequency drone (no filter stuff) https://youtu.be/k2YZkSq2gcY https://youtu.be/k2YZkSq2gcY
- gschizas 1y agoThere's a syntax error in line 10 (t0 instead of to). Also, what's the source for this program? I tried it on VICE and failed miserably. Maybe something (else) was copied wrong? Or is it supposed to fail on emulators?
- woodrowbarlow 1y agowith the name "ultimate" plus the hints in the original video, will this use Gideon's ultimate64? and it includes a case, keyboard (maybe mechboard64?), and flash cassette -- all for less than the cost of an ultimate64 mainboard? pretty light on details but potentially an incredible deal.
- the_af 1y agoA nice emulated alternative used to be TheC64. I own one, not sure if it's available at a reasonable price anymore. Not a real Commodore -- it's running a version of VICE in an ARM chip -- but with the actual form factor of a breadbin C64 and with a working keyboard, which brings back memories! You can play games and even program (basic, assembly, etc) using a real keyboard. Pretty cool! I like this is hardware based rather than emulated. However, I'm unconvinced by the color changing case, which the C64 didn't have...
- rbanffy 1y agoI think it hits a sweet spot where the physical experience is close enough (where would you get an HDMI CRT monitor?). I maintain the physical interaction with the emulator is key for creating the illusion of real hardware. > I'm unconvinced by the color changing case, which the C64 didn't have... They have beige.
- the_af 1y agoCool, I didn't realize they had beige! The transparent/color case seems out of place to me.
- the_af 1y agoWow, downvotes for mentioning an emulated alternative that also physically looks like a C64? I didn't expect a reddit-like response from HN :(
- JKCalhoun 1y agoPretty inexpensive? I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the pre-order. I have a couple of KIM-1 "clones" and enjoy them as well. I feel like, in my old age, whenever that comes, I will enjoy them even more. Diving at long last deep into assembly....
- derdi 1y agoBig props for the website footer: "Only essential cookies here - no tracking, no popups, just focus-friendly computing the Commodore way."
- elvis70 1y agoGood intentions, but the site is hosted by Wix which add their own trackers.
- mgkimsal 1y agoWas at a friend's place a few years ago. He had an original c64, tape drive, disk drive, okidata printer, and a trove of disks. We'd been friends since high school, but I think he'd stopped using his by then, and I was more of the computer guy (we bonded over guitars, not code). This was just sitting in his garage. "Take it - take it all" he said. Then... was sort of forceful with it, and started putting it in my car. :) I took it back home, and... realized I can't connect it to anything. And I'm not a hardware guy. I hate hacking on that sort of stuff. So I ended up giving it all to a friend who was getting in to retro stuff with his son. I think they got it working and connected up to something. I also gave him my C128. I still have the original Commodore 'Prolog' and (IIRC) 'Forth' packaging somewhere in the office here. :) Looking at these (and probably some other incarnations) I'm tempted to get one only because of the built in HDMI. I've poked around with some emulators online and it's fun, but the combination of the original keyboard and shape plus HDMI might be enough to get me to commit. Probably just the original beige though.
- th0ma5 1y agoIf it is all original, you'll want to be careful with the power supply. It's known to fail in a way that over voltages. Replacement ones can be made or bought relatively inexpensively.
- mgkimsal 1y agoThat was also in the back of my mind. Even back in the 80s, I remember those bricks being a source of heat and... shock sometimes. I'm just not a hardware guy, so gave it to someone who I think loves tinkering with that sort of stuff... :)
- mdtancsa 1y agoIts so funny you mention the color. Looking at the image on the website, I was struck by the fact that beige could strike a visceral exciting nostalgia reaction in me. I mean, its beige FFS, the ultimate "boring" color :) I went from a totally disengaged / disinterested teen in school to paying out of my own pocket (I think $50 at the time) to take a course taught be Steve Punter in the basement of a library on the other side of Toronto on 6502 assembler -- in the summer!
- gramie 1y agoIs Thomas Middledich (the central character in the TV show Silicon Valley) really the Chief Creative Officer? Jeri Ellsworth as Technical Advisor is also a solid member of the C64 community.
- peterfirefly 1y agoLooks like they are using (are going to use?) her FPGA re-implementation.
- skeeter2020 1y agoIt's good to have some healthy skepticism, but everything I've seen has felt very legit and pragmatic. It's funny-sad that a lot of people feel THIS is a nostalgia cash-in when Jack Tramiel was one of the least technology-driven, emotive figures in the 8-bit era. I'm OK if they do what it takes to keep the spirit of the Commodore community alive.
- allthedatas 1y agoWhile I did get to use a Vic20 in school I did not have a c64 but my friend did. At home I had an Apple IIe (which I still have) and it was great but boy was I jealous of all those color C64 games and also the modem they had for it! I didn't get a modem until I switched to a PC in 1989.
- skeeter2020 1y agoSomeone broke into my house and stole my Vic20 and tape deck; we used the insurance money to buy a C64 and disc drive. At the time it was very tramatic, but turned out to be a big blessing!
- austinallegro 1y ago10 PRINT "POOPY PANTS" 20 GOTO 10 RUN
- egypturnash 1y ago10?"POOPY PANTS! ";:RUN
- theonething 1y agoAs a kid, when we went shopping at K-mart, I would hangout at the computer department while parents shopped and did stuff like this on the C64. hehe
- aduwah 1y agoAm I the only one who gets sad when looking at the site? The resentment of modern computing and interconnected life feels extremely wrong with a Commodore brand on it. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have the box, but to me commodore means the complete opposite. It was the tech that inspired me to start learning and later building complex systems. The evolution of tech after this machine did not steal anything from me, but enriched my life both financially and otherwise.
- tines 1y ago[flagged]
- taylodl 1y agoLike many people my age (ahem!) the Commodore 64 was my first computer and I loved it and it's responsible for my long software development career. But I don't want that Commodore 64 today. I want the Commodore 64 of 2025. A machine where middle schoolers can learn the basics of programming while having fun with graphics and sound. Maybe even have a simple 2D gaming engine built-in. I don't know. I want the spirit of the Commodore 64, not the actual machine itself.
- psadri 1y agoI agree. I recently started exposing my kids to programming and I chose a C64 emulator. The BASIC REPL is so simple/limited that it doesn’t overwhelm the kids with irrelevant syntax (those can come later, if they are interested). The fact that a 1..100 loop can introduce a noticeable delay. You can literally see the computer working. Primitive graphics and sound provide immediate feedback which makes learning engaging and fun.
- rcarmo 1y agoWe used PICO-8. Worked great for that purpose.
- derstander 1y agoPicotron (also by Lexaloffle) might be an even better match for those wanting a retro workstation as opposed to a retro game console. https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php
- hakfoo 1y agoIn that regard, I almost feel like a new Atari 800-series would be better. The C64 had good graphics and excellent sound but so much of it was behind a brick-wall learning curve of poking. Atari's native BASIC at least provided some rudimentary access. You want something where the user can get a win on day 1, or it's getting buried in the closet with the rock tumbler. Or maybe if they packed in a super-extended BASIC ROM. But pretty quickly you end up wanting something with more modern flow control and structures, maybe closer to "Qbasic with sprite commands" and then you're probably demanding more than what can be reasonably asked of a 6510-class CPU.
- boltzmann64 1y agoI am sorry, but people are still using Commodore 64 these days?
- elpocko 1y ago[flagged]
- sgt 1y agoWhat does "older men" mean? Bunch of people got their start in computing with Commodore 64s in the early 80s yes, but also mid 80s, late 80s, early 90s and even mid 90s. So people who were kids in the mid 90s also fall into this group, and I don't think they are old.
- skeeter2020 1y agoIronic that the parent to your post calls out "old men" but sounds about as grumpy as you can get. They are right though; they don't get it.
- fifticon 1y agowe are 54 years old
- dartharva 1y agoGenZ (the smartphone generation) are adults today. Early GenZ are even in their late 20s. You are old, buddy.
- slow_typist 1y agoThere are even people who develop new games for the C64. And there is still an active demo scene I think.
- richrichardsson 1y agoYes, there is a very active demo scene, and frankly the people coding them are wizards. But not just the coders, the artists (visual/audio) are also wizards.
- cmrdporcupine 1y agoIn a way I'd just have preferred for them to slap an official Commodore branding on the Mega65, which is IMHO a much more compelling and amazing product: https://mega65.org/ https://mega65.org/ Huge labour of love, and far more interesting.
- rbanffy 1y agoI find it a bit of a shame it’s so expensive though. By far, the most important aspect of emulation is the physical experience, from typing on an accurate recreation, to inserting floppies, to hearing the sounds and feeling the vibration. The mega65 could be a shell with a small ARM board inside and I’d be happy, the same way I am with my The64 Maxi.
- mrbluecoat 1y agoNot sure where they were going with LEDs on a nostalgia device but glad they offer beautiful beige: https://www.commodore.net/product-page/commodore-64-ultimate-basic-beige-batch1 https://www.commodore.net/product-page/commodore-64-ultimate...
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- whartung 1y agoWasn’t the Commodore logo and name sold recently for “seven figures”? Is this the same folks?
- Findecanor 1y agoThe promo video [1] is on the new Commodore CEO's YouTube channel, so it must be. The PCB looks like a rebranded "Ultimate 64" FPGA board [2], which has been out in a couple of iterations for a few years. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fGP59mJ5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fGP59mJ5M 2. https://ultimate64.com/ https://ultimate64.com/
- layer8 1y agoI hope they’ll add a version with the C64C design down the line.
- pflenker 1y agoThis really scratches my itch. I love retro computing, the closer to the original hardware the better - but the one thing that gets in the way (and that can stay in the past!) are the horrible loading times. A new C64 is exactly what I need.
- Cockbrand 1y agoI have a somewhat modded C64 with JiffyDOS and an SD2IEC, and it loads everything really fast. Sometimes I miss the weird 1541 noises, but generally, it's a great combination.
- jasoneckert 1y agoI still have a C64 in my basement in case I need a nostalgia kick. A few years ago I set it all up and loaded a game. I was surprised at how slow it is and how bad the game was compared to how I remember it - so I boxed it up again and have no intention of setting it up again to keep my fond memories intact. I have a feeling many who buy this product will ultimately do the same.
- atombender 1y agoI had the opposite experience. I bought a C64 at a flea market and hooked it up to an old Sanyo TV I had found in a dumpster. Loaded up Time Pilot, Drop Zone, and H.E.R.O., and had an incredibly fun time playing them together with a date. Sometimes the nostalgia doesn't kick in, and clearly many things were objectively bad in a way that hits differently now. I wouldn't want to sit long nights writing assembly code and battle bad sectors on floppy disks. But I still think it's a great little gaming computer.
- the_af 1y agoI hear you about the slowness, I definitely do not miss it. The good news about retro devices is that games load instantly, and you can save memory snapshots. As for the games... some are a pain to play today, but others are surprisingly good and the music is beyond cool. Of course, nostalgia is a big factor, but still...
- egypturnash 1y agoI sure spent a lot of time with my c64 and the idea of having a new one in the exact same wrist-ruining form factor, except transparent so you can see that it's actually implemented via a tiny handful of modern chips, has absolutely zero appeal.
- sgt 1y agoImagine coupling this with this IPS screen: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/checkmate1500mini/retro https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/checkmate1500mini/retro... (Stephen Jones' project - he also has Commodore background, IIRC)
- crims0n 1y agoFor some reason this is not linking to what I expected… Edit: I think this is where you meant to link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/checkmate1500mini/retro-styled-modular-ips-display-for-old-and-new-systems https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/checkmate1500mini/retro...
- snvzz 1y agoIf only if it was an actual CRT, rather than a LCD on a retro-style case. Instead, I have to recommend the OSSC / OSSC Pro, with your favourite modern display.
- pheller 1y agoThat display with a custom C= 1702 bezel would be great, though perhaps 15-17" for a better aesthetic match to the C= 64 chassis.
- ibobev 1y agoI hope the original hardware of retro systems will be in production again someday.
- markus_zhang 1y agoI'm still looking for the 2025-2030 version of a kid's first computer. C64 and Apple ][ made sense back then because whatever the poor animation they provided back in the late 70s/early 80s are exciting ENOUGH for younger version of us. Back then ANY interaction is good enough. NES was the bang but it definitely requires a lot of imagination to match the sprites to the box arts. I think the key here is to force the kids to use imagination. Actually I'm going to do an experiment on my soon to be 5-years-old son. I have exposed some cartoon shows to him, but none of them is very fancy. I gave him Curious George and Bluey, both fall more into the hand-drawn camp than the CG camp. I have never expose him to any games or mobile apps like TikTok. I'm going to expose NES games or C64 games to him and see if he is interested. Despite my respect to John Carmack, I'm always in the camp of "you don't need post-2000 graphics to make any genre interesting, even for FPS", and I always believe the advancement of graphics hurts games more than benefiting them.
- AStonesThrow 1y ago[dead]
- crims0n 1y agoGrabbed a preorder, the Beige one seems like a legitimately good deal at 300 USD; and it comes with a spiral bound user manual!
- AlexeyBrin 1y agoIs there any way to see what the manual contains ? It would be great to have a programming tutorial like the original.
- crims0n 1y agoNo idea unfortunately, just saw it listed in the "what's in the box" section.
- pheller 1y agoYou can always print up one of the remastered C64 Users / Programmers Reference Guides on Lulu. See here: https://pickledlight.blogspot.com/p/commodore-64-guides.html https://pickledlight.blogspot.com/p/commodore-64-guides.html It's my hope they brought the individual who did this work in to help make the minimum changes necessary to accurately document the differences. These recreations are really quite nice.
- cadr 1y agoThey at least have some cool technical advisors. And a "Chief Tramiel Officer".
- ta8645 1y agoEarlier in the day the number of preorders / total number of systems available was shown on the order page. That seems to have been removed now. Presales may be going slower than hoped.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- rkrisztian 1y agoCool idea, but I could just run a Commodore 64 emulator on my PC these days.
- the_af 1y agoTrue, but it just doesn't hit the same nostalgia spot. Emulators are all about running the software. This is more about the full package, you know? The breadbin in all its glory. Going clickety-clack with its keyboard. It brings back memories. I own a TheC64 by RetroGames just for this. All the convenience of HDMI and instant loading software with the form factor of the C64 of my youth, with a working keyboard with PETSCII characters! If you just want to play games, agreed, you just need VICE.
- KevinMS 1y agosome backstory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke-Ao-CpI7E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke-Ao-CpI7E