Commodore 64 facts
While investigating facts about Commodore 64, I found out little known, but curios details like:
The Commodore 64 computer dominated the US computer market during the mid-80s, outselling IBM PC compatibles and Apple computers.
The Commodore 64 is the best selling computer in history
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 29 of the best facts about Commodore 64 I managed to collect.
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Programs for the Commodore 64 were distributed in Finland by broadcasting the tapes containing the program during a fortnightly radio show.
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An auto repair shop in Poland has been using a Commodore 64 as their primary computer since 1992.
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Ryo Kawasaki, a Japanese jazz guitarist and quantum physicist who is credited with inventing the first guitar synthesizer with Roland and Korg, creating four synthesizer programs for the Commodore 64, as well as developing and popularizing the fusion music genre
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An MIT professor wrote a book about a single line of code for the Commodore 64, "10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10" known for producing random mazes, which he says qualifies as a concrete poem.
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Bender's brain is made up of a 6502 Processor, the same processor used in the Apple II, Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System
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A Commodore 64 game had an inbuilt cheat which involved licking your finger and rubbing a controller port to receive infinite lives.
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The Apollo Guidance Computer which took people to the Moon and back again had 36k of storage and 2k of RAM. Its performance is comparable to the first generation of personal computers like the Apple II and the Commodore 64, and unlike a modern smartphone, designed to be crash proof.
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Razor 1911' is the oldest active software cracking group, starting back in 1985 when they cracked software for the Commodore 64
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The USSR tried to ban a video game in the West. In 1985 diplomats and leftists petitioned the Finnish government to ban "Raid Over Moscow" for the Commodore 64 and other "anti-USSR games" as military propaganda. The game became a best seller because of the controversy.
What is true about commodore 64?
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The Commodore 64, Atari 2600, NES and Apple II all had the same processor (the 6502).
There was a video game of Rocky Horror Picture Show on Commodore 64. - source
There was a Blade Runner game released for Commodore 64 in 1985. The developers couldn't get the rights to the movie itself, so they made a "video game interpretation of the film score by Vangelis". - source
The Commodore Plus/4 computer was such a failure that it was mocked as the "Minus/60". The nickname was based on the very successful Commodore 64 that preceded the Plus/4, and which the latter computer was usually compared to.
AOL started as PlayNET, which hosted multiplayer games for the Commodore 64 - source
Commodore re - released the famous Commodore 64 computer in 2011, complete with dual core processor, DDR3 ram and 1080p graphics via HDMI output, all contained within the classic Commodore 64 keyboard.
Today's Intel Core i7 widely used in PCs runs 355,000 times faster than a Commodore 64, the most popular home computer of the 1980s.
The Commodore SX-64 was a portable, briefcase/suitcase-size "luggable" (23lb.) version of the Commodore 64 home computer
The worst selling videogame system of all time is the C64GS, a budget Commodore 64 with no keyboard, rebranded as a standard game system. It sold 2000 units, and it's launch "Killer App", Terminator 2, was unplayable because you needed to press Enter to start.
Commodore, famous for the Commodore 64 computer, once made its own PONG clone TV game called the "Commodore 3000H"