Commodore Free 17/Commodore_Free_Issue_17_2008_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/t.winner

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Commodore Poster Competition ?WINNER?
Commodore Time capsule


Here we go then the winner of the
Commodore poster competition: I posed
the question "What would you put into
a time capsule?"

The winner receives one of these
posters and should have the poster by
the time he reads this issue of the
magazine, thanks for everyone that
took the time to send entries; I
enjoyed reading some of the weird
ideas like an Embalmed version of
Maurice or various people
cryogenetically frozen in time to
revive by the historians. In the end I
took a more realistic view of what
historians would like to see in a time
capsule.

For anyone that still wants to
purchase a poster here are the details


History of Commodore Computers Poster
Poster Dimensions 24" x 36"

I have for sale "The History of
Commodore Computers" poster which is
the culmination of three years of work
and research. The C= systems have been
professionally photographed
specifically for this poster and the
photos appear nowhere else.

This poster is ideal for any vintage
computer fan, C= Computer collector,
classic or vintage memorabilia display.
This is a limited edition poster and
will not be re-printed!

Poster includes hi-resolution images
of rare and hard-to-find systems
including the KIM 1, PET 2001, PET
4016, PET 8032, VIC-20, C-64, C-64C,
SX-64, C-128, C-128D, B-128, CBM
256-80, P-500, Plus/4, C-16, C-116,
VC-20, Amiga 500, & selected disk
drives.

$19.99 USA Ship $3.00
$19.99 Canada Ship $5.99
$19.99 International Ship $7.99

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/poster_
 detail.cfm

Of course the water mark doesn't appear
on the final poster


-= The WINNER =-
From a user known as "JAM"

Maybe the best thing to leave for
Historians to find in a time capsule
is a full detailed explanation about
myself & my C= machines. Details about
why I purchased them & what C= ment to
me as a person.
For example why did one person go the
C= route and another the Spectrum or
other 8 bit system route.

Commodore encounter
I first encountered Commodore like as
many other users I know visiting a
friend's house, they had a VIC 20 with
various games, & delighted in showing
off with the system. my friend and I
played on the Vic 20 many times
enjoying the games that came with the
machine and also some games that were
purchased separately.

I even remember playing games on
cartridges so you didn?t have to load
tapes, at the time my friend didn't
have a disk drive. We typed in
listings from magazines and typed in
every demo and program in the manuals
that accompanied the machine. The
machine was superb the sound was great
and the colours vivid. My parents
liked the machine because it resembled
a real typewriter; I suppose it was
something they could relate to as a
functional device. They liked the real
keyboard rather than the Spectrum ZX 81
with rubber keys they though this more
a toy because it didn't have a real
keyboard, this really was a high tech
system and exciting times for young
people, nothing like this had ever been
seen before. Many people called this
the Golden era.

I knew after a month of playing with
the VIC 20 that I wanted to own one of
these machines myself & sure enough
with the most hints one person can make
and letters to Santa, at Christmas I
received a VIC 20 & datasette of my
own. Later I purchased a C= printer
this was under the assumption that the
system would be used for schoolwork how
many parents fell for this?

The machine was a favourite of mine for
3 long glorious years, and regularly
used the machine after school; I used
the machine for games and occasionally
schoolwork well, ok mainly for games
then; and pretending to do schoolwork.

I fought with programming BASIC on the
machine & this fuled my desire to learn
more and become more involved with
computing and programming languages.

I joined a local club for 8 bit
machines, where we discussed the merits
of various systems & users would bring
in the latest software to demo and WOW
other club members.

Then the C64 became available & I knew
this was the route for me to take, I
saved up enough money to purchase a C64
& 1541 disk drive. This machine became
my main machine for several years,
again used mainly for music,
programming and games.

I purchased Geos operating system and
with the aid of a Commodore dot matrix
printer produced a magazine on the
machine for our local club members to
read, about various machines of the
time. Even though I wrote about other
machines Commodore always seemed the
best machines to me. My C64 was
replaced with an Amiga 500 and later an
Amiga 1200, these remained my favourite
machines until they were eventually
partly replaced with the PC for my main
work machine, due mainly to my line of
work not through choice on my part.

C= Amiga 500 and upward machines
introduced me to the world of true
multitasking operating system, and an
improved Graphic system something the
PC is still lacking.

C= became like a cult to me, I would
not have any bad words said against the
Company and its staff. I would always
try to win in the schoolyard where my
system is better than you brandied
about.

I look back fondly to my school and
younger years as the best days of my
life not because I liked school but
because I could come home & spend time
on my computer. I remember the
Kraftwerk song, "I PROGRAM MY HOME
COMPUTER" the words still wash over my
head "bring myself into the future" I
cant remember a day without when I used
my C= systems. except for holidays
when I couldn't take the system with me

I left school to work in a computer
shop selling C= machines as well as
other systems mainly games console. I
became a good salesman & a voice for
C= machines, because of my bias and
because we know C= can do anything. I
trained on other systems, Linux and PCs
but I used Commodore wherever I could.

On training courses I bumped into other
C= users and we became good friends. It
surprised me how many C= users exist.
C= gained me more friends via Bulletin
boards and latter Email, many of these
friends I still haven't met in person
just via email and snail mail. I am
still in contact with many C= users
from the past, some of whom have moved
onto other hardware systems but others
stick firmly with the Amiga, Some of
these friends became very close and I
communicate with them on a daily
basis, others are less close and are
contacted maybe each month, Although
the Computer clubs I go to now are all
PC related if anything Commodore comes
up like the IDE 64 interface or the
Retro replay cart I will take my C= to
show the users that C= is still alive.

I still read up about OS4 for the C=
Amiga and may if the OS becomes more
popular, purchase a newer system to run
the OS on.

Later I gained employment as an IT
manager and I owe this all to C= for
sparking my interest in Computers and
computing, without C= I don't think I
would have become as involved in
computing as I have done.

Looking back I still own all my C=
machines and never sold any magazine or
hardware item I purchased, I couldn't
possibly throw anything out, I even
have my first joystick (its broken
beyond repair) but how can I possibly
throw something away that means so
much to me?

I still have the origional games and
PD software and applications with
manuals and disk covers, and even
packaging where applicable, yes even
the Polly support boxes from my
C= machines. I still follow C= groups &
read versions news postings about C=.

The machine played a big part in my
life and will always be remembered with
fond memories from myself. I may not
be 100% diehard user that utilises
nothing else but Commodore is my main
system, Funny I remember the c64 more
than another system the Amiga is still
my DTP and writing computer of choice
but if I need to relax and play a game
then its always the Commodore 64 that
comes out of the cupboard, (I really
must get a permanent setup for the
machine)

There has never been a company before
commodore that played so bit a part in
the computing world and I don?t think
there ever will be Computing for the
Masses not just the classes.

Commodore lives on forever

Regards
Jam