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2022-08-26
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u
NEWS FROM JERI ELLSWORTH
Designer of the
C=1 -- The new C-64
I have some bad news about the
C=1. While Courtney and I were driving
our rental to the airport on the way
home from the Chicago Expo, we stopped
at gas station in South Chicago. As I
pulled off the freeway I said "Ooh
this area looks bad", but we stopped
anyway.
Courtney got out and started
fueling. It was hot in the car so I
decided to get out too (leaving the
keys in the ignition). While I leaned
against the rear fender, a young black
man ran up and jumped in the car. I
ran to the the door yelling "HEY!" But
he had locked the door. I banged on
the window a few times and turned to
Courtney and said in a dejected tone
"Pull the gas nozzle out. He's
stealing the car." She pull the nozzle
out just in time as he drove off.
Courtney ran to the gas attendant
and told him that our car had been
stolen and that we needed a police
officer. In a dead pan tone he said
"Well I guess you need to find a pay
phone then."
The police officer across the
street just looked at us as we told
our story and gave the license plate
numbers. After a few seconds of this
we asked him if he was going to do
anything about it. He said "I'm only a
crossing guard."
We found a pay phone in a sleazy
restaurant. It took about 30 minutes
for an officer to arrive and take down
our info. He did a real good job of
emphasizing how stupid I was to leave
the keys in the car. He said he would
stick around until we got a cab. After
45 minutes, he took us to the police
station.
We made it to the airport only to
find out that Courtney couldn't board
her flight without the paper ticket
and my plane had already left. Luckily
Courtney still had the credit card.
A ticket back to Oregon on the
spot was $1400 but Courtney's flight
to Florida was only $200. So I decided
to fly with her there, and find a
cheap flight home later.
They recovered the car two weeks
later. Nothing was in it! We lost all
our cloths, money, soldering station,
VOM, [all C=1 prototypes], Wheels,
turbo232, a years worth of hand
written notes on the C=1, Courtneys
SX64, a rare C= bubble jet printer,
and a Warp Speed cartridge.
The worst things to loose were the
notes on the C=1, and the hand drawn
schematics. Development has been set
back a little bit. The C=1 prototype
was almost at the end of it's
usefullness, but I still needed it to
check the new SID and fix the keyboard
controller. Very depressing. :(
Later
Jeri Ellsworth
[DAVE'S NOTE:] I have been extremely
interested in the C=1 -- a brand new
Commodore 64 compatible box. From the
early notes, it looks like just the
thing to take to a developing country
like Kenya.
We seem to forget that people in poor
countries don't make the kind of cash
we do. We stayed with a couple in
Kenya -- an anaesthesiologist and a
middle school teacher. They were
fairly well to do, middle class people
with a combined monthly income of
about $400.
At that salary level, a Pentium would
cost as much as a Cadillac! And what
they get in the way of computers as
"mission gifts" is a joke. The
technology is completely out of synch
with the economy and capabilities.
The C=1 looks like a very real
answer. It is a solid platform (as you
well know). With a retail price of
around $200, the C=1 would fit in the
budget of middle class families.
My hope is to retire, move to Kenya
and set up a distribution and repair
company, training Kenyans in the art
and science of computers on the C=1.
DMM