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t.scott mccoy
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2022-08-26
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u
ME AND MY COMMODODRE
by Scott McCoy
Like many of you, I came in
during the tail end of Commodore's
heyday.
My earliest experiences with
computers were in elementary school,
where for an hour every Friday, some
of us were allowed to go to our
school's library where assistants
loaded up "Oregon Trail" from
cassette, or other similar games, and
we were allowed to play.
A few years later, a childhood
friend had a 64, and he had a ton of
disks of games, and I decided I wanted
one! I remember trying to convince my
dad to get one, and at the time, he
was also wanting a computer (for him,
unbeknownst to me.) So, in 1987, we
found a used 64 in an ad in the local
paper -- a 64, 1541, datasette, 1702,
Tymac Connection printer interface,
and an Epson RX-80 9-pin printer. I
believe we paid $150 for it.
It came home, and like all plucky
10 year olds, I "claimed" it, despite
the fact (I discovered later) that my
dad had intended it for himself -- as
a family computer. However, he got the
last laugh: I got the 64 as my own,
but he bought a co-worker's used Amiga
1000 and became a diehard Amiga user!
After having the Commodore for a
year or so, I was able to get into RUN
magazine, and through their magazine
specials, I was able to acquire a 1670
Modem for $25. For a 10 year old, that
seemed like a small fortune, but the
concept of being able to "communicate"
with other computers, to share files
and information, was an irresistible
siren call.
From there, I began calling BBS's
and using QLink. After a disastrous
$50 bill from QLink one month, my
QLink service went away -- however, I
still had access to local BBS's, and
through them, made contact with
members of the local commodore user's
group, the Commodore Club of Rockford
(CCR).
I became a member, and my
experience as a commodore user grew,
while I envied the other members'
setups. As adults, they could afford
newer hardware upgrades like Ramlinks
and 1581's, the height of technology
at the time. As a teenager, I could
only dream of owning the best
Commodore technology that I couldn't
yet afford. Over time, I upgraded to a
128D (which I still have) and
eventually to Amigas and IBM PC's when
college demanded it in 1995.
The local members were the men I
looked up to: my friend Dave Belter
had won a Ramlink from QLink or GEnie
during a contest for uploading files.
Names like Jim Butterfield were like
golden idols that were whispered with
reverence. Little did I know that
years later, I would end up
socializing with him at a LUCKI expo!
I would most likely have moved
away from Commodore, and in fact, for
a while I did when I moved to Amigas
and PC's. However, in 1995, I went
away to college at Northern Illinois
University, and ended up sharing a
room with someone who shared the same
interests in computing I did. We both
had PC's (my newly minted 486 100mhz,
his 386 SX-20), yet we both preferred
the bright cyan screen of our older
Commodore 64's. Had it not been for
him, my interest in Commodores might
have gone away, and I'd like to think
it was mutual for him as well.
His name? Dave Ross.
Flash forward to today. I still
love the "little computer that could,"
and I love continuing to see the many
things that people are doing with
Commodores that "can't be done." Now
that I'm 27, and married, with a full
time job, I can now afford all the
"height of technology" that I envied
when I was a teenager. In fact, with
my SuperCPU, I now have better
technology then those I admired in
those days! I can also afford to go
to Expos where I get to meet and
socialize with other enthusiasts from
all over.
SC