Support Veronica Explains: support.linux.mom! :)
That's right! Now your Commodore 64 can surf the web! Well, kinda.
In today's video, I go over two ways to get the venerable Commodore 64 online. The C64 is one of my favorite retro machines, and I hope you enjoy this trip down (a slightly modernized) memory lane.
Here's a few links to the tools I referenced in today's video, and other things which might be helpful!
⚡ C64 PSU I use: www.c64psu.com
📶 Wi-Fi modem: retrorewind.ca/c64-wifi-modem
🟧 64nic+: www.go4retro.com/products/64nic/
🖥️ CCGMS Download: commodore.software/downloads/...
📌 Particles BBS website: particles.org
ℹ️ Helpful blog post on troubleshooting the 64nic+: color64.com/dialing-out-two-o...
🐸 Frogfind and 📰 68k.news - heavily optimized sites with retro computers in mind: frogfind.com and 68k.news (courtesy of the fantastic @ActionRetro)
⏩ My favorite Fastloader - the "Epyx Fastload Reloaded" from The Future Was 8-Bit: www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop...
🎮 Evan Amos' book, "The Game Console" (he took many great photos of game systems and put them into the public domain): nostarch.com/game-console-20
🚧 Items I 3d printed for this episode:
- Pi1541 case: www.thingiverse.com/thing:461...
- 64nic+ case: www.thingiverse.com/thing:290...
Commodore BASIC commands used during the making of this video:
`LOAD"*",8` - load the first thing (or last opened file during current session) on the Commodore floppy drive
`RUN` - runs the program it just loaded
`LOAD"$",8` - load the list of files from the Commodore floppy drive
`LIST` - actually list out the list-of-files loaded with the previous command
"Esoteric command" that renames the file: `OPEN 1,8,15,"R:NETCONF.PRG= NETCONF.PRG":CLOSE 1`
`LOAD"SETMAC",8` - sets the mac address for your device in Contiki
`LOAD"CONTIKI",8` - loads the CONTIKI program itself
If you'd like to help support the channel, the best way is to join the Patreon!
/ veronicaexplains . And thank you!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:03 What is a Commodore 64?
03:55 "Online" in the 1980s
06:25 Modern modem options for retro computers
07:15 The C64 Wi-Fi Modem from Retro Rewind!
13:47 Contiki and the 64nic+
18:42 Credit to those keeping retro alive
19:48 Ask Veronica
#retro #retrocomputing #commodore
My first computer was a C64 back in the 80’s. Shaped who I am today, in a big way. I was reading books on how to program that thing when I was 8 years old. Watching my kids play games on their iPads today, I can’t help but think how lucky I was, to experience the C64.
My family was too poor to get me one, so I had to walk miles to the nearest KMart and play with the floor model. I loved every minute of it, and it did shape who I am today. I have a computer now that I couldn't have even dreamed of, and I take nothing for granted.
Those 4 books that came with the C64, and their sprite grids in the back, were epic. I remember trying to write games in year 3, so about the same age you were. Certainly fun times. Computers have lost that character these days, everything is so clinical and sterile.
If you want your kids to get into programming, why not introduce them to it? Older generations might say modern computing is sterile or whatever, but as a new kid, I'd just say it's easier to get into. I think the first programming-like things I did was editing Entity data in Minecraft in some mod and changing textures in a pirated PSP version of it. There's so many different ways to get your kids interested in this stuff! And if it's not their thing... what's wrong with that?
@@SmileytheSmile Take apart an Amiga 500, take note they've named every chip and given them human names; Denise, Paula, Agnus, et al. They went so far as to etch the names in to the mainboard of the computer next to the chips. Take a look at SID from the C64, and the communities that grew from that chip and still thrive near 40 years later. You missed what I meant by "sterile" entirely. You say you're a "new kid" and that's perfectly fine, but without an understanding of the way computers used to be you'll never understand the difference to what we have now, and what we had then. I still game regularly, and I'm a 70's kid, my 12900/3090 is enough to kick start a planet! One of the last remnants of the old school era are demo parties, It would be worth your while to check out some of the compos on youtube. I go to Revision and Assembly nearly every year, and while jpegs these days take up megabytes for a single still image, we're still making cinematic masterpieces that run for minutes accompanied with a soundtrack - all in the space of 64kb. This, again, spawned from the old school era of "cracktros". It's a fascinating world, and will offer you a glimpse in to a side of computing you sadly missed out on. I'm not bashing modern computing, I love it, never has it been easier to run your own server, your own email server, your own file share, even hacking games is a walk in the park these days. But it has lost its character, and there's no denying that.
My father bought the C64 to use in his sound studio. We assimilated it pretty quickly, hacking in code at 10yo. Now i'm a programmer.
Thanks for the trip back memory lane. I was a grown adult BBSing regularly. After the C64, I moved to the Amiga. Eventually, I read in an Amiga magazine about this new thing called the Internet. I quickly signed up to a dialup service and the world opened up to me. As soon as ISPs offered always online services, I signed up right away. To make a long story short, I was BBSing from the 80's until 95 when I reached out to the world thanks to the Internet. It has been a great adventure for this 64-year-old man.
Memory lane The memory was slower back then, but ours was fast Today memory speeds are so fast, sadly ours are not lol
CCGMS forever!
To say the truth I don't remember anybody surfing the internet with an Amiga 500, may be through a modem and a regular telephone line but I don't really remember it, I firstly experienced the internet at the univesity to say the truth, quite late I'm afraid, I remember low speed and the Netscape browser, and I didn't enjoyed it too much because I didn't consider the content any interesting or accesible, the whole thing, speed, contents, not available at home (may be because of the price, my case), after that I ended up working with the C, C++ and Java languages. I forgot to comment in a prvious post that the Apple systems are regarded as more simple to use, I didn't really experience it.
Nerdy games?
My first computer was a C-64. A friend of mine had a vic-20, and I was completely enamored. I literally had a paper route to earn money to buy one. I also bought a 1541, and then (if memory serves) a 1571 floppy. I also had a modem... 300 baud. I was fascinated with programming, and between the various books I found in book stores, I had memorized all 64k of memory, and had made a few rudimentary games. It was, and still is, my favorite computer of all time. I learned so much playing with that thing. My most vivid memory of any game I played on it was a text based game for Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and visiting BBSs to get tips on how to beat it. Good times.
My first own computer was a hp pavilion 15 ba517ng. In 2017. Used the family computer before tbf.
10 print "vic20"; 20 goto 10 run
I had a C64 and was similarly enamored - and then they did it again with the Amiga 500 - those two computers seemed to promise so much and then delivered even more.
* $1000 lda #$00 sta $d020 sta $d021 ret sys 4096
The Vic is a beautiful machine. I have both the Vic and C64 Maxi from retrogames and I tend to use the C64 more as the Vic is comparatively archaic, even for me but it's still my favorite (and the better looking) of the two.
Educational level of your videos is truly astonishing. Absolutely loving almost each and every video you made!
Thank you so much for watching!
And the sound/speech! I so wonder if, after speaking so clearly for an hour or two or more, she gets tired. I work with people and in various languages, but alas, I sound "angry" when I try to pronounce clearly. Anyway, many of her fellows have pleasing voices, just slightly less understandable sometimes.
I have many wonderful memories using my C64 in the 80's. I had just about every accessory you could get for it. My hobby then and now is astronomy. I would write my own software for recording my observations and photography sessions and store them to a floppy. I still have all those today even the nightly observations of Halley's comet in 85/86. Loved that little computer.
Halleys comet, damn I remember that lol
Ah! Mars was really good in 86 and 88. Unfortunately for me, my SP-C8 couldn’t cut through the Martian dust storms.
Around 1989 or so my Buddy had a Commodore 64 and when he showed me you could send a "letter" by hooking the thing up to the phone line, it blew my mind. I was only 9 years old and it was my first experience using a computer beyond games or "educational programs". At the time we couldn't even imagine we'd be watching people make their own "TV Shows" on a computer monitor.
I love your commentary, sidebar notes, etc. It really shows that you know this content in-depth. I too remember the BBS days growing up with my C64, and your description really brought back memories. Great video!
Instant sub! I wish I'd known about your channel when I was still learning the basics. Such a breath of fresh air to see genuinely interesting (even for experienced users) topics approached in this beginner-friendly way. Props for the good subtitles too!
This was really great! I've noodled a tiny bit on Commodore emulators, but never the real deal. I'm really glad you went through what each section of each command does, instead of just typing them in or telling someone what to type. I also love that you go through the device's ports, switches, and peripherals. A lot of videos assume we already know this stuff, but these things are decades older than a lot of us, and they're hard to get your hands on today. Awesome video! I'm really glad I found your channel!
You've done an outstanding job explaining the unexplainable. And it's great to see you're doing really cool stuff with your setup. Best wishes from a former c64 scener (I ran one of the most acclaimed C*Base BBSes on a c128d with 100MB SCSI HD, 6MB Ramlink, Swiftlink, 56k modem in the mid 90s). I hear that my gear is still used today by someone to run a telnet-enabled scene BBS.
As someone who has been watching classic computer KZhead videos for years now (and wanting to get into the hobby) I really appreciate the amount of effort you put into teaching us about it instead of going straight into the jargon of the projects. I'm glad I stumbled across your channel and I hope your channel continues to grow because your videos are incredibly informative. Thank you!!
I was a certified Commodore repair tech back in the 80's. At Commodore training in Pa. I spoke with the lead tech about their competition, and he explained that his company was focused on their current marketing through department stores. That's how they sold millions. It was the best product for that price range. I spent many years repairing them. The floppy drives always needed realignment though. Thanks for the memories. Cheers!
Holy crrrap. You just hit like a million nostalgic buttons for me and I don't even have that much familiarity with the C64. You talked about modems and BBSes, and doing modern stuff with ancient tech, but then you outdid yourself and mentioned Tracker music! I'm in love lol
I love these episodes. Retro computing is interesting.
It's so fun!!!
@@VeronicaExplains i see that. You really invested a lot of money on connection to wifi and Ethernet. That’s a lot of dedication to give the Commodore 64 access to today’s internet. Loved the video.
especially people who can code things never thought possible.
@@CallousCoder Sure I already subscribed.
@@VeronicaExplains Atari ST 520 had Midi ports, so a lot 80's and 90's music were made with this computer, Cubase and Fairlight synthesizer. Old radio computer shows, in the early days; some at the end of their broadcast had a 2 minute section, where they would broadcast dail-up programs. With a good tape recorder you could record that program. I am from the 33.6 Kbyte era (and earlier)
KZhead served up your channel and I'm glad it did. I'm an old IT professional but I came up through the PC lineage so I lack knowledge of all the other platforms from the 80's thru the 90's. You are helping me get into that history. I think you and your channel are awesome.
Thank you for watching! I certainly used PCs for most of my childhood (I used a 386 throughout most of my school-age years), but Commodore (particularly the Amiga) was always something I wanted to get into (particularly games and multimedia). As soon as I could get my hands on this stuff, I did! :)
Love this!! We used C64s at school and it was where I learned programming in BASIC - my first computer was an Amiga 500 - thanks for bringing the memories back Veronica!
I got my first computer in 2006 (it was an old Pentium even by those standards) but learning about the older technology is so fascintaing. I feel nostalgic about the times I never experienced...
I feel the same way about stuff from the 60s and 70s. Well before I was born but important in establishing the baseline we still live with today. Thanks for watching!
That brings back memories when in '83 I used my pressed my phone into the two rubber cups to dial up the University's mainframe and work from home! Perfect since computing time was much cheaper during the night and it saved me from driver to the computing center in the middle of the night during Ann Arbor winters.
What a wonderful video review! The C-64 (with tape drive) was my first computer as a kid, because my parents wanted something educational, I never had an Atari or any gaming console growing up. Consequently, I went into an IT career and just stuck to PC gaming. This brings back fond memories just as I turned 50. Thanks!
As a new C64 owner, I'm 100% interested in more videos on Commodore's legacy in the computing world. This video was absolutely fascinating.
It's interesting to experience how it all worked in the 80's ;)
For me it was early 90's. Black Box cartridge was a game changer. Loaded games 10 times faster and hotkeys made interface easier/faster.
@@halthammerzeit - By the end of the 80's and early 90's one of the most popular and fastest loader was the Action-Replay cartridge, they even made some freezers for the Amiga. I had them all from the original EPYX Fast-Load to Super-Snapshot and others. Good times. :)
I got a Technology Connections vibe. Great presentation. It's amazing what people still do with these retro computers.
Yes! Very good observation. Quite the same feel
💯
Same heh
Loved the nostalgic journey. I started on a C64 and PET, playing Zork1, etc. Also want to compliment you on your very natural and relaxed screen presence, great audio and lighting.
Zork 1 was awesome.
Veronica please keep this high quality content coming. We appreciate it!
This is stellar! Awesome work! I'm sure it took some time to edit together. Thanks from a Swede who grew up with the c64 and all the lovely games on it (yeah, I don't miss cassette speed for loading 'em).
You really hit home the appreciation of our current environment. My 1st modem was a 300 baud.. You really explain things quick and well.
❤ Veronica thank you so much. I was co-sysop myself of “The Quarter Mile BBS” and I ran it remote. My friend Fred was hosting the computer in his house. It was the first BBS in the Glades. And we offered Fidonet networking. You explained it all so well! My first PC was a C-64 in 1982. We used an ad logo “The Quarter Mile bbs, the other alternaltive” This is the best explanation of a C-64 on youtube channel. Thank you again! Yes we restricted users for 15 minutes. Then if they upload files, we will offer them credit minutes. Our BBS used Searchlight BBS platform by Frank Larosa You brought emotions of nostalgia to my heart. Those were the golden days. With fidonet we even connected soldiers on the war of Irak in 1991. The BBS was disconnected in 1993. Sadly the Internet took over. I also still own a C-64 original, Amiga 500, 600 and 1200 Greetings from Wellington, Florida
Thanks for this trip down memory lane. Your video just popped up randomly. And I enjoyed it to the end.
Just wow, surfing the internet has never been more fun. Thanks so much for these tips Veronica!
Very interesting content. I remember being envious of my friends brand new Commodore 64 back in the early 1980s. It was amazing what that computer could do with its limited resources!
I'm 45, so I grew up when the old computer technology was popular. I had never used the Commodore 64, but I remember seeing it. It wasn't until the early to mid-90s when I began using computers for a computer class in middle school and typing class in high school. It's amazing how many electronic devices use the the Internet in this century. I remember using the old disks and smaller diskettes for saving writing files. When you mentioned using the old modems before using the Internet, that reminded me of a scene in the great action film F/X 2, where a pre-teen boy, using a mall electronic store's computer, communicates with the two heroes in the movie and tries to send them a secret file, but then a hired hitman prevents it. I won't give away too much of the movie, but the heroes rescue the boy and capture the killer since one of the two heroes in the movie is a movie special effects specialist. That scene was so much fun to watch! Anyway, thank you so much for showing us how to use the old Commodore to get online. It so interesting and informative. I know enough about computers to do many basic tasks, however, much of the programing language you used I'm just not that familiar with. Anyway, thanks again.
Thank you for this Nostalgic trip down memory lane... Loved being a little kid in back then. I appreciate the footage!! All the Best!
This is really neat and well explained YT article. Very cool. Never thought you could do all that stuff anymore these days with the C64 (plus certain accessories).
I remember learning basic programming in high school on a Radio Shack model TRS-80 computer. Gosh this brings back memories. I used to go to the Radio Shack store in the mall and write programs on their display models of the TRS-80. I got chewed out a couple of times for doing it by the manager who didn't see that what I was doing was simply writing a simple interactive program to get potential customers interested in the computer by simply asking them their name and introducing the computer to them then telling them for more information talk to the sales person. Oh well, I was a teenager and just having fun. Used to play games on a friends Commodore 64 too. Love the content so pls keep it up.
the TRS had a Z80 CPU....I remember cos I could run the same code (ish) on the ZX Spectrum and vice versa with some mods to graphics handling...
My first Comp was a C-128/64. I loved my computer! I had tons of games, and got really good at programming1
My Gawd !!! this video just popped up in my feeds and I'm grateful. My first foray into 'puters was getting "Pong" when it released in 1972. Once I got hooked on this new technology, My parents asked my teachers in school what we could get for home. C64 !!!! When I enrolled in computer class in school , I was able to do more stuff than my teachers so they got me to teach the class. Fast forward, I have been a computer specialist for 30+ years and I owe this to the C64 and how it opened my mind to a whole new world. Thanks V loved this video !! Keep up the good work !
Fantastic content. You are a very cool person! Glad to see people still keeping the flame of this era alive.
Thank you!
I have connected to the "net" via various routes. My own homemade wifi modem (esp8266), the ultimate 2 via ethernet etc etc BUT could never get my RR net cart configured. Thanks to this video I have managed it (using contiki partially) - a big thanks for that!
Wow! That's brought back so many memories! In the early 80's I started with a ZX81, then went to a Spectrum and then an Acorn BBC Micro. These were followed by a Commodore 64 and an Atari ST. Happy days! Spending hours typing in some code from a magazine and having it crash when you ran it!! Having to debug either the code or your errors. Thank you!
Learning the hard way to save your work as you typed in a program. 2 hours typing thunderstorm knocked out the power and all gone. Never again. Lol
hoooooo so much souvenir you just brought back! Thank you!
I managed a PDP-11 at work when these became popular. I knew people were getting into DIY computing at home but I had so much access to cool stuff at work I missed all of this until DOS came out and I couldn't resist anymore 🙂
I was an early Mac 128 user and have used nearly EVERY model over the years.... but one time I had the first Amiga .... it was pretty amazing....... ahead of it's time
I had an Amiga too, no one in my town had one, went to meetings with big signs saying forbidden to copy. Those signs were only there for if police would come, everyone was copying from each other. Went to other towns to copy games at peoples houses, because I never found a store where you could get Amiga games in a 100 mile radius, the store only sold the Amiga computer. I got an Amiga because my friend in another town had one and told me to get one. He had lots of games for me to copy and from his neigbours as well. I was a kid back then didnt know how computers worked and at first tought copying was how everyone got games. Amiga those were the days. I might still have the Amiga at the attic of my parents house, do you know if it would sell for much these days ?
Had a Commodore 64 and a 64/128 machine. Got many years of use out of both. Very good memories made with family because of these computers and their games.
It's always exciting when I, as an Archie, come across a Veronica! Yes that's an old comic book reference and yes I am really Archie. Loved your video and love the retro enthusiasm. I grew up in the 80's and played on many a TRS80 and Commodore and TI-99. I was a SYSOP on several BBS's back in the day. Thank you for the updated trip down memory lane. Keep putting out great vids.
This is so cool. Brings me back to when I could only dream of getting into a BBS because we were too poor for a modem. Great video!
Awesome video! Brings back a lot of memories of "surfing" the BBS systems back in the days!
that's going back a while...on the Amiga 500....
As always great and interesting content from you. 😊 As a kid, me and my brother got one of those C-64 as a Christmas-gift and we sure did have lots of fun playing games. But the waiting... LOADING... and hopefully there was no error when the cassette-player had finished reading from the tape. 🤣
The stupid part was , if you were an honest guy you'd buy all the games, only to have to wait 15 minutes for it to load because they hadn't used a tape accelerator to save on cost. The cracked game could be loaded in 30 seconds with a tape acceleerator.
Or, when the 1541 disk drive would overheat and stop working. Finally got start and bought a little fan to put on top of the case.
This is all so cool! Good to know how all of this works!
Love your content! Brings back to good old memories of our roots into the tech world!
I used to run a BBS from an Amstrad CPC computer around the late '80's to early 90's. I remember that I used a basic toolset of user-written functions, I think typed in lie for line from a magazine, and then hand-coded any functionality I didn't have. Only two people ever really used it, and they were my brother and a friend who had to call first so I could set up the Modem, but it was still a wonderful step into the online world.
Nice video. I had them all the C64, Amiga, Atari's, VIC20, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and ZX81. I remember a silicon version of the 1541 drive.
That's when computers were exciting.
Ahh, you're like a retro angel ❤❤❤. Grown up with an C64 and then switched to an Amiga 500. In the meanwhile I bought again one, modified to HDMI, USB support and so on. So awesome what these machines can do with modern hardware/ solutions an its more important, that angels like you are spreading this information! Go ahead with much more ideas like this 👍👍👍🙏✨️
This is a great breakdown of the C64! I love the cadence of your breakdowns.
You are totally AWESOME! You're a "virtual" encyclopedia of information. And I thought you were a teenager. I remember the Commodore 64 well.
This video was so delightful. I would love to see more retro computers videos. How to use them with more modern displays and loading software on a c64 today.
There are several KZhead videos on how to connect an Amiga to the Internet.
What a great video! Thank you so much for all the help!
I loved our Commodore 64, I got mine in 1984 when I was 10 years old, the games were amazing and I even programmed in Basic on it back then. Great memories! I never went online with it as this wasn’t a common thing in the 80s. Great video!
I love the Commodore 64, It was my first computer in 1983. I had a 1541 drive, 1525 printer, and a 300 baud modem. Later got an adapter so I could plug in a 1200 baud Hayes-compatible modem I bought from Boeing Surplus. I was a regular on many BBS's in the Seattle area in the late 1080s. I later went to a Commodore 128, then an Amiga 500, Amiga 2000, and Amiga 3000. Fun times! Oh, and they still all work!
Wow! Thanks for taking me back to my teen years. I had a C64 and a C128. I ran a BBS back in the day. Retro Gaming nostalgia. I met a lot of friends that I still have till this day. Good times, good times. Great job explaining.
Well thank you for running a BBS back then!
You may recall the nostalgia by "Mom! Get off the phone, I'm online!". lol
Great video! It was fun taking a trip down memory lane! I have a ton of memories of my mom knocking me off line by accident to make a call LOL. That changed in 1997 when we got Comcast cable internet which was the first time I had a computer permanently online no dial-up modem needed! And no more huge fees!
I’m so glad I came across your channel today. I LOVE computers and cut my teeth on them in the A.O.L days but have a deep interest in older systems and how they worked. Thank you for the video
The 80's were an interesting time for home computers. Younger folks wouldn't understand the struggle we had back then: I had a Commodore 64, one friend had a TRS-80, another had a Texas Instruments TI99/4A, another had a Timex Sinclair 1000, and another had an Atari 1200XL. We could NOT share programs, games, peripherals, etc. with each other due to each architecture being unique and closed. This is just MY example- by the mid-to-late 80s, there were dozens MORE unique manufacturers out there, some that weren't even compatible with other models by the same manufacturer! Being a kid in this era, I made a list of all the computer companies and tallied how many cool games, programs and components each had available. That's how I chose the Commodore 64 (the 128 wasn't available yet at that time). There were two pretty cool peripherals for the C64 that were rare even back then, and I had one of them: The Currah Speech 64 was a cartridge that plugged into cartridge port, and it had a wire comming off of it that you also had to plug into the DIN port. It had hi and low robotic voices, and you could make it speak whatever key you pressed, or you could write it into BASIC programs by using the SAY command (much like you used the PRINT command). I had a ton of fun making my computer verbally insult my sister... The other rare component was something I really, really wanted, but it was way to expensive for my lawn mowing income: The Spartan by Mimic Systems. This was a big box that plugged into the back of the C64 and used all the C64 rear connections (think of it like a huge docking port that you backed the C64 up to). What it did was convert your C64 into an Apple II clone. The reason for it's size is that you could open the lid and install Apple II cards into it (and cards back then were quite a bit larger than they are today). It's especially hard to find today, as not many were made when it was new, due to the company's owner being a bit of a nutjob and not a lot of Commodore owners really wanting or needing an Apple. Still would be cool to have!
Absolutely want more info on loading things into the C64! Especially the Pi 1584
Same. I’m thinking of picking up a C64 and would love to see/have more info on it.
i am 57 years young and you braught me back memmeries thank.
Well, this was just delightful! I hadn't seen C64 commands in many years. I have fond memories of installing the Epyx Fastload cartridge and being able to hit "commodore RunStop" as a shortcut for LOAD "*",8,1. I felt like life would never get any better as a 9yr old kid. Then, the Amiga 500 showed up and I fully lost my mind :) Thank you so much for keeping this tech alive.
Great content! Just came across this -- we're from about the same generation; my first real computer was a 386 sx/25 that I used to run a BBS on back in the early 1990s. I played on my friends' C64s in the 80s but, as affordable as they were, my parents couldn't afford one -- did most of my compsci stuff at school on the Apple ][e. I now have a bunch of C64s in various states of operability.
@@CallousCoder I'll check it out! I worked for a small shareware company in the late 90s/early 00s doing QA/troubleshooting with a little bit of light coding; I was in the process of starting my own company when I was unexpectedly deployed to Iraq, really took the wind out of my sails and went back to school and turned to public service when I returned. Been getting back into it as now I have kids who are interested in computer science.
I remember my first ZX-81. 😃 I was so excited to write my first game. 😂 It may seem simple now, but at the time it felt futuristic.
I wrote a text-based adventure game called "Adventure in Hoolok Cave" on my ZX81. It was full of bugs, as I didn't plan it very well, but I still have fond memories of it.
Remember at school fighting about who got the 1 ZX81 because it was better than the other 6 ZX80`s which were white. PS. I won, age now 51.😜
This video is fantastic, thank you @Veronica!
Loved this! I have many memories of staying up until 3 AM (on school nights) uploading/downloading games to/from BBS's in the mid-80s. It was the only time I could use our house phone without interruption.
I remember selling the C64 which at the time literally was selling itself. It was a huge step up from from the Commodore VIC 20. 😁
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention the VIC 20. 🙂
Message to your viewers...never underestimate the C64. Having grown up with one of these, they have been pushed and still are to get more out of them. Check out the demos from recent years in the 2010's, the games still getting made, ported and what not. And most recently the port of Sonic the Hedgehog master system version, albeit with a RAM expander, but that 1MHz 6510 CPU can still run it at amazing speed.
Was going to mention the demo scene. It really is amazing what some clever coders are able to pull off on that CPU.
See 'The 8-bit Guy'. Nuff said.
C64 became obsolete because of lack of RAM . CPU, VIC and SID were comparable to later 16-bit systems (both home computers and consoles) . It did not help that support for floppies was minimal (1541 was basically separate expensive computer) .
@@aleksazunjic9672 True t a certain extent...which is why the REU and similar RAM expanders (I seem to remember one that actually did a couple of megs? Possibly something from CMD, who also did the unit that allowed you to use a faster modem with the 64) were popular. GEOS *almost* worked as and early GUI desktop system, except for that lack of RAM making switching tasks painfully slow. More RAM and/or a much faster storage system help considerably, though still not quite actual multitasking. Though thinking about this, I can't remember...did they ever do a GEOS for the 128 (as opposed to running the 64 version in 64 mode)?
@@VulpisFoxfire There was Geos 128 just for C-128 although it was not particularly popular - by the time it get out (1988) Amiga 500 was already there. Overall, it was a matter of price, C64 had many compromises to be affordable to working class.
Just stumbled on this video. What a trip down memory lane! My wife and I bought a C64 brand new when the price dropped to $199. We couldn't afford any peripherals at first. The monitor was a b&w 10" TV we already had. Eventually we bought the datasette. For the first few years we simply used it as a terminal to login to the university mainframe. Eventually we ran a BBS on that C64 with 2 1541s and 2 1581s.
I feel so old. The VIC was my first "bbs" computer, but the 64 and the Amiga was where I used BBS's the most. This brought a tear to my eye. Keep bringing that old world to light!
I’m going in a bit of a different route. For my retro fix, I use an emulator which creates my old Apple computers (][+ and the //c). Someone actually got the code off actual Apples for this. Someone is even updating ProDOS (now as freeware). I would love to get that up onto the internet.
My first personal computer was the VIC-20, cousin of the C64. I wrote a mini-assembler for it in BASIC. And, believe it or not, there was a cartridge for the FORTH programming language (a somewhat obscure stack-oriented language that's still around). Memories!
The. 64 supposedly had the forth language embedded in the c64s os. If I only knew back then!
@@scottb4029 But it never did. BASIC 2.0 was all the C64 ever got in stock config. There's a kinda deep story to why Commodore never updated the basic in the C64. It has to do with copyrights and a special and specific agreement with Microsoft. Commodore would have been much better off by developing their own version of BASIC for the C64.
My first computer was also the Vic-20. I remember that there were many cartridges for various functions. I recall playing a game called Blue Meanies on cassette tape! Yes, memories!
@@louistournas120 Just a simple assembler that converted a list of op codes into machine language poked into memory.
Supposedly one of the guys in the forth interest group has written one.
So many memories this brings back from setting up our c64 with tape drive modem and mouse then getting a CompuServe account, to playing Radar Rat race to typing out and saving basic BASIC programs line by line. What fun. Not to mention BBS time! Great memories! Oh those programmable sprites!
Great content and an excellent primer on the “good old days” of computing. I just subscribed. Keep up the great work! And thanks!! :)
Thank you! I very much appreciate it!
My first computer was the Sinclair ZX80 which had 1k of memory. I got it in a kit form and built it in high school in my electronics class. My teacher was thrilled that I did this project and I learned a lot from him. My next computer was the C64. My word what an upgrade from my Sinclair! This was all back in the 80's and we were all so excited at what was happening. I really got into gaming and programming when I had my C64. Anyways I could go on but I'm glad you are keeping the retro computers alive and well.
The oldest computer I've ever gotten online with was an Amiga 500. It was back in the mid-90s, so it was a bit easier, as most websites played well with dialup and lo-spec hardware back then.
where I lived if you had one of them, you were known as the rich kids up the road.
Whoa... I just had a flashback to a period of my youth sitting in front of a 14" JVC CRT-TV hooked up to my C64 while cruising through my list of local BBS' late at night on a rotary dial telephone and acoustic-coupled 300 baud modem. Each upgrade thereafter was such a thrill - particularly when I finally made it to 56Kbps on the C64 - before switching to PC. An excellent video Veronica, thanks for your content.
This was a fantastic presentation of something I'll probably never use. Although this desktop was before my time, I was intrigued by how to go online with it. Cool video.
This was an interesting watch! My cousin had a C64; I had an Apple II E. I thought his C64 was far cooler. I thought the Commodre Pets were extremely popular in the educational sector. I know several of my classes in elementary school had them. These however used the tape drive and not floppies. I didn't get online till I had a pC in 1994, but BBSs were going strong then at least over here. For me, things haven't really changed that much -- yeah, I have a modern system, a smartphone too, and fast interest, but as a blind person, I don't mess with any of that graphical stuff. My online experience is 100% text only and always will be. So even today, all this retro connectivity stuff still feels not all that distant.
Serial IEC in the Vic was designed to be quicker than the PET unfortunately hampered by a bug in the VIA chip not fixed until the C128 came along. However there were 3rd party ways around the slow drives...
Saying which was a better computer out of the C64 and Apple IIe depends on what you valued in a computer at he time. Absolutely the C64 made a better gaming machine, which to a kid was probably most important. And yes, I would have chosen the C64 at the time too. But the Apple IIe was a better gaming computer than the C64 was a serious / business computer. So in retrospect, as an all rounder I'd say you did better with the Apple.
5:00 It would have been good to explain the BBS technology a bit more for the younger viewers. The most important part that may be missed by younger people is that the networking worked over analog phone calls and to keep connection open to the BBS both you and target computer system had to have active phone call constantly going on (and your single outgoing connection was reserved for this purpose - having "multiple tabs open" and using multiple services in parallel wouldn't have been possible and if somebody tried to call your phone, it was just emitting reserved sound signal for the caller and you never knew anything about that phone call). If BBS wanted to have multiple connections at the same time, they either needed multiple phone numbers and multiple phone lines, or some kind of more expensive setup and config with the local phone operator that allows taking multiple parallel phone calls to the same phone number. And this was all done with analog copper wired landline phones. GSM was invented over a decade later.
Actually, usual setup for BBS would be to allow user to connect, pickup all private messages, and messages on topics he was subscribed , and then he would be disconnected. In this way line would be free for the next user, and call fee would be reduced for the user. Technically, you would be online just for a few minutes necessary to transfer data.
@@aleksazunjic9672 That technology didn't exist for many years. One of the reasons I set my TBBS system and linked it to FidoNet was that "points" didn't EXIST at the time.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 As far as I know, TBBS did support offline work (via QWK) . FidoNet was of course based on ability to do stay on dial-up as short as possible.
@@aleksazunjic9672 The QWK module wasn't added for YEARS after TBBS existed - even the MS-DOS version of TBBS had been around some years before the QWK module came out.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 Completely irrelevant for this story, as even FidoNet started in 1984. Therefore, even in late 1980s it was a common thing to use BBS in offline mode.
My gosh, how have I never found you before? I love your sense of humour, and the little musical interlude with the title about the cut section. And I also really like your voice 😊
Thank you for letting me live vicariously through your vintage exploits.
A fun and interesting video. Thank you :-) However, from what I remember of my BBS days, back in the 80's, it was not me begging everyone to get off the phone so I could get onto CompuServe, but rather my sister begging my parents to get me off the computer so she could get on the phone :-) Cheers from Canada.
Emmulators allow some of this stuff to work in a virtual software platform, do they not?
I owned a lot of the original hardware in the 80's and still have a bunch in my collection, but I have and use an emmulator version of everything to keep my hardware as collector hardware which it mostly is to me anyways
back in 1980 my company allowed me take home a modem to dial-up the companies big DEC-10 machine. My fellow group house people spent many hrs. connecting to the DEC-10 playing the classic game 'Adventure trying find the Gold goblet. We even had maps of all the different routes we had tried for the capture. Since I always had access to these Big machines I did not need these little pc's.
my university had a DEC and we could limited connect to it for our projects back then I didn't know UNIX & now here I am running Linux
@@elizabeththompson4424 great! what Linux version? I got introduced to Unix in 1980 when of my co-worker used ftp to download the complete set of Unix manuals. Note: he worked in the evening so management did not know he spent time doing non work related activities.I worked on Dec-10,20's Vax's pdp-11's and Alpha's.
"You are apt to be eaten by a grue."
Coming from a person who had a VIC-20, and in college started programming in BASIC this is a blast from the past. Very nice. Thanks 73
I appreciate you go into a bit of detail on everything. Lots of vintage tubers assume its the hardcore crowd viewing and skip a lot of info that's helpful to those of us that don't know PCjr from PCloadletter.
That's exactly my goal, so I appreciate you mentioning it! A lot of this stuff is "recently learned" for me, like the daisy-chaining on the 1541, since I didn't know anyone with more than one drive as a kid. I try pretty hard to fill in as much of that as possible, even if it makes the video feel "slow" to those who were there.
Oh oh! She's back! Fangirl mode, engage!
Wonderful information. Thank you! Wishing I would have kept my Vic, 64, and Amiga 500 now. Have to agree with you on the Amiga 500. It was such a game changer (pun intended) during its time. Fond memories of Color64 and Major BBS'. Keeping the 2400 baud SupraModem flashing all night. Had to laugh seeing that PI 1541. Awesome!
Great video. Thank you very very much Veronica for making it. Take care. Greetings from Sweden.
WOW! Amazing review of Commodore to internet! You really explain it well and have a great personality!!
I love hearing someone talk about how limiting 64K of RAM was when a few years before that I soldered sixteen 2114 chips onto a big board to get 8K more RAM. And at that time there were virtually no options for 1200 baud modems other than renting them from the phone company. I saw systems like the C64 to be a huge step forward.
My dad's office had a network server with a 120 baud modem. That translates into 15 bytes per second across the network connection (phone line). I don't know how much memory it had. But the 10MB hard drive was a separate chassis with a separate power supply, about the size of a bookshelf, about the cost of a new car.
@@pwnmeisterage Why didn't they use a 300 baud modem?
Cost, of course. The expensive thing did what they needed it to do. So they didn't spend more to upgrade it. Executives and managerials don't know technical things but they do know where the money comes and goes.
@@pwnmeisterage 300 baud modems were inexpensive in the early 70s compared to computers. I guess if you're running a teletype printer then speed doesn't make any difference.
I originally had the Commodore 300 baud modem. It was a serious upgrade from the Teletype 110 baud connections I'd used some of the time in college. And what version of the Big Board ever had less than 64K RAM? Both my I and II had that much.
The past was better just for one simple reason: no social networks.
youtube is litterally a social network
There was (well is) usenet. Lol. There's another subject for a video!
You're saying it on a social network.
it wasn't better
Yeah and remember when that movie come out called 'The Net' with Sandra Bullock and the internet was all oooooooooow top secret government stuff , you had to be someone important to go on the INTERNET
Just ordered the same wifi modem. Can't wait to give it a try !
I loved the C64! I had one back in college when I was a Comp Sci major back in the 80's... learned a ton from it!
thank you for going down this rabbit hole on our behalf !
You've just earned a new subscriber! Great work!
Born in '79, Commodore 64/128 was my first computer in '85. I didn't have a modem (my first logon to a BBS was in 1990 on a 386SX PC), but this video hit me with a nostalgia hammer and I appreciate you very much.
This is one of the only videos I've ever seen on KZhead that I've subscribed to the channel in about 10 seconds... and then about 12 minutes into the video I suddenly take notice of the shirt.. mecc! Museum Madness! So I did a quick search to make sure I was right, that mecc is the company that made that game - and then I see a list of super nostalgic stuff like DinoPark Tycoon and Oregon Trail! Thank you for this it made me really happy.