Pingdom Home

US + international: +1-212-796-6890

SE + international: +46-21-480-0920

Business hours 3 am-11:30 am EST (Mon-Fri).

Do you know if your website is up right now? We do! LEARN MORE

Commodore 64 users and their computers – photos from the 80s

Commodore 64

On August 1, the classic Commodore 64 computer turned 30 years old. That’s a long time in the world of technology, but the C64 has turned into the little computer that could, with lots of people still using it, websites dedicated to it, and more.

We wanted to pay our own respects to the Commodore 64 as well as all the dedicated users that have used the computer over the years. So we rounded up a number of photos of the C64.

The really cool thing is that these are all photos taken way back when it actually happened, when the Commodore 64 was new, in the 1980s.

Photo by Marten Kullman.

Photo by zzazazz.

Photo by Sharon.

Photo by DiscourseMarker.

Photo by globochem3x1minus1.

Photo by Seth Morabito.

Photo by Hempic.

Photo by Tor Erik Schroder.

Photo by K0dama.

Photo by Todd Graham.

Photo by natebeaty.

Photo by Peder Sandholm.

Photo by Peder Sandholm.

Photo by McStalker.

Photo by Mirko Caserta.

Photo by Tim King.

Photo by Cindy Royster.

Photo by Ethan O’Brien.

The Commodore 64 lives on

With the thousands of computers released since the arrival of the personal computers, it’s tough to pick out any one favorite. But we think it’s fair to say that the Commodore 64 takes up a very special place for many of us. Not only is it the best-selling personal computer of all time, with up to 17 million units sold over 12 years.

If you still can’t get enough of the Commodore 64, watch this interview with Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International, recorded in 2007, on the 25th anniversary of the C64.

Top photo by Conor Lawless.



73 comments
camcavers
camcavers

@benry I thankfully missed out on the tape thing with my Apple II, my dad wanted to do it right so we got the 5.25” drive they just put out

imregmelig
imregmelig

@infowonders @iamamro @pingdom the number of photos of ppl with C64s must be as small as the CPU frequency compared to these days CPU's ;-)

MrTomHux
MrTomHux

@iamamro Wow. I remember when that came out. I had a Vic 20, and the 64 seemed the most incredible thing ever.

iamamro
iamamro

@MrTomHux it was the best I think. Posher than the Spectrum!

MrTomHux
MrTomHux

@iamamro You might remember me for such fantastic programs as 10 PRINT "Tom" 20 GOTO 10. Heady days.

iamamro
iamamro

@MrTomHux haha! YES! That was such wonder!

branespeaks
branespeaks

@iamamro @pingdom there's a 128 and a couple of Vic20s in there. I expect I am the 65,535th person to point this out.

thorn_w
thorn_w

@branespeaks there speaks a true C64 geek. #65535

branespeaks
branespeaks

@thorn_w hehe. Yep.

thorn_w
thorn_w

@branespeaks I just remember the number from the boot screen. All those poke numbers are long gone.

branespeaks
branespeaks

@thorn_w poke? Don't remember. Used to know shitloads of em :) its just a binary round number init ... 16bit

thorn_w
thorn_w

@branespeaks Hold on, wasn’t the number 38,911 ?

iamamro
iamamro

@branespeaks Possibly! :)

pinot
pinot

@ribosa kereeennn

TGIFAILDAY
TGIFAILDAY

@Muvizu3D I had one too. Tape player and disk drive. Yeh kiddies games on cassette tape. Oh that's right you don't know what cassettes are !

laurieinseattle
laurieinseattle

@ratpack Not a fan of the Commodore 64?

ratpack
ratpack

@laurieinseattle oh I thought it was the jam back in the day. those photos are hilariously awful.

laurieinseattle
laurieinseattle

@ratpack True, they are a time warp. :) Do you remember the predecessor to the Commodore 64?

laurieinseattle
laurieinseattle

@ratpack I actually had both machines in my closet up until I left I left for college in '96...haha Wish I would have kept them now.

ratpack
ratpack

@laurieinseattle ah you meant made by commodore not other brand models. i've never seen a 20 in person.

laurieinseattle
laurieinseattle

@ratpack I didn't realize there were so many variants. My brother & I had the VIC-20. Played Omega Race and Avenger.

ratpack
ratpack

@laurieinseattle there were so many variants. I had a Texas Instruments machine. Played Moon Patrol and Hunt the Wampus on it. That the one?

Sharm33n
Sharm33n

@jdsmithies @davepell love it! The joysticks and the tape player, classic.. And my fave game impossible mission 'stay alive stay forevaaaa'

jdsmithies
jdsmithies

@Sharm33n yeah the joysticks are great aren't they. Mind you joysticks more or less always look a bit silly

mjj58
mjj58

@smokindabags That was a good read. Classic C64. Love the t.v.'s back then :)

smokindabags
smokindabags

@mjj58 We didn't know how bad we had it :)

smokindabags
smokindabags

@mjj58 one guy must of been squinting looking at that small screen.

smokindabags
smokindabags

@mjj58 How's the nerds in the pics! Enjoy that programming!

tiberinx
tiberinx

@vkusnoserver чем дальше шагает технология, тем больше выступает слеза, вспоминая о пройденном пути.

bensigurdson
bensigurdson

@allisonmcneely I curse you, mainly because you probably weren't alive when these were taken. AND I SO WAS.

allisonmcneely
allisonmcneely

@bensigurdson Hahah I was actually trying to figure out whether or not it was a Commodore 64 my parents had. I think it might have been.

bensigurdson
bensigurdson

@allisonmcneely we were an Apple II Plus family.

twallutis
twallutis

@MonikaLischke C64? ATARI forever;-)

yetanotherfish
yetanotherfish

Just to be real geeky - the first picture's a C128, isn't it?

Pingdom
Pingdom moderator

 @yetanotherfish Yes, seems you're right. We missed that. Actually we had already not included a long line of photos because they had C128 in them. In some cases the owner of the photo even insisted that they were C64 when clearly they were not. Thanks! We'll leave the photo in there though :)

smirre44
smirre44

 @Pingdom  @yetanotherfish 

My friend had a C128, I remember I was so envious, hehe.   I was big on BASIC programming in the beginning and the C128 BASIC was so much more awesome.   But I made some cool programs with my C64.

WishItWas1984
WishItWas1984

@notgoth007 Memoriees My BFF had a C64. Still remember playing til sunrise, a Hulk txt adventure & some sea-based treasure hunting game