The Spectrum gave access to computing for millions of children in a way the Beeb couldn’t – because it was cheap, because the design was more efficient. Or maybe it was ‘cos I had one and I actually liked the single keyword entry

-cheers from julz

Even though I didn’t own a Commodore 64 back in the 80′s, I had several friends that had one. We often played together and it was a lot of fun. My first computer was a SVI Spectravideo, which was quite advanced for its time, but never got as popular as the C64.

My best memory is from a birthday party a friend had.. the C128 was hooked up to the TV in the living room and everyone at the birthday party participated in a tournement of California Games. We were all young kids and we had a blast.

After my SVI Spectravideo I got myself an Amiga 500. Since then, I’ve been an Amiga user for about 20 years.

If your software didn’t work in a standard C64, it didn’t get sold. That simple. As a result, software was written tight. Every last byte was carefully chosen due to space limitations.

This is the problem with computers today. It’s too easy for lazy software developers to just tell you to upgrade to a faster machine to make up for their laziness and poor coding skills.

I’ve elaborated at on my blog about this…
Click my name above to read it.

Note:

(I find that in my Firefox I have to stop the loading of this page to see the Post Comment button. If I wait until the page fully loads it disappears for some reason – just in case someone else is having problems finding that same button)

Anyway, my parents bought me a C64 for my 12th birthday in February 1983. I was SO excited when I opened the wrapping paper and revealed the box that held within the beautiful brown plastic treasure. Dad (then, and still now, a technophobe) and I somehow managed to set it up without really knowing what we were doing. And then we tried to get the only game they’d bought with it – Frogger – working. As any C64 owner will know, this was no mean feat. The cassette player took forever to load the game, frequently crashing and requiring you to start the process again…and again…and again… In frustration, Dad called the shop where we bought it – John Lewis in Southampton I believe – and they told him that it was completely normal and we just had to be patient. When it did finally load up, though, I was overjoyed, and I spent hours getting my frog to jump across the screen from log to log, using the keyboard (no controller or even joystick), avoiding the crocodiles masquerading as logs and the water. Friends came to visit me so they too could play with my marvellous new toy.

Over the years I accumulated more games, all of which had the same problems loading, equally rubbish graphics and tinny electronic music. My favourites were perhaps Ghostbusters and BMX Racers, which I used to spend hour after hour playing while listening to Big Country’s The Seer album on loop (you had to listen to music while playing because the C64’s sound effects and music were so bad). The trick with the games was to play them repeatedly, because every level was exactly the same every time you played it, so you could learn how to time every move precisely.

That C64 was my only source of games right up until 1993, when I purchased an Amiga 600 from a games shop in Walthamstow, using the earnings from one of my first full-time pay packets after leaving uni. The C64 is in its original box on a shelf high up in my Dad’s home office and the Amiga 600 in a box in our garage.