Commodore 116 - Computerphile

TL;DR

The Commodore One-One-Six was a budget retro computer designed to compete with cheap alternatives in the early 80s but faced challenges due to timing and market competition.

Transcript

Let's start off with our little Commodore one one six here which as the story goes from bill Hurd Who is one of the chief designers of the machine? He was given a Timex machine out of a Commodore filing cabinet and that basically said look, this is our competition We won't have a nice cheap business machine preferably for around $50 and they had a ... Read More

Key Insights

• 😀 The Commodore One-One-Six was designed as a budget business machine, but it faced challenges due to timing and market competition.
• 🖤 The Commodore One-One-Six had more color capabilities than the Commodore 64 but lacked features like sprite capability and advanced sound chip.
• ❓ Commodore released several models in the series, including the C232, C264, and V364, with different memory capacities and additional features.
• 👹 The design of the Commodore One-One-Six was influenced by Japanese designers, resulting in a unique appearance.
• 😒 The keyboard connector and the use of DIN plugs instead of Atari connectors were design choices made due to constraints and compatibility considerations.
• 🆒 The Commodore One-One-Six had a reset button, venting, and a metal plate for cooling, distinguishing it from other machines in its range.
• 🤩 Timing and business challenges, including the departure of key figures like Jack Tramiel, greatly impacted the success of the Commodore One-One-Six series.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the Commodore One-One-Six come into existence?

Bill Hurd, one of the chief designers, was given a Timex machine from a Commodore filing cabinet as a competition example, leading to the development of the Commodore One-One-Six.

Q: Did the Commodore One-One-Six succeed in the market?

No, it faced challenges due to bad timing and business decisions, such as the exit of competitors like Texas Instruments and Timex.

Q: What were the key features of the Commodore 64 compared to the Commodore One-One-Six?

The Commodore 64 had a more "slab-like" appearance, sprite capability, and a more advanced sound chip compared to the Commodore One-One-Six.

Q: What difficulties did Commodore face in launching the Commodore One-One-Six?

Internal squabbles, market competition, and the departure of Jack Tramiel, the CEO, all contributed to the challenges faced by Commodore in launching the Commodore One-One-Six.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Commodore One-One-Six was designed as a cheap business machine, featuring the Ted chipset and capable of text editing and display.

• While not designed for gaming, it was more colorful and capable of more colors than the Commodore 64, its predecessor.

• Commodore later released the C232, C264, and V364 models with different memory capacities and additional features.