false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174517202m/412006.jpg 412006 3 Between 1976 and 1994, Commodore had astounding success in the nascent personal computer business. Amid the chaos and infighting, Commodore was able to achieve some remarkable industry firsts. They were the first major company to show a personal computer, even before Apple and Radio Shack. They sold a million computers before anyone else. No single computer has sold more than the Commodore 64. The first true multimedia computer, the Amiga, came from Commodore. Yet with all these milestones, Commodore receives almost no credit as a pioneer. Commodore was one of the only companies with the ability to make silicon, and the results were obvious. They had more creativity, more color, and more character than the competition. While Apple and IBM charged exorbitant prices, Commodore was able to reach the masses with affordable computers while remaining profitable. The Commodore 64 cut a path of destruction through the early industry, knocking Tandy, Texas Instruments, Sinclair, and Atari out of the computer business and badly hurting Apple and even IBM. While other companies received more press, Commodore sold more computers. Yet Commodore never reached a comfortable position. They were always on the verge of blinding success or abysmal failure. Commodore’s volatile founder, Jack Tramiel, lived on the edge, and he made sure his employees lived there too. On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore tells the story through over 44 hours of interviews with former engineers and managers: Chuck Peddle, the digital God who created a revolution with the 6502 chip and designed the PET computer. Al Charpentier, the chain smoking architect of Commodore’s revolutionary graphics chips. Bob Yannes, the frustrated musician and synthesizer aficionado who designed the Commodore 64 and the SID sound chip. Bil Herd, the unruly engineer who created the maligned Plus/4 and later sought redemption with the C128. The Amiga engineers, who created the first true multimedia system even before the word multimedia existed. Irving Gould, financier and majority shareholder who rescued Commodore in the sixties, then allowed it to wither. 401251 book 14 9 2005 On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore total:29|5:14|4:10|3:5| 29 125 56 17 5 1 false false Sat Jan 19 01:46:44 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 19 02:16:57 -0800 2008
If I was an engineer back then, I'd happily sacrifice my life as a Commodore Warrior for "Jack-Attack" Tramiel.

Don't believe the revisionist history! Apple is, ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 12:09:59 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 12:13:53 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Apr 03 10:34:57 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 11:13:06 -0700 2009
My first computer was a Commodore 64 and we also had an Amiga, so I'm probably biased. There is a lot of revising of history that eliminates Commodore from the personal computer landscape and makes everything be about PC vs. Apple. In the earl...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jul 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 12 20:56:02 -0800 2008 Wed Jul 29 07:20:21 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 09:37:45 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 09:49:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 09:31:31 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 09:33:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 01 12:13:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 12:39:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue May 27 10:47:10 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 15 17:06:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Oct 13 05:47:00 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 05:57:06 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 22:58:44 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 07:09:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 17:20:57 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 15:56:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 09 20:07:53 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 09 20:10:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 22:33:12 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 22:40:00 -0800 2007 If I learnt one thing it is how Apple have wrongly taken credit for many of the computer breakthrough's experienced in the 70s and 80s. Commodore beat them to most things and sold it for half the price a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Feb 09 19:46:40 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 19:56:04 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sat Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 03 10:17:58 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 10:20:14 -0700 2008
Any of my fellow Commodore 64 lovers will enjoy this book, but watch out for the occasional foul language.....]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 11 19:15:01 -0800 2007 Sat Jan 26 17:05:35 -0800 2008 http://electric-pages.livejournal.com/69...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 19 16:43:55 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 19 16:44:31 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sat Oct 31 21:32:28 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 01 10:19:50 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 22 17:43:50 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 17:43:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 08 21:58:34 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 21:58:34 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=412006