|
Commodore was a company formed in the late 1970s, originally to design and build electronic calculators, such as those you would use normally for basic calculation, though in 1978 they designed and built one of the earliest true personal computers, the Commodore PET.
Shortly after Sinclair brought out the ZX80 in 1980, Commodore introduced the VIC 20, a very capable machine, almost unrivalled for power compared to other machines domestically available, though unpopular because of its high price, and was soon outclassed in power/price ratings by machines such as the Sinclair Spectrum.
This was followed up by the enormously successful Commodore 64, and the later, less successful, Commodore 128, in 1983/4.
In 1985, Commodore developed the Amiga, one of the most powerful home computers designed, although by today's standards, a little lacking.
In 1995, after falling sales through poor marketing, Commodore US (the main branch of Commodore International) went into receivership, and the rest of the company worldwide followed, being bought out by several different companies, mainly for the Commodore name, most notably Gateway and Escom, though both subsequently followed.
Commodore's legacy is the Amiga, which was bought back by Amiga Inc in mid-2001, and there is rumoured to be a large-scale re-release of Amiga-based technology.
|