I remember being 4 years old and I used our VIC20 to write the following program: 10 PRINT "YOU BROKE THE BANK" 20 GOTO 10. I was so proud of myself. :)
As for the Vic and "ficken" comparison, in German, V's make an F sound. Ficken is the infinitive form, and when you drop the -en, it makes it a commandish form. Imagine trying to release a home computer named "FUC". Hope that cleared anything up. Great video by the way, as always.
Vic 20 was our first computer, I loved it, my Dad bought me a book that had hundreds of games in BASIC that had to be programed in. It was a bit tedious but still had loads of fun with it.
Thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
"are you keeping up with the Commodore? 'cause the Commodore is keeping up with you!" - Good old days man! You forgot to mention the cartridge wich allowed you to stream-copy a tape by using two datassette in parallel!
This was my first computer. Commodore originally intended to make a video game system to compete with the Atari 2600 but they turned it into a computer during the development cycle because they thought it would appeal better to parents than a system that just played games. They also had a glut of low density memory chips on hand which was why the VIC-20 came with so little memory.
i play a cartridge game on my VIC20 .. can someone tell why part of the leftside is missing on the screen ? its annoying when ur reading and the first letters are missing.. :S
With a couple TTL chips, you can turn an old PC or laptop into a 1541 emulator hardwired from the parallel port to the serial drive port on the vic (or 64). Oh ya, it has to be running 98 or lower because the emulator software runs in DOS. Then go online and download your favorite game (if it's a cart. game, don't forget to flip the write protect you installed on your 8/16/24K memory cartridge before playing).
Wow captain Kirk in that commercial looks really young . I loved this computer back then . I wish I still had it . My power supply went bad , I remember it costing more that you can pay for a new C64 computer to replace the power supply . It lasted me about 3 to 4 years or so . I guess if I was to build my own power supply back then I could of had it running again . But like all things I had it went in the trash . Its a shame .
On my vic-20 I use to write programs from a magazine . I wrote the game crazy climber , That game was very cool game to play back then . Back in the day it was very common to find game programs in a magazine . I guess you can find the on programming magazine's . I loved my vic-20 , but I wanted to own the c64 back then it was 600 dollars .I also had the tape recorder for the programs . I love that the internet is around now and we have access to upgrade to the vic-20 and c64 .
Was it just the US model that had that type of power input socket? I have a UK model from 1983 that has the same power socket as the C64, so that when my C64 one failed I used the Vic one until I got a replacement. I love old computers; keep up the good work!
the vic 20, as a matter of fact, was not so much a reaction to the apple ii as it was the sinclair zx80. tramiel had this revelation of people buying dirt cheap computers that you hook up to your television, because he saw people doing it in the uk.
@teknokrat1 It's all good, I appreciate the thoughts! I know I wasn't the most clear in what I meant in the video. I agree with the Apple revisionism, but I don't feel that's the case as far as the first "personal" computer. And yes, Jobs had almost nothing to do with it. It was Woz's project, and he got it right on the money.
see, there's been a lot of apple revisionism going on for decades... steve jobs had almost nothing to do with the apple ii. in fact, you know what processor it has? the 6502, designed by chuck peddle of commodore.
another thing you may not know... satoru iwata (yes, the ceo of nintendo) actually programmed some of those ripoff games back in 1980, i'm not joking. he was a student at the time and hung around the commodore japan offices, (the vic 1001 was launched in japan first, before the US)... iwata to this day acknowledges his enthusiasm for commodore and the 6502 processor (hmm.... it was in the nes.....) also, he started up HAL. pet 2001, HAL... you figure it out.
i'm sure you've heard this already, but the PET was out first in 1977. before the apple ii. commodore was already selling to the home market in the summer of 1977. apple followed like a month later. the pet was only $595 (4k) and 795 (8k). the apple ii was WAY more expensive, you're right on that part... but you totally neglected the vic-20's predecessor.
@teknokrat1 I am aware of the PET, as stated in the video it came before the VIC-20 & served as a way for Commodore to enter the market before the VIC. But, again as stated in the video, Apple really got things started with the Apple II. PET was mainly a business machine, monochrome, no graphics, etc. The ][ was the computer that basically launched the entire personal computer market. Commodore followed suit w/ the VIC-20, since the PET didn't really fit the home market Apple was succeeding in.
@phreakindee that is such bologna though. apple was 3rd place behind the trs80 and the pet, and they were even up for grabs, commodore was going to buy them early on and it would have been the commodore apple. but jack tramiel didn't see them as a threat (they were literally selling like 3 computers a day at first) and the pet was outselling them hugely in the beginning. the trs80 outsold BOTH machines humongously. radioshacks were everywhere pushing them. read "commodore: a company on the edge"
@teknokrat1 Did I mention anything about initial sales numbers? What I'm referring to is the launch of the "personal computer" as a term, as an idea. Ask what the first really "personal" home computer was, and chances are many would say the ][. The TRS-80 is the closest contender I can think of, but the Apple ][ had the most mainstream popularity and software, and it also lasted longer in its mostly-original form than the 80. VIC-20 built on all of this which is why I mentioned the ][ at all.
@phreakindee well guess what? i didn't know ONE SINGLE PERSON who had an apple ii groing up. you know where i saw them? in schools where they could afford the 1,295 price tag, and even there, the c64 was king. you gonna tell me you had a lot of apple iis floating around in your neighborhood?
@teknokrat1 Once again, all I'm saying is they were the first with the real, modern idea of a personal computer. Nothing about sales, nothing about who had what in whoever's neighborhood or schools (although we had them in mine growing up). Simply the idea of a computer that was more personal than the text-based boxes and hobbyist contraptions that came before. It was more of an appliance with real uses, and before the ][ I can think of nothing else that came close to such an idea.
@phreakindee the pet 2001 came out first in 1977 (the apple ii started advertising 1 month later), and it was completely self contained. the apple ii had COLOR which is where i think you're going with this... but you had to buy each component part separately. the pet 2001 could sit on your kitchen counter if you wanted. the whole idea of naming it the pet was user friendliness. they wanted a molded plastic case like apple ended up doing, but tramiel forced the folded steel case.
@teknokrat1 Sounds to me like you should do your own video then! :D Dude, I have my views on what I feel is the first, true user-friendly, personal home computer (the PET does not qualify to my standards). I don't have any preference over machines, it's just that the PET seemed better suited for businessmen, whereas the Apple ][ was more for people like me. This is getting entirely off-topic from the video, which was a very simplistic intro to the VIC-20, hehe.
Great info regarding audiotap *Grins malevolently* :D I had a German VC20 it had a kettle/PC lead port, I bought it at a flea market for about £2/$3, but then I gave it away cause I could never test it, because it was the wrong voltage WHY DID I GIVE IT AWAY, WHY...?!1???1111 :(
Vic 20 was old indeed but text games seemed to be perfect for this type of software. At the beginning of 80's everything remained simple. So simple that in Count, poor dracula didn't know how to "fu*k" something. (see James Rolfe review of dracula-related games). Oh well, rather office machine than game console. But the cartridge slot was intresting. Everything just like Commodore.
If you have a VIC-20 you really need this. I bought a VIC-20 just so I could use this badass piece of geek engineering. mega-cart (dot) com (damn youtube blocking URLs)
So all those games that are on cassette tape...don't they degrade after a while to the point where there's errors when the computer tries to read them?
@sirrvs Sure, especially the more they are used. But really, over time any kind of media is going to degrade: tapes, floppies, CDs, magnetic platters, etc.
@MeTaLdUdE02 Already? Many were considering floppy drives obsolete almost 20 years ago... so yeah, I'd say it's safe to say they are obsolete now, at least for the mainstream market.
omega race was addictive. i used to sell vic 20's in the early 80's (although i would never buy one) i risked losing my job playing that silly game. yes i was ignoring customers. i miss that game.
I am doing a research project for school on the VIC 20. Your video was so helpful....I think I am going to show a few minutes for our class presentation. Very insightful!
@ phreakindee: One other funny thing about the renaming in Germany: The VC20 were supposed to be namend "Vixen" at first. If you pronounce the "v" softly (like in "wall") in exactly sounds like the german word for "wanking" xD
So, it got namend "VIC 20" only to be renamed again for Germany to "VC 20".
This is the most informative review I have seen on the Vic 20 I still have the old computer at home the machine was so easy to program software of any kind thanks for posting i enjoyed it.
i never got the opportunity to experience using the Vic-20. unfortunately, when my stepfather bought it back then, the thing didn't work so he returned it. After awhile, we did get the C-64. thank goodness we did knowing now that the Vic-20 only had one joystick port!
I have a vic-20 and I need a video cable...its frustrating. Know any alternatives?
You said that backups of cassette software only work. What about the MakeWav program you mentioned in your 2600 review, and then you use the audio tap program to make the wav into tap files.
where did you get the "commodore 64" t-shirt ? , ive found a few on the net with the same logo however they don't have the cap sleeves which i prefer.
I have a question, back to 80s 90s did anyonehave their equipment taken by the police, or other incidents of similar nature.. no one seems to know what really happened to the 'Phreaks' the telco fed us books on X25 then sent in the police here in newfoundland canada back in the 80s... did the police tell anyone else that they would get 'good jobs' by finding security faults in Systems... anyone else have any DMS100 telco Switch Stories... Call me 709-368-3266 ask for Kenny murraykj709@yahoo.ca
Very nice video! Thanks a lot! I like when you guys come back to the old times.
I have had a C64 but I was a little kid back then. But I have some really nice memories from it :-) I was playing with the VICE emulator on Linux recently, it works great. Some stuff I tried to run worked perfect (music tracks - amazing!) some crashed (nostalgia!) some left a black screen after loading. That's amazing :) Thanks for recalling the old times!
I had a Vic 20. Oh how I loved it. I broke the "3" key off and tried to *superglue* it back on. After that all it ever did when I tried to use it was display an endless line of "3"s on the screen. Yes, I was that young and stupid. I never had the disc drive, but I did have the tape recorder for it. Yes, we used to save programs on casstte tapes. --Ahhhh, kids today....
My VIC-20 came from the US and had vertical square power switch and a GIANT epoxy-packed power pack. That nearly fried poor VIC's innards a few times, of course.
@LuigiFan128 I suppose you could, can't say I've ever tried it though. I have to wonder about the volume level with that though, as it has to be somewhat precise. Sure it could be worked out.
It's not true as it says in the video that all VIC-20s need a special power supply. It's only older VIC-20s that need that. Newer VIC-20s use the same power supply as the C64.
@Commodorianen That's why there's an annotation in the video that says exactly that, added soon after the video was made. I suppose you may have missed it, or had annotations turned off.
I loved the Vic. The only complaint was it's limited memory. But if you had some cash you could buy memory expansion for it. It is a breeze to program and repair though.
I love the VIC-20 and have great affection for it as it was the first home computer that I played on and Frogger was the first game I played on this system. I think it had some really cool games and when it's big brother the C64 came out gaming got even better. Also it Bill Shatner says it's great, who are we to argue? ;-)
nice one!!, i had one of these when i was about 6 or 7, i thought it was the best , i had amok and blitz ....now i look and think ..how basic was this?, and how graphics have come so far! i`m now 34 and love gaming ....this was my step up to that.
@phreakindee do you know if you can get any of the text games like pirate cove to work with a amodern computer. or more simply put, where and how could i play those games without the vic20? i had one in the 80's and even got online with it through compuserve. had a voice sythensizer too. fun times
What sold the VIC-20 was that gorgeous full keyboard (back most home computers had shit for keyboard, it really was a huge deciding factor in buying a computer). Today it seems absurd to buy a computer based on the keyboard. The fact you could hook it up to a TV and get color, and it was instant on, and you could buy it at your local JCpenny. Down side - should of had a built in Disk Operating System in ROM instead of BASIC. Build quality was poor on power connector & circuit traces.
This was the first computer that I had, I had the tape drive. I remember programming games using the poke command. Before the tape drive, you had to pray the power didn't go out while you were programming a game to play, and it took a while to make a game. A lot of typing... also Syntax Error, won't ever forget that one. I don't think anything of my Vic 20 exists anywhere, but someday I may collect one for old time sake.Vic 20 - XBOX 360, 30 years of gaming experience.
I've got the whole set ,keyboard unit,monitor,joystick,switchbox,cassette drive,manual,and even a couple of games still in the original box.Got it at a yard sale for $10 and it still works!
VERY cool vid about a VERY cool computer!!!!! Programmed mine with Sunday dinner ingredients (potatoes, greens, meat etc) and time for cooking and some 'PRINT' statements to screen and all my Mum had to do was push space bar when the meat went in and after that my VIC-20 would put up a message like "put potatoes on the boil now". It would run through all the items at the right moment so the end result was a perfect meal with no timers or clock watching needed!!
My first computer, was a vic 20 was about 13 years old :D
had about 1000 games for it
The best was Garden wars
The pac man clon Jelly monsters (way better than pac man)
and spieders from mars
and off curse jet pac (first RARE game ever, gues all that ever had a nintendo 64...really love rare games like golden eye, blast corps and soo on) jet pac was same kvalitet
Har! My very first computer. Great to read about it again but god I hated that cassette player, became a much more more usable machine with the disk drive. Mega Race, spent many hours playing that. Moved on to the Atari 1040STE and then to a PC when M$ brought out windows (still got the floppies). Now a linux geek on what ever hard ware I can find.
The vic20 started the 80s computer systems end of story. 1982 in front of ya tv and as per below type out code and play games. Its a true family computer that people could buy. I always wanted a c64 after and that 1541 drive, sky i think was a better one. Apple iie at my tech was a better computer but WAY to much. Amiga was kick arse and if comodore was smart theyd be around today. Kick arse! windows as per below wtf! IF we went to the moon they did later with the vic20 heehe
I had a Vic20 that I got as a present for being in my uncle's wedding party. It was purchased at a time when it was on the wane (1984) due to the C-64. I had lots of fun playing all those cartridges and typing up programs from computer books. It was very limited, but I spent hours manipulating programs, adding my own text and such. The text on the screen was so huge that the computer was even used later on for home video credits! Lots of fun, but I still hoped for a C-64!
No. The first computer I grew up with was a windows 95 OS. There was no frogger game that I knew of. I didn't even know commodore existed becasuse I was born a decade later. But the game still looks good.
I know -exactly- what you mean. At some point we kind of woke up to this kind of realization when my friend pointed out that there probably exist already kids who have a 486 or a Pentium as their first computers.. they missed it ALL! Makes me still shiver just to think about it.. and nowadays it's of course 100 times worse.
Excellent review - I had the C64 back in the 80s but never knew that much about it's predecessor, the Vic 20. Yours is really pristine and well looked after - whoever you bought it from really took care of it :)
:D, ah the first 'real' computer we had in our family (after the 2600 console).
plan7a 1 week ago
In German, the letter V is pronounced as [f] thus giving you [f]ik which is the imperative form of ficken.
krazykraut 1 week ago
I remember being 4 years old and I used our VIC20 to write the following program: 10 PRINT "YOU BROKE THE BANK" 20 GOTO 10. I was so proud of myself. :)
teknifix 1 week ago
9:41
LunaVorax 3 weeks ago
TY for this !
remenbering good old times
hours and hours gaming and programming :-)
# 255 255 255 255
Highuwe 4 weeks ago
Awsome review i remember snapping finger nails trying to remove them damn cartridges ! and the troubles getting um in too
jnewbon00 1 month ago
I have a VC-20 sitting right here, can have a lot of fun with these things :P
ThePhoneUpdate 1 month ago
my first ever comuter, i remember drawing things using colour and spacebar lol
Robertdub2006 1 month ago
Very informative video. :) I'm looking to getting one myself but what monitors work best or well with it?
Gonarhxus 2 months ago
omg... where did 9... i mean, 10 minutes go? I was mesmerized for real. nice video!
richard1113 2 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
a boxed Commodore Max machine on ebay
270844446571
reymobilesuit 3 months ago
i got a vic 20 that as never been open for 10$ , its my lucky day :D
aranastesana 4 months ago
As for the Vic and "ficken" comparison, in German, V's make an F sound. Ficken is the infinitive form, and when you drop the -en, it makes it a commandish form. Imagine trying to release a home computer named "FUC". Hope that cleared anything up. Great video by the way, as always.
GutsOfChrist 4 months ago
DON'T KNOW HOW "FART" SOMETHING. 6:25
benjie414 5 months ago
fascinating!
luishomeroremohsiul 6 months ago
I love late 70s / early 80s 8-bit systems. I just bought a few broken ones I'm planning to restore on eBay
argebarse 6 months ago
Comment removed
frantahouska 6 months ago
Vic 20 was our first computer, I loved it, my Dad bought me a book that had hundreds of games in BASIC that had to be programed in. It was a bit tedious but still had loads of fun with it.
1857classic 6 months ago
They should have brought in Shatner to flog the Amiga and if he wasn't interested then maybe Acorn could have called him to flog the Archimedes!
GeoNeilUK 6 months ago
Considering this machine was supposed to be fairly primitive and had only a few K of RAM, the games look remarkably sophisticated.
Considering how naff the Sinclair ZX81, probably te nearest equivalent Britiain could come up with- monochrome display, no sound- all the more so.
thelyniezian 6 months ago
"whoa! You can type..."
Imgema 7 months ago
The dates are funny lol!
Pizzaboyzmvp 7 months ago
Is this one a good one to use, as a restoration project>
Pizzaboyzmvp 7 months ago
No Commodore Crunch? That was the one we had! I think we had Qbert too... This too was my first computer. Thanks for the blast from the past...
4gasem 7 months ago
I had a Commodore Vic 20 when i was 16 with a tape player. It took about half an hour just to load one game!!
Feisty1967 8 months ago
"Don't know how to "Fart" something"
LOL
dentunes 8 months ago
amazed by what you can do with 3583 bytes
mcarrera77 8 months ago
Do the Shatner...all day long.... DING
Tapewormz 8 months ago
Thanks for posting this! You had me laughing several times. It brought back memories of those early days of the "home computer".
brettcomic 8 months ago
william shatner some name
thehogan911 8 months ago
I had no idea the VIC-20 had a cartridge slot. Years later and I'm still finding out stuff about these old machines!
UncleFeedle 8 months ago
Even back then computers ran games better than consoles.
TVperson1 9 months ago
Funny, the kid was my dad.
mrpink73 10 months ago
If Bill Shatner told me to get a Commodore, i would friggin' get one!
spiderjerusalem100 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
psistis80 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
psistis80 10 months ago
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
psistis80 10 months ago
thanks for bringing me memories of the vic 20.It was my first compiuter.Do you know where can i find one?Or at least tell me a good emulator of it with all the games for it.I need it because i am attemping to make a collection of oldschool computers and video game consoles.This is first on my list.
psistis80 10 months ago
@psistis80 Ebay. They are super cheap if you just look patiently.
And I showed the emulator I use in the video: WinVice
phreakindee 10 months ago
@phreakindee I got mine for $1 at a yard sale, still works.
thatguyontheright1 5 months ago
That was awesome! Vic-20 was my first computer and sparked my obsession with computers and computer science. Thanks man!
dagda825 11 months ago
"are you keeping up with the Commodore? 'cause the Commodore is keeping up with you!" - Good old days man! You forgot to mention the cartridge wich allowed you to stream-copy a tape by using two datassette in parallel!
samoht1977 11 months ago
Excelent review, but actually you can take the games out after you put them in.
RedTornado279 11 months ago
This was my first computer. Commodore originally intended to make a video game system to compete with the Atari 2600 but they turned it into a computer during the development cycle because they thought it would appeal better to parents than a system that just played games. They also had a glut of low density memory chips on hand which was why the VIC-20 came with so little memory.
gamewizard 11 months ago
i play a cartridge game on my VIC20 .. can someone tell why part of the leftside is missing on the screen ? its annoying when ur reading and the first letters are missing.. :S
farerse 11 months ago
blody external rf modulators ,every vic 20 i came accros was missing it . zx81 has it built in ,why not vic 20
DARKJURNEY 11 months ago
With a couple TTL chips, you can turn an old PC or laptop into a 1541 emulator hardwired from the parallel port to the serial drive port on the vic (or 64). Oh ya, it has to be running 98 or lower because the emulator software runs in DOS. Then go online and download your favorite game (if it's a cart. game, don't forget to flip the write protect you installed on your 8/16/24K memory cartridge before playing).
supertech2006 1 year ago
This is quite a review, I actualy liked it! Good job man!
aaronpapanos 1 year ago
Do the Shatner, LOL! My wife looked at me with a dumbfounded look when I started laughing like a madman at the end of your video:)
Audiomancer 1 year ago
Wow captain Kirk in that commercial looks really young . I loved this computer back then . I wish I still had it . My power supply went bad , I remember it costing more that you can pay for a new C64 computer to replace the power supply . It lasted me about 3 to 4 years or so . I guess if I was to build my own power supply back then I could of had it running again . But like all things I had it went in the trash . Its a shame .
ducklandwikeno 1 year ago
On my vic-20 I use to write programs from a magazine . I wrote the game crazy climber , That game was very cool game to play back then . Back in the day it was very common to find game programs in a magazine . I guess you can find the on programming magazine's . I loved my vic-20 , but I wanted to own the c64 back then it was 600 dollars .I also had the tape recorder for the programs . I love that the internet is around now and we have access to upgrade to the vic-20 and c64 .
ducklandwikeno 1 year ago
Was it just the US model that had that type of power input socket? I have a UK model from 1983 that has the same power socket as the C64, so that when my C64 one failed I used the Vic one until I got a replacement. I love old computers; keep up the good work!
Cthulhu1970 1 year ago
Enjoyed the review. I still play the ole VIC once in a while and it's still great fun. Just curious which system you like more? the V20 or C64
NEScapades 1 year ago
the vic 20, as a matter of fact, was not so much a reaction to the apple ii as it was the sinclair zx80. tramiel had this revelation of people buying dirt cheap computers that you hook up to your television, because he saw people doing it in the uk.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
and i just want to say, i'm a fan... sorry for being so argumentative. i like your vids.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
@teknokrat1 It's all good, I appreciate the thoughts! I know I wasn't the most clear in what I meant in the video. I agree with the Apple revisionism, but I don't feel that's the case as far as the first "personal" computer. And yes, Jobs had almost nothing to do with it. It was Woz's project, and he got it right on the money.
phreakindee 1 year ago
see, there's been a lot of apple revisionism going on for decades... steve jobs had almost nothing to do with the apple ii. in fact, you know what processor it has? the 6502, designed by chuck peddle of commodore.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
Comment removed
teknokrat1 1 year ago
another thing you may not know... satoru iwata (yes, the ceo of nintendo) actually programmed some of those ripoff games back in 1980, i'm not joking. he was a student at the time and hung around the commodore japan offices, (the vic 1001 was launched in japan first, before the US)... iwata to this day acknowledges his enthusiasm for commodore and the 6502 processor (hmm.... it was in the nes.....) also, he started up HAL. pet 2001, HAL... you figure it out.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
i'm sure you've heard this already, but the PET was out first in 1977. before the apple ii. commodore was already selling to the home market in the summer of 1977. apple followed like a month later. the pet was only $595 (4k) and 795 (8k). the apple ii was WAY more expensive, you're right on that part... but you totally neglected the vic-20's predecessor.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
@teknokrat1 I am aware of the PET, as stated in the video it came before the VIC-20 & served as a way for Commodore to enter the market before the VIC. But, again as stated in the video, Apple really got things started with the Apple II. PET was mainly a business machine, monochrome, no graphics, etc. The ][ was the computer that basically launched the entire personal computer market. Commodore followed suit w/ the VIC-20, since the PET didn't really fit the home market Apple was succeeding in.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@phreakindee that is such bologna though. apple was 3rd place behind the trs80 and the pet, and they were even up for grabs, commodore was going to buy them early on and it would have been the commodore apple. but jack tramiel didn't see them as a threat (they were literally selling like 3 computers a day at first) and the pet was outselling them hugely in the beginning. the trs80 outsold BOTH machines humongously. radioshacks were everywhere pushing them. read "commodore: a company on the edge"
teknokrat1 1 year ago
@teknokrat1 Did I mention anything about initial sales numbers? What I'm referring to is the launch of the "personal computer" as a term, as an idea. Ask what the first really "personal" home computer was, and chances are many would say the ][. The TRS-80 is the closest contender I can think of, but the Apple ][ had the most mainstream popularity and software, and it also lasted longer in its mostly-original form than the 80. VIC-20 built on all of this which is why I mentioned the ][ at all.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@phreakindee well guess what? i didn't know ONE SINGLE PERSON who had an apple ii groing up. you know where i saw them? in schools where they could afford the 1,295 price tag, and even there, the c64 was king. you gonna tell me you had a lot of apple iis floating around in your neighborhood?
teknokrat1 1 year ago
@teknokrat1 Once again, all I'm saying is they were the first with the real, modern idea of a personal computer. Nothing about sales, nothing about who had what in whoever's neighborhood or schools (although we had them in mine growing up). Simply the idea of a computer that was more personal than the text-based boxes and hobbyist contraptions that came before. It was more of an appliance with real uses, and before the ][ I can think of nothing else that came close to such an idea.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@phreakindee the pet 2001 came out first in 1977 (the apple ii started advertising 1 month later), and it was completely self contained. the apple ii had COLOR which is where i think you're going with this... but you had to buy each component part separately. the pet 2001 could sit on your kitchen counter if you wanted. the whole idea of naming it the pet was user friendliness. they wanted a molded plastic case like apple ended up doing, but tramiel forced the folded steel case.
teknokrat1 1 year ago
@teknokrat1 Sounds to me like you should do your own video then! :D Dude, I have my views on what I feel is the first, true user-friendly, personal home computer (the PET does not qualify to my standards). I don't have any preference over machines, it's just that the PET seemed better suited for businessmen, whereas the Apple ][ was more for people like me. This is getting entirely off-topic from the video, which was a very simplistic intro to the VIC-20, hehe.
phreakindee 1 year ago
lmao volkscomputer... ein volk, ein comfuhter!
kinmanyuen 1 year ago
Great info regarding audiotap *Grins malevolently* :D I had a German VC20 it had a kettle/PC lead port, I bought it at a flea market for about £2/$3, but then I gave it away cause I could never test it, because it was the wrong voltage WHY DID I GIVE IT AWAY, WHY...?!1???1111 :(
atombat 1 year ago
7:03 Fartfartfartfart... xD
Vic 20 was old indeed but text games seemed to be perfect for this type of software. At the beginning of 80's everything remained simple. So simple that in Count, poor dracula didn't know how to "fu*k" something. (see James Rolfe review of dracula-related games). Oh well, rather office machine than game console. But the cartridge slot was intresting. Everything just like Commodore.
PituDitu 1 year ago
WOW A REAL COMPUTER KEYBOARD! good thing huh, its not like those fake computer keyboards that drug dealers sell in the alleys
kingryan3000 1 year ago
LMFAO @ 1:55
CUR50R 1 year ago
When I heard the windows ding, I thought it was an error.
Goldspar1 1 year ago
vic20 was my first ever computer and i loved it even though it was primative compared with todays computers.
jr2nd 1 year ago
What is the name of the cable at 2:53 ?
CakeMaster98 1 year ago
If you have a VIC-20 you really need this. I bought a VIC-20 just so I could use this badass piece of geek engineering. mega-cart (dot) com (damn youtube blocking URLs)
Murple333 1 year ago
So all those games that are on cassette tape...don't they degrade after a while to the point where there's errors when the computer tries to read them?
sirrvs 1 year ago
@sirrvs Sure, especially the more they are used. But really, over time any kind of media is going to degrade: tapes, floppies, CDs, magnetic platters, etc.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@phreakindee i think floppies are already being considered obsolete.are they?
MeTaLdUdE02 1 year ago
@MeTaLdUdE02 Already? Many were considering floppy drives obsolete almost 20 years ago... so yeah, I'd say it's safe to say they are obsolete now, at least for the mainstream market.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@sirrvs yes, all magnetic media like tapes . floppy disks degrade with time...
newton3010 1 year ago
10 cls
20 Print "I had one"
30 goto 10
shammon1 1 year ago
@shammon1 vic20 didnt do CLS, it was print" {shift+home key}" like a little inverted heart
jr2nd 1 year ago
I remember smashing my tape drive when I was a kid grrr. Thanks for keepin the machines alive :)
sundown798 1 year ago
i had one of those as a kid i enjoyed the omega race game as well but i always hit the curves wall when i would miss the buttons...lol
redrock333 1 year ago
This system//microcomputer looks really cool!
MattTheSaiyan 1 year ago
omega race was addictive. i used to sell vic 20's in the early 80's (although i would never buy one) i risked losing my job playing that silly game. yes i was ignoring customers. i miss that game.
cshargeit 1 year ago
And you can do the Shatner, all day long... x0D Just love it, great video man!
Danish4ever77 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
It wasn't 30 dollars, the unit cost $179 retail in 1982!
LadyHaggis 1 year ago
It was 30 dollars, the unit cost $179 retail in 1982!
LadyHaggis 1 year ago
"do the Shatner" ----hilarious!!!!!
farcher3 1 year ago
I am doing a research project for school on the VIC 20. Your video was so helpful....I think I am going to show a few minutes for our class presentation. Very insightful!
staceypacer 1 year ago
@ phreakindee: One other funny thing about the renaming in Germany: The VC20 were supposed to be namend "Vixen" at first. If you pronounce the "v" softly (like in "wall") in exactly sounds like the german word for "wanking" xD
So, it got namend "VIC 20" only to be renamed again for Germany to "VC 20".
TTOTheTrueOne 1 year ago
@TTOTheTrueOne Ha, that's awesome, I did not know that!
phreakindee 1 year ago
This is the most informative review I have seen on the Vic 20 I still have the old computer at home the machine was so easy to program software of any kind thanks for posting i enjoyed it.
sstylianou 1 year ago
i never got the opportunity to experience using the Vic-20. unfortunately, when my stepfather bought it back then, the thing didn't work so he returned it. After awhile, we did get the C-64. thank goodness we did knowing now that the Vic-20 only had one joystick port!
Pookie2419 1 year ago
Skipped right over the Atari 400/800 computers which were released in 1978 (the VIC-20 was released in 1980, two years later...)
And maybe the VIC-20 had Bill Shatner, but the Atari had friggin' Alan Alda!!! ;-)
Ogma01 1 year ago
I have a vic-20 and I need a video cable...its frustrating. Know any alternatives?
You said that backups of cassette software only work. What about the MakeWav program you mentioned in your 2600 review, and then you use the audio tap program to make the wav into tap files.
thatguyontheright1 1 year ago
@thatguyontheright1 There were a lot of video cables for sale on ebay.
garandguy000 1 year ago
I have a vic-20 and I need a video cable...its frustrating. Know any alternatives?
thatguyontheright1 1 year ago
where did you get the "commodore 64" t-shirt ? , ive found a few on the net with the same logo however they don't have the cap sleeves which i prefer.
canecreek00 1 year ago
I have a question, back to 80s 90s did anyonehave their equipment taken by the police, or other incidents of similar nature.. no one seems to know what really happened to the 'Phreaks' the telco fed us books on X25 then sent in the police here in newfoundland canada back in the 80s... did the police tell anyone else that they would get 'good jobs' by finding security faults in Systems... anyone else have any DMS100 telco Switch Stories... Call me 709-368-3266 ask for Kenny murraykj709@yahoo.ca
murraykj709 1 year ago
Very nice video! Thanks a lot! I like when you guys come back to the old times.
I have had a C64 but I was a little kid back then. But I have some really nice memories from it :-) I was playing with the VICE emulator on Linux recently, it works great. Some stuff I tried to run worked perfect (music tracks - amazing!) some crashed (nostalgia!) some left a black screen after loading. That's amazing :) Thanks for recalling the old times!
unfa00 1 year ago
omg the shatner ROFL
Laserchicken88 1 year ago
I remember the datasette and disk drive from my old C-64. Ahhh good times...
I guess you could just press F5 instead of typing "load" and F3 instead of "run".
Nostalgia off.
Ajanek 1 year ago
I had a Vic 20. Oh how I loved it. I broke the "3" key off and tried to *superglue* it back on. After that all it ever did when I tried to use it was display an endless line of "3"s on the screen. Yes, I was that young and stupid. I never had the disc drive, but I did have the tape recorder for it. Yes, we used to save programs on casstte tapes. --Ahhhh, kids today....
russ7796 1 year ago
nice c64 shirt
gfujdfjki 1 year ago
FART
MagikGimp 1 year ago
My VIC-20 came from the US and had vertical square power switch and a GIANT epoxy-packed power pack. That nearly fried poor VIC's innards a few times, of course.
No mind--'Oil Tycoon' I played for hours.
El135o 1 year ago
I got a Vic 20 for a buck at a yard sale, but no AV cable. It also came with two or three games all with Boxes.
thatguyontheright1 1 year ago
I got a Vic-20 in origianl box with power adapter and RF adapter for $1
tghbenz99 1 year ago
could you not put one of them tape to line outs, in the vic's tap trive and hook that up to the line out?
LuigiFan128 1 year ago
@LuigiFan128 I suppose you could, can't say I've ever tried it though. I have to wonder about the volume level with that though, as it has to be somewhat precise. Sure it could be worked out.
phreakindee 1 year ago
Ah, now I see the annotation. I missed it when watching the previous time. Sorry about that.
Commodorianen 1 year ago
@Commodorianen No problem, it's a good point worth noting to those that are new to the system and I wish I had included it in the original video.
phreakindee 1 year ago
Where you get that T-shirt? I want one.
johnnypocketrocket 1 year ago
@johnnypocketrocket ebay, some HK reseller
phreakindee 1 year ago
It's not true as it says in the video that all VIC-20s need a special power supply. It's only older VIC-20s that need that. Newer VIC-20s use the same power supply as the C64.
Commodorianen 1 year ago
@Commodorianen That's why there's an annotation in the video that says exactly that, added soon after the video was made. I suppose you may have missed it, or had annotations turned off.
phreakindee 1 year ago
I loved the Vic. The only complaint was it's limited memory. But if you had some cash you could buy memory expansion for it. It is a breeze to program and repair though.
summer20105707 1 year ago
I love the VIC-20 and have great affection for it as it was the first home computer that I played on and Frogger was the first game I played on this system. I think it had some really cool games and when it's big brother the C64 came out gaming got even better. Also it Bill Shatner says it's great, who are we to argue? ;-)
DLiberator78 1 year ago
vic is actually german f bomb
grinnellalarms 1 year ago
7/10 here cos Shatner said! - great vid man..love it...
maxhall1 1 year ago
nice one!!, i had one of these when i was about 6 or 7, i thought it was the best , i had amok and blitz ....now i look and think ..how basic was this?, and how graphics have come so far! i`m now 34 and love gaming ....this was my step up to that.
simzabastard 1 year ago
Do you need an RF modular for composite connections?
woody558 1 year ago
@woody558 Nope. Just the composite cable and you're set.
phreakindee 1 year ago
@phreakindee
Where can I get a composite cable?
woody558 1 year ago
@phreakindee do you know if you can get any of the text games like pirate cove to work with a amodern computer. or more simply put, where and how could i play those games without the vic20? i had one in the 80's and even got online with it through compuserve. had a voice sythensizer too. fun times
montelee 1 year ago
Don't copy that floppy! ;)
KamratSvenneryd 1 year ago
Yea! Do the Shatner! LOL! .-.-.
vk4akp 1 year ago
What sold the VIC-20 was that gorgeous full keyboard (back most home computers had shit for keyboard, it really was a huge deciding factor in buying a computer). Today it seems absurd to buy a computer based on the keyboard. The fact you could hook it up to a TV and get color, and it was instant on, and you could buy it at your local JCpenny. Down side - should of had a built in Disk Operating System in ROM instead of BASIC. Build quality was poor on power connector & circuit traces.
cobrachoppergirl 1 year ago
nice review! i got the 64.
had the ti too.
Thetruthishere11 1 year ago
aaaah that brinss back memories
Zontar82 1 year ago
ZOMG!
"You can learn how to use the computer!"
TheLAKERSareGodsTeam 1 year ago
You sound like the AVGN
KMFDM781 1 year ago
This was the first computer that I had, I had the tape drive. I remember programming games using the poke command. Before the tape drive, you had to pray the power didn't go out while you were programming a game to play, and it took a while to make a game. A lot of typing... also Syntax Error, won't ever forget that one. I don't think anything of my Vic 20 exists anywhere, but someday I may collect one for old time sake.Vic 20 - XBOX 360, 30 years of gaming experience.
perrin26 1 year ago
Commodore actually got their PET 2001 out some months before Apple II, in 1977.
Borin81 1 year ago
Love seeing that dreamcast there man :D!
mbe102 1 year ago
Great informative vid.
Got a bust one in the loft. Needs the RF Modulator fixing. Got about 50 games and data-corder all in the original box. Mine has the Grey F keys.
workonesabs 1 year ago
"unlike games, it has a keyboard" :) haha, that's sneaky.
MustNotRead 1 year ago
Could you review the dreamcas?:)
Bakemon13 1 year ago
You don't mess with William Shatner if he says it's cool... you should get it!
OldSchoolNYCGamer 1 year ago
correction,the monitor was in a seperate box but the lady threw it in for free!
FoulOwl 1 year ago
I've got the whole set ,keyboard unit,monitor,joystick,switchbox,cassette drive,manual,and even a couple of games still in the original box.Got it at a yard sale for $10 and it still works!
FoulOwl 1 year ago
VERY cool vid about a VERY cool computer!!!!! Programmed mine with Sunday dinner ingredients (potatoes, greens, meat etc) and time for cooking and some 'PRINT' statements to screen and all my Mum had to do was push space bar when the meat went in and after that my VIC-20 would put up a message like "put potatoes on the boil now". It would run through all the items at the right moment so the end result was a perfect meal with no timers or clock watching needed!!
HardWarUK 1 year ago
thnx cool vid
Adrienthechamp 2 years ago
My first computer, was a vic 20 was about 13 years old :D
had about 1000 games for it
The best was Garden wars
The pac man clon Jelly monsters (way better than pac man)
and spieders from mars
and off curse jet pac (first RARE game ever, gues all that ever had a nintendo 64...really love rare games like golden eye, blast corps and soo on) jet pac was same kvalitet
2-3 years later i got the c 64..even more games
Mogensvendt 2 years ago
Har! My very first computer. Great to read about it again but god I hated that cassette player, became a much more more usable machine with the disk drive. Mega Race, spent many hours playing that. Moved on to the Atari 1040STE and then to a PC when M$ brought out windows (still got the floppies). Now a linux geek on what ever hard ware I can find.
barfoneandonly 2 years ago
so wheres the fact that Commodore was first with PET and not Apple with several months?
Borin81 2 years ago
Really nice review! Awesome T shirt as well..Thanks, really enjoyed.
armonigann 2 years ago 2
OMG I'm so happy! I found one on Craigslist for 10 DOLLARS! XD!!! It even has the box!
puppetmaster983 2 years ago
I like the shirt.
silntdoogood 2 years ago
The vic20 started the 80s computer systems end of story. 1982 in front of ya tv and as per below type out code and play games. Its a true family computer that people could buy. I always wanted a c64 after and that 1541 drive, sky i think was a better one. Apple iie at my tech was a better computer but WAY to much. Amiga was kick arse and if comodore was smart theyd be around today. Kick arse! windows as per below wtf! IF we went to the moon they did later with the vic20 heehe
n057828 2 years ago
I had a Vic20 that I got as a present for being in my uncle's wedding party. It was purchased at a time when it was on the wane (1984) due to the C-64. I had lots of fun playing all those cartridges and typing up programs from computer books. It was very limited, but I spent hours manipulating programs, adding my own text and such. The text on the screen was so huge that the computer was even used later on for home video credits! Lots of fun, but I still hoped for a C-64!
jayanxiety 2 years ago
Well, should I buy the VIC-20 or should I buy the C64?
ClassicTVMan81 2 years ago
Sems that what you say Commodore did for computing in America was also done this side of the pond by the likes of Sinclair.
thelyniezian 2 years ago
Thanks dude! Great bits! Tell me more about downloading games and putting them onto a cassette and playing them back on the Vic 20!
Delmoko 2 years ago
...are you kidding? I hope you're kidding.
phreakindee 2 years ago
No. The first computer I grew up with was a windows 95 OS. There was no frogger game that I knew of. I didn't even know commodore existed becasuse I was born a decade later. But the game still looks good.
mattsprinter 2 years ago
Well, that makes sense then. Sorry, just hard for me to hear that, makes me feel really old!
phreakindee 2 years ago
I know -exactly- what you mean. At some point we kind of woke up to this kind of realization when my friend pointed out that there probably exist already kids who have a 486 or a Pentium as their first computers.. they missed it ALL! Makes me still shiver just to think about it.. and nowadays it's of course 100 times worse.
Lutanamo 2 years ago
Excellent review - I had the C64 back in the 80s but never knew that much about it's predecessor, the Vic 20. Yours is really pristine and well looked after - whoever you bought it from really took care of it :)
JayArgonaut 2 years ago
I have a question. Does the trick with the tape recorder connected to a computer also work for C64 Datasette?
Mindman111 2 years ago
Sorry... Iw ill read the comments better next time :(
Mindman111 2 years ago
Is the commodore 8 bit or 4 bit?
mattsprinter 2 years ago
i just ordered one of ebaay for 45 dollars and 6 games on cartridge and i cant wait to do the shatner good review 5 stars
mattnintendonerd 2 years ago
Very nice and a good price! It'll totally be worth it - thanks for watching!
phreakindee 2 years ago
Nice review. Where did you get that C64-shirt? :-)
flexmaen 2 years ago
Thanks!
And it was a birthday gift, I'm not sure. Likely eBay.
phreakindee 2 years ago
using audiotap, can you download pirated games and use them on the C64 using tapes as well?
16mmDJ 2 years ago
indeed you can
phreakindee 2 years ago
*deep breath*... AWESOME!
16mmDJ 2 years ago