From time to time on classic computing and/or videogaming forums, the question of how to track down the current copyright holder to a particular given title comes up. Sometimes someone knows the answer. Frequently they don’t. This week, when George Lucas announced he’d sold Lucasfilm to Disney, illustrated precisely how this kind of thing happens.
All posts tagged commodore 64
How abandonware gets abandoned
Posted by Dave Farquhar on November 1, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/11/how-abandonware-gets-abandoned/
What to do about a router dropping connections
A former classmate and coworker contacted me with a question. My router is about 5 years old. I have a cable modem and a router. The cable modem is fine. The router keeps connecting and disconnecting from the internet…used to happen occasionally, now happens all the time. I reset it and it works for a [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on August 27, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/08/what-to-do-about-a-router-dropping-connections/
Do you think if software cost less, people would pirate less?
The BSA says 57% of people use pirated software. A big part of the problem is that software is just too expensive. You can buy a decent computer for $300, and the copy of Windows that comes with it accounts for 1/3 of the cost. Microsoft Office Home and Business, which includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on May 23, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/05/do-you-think-if-software-cost-less-people-would-pirate-less/
The origins of Prince of Persia unearthed
Prince of Persia isn’t just a recent movie. It’s based on a video game series, the first of which was first released all the way back in 1989 for the venerable Apple II series of 8-bit computers. That original game, extremely simple by today’s standards, is a classic today. The author, Jordan Mechner, had given [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on April 23, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/04/the-origins-of-prince-of-persia-unearthed/
RIP, Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore
Commodore founder Jack Tramiel, the orchestrator of the first line of affordable personal computers, died this weekend at the age of 83. I don’t know exactly what to think about it, and I’m probably not alone.
Posted by Dave Farquhar on April 9, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/04/rip-jack-tramiel-founder-of-commodore/
Internet-like technology, circa 1983
IT World profiled Viewtron, AT&T’s implementation of Videotex, as an interesting what-if. Think of it as 1983′s version of WebTV. What if it had caught on? Why didn’t it?
Posted by Dave Farquhar on March 3, 2012
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/03/internet-like-technology-circa-1983/
Steve Jobs and the Commodore PET
There’s a nasty rumor floating around that in Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography, Steve Jobs, Jobs alleges that Commodore copied the Apple II when making its first computer, 1977′s PET. I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know specifically what it says about that. I do know how the PET came to be, and the [...]
Posted by Dave Farquhar on November 5, 2011
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2011/11/steve-jobs-and-the-commodore-pet/
Commodore 128, top-12 dud? By what measure?
PC Magazine presented a list of 12 computer duds, and while I agree with most of them, my old friend the Commodore 128 makes an appearance. Commodore released several duds over the years, but calling the 128 one of them doesn’t seem fair.
Posted by Dave Farquhar on August 17, 2011
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2011/08/commodore-128-top-12-dud-by-what-measure/
The Rise of Commodore
I found an account of Commodore’s rise to prominence on a vintage computing forum. It’s interesting reading.
http://dfarq.homeip.net/2012/12/the-rise-of-commodore/