Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189034 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 548 pages

Synopsis
Filled with first-hand accounts of ambition, greed, and inspired engineering, this history of the personal computer revolution takes readers inside the cutthroat world of Commodore. Before Apple, IBM, or Dell, Commodore was the first computer maker to market its machines to the public, selling an estimated 22 million Commodore 64s. These halcyon days were tumultuous, however, owing to the expectations and unsparing tactics of founder Jack Tramiel. Engineers and managers with the company between 1976 and 1994 share their experiences of the groundbreaking moments, soaring business highs, and stunning employee turnover that came along with being on top of the PC world in the early days.

Customer Reviews

Great story, grating author
I loved Commodore computers when I was younger and this book is an enjoyable insight into the key people and events in the history of this overlooked company.
That said, I didn't like the way it was written - largely a collection of short, disjointed facts with no real flow and often out of chronological order at inappropriate times.

Worth a punt if you've ever eaten your tea while Manic Miner loads.

A good look back at Commodore
Generally speaking, this is a fascinating insight into the trials and tribulations of Commodore. Amazing how the company survived at all, given the various people that ended up in control of it, and not a great surprise when it went into bankruptcy.

A couple of niggly points that jar a bit are that it's almost totally US-centric (with only a few mentions of CBM UK, for instance), but moreso that there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text. This gets a bit annoying if you're pedantic like me!! :-)

Not so ancient history.
Having grown up with the PET, VIC-20 and the Commodore64 I thought this book would be a dry account of those heady, early days of home computing.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by this book's content and format.

A good interview style and insight from the creator of the 6502 microprocessor Chuck Peddle. The candor is refreshing and the un-hyped un-revised view of the technical skills and business acumen of the likes of Messrs Jobs and Gates makes for a very good read. (Microsoft virtually giving away their version of BASIC to every computer manufacturer on the market.)

The frankly scary antics of Jack Tramiel are softened with some personal details that make the ogre more understandable.

The unspoken truth that US companies ship products to the UK and Europe and sell them at vastly inflated prices, just because they can, still hold true today. (Even if it is vehemently denied.)

As a microelectronics engineer I found the (not too technical) description of the chip design cycle at MOS Technology (aka CSG) to be well presented and a real eye opener for someone who now works in the semiconductor industry. How did they manage to manufacture working silicon without the aid of the huge computing power and CAD systems that are used today!?