First post, by aries-mu
I must admit, I find myself frequently and repeatedly impressed at how passionate, committed, effective, and persistent c64 fans/people are!
I mean, let's be blunt: C64 is just 1 product. It's just it: the Commodore 64. Okay, maybe then they released the C128. Maybe there's a bunch of peripherals and accessories. But, please do tell me if in due to my ignorance on the topic I am saying something incorrect, that's it.
Commodore 64 here, Commodore 64 there, Commodore 64 up, Commodore 64 down. Dude that's just 1 computer!
On that one computer, over the many years I've had a retrocomputing passion, I kept seeing more and more and again initiatives, fairs, organizations, gadgets, books, various merchandise, discussions, groups, and, most importantly, even magazines (Reset64 magazine) and even completely new hardware remakes!!
I mean, that's challenging! That's expensive! That's commitment!
On the PCs side, we got thousands, no, what am I saying, tens, probably hundreds of thousands of different products, starting from the first branded and unbranded/built 8086 computers, and on, let's say even up to P233. So many brands, models, sub-models, different aesthetics, styles, cases, configurations. Countless, practically infinite combinations of configurations, if you consider different types and amounts (yes C64 folks: we PC users had bi-processor jewels 😋) of CPUs, video cards, sound cards, hard drives, heck even RAM and Cache memory types and sizes!!!
If we put on a scale, in comparison, the amount and number of products on the C64 side and on the PCside in comparison, it's like Mount Everest VS a watermelon!
And yet, it might be even possible that there's more stuff dedicated to the C64 than to old PCs, where with "stuff" I mean anything: from social groups, pages, magazines, etc.
If we put in proportion the activities and rumors around the C64 with the immensely larger amount of 'stuff' that could be talked about in general retro PCs, we should have swarms of retro PCs people making graffiti on every available wall in every city of the planet...
If we talk about the astonishing guts of remaking the actual hardware, then we're a striking victory of C64 people.
That's just 1 computer guys, and you're shaking the world.
We, retro PC people, with that Mount Everest of products we could talk about, what are we doing? Where's our magazine? Where are our hardware remakes? Where's the proportionally-immense rumor around?
I'd love to hear your perspective.
Thanks!
UPDATE:
I just googled, among quotation marks, "Commodore 64" and got 11,900,000" results.
By googling, among quotation marks, both "retro computer" and "vintage computer", so, the whole thing, it could be ANYTHING abou those... any one product out of the tens of thousands of them, adding the 2 results together we get 6,300,000 results!
ALSO:
I must specify that I am not at all envious of C64 people. Envy, by definition, consists in being sad of others' successes. I, on the contrary, am happy for them and for their beloved C64. Also, whatever pushes retro-things, is welcome. But I am sad that 'our' side (vintage personal computers and everything related) is not getting a similarly proportionate interest and arising initiatives. I'm happy for them, but I'd like a similar treatment for retro PCs.
LATEST UPDATE (PERFECT EXAMPLE - FOR NEW READERS) - the link below goes straight to the specific comment:
Re: C64 fans seem to me more passionate and committed than retro-computing fans
They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim)