Editing Commodore 64 (section)

== C64 family ==
=== Commodore MAX ===
{{Main|MAX Machine}}
[[File:Commodore MAX Machine (shadow) (xparent bg).png|thumb|[[MAX Machine]] ]]
In 1982, Commodore released the [[MAX Machine]] in [[Japan]]. It was called the Ultimax in the United States and VC-10 in Germany. The MAX was intended to be a game console with limited computing capability and was based on a cut-down version of the hardware family later used in the C64. The MAX was discontinued months after its introduction because of poor sales in Japan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gamereactor.eu/articles/24131/Gaming's+Defining+Moments+No.+22/|title=Jack Tramiel and the Commodore 64|first=Mike|last=Holmes|publisher=[[Gamereactor]]|date=April 15, 2012|access-date=August 6, 2015}}</ref>

=== Commodore Educator 64 ===
{{Main|Commodore Educator 64}}
[[File:Commodore Educator 64 (standout version).jpg|thumb|[[Commodore Educator 64]] ]]

1983 saw Commodore attempt to compete with the [[Apple II]]'s hold on the US education market with the [[Commodore Educator 64|Educator 64]],<ref name="zimmers">{{cite web|url= http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/ced64s.html|title=The Educator 64 & Commodore PET 64 (aka C=4064)| publisher=zimmers.net|access-date=September 13, 2008}}</ref> essentially a C64 and "green" monochrome monitor in a PET case. Schools preferred the all-in-one metal construction of the PET over the standard C64's separate components, which could be easily damaged, vandalized, or stolen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/4064.html|title=The 4064s: PET 64, Educator 64|quote=School officials were dismayed at how easily the breadbin units could be stolen (in fact, quite a few disappeared from schools, and they fit very neatly in students' knapsacks), so Commodore presented the old PET cases as an inexpensive stopgap solution.}}</ref> Schools did not prefer the Educator 64 to the wide range of software and hardware options the [[Apple&nbsp;IIe]] was able to offer, and it was produced in limited quantities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/4064.html|title=Secret Weapons of Commodore: The 4064s: PET 64, Educator 64|access-date=November 17, 2014}}</ref>

=== SX-64 ===
{{Main|Commodore SX-64}}
[[File:Sx-64 build crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[Commodore SX-64]] ]]
Also in 1983, Commodore released the [[Commodore SX-64|SX-64]], a portable version of the C64. The SX-64 has the distinction of being the first commercial ''full-color'' [[portable computer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/20/tob_commodore_sx_64/|title=Remembering the Commodore SX-64|first=Austin|last=Modine|website=[[The Register]]|date=January 20, 2008|access-date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> While earlier computers using this form factor only incorporate monochrome ("green screen") displays, the base SX-64 unit features a {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}} color [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) and one integrated [[Commodore 1541|1541]] floppy disk drive. Even though Commodore claimed in advertisements that it would have dual 1541 drives, when the SX-64 was released there was only one and the other became a floppy disk storage slot. Also, unlike most other C64s, the SX-64 does not have a datasette connector so an external cassette was not an option.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/20/tob_commodore_sx_64/|title=Remembering the Commodore SX-64|first=Austin|last=Modine|website=[[The Register]]|date=January 20, 2008|access-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref>

=== Commodore 128 ===
{{Main|Commodore 128}}
Two designers at Commodore, Fred Bowen and [[Bil Herd]], were determined to rectify the problems of the [[Commodore Plus/4|Plus/4]]. They intended that the eventual successors to the C64—the [[Commodore 128]] and 128D computers (1985)—were to build upon the C64, avoiding the Plus/4's flaws.<ref name="kirps.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.kirps.com/web/main/_blog/all/in-memory-of-the-commodore-c128.shtml|title=In Memory Of The Commodore C128 – Popular Science and Technology Blog by Jos Kirps|access-date=November 17, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021635/http://www.kirps.com/web/main/_blog/all/in-memory-of-the-commodore-c128.shtml|archive-date=November 29, 2014}}</ref><ref name="InfoWorld Jan 1985">{{cite magazine|last=Mace|first=Scott|date=January 28, 1985|title=Commodore Shows New 128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|magazine=InfoWorld|location=Menlo Park, CA|publisher=Popular Computing|volume=7|issue=4|pages=19–20|issn=0199-6649}}</ref> The successors had many improvements such as a BASIC with graphics and sound commands (like almost all home computers not made by Commodore<ref>{{cite web |url=https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Manuals/Hardware/Getting%20Started%20With%20Extended%20Color%20Basic%20(Tandy).pdf| title= Tandy Color BASIC Manual |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030231618/https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Manuals/Hardware/Getting%20Started%20With%20Extended%20Color%20Basic%20%28Tandy%29.pdf |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.landsnail.com/a2ref.htm|title=List of Applesoft BASIC commands}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldofspectrum.org/ZXBasicManual/| title=Sinclair ZX Spectrum BASIC Programming Manual}}</ref>), 80-column display ability, and full [[CP/M]] compatibility. The decision to make the [[Commodore 128]] [[plug compatible]] with the C64 was made quietly by Bowen and Herd, software and hardware designers respectively, without the knowledge or approval by the management in the post [[Jack Tramiel]] era. The designers were careful not to reveal their decision until the project was too far along to be challenged or changed and still make the impending Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.{{r|kirps.com}} Upon learning that the C128 was designed to be compatible with the C64, Commodore's marketing department independently announced that the C128 would be 100% compatible with the C64, thereby raising the bar for C64 support. In a case of [[malicious compliance]], the 128 design was altered to include a separate "64 mode" using a complete C64 environment to try to ensure total compatibility.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

=== Commodore 64C ===
[[File:C64c system.jpg|thumb|Commodore 64C with [[Commodore 1541|1541-II]] floppy disk drive and 1084S monitor displaying television-compatible [[S-Video]] ]]

The C64's designers intended the computer to have a new, wedge-shaped case within a year of release, but the change did not occur.{{r|ieee85}} In 1986, Commodore released the 64C computer, which is functionally identical to the original. The exterior design was remodeled in the sleeker style of the [[Commodore 128]].{{r|wagner198608}} The 64C uses new versions of the SID, VIC-II, and I/O chips being deployed. Models with the C64E board had the graphic symbols printed on the top of the keys, instead of the normal location on the front. The sound chip (SID) was changed to use the MOS 8580 chip, with the core voltage reduced from 12V to 9V. The most significant changes include different behavior in the filters and in the volume control, which result in some music/sound effects sounding differently than intended, and in digitally-sampled audio being almost inaudible, respectively (though both of these can mostly be corrected-for in software). The 64&nbsp;KB RAM memory went from eight chips to two chips. BASIC and the [[KERNAL]] went from two separate chips into one 16&nbsp;KB ROM chip. The [[Programmable logic array|PLA]] chip and some TTL chips were integrated into a [[Dual in-line package|DIL]] 64-pin chip.<!--https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/C64Cmotherboard.jpg U8 "252535"--> The "252535-01" PLA integrated the color RAM as well into the same chip. The smaller physical space made it impossible to put in some internal expansions like a floppy-speeder.<ref>{{cite web|title=C64C
|date=October 27, 2014
|access-date=May 2, 2016
|url=https://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/C64C}}</ref> In the United States, the 64C was often bundled with the third-party [[GEOS (8-bit operating system)|GEOS]] [[graphical user interface]] (GUI)-based operating system, as well as the software needed to access [[Quantum Link]]. The 1541 drive received a matching face-lift, resulting in the 1541C. Later, a smaller, sleeker 1541-II model was introduced, along with the {{nowrap|800 KB}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Commodore_1581_disk|title=Commodore 1581 disk – Just Solve the File Format Problem|website=fileformats.archiveteam.org|access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref> 3.5-inch [[microfloppy]] [[Commodore 1581|1581]].

=== Commodore 64 Games System ===
{{Main|Commodore 64 Games System}}
[[File:C64GS-Console-Set.jpg|thumb|right|[[Commodore 64 Games System]] "C64GS"]]
In 1990, the C64 was repackaged in the form of a game console, called the [[Commodore 64 Games System|C64 Games System]] (C64GS), with most external connectivity removed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrogamingcollector.com/Vintage-Consoles/CommodoreC64GS.html|title=Commodore C64GS|quote=The Commodore 64 Games System, generally referred to as the C64GS is basically a Commodore 64 computer, with the keyboard and most other connectivity removed. You have the base unit, a cartridge port, two joystick ports, RF and Video outs... and that's your lot.|access-date=July 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031742/http://retrogamingcollector.com/Vintage-Consoles/CommodoreC64GS.html|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> A simple modification to the 64C's motherboard was made to allow cartridges to be inserted from above. A modified ROM replaced the BASIC interpreter with a boot screen to inform the user to insert a cartridge. Designed to compete with the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] and Sega's [[Master System]], it suffered from very low sales compared to its rivals. It was another commercial failure for Commodore, and it was never released outside Europe. The Commodore game system lacked a keyboard, so any software that required a keyboard could not be used.

=== Commodore 65 ===
{{Main|Commodore 65}}
In 1990, an advanced successor to the C64, the [[Commodore 65]] (also known as the "C64DX"), was prototyped, but the project was canceled by Commodore's chairman [[Irving Gould]] in 1991. The C65's specifications were impressive for an 8-bit computer, bringing specs comparable to the 16-bit [[Apple IIGS|Apple&nbsp;IIGS]]. For example, it could display 256 colors on the screen, while [[Amiga Original chipset|OCS]] based Amigas could only display 64 in [[Amiga Halfbrite mode|HalfBrite]] mode (32 colors and half-bright transformations). Although no specific reason was given for the C65's cancellation, it would have competed in the marketplace with Commodore's lower-end Amigas and the [[Commodore CDTV]].