# What did the Commodore Vic 20 (or contemporaries) do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326 "2011-04-05T22:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/121 "2011-04-09T17:05:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, it sets the screen to a solid color (those are border and background POKEs.) However, I don’t remember what color. I’d guess “1” is black. Or possibly white. Winner! POKE 53280,1 = set the screen border to white POKE 53281, PEEK (53280) = read the value of the screen border and set the screen background to the same value. So both the screen background and border are set to white. Which reminds me, we don’t have screen borders on modern computers. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/122 "2011-04-09T17:12:51Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > well spin my propeller. > > Commodore USA is/will have new models of the VIC, 64 and Amiga. > > intel inside. comes with linux. Meh. It’s just a Linux box in the shape of a C64 running an emulator. If you can’t plug in your 1541 drive, load Jumpman off a 5.25" floppy disk and hear the 1541 banging when it hits bad sectors (used for copy protection), then it’s not the real thing. [http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA\_C64.aspx](http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/123 "2011-04-09T17:23:58Z")
Does anyone know how many units shipped for the trs-80 color computer? I can easily find info on the commodore and others, but for some reason I am really having trouble finding the number of units shipped for the trash-80 color. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/124 "2011-04-09T18:23:46Z")
The only POKE command I remember was 53280 and 53281. The Atari fanboys used to give us grief because they had like a million colors compared to our 16. They had the nifty SETCOLOR command. And to hell with “LOAD.” Any 64 power user would do L-shift O. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/125 "2011-04-09T19:31:17Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > 1541 floppy drive— no more pokey Datasette! Hah! I had one game that had a loading screen that said, “Patience is a 1541 disc drive”…because it was. I can still remember waiting 3 minutes for the next section of “Bard’s Tale” or “Pool of Radiance” to load up. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/126 "2011-04-09T20:25:51Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > The only POKE command I remember was 53280 and 53281. The Atari fanboys used to give us grief because they had like a million colors compared to our 16. They had the nifty SETCOLOR command. But the Commodore came first. And they wouldn’t have millions of colors… maybe 256. It was the Amiga that finally made things almost photo-realistic with 4096 colors. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/127 "2011-04-09T21:01:24Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > But the Commodore came first. And they wouldn’t have millions of colors… maybe 256. It was the Amiga that finally made things almost photo-realistic with 4096 colors. You’re right on the color, but wrong about the C64 being first. Atari 8-bits were launched in 1979. C64s were launched in 1982. We had Atari 800s in my middle school computer class in 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/128 "2011-04-09T23:22:16Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > You’re right on the color, but wrong about the C64 being first. Atari 8-bits were launched in 1979. C64s were launched in 1982. We had Atari 800s in my middle school computer class in 1981. But the C 64 wasn’t nearly the first commodore. The first personal computer produced by CBM was [the Commodore PET](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_PET) - in 1977. By the way, the PET **2001** (the first model) [looks amazingly like Darth Vader in a storm trooper color scheme](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Commodore_PET2001.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/129 "2011-04-09T23:31:12Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Winner! > > POKE 53280,1 = set the screen border to white > > POKE 53281, PEEK (53280) = read the value of the screen border and set the screen background to the same value. So both the screen background and border are set to white. > > Which reminds me, we don’t have screen borders on modern computers. And, for extra credit, in assembly (and machine hex): LDA #$01 (A9 01) STA $D020 (8D 20 D0) LDA $D020 (A9 20 D0) STA $D021 (8D 21 D0) RTS (60) ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/130 "2011-04-09T23:40:59Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Does anyone know how many units shipped for the trs-80 color computer? I can easily find info on the commodore and others, but for some reason I am really having trouble finding the number of units shipped for the trash-80 color. See if you can contact [http://glensideccc.com/](http://glensideccc.com/) Hey go to the ChicagoCocoFest. Somebody there will know. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/131 "2011-04-10T00:10:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 10 PRINT “HELLO, WORLD!” > > or, for those who like the shortcuts: > > 10 ? “HELLO, WORLD!” > > Of course, these sorts of basic programs pretty much required the follow-up line: > > 20 GOTO 10 Or, for those who like the shortcuts: 10 ? “HELLO, WORLD!”:GOTO 10 😃 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/132 "2011-04-10T00:16:06Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > But the C 64 wasn’t nearly the first commodore. The first personal computer produced by CBM was the Commodore PET- in 1977. the Commodore KIM-1 was out in 76. they acquired that and it was the start of their computer developments. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/133 "2011-04-10T00:23:24Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Or, for those who like the shortcuts: > > 10 ? “HELLO, WORLD!”:GOTO 10 > > 😃 Few keystrokes fewer: 1?“HELLO, WORLD!”:G{shift-O}1 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/134 "2011-04-10T00:28:40Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > the Commodore KIM-1 was out in 76. they acquired that and it was the start of their computer developments. That’s interesting. I never knew CBM sold computers before the PET. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/135 "2011-04-10T00:48:23Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > the Commodore KIM-1 was out in 76. they acquired that and it was the start of their computer developments. > [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > That’s interesting. I never knew CBM sold computers before the PET. it was a computer with 7 segment LEDs for readout and a small keypad. it was the type of computer where you had to remember what just happened and what you just did in order to use it. you could hook it up to a teletype terminal and have a paper record. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/136 "2011-04-10T00:50:00Z")
Hey, hey, the geeks’ all here! I have to refer you fine nerds to [Pagetable.com](http://www.pagetable.com/), which is one of the most densely geeky blogs out there and it is full of 6502 and Commodore 64 stuff. [For example, here’s an article about an easter egg hidden in Microsoft BASIC](http://www.pagetable.com/?p=43) and you’ll never guess where Bill hid it. [Here’s another post on how the 6502’s illegal opcodes work on the hardware level](http://www.pagetable.com/?p=39), complete with cycle-by-cycle opcode analysis. [In fact, the whole ‘computer archaeology’ section has a ton of relevant stuff.](http://www.pagetable.com/?cat=8) ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/137 "2011-04-10T02:14:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And, for extra credit, in assembly (and machine hex): Excellent! This brings back a lot of memories when computers were simple and fun. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/138 "2011-04-10T06:35:12Z")
This thread brings up so many fond memories, like the week I stayed in [this hotel in London](http://maps.google.se/maps?client=firefox-a&hl=sv&ie=UTF8&ll=51.511854,-0.180598&spn=0.003312,0.009645&z=17&layer=c&cbll=51.511967,-0.180649&panoid=RzE-jOM3VLfKs76bsIyN9A&cbp=12,235.47,,0,-6.11). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/139 "2011-04-10T13:46:10Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > This thread brings up so many fond memories, like the week I stayed in this hotel in London. that is a htel. funny artifact. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326/140 "2011-04-10T17:29:46Z")
So how much could you cobble up with the VIC and others? You could actually control things with a Color Computer. It had 4 analog to digital converters, 2 switch readers, and a switch that could programed to switch small loads. You could connect thermistors, pressure transducers, mechanically operated potentiometers, or any resistive signal you could dream up, plus detecting switch closures. You could then program it to use the incoming data to make and break one set of contacts. I know I fooled around using it to control my furnace. I read about many other projects in Rainbow. Some people were very creative. I think one application was detecting which Pine Wood Derby car broke the light beam first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-commodore-vic-20-or-contemporaries-do/577326.md?page=8)