COMMODORE COMPUTERS: NOT READY FOR THE ORPHANAGE by Lee Pasborg Editor's Note: This was one of the most widely reprinted articles I have seen in any Commodore newsletter. I think we can agree that things are even better eight years after Lee's optimistic predictions. At some point it is time to wake up and smell the coffee. The sad fact is the 8-bit computer world is shuffling off to the orphanage. Yes, I know that the 64 and Apple II aren't orphans yet, but the manufacturers have got them in the basket and are ready to ring the doorbell and run. The magazines that features our machines have either folded up or are withering away. Software is getting harder and harder to find, and little that is new is being introduced. Our choices as users are simple. Either bail out, get a new machine and start over; or try to make the most of what we have, knowing that new hardware and software is going to be harder to find as the years pass. How you decide depends on what you want to do with your machine. If you are primarily a game player, get an Amiga or fancy clone and play away. I have trouble with the idea of investing thousands of dollars to play games, but if you have the money to spare, have fun. If you are a high-tech junkie, you are probably already in the 16/32 bit world, unless you are poor. If that's the case, I guess you are stuck with 8-bits for the time being. You can soup up your machine until it rivals the performance of the fancier models. However, if you are a home computer user, you could stick with your orphan as I intend to do. Let's face it, the 64, 128 and Apple II are going to be orphans unlike any others. The Sinclair had only 1 or 2 K of memory--not enough to load in a decent program. The VIC 20 had 16 K but a 22 column screen. The Apple III, Lisa, and Plus4 never got off the ground, so there is little software that was written for them. The PC Jr. had that awful keyboard. When these machines became orphans there was little their owners could do with them. It is important to realize, however, that some of these machines are still being used today. User groups have sustained their owners over the years. Apple and Commodore users do not have the same kinds of problems that the owners of other orphans had. The machines are well developed and well thought out. The 64 is capable of loading fairly sophisticated programs, including word processors and data bases capable of servicing a small business. Expanded Apples and the 128 have even more features. There is nearly an unlimited supply of software still available for your machine. Millions have been sold, and they are not going to disappear. The 128 and the 80 column Apples have nearly all the features that most people need in a home computer. If you plan to stick with your machine, you might consider doing some of the following: 1. Start accumulating the software you need now while it is still readily available. It's true that in the years to come you'll be able to get a lot of software for next to nothing, but you can't count on getting what you need this way. If you don't already have a good quality word processor, copy utility, etc., get one, preferably with all documentation. 2. If you run across hardware at a bargain price, consider buying it. Even dead machines serve a purpose--parts. Again, as time goes by, the prices for Commodore and Apple hardware should drop to next to nothing. An extra disk drive is always nice to have anyway. 3. Pick up books that cover your machine, especially programming reference guides. These are getting harder to find in the bookstores now, but a used one will do just as good a job as new--may even better, since the previous owner has probably marked the most useful pages already. Get the book even if you don't program or even understand most of what the book says; someday you may want to learn. 4. Join and support your local users' group. There you will find other hard-core enthusiasts who will be glad to share solutions to your problems. Someone will know how to get a program to run, or where you can get repairs done. 5. Don't despair! Orphans may have a harder time than others, but as long as they stay healthy, they can be just as productive as anyone else. The way I figure it, by the time the last 8-bit goes south for the last time, today's computers will look ancient. Consider the advances that have occurred in the last five years. If you and your orphan can hang on until 1995, it's likely that you'll see Amigas at yard sales. So when the orphanage door opens for our favorite machines, it will be sad--becoming an orphan is not a happy event. But it need not be the end. After all, an orphanage is not a graveyard. As long as we keep using these useful, productive machines, their being orphans will really be irrelevant. (from The Town Cryer, Heartland Users Group, Cape Girardeau MO, 6/90; reprinted in The Interface, 9/90; and again in 1998; via the Commodore Information Center http://home.att.net/~rmestel/commodore.html)