video game: Atari 48K Computer Word Attack!

"Welcome to the world of friendly computing," bragged the box of this Commodore 64. While it is questionable just how "friendly" this computer was, it certainly was more affordable than any other computer. Jack Tramiel, founder of the Commodore Company, introduced the Commodore 64 in 1982, following his vision of "computers for the masses." Called the "Model T" of home computers, the Commodore 64 debuted at $500 and quickly dropped to an appealing $199. Although the necessary disk drive and monitor raised the package price to $899, it still significantly undercut the competing Apple IIe by more than $1000. Consumers responded by snapping up 2 million Commodore 64s between September 1983 and September 1984. With 64K of memory, color graphics, and sound capacity, the Commodore 64 became the entry-level computer of choice for many Americans. Lousy software and poor management soon doomed the company, but by proving that personal computers could still be affordable, the Commodore 64 left an indelible mark on the popularity of personal computing.