The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore
About the Book
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore tells the story of Commodore through first-hand accounts by the actual Commodore engineers and managers who made the company. From their entry into computers in 1976 until their demise in 1994, the Commodore years were always turbulent and exciting. Commodore had astounding success with their computers, including the Pet, the Vic-20, the Commodore 64 and the incredible Amiga computers. Although other companies received more press, Commodore sold more computers than either Apple or IBM, with a strong following of computer fans.
Cast of characters
Jack Tramiel - The pugnacious, volatile founder of Commodore computers. Once described as the scariest man alive.
Irving Gould - The financier who rescued Commodore from ruin in the late 1960's. As the Chairman of Commodore and largest shareholder, he was often his own worst enemy.
Chuck Peddle - Uncompromising inventor of the legendary 6502 microprocessor, used in computers and video game systems by Commodore, Apple, Atari, and Nintendo. Designer of Commodore's first computer, the PET. His relationship with Jack Tramiel eventually soured with disastrous consequences.
Robert Yannes - Frustrated musician and synthesizer aficionado. Designed the Commodore 64 and its famous sound chip, the SID.
Al Charpentier - Chain smoking computer graphics pioneer and architect of the VIC and VIC-II chips.
Thomas Rattigan - One time President and CEO of Commodore computers who saved the company from bankruptcy, only to collide with financier Irving Gould. On his last day with Commodore he was forcibly removed by security guards.
Bil Herd - AKA "The Animal", he designed the ill-fated Plus/4 computer and later went on to design the Commodore 128. Known to wrestle executives in the hallways of Commodore. Responsible for many holes in the walls of Commodore headquarters.
Jay Miner - Brilliant ex-Atari engineer responsible for the Atari 800 computer. Co-designer of the Atari 2600. Inventor of the ground breaking Amiga computer for Commodore. All his projects were co-designed by his faithful dog and official Commodore employee, Mitchy.
George Robbins - Designer of the low cost Amiga 500 computer. Lived a bohemian lifestyle at Commodore headquarters and never left the premises.
Dave Haynie - Carried on the Amiga legacy by developing the Amiga 2000. Stayed with Commodore until the bitter end.
And many more...
About the Author
Brian Bagnall is the author of several computer books for McGraw-Hill, Prentice-Hall PTR, and Syngress Publishing. His latest book, Core Lego Mindstorms Programming, has been translated into French and Japanese. He is also a frequent contributor to Old-Computers.com.
Author's Promise
Throughout the development of this book, I have strived to keep my personal opinions out of the writing. It was my goal to express the opinions of those who were there. I also strived to be fair and balanced to those who were unable to give interviews for the book. This includes majority shareholder Irving Gould, who has since passed away, and Jack Tramiel. (Tramiel's son Leonard was interviewed to represent his father's point of view.) When people gave damning comments about someone, I made an effort to see the other point of view and present it fairly.