The Commodore PET 2001, a groundbreaking home computer from the late 1970s

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CompleteTruth@reddit

This is the machine that started me on my career as a software engineer. We had one of these in my grade school classroom in 1981, and I was so drawn to it the teacher couldn’t pull me away. I learned my first basic programming on it and the rest is history.

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joolzg67_b@reddit

Spent my summer holiday in the computer room in 1979 Blackburn Technical College, 0830 till 1700, watching the geeks programming, punching cards, having then run in the mainframe and finally progressing in basic and machine code on a Commodore Pet.

Today I'm still programming but for a living.

Thanks Commodore.

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stuffitystuff@reddit

Always loved the look but millions of cash registers were brutally massacred for those keys

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spookyxelectric@reddit

I've always wondered what those weird squares on the keys of old UK computers were meant to be.

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chuckop@reddit

Finally got to see one up close last weekend at VCF East. Great show by the way.

You cannot believe how small the keys are on that keyboard. The late 70s and early 80s had some weird keyboards, but this one is extra bad.

Small keys, wonky layout, missing keys (like tab) and overloaded with symbols.

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Bipogram@reddit

Looks, via the memory-o-scope at the ZX81...

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Maeglin75@reddit

The keyboard of the first PET model is from calculators Commodore was manufacturing at the time.

The unusual, angular metal case was produced by a factory belonging to Commodore that made filing cabinets.

And the major microchips in the PET (and later Commodore computers) were from MOS Technology, that was a daughter company of Commodore.

The CEO and founder of Commodore, Jack Tramiel, strongly believed in "vertical integration". Manufacture as many components in your own company as possible to maximise profits.

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tes_kitty@reddit

Well, Apple shows that vertical integration done right can be a big advantage.

But Commodore had some major quality problems with their chips for a while.

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dekai-onigiri@reddit

That keyboard looks mighty uncomfortable

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AnrufBeworter@reddit

This was our first school computer - but it had the proper keyboard instead.

And a tape drive without a counter - I wrote programs using a timed fastforward to find the proper spot on the tape depending on which program I wanted to load

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LittlePooky@reddit

I was thinking that, too. How can anyone touch-type on that.

What a horrible shortcut to save money when they designe this.

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Sorry, my memories of the Commodore PET computers is pretty lack luster. Seeing one does not get me excited.