Store

Commodore VIC-20

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Vic-20)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VC20 Logo.jpg
Commodore-VIC-20-FL.jpg
Manufacturer Commodore Business Machines
Type Home computer
Release date 1980 (VIC-1001) Japan / 1981
Lifespan 5 years
Introductory price US$299.95 (equivalent to $794.66 in 2019)
Discontinued January 1985; 36 years ago
Operating system Commodore KERNAL Commodore BASIC 2.0
CPU MOS Technology 6502 @ 1.108404 MHz (PAL) [1] @ 1.02 MHz (NTSC)
Memory 20 KB ROM + 5 KB RAM (expandable to 32 KB), 3.5 KB for BASIC (expandable to 27.5 KB)
Storage Compact Cassette, floppy disk
Display Commodore 1701
Graphics VIC 176 x 184 3-bpp
Sound 3 × square, 1 × noise, mono[2]
Input Tape, floppy disk, cartridge
Predecessor Commodore PET
Successor Commodore 64, Commodore 16, Commodore MAX Machine

The Commodore VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980,[3] roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET. The VIC-20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units.[4] It was described as "one of the first anti-spectatorial, non-esoteric computers by design...no longer relegated to hobbyist/enthusiasts or those with money, the computer Commodore developed was the computer of the future."[5]

The VIC-20 was called VC-20 in Germany because the pronunciation of VIC with a German accent sounds like the German expletives "fick" or "wichsen".[6][7] The term VC was marketed as though it was an abbreviation of VolksComputer ("people's computer," similar to Volkswagen and Volksempfänger).[8]

Filters

Filters