The reason that was a problem was someone who worked hard to figure out how the TI machine worked was dead in the water when it came to the C64. Apple ][ people

The reason that was a problem was someone who worked hard to figure out how the TI machine worked was dead in the water when it came to the C64. Apple ][ people couldn't help you with anything other than the most basic of questions, beyond that it was all arcane hacks to get anything to happen. When the C64 was a thing I'd estimate 50% of the students I knew had an NES or other console (Colecovision!) and maybe 20% had some kind of computer, most of which were different, incompatible models. Nobody knew anything about anything, and getting advice from professionals was never going to happen.