5 ms·

A basic computer was quite expensive in 1985 and took quite some time of diligent saving to afford if at all possible. A C64 was $149 in 1985.

by einr 7y ago

yathern 7y ago
To be fair it was effectively the cheapest computer on the market, in a very aggressive [pricing war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64#Market_war_1982%E2%80%931983 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64#Market_war_1982%E...). Other machines on the market such as the Atari 800 cost $899 (>$2000 in 2020)
- einr 7y ago
  Other machines on the market such as the Atari 800 cost $899 Not in 1985, it didn't. The 800 is a machine from 1979. In 1985 a contemporary machine would be the Atari 65XE for $120. Yes, it's true that home computers were subject to a pricing war and margins were slim. I don't think margins are very beefy on the cheapest low-end laptops in 2020 either.
  - NovemberWhiskey 7y ago
    >In 1985 a contemporary machine would be the Atari 65XE for $120. Or the Amiga 1000 at $1295!
    - einr 7y ago
      Yes, and the new Mac Pro is $6000 ;)
NovemberWhiskey 7y ago
>A C64 was $149 in 1985 And a 13" color monitor was $200, and the 1541 floppy disk drive was another $160. Even if you just bought the Commodore cassette deck and connected the computer up to your existing television, you were looking at $200 for a usable configuration. Walmart will sell you a Lenovo Ideapad 130s (laptop with a 14" LCD, dual-core Celeron, 4GB RAM and 64GB solid-state storage) for $189.
- einr 7y ago
  Even if you just bought the Commodore cassette deck and connected the computer up to your existing television, you were looking at $200 for a usable configuration. Yes, that would be a basic configuration. Disk drives and color monitors are luxuries if we're talking about the lowest of low end here. In fact, the C64 is a bad example because it was not the cheapest system available, and many other low-end systems allowed you to use the standard cassette deck you already had as storage. The point is: Yes, you're right, a basic computer is cheaper today, but the price is roughly comparable and not anywhere near the realm of "unattainable except through years of saving up".

A basic computer was quite expensive in 1985 and took quite some time of diligent saving to afford if at all possible. A C64 was $149 in 1985.

by einr 7y ago

A basic computer was quite expensive in 1985 and took quite some time of diligent saving to afford if at all possible. A C64 was $149 in 1985.

yathern 7y ago

To be fair it was effectively the cheapest computer on the market, in a very aggressive [pricing war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64#Market_war_1982%E2%80%931983 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64#Market_war_1982%E...). Other machines on the market such as the Atari 800 cost $899 (>$2000 in 2020)

einr 7y ago
Other machines on the market such as the Atari 800 cost $899 Not in 1985, it didn't. The 800 is a machine from 1979. In 1985 a contemporary machine would be the Atari 65XE for $120. Yes, it's true that home computers were subject to a pricing war and margins were slim. I don't think margins are very beefy on the cheapest low-end laptops in 2020 either.
- NovemberWhiskey 7y ago
  >In 1985 a contemporary machine would be the Atari 65XE for $120. Or the Amiga 1000 at $1295!
  - einr 7y ago
    Yes, and the new Mac Pro is $6000 ;)

NovemberWhiskey 7y ago

>A C64 was $149 in 1985 And a 13" color monitor was $200, and the 1541 floppy disk drive was another $160. Even if you just bought the Commodore cassette deck and connected the computer up to your existing television, you were looking at $200 for a usable configuration. Walmart will sell you a Lenovo Ideapad 130s (laptop with a 14" LCD, dual-core Celeron, 4GB RAM and 64GB solid-state storage) for $189.

einr 7y ago
Even if you just bought the Commodore cassette deck and connected the computer up to your existing television, you were looking at $200 for a usable configuration. Yes, that would be a basic configuration. Disk drives and color monitors are luxuries if we're talking about the lowest of low end here. In fact, the C64 is a bad example because it was not the cheapest system available, and many other low-end systems allowed you to use the standard cassette deck you already had as storage. The point is: Yes, you're right, a basic computer is cheaper today, but the price is roughly comparable and not anywhere near the realm of "unattainable except through years of saving up".