Flashback

A Commodore 64 emulator has just been released for iPhone (apparently after a number of rejections from Apple). Which takes me back to my very first computer... a C64 with tape drive that appeared under the Christmas tree more years ago than I care to admit.

Sadly, William Shatner never did a TV ad for the C64 like he did for the Vic 20 (although the C64 ad is pretty bitchy) but many fond hours were spent on it learning the skills I would one day need to take over the world. Actually, most of those hours were spent waiting for the tape drive to load a program. But it was still better than going outside and playing football.

When I was in university I finally bought a second-hand floppy disk drive (something I had coveted for years as a kid) but mostly the poor old C64 sat in a trunk, until we moved to Australia and my partner decided it wasn't worth the cost of freight and dumped it(!). Mark my words, that's going to be a sorely-missed exhibit when they set up my museum.

So I'm going to have to settle for the emulator (available now on the iTunes App store). It comes with 5 games, but I'll be keeping an eye out for my favourites in future releases.

I guess its a sign of getting old, all this retro hankering. Kids these days don't know how good they got it - why, in my day....