Howdy Fellow Commodore Users!

The New Year is here, and the countdown to the year 2000 is just a short trip away. While watching TV, the other evening, I saw a famous software company pitching their three year plus slogan: Where Do You Want To Go Today?

As a Commodore User, the commercials don't really apply to us, but we may ask the same things of our computers as we go into the year 1999 with our faithful electronic companions. Granted, we cannot run the latest state of the art programs, but even the majority of the computers in the hands of users have problems running those programs.

Probably the most obvious concern to any computer user is determining if his or her computer is truely obsolete. By today's standards, a brand new computer is already obsolete when it is carried out of the computer showroom doors. What is the owner to do in this case? Theories of economics are at play as the owner must decide how far into the future he wants his computer to be a viable appliance, and how much he is willing to pay for that piece of mind.

For example: A IBM Compatible Personal Computer purchased in 1994 might be able to use Windows 98, but not without major upgrades to the system. Those people who bought Pentium Computers were assured it would be upgradeable in the future. Intel has turned it's back on those people with the new Pentium II and Celeron processors. So, where do they want to go? Either they stick with their old software, or buy a new system, which is capable of running today's software.

The reliable Commodore Computer from the eighties is still getting new software written all the time, though not as much as in it's reigning years. There are no upgrades to these systems that make it obsolete. What it does today, it will still do tommorrow. Programming wizards like Nick Rossi, Matt Desmond, Maurice Randall, to name just a few, add new functionality to their programs to make the Commodore even more of an enjoyable machine to own.

There are also hobbyists that love this machine for the true spirit of being retro, (which is a endearing term applied to something that is old). Some perfer it because of the ease of programing it to their own needs. I prefer it because it starts faster than it's multi-hundred megahertz counterparts.

What does your Commodore do today? Make a list of why you want a new computer, or what you would like to do on your computer. Can your Commodore do that now? If not, why? Granted, Commodores cannot do everything that today's state of the art machines can, but look at the tremendous resource of existing and continuing programs being created for it. Some seemily impossible tasks have been done on the Commodore in the past, and more are just around the corner.

Where do we want to go today...or even tommorrow?