Excerpt from the Fall 1983 CES

[Blacklord]

On the hardware front, Commodore was relatively quiet at this CES, at least compared to the blockbusters they dropped at the last two shows. No new computers were announced. A few previously announced but still-to-be-introduced computers and peripherals were shown again, and one computer was dropped before reaching the market.

But even when Commodore is "quiet," it is far from silent. Fueling the price wars further, Commodore chopped the wholesale cost of the Commodore 64 from about $360 to $200, which means retail prices at some outlets should be $250 or less by mid- to late summer.

In addition, prices on printers and disk drives were cut up to $100, and software prices were cut up to 50 percent.

Commodore's biggest news was its efforts to strengthen software support for its computers. A beefed-up software division has been formed, and more than 70 new packages for the VIC-20 and 64 were announced at new low prices. Examples are Easyscript 64, a word processor for under $50, Multiplan, a spreadsheet for under $100, a small business accounting package of five programs for under $250, and Magic Desk I â€" Type and File, an under-$100 program that one spokesperson called "Commodore's answer to Apple's Lisa."

Magic Desk I, a cartridge for the 64, is the first of a series of programs aimed primarily at home users. The screen comes up with a picture of a room containing a desk, typewriter, index file, telephone, calculator, ledger, wastebasket, artist's easel, file cabinet, and a digital clock. Floating in the air is a hand with a pointing finger. Using a joystick, trackball, or "mouse" (not yet available), you can move the hand to point to any object in the room. Pressing the fire button selects that option.

For instance, pointing at the typewriter and pressing the fire button loads a typewriter-like word processing program from disk. The screen really looks like a typewriter carriage, with margin stops, paper guides, and a blank sheet of paper. You can type a document, then return to the room by pressing fire. Back at your desk, you can file the document in the cabinet, toss it in the wastebasket, or do various other things. The other options represented by objects in the room will be enabled by further programs in the Magic Desk series. Eventually, you'll even be able to define your own objects in the room.

Some other interesting software announcements for the 64 were six adventure games, including the popular Zork series; Wizard of Wor, the first talking game using the speech module introduced at previous shows; Super Expander 64, a cartridge with extended commands for graphics and sound; Music Machine and Music Composer, which use the plug-in synthesizer keyboard announced at the Winter CES; and Logo and PILOT languages on disk.

The bulk of the software seemed to be for the 64, but new VIC programs included VICwriter, a word processor; SimpliCalc, a spreadsheet; VICfile, a data base manager; Know Your Child's IQ; and Number Nabber, Shape Grabber, a teaching game for children.

On display was the previously announced portable version of the Commodore 64, known, as the Executive 64 (formerly called the SX-100). The current prototype has a built-in, six-inch color monitor and disk drive, and is priced at $995. A second drive is optional. Commodore has moved the delivery date back to sometime this fall.

Not on display was a new computer announced at last summer's CES, variously known as the P Series, P128, or P-500. Intended to be a souped-up version of the Commodore 64, with 128K RAM expandable to 256K, a larger keyboard, and sleeker styling, the P was dropped without official explanation. Unofficially, Commodore wanted to concentrate on other projects. The P is being transformed into an 80-column machine without color or graphics, and will be aimed instead at the small business market. Commodore says it may be available later this year, along with the closely related B and BX Series announced last summer.