If it ain’t broke: Many massive firms and organizations are sometimes ridiculed for utilizing outdated computer systems, however not each enterprise requires the newest digital know-how. Working example: a bakery in Indiana has been photographed processing gross sales utilizing a Commodore 64. This is not the primary time a Twenty first-century enterprise has been noticed utilizing the top-selling 1982 PC, because the system stays beloved by lovers as we speak.
Images have not too long ago surfaced exhibiting that Hilligoss Bakery in Brownsburg, Indiana, makes use of a pair of Commodore 64s as money registers. Whereas working a enterprise on a 42-year-old PC might sound uncommon, the system seemingly has adequate processing energy to ring up orders of donuts.
The images, initially taken in 2010, not too long ago reappeared on social media. The C64s had been additionally seen in one other picture from 2021. Hilligoss Bakery seems to have a robust repute, boasting a 4.7 ranking on Google Maps and a 4.4 on Yelp.
Apparently, a Doughnut store in U.S. continues to be utilizing a Commodore 64 for enterprise. pic.twitter.com/i7gO90JAZ4
– Tony Lyon (@RetroVidGaming) December 16, 2024
The Commodore 64, launched in 1982, apparently stays the best-selling particular person PC mannequin of all time, with estimated gross sales between 10 and 17 million models. Priced at $595 upon launch (roughly $1,945 in 2024 {dollars}), the system featured a 1 MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM, therefore its identify.
Whereas a lot of the C64’s 10,000 software program titles had been video games, it additionally supported enterprise software program, which firms like Hilligoss Bakery proceed to make use of. It is unclear whether or not the bakery has been utilizing the Commodore 64s since 1982, nevertheless it’s potential, on condition that the enterprise has been working since 1974 and is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this 12 months.
Should learn: The Commodore Story: Gone However Not Forgotten
This is not the one occasion of companies clinging to the Commodore 64. The Commodore USA Fb web page highlighted one other instance in 2016: an auto restore store in Poland that has used a Commodore 64 to steadiness driveshafts since at the very least 1991 – even surviving a flood at one level.
In sure instances, utilizing older know-how can cut back prices and provide safety by obscurity. For example, Southwest Airways averted the notorious CrowdStrike knowledge breach by persevering with to make use of Home windows 95. Nevertheless, sustaining and repairing classic tools can pose vital challenges.
Fortuitously, the enduring reputation of the Commodore 64 ensures that replacements, restorations, and repairs are nonetheless potential. Final 12 months, a devoted modder demonstrated that it is possible to construct a brand new Commodore 64 from scratch utilizing substitute elements. Moreover, a contemporary recreation of the system, launched in 2019, helps authentic software program and connects to fashionable shows through HDMI.
