Hugo Holden
Veteran Member
Ultimately I think Commodore kind of missed the mark in terms of what "computer" evolved to mean among the public at large, but as an embodiment of what people might have dreamed of in the mid-1960's as the sort of "personal computer" they might actually be able to afford by 1980 the PET feels absolutely spot-on. It's very retro-futuristic.
One other vintage computer (but it is a Terminal) that has that retro-futuristic look is the Lear Siegler ADM-3. It is a shame that it was not a fully fledged computer because that also had that "look" which is kind of iconic and almost timeless, like the PET. Somehow, these things still manage to look amazing more than 40 years later, despite the changes in industrial design and fashions. Off the top of my head, there are a couple of other things that spring to mind, like the Concorde, which looks like a futuristic interstellar space ship, or say, the E-type Jaguar, which if released today, as a new product that nobody had seen before, would still be a smash hit.
The other day I was watching the vintage movie "The Swarm" it has Michael Caine in it, Richard Chamberlain & other famous actors, 1978. I am sure I saw somebody typing Data into a blue colored ADM-3 or very similar terminal, in the military bunker. Actually looking at the images, it may have been the ADM-2.
PS: I don't think the the PET had been invented when 2001 Space Odyssey came out in the late '60's, but something like its design would have looked good in the film. We have to settle for the H(I)A(B)L(M)-9000 from IBM, but not really, but its fun to suggest it. It makes me wonder why Commodore used "2001" perhaps after the film, to make the computer sound futuristic.
Last edited: