One of the people responsible for bringing the world the Commodore 64 PC has passed away. Forbes reports that Jack Tramiel, who founded Commodore International, died on Sunday at the age of 83.
Born in Poland, Tramiel and his family were later placed in concentration camps by the Nazis during World War II. He survived the camps and later moved to North America.
Tramiel launched the Commodore Portable Typewriter Company back in 1954 in Toronto, Canada. The company was reorganized as a PC maker in the late 1970s, along with changing its name to Commodore International. After releasing the PET and the Commodore VIC-20, the company launched the Commodore 64 PC in 1982.
The PC's superior hardware, graphics and sound was an instant hit with consumers. The Commodore 64 sold between 12.5 and 17 million units during its lifetime, greatly outselling other rival PCs from IBM, Atari and Apple. Another reason for its success was that it was sold in regular retail stores instead of just electronics stores.
In 1984, at the height of the Commodore 64's success, Tramiel decided to depart the company and formed a new business, Tramel Technology (and yes, that was how it was spelled). He later bought out Atari from Warner Bros. and renamed his new company Atari Corporation. He later sold off Atari in 1996.
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