World of Commodore ’24
I haven’t blogged about World of Commodore since 2019. Now, to be fair, we did have a worldwide pandemic between then and now. In 2020 there was no in-person event. Maybe it happened online, but I didn’t participate.
In 2021 World of Commodore happened again in the flesh, but we were all masked up. I don’t remember much about that event. I did take lots of photos, but I can only assume that attendance was low. I think they did the show via Zoom in parallel with the in-person event. At this time, C64 OS had not yet made its v1.0 debut. I was very busy preparing for the release though. Instead of blogging I was writing the User’s Guide both printed and digital, and trying to finish everything up in the following 6 months.
By the time 2022 rolled around, I had released C64 OS just a couple of months earlier, and my life and time availability had been completely deranged. That was one of the busiest times I’ve ever experienced. I was making sales every few minutes. I had a huge backlog of shipments because I couldn’t fulfill them as quickly as they were coming in. Obviously that’s leveled off since then, but at the time I was just completely swamped.
C64 Luggable 2022 – Michael and Nikita – C64 OS promo sheetsThe above image is of my C64 Luggable in 2022, which I brought with me, flanked by some C64 OS v1.0 promotional displays.
In 2023, the masks were off, things were getting back to normal. C64 OS sales had slowed down to the point where I could focus and think and spend time on other things. I did take a lot of photos, but I had fallen out of the habit of writing a long blog-post review of World of Commodore. I was still busy, blogging had taken a bit of a backseat to other work, and so, no review in 2023.
C64 OS Showroom Table Prep 2023It wasn’t a perfect experience though. I must confess. Having three machines set up was a bit too busy for just one table. Even though one of the computers was small, and demonstrated that C64 OS can be run on TheC64 mini, it was not obvious that this computer even was a Commodore 64. After all, it has a small HDMI LCD display, TheC64 mini’s mainboard has been de-cased and mounted to the underside of the display stand. I think it looks boss, but with the wireless keyboard and no visible computer, people assumed it was just a PC and took little interest in it.
It didn’t help that the C64 Luggable also doesn’t look like a traditional Commodore 64. It has a built-in LCD VGA display, a PS/2 keyboard and mouse, and is in that hotrod black all-in-one luggable case. Again, I thought (still think) it looks totally rad, but people who see it don’t know what they’re looking at, and are not titillated by that nostalgic and classic C64 look. Another unfortunate circumstance was that my table in 2023 was situated in one of the corners at the back of the room.
WoC2023 was a strange event for me. I was still making so many sales of C64 OS on the website that over just that weekend my online sales outnumbered my sales from the show itself. That alone isn’t a disappointment, but it puts the commercial value of the show in perspective compared to the commercial value of the internet and c64os.com. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at events like World of Commodore. I would go even if I had nothing to sell. But, from a sales perspective, of the people who would buy a copy of C64 OS, it’s mostly the same people who come back each year. Those people have either…
World of Commodore… in 2024
World of Commodore this year, in 2024, was a totally different animal. It was so much better that it inspired me to write another post-show review.
I took off both Thursday and Friday from work, so I’d have plenty of time to get myself prep’d, print out brochures and promotional material, practice my presentation, collect all my gear together, pack the car and drive to Toronto. I didn’t make any stops, and traffic was light and moving along quickly, with the exception of one short stretch going into Toronto. I should also say that I did a better job packing this year. I brought with me more expensive gear, like the CMD FD-4000 and CMD…
C64 OS Showroom Table Prep 2024After setting up, a whole bunch of people went out for the Friday night dinner at East Side Marios. That was a tradition I’d come to love, and I sorely missed it when it didn’t really happen that way in 2023.
Upon returning from dinner, the room was still alight with activity. People were hanging around, games and music were being played, computers were still being set up. And beer was consumed. Having the Friday night “before/after” party (day before the show, evening after the set up period) is such a blast. It’s an essential part of the experience, in my opinion. Because, you go home on Sunday, so Friday night means you get two nights of partying. This makes the long trip (and longer for some people than for me) feel much shorter.
C64 OS Tri-Fold Promotional Brochure 2024 (Front and Back)Tour around the room
…Original article by www.c64os.com
