Photograph: Matt Kamen
Boot up the C64U, and you’ll be greeted by a recreation of the C64’s menus. Here, you can type operation commands just like you used to do before using the Basic programming language. Problem: I don’t have first knowledge about BASIC. However, possibly the biggest throwback of all, the C64U comes with a spiral-bound, 273-page user guide. it is complete For meSomewhat surprisingly, this is not a reprint of anything that came with the original, but rather an adapted guide to what the C64U does, where it differs from the C64, and how to keep up with the computer’s capabilities, Equal parts history book and instruction manual, it starts out teaching you a few simple commands and teaches you how to code, I’m still working my way through it, but that tactile approach – referring to the book, going back and forth on the computer to try something out – is a great touch,
hidden upgrades
If you don’t feel like doing homework, the C64U’s own default menu, which can be accessed at any time with a glance of the multifunction power button on the right side of the unit, is a simple list of options and settings. Press Return to go to any section – e.g., “Video Setup” to adjust whether the C64U outputs in native resolution, in PAL or NTSC mode (surprisingly important, given that some games will only work with one display standard or the other), or with crystal clear 1080p with the scanlines removed – and back out to save any changes to the system’s flash memory. It’s still a minimalist approach, but feels quite intuitive.
This is also where you can start playing with some of the C64U’s other modern touches, like how to take advantage of its far greater power. Well, “more” than 1982. Notably, it’s not a threat to any more modern machine, but running on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA chip and packing 128-MB of DDR2 RAM compared to the C64’s 64 KB blows its inspiration out of the water. While at baseline it replicates the performance of 1982 hardware, meaning it operates as if there were only the original 64KB, you can menu-dive to activate a virtualized RAM expansion unit, or activate “Turbo Boost” to accelerate the clock speed to lightning-fast (in this particular context) 64MHz.
<a href