JACK ATTACK: The Story of Jack Tramiel at Commodore, Part 1 - Kim Justice

[@Kim_Justice]

If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice

[@Joe40oz]

PART 1!!! Kim you're the hardest working woman on KZbin...Christ on a bike...documentary a week...we are truly blessed and if I was in a better financial situation I would be a Patreon...when things improve I will. But for the time being please accept my humble thanks for your hard work.

[@gnustep]

@Kim the VIC was NOT a "variation of the 6502" it was a character generator for use in text based displays, but they just couldn't sell it so they popped it into the VIC. It was never meant to be for a console.

[@marcopolo3001]

In an alternative universe Jack Tramiel is both the bill gates and steve jobs of that reality and Amigas squeezed out both x86 and macs out of the market and now directly competing with only Sony and Nintendo. lol Oh and of course the latest Amigas are 10-15 years ahead of what we have now and do ray tracing natively off the customs chips ^^

[@fluffibuni8663]

Great video, I love all these retrospectives on the history of computing and gaming. So much of it feels like it was only yesterday. Having enjoyed a 16K ZX81 for around a year, I remember being keen to jump into colour computing, and trawling through literature on the VIC-20, Atari 400/800 and TI99-4A aswell as the ZX Spectrum.

[@CaptainRufus]

AGGGH. Want the next installment now!

[@parsoniareigns]

Wow Kim this stuff is fascinating. Well done.

[@HoldFastFilms]

Today I learned that PET had 4K mode. Way ahead of the time :p

[@shevat]

Just watched BBC's Micro Men yesterday, and today you upload video about Tramiel... Great two days! Can't wait for the second part!

[@tophat3157]

'Jack gathered the retailers, told every single one of them to fuck off, and replaced them all with William Shatner' ~ Kim Justice 2016

[@SylverstoneKhandr]

I really love the liberal use of Vince McMahon to represent Tramiel. It really does fit.

[@VisualTedium]

You know as a Yank, I knew nothing about British PC gaming and or gaming culture. Now I know a lot I feel, and every single fact has come from this channel. Kim is a goal scoring superstar hero.

[@nostalgicforthe70s18]

Thanks for the video. My first computer in High school in Canada was a Commodore Pet

[@itsaPIXELthing]

One word: AMAZING! ;) Thanks for this, Kim! Keep it up! Love your work!

[@remka2000]

Really love these series about gaming industry people. It's super documented, well written, articulated. The Molyneux series was awesome too (not sure which was first). Going directly to patreon!

[@EgoShredder]

Ahh in honour of Mr Justice himself at 14:25 :-D

[@eddiepurple]

Another excellent and comprehensive video, thank you! The 70s and 80s were such an interesting time in computing, it's great to have these documentaries around for everyone to learn from, cheers!

[@Gxpblog]

Amazing video! Can't wait for the next part! I love these documentaries! 😊

[@dcikaruga]

Sinclair had a temper though, I don't really admire him personally, but his contribution still stands out easily.

[@dm121984]

wow, I was surprised how fair you are to Jack. Speaks well of you that you're willing to be so clear as to Jacks good points.

[@evanleebodies]

Well....would you want to wake up next to a horse's head tomorrow morning?

[@FarelForever]

Jack Tramiel had Polish roots all this time?! Boy, I've heard his name for so long, and I'd never guess that he comes from the same country as me!

[@jacobson084]

His accent was clearly foreign. Funny how he took over Atari and the company went downhill big time.

[@dubsy1026]

jacobson084 he took it over after it completely crashed, made it profitable, then handed it to his son who crashed it again

[@cjmillsnun]

To be fair it was on the downswing when he handed over the reins.

[@Wok_Agenda]

Commodore KURW-20

[@alangiles4616]

@@dubsy1026 It couldn't have helped that Atari invested in the Amiga, Amiga used them and took the product design to Commodore. Jack Tramiel was taken over a company that was in a terrible state, and the fact that he managed to get out a good product line (the Falcon was brilliant) says a lot for him.

[@AwesomePhantomPig]

I'm always surprised at how fast you can make these, and at such a high quality too. Keep it up!

[@waltherstolzing9719]

Absolutely brilliant work. One complaint, though ... the soundtrack! So many classic C64 tunes absolutely demanding one's complete attention -- a huge distraction.

[@MikeHunt45]

Enjoyed thoroughly

[@Dkentflyer]

This takes me back, have mixed feelings about Jack, my first computer was an Atari 800XL then Atari ST.Always remembered another one of his slogans "Power without the price!" Nice to see someone getting one over Bill Gates too.

[@SyphonNL]

Love your work Kim! Keep it up!!

[@TudenJamir]

most youtubers that I watch tend to lose their appeal after a while, because they tend to get a bit too repetitive or formulaic. Not you, I always look forward to all your uploads. There is so much care and love put into your videos, and I love your work for that.

[@lordpolvo222]

awesome video as always kim :3 not sure if advertising hulu or just random simpsons footage though haha

[@CaminoAir]

Thanks for this excellent series of videos. Really top notch work, Kim. Love him or loathe him, Tramiel was a remarkable man and I suppose the horrors of his youth determined his attitude to his job, his employees and his competitors (T.I. attempting to scupper Commodore would have been enough alone I guess). It does raise an interesting point about how long can market dominance with a single product (C64, ST) keep a company going. So many software and hardware companies have not managed to maintain their industry position by either not innovating quickly enough, by not seeing where the industry is headed, or by not understanding exactly why their product is selling so well. Even Tramiel seemed to badly misjudge the next step after the C64. So how much is it all down to luck as well?

[@Pinman1973]

Your amazing ! Looking forward to the 2nd part !

[@arasb3258]

This story is worthy of a major movie.

[@hexusG4Z]

I love your videos so much I click like before I even start watching.

[@Ascyltos]

A Jack Attack sounds a bit like what journalists at the Daily Mail under Paul Dacre called a "double cunting."

[@Tenraiden]

Love your videos Kim. Just one request: Please mention some of the sources you used along with "recommended reading" so us viewers can dig deeper into the dirt ourselves too!

[@annapocalypsezero4719]

It makes sense he was so aggressive with a start to life like that, in many ways though he sounds like the classic 70s/80s American businessman stereo type the sort you see as bad guys in films from those eras a lot. Interesting vid as always.

[@davedogge2280]

Thanks for mentioning the C64 graphics chip the MOS VIC-II ... rarely mentioned unlike the 6502 processor or the SID sound chip for this great 1980s 8-bit computer. Didn't know Jack Tramiel could get nasty with his underling bosses... that is unpleasant. Holy cow I didn't know that those TI-99/4's that I saw in Argos in the 1980s were 16-bit ! Jack Tramiel strikes me as a man who would be charming if he thought you could help him but could be a rotter if he thought you would hinder him or accuse him of having dirty underpants.

[@KypHeM]

love these history documentaries!

[@OctaBech]

I love how fast you are at putting out these high quality videos, Kim. Sadly it isn't fast enough, my girl insist on us binge-watching Jack Attack and I am not even allowed a sneak peek. :'(

[@buffplums]

I’d just like to point out that the Commodore 64 didn’t have a 6502 but a 6510. This was a 6502 but with in addition, an 8 bit input output port. This was a really useful bit of kit because it saved you having to build an addressable data latch connecting to the data bus and the address bus and R.W pin etc… the IO port could be read or written to via an IO port register and each bits direction controlled individually by setting or clearing the corresponding bit in the Data Direction Register. Being able to access these pins independently from the data bus and not needing any connection to the address bus meant you could have a piece of hardware hanging off the system without having to build the address decoding, latching and buffering. I always wondered if they had designed the 6510 because of copyright, technically the 6510 was a different chip , also it wasn’t pin for pin compatible with the 6502 but they both were packaged in a standard 40 pin DIL package 😊

[@doctorcrankyflaps1724]

I love you Kim.

[@whatamalike]

WIll you ever do a documentary on early pre-macintosh Apple? I mean, not just focusing on Jobs but all the other important folks like Mike Markala, Arthur rock, Wozniak etc?

[@rockford1608]

Another awesome video. Keep it up Kim.

[@tuffasgong]

You ever sleep? Another great video. I wonder if Bald Bull from Punchout was created in the likeness of Tramiel...

[@SE09uk]

5:06 my first commodore product a CBM SR 7919D, still working

[@robintst]

The VIC-20 was the first computer I ever used, it was my brother's. I was hooked instantly on computer gaming and it's a lasting love to this day. That was really great, I can't wait for the next part, you got me hooked. I know you once covered the C64 VS. Spectrum British feud but will you revisit it in a future video of this series? And, as an American who grew up as a loyal Commodore user, are we still obligated to apologize for Tramiel's behavior? Not seriously of course, it's more a running gag. The man was bonkers.

[@burntreynolds1068]

Thank you for your hard work

[@cpnnpr]

Exceptional video. Your best yet!

[@GreekRetroGeek]

AMAZING as always!

[@WeirdWonderful]

So there isn't any info on who ran the Canadian and Hong Kong divisions ? I'm usually interested in the obscure you see.

[@CmdrEmbryo]

Great work Kim!

[@timmmad]

Good stuff Kim. But the real UK company was lead by Bob Gleadow and Paul Welch. Spencer was well gone and Pleasance was after the Vic 20 and C64.

[@slorrin]

I haven't watched this yet and I already know I'll love it.

[@xLASTxxSHOTx]

I'm never this early! love all your work Kim! Keep doing you and being awesome!

[@xLASTxxSHOTx]

also, can't wait for part 2!

[@Sonicsmith]

The story telling and the editing here is Gould!

[@artbross]

We don’t know who he was and we can only imagine but it’s a very important voice in Tramiel’s debate...

[@mcenglish4654]

Superb, a very absorbing doc video - must have taken ages to make this !

[@kbbbb7]

Monty on the Run for the C64 :)

[@magpieeverspirit9773]

awesome video Kim

[@FaustoFonseca]

Very good as always

[@StuBiddyBop]

The best line in this video is… “ maybe until everybody is dead!” 😂

[@ApemanMonkey]

Another great one.

[@MrKanjidude]

I really enjoy your videos on computer and video game history; it is astonishing how well researched and produced they are. I do however wish you would tone down the strong bias against certain individuals (regardless of how well-deserved your scorn might be). This emotional narrative, with pretty clear bad guys and good guys, is what makes me classify your videos not as documentaries but as mere entertainment. Damn good entertainment, but still.

[@rossfindlay8253]

Roll on part two another professional video worthy of a TV screening.

[@arcadely]

What's the C64 music in the background at around 3:15-3:30? I ask because it reminds me quite a lot of Andy Hunter's The Wonders Of You from Need For Speed: Underground.

[@Booth81]

Someone needs to make a movie about Jack Tramiel, because he had an amazing life. Not only a holocaust survivor, but the man who really did play a big part in bringing computers into American homes.

[@BazzaHSpeccymad]

is that theme playing from Daley Thompson s Olympic challenge?

[@conradojavier]

That Dead Man owed as the Sword from Sword Quest.

[@SledgeFox]

Thank you very much, most interesting!

[@SuperHns]

I was born in the South part of Netherlands close to Germany border, and oh man C64/128 was very populair there.

[@mikegravgaard340]

6501 was the really important version but Motorola sued MOS over it as it was pin for pin compatible with the 6800. I think as part of the agreement they were to stop selling the 6501 and that the 6502 had to have different wired pins or some such. I don't know all of the detail.

[@Hirvibongari2]

Yes, new video!

[@kee1haul]

Yeeees. This is going to be amazing.

[@schtive81]

Who needed computer salesmen when they had William Shatner?

[@alangiles4616]

I am glad somebody has shown kindness to Jack Tramiel. You can only imagine the sights and sounds he experienced in a Nazi concentration camp, and even the mildest mannered person would have had difficulty coping with that. Sir Clive Sinclair (RIP) known affectionately as "Uncle Clive" had a ferocious temper, ditto Sir Alan Sugar. Steve Jobs, was a massive egoist, and I suspect took a lot of the credit that really belongs to Steve Wozniack. and often behaved like an ill mannered brat. He had a very soft life, as did Sir Clive, neither had the sort of background Jack Tramiel came from. I strongly suspect if Stirling Gould had kept with JT, Commodore might have soldiered on into and beyond the 90s and, arguably today. He certainly had more gumption than Mehed Ali, who was a disaster and a sick, bad tempered joke, (vastly overrated - especially by himself). How that man ever got the job, still less kept it, is beyond imagining. I can only assume he employed lots of soft soap where Gould was concerned. Jack would have shown him the door in a month, if only for giving a senior position to the idiot that dreamt up the IBM PCjr..

[@StRoRo]

This should be good, I've not watched it yet but cant wait to see the bit when he went against Apple.

[@C64Television]

The song at 2:18? I know it but can't recall the name!

[@Oldskool4Life]

I loved the commodore 64 demo and crack scene. I had a good time when i was a kid 😁

[@davedogge2280]

I hope that's the security crack scene of the time and not something else. :P

[@Oldskool4Life]

Cracking and training games i mean. I was way to young to do drugs 😂

[@Oldskool4Life]

csdb.dk/scener/?id=2394 Some stuff i did in the good old days.

[@NoNoseProduction]

as always a great video

[@ALitleBitSpecial]

IMHO there is no mystery to why Gould bailed out Tramiel; Gould saw potential in Tramiel (wouldn't have bailed him out otherwise) but also in play was that they were both jewish and Tramiel was a holocaust survivor (and from especially notorious situations too),it was part helping out a fellow jew and part guilt/charity because Gould probably spent those same formative years in relative comfort. Jewish people, like many ethnic groups, try to help their own people when possible and helping a holocaust survivor is almost an honor.

[@mourasantos]

Kim, do a feature on Gremlin Interactive!

[@annapocalypsezero4719]

Didn't they make a lousy Robocop game for the ps2 as well? I know they published the BloodRayne series too

[@asic_]

As Mr. Andrew Eldritch once sang: I want MORE!

[@Simon-ml4lu]

Another great biopic

[@jmm1233]

Tramiel you could say was CEO ET of the 80s crash

[@mgabrysSF]

Nitpick 24:54 - double-check - sure you don't mean the Atari 400? The Commodore 64 was priced against the Atari 800, and the C64 debuted at 595.00 USD. If the Vic 20 debuted at 299, that was more than 250 less than the 400 which came out at 550 USD. The 800 was priced over 1000.00 USD. (still loving the series - which is why I'm nitpicking - it's pretty much error free, although a little heavy on the Simpsons footage).

[@googlehomemini2059]

He said on film that he asked them how old he had to be and they said 18, so he went to the USA as an “18 year old” ..

[@ultimatelyit]

Jack Tramiel was a ruthless business man, good at it as well. Would hate to have worked for him lol.

[@richmcintyre1178]

I worked for Jack and thought he was a great man, a demanding boss for sure but fair and generous.

[@SirRandallDoesStuff]

What is the game music at the very start?I remember this song but can't remember the game.

[@SirRandallDoesStuff]

I used to have this game and I can't find it and can't remember it. If you can tell me I would be so grateful. It starts at 0:13. I just remember this music and want to play it. Its driving me nuts.

[@SirRandallDoesStuff]

Never Mind OMG I found it Agent X II if anyone else wants to know

[@MrHarney]

fantastic

[@sinicalypse]

"Jack will come after you until you're dead. Or quite possibly everyone is dead" - damn, you figure this dude would have learned about the evils of genocide from, uhhh, you know.

[@SuperHns]

wooow whattt I never knew that Iwata made games for Commodore!!!

[@nolancampbell6139]

Love, love, love your videos! As a yank I must say however it is so hard to work around the muted enunciation of 'R' in your dialect. I have to keep rewinding the video a bit to hear things again to make out some of what you say.

[@OperationPhantom]

Fascinating character Jack Tramiel, can't wait for part 2 Kim... How about that CBM Kim-1 computer eh?

[@betterbeavailable]

Ruthless and Jewish. What a surprise. Thanks for the video.

[@zenmastah9051]

So the VIC-20 was the worlds first console?

[@tomaszhoff8933]

True WARRIOR !!!

[@High_Caliber]

Bits and bytes.

[@lemonprime7889]

I didn't know Bill Cosby advertised computers. I thought he was just a comedian. I can't see someone like Jerry Seinfeld trying to get me to buy a Windows system.

[@beingatliberty]

No I know the origin of the creator behind the Sirius I used. Peddle

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Oh yeah...dats some good Kim Justice!

[@goeuldi]

Let's face it, none of the two could survive long. After all, they both became victims of Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.