this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2026
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I kinda want a modern computer that comes with a book similar to how Commodore included one that had simple instructions on how to do pretty much everything, like making simple music all the way to programming it
Terry Davis tried to do for the PC with TempleOS what the C64's BASIC and KERNAL did for its hardware.
Terry was all the more a mad lad because he didn't get to create the hardware spec he was working with.
Could you imagine someone doing the same as Commodore did but starting with 64-bit era hardware?
Taking it another direction, there are free and paid "easy programming" platforms that provide a sandbox not unlike a modern version of what it was like to program a C64.
At a pinch, DOSBox and a copy of QBASIC might suffice.
you're right. nowadays a beginner would have to sift through a bunch of websites to figure out how to do it.
I wish it was just a website. You can't even download Android Studio or any other starter package without being forced into some kind of AI bloated IDE just to write "hello world".
I mean.... You can still technically use Eclipse if you're a masochist.... Android studio is head and shoulders above it despite all of the Jetbrains nonsense though
If you want to make a website, you still only need a text editor
If you want to make a C++/rust/go/python/Haskell/brainfuck application for something that isn't a phone? You still only need a text editor and a compiler
Literally, the new Commodore 64. Comes with a book that teaches you Basic.
And on that note, the Commodore X16 from The 8 Bit Guy is built from the ashes of what would have been a C64 successor, post 128. Documentation available is extensive. Of course, it doesn't ship with a spiral bound manual, so I guess it doesn't even apply, but, ya know. It's a cool little thing to tinker with.
The 8-bit guy is controversial. From VICE's article ( https://www.vice.com/en/article/8-bit-guy-ibm-7496-executive-workstation-computer-reset/ ) "[...] touting open carry in Texas, antagonizing the anti-gun Moms Demand Action nonprofit, and statements about gun control that have made many fans question whether they can keep watching his computer content."
Only thing is he is very aware of this and has since stopped posting content like that, nearly a decade ago, and has removed any of it from his channel, and never talks about it.
He went overboard, seemingly realized his screw up, and stopped with the gun crap. I wouldn't be following him if he was still posting the gun stuff, but that was even before I found him in 2017.
Unlike a lot of those kind of gun people, he at least seems self aware. Again, this is only since I've started watching his content in 2017. No idea how had it was prior to that.
Yes, this would be awesome, but for the love of all that is holy can it please not be BASIC?
Why wouldn’t it be? It’s meant to run all the software written for C64.
For a C64 emulator, sure, but we can do better now.
Petite who want something better probably shouldn't be shopping for a commodore 64.
Something like the Raspberry Pi 500+?
In fact, recreating the computing experience of the Commodore 64 (and BBC Micro as they are a British foundation) was one of the specific purposes of the Raspberry Pi.
I don't know about supplies in rest of the world, but typically the rpi "kits" that include the book seem to be very limited and rarely in stock.
I think the book, at least older versions, can be found on ebay though. I think its just a basic into to python and GPIO so the earlier editions are probably fine.
Not a console, but PICO-8 can be installed on lots of stuff and uses lua.
Also TIC-80.
Cool, I didn't know there was an open-source alternative. Thanks!
The book that came with the C-64 was a good primer for first-time computer users, but I ended up needing more and bought the "Commodore 64 Programmer's Reference Guide," which was far more useful, and then "Mapping the Commodore 64" and "Machine Language for Beginners."
Yes, I still have them. You never know... :D
Unfortunately, that is not really possible.
The UEFI standard, a pdf that describes in detail the unified system that all motherbpards use during the boot process, is 1200+ pages long. And that's only one of the many subsystems in a modern system (that gigantic pdf tells you nothinf about PCI, about ACPI and usb, nor any other hardware peripheral). Also, since you are talking about a modern system, you also would need kernel, drivers and operating system calls documentation. All of these exist (for an open source OS like linux, and if you follow the aforementioned standards), but bundling them in a book, and keeping them uodated, would be just impossible.
I beg to differ. They just asked for a book that explains "how to do pretty much anything" (admittedly pretty vague). i'm assuming they mean things like browsing the internet, composing simple music, editing photos etc. You can do that without knowing any of the things you mentioned - they are part of most operating systems today, so the book would just need to go to that level.And when it comes to programming, the book could just explain how to code simple stuff for example in JavaScript in the browser's "developers tools" (or equivalent).
I believe a company that tried that... would be a pile of flames, rubble and pitchforks in minutes.
You want to get some computer experts to agree on the best language, and IDE to start with, or do we need to include every one... then deciding the order.