Oregon and Washington are on the move

I had the pleasure of attending one of the best Commodore clubs out there. The Portland Commodore Users Group PDX extended a warm welcome to us as we traveled from Orting, Wa.   We enjoyed an amazing evening learning about the Comet64 Internet Modem, which connects a real Commodore 64 to the Internet. It can connect to any Internet server, but in its default configuration, it connects to CommodoreServer.com using virtual disk drive (V-1541) software to access your own D64 and PRG files. Newer software allows for speed up to 38.4K, blowing away speeds of a real 1541 disk drive, putting it close to Jiffy-DOS speed. There is also software that can download D64s and copy them on to floppy disks (and vice-versa) so you can archive your disk collection and share them with friends easily. And now, with VICE 2.2, you can access CommodoreServer without the need for special hardware works on the C64 emulator Vice 2.2 download.   
        A presentation was given on the new gaming service for the CommodoreServer where a new game soon to be released was demonstrated. This unique online gaming service also gives you the ability to chat on the server while gaming. It was way cool to watch. We also listened to Earl Evans from RetroBits Podcast give a presentation on Buddy Assembler for the Commodore 128 with it's unique ability to program in both Basic and Assembly Language. 
        Following Earl's presentation we were shown The Turbomaster Accelerator for the C64 that cranks up the C64's processing power to 4MHz. Karate Champ and several other programs were all tested, and without a doubt it speed up the programs. The Atari Team gave us a presentation of early development and production of Atari games for all the early consoles, including the Commodore 64. It was exciting to meet them. We had tons of questions about some of the best in early Atari gaming.
         The founders of Portland Commodore Users Group PDX have worked for years putting together a group that would gather other like minded Commodore enthusiasts to continue using and demonstrating one of the best selling and most popular computers of all time, the Commodore 64. Their intentions are sincere and genuine, with only the best ideas to help and work with other users out there. I look forward to learning chip assembly and programming at one of the future meetings. I highly recommend the group and their mission to anyone in the Washington and Oregon area. They are open to new ideas, so if you have an interest send them a line on their website http://pdxcug.org.