His name might not be as recognizable as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, but Jack Tramiel's contributions to the computer age should not be second-guessed.

Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and crucial figure in the early history of personal computing, passed away surrounded by his family on Sunday, his family confirms. He was 83 years old.

Jack Tramiel turned a typewriter business into one of the first computer companies in America.  The Commodore 64 was family-friendly, which helped ease many people into buying their first home computer.

In America, Tramiel started a typewriter repair business. Staying in the forefront of technology, his typewriters morphed into calculators, and later computers. In 1982, Commodore International launched the Commodore 64, which went on to the best-selling personal computer of all time. In 1984, after being forced to leave the company he founded, Jack bought the crumbling Atari Inc.’s Consumer Division and formed Atari Corporation.

 

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