<s>
The	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
16	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
home	O
computer	O
made	O
by	O
Commodore	O
International	O
with	O
a	O
6502-compatible	O
7501	O
or	O
8501	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
released	O
in	O
1984	O
and	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
entry-level	O
computer	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
cost-reduced	O
version	O
,	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
116	I-Operating_System
,	O
was	O
mostly	O
sold	O
in	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C16	O
and	O
C116	B-Operating_System
belong	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
family	O
as	O
the	O
higher-end	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
and	O
are	O
internally	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
it	O
(	O
albeit	O
with	O
less	O
RAM	B-Architecture
–	O
16KB	O
rather	O
than	O
64KB	O
–	O
and	O
lacking	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
user	O
port	O
and	O
Three	O
plus	O
one	O
software	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
is	O
generally	O
compatible	O
among	O
all	O
three	O
provided	O
it	O
can	O
fit	O
within	O
the	O
C16	O
's	O
smaller	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
does	O
not	O
utilize	O
the	O
user	O
port	O
on	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timex	O
's	O
and	O
Mattel	O
's	O
computers	O
were	O
less	O
expensive	O
than	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
,	O
and	O
although	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
offered	O
better	O
expandability	O
,	O
a	O
full-travel	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
more	O
memory	O
,	O
the	O
C16	O
offered	O
a	O
chance	O
to	O
improve	O
upon	O
those	O
advantages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TI-99/4A	B-Device
was	O
priced	O
in-between	O
Commodore	O
's	O
VIC-20	B-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
somewhat	O
between	O
them	O
in	O
capability	O
,	O
but	O
TI	O
was	O
lowering	O
its	O
prices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
paper	O
,	O
the	O
C16	O
was	O
a	O
closer	O
match	O
for	O
the	O
TI-99/4A	B-Device
than	O
the	O
aging	O
VIC-20	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Japanese	O
companies	O
would	O
soon	O
dominate	O
the	O
U.S.	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
market	O
,	O
their	O
feared	O
dominance	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
computer	O
field	O
never	O
materialized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Outwardly	O
the	O
C16	O
resembles	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
and	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
a	O
dark-gray	O
or	O
dark-brown	O
case	O
and	O
light-gray	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
differs	O
slightly	O
from	O
the	O
earlier	O
models	O
,	O
adding	O
an	O
escape	B-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
four	O
cursor	B-Device
keys	I-Device
replacing	O
the	O
shifted-key	O
arrangement	O
the	O
C-64	O
and	O
VIC	O
inherited	O
from	O
the	O
PET	B-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C16	O
is	O
in	O
some	O
respects	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
VIC-20	B-Device
;	O
the	O
processor	O
runs	O
at	O
a	O
speed	O
roughly	O
75%	O
faster	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
contains	O
dedicated	O
graphics	O
commands	O
,	O
making	O
drawing	O
images	O
considerably	O
faster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
was	O
designed	O
around	O
the	O
TED	B-General_Concept
chip	O
which	O
included	O
NTSC	O
and	O
PAL	O
video	O
,	O
sound	O
and	O
DRAM	O
refresh	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
designer	O
it	O
"	O
was	O
supposed	O
to	O
be	O
as	O
close	O
to	O
a	O
single-chip	O
computer	O
as	O
we	O
could	O
get	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
ROM	B-Device
and	O
some	O
glue	O
logic	O
were	O
still	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
separate	O
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
This	O
was	O
considerably	O
less	O
integrated	O
than	O
microcontrollers	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
day	O
,	O
but	O
those	O
did	O
not	O
generally	O
offer	O
video	O
and	O
sound	O
functionality	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C16	O
has	O
16	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
with	O
12	O
KB	O
available	O
to	O
its	O
built-in	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TED	B-General_Concept
chip	O
offered	O
a	O
palette	O
of	O
121	O
colors	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
considerably	O
more	O
than	O
the	O
16	O
colors	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
's	O
VIC-II	O
video	O
chip	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
lacked	O
the	O
VIC-II	O
'	O
s	O
sprites	O
and	O
the	O
sound	O
capabilities	O
were	O
not	O
as	O
advanced	O
as	O
the	O
SID	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
a	O
practical	O
user	O
's	O
point	O
of	O
view	O
,	O
three	O
tangible	O
features	O
the	O
C16	O
lacks	O
are	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
port	O
and	O
VIC-20/C64	O
-compatible	O
Datasette	B-Device
and	O
game	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
sold	O
a	O
C16-family-specific	O
Datassette	B-Device
(	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Device
1531	I-Device
)	O
and	O
joysticks	B-Device
,	O
but	O
the	O
pins	O
are	O
identical	O
to	O
those	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
so	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
a	O
simple	O
adapter	O
,	O
in	O
fact	O
Commodore	O
themselves	O
sold	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
16	I-Operating_System
models	O
with	O
C2N	O
datasettes	B-Device
designed	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
with	O
adapters	O
after	O
the	O
initial	O
production	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reason	O
for	O
changing	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
ports	O
was	O
to	O
reduce	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C16	O
's	O
serial	O
port	O
(	O
Commodore	O
's	O
proprietary	O
"	O
serial	O
CBM-488	B-Protocol
bus	O
"	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
IEEE	O
interface	O
as	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
which	O
meant	O
that	O
printers	O
and	O
disk	O
drives	O
were	O
interchangeable	O
with	O
the	O
older	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
serial	O
interface	O
,	O
modems	B-Application
could	O
be	O
connected	O
with	O
a	O
suitable	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Partially	O
for	O
cost	O
reasons	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
port	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
modems	B-Application
and	O
other	O
devices	O
,	O
was	O
omitted	O
from	O
the	O
C16	O
(	O
although	O
the	O
connections	O
for	O
it	O
were	O
still	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
board	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
costing	O
less	O
than	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
C16	O
's	O
keyboard	B-Device
was	O
higher	O
quality	O
and	O
easier	O
to	O
type	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
16	I-Operating_System
is	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
computers	O
in	O
its	O
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
even-less-successful	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
116	I-Operating_System
is	O
functionally	O
and	O
technically	O
similar	O
but	O
was	O
shipped	O
in	O
a	O
smaller	O
case	O
with	O
a	O
rubber	O
chiclet	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
and	O
was	O
only	O
available	O
in	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
family	O
's	O
flagship	O
,	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
Plus/4	I-Operating_System
,	O
was	O
shipped	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
case	O
but	O
has	O
a	O
59-key	O
full-travel	O
keyboard	B-Device
(	O
with	O
a	O
specifically	O
advertised	O
"	O
cursor	B-Device
key	I-Device
diamond	O
"	O
of	O
four	O
keys	O
,	O
contrasted	O
with	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
'	O
s	O
and	O
C64	O
's	O
two	O
+	O
shift	O
key	O
scheme	O
inherited	O
from	O
the	O
PET	B-Device
)	O
,	O
64	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
port	O
,	O
and	O
built-in	O
entry-level	O
office	O
suite	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
shipped	O
with	O
16K	O
from	O
the	O
factory	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
to	O
modify	O
the	O
C16	O
for	O
64K	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
able	O
to	O
run	O
any	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
software	O
except	O
applications	O
that	O
required	O
the	O
user	O
port	O
or	O
built-in	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	O
designer	O
Bil	O
Herd	O
notes	O
that	O
the	O
C116	B-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
original	O
member	O
of	O
this	O
family	O
of	O
computers	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
original	O
vision	O
as	O
imparted	O
by	O
Jack	O
Tramiel	O
to	O
the	O
engineering	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C16	O
and	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
came	O
later	O
and	O
were	O
mostly	O
driven	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
trying	O
to	O
figure	O
out	O
what	O
to	O
do	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
computer	O
family	O
after	O
Tramiel	O
's	O
departure	O
from	O
Commodore	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
total	O
of	O
1	O
million	O
Plus/4s	B-Operating_System
,	O
C16s	O
,	O
and	O
C116s	B-Operating_System
were	O
sold	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
two	O
accounting	O
for	O
about	O
60%	O
of	O
its	O
total	O
volume	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
in	O
1986	O
,	O
remaining	O
C16	O
,	O
C116	B-Operating_System
and	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
inventories	O
were	O
sold	O
at	O
a	O
much-reduced	O
price	O
on	O
the	O
Eastern	O
Bloc	O
market	O
,	O
chiefly	O
Hungary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
contests	O
had	O
entries	O
for	O
programming	O
,	O
custom	O
hardware	O
and	O
computer	O
graphics	O
for	O
the	O
C16	O
,	O
C64	O
,	O
C128	O
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
