Planned obsolescence is a scourge, but a bakery demonstrates that a computer can ultimately survive the decades. The Hilligross Bakery, located in Brownsburg, Indiana, still uses Commodore 64s as cash registers, 42 years after their release.
This astonishing discovery was shared by Tony Lyon on X (formerly Twitter), who documented the presence of these legendary machines in commerce. If the first photos date from 2010, a photo from 2021 confirms that these IT veterans continue their service without failand this despite advances in IT.
The Commodore 64, launched for $595 in 1982, still holds the record for the world's best-selling personal computer, with sales estimated between 10 and 17 million units. Despite its modest technical characteristics (a 1 MHz processor and 64 KB of RAM) it proves perfectly capable of managing the daily operations of a cash register.
Also read – C64 Mini: the miniature Commodore 64 arrives on March 29
This old Commodore 64 still serves as a cash register
This exceptional longevity has apparently not harmed the quality of service: the bakery maintains a rating of 4.7 stars on Google Maps. “ Some tasks do not require excessive power, even today », Explains an IT expert. “ A rudimentary user interface for managing orders requires very few resources ».
This story reminds us that the computer of the Apollo 11 mission, which sent man to the Moon, only had 4 KB of RAM. The durability of the Commodore 64 therefore stands in stark contrast to the short lifespan of many modern devices.
Enthusiasts can still purchase a Commodore 64 on eBay today, for prices ranging from $100 to $1,250. At the time of its release, its versatility, multimedia capabilities, and surprising audio quality made it a pioneer, blazing the trail for modern personal computers.
This extraordinary story of technological longevity, however, raises a question: will the devices we use today still be functional in four decades? The answer seems unlikely, but the Commodore 64 from the Hilligross bakery continues to defy time, transaction after transaction.
