Indiana bakery still used Commodore 64 in 21st century

The Commodore 64, released by the long-dead manufacturer in 1982 with 64kb of RAM and capable of displaying 16 colors at once, is more than merely alive. It was still performing inventory and point-of-sale duty at the Hilligoss Bakery bakery in Indiana as last as 2015. The ancient machine, covered in useful keycap overlays and running a perfectly simply, straightforward app, was posted by Tony Lyon; the photos originate from a 2008 forum thread. Though long taken down, a reference at Lemon 64 has copies.

If it works, it works.

It's far from the only old machine still in use. A Commodore Amiga continued to power the heating and air conditioning system of a school district in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as of 2015. The district's staff had no problems with it, only concern over what would happen if the machine failed. An Atari ST, first released in 1985, remained in daily use as of 2021 to manage the operations of a campground in Gasselte, Netherlands. The computer handled reservations, invoicing, and other essential tasks with its original software still running smoothly.

In all cases, the machines' longevity gets attributed to the simplicity and roustness of older technology. Windows was a mistake; we should have stuck with tabbing and typing around simple text-based "the screen is a form" apps!