Jack Tramiel, from founding Commodore to Atari CEO

1928, the technology was still trying to gain a foothold at a time when the second industrial revolution was betting on the assembly line setting a precedent in factories.

The world was poised for a historic journey which, given the IT developments, would once again bring about a new revolution. Jack Tramiel, the American entrepreneur who started his career in business from his taxi, was largely to blame for this context. After his first business in the Bronx where he repaired office machinery, he developed what was to become the Commodore Portable Typewriter.

Out of it came his company Commodore International from which he would start what would be the beginning of personal computers and the foundation stone of consoles.

Together with Chuck Peddle, the Commodore PET was designed, based on the MOS Technology 6502 processor. Its sales skyrocketed after the presentation at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show in 1977, and its commitment to the field of education would make it a bestseller.

However, with the release of the Apple II and the Atari 800, it began to encounter disadvantages. The green screen with a black background, as opposed to the coloured screens of the first two, was the main drawback.

With fierce competition between Atari, Commodore and Apple, Tramiel resigned due to disagreement “over the basic principles of how to run the company”. After a short break, the founder of Commodore created a new company called Tramel Technology Ltd. in order to develop a new era in personal computing. 

However, taking advantage of Atari's bad times in 1983 with the video game crisis, Tramiel acquired Atari Inc., which belonged to Warner Communications and was suffering from the crisis. As the years went by, Jack delegated his functions to his son Sam. In 1995, Sam suffered a heart attack, forcing his father to take over the reins and oversee operations. In the twilight of the company's leadership, Tramiel sold Atari to Jugi Tandon Storage, rebranding the company into JTS Corporation, with the former CEO joining the board of the new merger.

Thus, Jack Tramiel opened up the world to introduce consoles and personal computers into people's homes. Undoubtedly, a key movement in society that has allowed us to know the present day as we know it today.