Skyles Electric Works

Skyles Electric Works is a company founded in 1978 in California by Bob Skyles, a former Commodore engineer, to produce hardware add-ons for the Commodore PET. Like Apple Computer, it began in a garage in Cupertino, California, but for most of the company's existence it was based in nearby Mountain View.[1] The company employed 13 between 1985 and 1987 and reached annual sales of over $501,000 in those years.[2][3]

Skyles Electric Works
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware industry
Founded1978 (1978) in Cupertino, California, United States
FounderBob Skyles
Defunct1993 (1993)
FateDissolution
Headquarters,
United States
ProductsSoftware
Number of employees
13 (1985–1987)

The first products from Skyles Electric Works were memory expansions and keyboards (the first PETs had calculator-style keys which were unsuited to touch-typing).[4]

The earliest software products were firmware, including the Command-O and Disk-O-Pro, which enhanced the BASIC language of the PET.[5]

The company also published cassette and disk-based software including Busicalc, the first spreadsheet program for the Commodore 64, and which was licensed from Supersoft in England.[6][7] Busicalc and the follow-up products Busicalc 2 and Busicalc 3 were highly successful in the US market during 1983 and 1984,[8]:19 and encouraged Skyles Electric Works to source other similar products which were rebranded to form part of the Busi series, notably Busidata .[9] Another C64 title was the game Megapede written by Paul Andrus.[10] Among the company's last offerings were memory expansion boards for the 500, 1000, and 2000 models of the Amiga computer.[11]

Skyles Electric Works dissolved in 1993.[12]

References

  1. Bagnall, Brian (2010). Commodore: A Company on the Edge. Variant Press. pp. 120, 169, 176. ISBN 9780973864960 via Google Books.
  2. Microcomputer Market Place. Dekotek. 1985. p. 184. ISBN 0835219402 via Google Books.
  3. Microcomputer Market Place. Dekotek. 1987. p. 247 via Google Books.
  4. Bagnall, Brian (2010). Commodore: A Company on the Edge. Variant Press. pp. 175–176. ISBN 9780973864960 via Google Books.
  5. Staff writer (September 1981). "For the PET". Computer Dealer. Gordon Publications. 4 (9): 130 via Google Books.
  6. Milewski, Richard A. (1984). InfoWorld's Essential Guide to the Commodore 64. Harper & Row. pp. 61–63. ISBN 9780066690056 via the Internet Archive.
  7. Byers, Eugene (April 1983). "Other Programs". Midnite Software Gazette (12): 35 via the Internet Archive.
  8. Silveria, Terry (May 1984). "Spreadsheets for the C-64". Ahoy!. Ion International. 1 (5): 18–21, 34, 93–94 via the Internet Archive.
  9. Staff writer (December 1984). "Skyles Electric Works". Run. CW Communications (12): 133 via the Internet Archive.
  10. "Skyles: Megapede". MayhemUK. n.d. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021.
  11. AC's Guide to the Commodore Amiga: Spring-Summer '90. PiM Publications. 1990. p. 131. ISSN 1046-2953 via the Internet Archive.
  12. "Skyles Electric Works". OpenCorporates. n.d. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022.
  •  Wikimedia Commons has a file available for a 1980 catalog of Commodore PET–related products by Skyles Electric Works.
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