I used to run a board off this system back when I was a kid.

It was actually pretty advanced for its time.  The I/O was all written in
machine language, which made it a bit revolutionary at the time.  It was
also composed in modules, each written in basic.  Each module would be
loaded into memory as a user went from one part of the system to another.
For example, the login module was what handled the answering of the phone
and the verification of login info.  It would then load the main menu
module.  Going into the message boards would load the message board module.
Games worked the same way.

Now since the 1541 or 1571 disk drives were slow, most boards had a memory
expansion module that worked as a RAM disk.  All modules were put into the
RAM disk when the board booted, so loading each module was quick.  Later,
some company came out with a way to put a Seagate ST-225 20MB hard drive
into a 1571 disk drive by removing the power supply.  The problem here was
that the C64 could only handle 175k on a floppy.  The manufacturers of the
20MB hard drive made it accept drive commands that would chain any number of
the 1000+ partitions so that they looked like a bigger drive. Color64
actually was modified so that it could handle configuring the current chain
depending on which module you were in.  This would allow you to allocate a
certain amount of drive space per module.

I don't remember the name of the guy that sold it, but I believe he lived in
Illinois.  I remember when I bought it, I called and ordered it through his
wife to send COD.  He was a very nice guy and I remember talking to him 
personally a few times.

- Nathan Leach
  December 29, 2001