Obsolete computer hampers kidnap probe

Efforts by police in Austria to learn more about a communications technician who held a girl captive for more than eight years are being complicated by his choice to use an obsolete computer.

Wolfgang Priklopil, who committed suicide the same day the girl escaped in August, relied exclusively on a Commodore 64--a computer that was popular some 20 years ago but now largely considered an antique.

Maj. Gen. Gerhard Lang of the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau told the Associated Press that the outdated computer would hamper the investigation by making it difficult ''to transmit the data to a modern computer without loss.''

The Commodore 64, one of the best-selling computers ever, was launched in the early 1980s. Today the brand is kept alive by some 6 million enthusiasts in a vibrant online community.

Yeahronimo Media Ventures, a Dutch company with office in Los Angeles, acquired the rights to the Commodore name in 2004 in a deal worth just more than $32.7 million. In 1995, it took on Commodore as its own corporate moniker.