The History of Commodore Vision OS

[LeoNigro]

Are you in touch or buddies -- or friendly acquaintances with any of the other parties involved in getting all this running?

I'd like to think Sean and I are pals. Even though we've only communicated via e-mails and some private chats thus far.
He strikes me as a cool dude!! If we were in the same timezone I'm sure we'd meet in person or be constantly on the phone.
I certainly appreciate how he's handled himself and how great a job he's done resurrecting my old C64x project.
I feel like I know him having watched all the informative videos on his YouTube MyRetroComputer channel.
I suggest you subscribe to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@myretrocomputerltd5179

Probably a bit personal? But what are you getting out of it? Is anyone giving you a cut?

Nobody gets into retro to get rich. It's basically to scratch an itch. I think I'll leave it that.
Sean has been more than generous given how little I feel I have contributed.
I am happy just to be a part of it again.

How does it feel to have been so involved in the resurrection of the c64 brand?

I feel great satisfaction in putting a smile on some people's faces.

What do you envision for the future?

I was cringe inducingly positive back when I was with Barry, but clearly things don't always pan out the way you hoped.
Let's just see how things go. I'm cautiously optimistic. This is like take 2 for me.
It will take some doing, but if such projects as the C64x can build some momentum, maybe something great can happen, and we can truly bring the Commodore brand back into public consciousness again.
I think the ultimate goal should be about securing the Commodore brand's legacy for the next generation.
I think this can take many forms, and may involve pursuing a multi pronged approach to service Commodore fans both old and new.

[termite]

Wow, Leo, that’s a great write-up. Truly interesting. Thank you for taking the time to answer all the questions.

Yeah, I actually understand the licensing issues with ROMs and stuff like that. I’m perfectly happy to go over to C64 Forever and purchase the ROMs—as seen on the My Retro Computer Ltd YouTube channel—which I will be doing once my Commodore arrives. That video is positively awesome, by the way. So cool. The “animate wallpaper” feature is positively brilliant. Just the array of stuff you’ve integrated on there is amazing. It even has Amiga OS too. I love the whole thing.

I’ve also subscribed to: AussieAmigan YouTube Channel.

I can tell from that video, where you’ve been mentioned many times, how much effort you’ve actually put into all this. So, I’d say that you’re definitely a friend and ally to everyone—from Sean at MyRetroComputer to Peri at Retro Recipes.

MX Linux is a solid distro. I used to use it as my daily driver.

Security:

The Commodore user is effectively an admin of the computer.

So, you’re saying that Commodore is the sudo user? Like if I type: sudo apt update?
I’ll probably just set up a new user anyway, as I do with all my Linux setups.

Also, I noticed while clicking around that you have a fairly decent Wikipedia write-up. It just underscores how important and instrumental you are
Commodore OS Wikipedia Page

Commodore USA also has an entry:
Commodore USA Wikipedia Page
And you’re listed there too.

You’ve certainly led an interesting life, Leo!

I really want to download and try it, but I’m waiting for my Commodore to arrive so I can experience the whole thing at once. I’m very tempted though! It’s hard to resist—it looks so cool.

I’ll keep an eye out for more videos. I’m sure some will come along soon

I therefore endeavoured to theme/configure the Cairo dock to look practically the same, but not exactly.
The Cairo dock, which took its place, has like a thousand options, but is quite flaky during configuration.
Play with the Cairo themes at your peril. You’ll probably never get back to the original look or theme.

Yeah, I’ve had a lot of trouble with docks in Linux. Even when they work, they end up being outdated and buggy. I won’t be in a hurry to mess around with it.

All because Linux desktop developers have OCD fantasies about minimizing each and every running resource, like we’re still running single-core 16-bit machines!!!

I left a comment on Sean’s video about this:
“Yeah lol -- I don’t understand that because while you can get Linux to run on super low specs, it all comes undone when you open a browser or try to play a video. So trying to set up a Linux system with resources akin to the smell of an oily rag is kind of moot.”

Sean from MyRetroComputer reached out to me about the possibility of bringing Commodore OS back.
I was just stoked that people remembered it even existed, let alone liked it.
Sean was gracious enough to send me one of his new keyboards—a beautiful white VIC-20 case—and it was wonderful to see that my baby had been resurrected. It was going to come out in so many different flavours, in a way I had only dreamed about.
I knew then that I had to place a very high priority on helping him in any way I could.
So, I had to relearn everything I did in 2010 and also make sure the same approach was even viable, as most of the tech stack, as it turned out, had been deprecated.

Yeah, there’s a long gap, not just in time but also in desktop environments and Linux in general.

I was continually letting him down with my estimates. It all looks easy until you hit that inevitable snag.

Trust me, I work in web dev, SEO, marketing, etc., and things NEVER run as simple as you would think or hope. I bet you could have met the deadlines if you just slapped everything together uncaringly to get it done—but it’s clear to me you’re not that kind of person. Not even close.

I’m also currently developing a SaaS product that is quite ambitious as a startup.

I’d actually like to know a bit more about this. Maybe you can DM me?

I was cringe-inducingly positive back when I was with Barry, but clearly things don’t always pan out the way you hoped.
Let’s just see how things go. I’m cautiously optimistic. This is like take 2 for me.
It will take some doing, but if projects like the C64x can build some momentum, maybe something great can happen, and we can truly bring the Commodore brand back into public consciousness again.
I think the ultimate goal should be securing the Commodore brand’s legacy for the next generation.
This may involve pursuing a multi-pronged approach to serve both old and new Commodore fans.

Well, I for one am super impressed. Thank you for all your hard work. I think you’re being slightly overly humble. It’s clear how much effort you’ve put in. So many people will benefit from it—including Sean’s Kickstarter or any derivative thereof.

[LeoNigro]

Yeah lol -- I don’t understand that because while you can get Linux to run on super low specs, it all comes undone when you open a browser or try to play a video. So trying to set up a Linux system with resources akin to the smell of an oily rag is kind of moot.

I have to say you rankled me with that response, so forgive me if I come across as salty.
(I think that may well be the first time I've ever used the word "rankled")
I think I may have misinterpreted your post. Allow me to explain and argue against what I thought you were saying.
I was openly critical of minimalist, flat desktops, and I have seen many a person criticise Commodore OS on its resource usage, typically for having 3D effects, which I believe is ultimately irrelevant, given the obscene powers and capabilities of today's machines, and even your average PC as far back as a decade ago.

In the context of the YT thread, which (I thought) was your objection to my assertion, to paraphrase "that we have such an abundance of computing resources available today, why don't we use it?", my reply there was the following:

If your machine can't open a browser it can't open a browser. A performance hit of between 1 and 5% for some fun desktop effects is barely going to be noticeable for most people. And these effects, for the most part, are run asynchronously, in that they do not, generally speaking, hold up even a single core of a CPU(which typically have many cores). In the case of discrete graphics cards, graphics processing and even graphics memory is retained entirely separate from your computer's memory and CPU. Also video playback performance is almost entirely determined by hardware codecs with CPU processing only being utilised as a fallback. Any computer that is 64-bit is already more than powerful enough to run Commodore OS. They phased out 32-bit CPUs way over a decade ago and Commodore OS won't boot on those machines anyway. So, your argument is moot!!!

(And I forgot to mention how performant HDs and particularly SSDs are today, which is how you can have extended animated wallpapers that barely affect your machine's performance) Basically, if your computer can't run even Commodore OS decently, it might be time to buy a new computer. I know one.... A fully loaded C64x.

All this doesn't mean that I do not hold Linux OS programmers in the highest regard for their OCD focus on performance.
On the contrary, it is only because of their immense efforts, that we can safely utilse more resources (for fun) than that.

[LeoNigro]

I’m also currently developing a SaaS product that is quite ambitious as a startup.

I’d actually like to know a bit more about this. Maybe you can DM me?

Oh, I'll scream it from the rooftops when I launch. I might even change my username/moniker to match the company.
I was thinking I might include a subset of the tech in Commodore OS some day. If time permits. I haven't decided yet.
It's closed source though(at least for now). Hey, I wanna commercialise this thing, so give me a break!!!

As for other software projects, I also have a retro game I need to get back to some day, which I might even bundle for free within Commodore OS.
It might be worth a kickstarter campaign.
I think it's a novel game idea, a subversive parody that has kinda been done before, but certainly not to the extent I'm willing to pursue.
I think you'll lose your mind at the concept when you eventually see it.
It's a mash-up of lots of games with a retro slant. It will not be what you think it is.
I'm sourcing most of the graphics, but I want to develop most of it. It is based on MIT licensed game engine code which I am adapting.
I've got some synth tunes buzzing around in my head(I've got a few years of piano) that I want to compose, and that takes time.
On top of that, with the recent advancements in AI video generation, I might even consider producing some cut scenes for story.
Could it become Commodore OS's killer game????!!!

But, like I said. So many other things are taking priority right now.

[termite]

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It will not be what you think it is. 

That's classic marketing talk! You MUST be serious!

I'm intrigued to see what it is now..