Introductions

[LeoNigro]

Hello Everyone,

I guess I'll kick it off.

My name is Leo and I am the Commodore OS Vision distro creator and site moderator.

The first computer I ever touched was a Commodore VIC-20 at around 8 years of age, that a friend of the family had. There were many hours spent playing Gorf of all things, as well as typing in BASIC code from computer books. Even back then I found programming fascinating, little realising, that like many others, it would lead to a career in IT. After quite a bit of begging (and promising to do chores) my parents finally bought me a Commodore 64, and then I was really hooked. Being able to do your homework on it, as well as gaming and programming on it was a real draw. The Intellivision was relegated to the wardrobe.

When I saw the Amiga 1000 on display at a local department store it was love at first sight for this geek. Almost as soon as the Amiga A500 come out I managed to convince my parents into buying me an A1000 with IBM PC sidecar, which was soon equipped with an internal HD that could be shared between the Amiga and Sidecar, which was pretty advanced for the day. The PC compatibility allowed me to keep on top of projects as I did my Computer Science degree and related subjects that required PC software. Wow, did I love the Amiga though. Workbench was a wonder that provided a glimpse into the computing future. The Amiga just felt like such a natural progression from the C64. I think my favourite C64 and Amiga games were Revs+ and Microprose Grand Prix, by Geoff Crammond. That's not to say I didn't love the other gaming genres. I still have all the classic hardware and software on display. I recently bought a C128D, as I really, really wanted that back in the day, which sits proudly beside my piStormed A1000. I switched to a Pentium 100 circa 1994 and it has been boring PCs ever since. But now I dearly wish I'd gone for an AGA machine, if only because my hoarding nature would have meant I'd have one right now.

Back in 2009, I was an avid Amiga fan eagerly awaiting Amiga OS 4.0 and the Amiga One platform, which seemed to be taking forever. At around that time, I came into contact on the forums with Barry Altman(a successful retired business man), who wanted to get a license from the Commodore license holders for a new range of Commodore PCs. I jumped at the chance to join him, if only to make something exciting happen, and together we managed to get a Commodore license for PCs, albeit only in a keyboard form factor. Thus Commodore USA, LLC was born. We soon managed to OEM a series of really nice keyboard computers, which after a lot of brainstorming between us, I named the Commodore VIC-Pro and VIC-Slim as Barry liked the VIC moniker as it sounded reminiscent of a MAC. (Hey, it could have been much worse. Trust me.)

But, I was concerned that to be taken somewhat seriously we ought to build our own unique thing. Mini-ITX was becoming the rage, and so I came up with the idea to produce a modern C64 with PC hardware (as I'd seen some Youtubers set out to create by hacking the original). Barry took to this idea with great gusto, having loved his C64s, which had powered his cable installation business. No expense was spared in producing and manufacturing the keyboard, complete with premium components, and I personally picked the key placement to be as close as possible to the original yet allowing for the superior keyset and functions that PCs have today. And so the new Commodore C64 (dubbed the C64x) was born. Fun fact, it was nearly called the PC64. Powered by a then, top of the line Atom processor with onboard discrete nVidia graphics(which made it reminiscent of a custom chipset) that machine was everything we could have hoped for. A C64 for a new generation and a machine capable of everyday usage for retro fans.

Further to the C64x and Commodore branded machines, I really felt we should attempt to differentiate our machines with a custom OS in the same way Apple does, and being an Amiga fan, a Commodore AROS seemed to me to be the way to go. Unfortunately, having reached out to Amiga Inc. for a license a year earlier, on the very day of the Commodore AROS announcement to the Amiga community, they came forward to grant us a license. Due to Amiga Inc's dispute with Hyperion, this meant that contractually, we could no longer proceed with a Commodore AROS, which left quite a few in the community seething unfortunately. It was then that I decided to create our own Commodore OS Vision linux distro which would also be available to the public. Being a Software Engineer focused on Microsoft technologies, and far from a Linux super user, the learning curve was great, but I got there in the end.

Things were going relatively well sales-wise at Commodore USA, but we'd failed to obtain the investment we felt we needed to reach the next level of manufacturing and design. Our fantastic big box Amiga case orders(complete with wireless keyboard and keyboard garage) were stifled by Chinese OEM manufacturer funny business, and we had conceptual designs for a wedge shaped Amiga keyboard as a cross between the A500 and A1200. Barry who had been diagnosed with cancer years before, slowly got sicker and finally succumbed after a year or so of business as his son took over daily operations. As the factory and warehouse were in Florida, and I lived in Melbourne, Australia, short of uprooting my family, and investing even more time and money, there was really no hope to continue and Barry's family closed the company down soon after.

Many years later I was immensely gratified to discover that the stock and case molds had been bought by MyRetroComputer (MyRetroComputer.co.uk), who continue to manufacture and sell the Commodore 64x (my baby). It was this development, and a bit of prodding by some Commodore OS fans that led me to begin recreating Commodore OS with today's software eco-system, which has just been released. I am sure you will find as I continue to, that using Commodore OS is like a trip down memory lane. Be sure to click the Commodore icon in the dock to discover a world of retro computing nostalgia and entertainment.

So that's my Commodore story. What's yours?

[Zaphod49]

Hi Leo,
thanks for putting the effort in creating "Commodore OS"!

Cannot wait to put it on my Ryzen build in the "my64" case from MyRetroComputer next week when I am back home
And one day - in the not so distant future - the "C64x RGB Backlit translucent" will be here with me and the OS will "shine" even more - literally

Looking forward to it & keep up the great work!
Timo

IMG_1300 (1).jpeg (63.42 KiB) Viewed 12924 times

[wo0ki]

Howdee all,

Been playing with computers for a few days. Everything from 1802 based SBC to modern cloud services. 30 years ago I had the fun of resurrecting a few Commodore 8 bit machines for use by a library.

[Aulddood]

Great to see this up and running at last. My new c64x should be with me shortly, but i will install this on a spare laptop when I get home tonight. Thanks for going to all the effort to renew this OS Leo, I am looking forward to playing with it. My new c64x is going to be my new retro gaming machine

[lexi]

Awesome work and thanks Leo for setting up the forum and getting ready the Commodore OS Vision. I am waiting on my Translucent C64 barebones, but as I have my mini-itx board all ready I was just missing the OS. So here I go, jumping down the rabbit hole. Looking forward to running and playing with it.

As some more background, I orignally had a Commodore 64 back in 1983 which was an upgrade to our VIC 20, which was an upgrade to a Sinclair ZX81. Been playing and tinkering with computers ever since.

[EvilOne]

Hi everyone, I'm Hiram. An Amiga enthusiast from Bologna, Italy. I've been waiting for this CommodoreOS Vision 2.0 for a long time, think that in my old laptop I still have the original version of this OS! So I'm really happy with 2.0 and will install it on my new laptop this weekend! Thanks again for the passion you put into making this product, we will certainly hear from you for questions and advice. Good night.

[James N]

Hi. I'm James from the US.

Browsing tech blogs in the late aughts and early 2010s was what informed my idea of my unattainable dream machine, but that's a story for another day. I remember vividly Barry Altman's Commodore USA. When the future of the C64X case was up in the air, I bought two from his son. Never did I think there would be such a resurgence. It was a pleasant surprise to see Sean moving old stock and providing support, but the announcement of new stuff on the horizon was when I knew I had to get onboard. The transparent case is lovely even if I don't *really* need one more. I'm happy to say I was around to give some input when it came to the new keyboard inside the transparent.

It's unfortunate that the campaign didn't get as much exposure as it should have, but units are shipped so all's well that ends well. I updated a couple of pages concerning the C64X on Wikipedia (please improve them if you can).

I am chiefly a case collector and not a Commodore or Amiga enthusiast. I backed Stephen Jones's Checkmate A1500 Plus. The only other "Commodore" PC case I'd want is the Commodore XX. I also like the rare odd computer part that isn't made in China (PRC). For a while, the print on the new MyRetroComputer boxes could rightfully proclaim made in the UK because the shells were.

I like the keyboard computer or breadbin even as there are so many, many haters.

[Pad00100]

Hi ! I am Peter. Back in the days of Commodore USA, I was a presence on the CUSA forum. It was a great time of realizing the vision of mr. Barry Altman - C64x and Amiga Mini. Commodore OS V1 became my favorite operating system and thanks to it I started to be more interested in Linux. Unfortunately, our dream of the return of Commodore passed away with the death of mr. Altman....

I am glad that the esteemed author of Commodore OS returned to develop his operating system. I am happy to write here and hope to participate in this work

Thank you for your hard good work Leo !

ps. back in the day, I recorded these two clips from the Commodore OS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsXWk9VUVp0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CamrDZgGHQk

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[LeoNigro]

Hi Peter,

Wow!! Awesome videos.

I would like to put that first video on one the main site, as that theme is identical.

As for the second one....You are making me want to have a go at some new themes.

[Unkle K]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick intro... I'm Kevin, got a C64X Ultimate. Love it!!! I'm having a ball playing around with Commodore OS even though I have very little experience with Linux. Mostly going ok so far!

I'm the editor of Reset64 Magazine and have been an admin on Lemon64 for years. My main interest with Retrocomputing is games preservation and history although I love messing about with new hardware and software, setting it all up and getting it going.

Kind regards,
Kevin

PS: That was a photo of my C64X Ultimate on Sean's last update. I had only just switched it on!!