Introductions
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2023 5:57 am
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. A celebration and coming together of all the great things about Commodore that touched our lives. 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?
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. A celebration and coming together of all the great things about Commodore that touched our lives. 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?
