Commodore OS Vision 2.0 Forum

So I've done the rounds. I've had a good like around the forums -- read (and replied to) everyone's intros, with great interest -- including Admin: Leo; which also gave me quite a bit of info, including that Leo played a role in having the c64x case built -- and also created Commodore Vision OS. That's all very awesome and interesting, but the reason I actually came to this forum was to see if I could get some kind of timeline and backstory on how everything came together. I am genuinely and sincerely extremely interested in all the minor details.

Hey Leo (you're awesome, by the way) -- what are the chances of getting a really detailed overview of the full story, as you see it?

Some specific questions I have:

- Did Commodore Vision OS start with Linux Mint and then move over to MX Linux? If so, why? *I'm a huge Linux Mint fanboy, by the way.
- I read a comment on Distrowatch saying that Commodore Vision OS is not suitable to use on a work computer, because it sends certain data back to the server, or something to that effect. What's the deal with that? Is that an MX Linux thing? *Probably a touchy question, but I'm sincerely not sure what it all means.
- Why is there 2011 videos on the homepage of this website? Is the OS the same as in 2011 (that also brings me back to the Linux Mint / MX Linux question).
- Was Commodore Vision OS on the back-burner, so to speak for a decade? If so, when was it resurrected, and why?
- Did My Retro Computer contact you to include your OS? If so, that would have been so exciting and validating! Or, are you already in contact with those guys and knew they were going to use your OS from inception of their kickstarter to release a new c64.
- And if you were involved from inception of the kickstarter, what did you have to do to polish up the distro? I'm extremely curious about your process. IT seems like it might have been a huge task for you! Or did you find out at the last minute and then have to scramble to get it cleaned up?
- Are you going to make some new Commodore Vision OS videos?
- Are you in touch or buddies -- or friendly acquaintances with any of the other parties involved in getting all this running?
- Probably a bit personal? But what are you getting out of it? Is anyone giving you a cut?

Please..

Don't hold back with telling your story. I for one will read every single word -- probably twice! or even thrice! -- as I think this is like the story of the century. Don't miss any detail. Join all the dots, even the stuff I didn't know or didn't think to ask. I'm truly interested and I bet a whole heap of other people are too!

Follow up questions:

- How does it feel to have been so involved in the resurrection of the c64 brand?
- What do you envision for the future?

I personal feel like over the next couple of years this forum is going to become super active.

Lastly, thank you so much for all your hard work! I for one am super thankful of your dedication and love for the Commodore brand!

Yikes!! You don't ask for much do ya?
Thanks for you kind words. I'm flattered!
It's people like you who inspire me to keep striving.
How about I answer a different question every couple of days or so.
Sorta make it an ongoing series.
But not tonight.....It's midnight for me.
More to follow.
Cheerio for now.

That'll work. It will give you more time to put more detail into each response!

It will be an epic series

Did Commodore Vision OS start with Linux Mint and then move over to MX Linux? If so, why? *I'm a huge Linux Mint fanboy, by the way.

The Genesis of Commodore OS

In the beginning Barry Altman created Commodore USA and the C64x.

Now the C64x hard drive was unformatted and empty, random bits were spread over the platters of the drive, and the license of Commodore was hovering over the company.

And Barry said, “Let there be an installed OS,” and he found an OS. As Barry saw that MacOS was good, so he separated a linux distro from the darkness. Barry called the light “Ubuntu” and the darkness he called “Windows.” And there was downloading, and there was installing—the first day.

And Barry said, “Let there be a collaboration between Ubuntu and Commodore USA.” So Barry made contact with Ubuntu and they effectively told him to pound sand. And it was so. So Barry called upon Mint, and they too told him to pound sand. So Barry called upon Leo, And so was conceived Commodore OS, based on Mint Mate—the second day.

And Leo said, “Let everything Commodore related be gathered in one place, and let an all-singing, all-dancing, fun desktop appear.” And many months later it was so. Leo called the OS a “Vision,” and the carefully curated open source apps became a distro. And Commodore fans saw that it was good.

wow, nice format -- shout out to Jesus Christ! King of kings!

That Genesis was quite well written and entertaining

Gotta love the book of Genesis

Oh, so Barry Altman -- the guy that originally made the Commodore64 case wanted to put an OS in there and bee-lined to Linux. Nice.

This is also an interesting choice, as while I've known about emulators for quite some time, I've never actually used any and don't have any ROMs/software, so to speak. Mainly because I couldn't figure out how it all worked. Not that I dedicated any time to trying to figure it out -- because it didn't seem straight forward to me, so I just didn't pursue it. But this is particularly why I am super interested in Commodore OS, because I know (from Retro Recipes video) that it's all set up and ready to go. Bonus!

Now I have more questions!

- I'm very interested to know how you came to know Barry Altman?
- And if Linux Mint told Barry to pound sand, why did you still go with Linux Mint?
- Did Linux Mint come around at all, once they saw what you had created?

I have heaps more questions, but I'll wait to you cross those bridges in your epic story. For now I'm content with the above questions, based on what you've divulged to far.

Well, Ubuntu and Mint were probably a little nicer than that.
I mean they both were fine with their distros being pre-installed on the C64x of course, but they didn't want to be bothered doing anything Commodore specific or unique.
Ubuntu came on two DVDs that were included with C64x machines and is featured on the back of the original C64x boxes.

As for emulators set up and ready to go.....it is kinda sorta.....
We don't actually have rights to distribute the original legal ROMs.
Therefore, there are open source alternatives included.
Most Amiga demos that are included will run with the AROS 68k ROM that is included.
Only C64 Cartridge games, some of which are included, will run with the C65 open source project ROM.
I think I set up most of the keysets in the emulators, but if you have controllers, unfortunately this needs to be configured manually.

However, I suggest you look at the top menu option:
System --> Commodore OS --> Cloanto Commodore ROM Setup

That will provide you with instructions to follow to obtain C64(free) and Amiga ROMs(low cost).
Setting up the C64 and other 8-bit ROMs is child's play.
The Amiga ROMs, not so much, as if you don't already have them, you need to install Amiga Forever on a Windows PC and the get the files from there as instructed. But once you do, you can see how easy Peri did it once he had the ROM files.
Just drag and drop them to appropriate folder, run the aforementioned menu option.
You might also need to configure the Amiga emulator(FS-UAE) a little bit.
You'll see it in the Applications --> Commodore Emulators --> Amiga Emulator (GUI)

I read a comment on Distrowatch saying that Commodore Vision OS is not suitable to use on a work computer, ....

In the Terms and Conditions prior to installation, I made the disclaimer not to run your business on this computer, and if you do, don't blame me if there is a data breach. I would say that regardless of the security, however as one of the aims was to make the user experience more akin to the single user 80s desktops, one or more aspects of traditional linux security were decreased slightly for the "Commodore" username (which you should all have installed with ) to enhance the experience and ease of use. The Commodore user is effectively an admin of the computer.
If you are really worried about security (and I really think you shouldn't be that much as a determined hacker can get you regardless of what you do) you'll just want to change your Commodore user password, and add a new user and run under that new user and password.
It's gonna prompt that new user for a password left right and center, and maybe break some things, and therefore you'll lose the will to live.....
but there's really nothing stopping you from using Commodore OS, as compared to any other Linux, as a work OS in your workplace.
You're far more likely to get hacked via a zero-day kernel vulnerability than anything I've done and they find those all the time.

.... because it sends certain data back to the server, or something to that effect. What's the deal with that? Is that an MX Linux thing? *Probably a touchy question, but I'm sincerely not sure what it all means.

Yeah, I saw that and thought, "What the heck is he talking about?".......then it hit me........COS1.0 (12 years ago) used to call home on startup.
That's what is being alluded to in the in the terms and conditions which are practically the same, bar replacing Commodore USA with MyRetroComputer.
As the COS2 scripts are mostly unaltered from COS1 I only just recently discovered that it is indeed attempting to log data online to this day, but the location it is attempting to post data to is dead, and it bugs out early anyway due to deprecated commands, so not to worry.
It never sent anything personal, and it never tracked anything else you may do. Just when you booted Commodore OS.
(you really think Windows and other distros aren't doing that and possibly more?
Heck, MX-Linux probably has some hidden script calling them from COS I haven't found yet)
It used to send things like your OS Version, kernel version, Commodore OS update, machine cpu and graphics hardware, and your ip address so we could potentially determine what country you were running from.
But you know what? I don't recall ever really looking at the logs other than debugging that it worked.
It all came about because Barry wanted to know how many people were actually using COS on the regular to justify any further time being spent on it.
I thought fair enough and I must admit I was curious too. But all that is all in the past.
There is absolutely no user data of any kind I or anyone else has access to from COS2.0.