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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Chathurawind on April 04, 2002, 02:39:20 PM
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Commodore One is a C-64 compatible computer with lots of added features that has been under development for more than a year now. The project is close to completion, and the first production run can be started within the next three months.
Individual Computers will support Jeri Ellsworth, the developer of the new computer, with money, sourcing of material and knowledge about small quantity production.
The new board will be distributed in Europe by individual Computers, so it will be available from all our trade partners mentioned on the contact page of Jens Schönfeld's website.
Jeri Ellsworth, the former owner of the "Computer made easy" stores, will sell all retrocomputing-related products from individual Computer's product line, such as the Retro Replay, the Catweasel floppy controller and the "Retro Replay plus Silversurfer" combination.
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This is a joke right?? :-?
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No, this is no joke!! The CommdoreOne has been in development for a few years now. It isn't intended to be a PC or Mac killer, it is meant for the remaining 8bit C= enthusiast like myself.
www.commodoreone.com
That site is down atm :-( Geocities pulls it every now and then because it gets too much traffic :-( But it should be up very shortly.
BTW the target price for a CommodoreOne ATX motherboard was $200. Not bad.
:-o
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BTW I want one of these Commodore ones just as badly as I want my AmigaOne :-D
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well, i don`t mind some crazy enthusiasts, but you commodore people are damned strange. i mean, its weird enough the amiga freaks hold on to the last dying bits of hardware, lying to themselves that they outperform other machines etc. when they know all it gives then is grief and an expensive hobby.
but c64 compatible? wtf is the point?
maybe this issue is rather like fore-skin peircing. --keep it to yerself!--
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Redy, it seems that your the only one so far that takes this seriously... Can i ask what the hardware platform is? Is it supposed to be able to run the old c64 games/OS nativly?
That is, its still an 8bit system isnit it?
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To Anon. Poster: Speak for yourself only. :roll:
I create stuff with Amigas all the time at work. In certain cases I can still pull a few rabbits out of my checkered hat that PC users can't duplicate.
I agree that the C64 is mostly a hobby machine, but I made my first national writing sale using a C64 with WordPro.
If anyone has the know-how to support this new board, its Jens.
Best,
Bob Kennedy
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1)Redy, it seems that your the only one so far that takes this seriously...
Are you surprised? This is an *amiga* forum, not a C= forum:-) I know the 2 women responsible for the C=One personally so I can tell you it is no fake.
2)Can i ask what the hardware platform is? Is it supposed to be able to run the old c64 games/OS nativly?
It is tested to be virtually 100% backwards compatible to the C64. It has the 65816 CPU clocked at 20Mhz. The same CPU as the CMD SuperCPU accelerator, but without the bottlenecks of the original C64/128.
Before people like mr anonymous here starts bashing the CommodoreOne, you really should read up a bit on it. This is an ALL NEW *CUSTOM* computer. It has ALOT in common with the early Amigas, and in alot of ways BETTER than the early Amigas!
Here's some pics of the early prototypes.
http://www.geocities.com/profdredd/cmdrone.html
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but c64 compatible? wtf is the point?
maybe this issue is rather like fore-skin peircing. --keep it to yerself!--
Why do you have to be so negative and insulting?
I want a Commodore One because I love using and developing for exotic hardware. I'm a big C64 fan.
I don't think that a computer has to have super fast 3D graphics and the latest Microturd operating system to be worthy of my time, and many others don't either.
I don't understand why I should "keep it to myself", or even what you mean by that...
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Before people like mr anonymous here starts bashing the CommodoreOne, you really should read up a bit on it. This is an ALL NEW *CUSTOM* computer. It has ALOT in common with the early Amigas, and in alot of ways BETTER than the early Amigas!
sound interesting... and at a price of 200$, even if it's pure crap it wouldn't hurt much to buy one and try it out... but where could i read more about it? i can't get to the website youv'e mentioned. is there another source of information about this archaic-and-strange-to-say-the-least computer?
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Oops! forgut to sign in... thats me in the one above (wanting info)
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It's not supposed to "beat" anything. It's not a /serious/ platform, it's a platform for serious hobbyists :)
Take a look at all the C64 related developments on the 'net - C64 dev tools, emulators, sid players, documentation, demos, games, programs, hardware hacks - are all being worked on and updated to this day. WHY? Well why not. Some people just plain love to do useless things, be it learn welsh, become a politician, taking up scientoligy...
The CommodoreOne is an awesomely "useless" computer that should have enthusiasts excited over the fact they have something new to play with.
The C64 has far outdone itself - try telling the public back in 1982 that it would be capable of being a web server, IRC client, crude web browser, run 3-D texture mapped games (err.. demos I should say ;)... they wouldn't know what you were smoking. Maybe they still don't.
Point is, now they've raised the bar... 20MHz of raw, "pointless" power, with PCI slots and a IDE HDD...
8-bit coding is still very much in place. Embedded micros, zilog's range of 8 bitters that can be tcp/ip capable, texas instruments calculators & their insane hackers,
it's really endless so now I'll leave you all alone..
- Paul
P.S. Check this out - http://www.analogik.com. Follow the 'visual' projects link on the left - and follow the pic's. It's of a Brisbane bus/train station still using C64s to run their displays...
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? i can't get to the website youv'e mentioned. is there another source of information about this archaic-and-strange-to-say-the-least computer?
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=commodoreone&hl=en&selm=la0f8.518%24d%254.1563561%40bcandid.telisphere.com&rnum=1
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You already have a closed mind so why why don't close your mouth as well!
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It's not supposed to "beat" anything. It's not a /serious/ platform, it's a platform for serious hobbyists :)
I agree, and I'd say that's what the classic Amiga is nowadays too. It does have a practical use in that it inspires people to see exactly what they can squeeze out of limited hardware. "Modern" programmers (I'm sounding like a right oldie here - I'm only 23!) can get away nowadays with writing stupidly inefficient code... it doesn't really matter when you've got 4GHz to play around with. 8-)
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This... Is WAY cool!
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I think I read somewhere that there is an Atari clone based on coldfire on it's way aswell... :-)
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@whabang
http://acp.atari.org/
Not in $200-category (my guess)
The old Hades-Sytems were
>$1000 for a 040
>$1500 for the 060 version
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tell us more Kronos!
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Hi ido
Can't tell you very much about the current Ataris.
The only one i knew was the 520ST my brother bought shortly
after i got my A500 (Both with 1mb Kick1.3/TOS1.4).
The Atari was a bit faster on number-crunching apps due to its
full 8mhz and all its mem being "fastmem".
Playing cames it was a bit different :-D :-D
TOS was basiclly a MacOS-clone with standard file-requesters
and so on, while Kick1.3 was a bit "rough" on these issuses.
Omikron-Basic kicked ass when compared to Amiga-Basic.
TOS didn't have any kind of multitasking and was in some
ways just a sack full of (working) hacks.
When Atari launched the Falcon (think of a A3000+ in a
A1200-case) they couldn't deliever a working OS with it.
Thats was the end of Atari as a computer-manufactor.
Back to the Coldfire:
The cpus run at up to ~350mhz and are somewhat 68k-
compatible. So you won't need a full cpu-emu but only something
like the 68040.library. 68k-SW should run at about the same
speed as on a A1/Pegasos.
The bad side of this is that the coldfire-cpus are not intended
for desktop-computers, and will never be able to compete
against PPC/x86, just like the arm-cpus used in RiscOS-maschines.
BtW: The first name of the project was Pegasus, this was
later dropped to avoid confusion with bPlans Pegasos.
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I can still remember being shocked by the sound and COLOR graphics of my C-64, I still have some of my "artwork" printed out on a dot matrix printer. Black and white of course - only corporations could afford the many thousands of dollars for a color printer.
It was this machine that led me to my A500 then A2000 etc.
Glad to see this fun news item.
Bob C.
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I can still remember being shocked by the sound and COLOR graphics of my C-64
Absolutely!! When the C64 came out nothing could touch it! The sound of the SID chip was remarkable. Even now the things demo coders are doing with the SID and VIC chips are amazing.
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I find this to be way cool.
However, I find it hard to understand why they chose to make it an atx mobo. I mean any old pc running a c64 emulator will outperform it. Imho a small portable (handheld) c64 would have made more sence, but that's just my oppinion.
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Absolutely!! When the C64 came out nothing could touch it! The sound of the SID chip was remarkable. Even now the things demo coders are doing with the SID and VIC chips are amazing.
And you still get C64 competitions at demo parties too! :-P
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A Pocket 64 running GEOS would kick ass... Who need palm...
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However, I find it hard to understand why they chose to make it an atx mobo. I mean any old pc running a c64 emulator will outperform it. Imho a small portable (handheld) c64 would have made more sence, but that's just my oppinion.
You miss the point! This isn't simply a stock C64 reworked into a ATX board. This is a NEW computer with tons of new functionality. It just happens to also be backwards compatible.
A C64 emulator on a 2Ghz PC may be faster than the C=One, but it can only run C64 software. The emulator will not have all the new features the C=One has.
Try getting Frodo or any other C64 emulator to give you a 1280x1028 screen resolution:-D
Read up on it with the link I provided above.
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I do ofcourse see the novelty value of getting new c64 hardware, still I'd prefer it to be smaller than a desktop pc wich despite crappy operating systems have a lot more functionality than C=one ever will.
Unfortunatly the C=one webpage is down so I don't know more about it than I've been able to extract from this forum.
A C64 emulator on a 2Ghz PC may be faster than the C=One, but it can only run C64 software
Uhm, what about all the pc software the pc runs?
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@Peggus
Follow this link:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=commodoreone&hl=en&selm=la0f8.518%24d%254.1563561%40bcandid.telisphere.com&rnum=1
>wich despite crappy operating systems have a lot more functionality than C=one ever will.
Well the C=One is not trying to compete with Windows/Mac/etc. It is meant for coders and hobbiest. Kind of like classic car enthusiast. You buy an old car, pump a little bit of money into it and drive it on the weekends for fun. It won't have all the ammenities of a new car obvilously.
BTW also there *IS* alot of new software for C=ommies like OS'es, IRC clients, TCP/IP, graphical webbrowsers etc. The C=One will make it possible to modernize those programs alot more.
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Hi,
I owned a C64 back in its hay day and WOW what a puter ;-)
However other than emulating it (which I haven't yet done) running an ATX tower one would not appeal to me (unless someone gave me one!).
Power to the enthusiasts but I feel the Amiga is the farthest viable solution to upgrade.
Hey, if your made of money who wouldn't want an ATX C64 sat there with their others??
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In a grander view:
Micro controlers are very popular in the hobiest market these days. Usually after a while the hobiest finds some reason to need bigger, better, faster. Moving up means something between a single processor with limited I/O functionality, and a full desktop, laptop, or hacking their palm pilot.
There is a nich market that is rapidly filling this hole. Full computers on a small board. What you got is a desktop computer with no slots, on a board smaller than a book. Video, serial, paralell, and usualy some spare IO.. maby instructions on point to point wiring an isa slot.
The problem here is that the more you get in a smaller package the more the cost. Prices start at about 200 or so and go up quickly the more functionality you add. Last time I checked IDE drives were not avail on a board for less then 200 in single quantities. Keep in mind, this is dos/linux only. 286-486 range with about 256k and maby 2 megs of flash.
With all the functionality added, options, and ease of use (A LOT of people remember programing on the C64/128) these boards might be a great alternative for small Kiosks, custom industrial automation where a bit of fancy graphics are nice, but a laptop is way too expensive and over powered. If marketed well (I.e not JUST to C64 hobiests, but to embeded systems designers as well) It could REALLY take off..
A micro ATX isnt all that large by the way. its about 10-12 inches square. Not to mention, if it sells well, smaller scale integration wouldnt be to difficult.
I work in a casino, and for anyone who has been to one, All those fancy video machines are "middle ground" systems. They even have sound chips that sound very much similar to SID. All but the very newest are 68xx based cpus, running about the same speeds.
This really isnt as far fetched as it sounds from a purely technical standpoint. Very usefull in the Embeded market. And 200 dollars is cheap for the power you get.
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two cents from a guy with no name
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Hey, if your made of money who wouldn't want an ATX C64 sat there with their others??
Sigh.... :-( I'll say one last time. THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A ATX VERSION OF THE C64. It's a whole new computer.
I could understand someone not being interest, but know exactly what it is first. And for $200, just add cheap ATX case, IDE harddrive, keyboard and mouse and it is a DAMN cheap hobby computer.
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ohh.. and dont forget mp3s...
mustn't forget mp3s!
Even in the sound chip cant handle it, the cpu can shuffle data at a high speed from the drive to an mp3 decoder and audio amp built off the spare I/o pins. Granted, its nothing like a "true" mp3 player.. but then, you made it yourself didnt you?!
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one cent from a guy with no name
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Ido- Nice signature. Almost considered duping it,but I won't for now.
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Fairplay, maybe I didn't word that correctly..
But what software will run on the C=One apart from original C=64 software?
what links can you provide other than a mailing list, that'll show it off?
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this is cool, especially since the whole commodore 2000 seems to just be alot of bull. but personally, id rather see someone finish work on the Loki.
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I think this is good news! Jsut think about it, the more C=,Amiga,etc compatible computers, the less wintrash computers! I'm all for it! :pint:
P.S. http://www.geocities.com/cm_easy/ is up and running!
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Yahoo! is such garbage. They should move their site to Easyspace or Fsnet or something.
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This sounds cool!
Went to the web site has lot of features. To bad no drivers for IDE yet. I like the micro ATX size. Those boards are nice and tiny. that could fit in a book pc easily.
That's just plain cool!
I think my old C64 is under my parents basement stairs. To bad I sold my Vic 20 to buy the C64. Could have added that to my collection.
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well, i could find lots of old 386/486 computers to take from the local highschool... they also have some working 14" monitors i can take... that way i'll only have to pay 200$ for the mobo!
BTW
do you think i could put it all (including floopy and HDD) in a shoe box? those old cases i can get for free are to big and to heavy... i want to make it as portable as possible!
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Useless or not, this is a good idea. Hopefully it will sell well and many hobby programmers make some cool apps.
Well done Jerri. It has my thumbs up. :pint:
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But what software will run on the C=One apart from original C=64 software?
Kind of hard to develop for a system that isn't available yet:-D However you can get a good example of what to expect by looking at software written for the C128/64 with a SuperCPU accelerator. Most of the authors of this software have promised C=One versions. So look at these sites below and just remember the C=one version will have better gfx etc.
Metal Dust:
http://www.protovision-online.de/md/mdstart.htm
JOS (now wings)
http://jos.sweetcherrie.com/
The Wave web browser
http://www.ia4u.net/~maurice/gbrowse/wave.html
Wheels OS
http://www.ia4u.net/~maurice/gbrowse/whshots.htm
Lunix(Linux for C=)
http://lng.sourceforge.net/
Or read up and do it yourself, here's an online techie mag called C=Hacking.
http://www.canberra.edu.au/~scott/C=Hacking/Index.html
Don't like online stuff? Here's a glossy color monthly print mag:
http://www.go64.de/english/frames/frame.htm
And finally here is some good general links:
http://www.go64.de/english/frames/links.htm
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Hmmm...this could be an interesting toy. Portability would be a key issue (remember the SX64??).
For now though, emulation is filling the void as far as my ever aging, ever growing phono record database goes!
Anyone know of a quick code to convert the old Celery Software
Datafile databases to say...Digita Int'l Datastore compatables? Perhaps
even a Datastore library or rexx script to read D64 files (or is it T64...?!)
Sorry to toss this into the CommodoreOne chat, just came to mind as a C64 related topic.
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20Mhz C64? Man, that rocks! The original CPU, from memory, ran at a fraction of a single Mhz.
AND they've also eliminated the C64's system bottlenecks.
This machine will absolutely fly!
I want one too!
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Do you think this board could be made into a PCI card? That way, you can emulate the OS, with more function ality and at teh CPU speed the underlying processor has.
Much like the optional A1200 you can slot into your A1!!! - Maybe when this gal makes her AmigaOne thingo (if she does, nothing confirmed) maybe you could get that and slot it into your A1 instead of the A1200!!?? :)
I think a PCI option would be more feasable dont you? As it'll be a lot smaller, faster and still provide all the function ality!
OF course new software may have to be writen for it to work under other systems such as PC's or Amiga's. Might encourage more people to purchase it if they can run the C64 games ontop of their WindowsOS or AmigaOS etc...
Not to mention that you'll be able to plug in your new AmigaAGAOne (if thats she calls it :)) into your PC or Apple!
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http://zzap64.co.uk
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ido
about that shoebox, a friend of mine saw a man with a A1200 in a shoebox on the Dreamhack demoparty. I never saw it myself though :-(