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This is nothing but a PC in a custom case with a famous trademark. I read a lot of vintage computing sites and no one has expressed an interest in these. It's a dumb idea, not worthy of mention,

What is worthy of mention, yet no one reports on, is all the custom retro modern hardware available these days. Want a C64 or Amiga without the hassle of maintaining old hardware? Try a C-One, an FPGA platform that implements both C64 and Amiga computers. Or, do you have a C64 but tire of floppy swapping? Get a 1541-Ultimate, a cycle accurate 1541 emulator that even emits the sounds of a real disk drive. Or, do you love the sound of the SID audio chip inside the C64? Control it via MIDI with the MSSIAH cartridge. Any of these projects are more worthy of attention in the tech media than the crass money grab we see in TFA.

• Can I peek or poke the memory?
• Can I play Turrican and Hawkeye on it?
• Does it have a SID?
• Does it even read my old datassettes?

• And yes... it does run Linux, sadly...
  
  Those wishing to a Commodore 64 should look elsewhere (or Ellsworth - haha, lame I know...)

Interested in hacking on a modern-day C64, some interesting stuff done on the C-ONE Reconfigurable Computer: http://c64upgra.de/c-one/

Just go for the Commodore One - http://c64upgra.de/

Personally I'll stick with emulation, though the C-One looks like something it'd be fun to own, so maybe if/when they get something a bit less beta...

Sort of like this then...

(just sort of)

"The Commodore Navigator is a Windows CE-based portable device..."

I stopped reading here.

Agreed. There are some devices out there that do utilize Commodore technology; the Commodore One is just one example. These deserve the name far more than any WinCE device ever could.

...and let's not forget, Emulate the C64 hardware so you can one day create a C64 30-in-1 game joystick and sell it on QVC

The thing is, there is a lot of interesting work out there if you don't have the paper. You just need to go to smaller companies, for the most part.

And if you think that the really heavily thinking-reliant work will only come to you at a big company or a specialized one, open yourself up as a garage business and be your own inspired thinker. Think of Jeri Ellsworth.

These folk seem to do good work. This can run up to 14MHZ but at 1MHZ draws 330 microamp and is 16bits.

http://www.westerndesigncenter.com/wdc/w65c816s.cf m

The also have W65C02 which can do 14 and draws 150microamp at 1Mhz

http://www.westerndesigncenter.com/wdc/w65c02s.cfm

Peripheral offloading is the *dreaded* I2O - EVIL EVIL EVIL. We could do with a simple free hardware variant using some variant of the 6502 or even the C-One. :-P

http://c64upgra.de/c-one/

The FPGA programs - so-called 'cores' - turn the C-One into clones of famous 80's computers like the C64, VIC-20, plus/4, TI-99/4a, Atari 2600, Atari 400/800 series, Sinclair Spectrum, ZX81, Schneider CPC and many more.

From the article:

"Her hobby produced a chameleon computer called the C-1. Changing its basic software could make it mimic not only a Commodore 64, but ultimately more than nine other popular home computers of the early 1980's, including the Atari, TI, Vic and Sinclair."

I assume that the "could" is a theoretical "could" and that not all of these have been developed.

The disclaimer on the C-one site seems to indicate that there is much work to be done:

http://c64upgra.de/c-one/disclaimer.htm

1) Implement a 6502 processor. There is a free core or two floating around, which she likely used. Still not exactly trivial, though.

The 6502 design is her own. At VCFe a few months ago I asked about her implementation of Binary Coded Decimal (which the open core I looked at lacked) and she was very happy to show off and discuss her design.

Jeri has also designed the C-One, which is a much more interesting and complex system.

I've already posted this, but since you seem to not know much about the C-One, feel free to see the homepage for the C-One which has, among other things, schematics, pictures, and ordering information for the beta boards currently available to any interested parties (for about US$400). The C-One is an entire ATX form-factor motherboard.

http://www.c64upgra.de/c-one

I really think that it's worth mentioning Jeri's other much more interesting and complicated project, the C-One. If you think the C64 joystick/computer is amazing, take a look at the C-One and you should be substantially more impressed:

http://c64upgra.de/c-one/

keep your pants on boys ... she's kind of cute

Here we have a picture of Jeri's "hot-grits smile" being completely ignored by a geek who's more interested in the super cool C-ONE "reconfigurable computer" she invented.

This is the one... http://c64upgra.de/c-one/pics/smallchipnme.jpg

Whoaaa Jerry is kind of hot! http://c64upgra.de/c-one/pics/smallchipnme.jpg/

As described at this link:
http://c64upgra.de/c-one/s_specs.htm

I recall the SID chip, it was the most powerful music/sound generator chip (built into a microconputer) at the time. Here's my story on it:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1 &selm=3a64f407.187354086%40news.mindspring.com

This is awesome because of the technical merits, but also because the developer isn't your run of the mill parent-mooching-freak.

She's an attractive woman.

And, no, she doesn't want to date you.

... she's (the engineer, that is) hot, too. Or at least seems that way from this picture.

Mod me offtopic if you must, but the fact is that should give hope to nerds everywhere who bemoan the fact that there are no female geeks out there who are actually attractive.

Of course, Ms. Ellsworth has probably had a boyfriend (or girlfriend, as the case may be) since she was about 14. People who are that smart who look like that are single for about 5 seconds (unless they choose to remain so, which takes them out of the running anyway).

Extra hot grits, please.

There is.

The Sprinter, from Peters Plus. OK, it's only 21MHz, but it's a modern Spectrum with ISA slots, a hard disk and so on.

There's also the C-One, a modern Commodore 64.

I'm sure there are more besides...

http://c64upgra.de/c-one/

ATX form factor, IDE, CF, SDRAM, 20 MHz 65816, hires graphics, multichannel SID sound.

I was beat out to a tiny version of Pimp Sim (both games for Commodore, use a C64 emulator) written by my competitor Jeri Ellsworth, (on the right) who is way better at hardware than programming....

When you have to write a complete game from scratch in three hours on a vintage 'stock' micro (i.e. Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Atari 800, etc.) BASIC is the best way to go... and last year I won. :-) ...I don't have a copy of that one currently.

I think that the Pegasos with MorphOS is pretty similar to the Amiga community designing its own hardware with software. The MorphOS was running on original Amigas with PPCs before this whole AmigaONE thing was even invented...

But really, the CLOSEST thing to a new computer from scratch with software coming from the Amiga community has got to be the C=ONE, with backing from individual Computers. though it's meant to emulate [not like SOFTWARE emulate, but like DICTIONARY emulate] a C64.

individual Computers have consistently been some of the most ingenious hardware designers on ANY platform ... but who choose [have chosen] to use the Amiga as their basis for most projects over the past decade...

That not only warrants a +6 Fucking Amazing, but a whole story of it's own.

It's actually 64 K of RAM about 51 k of it usable. Most Commodore BBSs swap in and out the various sub-programs as needed.

and about an 800K floppy

Most BBS sysops have a hard drive or large RAM drive such as the CMD Hard Drive or RAMLink I started with floppies (which the 5.25" drives were 170 k and the more expensive 3.5" were 800k) but you can only run a text based board (and not a networked one) on such limited capacity.

... am I missing something, have they come up with larger mass storage systems for the C64 or something? Hard Drives now can access beyong 4GB (CMD HD), 20x System accelerators (SuperCPU), RAM Drives up to 16MB (RAMLink), and even ethernet interfaces with web browsers (contiki, the wave, etc.) telnet software still in the works.

(This isn't intended as a troll or flamebait... it's a genuine question....)

Of all the 8-bit followings the Commodore 64 has been one of the most active and innovative over the two decades since the computer was first produced.

One girl genius is taking the 64 a step further.

There is a C=1 coming out sometime. It's going to have a complete C64 compatability with updated hardware plus it's own functionality. GEOS64 should run on it also. Something for that "ultra geek" in your life.... hehehehehe....

Why? Because on your first (and second, and third, and forth...) you're not going to want to learn all about the inner workings of the Intel architecture. Segmented memory. *shudder*

Where have you been hiding for the last decade?
Segmented memory is the thing of the past, deeply hidden inside real mode. since the times of 386 x86 architecture can use flat memory model (up to 4GB of course) if programmer chooses to. The memory mapping, pages are used for memory virtualization, they are not mandatory.

Programming in asm for x86 is still PITA (unlike georgous m68k) due to limited number of (non)General Purpose registers, but you only write a handful of routines in asm, the rest is usually C or other higher (than asm) language.

If I were to write OS from scratch, I would love to do it on m68k, or PPC. If only x86 weren't so indecently fast and cheap...

Once you get your head around that, then try the 6510 - same instruction set, but up to 16MB of memory.

Don't you mean 65816? 6510 is just 6502 with additional i/o register for memory banking etc. In c64 it was also used for driving tape i/o.

But I admit, 6502 is cute little processor for fun programming. Only it doesn't give you any useful skills for _real_ OS design: no MMU, memory protection etc, things that are mandatory today even in embedded architectures.

Robert

PS You could even buy 65816 computer today in lovely ATX form factor, IDE disk interfaces and lots of other goodies, if you wanted to write os for this.

I would compare the stock 64 speed with it to about a 600 baud terminal connection (not bad for 1mghz displaying in hi-res mode), easy enough to read without stopping the stream (there is no buffer in the web browser, sice contiki uses a lot of the 64's 58k or so of accessible memory.)

With the C64 20 mghz accellerator, SuperCPU (by CMD - now offered by Commodore Key,) the speed matches a modern PC - albeit a slower one.

To sum it up, given the tight memory and small amount of hardware needed now - it sure opens up opportunities for some low-end internet projects. (even grander ones when people with RAM expansions start developing for it) I hope one day someone makes a Commodore C/G BBS and C64 Telenet Client using them or maybe a internet variation of the old Commodore Q-Link network (Q-Link was AOL before they became AOL).

Also with the eventual release of the ultra-cool reconfigurable computer - the C-One (which can use the RR-Net card) and Jeri Ellsworth's (she created the C-One) work on an Apple II interface which I believe also has similar capabilities - you are proably going to hear about a lot more 8-bitters on the internet with their little computers. :-)

But realistically I am hoping 'The Final Ethernet' card (which is just the Ethernet adapter interfaced to the 64) gets developed though, using the Retro Replay Utility Cartridge as an intemediary ads a buch of $$ to the price (I'm a Commodore fanatic, I had to buy one, not everyone would like those prices though.)

bah, gimme a modern day C64 dammit!

Ask, and ye shall receive.

Commodore One

It also sounds like it (XGamestation) is positioned as a 'razor' and will take the profit back by selling 'blades'....

Either way, it sounds good (a configurable multi-game unit platform) but I'm more interested in the C-One myself.

What I'm concerned about is Jens CommodoreONE project. First new-Commodore hardware in ages, and I have this feeling that Tulip is going to squish her, for nothing other than keeping their brand name alive.

Yesh.

-uso.

The Commodore-One Reconfigurable Computer

From the About page:

The Commodore One computer started off as a 2002 enhanced adaptation of the Commodore 64 -the most sold of any computer model (Guiness book of World Records) While retaining almost all of the original's capabilities the Commodore One adds modern features, interfacing and capabilities. The C-One fills a gap in the hobbyist computer market.

During development, it evolved into a re-configurable computer, a new class of computers where the chips do not have dedicated tasks any more. The two main chips carry out different tasks, depending on the needs of the program. The technology used is called FPGA - field programmable gate arrays. These chips can be programmed to do the tasks that the chips of the C-64 or other computers have done. It's no emulation, but it's a re-implementation of the chips that are no longer available since many years.

The one thing that is not contained in the FPGAs is the main processor - it would take too much space, resulting in too high cost. To maintain flexibility, the CPU resides on a card that can be exchanged by the user - as simple as plugging in a PCI card.

After a cold start, the FPGA programs are loaded from a mass-storage device like harddrive, disk drive or a compact flash card. What's described in one short sentence is a giant leap in computer technology: The hardware can be altered by the user without even opening the computer. The FPGA programs - so-called 'cores' - turn the C-One into clones of famous 80's computers like the C64, VIC-20, plus/4, TI-99/4a, Atari 2600, Atari 400/800 series, Sinclair Spectrum, ZX81, Schneider CPC and many more. It can of course also be a completely new computer with specs unknown to these milestones in computer history. That's what the C-One 'native mode' will be - read more on the Specifications page

The estimated price will be about 249,- EUR. The user will need to supply an ATX style case, ATX power supply, drive(s), PS/2 keyboard, mouse and SVGA capable monitor.

---

Too cool!

Meanie. You'd lump some poor guy with a 1MHz Commodore 64 in this day and age?

I mean, come on, this is the 21st century. Give the guy a real computer. Like this one, sheesh. If you're going to have the guy use a Commodore 64, at least give him one with a 105MHz front side bus, screaming 20MHz 8bit CPU and 1gb of SD ram. Yeah!

That's nice...but, this will not be very useful compared to todays apps and emulators...now if they could get the hardware down to size, this would be a great PDA...

Looking at the pictures & specs, it requires an ATX case & power supply...

And it's listed at ~$200 for just the board...there isn't even a real SID chip in there...you have to add your own SID chips to get the "authentic experience"...by comparison, the same $200 should get you an AMD-based motherboard+cpu+ram combo in the 2-2.5 GHz range...which should be more than enough power to run any 6502 emulator...

What's worse is listed at the end of this page...

** Floppy/IDE Interface
In the initial release these interfaces will not have any support software (with the exception of 1581 emulation), it is hoped that with the ease of interfacing to the floppy and IDE drives a more 'software oriented individual' will develop the necessary support software for these devices.

Translation: You'll only be able to use the 3.5 floppy drive emulation...and we couldn't get anything else to work with it...we hope you can write the software...

I'll wait for the next generation...or maybe the generation after that...

I knew I should've listened to my mom. If I had, I'd be able to read the text on the damn site.

Take this as a warning kids -- STOP OR YOU'LL GO BLIND!

What it is:

The Commodore One computer is a 2002 enhanced adaptation of the Commodore 64 -the most sold of any computer model (Guiness book of World Records) While retaining almost all of the original's capabilities the Commodore One adds modern features, interfacing and capabilities and fills a sorely needed gap in the hobbyist computer market.

Maybe with the C-One us 8-bitters can get closer to a real 8-bit Opera browser... :-) Of course it would probably have to run under Wings or Wheels though

Never say it's impossible, it will just make people want to prove you know nothing.