Slashdot Mirror
GEOS Available for Download After 18 Years
gp writes "Back in 1986, Berkeley Softworks presented GEOS,
the Graphical Environment Operating System for the Commodore 64 (screenshots). GEOS
effectively turned the 8-bit Commodore 64 into something very similar to a
Macintosh, but for an 8th of the price. In 2004, pushed hard by
rivaling C64 open source alternatives such as the Contiki operating system and
desktop environment and the LUnix *nix clone, the owners of
GEOS have finally decided to release GEOS to the public. Hordes of
Commodore 64 users are expected to download the system." Sadly, there's no mention of GEOS for the Apple 2 series of computers, which also enjoyed this fine precursor of GUIs to come.
Great, I can download GEOS. Now how do I get it on a single sided, strangely formated, low density floppy so that I can actually run it on my C64?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Whatever happened to GeoWorks Ensemble, the version of GEOS that ran on low-end intel/amd boxes? Once upon a time you could load that onto a 386 and it would make a Pentium-based Windows machine look like it was standing still.
I'm looking for Geoworks to throw onto some 486's I want to bring back to life -- the last version I remember had a web-browser and everything!
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
I'm willing to bet there are a good number of /. readers that are younger than GEOS (I'm not one of 'em). It's an interesting reminder of just how far computers have come.
Well my friend, you may not be a nerd.
My first "real computer" was a C64 too.
Part of being a nerd is exploring technology and how it works technically and works in our lives.
By looking at our history and the roads we have travelled, we get a better sense of where we are at in time and where we want to be in the future.
Seeing this story on slashdot, I thought about the usefulness of this application and reflected that it was all done on a eight bit 6502 derivative operating at 1 Mhz with 64k of memory.
I know many on here reflected the same way and immediately started thinking of applications that might be generated. I didn't even know that "Contiki" or "Lunix" existed. These would be easy to port to an embedded device.
Many of us on slashdot have ham-radio licenses. Much of the "old" technology that ham's were investigating in the seventies have become economic realities now thirty years later. I remember when I was riding on a bus and I made a phone call on a repeater with my handy-talkie. Every body thought that was "cool". Now people just get annoyed when it's done on a cellphone. So by reflecting on "old" technology, we can maybe recycle it for use into "new" technology
Many on here like to listen to "glass audio", or "antique radio". You can learn a lot about technolgy and design issues when restoring an old radio. Many of these same issues occur in modern day electronics as well (like dried out capacitors).
For christmas I bought one of those joystick "namco" game that plug directly into the TV. It was loaded with five arcade games which included pac-man, dig dug (my personal favorite), and galaxian. I thought that my six year old niece would be the only one to get a kick out of it, but the whole family did. Just because these games were "old" did not make them any less fun. And Namco was brilliant for taking this "old" technology and repackaging it in an accessible and fun format. The thing that's nice about these games is they have a zero learning curve. You can sit down and immediately play a game and relax and not have to worry about game complexity that many PS2 games have.
Just because these things are not "new" does not make them "irrelevant" to a nerd's life. On the contrary, nerds embrace such things.
Old radio, glass audio, retro-gaming, and antique computing represent technologies that brought us to this particular point in time. So it is very much a part of a "nerd's history" (this one's anyway).
Even though I may not be actively participating in them, I enjoy reading about the adventures of others, and see what they are learning and developing with them. With a sentimental eye in this "throw away" society we live in, I'm glad to see others keep the (nerd's) flame alive.
So, it's all about interest in technology, whether it be old or brand new that makes a nerd "a nerd". These things, both "old and new" will matter to the nerd on a deep, cerebral level. As compared to an average person that is "just a user" and would just as likely throw away the antique radio than repair it. Or the old computer, as it "does not matter" to them any more.
I think you fall in this latter category of "user".
I mean no offense and I hate to say it, but for the above reasons, you may not be a "nerd".
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"