about Commodore OS

Commodore OS (full name: Commodore OS Vision) was a free-to-download Linux distribution developed by Commodore USA and intended for its PCs.

The distribution was based on Debian and Linux Mint, available only for x86-64 architectures, and used the GNOME 2 desktop environment. The first public beta version was released on 11 November 2011. It has been continually updated through Commodore OS Vision 0.8 Beta and never came out of beta phase.

Commodore OS Vision was a free download and the software was under continual development. There are no warranties regarding its usage or applicability. This operating system is no longer in development. The company is now closed and its web site is no longer active.

Compatibility

Commodore OS was not compatible with Commodore 64 software. It did contain VICE, an open-source program which emulates the Commodore 64, Commodore 128, CBM-II, Commodore PET, Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore Plus/4.

Design

Commodore OS was designed as a way to imitate the look and feel of Commodore's legacy systems, and as a complement to the all-in-one-keyboard style of the personal computer. Commodore OS includes a large collection of specifically selected software aimed at creativity, gaming, media, and other tasks.

However, it was fully compatible only to CommodoreUSA products often causing kernel panic on general PCs. Improved Fusion version was promised but never released.