The first version of the Contiki operating system and desktop environment for the Commodore 64 has just been released. Ports for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari Jaguar, 8-bit Atari, Apple ][, NEC PCEngine, and the VIC-20 are under development.Despite its small size, Contiki includes the following list of
features: multi-tasking
kernel, windowing
system and themeable GUI toolkit, screen
saver, TCP/IP
stack, personal
web server, simple
telnet client, and a web
browser. The web browser, which is likely to be the world’s
smallest web browser given its extremely small memory footprint,
is the first real web browser ever for an 8-bit platform, and
makes the Commodore 64 the oldest computer ever to browse the web!
Contiki is written in C and the source code is
avaliable under a BSD-style license. The name “Contiki” comes
from Thor
Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki
raft which was built using prehistoric techniques, but with which
Heyerdahl was able to sail across the Pacific Ocean, something
previously thought impossible. Contiki screenshots
and a FAQ
are also available.
Contiki Desktop OS 1.0 Released
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Did you use Contiki before you upgraded to the Compy 386?
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But seriously, this was a discussion I had with a few of my friends on IRC this afternoon. We were looking for something to run on an Apple IIgs (since NetBSD won’t run). The GNO project seems to be abandoned. ProDOS doesn’t cut it. I’m interested to see how the Apple II port comes along.
Actually, the more that I think about it, an Apple II with an 80 column card wouldn’t make a bad serial or TCP/IP terminal.
Will they honestly release it on cartridge form? or on disk for the Famicom Disk System add on, will it also support the Famicom keyboard?
Cool news. Too cool, IMHO.I mean multi-tasking kernel, windowing system and themeable GUI toolkit, screen saver, TCP/IP stack, personal web server, simple telnet client, and a web browser? On a C64?
But OTOH, it’s March 10th not April 1st.
Has anybody tried it? I can’t test it here, because I’m not at home.
Oh, BTW:
Port for the Gameboy? How to use an OS with a Game Boy?
How would you get the OS to run? Can you over write a cartritge? Where in the world would you get a modem for a NES?
Be very cool to play with, though….
You can tell the developer has waaaaaay too much time on his hands.
you can tell the poster has wayyyy too much time on his hands…
;o)
seriously this is cool… they did it because its #1 a challenge and #2 very, very different
Cool.. but with CLiPS and JOS teaming up for WiNGS for the C64(not to mention the C-One) this probably won’t be the best OS to run on your C=
This is a cool project. If I buy the new C=One maybe
I can set it up to Dual boot with this and Commodore
Basic.
Just tried it through an emulator and it seems _really_ nice!
Now I just have to go home and setup a PPP server and I’ll be surfing along in the C64
C=64 is dying!
Oh wait, wierd flashback thing going on…
Do you have to bash anything not Linux?
This is cool. This guy took a computer once thought of as obsolete and gave it new life. I think it’s great! You can now recycle all those old C64s into something useful. Heck you can get Commodore 64 for like $5.00. Heck I would but the cart just to support the guy.
Now if he can only get United Devices to port Metaprocessor or even get Seti on C64. Now that would be fun. Grid computing on 1000 C64s.
Contiki Fried Desktop. Get on down to CFD. Pick up a Family Sized OS for only $9.99. Act now and the Kids get a BZFlag port.
Hope he is set to make some serious cash in the embedded sector because he has talent.
Personally, I am curious to see the CoCo port. Some of those machines can have up to .5Mb ram. With this OS, that would be roomy indeed. 80 Column display won’t hurt either.
Computers of today are powerhouses compared to these early machines. Just think what could be done on an old Pentium with this approach.
Sheesh, I may actually have to get the old Atari and CoCo down from that Attic and surf the net!
I know I’ve gone totally anti-geek over the last few years and I never owned a C64… but…
That’s just totally cool.
I love classic computing. That’s one of the reasons I love http://www.homestarrunner.com so much. Lots of the humor comes from the classic computing jokes. I’ve even considered buying an Apple IIgs and C64 off of eBay, just to have one in my collection.
IFightMIBs: good joke 😉
I reccomend running Apple’s GS-OS on the ][gs. It looks mostly like the Mac OS, full GUI and everything. Totally slick. It’s even freely downloadable. Hell, with GS-OS and a little money for an ethernet card, you can even have a fully internet capable ][gs.
Screenshots:
http://toastytech.com/guis/gsos.html
Adam Dunkels went to the same University as I, and I can tell you that Contiki is real. He had a good reputation at the University and his thesis was in itself very impressive. ( http://www.sics.se/~adam/thesis.pdf ) I think it was being used in a project where the audience at hockeymatches could get live information from the hockey-players thru embedded devices. This information included pulse, breath, speed, location, direction and how hard they were tackled. ( http://www.cdt.luth.se/projects/arena/ , http://www.cdt.luth.se/projects/arena/eng_5_a.html )
GNO might have the activity of the average sourceforge project, but the source code is available.
http://www.gno.org/gno/
Whatever else is said regarding Contiki for the oldies,
the very act of being able to Internet with the old boxen is pleasing, amazing and wonderful. I’ve got my VIC-20
sitting here, waiting…..