The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

diasFlec · Post by **diasFlec** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:20 am

Our Vic is coming back!

http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_FutureModels.aspx

I'll get one, what about you guys?

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:41 am

Hey, it's not a VIC, it's a C16!

BTW, they kept promising new models for months, but nothing has been put up for sale yet.

diasFlec · Post by **diasFlec** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:22 am

Yea... I like the c64 idea and was disapointed with their 'store' too. I agree that the Vic isin't quite a vic, but its a start... although it looks like x86 architecture with a linux distro slapped on it... I would like something a little more original... we'll see I guess....

Post by **Jeff-20** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:39 pm

I would buy one. I'm holding on to my desktop now because it has a parallel printer port with pep and ecp modes. If I ever find a smaller computer with this feature, I'll dump it.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:46 pm

If they could produce a high spec machine which is an Amiga and a PC in one, seels for a realistic amount, and looks good too, then I'd get one. I would like to see them develop the Amiga format further, if handled correctly, who knows, maybe it could take on Microsoft and Apple? It is a good start that they have Commodore and Amiga under the same roof again.

justarb · Post by **justarb** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:49 pm

diasFlec wrote:I'll get one, what about you guys?

Heck no! These machines have nothing to do with the Commodore I know and love other than the name and logo. These proposed new machines are just an attempt to make money off people's nostalgic feelings for the real Commodores.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:34 pm

justarb wrote:
diasFlec wrote:I'll get one, what about you guys?
Heck no! These machines have nothing to do with the Commodore I know and love other than the name and logo. These proposed new machines are just an attempt to make money off people's nostalgic feelings for the real Commodores.

Well they have Amigas with workbench V 4.0. Does that count as a new Commodore product?

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:00 pm

16KVIC20 wrote:Well they have Amigas with workbench V 4.0.

That's news to me. Where does it say exactly at the website that they have 4.0? I wonder what Ben Hermans of Hyperion would say about that.

FCUG celebrating 30 years,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
http://www.sccaners.org

justarb · Post by **justarb** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:00 pm

16KVIC20 wrote:Well they have Amigas with workbench V 4.0. Does that count as a new Commodore product?

If and when they ever ship it, maybe, but honestly this company has nothing to do with the original Commodore and has merely licensed the Commodore (and Amiga) names. Their (proposed) products are mostly generic PCs in Commodore-themed cases, with an Amiga-skinned Linux as the OS.

Short of a licensing deal and some (pretty ordinary if you ask me) renders of Commodore-like cases, I really don't see anything exciting on the "Commodore USA" website. If the company had any of the original Commodore people behind it, and/or if the products incorporated some actual Commodore hardware (imagine the Commodore-64 PC case they show had a real SID chip or something like the 64 DTV chipset built-in!) it might be worth looking at, but I can run an emulator on my Mac perfectly well and I have plenty of real C64s and Vic20s to keep me happy - these guys just show no real Commodore imagination IMHO.

Wilson · Post by **Wilson** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:15 pm

Exactly what justarb and orion70 said. On the off chance that even one of these products makes it to production, there's no way I'd buy it.

Note the plethora of stolen images on the website. Sure, credit is given in some cases, but what's the point of putting up an image of something that the company has no intentions or means to create? My favorite picture on that page is the "VIC-Plus", which appears to be a laughably poorly edited picture of a standard computer in a keyboard.

I used to be apathetic to Commodore USA's practices, but as the lies keep coming I'm starting to get a little irritated.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:02 pm

RobertBe wrote:
16KVIC20 wrote:Well they have Amigas with workbench V 4.0.
That's news to me. Where does it say exactly at the website that they have 4.0? I wonder what Ben Hermans of Hyperion would say about that.

FCUG celebrating 30 years,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
http://www.sccaners.org

Having checked th ewebsite, I agree with you. I coincidentally saw their website last week, and thought that I saw they included Workbench 4.0 with their Amigas. Maybe I was confusing it with another website.

The problem is it would be quite hard for Commodore as we remember it to mean much now. The PC format reigns supreme.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:04 pm

justarb wrote:
16KVIC20 wrote:Well they have Amigas with workbench V 4.0. Does that count as a new Commodore product?
If and when they ever ship it, maybe, but honestly this company has nothing to do with the original Commodore and has merely licensed the Commodore (and Amiga) names. Their (proposed) products are mostly generic PCs in Commodore-themed cases, with an Amiga-skinned Linux as the OS.

Short of a licensing deal and some (pretty ordinary if you ask me) renders of Commodore-like cases, I really don't see anything exciting on the "Commodore USA" website. If the company had any of the original Commodore people behind it, and/or if the products incorporated some actual Commodore hardware (imagine the Commodore-64 PC case they show had a real SID chip or something like the 64 DTV chipset built-in!) it might be worth looking at, but I can run an emulator on my Mac perfectly well and I have plenty of real C64s and Vic20s to keep me happy - these guys just show no real Commodore imagination IMHO.

T o get me interested they would have to launch a completely hardware and OS updated Amiga, and i don't think that is what's on offer.

I can't see much point in releasing a PC in a case that looks a bit like a Commodore 64, or a slimline PC with a C16 badge on it!

justarb · Post by **justarb** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:22 pm

16KVIC20 wrote:The problem is it would be quite hard for Commodore as we remember it to mean much now. The PC format reigns supreme.

But to give Linux a Commodore or Amiga themed skin and toss in an emulator then call it "Amiga Workbench 5.0" is outright misleading and devalues the Commodore name. Even calling a skinned Linux installation "Commodore OS" is bad enough. They are just trying to milk money out of the Commodore name with a hokey version of Linux and some retro-styled cases. They can't even get their product names straight - the "VIC-Plus" has a Commodore 16 label on it!

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:37 pm

justarb wrote:
16KVIC20 wrote:The problem is it would be quite hard for Commodore as we remember it to mean much now. The PC format reigns supreme.
But to give Linux a Commodore or Amiga themed skin and toss in an emulator then call it "Amiga Workbench 5.0" is outright misleading and devalues the Commodore name. Even calling a skinned Linux installation "Commodore OS" is bad enough. They are just trying to milk money out of the Commodore name with a hokey version of Linux and some retro-styled cases. They can't even get their product names straight - the "VIC-Plus" has a Commodore 16 label on it!

I agree. Their only hope of making something meaningful from the Commodore and Amiga names is to lauch a development of the Amiga for the modern day, together with a proper version of workbench. Somehow I doubt they will do it though. I think they are just after a fast buck, and see nostalgia as the ticket.

If I wanted a PC with a VIC 20 label on it, I can make myself a label and stick it on the PC I've got. At least I would get it right, rather than mixing it up with the C16.

Wilson · Post by **Wilson** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:42 pm

Well, I may have been too harsh on Commodore USA... While some of us want something that is "true" to the Commodore name, I think we have to face the fact that CUSA is a business and the route they are going is about the truest way one can while making a profit. Based on the outrageous speed that CUSA's Facebook page is accumulating "likes", I'd say that those of us wishing for a unique hardware design are in the minority.

I still don't approve of the many models that are no more than re-branded all in one keyboards. However, the "Commodore 64x" just launched and I have to admit, I am impressed that CUSA managed to make such an affordable product. It's great that they're selling the case separately too. I'm blown away that they landed an advertising deal with Disney (if you hadn't heard, you have now

).

I'll wait to see what the quality of the case is, but I very well may end up grabbing a case if not a computer.

So, I've really gone 180 degrees on this topic. I wish best of luck to CUSA in their business endeavors and hopefully someday they can afford to produce some more replica cases.

I don't think that they're soiling the brand name and maybe we'll even get a whole new generation of Commodore fans out of this... or maybe not.

Just my $.02

Denial

The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)

Re: The new Vic 20 - VicPlus (to be released in 2011)