Benjamin J. Heckendorn seems unusually enthused by his latest hack'n mod, calling the Commodore 64 laptop "probably one of, if not my favorite project I have done." That's saying something from the man who brought the "Benheck" finesse hammer down upon just about every modern and classic PC / game console and accessory you can think of. The C64 lappie features a C64C motherboard, a Gamecube power supply, and special 1541-III DTV device that emulates a floppy drive using a FAT-32 formatted SD card -- all while keeping true to the beige 8-bit spirit of the original. And if we're not mistaken, he's controlling it with an Atari joystick seen in the video posted after the break. Then again, there could be an Xbox 360 controller hiding in that joystick knowing Ben.

[Via Nowhereelse]

Not one to be outdone by the likes of Dell, Alienware and Gateway, Commodore Gaming is also offering up Core i7-based gaming rigs. Unlike the big boys, however, Commodore's choosing not to expand its current lineup any further; instead, it's simply offering up the new pieces of silicon as options in the machines it already sells. Don't venture over expecting anything to be cheap, else you'll be sorely disappointed. Full release is after the break.

Sure, we know you and your Video Toaster have been gutted over this whole AmigaOS 4 debacle... what's that? You've never heard of OS 4? You didn't know Amiga was still around? You hadn't heard that Bill McEwan, CEO of Amiga says the company's next OS is going to be "better than OS X?" Well time to perk up those ears, kiddo. In a truly enthralling read, the head of the defunct hardware-maker / software company says that Amiga is hard at work on a number of projects, not the least of which is the follow up to company's OS 4 -- which has been mired in development disputes with a company called Hyperion Entertainment since 2001 -- AmigaOS 5. A piece of software guaranteed to surprise and thrill the technology community at large, mostly (we suspect) due to the fact that no one even knew the company was still in business. Sure, some of the detractors say they haven't released a product in seven years, but what's seven years when you've got that pile of platinum that is OS 5? Exactly.

[Via Slashdot]

Commodore, a company which had long been considered dead and gone, continues to mount its inexplicable return to the spotlight with its latest offering, the Gravel C200 media player. As excited as we are that the C64-makers are back on the scene, it's hard to get too jazzed about this media-player, which is about as rote as you can get. The HTC Touch look-alike rocks a 1.8-inch color screen, comes in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB storage varieties, and plays back all sorts of file formats like MP3, WAV, WMA, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, DivX, XviD, and WMV. Although the form-factor is nice and utilitarian, Commodore is going to have to do something really special to entice a purchase out of us... like, maybe add C64 emulation?

[Via Tech Digest]

Those looking to relive a hint of their childhood in a big way need look no further than Commodore's high-end gaming PC lineup, as the vintage logo and unmistakable name will certainly be found on its newest rigs. 'Course, all this mushy razzmatazz doesn't mean much if it won't perform, and considering the £3,000 ($6,153) or so that the flagship XX will set you back, we're sure you'd like to know how this beast stacks up before you pull that trigger. TrustedReviews was able to get ahold of a finalized unit and put it through the standard 2D, 3D, and other speed-related paces, and while it wasn't up to the same level as an Alienware or Dell XPS in terms of noise, build quality, and case design, the actual performance seemed to be right on target. Overall, the XX was deemed a solid buy for those who didn't mind the far-out artwork and less-than-stellar construction, but since you'd be saving some £500 ($1,026) over a similar offering from Alienware, that sacrifice may be one worth making.

[Thanks, Andy]

Unlike some companies we've seen, it appears that Commodore Gaming is actually keeping its word, as the company has just now released the final details on its lineup of flashy US-bound gaming rigs. The Cg, Cgs, Cgx, and Cxx machines progress gradually from least extreme to highly 1337, and all four can be customized to suit your every fantasy. To give you an idea of what's on tap (if you've got the coin), the Cxx packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 processor, twin 500GB 7,200RPM hard drives in a RAID 0 array, 2GB of Corsair RAM, DVD-RW optical drive, an 850-watt power supply, Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, Windows Vista, and dual 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPUs to boot. As far as pricing goes, word on the street is that the base system will start out around $1,700, but we'll know for sure when these come stateside in Q3.

[Via CNET]

Those of you pining to blow $3500-$5800 or more on an semi-overspecced and definitely-overpriced PC need look no further: Commodore is offering its GX and XX gamer PCs online now. With quad-core Intel processors, GeForce 8800 GTX SLI graphics and those utterly frilly "C-kin" paint jobs, you can know your cash is going to sort-of good use. Or if those two pricetags are too steep, you can hold out for the GS and G models, which should be hitting retail right about now -- though we're guessing this whole shady operation is going to be UK only for the time being.

[Via Joystiq]

If you try, we mean really try, then you might recall the absurdly named Gravel in Pocket and Gravel in Home devices which connect to Commodore's PlaysForSure obstructed protected CommodoreWorld content delivery service. A trifecta of media access announced at IFA way, way back in August -- seven months and some half-dozen major trade shows gone by. Today, Commodore is rounding out their offerings by introducing the Gravel Personal C-PE-6000 series of 4-inch, QVGA movie and music players in addition to their 3.5-inch Gravel in Car C-IC-8000 series of personal entertainment and navigation systems. They didn't stop there, however, as they also brought a few mockups under glass of their upcoming "luxurious" (uh... yeah) series of In Pocket WiFi devices: the C-IP-300 flash audio and video player, the C-IP-1000 widescreen video-centric player, and the C-IP-3000 SiRF Star III GPS navigator. Call us unwashed, but that angular design metaphor just doesn't make us sprockets want to dance. All the media devices feature a 2GB max of on-board flash -- enough (we guess) considering the central role that streaming data (music, video, and "live TV") plays on these devices. They also feature an interesting rear-mounted joystick for navigation and a common user interface spread across all the players. The GPS products do away with the rear-mounted joystick but still connect to CommodoreWorld over WiFi. So yeah, they've developed an entire ecosystem of gear and services instead of just making a single hot device which would be so like, 90s dontchaknow.

We had a chance to get hands-on with Commodor's new gaming rigs in their booth here at CeBIT. As you'd expect, they played the part with ease during the canned-and-cached demonstrations. But we'll have to wait for some hard working reviews before passing judgment on something so potentially life consuming as a gaming PC. Still, they had a flood of skinned rigs to ogle and even provided us with a peek at their new "C-kin" personalization (aka, painting) software. Check all the action in the gallery below including a freshly skinned laptop which, according to Commodore, is "a hint at things to come."

While it's certainly tempting to wax philosophically about how Commodore has finally made the transition from 64KB of memory to 64-bit operating systems, the truth is that the company which just announced a line of boutique gaming PC's at CeBIT is far removed from the one that ruled the 80's and enhanced our droll elementary school days with some therapeutic Rampage. Still, the four BTO gaming rigs unveiled by the latest iteration of Commodore -- the XX, GX, GS, and G -- seem to stand on their own as solid machines, offering anywhere from a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo E6320 to a 2.66GHz QX6700 Core 2 Extreme CPU, a single NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS all they way up to dual 8800 GTX cards, between 2GB and 4GB of RAM, and hard drive capacities up to 750GB in an array of RAID configurations. Besides the top-of-the-line specs, these new workhorses give gamers the chance to personalize their paint jobs through a "revolutionary painting process" that may help you forget that your tower isn't shaped like the head of an alien. The revived company's online store will begin taking orders in April, and though pricing structures have yet to be revealed, expect to pay a significant premium for the privilege of bringing Commodore back into your home.

[Photo courtesy of Pocket Lint]

Commodore's big beige glory days may be long past, but the familiar name is still out there kicking (such as it is), lending its considerable cachet to an array of otherwise unremarkable devices. Now the company appears to have decided to bring things back a little closer to its roots, prepping a new line of Commodore-branded PCs aimed at gamers, pitting them against the well-established likes of Alienware and VoodooPC. Unfortunately, there's been no other details whatsoever announced, with Commodore Gaming CEO Bala Keilman only going so far as to say that the PCs will deliver "what gamers need and want." It looks like we won't have to wait too long for the complete rundown, however, with the company promising to reveal everything (including playable systems) at CeBIT on March 15th.

[Via Slashdot]

Just in case one Commodore product wasn't enough, the company will announce two other new hardware products at IFA. As a sister item to the Gravel In Pocket, Commodore will also demo the Commodore In Home, and like the name says, it's for the casa. The Gravel In Home comes with an 80GB drive to give you access to video on demand, Replay TV and streaming music services. Like the Gravel In Pocket, it too will be available in a few months. The Los Angeles-based company also announced the Commodore In Public MediaTower, a kiosk to download music, ringtones, games and the like from "high traffic public areas" via USB, WAP or Bluetooth -- something we're surprised that Apple didn't come out with first. Then again, maybe Stevie J.'s already got one in the pipeline. [Warning: PDF link!]