GEOS (8-bit operating system)
GEOS for the Commodore 64. Mimicking Commodore's OS core naming/misspelling, Berkeley called GEOS' core a "kernal" (cf. kernel).
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| Developer | Berkeley Softworks (later GeoWorks) |
|---|---|
| Working state | Discontinued, historic |
| Initial release | 1986 |
| Latest release | GEOS 2.0 |
| Available in | English and German |
| Platforms | Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore Plus/4, Apple II family |
| Default user interface | Graphical user interface |
GEOS (Graphic Environment Operating System) is a discontinued operating system from Berkeley Softworks (later GeoWorks). Originally designed for the Commodore 64 and released in 1986, it provides a graphical user interface for this popular 8-bit computer. GEOS closely resembles early versions of the classic Mac OS and includes a graphical word processor (geoWrite) and paint program (geoPaint).
A December 1987 survey by the Commodore-dedicated magazine Compute!'s Gazette found that nearly half of its readers used GEOS. For many years, Commodore bundled GEOS with its redesigned and cost-reduced C64, the C64C. At its peak, GEOS was the third-most-popular microcomputer operating system in the world in terms of units shipped, trailing only MS-DOS and Mac OS (besides the original Commodore 64's KERNAL).
Other GEOS-compatible software packages were available from Berkeley Softworks or from third parties, including a reasonably sophisticated desktop publishing application called geoPublish and a spreadsheet called geoCalc. While geoPublish is not as sophisticated as Aldus Pagemaker and geoCalc not as sophisticated as Microsoft Excel, the packages provide reasonable functionality, and Berkeley Softworks founder Brian Dougherty claimed the company ran its business using its own software on Commodore 8-bit computers for several years.
Enhanced versions of GEOS later became available in 1987 for the Commodore 128 and in for 1988 the Apple II family. A lesser-known version was also released for the Commodore Plus/4.
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