I played with GEOS for the Commodore 64 when I was a kid. It wasn't really that useful on a system that tiny, but it's an amazing testament to what can be done

I played with GEOS for the Commodore 64 when I was a kid. It wasn't really that useful on a system that tiny, but it's an amazing testament to what can be done on a tiny machine by skilled programmers who aren't larding everything up with layers and layers of abstraction. The Amiga was way, way ahead of its time. Commodore is really a tragedy. There is a parallel universe out there somewhere where Commodore survived and the Amiga evolved into today's equivalent of the Macintosh. It just shows that the best tech does not necessarily win. In fact it often doesn't. Winning in the market requires a large confluence of factors including network effects, timing, availability of capital, etc. Being good helps but it doesn't make it for you.