Announcing AmigaOS 4.1

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12th July 2008, 09:57
Puni/Void

Announcing AmigaOS 4.1

Hyperion announces AmigaOS 4.1.

Read below for more information.

Here's a link to the announcement.

Quote:

Antwerp, Belgium - 11 July, 2008.

Hyperion Entertainment is very pleased to announce that Amiga OS 4.1 has gone into final testing and is scheduled for release mid-Q3/2008. Building on the solid foundations of Amiga OS 4.0, Amiga OS 4.1 introduces a wealth of substantial new functionality which is a prerequisite for the deployment of industry standard applications on the Amiga platform.

State-of-the-art applications such as modern web-browsers, productivity software or digital imaging software typically operate on large datasets with a corresponding memory footprint which rapidly outstrips the physical memory of any computer system. Amiga OS 4.1 offers intelligent memory paging and uses transparent disk based memory - but only when you need it.

Sophisticated media content creation packages, multimedia applications such as video players and 3D games have sparked a revolution in storage technology with hard-drive capacities now reaching the terabyte range. Amiga OS 4.1 introduces an all new filesystem, JXFS, the fastest and most robust filesystem available for the Amiga platform, with support for drives and partitions of multiple terabytes.

Graphics cards too have become increasingly powerful and versatile. Amiga OS 4.1 implements 3D hardware accelerated Porter/Duff image composition which is deeply integrated into the system. The upside is not only that the Amiga OS 4.1 user-interface offers unprecedented functionality and customization options such as transparent windows with arbitrary shapes. The use of a compositing engine also results in totally flicker-free screen-updates.

Building on this compositing engine is Amiga OS 4.1's implementation of the "Cairo" device-independent 2D rendering library which has become a de facto industry standard and is used in applications as diverse as Firefox 3, Java/ClassPath's SWING and even Open Office.

With these new features, Amiga OS 4.1 paves the way for countless exciting possibilities for the Amiga platform. Indeed, Amiga OS 4.1 is not only the most advanced AmigaOS incarnation to date, it is also the best way to reacquaint
yourself with times when computing was fun!

A non-exhaustive list of key new functionality of Amiga OS 4.1:

* Intelligent memory paging
* Hardware compositing engine (Radeon R1xx and R2xx family)
* Implementation of the "Cairo" device-independent 2D rendering library
* Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) support for greater digital camera compatibility
* JXFS filesystem with the support for drivers and partitions of multiple terabyte si
* Improved Workbench functionality
* New and improved DOS functionality (full 64 bit support, universal notification support, automatic expunge and reload of updated disk resources)
* Improved 3D hardware accelerated screen-dragging
* Reworked AmiDock with true transparency
* Reworked Warp3D Radeon drivers with new functionality
* And much, much more.

Required hardware: AmigaOne
Required graphics card for hardware compositing: Radeon 1xx or Radeon 2xx
Recommend graphics card: Radeon 9250

Amiga OS 4.1 will ship in a cardboard package (box preview) and will be distributed world-wide by Acube Systems Srl. Details on pricing and availability will be forthcoming.
12th July 2008, 10:16
Buleste

Sounds like there may be some resolution to the Hyperion/Amiga inc battle.
12th July 2008, 10:17
Harrison

I wonder how many years it will be before this one gets released! ;)
14th July 2008, 09:03
Tiago

Only for Amiga one? Doesnt work in A1200 with PPC cards?

i wonder how many users exists with such a system... we know there there are some users, but how many...? Does it justify to create a new OS version?
I allways thought that SO for a more general A1200 would be better but...
something in the line of OS3.9
All the guys with a Amigaone should be very happy:)
14th July 2008, 09:13
Puni/Void

Hi Tiago,

Amiga OS 4.1 is unfortunately only for AmigaOne owners. After what I've read, there's no imminent plan for a classic Amiga version.

As for Amiga OS 4.1 on new hardware, for example the SAM, I think we must wait until the courtcase between Hyperion and Amiga Inc. is over.

Anyway, definitely good news for AmigaOne owners and the rest of the community. It's good to see Hyperion delivering the goods. :)
14th July 2008, 13:22
Demon Cleaner

Nice. I just put it in the news section on the main site.
14th July 2008, 13:27
Buleste

If you want a link to the web page it's here.
14th July 2008, 13:30
Demon Cleaner

Added the link now to the article. Unfortunately it doesn't work from here due to Websense.
14th July 2008, 13:30
Buleste

Ooops. Just realised it was on P G's original post.
14th July 2008, 20:31
Rossi

Amiga one

I do not get it .

Why don't they bring out an Amiga one with the software ?
Most users don't know what an Amiga One is.

I think with a good presentation most of the Amiga users shall buy one .
If it is good priced !!!

I Think 600 euro's is enough for such a system !!
The more users the better.

If i go to a computershop and ask about an Amiga One ? they look at you as if you where from Mars .

Rossi
14th July 2008, 23:11
Harrison

It is because there is currently a number of legal copyright and licence ownership issues with various parts of the Amiga and its OS. If this is ever resolved then hopefully we will see new Amiga One's developed and sold. Sadly however until then we won't see any new ones.

It is mad in my view to be releasing 4.1 for only the A1 as there are so few of them in existence.

As I've said before. They should now ditch the PPC processors and move Amiga OS to Intel hardware. That way anyone with a PC could buy and enjoy Amiga OS 4, and on current technology, rather than hardware which is at least 7 years out of date. The PPC processor is now dead as a desktop CPU.
14th July 2008, 23:54
Zetr0

..... PPC / OS4.x .....

.... dont even get me started.....:censored::swear::rant:
15th July 2008, 13:30
TiredOfLife

PPC is still in development although as Harrison says, not so much as a desktop system these days.
There are plenty of plus points to PPC so the goal for me would be to carry on developing for this but also x86 series.

As far as I know it's Alan Redhouse who has the license to build AmigaOnes.
This was contracted to MAI, who have since gone bust.
I believe he had a lot of trouble with MAI and dodgy boards and didn't make much money if any.

I don't know if it's possible for Alan to transfer his license and for someone to build a board that could be named the AmigaOne.

This might be a way to proceed until the court case is resolved.
23rd July 2008, 15:49
RhapsodyGuru

WTF

I am so confused... Bill McEwen is making empty promises to release a new Amiga. If I could, I would buy the assets to Amiga, Inc. and begin a fresh direction for the company. By the way, when will the new Amiga hardware that is supposedly in development be ready to ship? I want a new Amiga really bad. :yesyes:

Also, I agree that we should move to the Intel architecture. PowerPC has been dead forever and it seems like a waste to develop for it. What would be even cooler is if Amiga were to enter the netbook arena before it becomes oversaturated.
23rd July 2008, 15:59
Buleste

It looks like the ACK Controls and Amiga Inc partnership never got post the press announcement, When all the legal wrangling has finished you may be able to get a new Amiga One but other that that is NatAmi which is based around Classic Amigas. TBH i don't think there will ever be any truly new hardware. You may get projects to run Amiga OS on PC's in the same way that Amithlon did but thats going to be about it.

By the way welcome to the group, Hope you have fun.
24th July 2008, 15:35
TiredOfLife

@Harrison

It is not mad to release 4.1, it's essential.
There are legal issues involving trademark ownership which are often awarded to the side that haven proven usage as apposed to just registered.

There is also the financial element.
If Hyperion are fighting the court case, we can assume they want to do something with the OS.
To sell copies of it for other machines if/when they win the court case, they need to keep developing it to keep it modern.

In which case, it makes sense to make some money along the way where possible.
Nothing is lost selling copies of something they already have.
4th August 2008, 18:51
RhapsodyGuru

Well still... I am tired of waiting for results. If Amiga, Inc. can get this stupid lawsuit settled out of court faster, I would feel less annoyed. In the meantime, it is gonna be an Amiga A1200 with the BlizzardPPC board for me.

Guru
5th August 2008, 13:05
TiredOfLife

They are currently in mediation.
Could be a stalling tactic by one side or the other mind.
5th August 2008, 14:43
Harrison

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiredOfLife

@Harrison

It is not mad to release 4.1, it's essential.
There are legal issues involving trademark ownership which are often awarded to the side that haven proven usage as apposed to just registered.

There is also the financial element.
If Hyperion are fighting the court case, we can assume they want to do something with the OS.
To sell copies of it for other machines if/when they win the court case, they need to keep developing it to keep it modern.

In which case, it makes sense to make some money along the way where possible.
Nothing is lost selling copies of something they already have.

Whilst that is all true, the number of working Amiga One's that are still actively being used by owners can't be that high. How many Amiga One's were actually made to date? I've no idea, but it wasn't that many. Therefore the potential number of sales for an updated release of the OS is going to be minimal at best. A couple of hundred copies maybe?

And no support for classic PPC systems means even less systems able to run it.

Such numbers seems a bit futile in my view.

Yes, continued development of the OS is essential, however it is already many years behind the current OS marketplace and is continuing to fall further backwards all of the time.

The release can only be for the one reason to try and prove it is a viable OS with sales potential in todays market. Somehow to try and prove an argument for the agreement to develop it further.

However the only real market (as I keep saying) is with the Intel compatible PC hardware market. To sell an OS these days you have to be able to get hold of the hardware to run it. PPC processors are getting rarer by the day, whereas Intel processors and all related hardware is getting cheaper and cheaper. For example I could build a complete working PC for much less than the cheapest PPC accelerator card I've seen sell recently(£160).

If we view the Amiga PPC market as remaining just an extension of the existing Amiga range, and therefore remaining as an enthusiasts OS, then sticking with PPC is going to happen as it is staying with the old technology of the Amiga. However if we want the AmigaOS to develop. To support newer technology (USB2, Firewire, SATA, PCI-E, current GPUs, current Soundcards etc) at affordable prices and have an new version of the AmigaOS that delivers the features of a modern OS, then we need to see an Intel version developed.