Poll: Is Amiga development heading in the right direction

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  1. #21
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    Which is actually exactly what the PPC only Amiga OS4 currently is. There are so few PPC powered Amiga's that there is little point in it from a marketing or commercial standpoint. It is only the continuing Amiga fan base that has any kind of interest in it.

    And those of us without PPC are completely locked out from it, with PPC cards being so rare now. Therefore what is the difference between the current OS4 running on PPC or x86 hardware?

    Moving the future development of Amiga OS over to x86 hardware would instantly open it's accessibility to nearly everyone on the planet. You can build a pretty good PC these days for less than some of the PPC accelerators for the Amiga have been selling for second hand lately!

    As for software compatibility. What native PPC software is actually available for OS4? Not much. So what would the difference be? Dual core x86 CPUs are now pretty much the standard, so an extra core could easily be dedicated to transparent emulation for older software support. Therefore opening up a x86 native Amiga OS to backwards compatibility. Plus you could run UAE on it for classic Amiga support if needed (where the custom chip emulation is needed).

    I don't think continuing along any development that needs proprietary hardware is a good idea. Although moving to x86 would open up the ability to use the CatWeasel controller for direct access to Amiga floppies.

    The other advantage of x86 is that current processors are far ahead of PPC in development and their speed is much faster. And again, look at the technology and hardware available for x86 based systems. Compare that with that available for PPC powered Amigas. Graphics cards many years out of date, and limited support for other cards.

    If they continue down the PPC route the Amiga OS will just fall further and further backwards into complete obscurity and eventually vanish.

    Why create a new version of Amiga OS for x86? For the future, not the past! We have classic Amigas in our collections, as well as emulation for the past. Amiga fans want a new Amiga OS, running on cutting edge technology again, taking full advantage of the hardware and software created that is in the present.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harrison View Post
    Why create a new version of Amiga OS for x86? For the future, not the past! We have classic Amigas in our collections, as well as emulation for the past. Amiga fans want a new Amiga OS, running on cutting edge technology again, taking full advantage of the hardware and software created that is in the present.
    What future? what you are describing is basically an OS replacement for windows that can be run on a PC that would be able to do stuff that you can already do via UAE but without any of the advantages of other replacement OS's. What i'm trying to say is that AOS is dead in all it's forms. The only reason that there is a slim possibility that PPC boards may be made is because of die hards like ourselves who would like to run AOS4 even though it's nothing special and it's not special because of the CPU but because all it is is a ported version of OS3 with PD stuff thrown in and a prettier look.
    The Amiga and it's OS is dead. Long live the Amiga!!
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  3. #23
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    But, but, but... My point is that I want to see Amiga OS developed properly for the future. Therefore it need to go over to x86. Also as it is all but dead I also think it should go completely open source, making it a great alternative to Linux! Open source also means sudden increased interest in development of both an OS and it's software support.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  4. #24
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    I know you want to see it developed for the future but even Open Sourced you couldn't go from 3.1 to a decent OS without thousands of people programming 24 hours a day for about 5 years. I say 3.1 because 3.5 and 3.9 are made of shareware and PD so all of that would have to go Open sourced and then if you look at all the other Open sourced amiga software then you'll see that even they have failed so why the OS would succeed i don't know.
    As an Open sourced project it would always be at best 3 years behind windows and linux and therefore utterly useless.
    Having said that isn't AROS basically what you're after? And thats been going for nearly 10 years and still hasn't become fully useable and is little more than 3.1 with a tart up due to better hardware and still cannot compete with even Win95 or 98. If anything a x86 port of AOS would show how bad an OS it is compared to modern systems and would be the final nail in the coffin. At leats if you're forced to dig out old hardware and conmnect it up you start to live in nostalgia land and become deluded into how good an OS it is.
    Please don't get me wrong. I'd love for the AOS to be updated and for Amiga hardware to be able to carry on but the reality is the AOS will never again be a competitor in the computer market even as free software and as an OS there will be better OS's on MP3 players.
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  5. #25
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    The AROS project has made quite a bit of progress during the last year. Already in 2008, work is well under way when it comes to creating a webbrowser and an e-mail client. Besides, the deadline for UAE integration is in May, so it will be exciting to see what will happen on this front.

    And you never know what is happening in the future. I don't think the AmigaOS is dead yet, and it could be that something is in store for us in 2008 or 2009.

    If it is made open source, made usable for x86, then anything can happen. There's a lot of skilled developers and people still putting an effort into the Amiga, and I'm sure they could contribute with a lot.

  6. #26
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    AROS is all well and good, but it is really just developing a WB3.1 style port for x86 hardware. I really want to see a completely new Amiga OS developed from the ground up for x86 that utilises all of the ideas and features of the original OS, but brings it bang up to date.

    I know I'm dreaming, but I can but hope.

    But I do agree that in many regards AROS is the system I've been hoping for as far as the Amiga OS to date goes. And although development has been on going for a long time it has increased a lot recently and is looking much more promising now.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harrison View Post
    I really want to see a completely new Amiga OS developed from the ground up for x86 that utilises all of the ideas and features of the original OS, but brings it bang up to date.

    I know I'm dreaming, but I can but hope.
    Dreaming doesn't quite cover that, I'm afraid.

    As for AROS. It's only just started working on a web browser and email client??? I know the progress has speeded up just recently but after 10 years it is still little more than a replacement OS for systems running DOS.
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  8. #28
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    While something is still being developed, it's impossible to say it's dead or will never be great again.
    Situations can change relatively quickly in the tech world.
    Sometimes the change in fortunes can come from a strange source.

    I'm thinking of Apple now.
    They looked pretty much dead in the water at one point not so long ago.
    It wasn't their computers or operating system that turned the company round.
    A simple mp3 player that wasn't ground breaking in any way was marketed more as a fashion accessory than a useful device.

    There are a lot of people who will buy into that ideology.

    The money made from that success encouraged Apple to try the same technique with their OS and hardware.
    That and aming products at the multimedia industry has boosted their slice of the pie dramatically.

    I am told that in America, sales of PCs and MACs is 50/50.
    Don't know how true that is.

    Now I'm not saying that the are not going to take prime position away from M$, but then again I wont say that it can't happen either.
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  9. #29
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    It is my belief that with sufficient will from people with a real interest to revitalize the Amigas, they start from the Motorola 68040, use an external derivate of the 68882 and then build up to make it support a second architecture like x86. In terms of chipset, you certainly can have the AAA brought back from the dead and made hardware compatible with AGA and ECS+OCS. Voila, you can have a classic Amiga able to run Windows.
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  10. #30
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    Even with all of the will in the world, if you don't have the money or the resources it will always remain a dream at best. The Amiga world has been wishing for a true successor to the 68K line of Amigas ever since the demise of Commdore, but other than the A500 compareable minimig we haven't seen one. And I don't personally view the AmigaOne as a real Amiga. It isn't really backwardly compatible, so other than the OS looking similar it is a completely separate and different platform.

    Most people view the PC as a Windows machine that is Microsoft orientated. However I have always viewed the PC platform as the most modular and open hardware platform available. Yes, it is used to run Windows, but you can also use it to run many other OSs instead. As a hardware platform it is the most developed and up to date of any, seeing the latest graphics cards, sound cards, ram, CPUs, HDDs etc... so personally I don't see a point in wasting money developing proprietary hardware any more. Even Apple ditched that idea a couple of years ago and now just assemble Macs from off the shelf PC parts. Why keep reinventing the wheel. Just the one that already exists.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


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