No Commodore but real USA
Yes, its old, its 31March 2012, but its rare AmigaOS 4 developers give public interviews 🙂
To the surprise of many, the Amiga operating system endures, with developers continuing to eye new features for the venerable OS. We caught up with AmigaOS 4’s lead developer to talk about the system’s survival.
The Cult of Apple is well known. People are not shocked to see massive lines outside Apple stores in the lead-up to the latest iDevice launch. But before that there was the Cult of Apple, back when the company was still Apple Computer Inc. there was the Cult of Mac, whose members, in the face of overwhelming Wintel dominance, doggedly refused to let go of what was then considered a doomed platform.
The Cult of Mac’s birth can be traced to the release of the first Macintosh in 1984. With its fancy GUI, it was a revolutionary computer. But it wasn’t the only historically significant personal computer released during the ’80s. Nor was it the only one to evoke fierce loyalty among its fans. The 1980s also witnessed the birth of the Cult of Amiga, with the first Amiga system — the Amiga 1000 — released in 1985. Like the Macintosh, it was a revolutionary personal computer.
And amazingly, like the Macintosh, the Amiga endures — at least in a form. The Amiga operating system continues to be developed by Belgian software company Hyperion Entertainment, and an ecosystem of vendors are still creating hardware for the system.
The Amiga was originally produced by Commodore, which went bankrupt in the mid-1990s. A series of legal twists and turns culminated in 2009, when a settlement was reached between Amiga Inc. and Hyperion Entertainment. „I am not a lawyer but my understanding is that Amiga inc. retains ownership of AmigaOS 3.1 and earlier while Hyperion owns the changes it has made since,“ says AmigaOS 4 lead developer Steven Solie.
Some may notice that AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9 are left out. Those releases were done by a contractor named Haage and Partner which is still in business today. The sources to those releases remain with H&P… Hyperion had to rewrite any of the components it wanted from those releases for the 4.x series.“
The reason Amiga has managed to endure is simple: It’s „purely because of the fans“, says Solie. „Without them, the commercial investment would have already dried up. There are commercial companies still investing in AmigaOS such as ACube Systems, A-EON Technology and Hyperion Entertainment itself.“
Image: Amigaos.net
Hyperion Entertainment has two full time developers dedicated to the OS, with other developers being either contractors or volunteers. „The Open Amiga organisation has many examples of projects being developed outside the core team for possible inclusion in the OS itself.“
„It is a true the vast majority of companies have long left the platform. But the core group of fans is what still keeps things going,“ says Solie.
Although Hyperion has been using serial numbers for copies of AmigaOS since 4.0, it won’t reveal sales numbers. Solie’s „personal guess“ is that the system has 2000-5000 users.
„If you include all the various Amiga clones and emulators we would probably be talking about around 10,000 users [in] total,“ he adds. „It is really difficult to judge because a majority of the users are rather quiet.
„That said, I think there are still tens of thousands that still remember the Amiga in general. The brand itself is still quite strong to this day. So if you are talking about potential users, we are still looking at quite a large pool.“
AmigaOS 4.0, which was released in October 2004 (AmigaOS 4.1 Update 4 was released in December 2011), is based off the 3.1 source code. Unlike the original version of the OS it runs on the PowerPC architecture; Amigas originally used Motorola 68k CPUs.
„The good news [with building off the 3.1 source] is you don’t have to waste time cloning and reverse engineering everything — that’s just a vast waste of time,“ Solie says. „The bad news is some of that code is 68k assembly and is in no shape to run on a modern PowerPC hardware platform.
Image: Amigaos.net
„New hardware models are currently made by ACube Systems. Their models include the AmigaOne 500 (Sam460ex based), Sam440ep and Sam440ep-flex. I use an AmigaOne 500 as my primary system and it is quite capable.
„A-EON Technology recently starting shipping its flagship model the AmigaOne X1000. The X1000 currently runs a preliminary version of AmigaOS. Demand for the X1000 was so great that A-EON needed it shipped as soon as possible. If all goes well, the X1000 will be the first Amiga system ever to support multiple cores as well.“
In October Hyperion Entertainment announced an AmigaOS-based netbook. „Nothing much has been heard since then regarding the netbook but we do know it already runs AmigaOS.“
„There are all sorts of rumours of additional hardware platforms and form factors from these companies,“ Solie says. „Hyperion is always on the lookout to increase its user base of course so any new hardware platforms that come along are seriously considered.
„You can still purchase brand new hardware and software from a small network on dealers. Most dealers deal with both the original Amiga hardware as well as the new stuff.
„It is a pretty tight community of users, dealers and developers.“
The process for companies wanting to develop Amiga-friendly hardware normally involves a vendor contacting Hyperion when they have a new idea and negotiating an agreement to have AmigaOS ported. „The hardware providers usually provide the firmware; Hyperion provides the HAL [hardware abstraction layer] and of course the OS itself,“ Solie says. „Hardware drivers are written by either side of the equation or even third party contractors and volunteers.
„Hyperion’s developers have provided input into new hardware developments in the past. Ultimately, it is up to the hardware developers to do what they think is best of course.“
Although the system remains closed source, since Solie took the role of AmigaOS Development Team Lead back in late 2010 he has made an effort to build a sense of community around the project, increasing communication between the AmigaOS team, the system’s user base and other developers.
„Up until recently, all communication was rather one way, with community websites picking up the slack,“ he says. „Now, we have a development blog, informational website, a support forum and a documentation wiki.“ These resources are primarily maintained by volunteers, but Hyperion provides servers and bandwidth. „The Amiga community is what keeps AmigaOS alive and kicking,“ Solie says.
There „have been plans“ to move to a semi-open or open source model for development. „However, given the complex history of source code ownership this isn’t something you can rush into,“ Solie says.
„In the meantime, I have been trying hard to increase the number of developers and their involvement any way I can,“ he adds. „For example, some third party developers are given special access to the development team for questions and support.“
Solie’s first Amiga was the Amiga 1000. It was the first Amiga released by Commodore; it debuted in 1985, running a Motorola 68000 processor. „My last 68k-based Amiga was an A3000 which I used while earning my bachelor’s degree,“ he says. „For my final project I actually developed an OSI-based protocol stack which ran on two Amiga 3000s and used Ethernet. I remember the Ethernet cards costing a fortune back then.“
„My first PowerPC-based Amiga system was an AmigaOne-XE by Eyetech. I was asked to join the beta testing team by Amiga Inc. back in the day. Over time, I took on more responsibility and had the chance to work on the OS source code itself.
„I was then asked by Hyperion to become the ‘AmigaOS Development Team Lead’ (a title I made up) to herd the cats if you will. I don’t get a lot of time to code these days but I am still enjoying the experience.“
Solie has heard of „pockets“ of people using AmigaOS 4 for commercial work, but these days Amigas are primarily used by hobbyists. „It used to be that production studios used Amiga systems to create cutting edge graphics. Those days are long gone. This is purely for the fun of it now.“
„I find primarily long-term fans still invest in AmigaOS and the Amiga hobby in general,“ he adds. „We also see some new customers returning to try out AmigaOS on the brand new PowerPC hardware platforms which are still available. Since the launch of the AmigaOS website, there have been a lot of people poking around and some go so far as to invest in some hardware.
„Once in a while we also see a brand new customer. Somebody completely new to the AmigaOS, i.e. young, and looking for something different. Since AmigaOS lacks applications, new guys can create a few applications and be treated like a rock star.
„There is a bit of money to be made as well in terms of donations and bounties. I think it is the instant fame and attention new user and developers receive is what convinces them to stay — again, the fans.
„The main draw is simplicity. AmigaOS is simple enough to be understandable and controllable without having to resort to experts all the time.“
„What we have done is take the original designs and extend them where it makes sense. For example, the original Amiga shared library system is quite functional but also totally incompatible with everything else out there. Platforms like Windows can get away with this because they have a huge army of coders willing to do the necessary work to convert everything over to their systems.
„Instead, AmigaOS introduced a new shared object [.so] system which allows for the direct compilation of shared object libraries which are quite common. Of course, we would prefer developers use Amiga shared libraries but when you are the underdog, you sometimes need to bend the rules a bit to keep developers productive. Life is too short to rewrite libraries again and again just because your OS of choice is too stubborn to adapt.“
The original systems for AmigaOS 4.0 were sold by Eyetech, and Solie said used models, such as the AmigaOne-XE and MicroA1-C, are still available. „There is also the Pegasos 2 created by bplan out of Germany which can run AmigaOS 4.1,“ he says.
Solie says the AmigaOS team is happy to borrow ideas from other operating systems. „For example, the memory subsystem borrowed the idea of slab allocation for memory management. The integration of Python into the operating system was also a borrowed idea.“
Other operating systems can also learn from AmigaOS, he says. Primarily, „keep things simple and respond when the user clicks on something. One reason I keep returning to AmigaOS is because it is relatively simple.
„As more features are added it is difficult to keep things simple and efficient, but so far so good.“
Solie can envisage a future where AmigaOS 4 shifted away from PowerPC to another platform. „However, there is also a lot of life left in PowerPC,“ he says, and switching hardware platforms is no guarantee of success for the system.
„I think a successful system is a combination of functionality, applications, operating system and supporting hardware all for an acceptable cost. If your target market is the hobbyist market then perhaps PPC isn’t as bad as people think. It really depends on the fans and what they will accept.“
Image: Amigaos.net
One gap he identifies in AmigaOS as it is now is good support for printing. PostScript printers are fine — but otherwise „you are in for a world of hurt“. A system like CUPS, which made printing on Linux systems a less daunting prospect, would be great, he says.
Hyperion is currently working on AmigaOS 4.1 Update 5 is in the works now. „AmigaOS 4.2 will come later on which will introduce hardware accelerated 3D support, a vastly improved file system API and many other features,“ Solie says. The list of features that Solie would like to see added is „endless“. A modern file system is one feature, and multi-core support, which is currently being worked on, is another.
„I don’t imagine AmigaOS will ever become mainstream again,“ he says. „It is not that I am being defeatist. I’m just trying to be realistic. There are dozens of operating systems out there that are not mainstream and never will be.
Image: Amigaos.net
„There isn’t a huge amount of new hardware coming out to run AmigaOS but it is a steady flow. Keep your eye on ACube and A-EON because I don’t think they are stopping any time soon.
„So for me at least, as long as AmigaOS remains fun to use I will continue to use it. It is a nice break from the grind of business where Unix and Windows rule.“
As to whether an AmigaOS 5.0 will ever be released, „it all depends on the fans.“
Rohan Pearce is the editor of Techworld Australia. Contact him at rohan_pearce at idg.com.au.
AmigaOS 4.1 Update 5 has now been released.
More details and a place for registered users to download the update can be found at Hyperion’s main web site.
The following AmigaOS platforms are supported:
AmigaOne 500 (460ex)
Sam440ep and Sam440ep-flex (all variants)
AmigaOne XE
MicroA1-C
Pegasos II
CyberStorm PPC
Blizzard PPC
Besides the usual bug fixes, some highlights include:
Optimized DMA copy routines for 440ep and 460ex based platforms.
SM502 audio driver and Mixer for AmigaOne 500 systems (460ex).
Updated Radeon, R200 and Permedia2 Warp3D drivers. Per-application configuration is now possible to help work around bugs in old software. User documentation is provided on the wiki.
Catweasel driver for floppy disk, SID chip and joystick support.
MIDI support now included via the camd.library.
Professional photograph backgrounds provided by mediacube.
Improved Amiga 68K emulation. A full Workbench 3.1 installation is now included. Authentic Amiga ROMs and Workbench files are provided in the new Emulation drawer.
AmigaOS support is available via Hyperion’s support forum.
A special thanks to the AmigaOS development and testing teams for their hard work on this release!
Posted by Steven Solie
Download for registered users at Hyperion website
Official website
Commodores Amiga?
Sven Harvey Micromart UK takes a look at new CommodoreUSA Amiga Mini
The new Commodore in the USA is now the only Commodore after its taken control over the brand.
It`s also licenced Amiga brand from Amiga Inc., and it has been working on uniting the brands for quite a while.
The product that was to be the first „Commodore Amiga“ since 1994 has gone true lot of changes since the agreement was reached between the two companies, while Hyperion Entertaiment quite rightly challenged the agreement following the settlement that awarded it an exclusive perpetual worldwide right to the brand, at least in some form.
Commodore had planned on doing new Amiga 1000, 2000, 3000 and so on, but the first product to break cover and become available to order is in a 7,5 x 7,5″ mini-ITX case.
The Commodore Amiga Mini will be available in silver or black and is distinctive in that it features a molded-in Commodore „chickenhead“ logo on the top of the casing, while and embossed Amiga logo (in the original form) adorns the front of the casing along with the silver Commodore Amiga case badge very much in the traditional style.
There are few confusion on the Commodore website regarding the specifications. In one place it seems to suggests 16GB RAM comes as standard whereas elsewhere it sais 4GB. Filtering the pages it seems the standard specification was originally going to be what is now the highest end, but reaction to the pricing has resulting in lower specs being available.
The motherboard is of mini-ITX form factor and comes with 1GB (DDR3) nVIDIA GT430 GPU board as standard. From there you can choose processor, either a dual core i3-2130 at 3,4Ghz, quad core i5-2500K, or the quad core i7-2600K. Memory can be configured as 4,8 or 16GB, while blue ray slot loading optical drive (with DVD R/RW) comes as standard. A 1TB hard disk is the default option, while 2 SSD options are available.
The machines comes with CommodoreOS Vision – a customized Linux distribution based on MINT and Debian with bunch of pre-installed software.
Sounds all very PC doesn`t it? There is a reason for that. This is no more an Amiga then HP laptop from TESCO. The name is on it, but no Amiga-related technology resides within the hardware nor the software. Amiga Forever isn`t even bundled, thou it is suggestion on Commodores site that machine can run 16-bit and 32-bit Amiga software. The question is how because without Amiga Forever package, it cannot legally include the Amiga kickstart ROM code …
With pricing ranging from USD 1 500 up to nearly 3 000$ including 600GB SSD option, its a good job. The casing is available as barebones (thou this included the blue-rays sloat loading drive) at 345 USD.
The question is, without AmigaOS, should it have the name at all?
Find out more at http://www.commodoreusa.net
AmigaOne X1000
Following the complete sell out of the AmigaOne X1000 first contact systems, A-EON has commissioned further run of initial systems, so if you are happy to spend the money and get sonething really different running the AmigaOS 4.1 (and soon 4.2) you might want to keep an eye on www.amigakit.leamancomputing.com/x1000/
Sven Harvey has been our Amiga specialist for over 12 years, drawing on his vast computing knowledge which is itself the result of 21 years of retailing computer and video games.
AmigaOS 4 is fully recompiled AmigaOS from Motorola 68k code to PowerPC. Any software that is system friendly and can open a Workbench windows works out of box or with minor setting tweaks.
Thanks to Petunia, 68k JIT, a core AmigaOS 4 component in Kickstart
old 68k software works unemulated blazingly fast.
So recently, an old Amiga raytrace veteran Mike Brantley has demonstrated Lightwave working on OS4
Also, and old veteran, Image FX simply works
True step forward – AmigaOS 4
Thanks Mike!
Firefox comes to AmigaOS 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberwolf_(web_browser)
http://amigax1000.blogspot.com/2012/07/timberwolf-rc1-web-browser-on-x1000.html
http://amigax1000.blogspot.com/2012/07/continuing-with-timberwolf-rc1-on-x1000.html
TimberWolf is a bounty funded project to port Mozilla Firefox to AmigaOS 4. [1] It was started in early 2009 as parallel to AmiZilla project that has the same intent. Amizilla had a more complex history, as it was started in 2003 from US firm DiscreetFX with the target of porting any running version of Mozilla engine based Firefox compatible browser to Amiga platforms. As long as Amizilla project was too ambitious the project was closed on November 19, 2009 without producing significative results. Timberwolf project is full managed by Thomas Frieden and Hans-Joerg Frieden (AmigaOS 4 core developers), who work at it as a spare time project. The first release has been made public in June 2010.
8:10 to learn how to steal from MINT, 8:50 to see why people say its not AMIGA … and why there is no video 3?
Download real MINT now at no cost! Works on all Laps, PeeCees and is really supported
x86 32 bit and x64 unlike C=OS elitist x64
http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
PPC
ARM soon come!
One love from Serbia!
And how do they respect MINT dem a steal, pirates and lowlifes!
Hi,
They contacted us and we talked about a partnership initially. Then we didn’t hear from them anymore so we assumed they weren’t interested in doing anything with us.
We’re still happy to see our OS used by others and I don’t think there’s any problems in regards to licensing. It’s just a missed opportunity for them and for us to establish what would have been a very good partnership.
Regards,
Clement Lefebvre
——-
There has been much criticism of the company CUSA because of its hype and claims of creating a „new operating system for our computers“ and then simply skinning an existing linux distribution. Critics of CUSA and several linux experts have stated that COS development time has been less than 2 weeks time to write some scripts and replace standard mint graphics files with their own
And only purchasers of CUSA machine can even be beta testers officially, even everyone in fact is beta tester.
They plan to sell it and have just imagined CommodoreOS FUSION …. no body knows what it is, another Tesla weapon
Btw, Mint 11 and Debian Wheezy can be installed on amigaOne boards and they are final and more advanced
Complete parody
http://sinclair-uk.weebly.com/sinclair-os.html
| sinclairos_astigmatism.torrent |
1) Fake Commodore Amiga domain owned by CommodoreUSA
Nothing to do with real Amigas, AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS with extreme censorship
Every criticism or anything Amiga related get deleted and users get banned for it
Other faked Amiga resources owned by CUSA
All under EXTREME censorship!
2) DiscreetFX hosts Barron interview where everything Amiga is sipitted on, all the brave ideas of innovation
3) AmigaWorld.net has Amiga Inc discussions in basement and tolerates their promo
4) CommodoreUSA Wiki page we fight for less propaganda (also: Talk page, COS page)
5) Amiga4be fake Amigan pages You Tube and Blog
6) Example of CUSA threating people that expose the truth
7) List of C=USA promoters that rarely do help AROS, MorphOS, AmigaOS and yet claiming to be Amigans
8) Barry Tweets
As opposed to Real Amiga resources
On the Edge: Spectacular rise and fall of C=USA 