Amiga - the little computer that could

[DC]

I'm still an AmigaOS fan. It would be nice if we could help the movement grow for developers of the platform. I'd love to see what people can do with it, given the opportunity.

Hopefully version 4 will be out soon and some real development will begin (again). If you thought Mac users or Linux users were zealots, my oh my . . .

20 Features

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]There's a lot in AmigaOS4.0 that we think is special. Unique features, great implementations, ways of working that make you wonder why all Operating Systems don't do things this way. Here's a list of 20 of our favourite features from AmigaOS4.0[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]1. Quick on / instant off[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]In the old days you had to wait a while for your television to warm up when you switched it on. Thankfully technology has moved on, but for some reason this fact seems to have eluded our competitors. AmigaOS4.0 boots up in a few seconds, and can be switched off in an instant by just hitting the off switch. Why would you want it any other way?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]2. Datatypes [/FONT]

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Easy handling of different file types.[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

One of the great strengths of AmigaOS4.0 is the interoperability of applications, and the unique Datatypes system is perhaps the best example of this. A Datatype is a small programme that recognises and handles a particular file type: displaying a picture, playing a music file, decoding a video file, rendering a web page or whatever. Any application can access Datatypes transparently, and thus have the ability to use any file that you have a Datatype for. What this means is that by simply adding a new Datatype, all the appropriate applications on your machine can automagically read that new file. So you won't need to install half a dozen programs to display different formats for the same type of file, just one will do - and if a new file format comes along in the future, by simply installing a Datatype for that format, applications you might have installed years ago will automatically learn how to use it. [/FONT]
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3. Menuing[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]In common with other Operating Systems, AmigaOS4.0 uses a menu system to access a variety of functions. However the AmigaOS4.0 menu system works a little differently from others. By default the menu bar appears at the top of the screen when you press down the right mouse button, and disappears when you don't need it, thus reducing screen clutter and giving you more room to work. Alternatively menus can pop up underneath your mouse pointer wherever it is on the screen, reducing the distance you have to move your mouse and making the machine that much faster and more comfortable to work with.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]4. Window stacking[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]In most Operating Systems, whichever of the windows you have open on your desktop that is currently active sits on the top of the stack. This may seem obvious and sensible at first, but we know a better way to handle things. On AmigaOS4.0 you can pop any window to the front by double-clicking it, but otherwise you can stack layers of windows in any order you like. This can be incredibly useful when you're trying to access several windows at once, because it means that you can arrange the windows however you like, and they'll stay exactly where you put them. As a result you won't need to keep switching between windows, moving and rearranging them to get to the places you want when they are stacked or overlaid. Just one more way in which AmigaOS4.0 makes everyday working that much easier. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]5. Screens[/FONT]

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Workbench in front, web browser behind.[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

When you're trying to work with several windows or applications at the same time, you usually find yourself running out of screen real estate pretty quick. The normal solution is to minimise applications, shuffle windows and rearrange your working environment every time you switch between tasks. The AmigaOS solution is to give you as many screens as you like. When you play a game on most other computers, you'll usually see that game gets a screen to itself, but on AmigaOS4.0 you can have as many different screens as you like for any purpose, each with its own application on it. Or you can open a "public screen" which several applications can share. Switching between different screens takes an instant, and you can come back to an application and find it exactly how you left it. Of course this system provides a uniquely powerful basis for dealing with multiple displays. With the famous Amiga "screen dragging" ability, it's even possible to drag the current screen down to reveal another screen behind it, so that you can view two screens simultaneously, or even drag and drop files and other content from one screen to another. In short, with AmigaOS4.0, you'll never run out of room.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]6. 3D Graphics Acceleration [/FONT]

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A GPL Quake 3 port, Amiga style.[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

We'll be honest - AmigaOS was pretty slow getting support for 3D graphics hardware, and it has to be admitted that was a major reason for the Amiga's fall from market dominance in the last decade. Now we've got it in the shape of the low-level Warp3D interface, which is already in use in a number of 3D accelerated games. The 3D capabilities of AmigaOS4.0 are currently being developed even further to include implementations based on the Mesa libraries of a full 3D API including shader support and a small footprint API set suitable for embedded applications, derived from the published specifications for the OpenGL® and OpenGL ES® APIs respectively. These will provide developers with a familiar environment for developing powerful 3D graphic applications, and allow AmigaOS4 applications to take advantage of the latest in 3D graphics hardware features.* [/FONT]
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7. Scripting[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Every OS has a scripting language or two to allow the system or application automation, but only AmigaOS has implemented scripting as a fundamental feature. Since the early days, it has been part of the AmigaOS standard for applications to expose their functionality to a scripting interface. Using the AREXX scripting language - and soon Python - it is possible to automate, integrate and remote control almost every application and function of your computer. Function sets and tools from several applications can be brought together into a single, integrated interface to allow the most complex jobs to be performed with the utmost simplicity. Sophisticated automation tasks can be developed with a minimum of effort, and applications can be made to behave in new ways in no time at all. All your computer's capabilities at your fingertips, all the time - nothing else comes close. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]8. Responsiveness[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Thanks to an OS kernel with extremely fast Inter-Process Communications and context switching (less than 1 microsecond on a 600MHz CPU), and a fully pre-emptive multitasking scheduler that ensures important tasks will get a fair share of processing time, AmigaOS4.0 always feels very fast. Simple things like opening a new window can sometimes take a surprising amount of time on most Operating Systems - not because the hardware can't do them quickly, but because high latency and poor task scheduling leave them waiting on other tasks. Not so with AmigaOS4.0, which always responds to your commands in an instant. The responsiveness of AmigaOS4.0 is such that although it was not written to be a true Real-Time Operating System, it can normally be relied on to provide a real-time response anyway. You may not appreciate the technicalities if you aren't a programmer, but any user will really appreciate a computer that responds to your every action in an instant.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]9. Icon handling[/FONT]

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Icon information[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

Icons in AmigaOS4.0 are not just pretty pictures. A file can have a default icon representing the type of file or a custom icon specific to the individual file, and this provides a number of benefits. You can choose to display only true icons, which means your application folders won't be cluttered with hundreds of meaningless files that the program needs but you don't, so you can always find the files you want in an instant. Alternatively you can "display all files" if you do want access to those. Additionally icons can store extra commands about the associated file - which program to open it in, for example. Thus you can normally have picture files open in a simple, quick-to-load picture viewer when you click on them, but you can tell any individual picture file to open in one of your graphics programs for editing while you work on it. [/FONT]

 

[DC]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]10. Understandable file structure[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Sometimes very simple and obvious things can provide disproportionate benefit, and this is a good example. The structure and layout of files on the hard drive in most Operating Systems is obscure and convoluted, with many system files jammed together in one place where it's hard to find a particular one, or scattered about in strange locations. Not so with AmigaOS4.0: Operating System files are divided up into clearly labelled drawers so you know exactly where to find whatever you're looking for. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]11. RAM disk [/FONT]

[SIZE=-2]Ram Disk

[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Start up AmigaOS4.0 and you'll see an icon that looks like a silicon chip - this is the RAM disk. It's a virtual hard drive that stores files and data in memory rather than on your actual hard drive. The RAM drive takes up only as much of your memory as it needs to, and is very fast to access. It can be used as a temporary store for your own purposes or as a place for software installers to put temporary files, and is cleared out at reboot so you won't be cluttering up your computer with thousands of unnecessary files that bog down your system. Because it stores all the system preferences and commonly accessed files in the fast RAM drive, AmigaOS4.0 runs more quickly and produces far less wear and tear on your hardware, so hard drives are less prone to failure and the entire Operating System can even be run from FlashROM (don't try this with Operating Systems designed to run everything from hard disk!) Additionally there's an optional RAD disk, a recoverable version of the RAM disk, which preserves contents after a reboot.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]12. Scalability[/FONT]

[SIZE=-2]Scaling AmigaOS4.0 to a PDA display

[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The very first version of AmigaOS was written to run on a television display with resolutions as low as 320 by 200 pixels, using a 7Mhz processor and 256kB of RAM. Of course AmigaOS4.0 is a far more sophisticated Operating System and requires more resources, but it's still lean, mean and efficient enough to run on the kind of hardware that these days you would expect to find in a PDA or advanced smartphone. On the other hand, it's a fully featured Operating System that can run high-end desktop or server applications. The OS currently runs on the PowerPC family of processors, taking in everything from the 4xx series of low-end embedded processors for small computing devices such as routers, Set-top boxes and cell phones to the 9xx 64-bit processors for high-end server and desktop computer systems. The PowerPC family is one of the most popular processor architectures around, and because of the highly portable nature of AmigaOS4.0 it will provide further hardware targets in the future. It would be eminently suitable for - and relatively trivial to port to - the STI Cell processor used in the Playstation 3, and could even be made to run on IBM's Blue Gene, the world's leading super computer architecture. How's that for scalability? [/FONT]
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13. XAD[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]We could talk all day about the Amiga library system and some of the incredibly useful libraries that come with AmigaOS4.0, but we've decided to pick the XAD archive-handling library. XAD provides a common library interface for archive files such as ZIP, LHA and TAR. By accessing the XAD library interface, any application can transparently read the contents of any archive in any format handled by XAD. What's more, the extendable XAD interface will accept plug-ins for new archive formats, allowing that format to be read anywhere, and is flexible enough to provide for similar forms of decoding such as encryption, which would mean that any application could transparently benefit from the privacy and security of encrypted files.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]14. The Grim Reaper[/FONT]

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No need to fear the reaper

[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]From time to time, a program you install on your computer might crash or lock up. Some of the jokers in the original AmigaOS design team decided that the best way of calming the user down when something went wrong was the infamous "Guru Meditation Error", an invitation to sit back, relax, and go with the flow. Fun, but not very helpful. AmigaOS4.0 has added the Grim Reaper, a smart crash handling system that will catch those "guru" errors and stop them getting out of control. It can provide complete information about the crash, a great boon to developers, and can simply kill the offending task and free up the resources it was using. No computer is crash proof, but this certainly helps. [/FONT]
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15. Customisable GUI[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]We like the way AmigaOS4.0 looks, but you might not agree with us. Luckily the AmigaOS4.0 ReAction GUI system is highly configurable, allowing you to create your own look for your computer, or use one someone else has created. ReAction allows you to replace window gadgets with new designs, apply gradients or textures of your choice to virtually every graphical element in the interface, alter the geometry of the window drawing to suit your personal taste or your screen size, change font usage throughout the interface, configure the appearance of menus and chose your own 3D effects. You can even have a different look for each public screen (see above). A good working environment is the one you're most comfortable with, and it's the easiest thing in the world to make the AmigaOS4.0 environment suit your own tastes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]16. Locale [/FONT]

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Choosing your locale

[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The Amiga has a very smart system for handling localisation. In the preferences you can tell it where you're from and what the time is there just like any other OS, but unlike some you can also tell it what languages you speak and what character set you need to use - and it will change it on the fly, without even a reboot. Where that system becomes really smart is with "Catalogs". These are language files for the text used in applications, and when an application starts it will look for catalogs for whatever languages you've set a preference for. If there isn't one for your first choice, it will pick your second choice and so on. Even better, these Catalog files are very easy to edit, and as a result anyone can write a catalog file to make a program speak their own language. If the application you want doesn't speak your language, take a look on the Internet - there's a great chance another user has already translated it! [/FONT]
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17. Better driving. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Instead of just giving your drives a letter or fixed label, each device can be given a name. Drives can be given more than one name, so you can call your hard drive "Bob" if you really want, but so the system always knows where things are, if it's the system boot drive it is also known as "Sys:". Areas of your hard drive can be assigned a label as if they were a virtual disk, so you'll always find your fonts in "Fonts:" and so forth. Because you can easily mount and unmount pretty much anything as a logical device, this feature has many uses. You might want to mount your MP3 players as "MP3:" - you can then access its contents via any application, so you could burn a CD of your favourite music files without even having to download them to your computer first. The options get more interesting when you really play around. For example you can mount external networked resources as a logical device, so you could even represent the Internet as a virtual hard drive on your computer! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]18. The Shell[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The Shell is an environment for accessing your system through text commands (a "Command Line Interface"). While this may not sound like everyone's idea of a good time, it can be very useful, and so in AmigaOS4.0 we've provided a Shell that is both very powerful and very easy to use. For example, Shells often require you to type in the full path to a file, but with the AmigaOS4.0 shell, you don't have to type it all in yourself - just start, and it will help you find the file you're looking for automatically. What's more you can drop an icon onto your shell and the path to that icon will automatically appear. If you've never used a shell in the past it's probably because you've never had one as comfortable and easy to use as the AmigaOS4.0 shell. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]19. Save / Use / Cancel. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]One of the most user-friendly features of AmigaOS4.0 is a result of that RAM disk we mentioned earlier. When you boot your machine, the system preferences are copied into the RAM drive and used from there. Whenever you change a preference, you are given the option to Save, Use or Cancel. If you choose "Save", the changes are committed to the long-term preference store, but if you choose "Use", only the version of your preferences in the RAM disk are changed. This means the changes last only until you reset your computer - so you can try out absolutely any change you like, safe in the knowledge that if it all goes horribly wrong you need only reset your computer and four or five seconds later everything's back to normal.[/FONT]
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Keeping your options open[/SIZE] [FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

20. Dockies[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]If you haven't seen any recent versions of AmigaOS, then the AmiDock will be unfamiliar to you. It's a fully configurable docking bar for icons, allowing quick access to your most used applications, wherever they are. In AmigaOS4.0 it has been rewritten with a number of new functions, most notably "Dockies". These dock bar icons are fully dynamic, which means they can show real-time content and act as useful micro tools. A Docky might act as a magnifying glass, display the time, or show you the latest weather forecast or stock market information direct from the Internet. It could show you a preview of pictures or video files, update you on your computer's status, or inform you when you've got e-mail. AmigaOS4.0 comes with a number of Dockies ready for you to choose and use, but we expect the real fun to come when people start developing their own. The sky's the limit![/FONT]
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[DC]

20 Reasons

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Why is AmigaOS4.0 such a great experience for the user? Well there are rather a lot of reasons and no better way of finding out that trying it yourself. However we've come up with 20 reasons - one for each year since the Amiga's launch - that we think best explain the Amiga phenomenon.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]1. It's friendly.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The very name "Amiga" says it all - Spanish for "friend", the entire philosophy behind the Amiga computing platform is user-friendliness. Other Operating Systems often assume there's an engineer in charge, but AmigaOS recognises that most users have better things to do than spend their time trying to translate meaningless error codes or finding where in the mess of files and impenetrably named folders they need to look to find what they're searching for.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]2. It's compact. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The Amiga Operating System was originally written to run on a 256kB computer with a floppy disk. Obviously the latest version has much more functionality and has grown a fair bit larger, but compared to practically any other Operating System - and certainly any other OS aimed at non-industrial applications - AmigaOS4.0 is very small. In fact it's possible to run the OS from a 16MB flash ROM (no hard drive necessary!) There's no waste in AmigaOS4.0, which makes it faster on any given hardware, less prone to failure, less cluttered and less confusing.[/FONT]

[SIZE=-2]Some of the possibilities with the new AmigaOS4.0[/SIZE] [FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

3. It's efficient.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]As computers have become more powerful, the programming of their Operating Systems has exploited that increased power - but often for the benefit of the OS developer rather than your benefit. Why develop tight, efficient code when the computer has power to spare? Because we'd rather that power went to the user, of course! In the past, Amiga Operating Systems ran on computers no faster than 50MHz, and yet they were able to provide web browsing, e-mail, word processing, gaming, graphics, music, video processing, and all the other activities we're used to using a computer for. Imagine what that Operating System is capable of with modern CPUs dozens of times faster![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]4. It knows who is boss.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]AmigaOS4.0 is a user-oriented rather than a task-oriented Operating System. That means that it grants more importance to what the user wants to do than what the computer wants to do. Pre-emptive multitasking ensures that the tasks you are performing are not slowed down by tasks taking place in the background, and priority of input focus is always given to the user, which means that the OS will never interrupt you in the middle of doing something. The active window will always be the one you're working on, not a requester demanding you pay attention to something else and getting in the way of what you're doing. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]5. It doesn't leave you waiting around.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The Amiga OS has a sophisticated and intelligent system for prioritising the many tasks that go into running a computer - and it schedules those tasks to suit the user. On many computer Operating Systems you'll often be left waiting for one process to finish before you can get on with another, because that process has frozen other processes. You might find you can't read your e-mails while your mail program is downloading new ones, or that you can't open a menu while an application is busy. That doesn't happen in AmigaOS4.0, because critical user functions, such as the Graphical User Interface, always have priority. Why should you be left waiting around just because your computer is busy... just who's the boss here? [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]6. It's easy to learn. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]
To a large extent the ease of use of the Amiga is a product of its compact efficiency. We do more with less, so there's less for you to learn. But that's not all - AmigaOS4.0 is logically and sensibly laid out to make it as easy as possible to find your way around and to learn how things work. Looking for shared libraries? Check the "libs" directory. Device drivers? Look in "devs." Preferences? Look in "prefs." Simple, huh? What's more, we utilise a naming convention designed to make things easy. Don't expect your shared libraries to be called things like asdfghjkl123.dll - "Spellchecker.library" is far friendlier![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]7. It's hard to break.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Unlike rival Operating Systems, the Amiga OS was originally designed for home users, not business users in companies with dedicated support staff. For that reason, AmigaOS4.0 is robust from the ground up. It won't sulk with you if you turn it off at the wrong time, it won't get progressively slower and more bogged down the older it is, and it won't die a death and require a total reinstallation just because you installed the wrong driver. One unique feature of AmigaOS is that all preferences and options are kept in a permanent store, but are read from a temporary store in memory - which means that when you change any preference, you have the option of making a temporary change only, to check it works the way you wanted before you commit to it. If it turns out badly - just restart your machine and everything will be back the way it was.

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Nothing escapes the reaper's gaze[/SIZE] [FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]

8. It's secure.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Now that most people spend a lot of time connected to the Internet, computer security has become one of the biggest problems for computer users. The larger and more complex an Operating System is, the more possible vulnerabilities that OS has to attack. The compact efficiency of AmigaOS4.0 makes it far less vulnerable than its rivals. To put it as simply as possible, there's less to go wrong. But that's not all - AmigaOS4.0 is safer by design. For example, AmigaOS4.0 protects memory space in such a way as to make it immune to the common types of "buffer overflow" and "stack exploit" attacks, which can force most computers to run malicious code.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]9. It's very responsive.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]A combination of efficient coding and intelligent task management makes the AmigaOS uniquely responsive. "It feels so fast!" is the most common thing we hear from users. Everything happens in an instant - dragging windows, even when that window is running a movie, opening new applications or windows, starting your browser, activating a menu - everything happens in a flash, even on the slowest hardware.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]10. A sensible GUI[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]It's amazing how many usability blunders there are in Graphical User Interfaces for other Operating Systems. AmigaOS4.0 has a GUI that is simply better designed, clearer and more comfortable to use. Imagine the problems that could be caused if an OS designer lays out the gadgets at the top of a window so that the "close window" gadget is right next to the "minimise/maximise" gadgets, making it very easy to hit by mistake? Or only differentiates the gadgets with different colours so you have no real visual hint for what those buttons actually do? Well if you've looked at the competition, you don't need to imagine it. Needless to say, AmigaOS4.0 doesn't make those mistakes. Then we have simple but smart concepts like keeping the scroll arrows together, rather than having them separated by the scroll bar. When you're scrolling through a document you shouldn't have to move your mouse that much, it's simply unnecessary, simply bad design. You wouldn't sit on an uncomfortable chair while you work, or use a monitor that's too small to read comfortably. Why should you use a GUI that's not designed for comfort either?[/FONT]

 

[DC]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]11. It's great for multimedia. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]It should go without saying that the Amiga is a fantastic platform for multimedia - after all, it practically started it! Back when beeps and single colours were the norm for computers, the Amiga Operating System was designed from the ground up to deal with the interaction of video, sound and still images. The advent of the Amiga made possible a wide range of multimedia experiences and creations that people had not previously dreamed of, and the legacy of that pre-eminence is a truly impressive multimedia performance. Smooth, properly synchronised, jitter-free multimedia is a given with AmigaOS4.0, and without the need to throw endless gigahertz of computing power at the problem. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]12. It's customisable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]We think that AmigaOS4.0 looks cool and is set up for the maximum usability. Don't agree? No problem! AmigaOS4.0 is designed to be highly configurable, with most elements of the user interface replaceable, redesignable and easy to modify. Whether you want your computer to look a little different, or just have large, easier to read text, or if you're an OEM who wants the interface to be entirely "rebranded" to suit your corporate image - AmigaOS4.0 allows you to customise the appearance as simply as possible.

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An interface that looks and works the way you like[/SIZE]
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13. It's cheap to run.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Because AmigaOS4.0 has such a small "hardware footprint" - that is to say that it runs extremely well on even very basic hardware - it is extremely cheap to run. Other Operating Systems require much more memory and CPU power to match what AmigaOS4.0 can do, so you need to spend less on hardware to get the same power and functionality. With AmigaOS4.0 you can run a full range of OS functions on a low-cost PowerPC processor and solid-state memory. For an OEM this is ideal - even a low-end Set-top Box without a hard drive can run as much of the functionality of a desktop computer as the OEM wishes to present, yet with greater speed and responsiveness than custom STB interfaces. End users shouldn't feel left out either; every day you use AmigaOS4.0 you save money. The low power consumption of the hardware AmigaOS4.0 is designed to run on means you could save as much electricity as switching to energy saving light bulbs. AmigaOS4.0 is better for your wallet, and better for the environment too! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]14. It does what you tell it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]A simple and easy-to-learn scripting language makes it possible for you to develop your own small applications or control tasks without having to learn any complex programming languages. What makes AmigaOS4.0 unique in this regard is that pretty much every application has a scripting interface, which means you can automate your computer in any way you like. You could create a button on your desktop that downloads all the digital photos from a flash card, copies them to a dated archive folder, uses a graphics editing program to correct their exposure, uses another program to create a thumbnail gallery and yet another to upload them to your webpage, and then sends an e-mail to all your friends to tell them the gallery is there - and because it's just a list of instructions to send to other programs, it's something you could make in a rainy afternoon. If even such simple programming isn't your thing this is still a huge benefit, because it's so easy to do that there's a good chance that someone else will have written a script you'll find invaluable![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]15. It's there when you want it, not when you don't.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]When you switch on your computer, it's because you want to start using it now, not in a little while. With AmigaOS4.0 you aren't kept around waiting through an interminable boot process. A full system can be booted and ready to go within 20 seconds of hitting the power switch, and resetting the machine is even faster - five or six seconds. When you're done? Just flick the off switch. AmigaOS4.0 doesn't keep you hanging about! [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]16. Freedom from viruses and spyware. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Nothing causes more frustration and crashes than viruses and spyware. You may have heard the term "security through obscurity" applied to a number of Operating Systems, and it's true - most writers of these annoying and destructive programs target the most popular platforms, so by being different you benefit from a large degree of immunity. However AmigaOS4.0 is also safer by design. The simplicity of the system provides far fewer vulnerabilities for malicious programs to attack, and important security features such as a firewall operate by default. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]17.The community.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]You can tell a truly great piece of engineering - be it a Bugatti car, a Leica camera or a Linn turntable - because owners don't think of them like any normal possession, but rather as something to be passionate about. They know they've got something special, something that really stands out from the crowd. The same is true for Amiga owners. With thousands of websites, hundreds of user groups and clubs and regular meets around the world, Amiga users are the most dedicated and enthusiastic computer users of any platform, without question. Just like owners of anything else with a classic marque, Amiga users love to talk about the platform, to offer help and advice, solve each other's problems and generally share the fun.

[/FONT]

[SIZE=-2]
Not just new software - thousands of retro classics at your fingertips. [/SIZE]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]
18. The Software. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]It might sound odd picking this one out; after all this isn't a mainstream desktop platform, how much software can there be? The answer: tens of thousands of programs. Thanks to two different built-in emulators - one for speed and one for compatibility - most of the software written for AmigaOS on the old hardware over the last twenty years will also run on AmigaOS4.0. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]The Amiga platform has historically been very accessible and encouraging for developers, and not just commercial software developers - the Amiga is the spiritual home of the "bedroom programmer." At time of writing, one website collecting software for AmigaOS4.0 developed by enthusiasts running pre-release versions of the OS already has about 630 files for download - before the OS has even been officially released! This accessibility has also meant a great freedom for the programmer to experiment, and the result has often been real innovation in software functionality. We could cite for example Photogenics, a uniquely powerful graphics creation/processing tool with innovative features that have made it a must-have application (a portable derivative is currently revolutionising photojournalism). [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]19. It lets you under the hood. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]With most Operating Systems, the designers typically keep everything obscure in an attempt to lock out anyone who hasn't had professional training. This means people are less likely to cause problems by playing with the over-complex and often superfluous features included. The disadvantage of this is that it keeps the average user from adding and improving things, or from fixing things when they go wrong - in short, from "getting under the hood". [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]AmigaOS4.0 takes a different route. Because it's both transparent in its working and simple enough for anyone to understand, users have far more control over what's going on and far more potential to fix what's going wrong. That's not to say you need to get under the hood if you don't want to any more than you do with your car - but we don't believe in locking people out of their own computers. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]20. It's fun![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Bitstream Vera Sans,Arial,sans-serif]Ok, so this last point is a little bit of a cheat because it's really the result of all the others. We're coming back to this because it is perhaps the defining feature of the AmigaOS experience - it's fun. Computing should be fun. Computers are tools, but they shouldn't be a chore. Ask anyone who has stayed with the Amiga why they stayed, and you'll hear the same response. Ask anyone who has moved away from the Amiga platform and they're bound to agree - whatever the reason they moved, they will remember the Amiga as being more fun. We remember that too, and that's why we've brought you AmigaOS4.0. We remember when computing was fun - and with AmigaOS4.0, that's today.[/FONT]

 

[lpcvideo1]

I had the first Amiga when it came out in the 80s and I loved it. It did stuff that the apple and PC were years catching up with.

Oh, and fun? Whew boy. That was my golden age of computing!

Thanks for the, um, review? Informercial? :laugh: I'm glad to see a believer out there! Give me a reason to go back!!

 

[DC]

I had the first Amiga when it came out in the 80s and I loved it. It did stuff that the apple and PC were years catching up with.

Oh, and fun? Whew boy. That was my golden age of computing!

Thanks for the, um, review? Informercial? :laugh: I'm glad to see a believer out there! Give me a reason to go back!!

Totally, man! I'm glad you feel me on this one! I too am looking for some compelling reasons to really get back into Amiga land.

I have a classic towered A1200 (but suped up) that is pretty much not used at all anymore. So, I might as well just sell it.

I do, however, have one of the latest PowerPC-based Amiga motherboards in a tower. OS4 is in it's 4th pre-release form now. Hopefully it will be completely finished soon.

The new Amiga platform has a lot of potential for continued, innovative hardware and software development. I honestly believe that if some ambitious programmers/engineers got together, they could reinvent the Amiga wheel with some killer apps, much like Newtek did with the original Video Toaster.

I would say to you or anybody else interested and/or longing for those golden days, go out and do your part to support the further development of Amiga! If enough people demand it, it will happen. There are plenty of forums and web sites to get involved in.

Amiga, Inc.

Hyperion

AmigaWorld

That's just to name a few. If you can, even go out and buy the latest Amiga box and start monkeying around with the latest incarnation of the OS. Essentially: have fun!

 

[Slimothy]

I have no idea what the hell this thread is about. I'm 22, am I too young?

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

Amigas are funner than crap! I loved my Amiga and wish I still had it. I had some artificial intelligence software for my Amiga that was probably the most fun I ever had with a computer with both hands on the keyboard. When are the new Amigas and the new OS due to be out?

 

[Larry Rutledge]

I had a C-64 and later a C-128, but I always dreamed of owning an Amiga. Maybe I can finally fulfil my childhood dream :grin:

(I actually also had a C-16 and a Plus-4 too)

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

I have no idea what the hell this thread is about. I'm 22, am I too young?

Yes, you're too young. Amigas were the first true multimedia computers! Amigas did cool graphics and sound while the PC was still trying to get away from the C:> prompt, and while Macs were still 9" black and white toys. My Amiga did stuff that no other computer can match, even today. I'd kill for a new Amiga and similar software apps like I used to have.

 

[dougspice]

My Amiga did stuff that no other computer can match, even today.

Erm, like what? I was a huge fan of the Amiga, but I'm drawing a blank here...

 

[DC]

I have no idea what the hell this thread is about. I'm 22, am I too young?

Ah, my friend, you may be right. You're probably a little too young to really remember the glory days.

But check out some of these sites to catch yourself up a bit:

Amiga History

Amiga History (more)

Amiga History (even more)


The Amiga

The Amiga was originally developed by Amiga Corporation who did joysticks and other hardware for Atari computers. During the development Amiga Corp. ran out of money and needed additional funding. That's when Commodore decided to do a company buy-out. In 1985 Commodore launched the Amiga which was later renamed the Amiga 1000 allowing subsequent Amiga products such as the Amiga 500. The Amiga sported a unique custom chipset that gave the Amiga outstanding graphical and sound capabilities. It also did multi-tasking. This led the Amiga to astounding success as a home and games computer. It also found a niche in video production. The word "Amiga" is spanish for "female friend". It seems logical to use the word Amiga (or Amigo which is a male friend i Spanish) because the Amiga was a very userfriendly machine with a graphical user interface. But the fact is that Amiga Corporation chose the word "Amiga" because that would ensure that the company got listed first in the phone books compared to rivals Apple and Atari. The Amiga line of computers sold more than 5.000.000 units during its lifetime.


Commodore Book

"....Commodore deserves a eulogy, because its role as an industry pioneer has been largely forgotten or ignored be revisionist historians who claim that everything started with Apple or IBM."
Tom Halfhill, Byte Magazine, August 1994

It's been more than 10 years since the demise of Commodore. For the first time ever Brian Bagnall has written the entire story of Commodore.

"On The Edge - The Spectacular Rise And Fall Of Commodore" covers the time from the invention of the world's first home computer - the Commodore PET - in 1976 to the Amiga1200 and the CD32 in the mid 90's. This book covers it all. It's catchy and easy to read. Brian Bagnall did more than 44 hours of interviews with former Commodore engineers and executives.

Commodore were the first to show a true home computer. The were the first company to sell 1 million computers. No single computer model has sold more than the Commodore 64. The world's first multimedia computer was the Amiga - long before the word multimedia even existed. Still Commodore receives almost no credit as a pioneer.

I'm going to do something rather unusual. I'm going to tell you what is written on the very last page of the book: "Their work was done, the three stood in silence before the building that had been their home for so many years. The building that was once Commodore stood vacant. It seemed like it deserved a better fate. Eventually, the three went home. It was over."

Now, go get yourself a copy of the book. It's available from the author at www.commodorebook.com.

 

[DC]

Amigas are funner than crap! I loved my Amiga and wish I still had it. I had some artificial intelligence software for my Amiga that was probably the most fun I ever had with a computer with both hands on the keyboard. When are the new Amigas and the new OS due to be out? . . . Amigas were the first true multimedia computers! Amigas did cool graphics and sound while the PC was still trying to get away from the C:> prompt, and while Macs were still 9" black and white toys. My Amiga did stuff that no other computer can match, even today. I'd kill for a new Amiga and similar software apps like I used to have.

Indeed!

Between being tied up in bankruptcy court (due to Commodore's complete lack of management) to subsequent owners stalling and spinning their wheels, much time has passed since those glory days.

To learn more about the current state of Amiga and what the future may hold:

Amiga, Inc.

Hyperion

AmigaWorld

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

Erm, like what? I was a huge fan of the Amiga, but I'm drawing a blank here...

I had a 2D animation application in which I could create a pile of 2D bitmap images, and then flash them on the screen super fast. Think of "subliminal" messaging. It was a really cool effect and would be most effective for electronic signage. I suppose you could mimic the effect in a modern NLE app or do the same thing, only better, in Macromedia flash, but the Amiga app was just so simple to use, and so damned fast. The simplicity and speed is what made the app really fun. Also, I really liked the multimedia authoring tools that were simple as crap to use. And the program I have never been able to replace was my artificial intelligence software. I think it was called Magellan. I could create text-based "rules" and the app would use "inferencing" to create new output.

 

[DC]

Erm, like what? I was a huge fan of the Amiga, but I'm drawing a blank here...

I think the appeal and strength is the unique robustness and fun-factor that seems to be missing or lacking in many OS's of today. Of course, this is all arguable but the point is that there is a magic that Amiga had/has. It's hard to pin-point it though. You might be able to equate certain aspects to Panny's DVX/HVX look and feel that so many people have fallen in love with.

 

[DC]

And the program I have never been able to replace was my artificial intelligence software. I think it was called Magellan. I could create text-based "rules" and the app would use "inferencing" to create new output.

Now that is one I'll have to research. Sounds super cool, along with the other stuff you mentioned.

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

Between being tied up in bankruptcy court (due to Commodore's complete lack of management) to susequent owners stalling and spinning their wheels, much time has passed since those glory days.

Well, from a quick review of those sites, it doesn't look like much has changed in the world of Amiga since I last checked a few years ago when I leanred about the infamous A1 motherboard. Was that motherboard ever even produced? I had always held high hopes for the 21st century resurrection of the Amiga after its various ownerships and promised relaunches of the platform. But it looks like the same story. Still no Amiga hardware, and still no word on a release date for the new OS. What's the deal?

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

Now that is one I'll have to research. Sounds super cool, along with the other stuff you mentioned.

Yes. Magellan was THE coolest software I've ever owned. And there was no coding involved--it was completely menu-driven. I believe it was Magellan 2.0. But when I upgraded my Amiga A2000's ROM to the newer chipset, Magellan wouldn't run, and they never upgraded the product to support the new ROM.

So to feed my AI interest, I bought the old Borland AI programming language, Turbo PROLOG for my then, DOS-based 486DX PC (with a whopping 32MB of RAM that cost $600!!!). I'm certainly no programmer, and the DOS-based programming language completely befuddled my brain.

 

[DC]

Well, from a quick review of those sites, it doesn't look like much has changed in the world of Amiga since I last checked a few years ago when I leanred about the infamous A1 motherboard. Was that motherboard ever even produced? I had always held high hopes for the 21st century resurrection of the Amiga after its various ownerships and promised relaunches of the platform. But it looks like the same story. Still no Amiga hardware, and still no word on a release date for the new OS. What's the deal?

Actually, the A1 hardware DID come out in several forms - I have a box. But it was mostly before any version of AmigaOS4 (PowerPC'ed) was ready for release. So Linux was the only option then. By the time Amiga OS4 was ready (in beta forms), the hardware was no longer being produced, at least for the time being. A sad catch-22 situation. So only those that bought the hardware are able to run OS4 currently.

Things have been very slow due to a lot of internal bickering within and between certain related companies. But there HAS been progress being made. Supposedly new hardware is coming out and an OS4 commercial release is almost here.

I'm thinking about starting a Los Angeles Amiga user's group for the new generation of hardware/software . . . anyone interested?

 

[Aaron Koolen]

Well the Amiga had a thing called a Copper that was a hardware display controller. You could change display parameters on the fly (accurate to about 4 or 8 pixels on the old machines, 2 or 4 (Can't remember) on the AGA chipset) So what you could have is 2 COMPLETELY DIFFERENT resolution displays split horizontally on the screen. You could drag the title bar of the lower one up and down to show more or less of the upper one (The one 'behind') or hide it altogether. I think this was a phenomenal thing.