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Amiga As A Compatibility Tool For Linux

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the because-of-the-license? dept.

Milk-Boy directs your attention to this amiga.org editorial, which raises an interesting point about compatibility, and the downside to Linux's constant development. The work-around suggested to breaking programs is to use the (upcoming) Amiga OS under Linux. It reads, in part, "[W]hy should developers slave away writing one game over and over again when they can write it once, optimize it for specific platforms if desired (Amiga's operating system is real-time and thus quite fast), and release it on all major software platforms -- including Linux -- simultaneously. Suddenly Windows becomes a choice, not a given -- and the world will be well." The argument is extended by mentioning that StarOffice and Mozilla are also planned for the Amiga OS.

1 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. problems and questions by kaisyain · · Score: 5

    Amiga's operating system is real-time and thus quite fast

    Real-time only means it meets timing guarantees. Not that it is fast. Real-time only means when I say it'll take 100 days to add two numbers, it absolutely won't take 101 days.

    Sure, real time operating systems commonly are relatively quick but one does not automatically imply the other.

    Armed with a legacy of being the most capable gaming platform on the market, the new Amiga DE

    It is either new or it has a legacy. I don't understand how it can have both. In any case I seriously doubt this statement is anything other than marketing vapor.

    For game developers, Amiga's powerful multiplatform, multimedia-centric Amiga DE is a dream come true.

    Multiplatform and multimedia-centric are relatively useless buzzwords for game developers. Until Amiga's SDK becomes as powerful as DirectX (not that I'm saying DirectX is perfect, just that it's nice not to have to reinvent the wheel all the time) the Amiga will never be a dream come true for developers.

    At under 5MB total, the Amiga DE can even run piggy-back on game discs for Nintendo's Game Cube
    and Sony's Playstation

    That's a lot. The original Playstation only has 2 MB of system memory. The N64 has 4 MB. The Dreamcast has 16 MB. I'm not sure I want the OS eating up over 1/4 of the available memory on my console. Since it doesn't sound like they're talking about consoles, what do they mean when they say "multiplatform"?

    Ports of StarOffice and Mozilla (and thereby Netscape 6 and beyond) are already planned

    Lots of things are planned. Some of them actually end up happening.