Slashdot Mirror
What MorphOS Is All About
Gentu writes "Genesi released today an extensive feature list of MorphOS, the pre-emptively multi-tasking operating system for PPC. MorphOS/Pegasos is a brand new platform (the last full OS+HW platform released was 7 years ago with Be's BeBox) so it is very modern and it has support for 3D cards, USB, SMP while it also features partial Amiga application binary compatibility! Additionally, OSNews today features an interview with the Eclipsis Project Manager, Nicholas Blachford, about MorphOS, and they include three exclusive screenshots of the OS."
- MorphOS Feature List
- MorphOS Info
- OSNews Interview
- More on Amiga
Posting anonymously so noone thinks I'm a karma whore.-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
/.'s premiere meta publication, Trollback [slashdot.org]
W aX ELQlrKHQCgszrq
- ----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Hash: SHA1
I have been using the MorphOS System with a Pegasos board for a while, in a corporate environment. I feel it would be appropriate for me to share for the benefit of the greater good.
Our MorphOS Systems, one of which I currently am using to post, are very nice. They're for the most part homebuilt with COTS components. The Pegasos Mainboard basically is a MicroATX board with a PowerPPC 133FSB slot, ATA100 3 PCI, 1 AGP, onboard LAN and FireWire. It's amazing how empty the board looks (find the photos on their web site) compared to a normal x86 board. So what you do is you get that board, a PowerPC CPU, some RAM, a case, a hard drive, etc, and you have a fully working PowerPC system devoid of an OS. It isn't cheap, but you don't pay the Apple Markup
To that hardware platform I added MorphOS, and started developing applications, alongside a team of six programmers. We have been learning the ins and out of MorphOS, and we are producing some very nice graph visualisation software for our product. The amazing power of the PowerPC coupled with the surprising APIs of MorphOS, as well as its unique scheduler, enables us to develop much faster on that platform.
I think MorphOS has a bright future ahead, if only people will give it a chance, and realise how good it is.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: i am sllort [slashdot.org] and here's why i post AC [slashdot.org]
subscribe [slashdot.org] to
iD8DBQE994YeKpz2COjVE3YRAjj8AKC7crHc87aNKmhVY7j
iUKD4oiIGlSH3OMEdrWYNbk=
=mTZl
Are we not Nerds?
Do note that everything you currently see within those screenshots is the ABOX environment. This ABOX uses a reimplemented Exec kernel (AmigaOS) on top of an "alien" (read non AmigaOS-like) kernel called Quark(/MorphOS), with this kernel(/OS) being completely hidden from the user. So currently this OS uses a two kernel approach, unlike AmigaOS4 which will use a new fully native ExecSG kernel with alot more added features (compared to the classic Exec or MorphOS' reimplemented AmigaOS3.1 Exec).
This approach could be largely compared to Wine, but is in use and approach more similar to the Amithlon AmigaOS emulator, as its hides the underlying technology completely from the user. In the case of Amithlon this is Linux.
For instance the directory structure, startup-scripts, components structure and features are currently the same or similar to the way the classic AmigaOS was designed. Instead of to the PPC native Ambient environment, MorphOS users are even able to use the classic AmigaOS3.1 Workbench environment on top of this MorphOS/ABOX environment. Regarding to what the QBOX environment will be like in usage (i.e. AmigaOS-like) in the future, very little is actually still known.
That this all is possible can mainly be attributed to the fact that the classic AmigaOS is extremely modular, for most OS components there are several 3rd party alternatives available. For example Workbench/Magellan/Scalos, Reaction/MUI or Picasso/Cybergraphix etc.
I went to see the comments and already knew what to expect..
.. There are word processors, image manipulators, etc, all released in the last few years.
:-)
1) It's going to die just like Be / whatever
2) Ok, so it'll run 10 year old software / a few old amiga games, so what?
So:
- If you say it'll die because of the same causes Be died, you're wrong. Be was totally new, but the new Amiga compatible systems build on an existing user base (albeit small) and existing application base. It's enough to get started and if the better CPUs allow developers to do more cool stuff, perhaps someone's head will turn.
- It won't run any old Amiga games without an Amiga emulator, because it doesn't have Amiga's custom chips! These STILL aren't anything that resemble your old A500s.
- Amiga software development has been going on all the time in the last 10 years we've been without Commodore. We even got a new OS for the 68k machines in 2000. Y2k wasn't 10 years ago! The latest update was in March this year.
- The web browser I use at home has the copyright date set at 2002, the IRC client I use at home has the copyright date set at 2002
Some of you are asking because you don't know, but some are just bashing without even wanting to find out. The latter is what gets to me.. What is wrong with you people? Go get laid or something..
-Jope
Incorrect both Quake and Quake2 are also available for the classic Amiga.
Of Quake both 68k and PPC versions are available. Quake2 can only be used bwith PPC equiped Amigas.
The Hardware:
www.pegasosppc.com
MorphOS Applications and links:
www.morphos-news.de
The GUI is very flexible and TOTALLY skinnable, you can change EVERYTHING.
MorphOS also runs on the Terrasoft/MAI TeronCX/PX boards, Eyetech's AmigaONE(renamed TeronCX with a different BIOS), the Pegasos and Amiga PowerUP cards. Mac support is being looked on.
The Pegasos is open for any OSes. Linux already runs on it, MacOnLinux is very fun on it:) BSD and some other stuff are being worked on. Theoritically, porting darwin and tweaking OSX to run is not a problem.