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."

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A question that I need answered

[AndreAtlan]

I just dont understand why you would use something like this. I mean, what possible profit generating nitch can this thing fill?

Applications, please

[tinrobot]

So, pardon my ignorance, but what real world applications actually run on this OS? Please don't bombard me with GNU/development/programming stuff or 10 year old Amiga apps. Is there any compelling reason to use this other than the geek factor?

Re:Applications, please

[Bunji X]

So, pardon my ignorance, but what real world applications actually run on Linux? Please don't bombard me with GNU/development/programming stuff or 10 year old UNIX apps. Is there any compelling reason to use this other than the geek factor?
</SARCASM>

And yes, I do use Linux and not for the "geek factor".

A quote from the inteview at OSNews:

"Nicholas Blachford: At the moment our market is "Alternative Computing" starting with current and Ex Amiga users, it provides a very similar feel and runs a lot of their software via a 68K emulator (provided it doesn't access the custom chips). There was and is a great deal of software available some of which has never appeared on any other system so this provides a body of mature software for users to work with, somewhat unusual for a brand new platform.

Going forward we are up against Windows, MacOS and Linux. We haven't a hope attacking these markets so we intend to target different niches, there are many specific markets out there which are not dependant on Windows or Unix, they may use one of these Operating Systems but the computers primary purpose in these cases is for use as a tool and we can address these markets, looking at what they need and providing it. "

Re:Applications, please

[axxackall]

You are right. Nothing's there. I've asked the question about applications on other forums and the best answer I've got: MorphOS runs most of the Amiga software. There are over 25,000 amiga titles out there. Trust me, you won't feel the "lack of applications".

Hmm, I guess those people used to count files, rather then features. But I see something positive in Morphos and Beos. At least now when someone points to Linux and calls it a geek factor we can answer: Linux is not a geek factor, it's a real OS with real applications for real business tasks. Beos and Morphos are a geek factor. Personally, I think that Macosx is also a geek factor, just very professional and proprietary one. (here is more about geeks)

As for freeware (GPL and BSDL) applications, many of them are still in a geek stage. But other many have already achived a very good level of stability and usefulness (especially, when they are designed and developed, not just evolved). Today I cannot imagine my work without (X)emacs, GCC, Apache, Python, GIMP, OpenOffice, Mozilla and other applications doing real-world tasks. And that is exactly we are looking in any new desktop OS we are introduces.

Can it do it? Not yet? Never will? Don't bother me again.

New platform

[Eric Smith]

MorphOS/Pegasos is a brand new platform (the last full OS+HW platform released was 7 years ago with Be's BeBox)

And it's doomed to failure, just like Be, because people don't want another new, different, mostly incompatible platform. They want improved software for the platform they've already got, or improved hardware that's still compatible. Otherwise people would have ditched PCs and Windows many years ago.

People want a nice smooth migration path. It's even OK to have a major inovation once in a while, as long as it still works with their older stuff (and without a huge performance penalty, which is why IA64 is going nowhere fast).

IBM tried to do away with the ISA bus in 1987, by pushing their proprietary MCA bus as an all-or-nothing proposition. Despite its technical merit, it failed to take over any of the PC market. EISA, VESA local bus, and PCI were more successful because they were provided as a gradual shift. "Look, you can have some ISA slots AND some PCI slots." Of course, now ISA slots have almost vanished, but the transition period was eight years.

EISA and VESA LB died because although they also offered a gradual transition, PCI had more technical merit. So technical merit does count for something, but it's not sufficient to justify an overwhelming degree of incompatibility.

so it is very modern and it has support for 3D cards, USB, SMP

Yes, so modern that it does the same stuff as all the other OSes out there. Oh, except actually having any application software. And it won't support all the 3D cards and USB devices, just a few that they've written drivers for.

while it also features partial Amiga application binary compatibility!

Great, if I want to run a few old Amiga games, it can do that. Woo hoo, I'm so excited.

Pardon me if I don't rush right out to buy one. I think I'll stick to my dual Athlon box running Linux. It has support for 3D cards, USB, and SMP, and actually runs the applications I need.

Re:New platform

[Julian Morrison]

Who cares about what "people want"? Business isn't democracy, it's about finding a niche. If these folks can find buyers, and if they don't stupidly overextend themselves dotcom style, then they could keep ticking along despite never eclipsing the existing OSes.

What's up with you people?

[Ektanoor]

I don't really get. Some of us here are either too pessimistic or too ultimative. And don't see the real mean of this news. And the news is: for years we haven't seen any major OS development. However, there are a few people who still break the ice. That's bad news with some light for hope.

For these last years we hanged over a few systems, majorly divided on three architectures: Windows/OS/2, *NIX, Apple/Mac. We had or have also such things like Amiga or Netware. However, we are trending into a world where we may get some weird mix Windows/*NIX. Frankly, in the bottom line, that's not bad. It's horrible. If you take into account the ideas, ideologies and theories about operating systems, which blossomed during the 70's and 80's, the Windows and *NIX architectures are pure crap. They were systems that look much like a temporary agreement between old and new theories. However, due to the fact that they became very popular, they seem to look tip-top for everyone. Unfortunately this popularity went so far that deeply froze the development of new systems.

Well, to some of us, it may look that we don't need any other systems and we should keep happy using and developing the present ones.Wrong. That's the same kind of behaviour one gets in a totalitarian regime: you're happy because you haven't seen through the Iron Courtain. This blindness can be dangerous as we may get very deep inside the crap. And when we realize that we need something else, it will be very difficult to do it, as we no longer have the experts, the theoretics, the engineers and developers capable of working from the zero line. BTW, this thing is already seen on many fields. If we do not support a stable path of development for such things, even if, presently, they would not be so bright and shiny like Windows or Linux, we surely will loose the capacity to have real choices in the future.

However, this MorphOS thing worries me on some details. The most is that, at their site, they not quite generous on giving information.

Re:What's up with you people?

[HiThere]

I am reminded of Stephen J. Gould's "Wonderful Life". In the early days there was a vast radiation of phyla, to a diversity not since seen. Then something really bad happened, and almost everything died. There were some survivors, though. We are their descendants.

The interesting point here, is that there appear to have been no new phyla created since the cambrian extinction. Appearantly the startup costs are too high. (All those inefficiencies that need to be fixed! Garbage collectors to redesign. Now to tune the scheduling alogrithm. Etc.)

I suppose that one could claim that anything new doesn't need to fight a lot of competitors, because MS has eliminated the competition. Well... except for Palm (a new phylum), Apple (a survivor), the *nix groups (a surviving phylum that seems to have split.. sort of like the insects and the arachnids and the millipedes).

As I look this over, it looks like anything new is probably going to need to establish itself where it isn't facing competition from the established groups. (Which is probably the reason for no new phyla.)

OTOH, splits from existing groups into new species happen constantly. So you see Windows CE, and Linux for palmtops, etc.

This analysis is not only bad news for MorphOS, it's bad news for the Hurd. The Hurd has the advantage that it's got a devoted coterie of developers who aren't planning to make any money from it anyway. And I consider it very important because of absurd patent law possibilities. It's the suspenders that you wear with your belt. But what is the point of the MorphOS?

Looking at their web site, the MorphOS is a receration of some work from Commodore. Not a bad idea, but...
I'm not sure of the license. If I guessed, I'd guess GPL, but I didn't see it mentioned on the web site. The closest thing was some notes about porting gcc. And I didn't see anything important enough about it to justify putting a lot of time and effort into it (though obviously some people do). Still....

This could have a place as another insurance project. It runs on ppc instead of intel, so if intel commits firmly to palladium, this would be a third choice for a non-palladium system (Mac, Linux, and MorphOS). Of course, that's ignoring the ARM systems, but the arm is a relatively weak processor. And it's ignoring a bunch of other minor players, that might suddenly become more important. But if you can, it's best to have your insurance in place *before* the accident.

A HAL?

[Queuetue]

They have a hardware abstraction layer, which: "Makes MorphOS hardware independent"

So... Why are they designing their own hardware? Or do I not understand the business relationships involved? Maybe this is a hardware company, and morphos is the only thing that runs on it?

Then why not port something that already runs on PPC - one of the BSD's, Darwin or Linux?

Someone explain this, please. Because it seems pretty risky to gamble on both a new hardware platform and the acceptance of a new OS simultaneously. Isn't that what stunted and ultimately killed a young and promising Be?

Cyberdiversity

[Chris Canfield]

I was going to write a parody of all the negative posts here, but this situation is just so gut-wrenching that I can't make fun of it.

People, your OS Biodiversity is INCREASING for the first time in years! A small company is making a modern GUIed os that boots in 3 seconds and has already gotten to the maturity plateau where you can read your e-mail and surf. Are you all so beaten down by the beast that you can't even dream of a new OS? Yes, you need to buy new hardware. The hardware platform you are running on (appologies to Mac, BE, and WAP slashdotters) is over 20 years old. You are still using Serial ATA, with Floppy drives and PS/2 ports in the back, aren't you? And your 20 year old DOS system has just been replaced with a 15 year old NT/XP system... Have you even looked at the folder heirarchies? People, we can do MUCH, MUCH better.

And yes, that means giving money to developers. Tightly knit, well-funded companies are capable of outperforming Open Source development in certain respects... It's just that they are so mired in money that many forgot how or why.

Did Be Fail? They wrote a truly modern and elegant OS, spawned new interface paradigms, failed to seize Microsoft's crown, and took over Palm. That sounds like a pretty good ride... we should all be so lucky. Palm OS 6 should bring forth the real fruits of the project.

The sales volume of a song does not determine its quality. If you really believe in code poetry, the same applies to us.

-C