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AmigaOS 3.1.4 For Classic Amigas Released (hyperion-entertainment.com)

Mike Bouma shares the announcement from Hyperior Entertainment, which holds exclusive rights to AmigaOS: The new, cleaned-up, polished Amiga operating system for your 68K machine fixes all the small annoyances that have piled up over the years. Originally intended as a bug-fix release, it also modernizes many system components previously upgraded in OS 3.9. Contrary to its modest revision number, AmigaOS 3.1.4 is arguably as large an upgrade as OS 3.9 was, and surpasses it in stability and robustness. Over 320K of release notes cover almost every aspect of your favorite classic AmigaOS -- from bootmenu to datatypes. Some of the highlights mentioned include: Over 20 Kickstart ROM modules and many more disk-based core OS components were fixed, updated, or added; Support for large hard disks; A modernized Workbench; and A colorful, professionally designed icon set is included, along with the traditional four-color icons.

27 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. No links? by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nice, but at the time of publication the slashdot article has no hyperlinks to downloads or release notes (or even to a goatse).

    1. Re:No links? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      The old joke still holds true. Anyone can be replaced with a simple Perl script.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    2. Re:No links? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nice, but at the time of publication the slashdot article has no hyperlinks to downloads or release notes (or even to a goatse).

      Quick overview...

      https://www.generationamiga.com/2018/10/02/amigaos-3-1-4-released-the-biggest-upgrade-for-commodore-amiga-computers-since-2000/

      Buy it here...

      http://hyperion-entertainment.biz/index.php/where-to-buy/direct-downloads/188-amigaos-314

      Read about and download BestWB here...

      http://lilliput.amiga-projects.net/BestWB.htm

    3. Re:No links? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Surely you meant "a simple ARexx script"?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. That's because the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...the submission was sent via snail mail. You must order a floppy disk for $29.99, with a 6-8 week shipping time.

    1. Re:That's because the... by Darinbob · · Score: 4, Funny

      You can pick up the floppies at HT Electronics for $2 each.

  3. Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    http://www.hyperion-entertainment.biz/index.php/where-to-buy/direct-downloads/188-amigaos-314

    1. Re:Link by arth1 · · Score: 1

      No support for A1000 (kickstart floppy) it seems.
      Nor for the CDTV model.

    2. Re:Link by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Well, we all heard the dummy phrase "512 KB ought to be enough for anyone", but today is 2018 not 1985. ...

      This is true, and compilers today should be much better at generating compact code, making the existing code smaller, allowing you to add extras within the same space.

      0.6 MB just to boot + 0.5 MB for loading ROM modules + 0.9 MB for free memory. ...

      That's just obnoxious. Did they change handcoded assembly and BCPL to C++ or something?

      At any rate, that makes it a "no thanks". Good luck selling this.

      About the only reason why people would want to run an Amiga these days is nostalgia. That means they don't want to change out hardware and run modern bloatware. Bug fixes and optimizations would be great, and even new feature apps as long as they can run on the old systems. But changing things so requirements also change, and justify it with it not being 1985 anymore? That's missing the point completely - when I run my Amiga, it's because I do miss the 1985-90 period. If I wanted modern apps and bloat, I have modern machines that do that much better.

  4. Matt Dillion by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    Will he make cool patches or focus on DragonFly and occasional FreeBSd patches instead

  5. Codename Pi? by barakn · · Score: 1

    I'm that nerdy.

    --
    "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
  6. Re:Give it up!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Holy cow people. I swear to god, Amiga people are a thousand times worse than Apple people.

    Amiga died...a long, long time ago. Let it lie in peace. Itâ(TM)s long past time to move on. Start dating again...find a new girl. No, she wonâ(TM)t be the same as the one you loved, but at least she will put out.

    Says the Apple guy with all his â(TM)s and â(TM)t's.

  7. Some history is needed here for context 3.9 vs 3.1 by Seven+Spirals · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Haage & Partner released AmigaOS 3.9 in the 90's which definitely was an upgrade to 3.1. It had a much better version of the formatting and partitioning tools. It also had a few updates to the user interface and the text to speech voice phonemes were updated. So, it sounded different when you told it to say "This is Amiga speaking." Now, this update is from Hyperion. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm highly suspicious (but nonetheless curious). They have a fairly shady and shaky claim to rights to AmigaOS and Kickstart. However, they are very *loud* about those claims. Notice even in the announcement they want you to know they are the *sole* IP holder. I'm not a lawyer, but Hyperion has always seemed like a jumped up small-game company grabbing for lost Amiga glory. It's rumored that they bought the IP for Kickstart for $1 between a couple of friends. There are several other IP holders such as Cloanto in Italy and a few ex-licensees (or so they claim) in the USA too. One more colorful guy was an ex-trucker who wanted to resurrect the Amiga as a PC (the horror! and no 68k - blasphemer!). Who knows what lost legal deals ESCOM and Gateway did when they owned, the IP, too. The Amiga historical landscape is littered with people claiming to own the various critical trademarks such as AmigaOS, Amiga, Kickstart, and so forth. Nobody will know for sure until there is a knock down drag-out lawsuit and somebody goes home crying. The problem is, there is so few bucks left to make it's not worth the hassle. The Vampire Amiga folks are doing amazing things with their FPGA Apollo 68080 core. I run one in an Amiga 500 and it takes all comers. Not everything is perfect or stable, but it gives you RTG, upgraded sound, HDMI output, half a gig of RAM (a lot for Amiga apps), wifi, MicroSD storage, IDE, and a smoking fast processor that will eat the 68060 alive many times over. Highly recommended.

  8. Re:Give it up!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cool story, incel.

  9. AmigaOS needs braver pirates. YarrrrOS needs birth by Seven+Spirals · · Score: 2

    AROS is a failure. There are like two guys working in the wilderness on it. MorphOS and AmigaOS v4.x both did a bunch of un-Amiga things like adopt Unix-like programming APIs. Now, don't get me wrong. I *love* Unixy stuff. However, it's just not appropriate for the Amiga. It was always meant to be a lean and mean close to the metal programming platform. The custom chips allow you to take control of the hardware in surprisingly straightforward ways. If you have some cop following you around everywhere policing all your memory usage, it's great for stability, but blows for performance. Newer hardware using the PPC is utter trash and total blasphemy against the 68k CISC ISA, too. The PPC sucked for ASM coders and MOS + AOS4 both embraced the new school "let's wrap everything in bubble wrap" philosophy. Yes, it makes them more stable and easier to port things like web browsers over to. However, it also takes away from their microcomputer appeal and hardware hackability. All the newschool Amigas feel sterile and neutered. There isn't anything really cool about them as they just look like low-powered PCs with commodity hardware. To some, that's exactly what they wanted. To others, it sucks balls. What we really need is for a braver group of coders to do a clean room implementation of AmigaOS 3.1 which was leaked years ago. Just ignore Hyperion (they are in .nl anyway). Let them threaten to sue and freak out. They've come with too little WAY too late. AmigaOS doesn't need to morph into Ubuntu, it needs to embrace the 3.x roots that made the Amiga "a console with a keyboard" not "just another PC". I have tried to re-write parts of the OS myself, but it's a HUGE job and I get stuck on the BCPL linker crap every time.

  10. Re:3.1.4 3.9 ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Think of it as an update to 3.1, not as a new entry in the 3.x line.

    This is based on the AmigaOS 3.1 codebase and doesn't use code from 3.5 or 3.9. Also 3.5 and 3.9 had higher system requirements, but this version will run on any amiga.

    Calling it 3.10 or 3.14 would have been just as confusing because then people would have assumed that it was based on 3.9 and had the corresponding system requirements. It's a bit of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation because either way somebody is going to be confused.

    The press release says "3.1.4 is arguably as large an upgrade as OS 3.9 was, and surpasses it in stability and robustness". They're not saying "this is the version after 3.9", they're just comparing it to the size/reliability of 3.9.

  11. Title link are unavailable in mobile view mode by aglider · · Score: 1

    http://www.hyperion-entertainm...

    Is there anyone who knows enough to fix this?

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  12. Re:Give it up!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    No, the Amiga folks are not really that bad. Now, the Atari ST guys -- those people are freaks! :D

  13. MenuetOS by aglider · · Score: 1

    Is IMHO the nearest thing o AmigaOS you can have today .

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  14. Re:Give it up!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Oh that's nothing. Some religious folk keep pretending their messiah is alive after 2000 years of his death!

  15. AmigaOS 3.1.4 for classic Amigas released by Mike+Bouma · · Score: 1

    BestWB is an unofficial new workbench pack: "much like BetterWB. It aims to be much like an enhancement, an updated extension to AmigaOS 3.1.4, without all those hardware penalties typically associated with these kind of packs."

    http://lilliput.amiga-projects...

  16. Re:3.1.4 3.9 ? by nogginthenog · · Score: 1

    You've had 30 years to upgrade your A500. 3.1.4 requirements are almost identical to 3.1

  17. Re:4x RAM requirement, does not run on old machine by nogginthenog · · Score: 1

    All Amiga's are 'old'. 3.1.4 has almost the same requirements as 3.1, assuming you buy an updated ROM (else it patches the existing ROM, which needs RAM).

  18. Re:Some history is needed here for context 3.9 vs by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    I was there when Hyperion signed the contract to gain perpetual rights to develop Amiga OS "Classic" and distribute it, including Kickstart. They were the only ones interested in doing it at the time, and Amiga Inc. had no money to pay someone and they were more focused on their stupid Java game platform and other "next generation Amiga" nonsense.

    The guys, two brothers, doing most of the coding know what they are doing with Amiga OS. They had developed a fair bit of other stuff for the platform... It's a while back now but I seem to recall they did one of the PPC systems, and a 3D API for the then brand new 3D accelerator cards that could connect to the Blizzard accelerator boards or to Zorro-PCI bridge cards. I remember we had extensive discussions about how to overcome the bandwidth limitations of those systems, which were preventing the 68k CPU from keeping the relatively primitive cards of the day operating at anywhere near 100% load. Just copying the scene geometry over was a bottleneck, let alone swapping textures in and out.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  19. Re:AmigaOS needs braver pirates. YarrrrOS needs bi by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Why bother re-writing the OS at all? If you want to treat it like a console, hit the metal directly, you don't need the OS.

    Make libraries for self-booting games and enough of a Kickstart to run the bootblock from floppy. Throw in some debugging tools to help cross-compile and download from another machine.

    I've been wanting to get back in to Amiga coding for ages. I hear that WinUAE makes a good development environment now... Not least because you can do stuff that was impossible on real hardware, like examine DMA slot allocation for maximum optimization.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  20. Re:3.1.4 3.9 ? by nogginthenog · · Score: 1

    3.1.4 is 3.1 with bug fixes. The extra memory is to patch the 3.1 modules with updated versions.

    If you use a 3.1.4 ROM the patches are not needed. The release contains a 3.1.4 ROM image for you to burn to an EPROM or real ROMs will be available at a later date.
    3.x & 0.5mb is only usable if you are running from floppy. Even in the 90s anyone using an Amiga for non-games had a HD.

  21. Re:Amiga is DEAD, only necrophiles love the amiga. by nogginthenog · · Score: 1

    Amiga is DEAD, only necrophiles love the amiga.

    LINUX DESKTOP IS DEAD . When you comepare linux desktop from year 2000 to current linux desktop, surprise surprise : they look almost the same. COmparing modern OS line windows10 with modern linux desktop is like comparing any modern car with a car from year 1980 !!!

    I see a common theme here.