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Offline TCMSLPTopic starter

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Who used AMIX?
« on: February 11, 2010, 04:44:42 PM »
Hi All,

I've always known the A3000 was released in a UX version.  However, can anyone name any companies that used this?  Or any applications that supported it?   Was there a killer application for Amix that drove sales (perhaps a database?) - was Amix even profitable for Commodore?

I'm curious :)


Steve
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Offline TCMSLPTopic starter

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2010, 04:46:51 PM »
oops since found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_Unix which answers some of my questions :)
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Offline hbarcellos

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2010, 06:16:12 PM »
http://amigaunix.com/tiki-index.php

Site is very funny:
"Because AmigaOS just isn't obscure enough today"
"...Overall, performance is...really poor...."
}~ A1200 - Apollo 68040 - HOTLY running OS 3.1
}~ Powerbook G4 1.67 running MorphOS 3.2 without Wifi.
}~ Powermac Quicksilver 933 with Radeon 9600 XT (r300) LOUDLY running MorphOS 3.2
}~ [MY iOS GAME]: http://goo.gl/S9nWB (Amiga users can get it FREE[/color], just ask me)
 

Offline TCMSLPTopic starter

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2010, 10:48:09 AM »
I see Oracle supported their database under Amix!  Who'd have though it :)
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Offline johnklos

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2010, 08:15:17 PM »
I remember wanting an A3000UX SO BADLY in the early 1990s... I loved the philosophy of Unix since about the mid 1980s, but of course there was no way for a young kid to get a Unix machine or even access to one (oh, how times have changed!)

One of my projects is fixing up an original 16 MHz Amiga 3000, and I've thought about putting AMIX on it. Another machine I'm fixing up is a Mac SE/30, also 16 MHz, so I was picturing putting A/UX on it and comparing the two. Since they're both AT&T Unix System V release 4, I bet they're even binary compatible.

If nothing else, it'd be helpful to pool resources and try to maintain things like pkgsrc (which Tim Larson is working on for A/UX) and individual ports of software on both systems at the same time.

How many people out there are still running AMIX?
 

Offline koshman

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2010, 08:18:07 PM »
I haven't got there yet, but I'm soooo gonna try it in near future! Pity AMIX doesn't support 040 and 060 so I have to build a separate machine for it...
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Offline Matt_H

Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2010, 08:36:15 PM »
From what I've read over the years, Amix had a reputation of simply being a damn good implementation of Unix.

I don't think anyone "still" runs it, but the tremendous efforts of Failure here at Amiga.org have brought it back from the dead, so a few of us have started running it :) (I haven't booted my Amix partition in ages, though). The marketing brochure at the Amix Wiki describes some clients.

In the Deathbed Vigil, Dave Haynie talks about Amix a bit. Sun was interested in using the 3000UX as their OEM Unix 68K platform, but Commodore management managed to botch the deal - twice. One of the Amix developers is also in DBV, and describes the last few days of the gutted Amix team.
 

Offline Jeff

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2010, 08:50:35 PM »
I have it installed to Dual-Boot on my A3000UX desktop with a Phase 5 Blizzard 4030@50, PicassoII+, A3070, and a A2065. It's runs quite well but I admit I sure don't actually boot it up and use it very often.
 

Offline sim085

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2010, 09:00:02 PM »
Wow, I never thought there was a UNIX implementation for the Amiga!! Is this still available for purchase or download?
 

Offline Pentad

Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2010, 09:36:42 PM »
When I was in college I installed AMIX on my Amiga 3000 and then on my Amiga 3000T.   People couldn't believe that I could dual boot between SVR4 and AmigaOS.  

I have always felt that Commodore did their best work during the "Amiga 3000" years.  That time period seemed like they were really trying as the products looked great, the manuals were very well written, and they just came off very professional.   It was Commodore at their best.

AMIX was very well done with a great implementation of SVR4, the manuals were awesome, the networking stack rocked, the price was right (compared to other Unix offerings from Apple/IBM/AT&T/etc...), and they enticed many universities to go with Commodore AMIX for their labs and students.  Did you know the AMIX manuals were written, designed, and typeset using AMIX?  

I wish there was more information about Commodore history as I would like to know about the developers of AMIX, how they approached AT&T to port UNIX, who was involved in the process, how long did it take, stories about SUN, and whatever happened to the source code that they used, etc, etc, etc....   I heard that Gateway formatted the AMIX development machines to put Windows on them but who knows....

I teach CS at a university now and I emailed one of professors that was in the Amiga 3000UX brochures about them using AMIX and working with Commodore.   He said that the machines and software were great but in the end it was a huge disaster for them.

When Commodore went under, it left these universities scrambling to support labs and students with few parts from Commodore.   I guess the labs weren't as big of an issue as the students since they were forced into buying the computers so the university had to support them for years.

This gentleman said they started to buy Amiga 3000UX machines back from students to have supplies to service others.  

Cheers!
-P


PS- Even crazier, Atari put out a version of SVR4 for the TT030 but I have never seen it.  I have actually looked online because I would like to see how it compares/compared to AMIX.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2010, 09:40:10 PM by Pentad »
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Offline Jeff

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2010, 09:37:12 PM »
Yes it is, search for the Amix Wiki (http://amigaunix.com/tiki-index.php) all the information you need to install it is there, or at least used to be.  I created my tapes from there
 

Offline Pentad

Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2010, 09:57:45 PM »
Wouldn't it be cool of WinUAE supported AMIX?
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Offline Jeff

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2010, 10:08:08 PM »
Doubtful, but has anyone actually tried?
 

Offline sim085

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2010, 10:09:06 PM »
Quote from: Jeff;543195
Yes it is, search for the Amix Wiki (http://amigaunix.com/tiki-index.php) all the information you need to install it is there, or at least used to be.  I created my tapes from there

Just a quick look to that site and I see that they use tapes to install it! Did AMIX also come on floppy disks?

EDIT: Ok, found another method how to install :)
« Last Edit: February 14, 2010, 10:12:27 PM by sim085 »
 

Offline Jeff

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Re: Who used AMIX?
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2010, 10:12:41 PM »
There is also a patch to install from HD if I remember correctly. Since I already had a working drive and blank tapes I just went that way instead.