AmiWest 2017 clarifications

[ssolie]

AmiWest 2017 is over and it was one crazy time!

There were the usual announcements and many things were said.

If you want clarifications on anything, please post your questions here and I'll do my best to answer and/or clarify things.

Just don't guess what I meant. Ask instead.

[ssolie]

1) Hi Steve, You were on the Amiwest agenda -Next steps for AmigaOS-or something similar, why was it remove and what are the next steps?

The original agenda was prepared without my input so there was a miscommunication.

2) Any update on the wiki front? like updating it further as there's still AmigaOS 2.x/3.x stuff or new tutorials from AmigaFuture?

The wiki is always being updated. October 18 was the last edit. We have 38 editors and each of them contributes however they wish. That is how a wiki works.

We only cover AmigaOS 4.0 and up as stated on the front page. I don't see any need to go backwards. The community can open up their own wiki if need be.

The next batch of AmigaFuture tutorials should be released in December. For some reason, AF wouldn't allow us to publish them until then.

[ssolie]

Steve, could you please update us as to the status of LibreOffice?  My understanding is that this subject was not a part of the Q&A.

LibreOffice is still a work in progress and there is a beta test team working on it. That is all I know. I'm not on the beta testing team myself.

[ssolie]

@Steve
1) Since the new Radeon driver (3.3) removed the 256MB limitations is there work ongoing on the Amiga Libraries to take advantage of all that memory and also to take advantage of the power of the GPU?

The plan is to take advantage of the GPU in as many places as possible in graphics.library. Keep in mind that means you have to transfer data into VRAM and let the GPU loose on it so this is not a simple thing to accomplish. Legacy software still uses the CPU to draw into bitmaps in regular RAM and then transfer that to the VRAM for display.

2) is there improvement done on the  code optimization targetting PPC?

The first step is updating the compiler tool chain. Our focus right now is on getting the A1222 to market and that target requires an updated tool chain as well.

[ssolie]

Is it possible to have something like fat binaries produced by the toolchain like what existed on the Next that target FPU and SPE on one executable?

Anything is possible. How about we get it working first.

[ssolie]

Obviously NIC and Audio are a must for Tabor but will it's release also be dependent on the revised FPU emulation that Thomas is working on.

As was seen at AmiWest, the A1222 runs pretty darn well already. There is another scheme to improve FPU speed plus the final solution of using SPE. It is a concern for apps like SketchBlock which work 100% in floating point but generally shouldn't be a big issue.

Are there a new blogs in the pipeline.  It would be nice to read a blog about the FPU emulation when it's done.

Yeah, very good idea. I'll see if I can influence the boys to produce one for us.

[ssolie]

Steven, I think Kamelito meant that the Wiki still has stuff which was valid back in 2.x/3.x days, but not fully (or at all) today.

Ah, well that does require editors to work on it indeed. More volunteers are most welcome.

[ssolie]

seeing the tabor getting priority now, how is the progress of os4.2?
has the priority been lowered? or has the planned featureset been changed? (multi core + enhanced 3d system, ...)?

As far as I know, nothing has changed on the AmigaOS 4.2 front. Hyperion has not provided me with any further clarification.

[ssolie]

I've no Fun tinkering with Windows, Linux and Mac, that is why I plan to buy a A1222 motherboard or full system depending on the final price.
So please hurry up

I know exactly what you mean. I have Windows, Mac and Linux at home as well. The A1222 is especially exciting due to its lower price and that really cool laptop project Hans de Ruiter is working on. He had a prototype running at the show.

[ssolie]

Was it a true laptop or just a luggable?  If it's thicker than 1.5 inches then people shouldn't refer to it as a laptop but as a something else entirely.

I don't see any point in debating the definition of laptop.

[ssolie]

Is the bootspeed quicker then an AmigaOne 500, mine is slower then my Windows machine - both with SSD ?

The boot speed is similar to any other AmigaOS installation. We have not optimized it in any way thus far. There is ample room for improvement of course but it is not a high priority.

[ssolie]

We know that AmigaOS is C with some assembly.
Is it C89 or C99 with some GCC extensions? Does it contain C++?

Depends on the component. We used whatever language/tool was most appropriate at the time the component was created.

[ssolie]

Any plans to look into the X5000 CMI8738 Sound Card issues ?

I don't know of anybody looking into this problem at the moment.

[ssolie]

I didn't call for a debate.  Are you looking for one?  My point is that standards have changed over the past 30  years...

I guess I just didn't notice my MacBook Pro booted in 6 seconds from cold and I have Chrome up and running in under 10 seconds.

Listen, all of us here know time has moved on. My point is that somebody is trying their best to create a portable Amiga running the latest AmigaOS. If some people want to point and laugh that is their business but that kind of stuff doesn't belong in this thread.

I am looking forward to my new A1222 laptop and I don't care if my peers laugh or not.