Amiga.org
Operating System Specific Discussions => MorphOS => MorphOS -- Application questions and support => Topic started by: runequester on January 09, 2010, 04:08:24 AM
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mini mac g4s arent super expensive which got me wondering... how is Morph OS?
other than that slick old amiga feeling, what I would use it for is pretty basic, some word processing, basic web browsing, playing some old games (presumably I'd need emulation for 68k amiga stuff right?) and similar. A casual machine to mess around with for fun.
So..sell me on it.. I guess :)
Whats the cool parts?
Which parts suck ?
What does it do that OS4 doesn't?
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mini mac g4s arent super expensive which got me wondering... how is Morph OS?
What does it do that OS4 doesn't?
It runs on newer hardware!
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It runs on newer hardware!
Ummm... no. It runs WarpOS games better than OS 4.
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Well it's free to try (if you got the HW that is).
It's fast enough to run UAE at full speed without having to tune down emulation-details.
It has the best and most compatible webbrowser of all Amigaoid OSes.
It has Ambient, the most advanced Workbench(replacement) of all Amigaoid OSes.
It has Poseidon the definite benchmark for all things USB in Amiga-land.
3D-support is also unrivaled.
68k WarpOS and PowerUP emus (for older systemfriendly apps) is a winner in speed compability and stability.
MUI4 is every Amigas-Devs wet dream (o.k. I might be a bit over the top with that one ;) ).
Printing is done via TurboPrint, unrivaled in quality if you got a supported printer (something that understands either PCL or PostScript should do the trick).
Plenty more, but it's 6 o'clock right here.
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Well it's free to try (if you got the HW that is).
It's fast enough to run UAE at full speed without having to tune down emulation-details.
It has the best and most compatible webbrowser of all Amigaoid OSes.
It has Ambient, the most advanced Workbench(replacement) of all Amigaoid OSes.
It has Poseidon the definite benchmark for all things USB in Amiga-land.
3D-support is also unrivaled.
68k WarpOS and PowerUP emus (for older systemfriendly apps) is a winner in speed compability and stability.
MUI4 is every Amigas-Devs wet dream (o.k. I might be a bit over the top with that one ;) ).
Printing is done via TurboPrint, unrivaled in quality if you got a supported printer (something that understands either PCL or PostScript should do the trick).
Plenty more, but it's 6 o'clock right here.
well, that doesn't sound half bad :)
Time to dig on ebay and craigs list for some hardware then
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Is MorphOS still being developed?
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Hmm, lets see:
Support for G4 PowerMacs and eMac announced for MorphOS2.5.
Videos uploaded showing an expermental branch working on Powerbook.
The guys listed in MorphOS->about allmost constantly online in #morphos
See no reason why it shouldn't still being developed ;)
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Hmm, lets see:
Support for G4 PowerMacs and eMac announced for MorphOS2.5.
Videos uploaded showing an expermental branch working on Powerbook.
The guys listed in MorphOS->about allmost constantly online in #morphos
See no reason why it shouldn't still being developed ;)
Short answer: Yes, it is in active development.
MorphOS is great. Very fast, very stable, very compatible, excellent native programs (ShowGirls, OWB, MPlayer, etc.).
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The main things Im needing are:
Some sort of word processor, PDF creation is a bonus but not required
Web browsing obviously
some sort of chat client, preferably including MSN, AIM and gchat, if possible
MP3 player. Bonus points if it can play .ogg and mod files as well
UAE in some form or fashion :)
If there's a decent graphics / paint program thats a bonus (and if all else fails, there's Deluxe Paint 4 in UAE I guess)
How does it do with the above?
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Word processor: The old 68k-apps should work (FinalWriter,Wordworth, ??), some even reported running webbased apps in OWB.
Webbrowser : OWB, what else ?
Chat: Everything but IRC is ........ nah I didn't say that ;)
MP3: AminetRadio is the obvious choice atm
E-UAE is quite o.k.
ArtEffect, ImageFX, fxPaint and more do run, some even semi-native (read they contain PPC-code).
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e-uae is what I use on my linux box so that'll do fine.
I guess I'll have to see about digging up a working copy of Final writer huh :)
Now.. I've heard different things about morph and 68K apps. For things that boot through workbench, rather than hit hardware directly, will they run natively, or is it still emulation time for those?
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Once I saw how configurable MorphOS was, I was sold on it. It can basically be configured to act the same as any other OS out there, making it much easier for people to move to and feel comfortable with.
(http://jpv.wmhost.com/morphos2_review/pics/17-icontrol.png)
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Offcourse they can't really run natively, their 68k afterall ;)
But in reality they will run in MorphOS's own 68k-EMU several times faster than UAE, and when the call OS-function these functions are PPC too.
As an example, back in 2002 when I got my Peg1 (and MorphOS1.0) I had some trouble with native version of YAM. So I just installed an 68k-version and stayed with it. Dragged it over to the Peg2 and later to the MacMini, and I see no reason to replace it with a PPC-version. Not because these would be buggy compared to the 68k-builds, just because I see no point in changing a working system. Speedwise it would probraly make such a small difference that it's hardly noticed.
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In short its the most mature, fastest (in terms of efficiency, cant compete with aros when aros is running on machines much, much faster obviously), most compatible "NG" amiga OS around. The only things to bear in mind is that it is an amiga os based system and therefore is lacking software wise compared to more mainstream oses, (although that's always the case with alternative systems and unless you have very specific needs shouldnt be a big problem), and that even on the fastest hardware it has available wont run a lot of demanding aga stuff very well using euae (no jit cpu emulator for ppc and not a problem with mos)
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The main things Im needing are:
Some sort of word processor, PDF creation is a bonus but not required
Unfortunately there aren't good native word processors yet (Papyrys wasn't that good apparently), but good old word processors from Amiga do work fine. At least Pagestream can save to PDF.
Web browsing obviously
MorphOS version of OWB is really good, but also IBrowse and other old Amiga browsers work fine if you're used to them and want to experince some real speed ;)
some sort of chat client, preferably including MSN, AIM and gchat, if possible
There are some programs for those... but I can't remember the names just now. IRC FTW :) AmIRC (there's MorphOS native version with some fixes since 68k versions) and WookieChat are good IRC clients.
MP3 player. Bonus points if it can play .ogg and mod files as well
AmiNetRadio for the modern bloat (plays lots of formats including mp3, ogg, mod, ahx, hvl etc) and SongPlayer, AMPlifier, AmigaAMP etc for traditional mp3/ogg playing. UADE for precise mod and other Amiga format playing.
UAE in some form or fashion :)
There's E-UAE ports and MorphOS runs system friendly 68k software transparently with its own Trance emulator.
If there's a decent graphics / paint program thats a bonus (and if all else fails, there's Deluxe Paint 4 in UAE I guess)
MorphOS has ShowGirls, which is excellent image viewer and processor. It's especially designed to process digital photos. MorphOS also includes Sketch, which is basic, but pretty modern painting program.
Most of the Amiga's graphic programs work too. I keep using ArtEffect, PPaint and FXPaint2 regularly, but for example ImageFX, Photogenics, Elastic/Fantastic Dreams and TV-Paint do work too.
You can check MorphOS 2 review (http://jpv.wmhost.com/morphos2_review/) for more detailed information about the system and included programs
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The advantage is also that while using Mac Mini for MacOSX (my case) and also other Mac machines anytime soon, one can see Mac's HFS+ partition in a read-only mode. So you can have access to all your Mac files.
That's an advantage, especially in my case because I store most files on my Mac at home.
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Is MorphOS still being developed?
2.5 just released
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Well just a note, MorphOS do not have JavaVM, atleast for me JavaVM is quite important. (I would be fine with any release ported to Morph like IcedTea etc)
But as I have heard they are working on Java for OS4?
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Well just a note, MorphOS do not have JavaVM, atleast for me JavaVM is quite important. (I would be fine with any release ported to Morph like IcedTea etc)
But as I have heard they are working on Java for OS4?
Jamiga? It's been 5+ years and afaik no public beta to show.
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Jamiga? It's been 5+ years and afaik no public beta to show.
Im not talking about Kaffe/Jamiga... I read somwhere that AmigaOS4.x team was planning on porting JVM, but not sure where I read that.
Still neither AmigaOS4.x or MorphOS has JVM, that would open a whole new world for both OS'es.
Haven't heard anything about Java for MorphOS since 2003 :/
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Jamiga? It's been 5+ years and afaik no public beta to show.
It was just updated (http://code.google.com/p/jamiga2/). No idea how usable it is, though.
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It was just updated (http://code.google.com/p/jamiga2/). No idea how usable it is, though.
Quite unusable still :( But something is happening atleast! So for AmigaOS 4.x java is being worked on ^^
Nothing heard from MorphOS and Java yet? :/
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Funny, Java is bloatware, and Amiga users want it. :)
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Well just a note, MorphOS do not have JavaVM
At least the MorphOS Team will not be working on Java VM. If some third party does that, we won't be stopping them obviously.
Personally I think Java has no future on desktop.
For current web experience flash is much more important. It's available for MorphOS OWB from http://fabportnawak.free.fr/owb/plugins/
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What does it do that OS4 doesn't?
Here are a few pro arguments for MorphOS compared to OS4:
1. Cheaper hardware.
2. Faster hardware.
3. Better OS 3.x compatibility.
4. Better WarpOS, PowerUP and Warp3D compatibility.
5. Faster 68k JIT.
6. Better 3D drivers.
7. Better USB support.
8. Better foreign filesystem support (FAT, ext2, XFS, NTFS...)
8. Free OS upgrades (all MorphOS 2.x updates have been free)
9. Possibility to try-before-you-buy (burn the ISO to a CD, find a Mac mini somewehre, boot the CD and play around. It's 100% free, 30 minutes at a time. If you like it, you can easily locate Mac mini for yourself and buy the keyfile for it)
9. Good resale value of the HW (esp Mac mini)
10. Better OWB (web browser with flash, html5 etc) and MPlayer (very good video player).
11. Better desktop (Ambient vs. Workbench)
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In short its the most mature, fastest , most compatible "NG" amiga OS around.
That's a description most people would agree to, yes. :)
(in terms of efficiency, cant compete with aros when aros is running on machines much, much faster obviously)
Efficiency is one thing, speed is a different issue. While you have a point about speed of newish x86, I would say that AROS lacks in so many other areas that *it's not* a realistic alternative to MorphOS.
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Sounds like a solid AmigaOS. But I was wondering if there is a player for DVD movies that works with MorphOS?
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Mplayer does that job.
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Sounds like a solid AmigaOS. But I was wondering if there is a player for DVD movies that works with MorphOS?
MPlayer and VLC at least. Although they're both bit unfinished on DVD playing part (mainly DVD menus), but job gets done usually...
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It runs on newer hardware!
From a realistic point of view, I don't think that Pegasos I, Pegasos II, Efika, eMac or PPC MiniMac are modern hardware.
Sorry. :-)
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From a realistic point of view, I don't think that Pegasos I, Pegasos II, Efika, eMac or PPC MiniMac are modern hardware.
Sorry. :-)
Maybe "More Powerful hardware" would be a more appropriate term, and probably also what he meant...
;)
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TBH I never ran MOS that much, but at least I tried it and I liked it.
I think MOS is very professional looking, desktop is superb with nice icons. And the most important, you can tell its from Amiga roots but its one step taken further, for example prefs are remade etc...
I can not really understand Slashdot users bashing it. Fine you can do all you want with Linux but surely other than Amiga zealots must like the way an Amiga "like" OS is structured?!
I would really like to try out some 68k applications in MOS, I was a bit disapointed of that in OS4.1.
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From a realistic point of view, I don't think that Pegasos I, Pegasos II, Efika, eMac or PPC MiniMac are modern hardware.
Sorry. :-)
... and sam, amigaone and all hardware only os4 is modern? Macmini is now the fastest "amiga" possible, g4 1,5ghz on ebay is for 300euros aprox. Sam and similar os4 machines you need to pay a lot of more money (complete sam machine = 800euros) and have a lot of less power, compared to mac mini
New amigaone x1000 = more than 1200euros? bahhh this is new hardware with this money?
And the best, Morphos is much faster and stable than os4 (and more compatible legacy)
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Did somebody say Morph? I guess he's retired now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkRybbABuQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkRybbABuQ)
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In short its the most mature, fastest (in terms of efficiency, cant compete with aros when aros is running on machines much, much faster obviously), most compatible "NG" amiga OS around. The only things to bear in mind is that it is an amiga os based system and therefore is lacking software wise compared to more mainstream oses, (although that's always the case with alternative systems and unless you have very specific needs shouldnt be a big problem), and that even on the fastest hardware it has available wont run a lot of demanding aga stuff very well using euae (no jit cpu emulator for ppc and not a problem with mos)
At this point, for me, MorphOS does most anything I need. I can get to email. I can use the web. I can ssh to my server if I need to. It can be used daily.
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Funny, Java is bloatware, and Amiga users want it. :)
That's an understatement.
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@gdanko
did your usb keyboard&mouse problems got fixed with MorphOS2.5?
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I'm anxious to find a cheap emac and give this a go. I've been an aros user for a long time (since it was first hd installable really)
I've never seen morphos in person, but I did see aos4 and was really not impressed after using aros for so long.
I hope all the amigoid systems continue to advance and evolve and improve.
I think registering morphos is a nice way to encourage its further development, which I'd certainly like to do. I can't wait to give it a try
but I'm out of work at the moment so funds are tight.
I will be selling a bunch of stuff on ebay to raise funds for an emac and morphos registration. Hopefully, I'll be able to trade alot of my old junk for some new gear. Ebay is hit and miss sometimes, so this may be a hard fought war to get a new toy, thats for sure.
Steven
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@gdanko
did your usb keyboard&mouse problems got fixed with MorphOS2.5?
Have the some strange bug on efika with masstorage usbpen devices, but dvd-drive, mouse and keyboard works without problem by usb (i dont test CF cards). The only problem is with usbpen drive, freezes system but you can install without problem morphos 2.5 with installefika.img loading from usbpendrive... strange bug
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@Dani
my post was aimed to GDanko but nice to know anyway. You should report your Efika massstorage problems to MorphOS developers with some information about pendrive brand and so on.
BTW, on my Mac Mini USB2.0 is rock solid, I can transfer lots of ISOs without a single problem
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@Steven
Since you live in the USA I think it would be easy for you to find a Mac Mini. Nevertheless, if you find an eMac remember to choose the 1.25Ghz model as others may not be fully compatible.
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... and sam, amigaone and all hardware only os4 is modern? Macmini is now the fastest "amiga" possible, g4 1,5ghz on ebay is for 300euros aprox. Sam and similar os4 machines you need to pay a lot of more money (complete sam machine = 800euros) and have a lot of less power, compared to mac mini
New amigaone x1000 = more than 1200euros? bahhh this is new hardware with this money?
And the best, Morphos is much faster and stable than os4 (and more compatible legacy)
Of course they aren't modern. Even the not yet released AmigaOne X1000 has obsolete specifications before birth.
From a commercial point of view, people cannot consider an operating system serious if the only option they have to run it is by buying an old second hand computer from an eBayer located at Manchukuo (MorphOS or AmigaOS4), or by paying an absurd amount of money for a "new" piece of hardware (AmigaOS4).
Fortunately, most Amigans are realistic and nobody treats these operating systems as serious ones, they just are categorised as "Hobby Operating Systems" and that is what they are meant to be.
Anyway, being tied to obsolete hardware seems to be a penitence that every Amigan must accomplish for the forgiveness of him or her sins.
PS: I am pro-MorphOS and AROS.
Cheers.
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It's nice! (Registered user 842 on Mac Mini)