Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: Clark Kent on June 24, 2011, 08:42:55 PM
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I have been an active Amiga user since 1987 and have quite a few Amigas that I use a lot from time to time. But I have also followed with interest and read about AmigaOS4 and MorphOS. Until now I haven't got into any of the two because of the rather pricy hardware that is needed, which is a rather bad excuse because classic Amigas are expensive too.
That was until a few weeks ago, when I bought a MacMini G4 1.5 Ghz on eBay for a reasonable price. I went the MorpOS route and became a registerated user, after wiping OSX off the hard drive. I would never have anything Apple inside my house. Never liked it and I think OSX is slow, user alienating and overrated. I guess I can live with having some Mac hardware as long as I'm only running an Amiga-like OS on it. :-)
Now to my point: MorphOS is really a wonderful little OS (little because of its small foot print). I have never tried AOS4, I'm sure it's good too. But I have to say; I am really impressed with what a great product MorphOS has evolved into. It's fast, responsive, good-looking and really feels like an Amiga OS. I had never expected it to be as polished as it actually is. No tinkering – it just works. You are up and running after just a few minutes of installation. There are also quite a few good utilities, games and apps available for it.
Just to mention one: MPlayer. It plays any video you can through at it out of the box. Actually MorphOS could be THE OS to use with the living room computer connected to the TV. The MacMini is small and with MorphOS it boots fast, is responsive and can play quite a few games, even Amiga games through E-UAE. The only downside is that the G4 1.5 Ghz is not fast enough to handle HD1080p, but it seems to be just about able to handle some HD720p movies. Just think of the potential a small and cheap MorphOS box that handles 1080p could have.
So to every amigan out there: do yourself a favor and get a cheap MacMini G4 and download MorphOS. You will never regret it. And before you ask; no, I'm not paid anything for writing this. :-)
I'm just a very happy MorphOS user, whose only regret is that I waited too long before getting into MorphOS.
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Nice! I too have a (actually 3) MacMini G4 1.5Ghz machines - the silent upgrade models. I have OSX and Morph OS dual boot but just havn't had time to fuss with it. I like when peeps say "No Tinkering" with this OS. You've inspired me - gotta get my license registerd (probably updated too). Thanks! :)
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Exactly! It just works! Thankx for sharing your MorphOS joy!
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Agree fully, even if I have not tried the latest versions of MorphOS. It was a pleasure to use, the guys behind MorphOS are really talented, plus damn nice guys too. You can find them using irc, #morphos at Freenode.
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Just to mention one: MPlayer. It plays any video you can through at it out of the box. Actually MorphOS could be THE OS to use with the living room computer connected to the TV. The MacMini is small and with MorphOS it boots fast, is responsive and can play quite a few games, even Amiga games through E-UAE. The only downside is that the G4 1.5 Ghz is not fast enough to handle HD1080p, but it seems to be just about able to handle some HD720p movies. Just think of the potential a small and cheap MorphOS box that handles 1080p could have
a £200 htpc with xbmc would be a better solution I think (cheaper and full hd support).
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... I would never have anything Apple inside my house. ..
+ 1 :pint:..wouldnt mind trying MOS on a PegII if I could have found one when I was looking
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Glad you can find great joy out of MorphOS. I was impressed when I got the Mac Mini and installed MorphOS 2.6 at the time, and WOW, the speed was impressive. I did sell my Mac Mini to a fellow amigan here as well as the registered key that went with it, but I won't hesitate to give another $100+ to a great OS. This time, I will wait for some kind of G5 support. Want to get a G5 desktop so I know the OS will fly.
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Well, we can all agree it is FAST. The Mac Mini option is the cheapest around too.
I found the apps to be basic and unpolished. Web browsing was hit or miss and flash was, er, not so flashy.
Although there is some TrueCrypt integration no real user based security is in place. I don't think full disk encryption was available (though it might be now)
The activation process hopefully has improved as well. I heard it involves some miscellaneous tools and email and BY HAND creation of an activation key. I don't mind paying for MorphOS but don't tell me how and when and on what machine I use it on. That key is for that old, used G4 Mac Mini. When it breaks you just lost your MorphOS.
When security, full disk encryption and a better licensing solution happens I'll jump on it.
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I heard it involves some miscellaneous tools and email and BY HAND creation of an activation key. I don't mind paying for MorphOS but don't tell me how and when and on what machine I use it on. That key is for that old, used G4 Mac Mini. When it breaks you just lost your MorphOS.
You've heard it wrong.
1. MorphOS registeration is a straightforward process.
2. If you give proofs your machine is broken, you may get a new keyfile for free.
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Now to my point: MorphOS is really a wonderful little OS (little because of its small foot print). I have never tried AOS4, I'm sure it's good too. But I have to say; I am really impressed with what a great product MorphOS has evolved into. It's fast, responsive, good-looking and really feels like an Amiga OS. I had never expected it to be as polished as it actually is. No tinkering - it just works. You are up and running after just a few minutes of installation. There are also quite a few good utilities, games and apps available for it.
Yeah, even though I've been using MorphOS since 1.4 times and registered the 2.0 immediately when it was released, I'm still impressed and keep smiling every time I install/update the 2.x versions :) It's ease and polishing you haven't used to see with Amigas before. Not that I wouldn't love to tune amigaish systems, but it's lovely to get started with basic needed things that easily.
Just to mention one: MPlayer. It plays any video you can through at it out of the box. Actually MorphOS could be THE OS to use with the living room computer connected to the TV. The MacMini is small and with MorphOS it boots fast, is responsive and can play quite a few games, even Amiga games through E-UAE. The only downside is that the G4 1.5 Ghz is not fast enough to handle HD1080p, but it seems to be just about able to handle some HD720p movies. Just think of the potential a small and cheap MorphOS box that handles 1080p could have.
I don't have any HD material to play anyway, so Mini is perfect media box for me. I watch all movies, listen music etc with it. It's easy to take with too. I can grab my mini and USB remote control with me and don't need even carry any keyboard/mouse. I've setted up remote control with MMKeyboard software on MorphOS and I can browse&play movies, play music, view/browse/rotate digital photos, navigate through dirs, control volume, seeking and playlists on all players etc with that.
I'm just a very happy MorphOS user, whose only regret is that I waited too long before getting into MorphOS.
Good you did it afterall anyway and welcome to the great community of happy MorphOS users ;)
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The Mac Mini option is the cheapest around too.
Actually you can get Power Macs even cheaper. They can be found for almost nothing. But mini is really nice because of its size :)
I found the apps to be basic and unpolished. Web browsing was hit or miss and flash was, er, not so flashy.
Of course there's lack of certain apps, but if you compare to other amigaish systems, you can't complain. There are some really great apps which can be even better than similar apps on mainstream systems too. Like ShowGirls, MorphOS version of mplayer etc. Latest OWB is also very compatible with current web, it's very rare to get any "miss" pages, unless they lean too much on more complex flash things. Luckily HTML5 is coming nicely and that is well supported.
Although there is some TrueCrypt integration no real user based security is in place. I don't think full disk encryption was available (though it might be now)
I haven't tried myself, but from Kryptos readme:
* Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.
That key is for that old, used G4 Mac Mini. When it breaks you just lost your MorphOS.
It's been said many times, if your machine breaks and you can prove it, you get a new keyfile for the new machine. And AFAIK, you can get it for any supported platform. Try breaking your HW with some other operating systems with different kind of licensing scheme and you won't get new version of OS for other platform, if you can't find similar HW anymore of if you'd want to upgrade at the same time.
BTW. has anyone's Mac mini got broken yet? :) I don't think it's that big probability to break your computers in the time you would be using it before updating to faster/newer system anyway. On average, how many of you switch computer because it gets broken or you just want to get new one?-) Heck, my 80's/90's classic Amigas still work, as well as Pegasos1 which is years older than my current Mac minis.
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I found the apps to be basic and unpolished. Web browsing was hit or miss and flash was, er, not so flashy.
What was basic and unpolished?
What failed with the browser?
And about Flash, well, it's based on an opensource implementation of Flash (swfdec). The situation is no better on Linux if you don't use the official Flash plugin...
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These are just my impressions. I'm glad that there are so many fans of a new alternative operating systems!
MorphOS is asking for a serious sum of money so I expected more. At the time I installed everything was not as polished as other operating systems such as BeOS. The user interface and stability all looked hobby OS to me. Again, this may have been before the 2.xx series really took off so the situation may have improved.
Partition encryption does not equal encrypting your boot drive. If the spooks or other criminals can log in it's game over.
The OWB failed to deliver a good enough experience loading and displaying web pages. Again, this may have been an earlier version. Also, we're talking about user experience so I don't care if it's flash performance is the same on Linux - it sucked.
Finally, with Mac OS or Windows I can stick in my OS CD and install the OS on any machine I have. I don't need to prove to ANYONE my machine is broken. I don't care if Mac Minis don't break that often. It's MY choice when and where to install Mac OS. With MorphOS I need to "prove" it's broken. Not good.
..and to make it clear I object to ANY form of activation on any other platform. Activation is wrong by principle. I bought a piece of property not a license.
Despite my less optimistic review than the OP I would QUICKY snatch up MorphOS if it had:
* No activation. I own the software.
* User/Password security. No one should access my files but ME.
* Full boot disk encryption. Same deal.
Again, this is just my experience with an early 2.xx revision. I didn't mean to get into a point-by-point debate. just thought I'd clarify a bit!
Carry on :)
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Finally, with Mac OS or Windows I can stick in my OS CD and install the OS on any machine I have.
I cannot speak for MacOS, but I can for Windows. This case is only partly true with Windows, provided that you did not purchase an OEM copy of Windows -- the kind that comes with computers purchased from Big Box or a system builder.
While you may have the technical ability to install your OEM on any other machine, your licensing does not legitimately allow doing so. When your OEM computer dies, your OEM license of Windows dies with it.
Purchase a retail copy of Windows and you can move from machine-to-machine, you just have to jump through the activation phone call at times if using XP or later. XP Home Edition used to run between $169 and $199 retail, so you pay about the same as MorphOS for about the same situation, relatively speaking.
Windows 3.x, 95, 98, 98SE, 2000, and ME do not suffer the WGA activation, so you can plug away on those all you want. Hell, for that matter even XP is loosely controlled these days (only loosely since it is still a viable alternative to 7 if you can get drivers. I have had to re-activate my XP x64 once or twice due to hardware changes.)
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I cannot speak for MacOS, but I can for Windows. This case is only partly true with Windows, provided that you did not purchase an OEM copy of Windows -- the kind that comes with computers purchased from Big Box or a system builder.
While you may have the technical ability to install your OEM on any other machine, your licensing does not legitimately allow doing so. When your OEM computer dies, your OEM license of Windows dies with it.
Purchase a retail copy of Windows and you can move from machine-to-machine, you just have to jump through the activation phone call at times if using XP or later. XP Home Edition used to run between $169 and $199 retail, so you pay about the same as MorphOS for about the same situation, relatively speaking.
Windows 3.x, 95, 98, 98SE, 2000, and ME do not suffer the WGA activation, so you can plug away on those all you want. Hell, for that matter even XP is loosely controlled these days (only loosely since it is still a viable alternative to 7 if you can get drivers. I have had to re-activate my XP x64 once or twice due to hardware changes.)
Hey LoadWB! Hope your weekend is starting off awesome :)
The key file is far worse. I don't need to prove anything. I'm a paying customer. The harder you make it for me to use and reinstall my OS the less I'm willing to purchase your product.
I stopped buying Windows at XP Home due to experiences with activation. Are you listening MorphOS devs?
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Are you listening MorphOS devs?
Yes, but I'm not hearing any better alternative being suggested.
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The key file is far worse. I don't need to prove anything. I'm a paying customer. The harder you make it for me to use and reinstall my OS the less I'm willing to purchase your product.
I stopped buying Windows at XP Home due to experiences with activation. Are you listening MorphOS devs?
Yes, but I'm not hearing any better alternative being suggested.
A physical copy with manual I'd thought would be a more ideal solution, it could be distributed by the Amigakit and Vesalia, and would not only eliminate keyfile issues, it would also increase the exposure of MorphOS by being available from two very popular Amiga web stores.
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A physical copy with manual I'd thought would be a more ideal solution, it could be distributed by the Amigakit and Vesalia, and would not only eliminate keyfile issues, it would also increase the exposure of MorphOS by being available from two very popular Amiga web stores.
That would enable the piracy pretty much. And the fuss of making new physical copies with each (newly) supported platforms... In my opinion it's much better to have downloadable ISO file and easy registering like it's now. You get the latest version always, physical copy would be obsoleted quickly and the wait of getting it etc. Only advantage of removing keyfile protection is the easy switching between machines, but as said it would enable easy illegal copying. But I think there could be some sort of discounted second keyfiles or something like that to encourage users to register to some platform even if they are thinking later to upgrade to others.. that sort of thing could be some kind of compromise...
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These are just my impressions. I'm glad that there are so many fans of a new alternative operating systems!
MorphOS is asking for a serious sum of money so I expected more. At the time I installed everything was not as polished as other operating systems such as BeOS. The user interface and stability all looked hobby OS to me. Again, this may have been before the 2.xx series really took off so the situation may have improved.
Partition encryption does not equal encrypting your boot drive. If the spooks or other criminals can log in it's game over.
The OWB failed to deliver a good enough experience loading and displaying web pages. Again, this may have been an earlier version. Also, we're talking about user experience so I don't care if it's flash performance is the same on Linux - it sucked.
Finally, with Mac OS or Windows I can stick in my OS CD and install the OS on any machine I have. I don't need to prove to ANYONE my machine is broken. I don't care if Mac Minis don't break that often. It's MY choice when and where to install Mac OS. With MorphOS I need to "prove" it's broken. Not good.
..and to make it clear I object to ANY form of activation on any other platform. Activation is wrong by principle. I bought a piece of property not a license.
Despite my less optimistic review than the OP I would QUICKY snatch up MorphOS if it had:
* No activation. I own the software.
* User/Password security. No one should access my files but ME.
* Full boot disk encryption. Same deal.
Again, this is just my experience with an early 2.xx revision. I didn't mean to get into a point-by-point debate. just thought I'd clarify a bit!
Carry on :)
Is full boot disk encrytion really all that big of a game changer for an aternative/hobby OS?
We only use that at work for machines that leave the building. I'd say about 1 out of 10 of them end up becoming unbootable because of the encryption software.
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That would enable the piracy pretty much. And the fuss of making new physical copies with each (newly) supported platforms...
Nothing is uncrackable, the only thing preventing cracking of MorphOS or "ilegall" useage of it is the lack of interest in the system beyond hardcore users. As it is now however, the current scheme is preventing some users buying it as they dont like the single machine type of license.
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Nothing is uncrackable, the only thing preventing cracking of MorphOS or "ilegall" useage of it is the lack of interest in the system beyond hardcore users. As it is now however, the current scheme is preventing some users buying it as they dont like the single machine type of license.
I agree, but also the price too for some people (like me).
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Everything in my house has AMD, Intel, or 68k will it run on any of those?
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Nothing is uncrackable
Certainly true. However some effort has been spent in making the cracking quite difficult. Also, being the whole OS rather than a single application certainly makes it harder.
However, using "nothing is uncrackable" as a rationale for removing the protection doesn't quite sound right to me.
the current scheme is preventing some users buying it
We might lose some potential users with this hw-tied-keyfile for sure, but at least we avoid rampant piracy. It's impossible to please everyone.
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Everything in my house has AMD, Intel, or 68k will it run on any of those?
MorphOS Supported Hardware (http://www.morphos-team.net/hardware.html)
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MorphOS Supported Hardware (http://www.morphos-team.net/hardware.html)
I'd heard a rumour that there was an ARM version in the works.
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Certainly true. However some effort has been spent in making the cracking quite difficult. Also, being the whole OS rather than a single application certainly makes it harder.
Yes, harder, but not impossible :). Lets be honest, if this was Windows it would be cracked on release if not sooner no matter the protection.
However, using "nothing is uncrackable" as a rationale for removing the protection doesn't quite sound right to me.
Thats all up to you, but in this small market if i wanted to make money on something i would go out of my way to please and make it as easy to use/register/etc as i could for my potential customers.
We might lose some potential users with this hw-tied-keyfile for sure, but at least we avoid rampant piracy. It's impossible to please everyone.
That might be so, but it dosent change the fact that it will be cracked if it ever reaches the interest of enough people and then you are right were you tried not to be with this scheme wich only annoys some of the potential buyers.
All in all its up to you guys to do as you want with your property and users will buy it if they can live with the rules you have set.
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If the spooks or other criminals can log in it's game over.
There's noting to "log in" to.
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That might be so, but it dosent change the fact that it will be cracked if it ever reaches the interest of enough people
That would only apply the the specific version released at that point. If any crack would appear the security measures would be tightened for the next release. It's a cat-and-mouse game, as always. So far the cat has been lazily lying in the sun. There hasn't been any mice to chase.
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The point of the MorphOS license fee is not that of paying the value of the product, it's more like an entrance fee to a cry party :)
The devs are more or less developing MorphOS for their own pleasure, they're really not that interested in growing a new plattform or gaining more users, as that requires lots of work and resources that are not available.
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The point of the MorphOS license fee is not that of paying the value of the product, it's more like an entrance fee to a cry party :)
The devs are more or less developing MorphOS for their own pleasure, they're really not that interested in growing a new plattform or gaining more users, as that requires lots of work and resources that are not available.
I never quite got the MorphOS bashing. From my perspective, as a user and AmigaOS enthusiast, MorphOS has everything I need, and supports plenty of software both native PPC and via 68k emulation. I have yet to see anything which represents a stumbling block to me doing what I want, and it targets a number of machines which are easy to obtain inexpensively. While it may be an unintended side-effect of their work, that represents value to me.
Yeah yeah, the argument about cheap Atom machines, ARM, etc. There's always AROS for x86. Classic PPC machines? OS4.1 Classic. Several different approaches toward the same end.
I have no issue with the MorphOS team wants to protect their investments into the operating system. I see it as a niche product with a currently limited user-base -- limited only by the growing list of supported hardware -- but a user-base nonetheless. A user-base in which many openly and brazenly express the desire, wont, and fully justified penchant for piracy.
Additionally, you can get a fully operational product to try all you want in 30-minute stints before it goes into a low-performance mode. But it still performs. So it is not 30 days of full operation before whacking out, but still an operational trial period. Just another angle on try-before-you-buy.
And the argument that anything can be cracked is facile at best. You can kick in my French doors, but I still lock them. I do not begrudge anyone the ability to ensure that the product of their labor is not abused.
So to not be understood, I get your point about the "cry party" and this is not meant as an attack on you.
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I'm one of the proud registered users of MorphOS. I bought the 2.6 license. I'm quite happy with my Mac Mini, and think the OS*Developers need our support.
Yes, you can dream of MorphOS (or an Amiga-like) OS running inside an iMac 27" or a Mac Pro. But in a little machine like a Mini it really performs.
Let's help our developers get some beer. Don't piss them off :-)
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As a commercial developer for Windows, I understand the corporate reason for registration, however for this use I can't agree.
1. Makes life harder for end users
2. Waste of time for the developers, doesn't actually improve the OS
3. When development stops, your OS is dead when that machine breaks
I was keeping an eye out for a cheap Mac to run it on, but I have to say that this puts the nail in the MorphOS coffin for me.
Who knows when it will be unregisterable, it's not like they have Microsofts staying power or the will/legal standing to release a key generator when they eventually go away.
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hi all ! how are you so :)
i particulary own a peg1 with morphos 1.4.5 and 2.7 by multiboot
i'm happy to own it (80 euros cost for main board and the same for
relec amiga box ) by ba cheaper way and as i feel concerned to begin to
make C code by moprhos 2.7, i soon will have the licence and then just try
a "hello world" first coding thing
in my eyes amiga os is not as good as morphos even if such good stability
and i rather prefer morphos dzign to amiga os
in the same time i do make movie animated films under linux (gimp+xsane+blender+synfigstudio and audacity) and then linux is for me too a right choice !
but i still have vista suxx because of modo , premiere and toon boom
will break it when found the way to make it under linux wine
regards to you all
steff:afro::afro::afro::afro::afro:
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1. Makes life harder for end users
Minor inconvenience?
2. Waste of time for the developers, doesn't actually improve the OS
Which is the greater waste of time: protecting your investment or having it taken from you?
3. When development stops, your OS is dead when that machine breaks
Please give independent developers a little credit. While it is true that some developers just drop their projects and ignore potential users (like Holger Kruse), many Amiga developers released a universal key when development of a product stopped. Others have released a universal key or un-protected version in later years when asked.
I was keeping an eye out for a cheap Mac to run it on, but I have to say that this puts the nail in the MorphOS coffin for me.[/qoute]
Then you might not be the target demographic. Why not find a cheap MacMini and just give it a try? It won't kill you, I promise, and you could probably resell the MacMini if you aren't happy.
Who knows when it will be unregisterable, it's not like they have Microsofts staying power or the will/legal standing to release a key generator when they eventually go away.
This is a poor comparison. Like Microsoft has EVER released any of its major products for free, or for that matter any key generators, at the end of a commercial product life-cycle. See my comment above. Sadly, a lot of FOSS developers follow the same route; there is a particular module for Apache I would love to have but the developer stopped developing it several version ago, is uninterested in updating the patch, and only commercial Linux releases have continued working on it.
In any case, I can't see that disparaging comments like yours motivate such a release.
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1. Makes life harder for end users
In genereal I won't believe that's an issue. Pick up your preferred machine and register it. In all probability it will last long enough to be paid off.
Buying is much easier than going for online shopping on separate pages, for physical production or similar. It hardly couldn't be easier or faster. You get the keyfile quickly, usually the same day. And once you've got the keyfile, you can do reinstalls etc without further actions.
In practise it's not that Amiga users are going to switch computers that constantly. When you get a good system you will keep it long time or forever. I've registered my Mac mini 1.5GHz two years ago, it's still top-notch system in the Amiga world and I have no plans to part it in years, probably ever. In any case, ~100e is well spent during that time in my opinion. That money could have gone for far worse options too. Many people will waste that kind of money for really useless things in just couple of days. This is for years hobby, compare it to other hobbies. Really, think about it.
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I was happy to support the MophOS team by purchasing a copy of MorphOS. Considering the cost of that and my Mac together, I just bought my self a damn cheap Amiga!
Thank you MorphOS team! I know you guys are not making a lot of money off this, but the end product shows the fruits of your love for Amiga, so thank you!
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Hi,
Even though I hate anything MAC, I am still keeping an eye on this OS.
but now another nail in the MorphOS coffin,
The license is good for only one Computer install.
I want to get rid of Windows because of its install license of only 5.
Morphos 1 install, Oh well guess I will really stop my hunt for an Mini MAC g4 POS now.
So let me see someone at some time said that there was a SUCKER born every day, so how many do we have at Amiga.org, who got fished into this, buying an old out of date computer to install an OS that can only be installed once, and then it has no major software companies supporting it, just a bunch of hobbyist that work when they darn well please, and you get all this for what was it again a $100. So now I will have a total investment of $350 for an old archaic computer, with an unsupported OS that won't even play 1080p movies, and you guys rant and rave over how good it is.
I hate to tell you this but I have a couple of those computers now, but they are called real or Classic Amiga's, not emulation clones.
smerf
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From what I recall, if you prove that your Mac died, you can transfer your license to another one.
I suppose you can always use AROS. It ain't MorphOS, but it is coming along, slowly but surely. It's certainly fun to tinker with that's something I'm coming to find. It ain't perfect, but then again it is free.
If you want something that is rock solid, well then show a little love back to the Amiga community and register this puppy and give it a roll on a Mac, they don't cost much. I mean it's only 300 or less total for a cheap Amiga (MorphOS included), what more could we ask for?
As for hardware dying...
...who's going to replace your classic Amiga when it dies? It's the name of the game in the Amiga scene, we're not dominated by corporate domination. We're Corporation free here my friend, only small time businesses at most, other than that a small community of users who do what they can in their own way to keep the dream alive.
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I'm not downing the OS or begging for easy warez, just giving my reasoning.
The OS looks really good, it just doesn't run on hardware I currently own and registration locked software in this tiny, fragile, sometimes childish market scares me.
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And that's perfectly cool with me! Love Amiga in your own way! :)
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Just my 3 cents (that's inflation for you)...
I don't get the point of registration. It's a turn-off for me too, and part of why I didn't buy MorphOS.
For an OS like Windows, it makes sense - there's millions of bits commodity hardware out there that can run Windows. Piracy is rife.
Note, of course, one thing: how many people here have seen pirate copies of Windows? Exactly - they're all over the net. It didn't work for Microsoft either, it's a cinch to download a pirate copy if you want to.
Secondly, I don't want to have to prove anything to someone once I've bought software from them. I bought the license, now asking me to prove myself is a bit of a cheek.
Thirdly, what if your MOS machine doesn't break? What about if you buy a Mac Mini and run MOS on it for a year, then get hold of a full G4? You want to pension the Mac Mini off to run Linux or OS X, and use the G4 for MOS... do you have to take a sledgehammer to the Mini and destroy it to transfer the license, even though you have no intention of using a Mac Mini any more for MOS? It's impossible to prove that you're not going to continue using the Mini.
Fourthly, it makes no sense. The only people who are seriously going to be interested in running MOS are hobbyists, and will respect the developers. The kind of person who pirates such a minority OS is very unlikely to give anything back to the community anyway, they're going to look at it, get bored, and go back to OS X or Windows. You need to be a hobbyist to run Amiga-like OSes these days, and I think any true hobbyist will fork out the cash needed.
Lastly, I think the logic is flawed: success of an OS is dependent on number of users, not the amount of licenses sold. It's much better to sell 500 licenses and have 5,000 users than it is to sell 1,000 licenses and have 1,000 users....
I personally suspect that MOS has lost more users than it has gained with its over-restrictive policy on license keys.
For what it's worth I legally own all my software, including OSes. I don't pirate anything (I'm no thief).
Right, that's enough of my 3cents, normal service can resume now. :)
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Thirdly, what if your MOS machine doesn't break? What about if you buy a Mac Mini and run MOS on it for a year, then get hold of a full G4? You want to pension the Mac Mini off to run Linux or OS X, and use the G4 for MOS... do you have to take a sledgehammer to the Mini and destroy it to transfer the license, even though you have no intention of using a Mac Mini any more for MOS? It's impossible to prove that you're not going to continue using the Mini.
Fourthly, it makes no sense. The only people who are seriously going to be interested in running MOS are hobbyists, and will respect the developers. The kind of person who pirates such a minority OS is very unlikely to give anything back to the community anyway, they're going to look at it, get bored, and go back to OS X or Windows. You need to be a hobbyist to run Amiga-like OSes these days, and I think any true hobbyist will fork out the cash needed.
Lastly, I think the logic is flawed: success of an OS is dependent on number of users, not the amount of licenses sold. It's much better to sell 500 licenses and have 5,000 users than it is to sell 1,000 licenses and have 1,000 users....
I personally suspect that MOS has lost more users than it has gained with its over-restrictive policy on license keys.
For what it's worth I legally own all my software, including OSes. I don't pirate anything (I'm no thief).
Right, that's enough of my 3cents, normal service can resume now. :)
I can not argue with any of this, I see your logic totally.
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Despite the unpopularity of the MorphOS keyfile arrangement (I personally have no problem with it), I think a lot of people overlook the fact that MorphOS has one of the most liberal "demo" modes available for a commercial OS: fully functional, no 30-day lockouts, no "give-us-your-email-address-and-we'll-let-you-download" schemes.
The only restriction is a 30-minute session (and it reboots in 10 seconds) - not too shabby.
And if you want to upgrade your hardware, just make sure to sell your licensed machine to someone in the Amiga community and price it accordingly. I don't think a single MorphOS-licensed Mac has yet gone unsold.
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Yes, but I'm not hearing any better alternative being suggested.
Good Harry, you just keep going in the direction that you guys intend to.
I can play back most 720p content with my system.
I'm looking for a 15" 1.67 Ghz G4 Powerbook.
And I'm arranging with Amigadave to buy a G5 (yes I know that's premature).
But then I've also got an R400 based video card that will work on a G4 or G5 too.
At present, the system runs great. And the future looks very promising. Thanks for all the good work.
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So I have this macmini 1.42GHz that currently has OSX, NetBSD, Linux and MorphOS on it. If I get a MorphOS license, and then find some cooler hardware to run MorphOS on, I am supposed to sell off my current mini and never mind the other systems I also have on the system. Not what I'd be interested in doing, I'd want to keep the mini with OSX/Linux/NetBSD, and just move over MorphOS to the next hardware. OTOH, it's been months since I last booted MorphOS on it, and that was only to see what was new in the latest update - not much. Also the thirty minutes is plenty, since I'd typically have the system locked and ready for hard reset long before thirty minutes anyhow. :)
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@kolla
Also the thirty minutes is plenty, since I'd typically have the system locked and ready for hard reset long before thirty minutes anyhow.
I'm sure you can come up with something better. Try harder. :)
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@kolla
I'm sure you can come up with something better. Try harder. :)
What do you mean? Since I don't see any point in using a MorphOS machine for watching video flicks or browsing the web (I have plenty of other systems that do both so much better, like 99$ apple TVs loaded with XBMC), and native productivity software for MorphOS is a rare thing, I tend to try out old AmigaOS gems on it. That quite often ends up with lockups. At the end of the day, UAE on my quad core xeon is much easer to work with. Can even run multiple UAE instances at the same time, and reboot time is 2-3 secs, not 10.
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What do you mean? Since I don't see any point in using a MorphOS machine for watching video flicks or browsing the web (I have plenty of other systems that do both so much better, like 99$ apple TVs loaded with XBMC), and native productivity software for MorphOS is a rare thing, I tend to try out old AmigaOS gems on it. That quite often ends up with lockups. At the end of the day, UAE on my quad core xeon is much easer to work with. Can even run multiple UAE instances at the same time, and reboot time is 2-3 secs, not 10.
I suppose if UAE satisfied my needs I'd be able to resort to similar solutions.
Right now I have OSX, Ubuntu, and MorphOS (as well as three Windows computers) and I get the most use out of MorphOS.
And I don't know what you're doing wrong, but I rarely have lock ups.
Those happen to me more frequently under OSX and Windows.
Still, if you're not using it, then I guess you don't need to pay for the license.
As I've stated in past posts, I'm ready to pay for licenses on a Powerbook and a G5 Mac when support is ready.