Jumpstart AROS devlopment

[DFergATL]

This is something that has been on my mind for at least a week so I thought I would post my thoughts here.  Does anyone have any ideas on how to attract more devlopers to AROS?  I know that requests have gone out, the bounty program started ect..  But if I am not mistaken we still only have the same core of devlopers, less than a handfull at any given time.  These people are talented and work very hard to get things done but they also have lives, school etc.  I am very glad that the bounty program was started and now there is literaly hundreds of dollars these people can earn for doing what they love.  But we, the people who belive in AROS, need to come up with ways to get more devlopers working on it.  Each time something new gets completed I have seen posts, "This is great...", "It will be nice when this " " is completed", but no new devlopers come on borad to help.  I fear that the progess will continue to be slow to the point that it may not reach useablity, of any kind, for years to come.  I belive that AROS could be good for the Amiga community as, if nothing else, a way for people to get an idea of what the Amiga enviorment looks and feels like without having to invest in new hardware.  Sort of, try this and if you like it you should see it's big brother.  So, any ideas??  Any at all???  Please no flames like "You, could code yourself." really if I could I would.  So, this is for all of us who believe in it but can't actually write code ourselves.

[DFergATL]

hmm, maybe we cold start an "AROS" boosters club or something.  We could all stand around with Pom Poms chanting "Go AROS, Go AROS..."  something, anything.  I just wonder if any of these people who go back to the "real work" of coding for the classic Amgia stop to consider.  If AROS was in a useable state and is "source compatiable" with the software they are devoping, runs on a lot more hardware.  How many more copies of said software can they sell??  I realise that AROS will not gain wide spred adoption.  But the Amiga community is very, very small.  If only a few thousand people were using AROS that could mean a good amount of money to some of these small Amiga devlopers.  No, I do not believe that a few thousand users for a complete version of AROS is unreasonalbe.  AROS would be free or at least inexpensive if someone did "packaging" and could eaisly see quite a number of people trying it out.  The point is there is a lot of "professional quality" software for the Amiga, which is more than can be said for other "hobby", "alt." operating systems out there.  

[DFergATL]

I have done the burn and give the CD before.  And it is great I know a few others who would use AROS.  But we are in a "holding pattern" as far as it really isn't useable for anything at this time.  I don't know any devlopers who are interested in AROS.  I do know devlopers but they just aren't interested in devloping for AROS, the bums.  But, as soon as I can burn off CDs and show people what it can do... Belive me I will be a CD burning fool.  I have access to a CD copier so there will be copies everywhere around the places I go.  It just needs to be more than a "look pretty."

[DFergATL]

For my own part about all I could do other than "Preach the AROS Gospel" and donate to the Team AROS whenever I can is..  End user support.  I have been doing end user support for 8 years, various hardware, software, mostly Windoze.  So, when it is time I would be more than willing and able to help new users get started, help others with questions or problems etc..  Just give me somthing to support, please!  Pretty please....

[DFergATL]

I don't completly agree.  While I will say that being able to run 68k software would be great I don't think that is completly necessary.  There is pleanty of other software still in devlopemnt that could be "recompiled" for AROS.  This is not to say that 68k is not important I just don't see it as the big stumbling block.  Either way this thread isn't about getting AROS users. It is about getting more AROS devlopers so that maybe one of them could work on getting the 68k stuff as intrigrated as possiable.

[DFergATL]

I think my origional point has been lost on a few people.  I understand who the target audience is.  I understand that companies are not going to port their projects to an incomplete OS.  My point is this, if more devlopers don't work on AROS it might not ever get to that point of being a complete OS.  Everyone just sits around saying "When it can run 68k code", "When it is more complete".  There are only a handful, at best, of developers trying to get AROS to a state where even porting software could even be considered.  So, what it needs is more devlopers trying to get it to the point where it is useful.  If everyone just sits around waiting for the day it becomes useful, it could take a long, long, long time.  This is an OS that the Amiga community can actively take part in making it the OS they want. I believe that there is some "Majic line" that when AROS reaches it people will start porting things over to it. Yet, only a few devlopers are currently working to reach that "Majic line".  I agree 68k software would be great.  I agree that current and past Amiga users are the target.  I agree that AROS will need users in order to justify porting a lot of the current software.  So, lets all just sit around waiting for the 3-5 devlopers working on it, in there spare time, to get it finished. Once agin I will ask the question I did in the origional post.  Does anyone have any good ideas on how we can get some more devlopers to help out with AROS, to reach that "Majic line?"  There is a bounty program with hundreds of dollars just sitting there, waiting...  Lonely little dollars in need of a good home.  Cute, loveable little dollars, begging "take me home, take me home."

[DFergATL]

I like those ideas.  I am not a college student myself.  But I live near Atlanta.  I agree it needs to do a bit more.  Hopefully the TCP/IP will get worked on, I do believe that the bounty for that is up to $550.  I really think that if most of the currently outstanding bounties can get completed that would help a great deal.  There is one for the 68k and I am not discounting it but not really counting it in this context.  Once people get get some internet acess, able to install it on any partition and boot directly into it.  I think that is a resonable goal and one that could be not too far away.  I could try to get into the hand of some students at Georgia Tech, once I can figure out how. The bounties have really grown over the last month or so.  I don't think that any of them are less than $150 and a lot are $250 or more.  For example:  If someone can write a FAT driver, it could be worth $250.  Not bad, I dont' think.

[DFergATL]

Ok, we get it.  You don't like Aros because it may or may not run the 68k software in the mannor in which you wish.  Your opinion is noted.  Now, move along....

[DFergATL]

Ok, guy.  So, we agree on some points.  Dissagree on others, and so the world continues to turn.  I have been following the AROS devlopment for some time.  At one point they decided that UAE was going to have to do.  Recently there has been some discussion on the subject of intrigrating 68k into Aros.  All agree that it would be very, very hard but might not be as impossiable as once thought.  I still think it would be cool,very cool to do it.  I just don't see it the most important thing for Aros to do at this time.  There is a bounty for it on Team Aros, if you still belive that they can do it maybe a few bucks tossed that way would help.  I have also put some money on it even though I don't have any 68k software anymore to run with it.  As for the C class I thought about it but my job takes up well over 50 hours a week and there is more coming and I just would not be able to commit to it.  I am sort of studing C# on my own.  Not that it helps or that anyone cares but I am finding it interesting.  I feel for the people currently working on Aros. There are all these expectations and so few of them working on it.  My only goal for even starting this thread was to see if anyone had any ideas on how we might get some more people working on it.  But in conclusion to this thread I have learned one very important thing.  Keep my thoughts to myself.  bye ya'll

[DFergATL]

I was very surprised to see that this thread had not fallen off the deep end when I came here today.  Ok, so I won't go away.  I guess what we really need is more money on the bounty.  Team Aros recently had a windfall when someone/copertion donated $1000 dollars to various bounties.  Wish we could get a few more of them.  Money, baby, we need money.