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Operating System Specific Discussions => AROS Research Operating System => Topic started by: gdanko on June 07, 2010, 12:40:58 AM
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I am looking at AROS as a possible AmigaOS for x86 since MorphOS and its supported hardware are, IMO, expensive for a hobbyist OS.
I have found the latest AROS to be fast and responsive. Other than an occasional freeze it does its job well.
I'd like to get some information from people who've used both to help me decide. As far as price and hardware availability are concerned, AROS is the winner. I think MorphOS has more commercial software though.
I'll ask a few questions and see what people have to say.
1) Stability. I have had MorphOS 2.4 lose the keyboard on a G4 Mac Mini. I'd have to unplug and replug. Both systems have had odd freezes. Any other stability issues on either side?
2) Amiga emulation. I've been told you can launch a classic Amiga app on MorphOS as long as it doesn't bang the custom chipsets. Can AROS do this? How does MOS do it? For games that do bang the hardware, is UAE required?
3) How easy would it be to build something like pidgin under AROS or MorphOS? Do they support the standard GNU tools?
I'm sure I'll think of more questions later.
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I haven't used AROS lately, but I'll still comment on some MorphOS questions ;)
1) Stability. I have had MorphOS 2.4 lose the keyboard on a G4 Mac Mini. I'd have to unplug and replug. Both systems have had odd freezes. Any other stability issues on either side?
I haven't had those kind of keyboard problems on my minis. Maybe another kb would work better?
System freezes are things you can't avoid completely on Amiga comptible system without breaking the compatibility :). But MorphOS itself is the most stable Amiga compatible OS I've ever used. You just have to use good programs which don't mess things up. I don't have any crashes on my normal daily usage with my Mac mini.
2) Amiga emulation. I've been told you can launch a classic Amiga app on MorphOS as long as it doesn't bang the custom chipsets. Can AROS do this? How does MOS do it? For games that do bang the hardware, is UAE required?
MorphOS has integrated 68k emulator (Trance), which works "transparently". You don't see any difference if you run MorphOS or AmigaOS native program, they just start up and open their own windows/screens just like on real thing... so you may forget if you're running native or emulated programs :). AFAIK AROS doesn't have similar emulator integration yet. WOS and PUP PPC programs also work under MorphOS.
And yes, UAE is required for HW banging games etc. You can config Ambient to start adf:s with double click on UAE. Or config RMB context menu to have options to start adf in UAE with different configs.. if you happen to need OCS, AGA, memory etc setups for compatibility.
BTW. have you read MorphOS 2 Review (http://jpv.wmhost.com/morphos2_review/)? There might be some info or tips to notice still...
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1) Stability. I have had MorphOS 2.4 lose the keyboard on a G4 Mac Mini. I'd have to unplug and replug. Both systems have had odd freezes. Any other stability issues on either side?
MorphOS is by far more stable than Aros. I never had this Keyboard problem on my Mac Mini G4. Are you using a USB hub? Otherwise, you might want to try a different keyboard.
2) Amiga emulation. I've been told you can launch a classic Amiga app on MorphOS as long as it doesn't bang the custom chipsets. Can AROS do this? How does MOS do it? For games that do bang the hardware, is UAE required?
Yes, UAE is required for classic games on both platforms. For WB friendly apps, MorphOS uses Trance, while Aros has a different approach (firing up a minimal UAE in a transparent way).
3) How easy would it be to build something like pidgin under AROS or MorphOS? Do they support the standard GNU tools?
Porting such applications will be more or less equally difficult on both platforms. Of course, there's GCC for both of them.
From an end user POV, MorphOS clearly is the better choice at the moment. Better stability, very advanced version of OWB, good compatibility with classic applications etc. etc. But it is fairly expensive + your license is locked to one machine. However, if you are into tinkering, I suggest you give Aros a shot. Part of the fun is that everyone can contribute, it works on a large variety of hardware (including laptops), and it is free. I think in the long run, an open source Amiga system will be the only way to go.
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2) Amiga emulation. I've been told you can launch a classic Amiga app on MorphOS as long as it doesn't bang the custom chipsets. Can AROS do this? How does MOS do it? For games that do bang the hardware, is UAE required?
AROS' initial UAE intergration is on going but from the comments, it's working pretty well so far. So if Amiga app/game bangs the hardware, it should not be a issue with AROS/UAE. Even with AROS and UAE being single core OS/app, the individual cores are continue to gain speed so if AROS is not faster then MOS in running Amiga apps, it's only a matter of time.
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I am looking at AROS as a possible AmigaOS for x86 since MorphOS and its supported hardware are, IMO, expensive for a hobbyist OS.
MorphOS is not so cheap, but it works very very well. I bought my Mac mini at 1.5ghz and 64mb for graphics card for 240€ with Apple keyboard and mighty mouse.
1) Stability. I have had MorphOS 2.4 lose the keyboard on a G4 Mac Mini. I'd have to unplug and replug. Both systems have had odd freezes. Any other stability issues on either side?
I had some problems using a new Apple keyboard, but when i bought my Mac mini it comes with an old version of Apple keyboard with transparent plastic, and it works without problems, some keyboards like newer Apple keyboards doesn't work properly even on Efika.
Aros is getting better and better, but it have to deals with a lot of different hardware parts, i have differents computers, and i can't get working all things properly, i have problems mainly with sound cards, but also with graphic cards. This kind of problems will not happens on MorphOS, because it is ported to a reduced number of hardware pieces, which means that MorphOS team can use their time to improve hardware drivers, and make it running smoothly even on a low hardware profile like Efika.
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MorphOS is not so cheap, but it works very very well. I bought my Mac mini at 1.5ghz and 64mb for graphics card for 240€ with Apple keyboard and mighty mouse.
The mighty mouse is close to useless though, since you cannot click both mouse buttons individually with it, which is needed for proper amiga usage.
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The mighty mouse is close to useless though, since you cannot click both mouse buttons individually with it, which is needed for proper amiga usage.
I didn't mentioned that i used mighty mouse with MorphOS, i bought Mac mini with an Apple keyboard and mighty mouse. While the new Apple keyboards have problems with MorphOS, the old Apple keyboard i received with Mac mini works properly. I have used mighty mouse at work and it isn't very good, the mouse wheel was broken after some months of use.
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@BalrogSoft
MorphOS 2.5 addressed some issues regarding more recent keyboard models. Did you try?
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i haven't had enough time these days to give a try, i want install it soon on both machines, Efika and Mac mini.