Amiga.org
Amigakit Hardware => A600 GS => Topic started by: amigakit on November 18, 2023, 11:20:03 AM
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Delivery will be in Q1/2024. Development is drawing to a close on the main User Interface- just localisation and optimisation to follow. Work is progressing on SystemV46 and further updates will continue after product launch as this is a much larger project.
In the meantime, here is a picture of the A600GS retail box:
(http://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/5/54/A600GS_packaging.png/600px-A600GS_packaging.png) (http://www.a600gs.com)
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@amigakit
(http://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/8/8c/A600gs_amibench_screen_1.png/375px-A600gs_amibench_screen_1.png) (http://wiki.amiga.org/images/8/8c/A600gs_amibench_screen_1.png)
(http://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/2/27/A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png/375px-A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png) (http://wiki.amiga.org/images/2/27/A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png)
(http://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/b/b4/A600gs_amibench_screen_3.png/375px-A600gs_amibench_screen_3.png) (http://wiki.amiga.org/images/b/b4/A600gs_amibench_screen_3.png)
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During recent development Amibench has had a graphics performance upgrade due to a latest version of our Picture.Datatype V46.6 and Datatypes.Library V46.22
(http://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/f/f5/A600gs_amibench_screen_4.png/375px-A600gs_amibench_screen_4.png) (http://wiki.amiga.org/images/f/f5/A600gs_amibench_screen_4.png)
Amibench running in 1080p on the forthcoming A600GS
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Good job! It's a shame AmiStore isn't ready and you'll be set against the Amiga Maxi in the marketplace this year!
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Thank you. I am not sure what the "Amiga Maxi" is, but AmiStore will be ready this year as a free download for the A600GS after release.
There will also be periodic updates to AmiBench Release V46 through the Updater tool.
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This is looking good! Do we know what the prices will be and launch date?
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@Boing-ball
Price is estimated at around £100 + VAT + delivery. Sales will open in the next couple of months.
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Sign up now for updates and latest news at www.a600gs.com (https://www.a600gs.com)
(https://a600gs.com/images/a600gs_coming_soon_sm.jpg) (https://www.a600gs.com)
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@amigakit
Thank you. I am not sure what the "Amiga Maxi" is
Know your enemy! The RGL release schedule reveals; "a full-size "Amiga console" in Q4, 2024 aka an "Amiga Maxi" if you will! ;)
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Thank you. I am not sure what the "Amiga Maxi" is
It's a full size version of TheA500 mini, with a working keyboard.
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“Amiga console”: there have been several reports that they are not able to reveal the underlying operating system of the Amiga according to the 2009 Settlement Agreement. So that maybe a reason it is referred to as a console and not a computer. It would be awful to refer the Amiga as a console in any instance. It was never a toy.
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Didn’t the mini have a bit of drama with the WHDLoad lot before it was released? Seem to recall they had to agree a licensing fee as that was it’s primary function to getting the games to work.
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@Boing-ball
We approached the author of WHDLoad to offer him a licence fee for the A600GS but unfortunately it seems that it has been exclusively licenced to Retro Games Ltd. This is probably an anti-competition measure. We have since found alternative ways of delivering games software.
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@Boing-ball
We approached the author of WHDLoad to offer him a licence fee for the A600GS but unfortunately it seems that it has been exclusively licenced to Retro Games Ltd. This is probably an anti-competition measure. We have since found alternative ways of delivering games software.
Wasn’t implying that you were infringing on intellectual property rights. But good to know you have a different mechanism in place to execute the games etc with 👍🏻 Be very interested in seeing this in operation when launched 😉
My inquiry was more around the Maxi product. Which if this is again a retro games Ltd product. Then it answers the question on how they are going to use the Whdload mechanism. 👍🏻
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“Amiga console”: there have been several reports that they are not able to reveal the underlying operating system of the Amiga according to the 2009 Settlement Agreement.
Eh? What reports? The underlying OS is Linux, they never kept that a secret, they also came around to set up git repos for their open source components as well as WHDLoad setup at https://github.com/retro-games-ltd - I take it for granted that the THEA500Mini just uses the ordinary requirements of WHDLoad, typically an old 1.x A500 kickstart and a 3.x A1200 kickstart. And the licensing is here: https://retrogames.biz/legal/
"CBM 8-Bit ROMs © 1977-1984 Cloanto® Corporation. Amiga ROMs © 1985–1993 Cloanto Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Furnished under license from Cloanto® Corporation. Cloanto is a trademark owned by Cloanto Corporation throughout the world and registered in the United States and internationally."
If there's anyone here not revealing the underlying operating system here, it is you guys - no mention of operating system, no mention of what emulator that is used.
So that maybe a reason it is referred to as a console and not a computer. It would be awful to refer the Amiga as a console in any instance. It was never a toy.
Ever heard of the concept "FUD"? You're sometimes full of it - Amiga was _also_ a toy - in fact, that's largely what it was, and today even more so. It's just crazy diehards like me that use Amiga for "real tasks", most people - apparently you included - mostly just care about games, games and more games. And a shiny desktop with icons from where games can be launched. You haven't even bothered to answer the simple questions - what do you do with all the PPaint filters etc that rely on ARexx? Which version of DOpus? What's the purpose of a 4GB version when the emulated system only can use well below 2GB - to run several emulated envs at once? Which version of OctaMED are you shipping it with? Will it do MIDI and if so, how does one connect to it?
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@kolla
Amiga was _also_ a toy - in fact, that's largely what it was, and today even more so. It's just crazy diehards like me that use Amiga for "real tasks", most people - apparently you included - mostly just care about games, games and more games. And a shiny desktop with icons from where games can be launched. You haven't even bothered to answer the simple questions - what do you do with all the PPaint filters etc that rely on ARexx? Which version of DOpus? What's the purpose of a 4GB version when the emulated system only can use well below 2GB - to run several emulated envs at once? Which version of OctaMED are you shipping it with? Will it do MIDI and if so, how does one connect to it?
The majority of Amiga.org users do not consider the Amiga a toy. It is true there are a lot who just care about the retro games. Many members here have stayed with the Amiga over the last two to three decades after the demise of Commodore. They passionately care about using Amiga as a real computer and seeing new Amiga software development.
We have provided a games menu included in the A600GS to cater for the retro games players.
For more serious users AmiBench has been provided as a full desktop system running in 24-bit with a new set of dual png icons. AmiBench has our latest AK-Datatypes pre-installed in addition to a new proprietry Picture Datatype and Datatypes Lib. it also has a set of System commands and gadgets backported from the Enhancer Software.
AmiBench can be launched in a few clicks on the A600GS. It features new Amiga software: Personal Paint v7.4, Directory Opus v4.14 and OctaMED v8. A-EON Technology bought OctaMED in 2015. The SoundStudio was built from the original SAS/C code last worked on in 1996. A number of new important functions have been added to bring it up to modern Amiga sound standards. Some good news is that we expecting to enable OctaMED Midi support by using a USB to Midi with the A600GS.
We hope the development efforts will be welcome to Amiga users who love using PPaint and OctaMED.
(https://a600gs.com/images/amibench_software.png)
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I am very curious about this device, nice to have a way into Amisphere.
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What do you do with all the PPaint filters etc that rely on ARexx?
Maybe it’s a special release PPaint 7.4 that has all ARexx support removed?
Which version of DOpus?
Check! 4.14 is an very specific choice, neither original 4.12 nor 4.16+... any particular reason?
(And why not Magellan as desktop (like "the others") for advanced users?)
What's the purpose of a 4GB version when the emulated system only can use well below 2GB - to run several emulated envs at once?
The screenshots have shown just 128MB of Fast RAM, what’s with that?
Which version of OctaMED are you shipping it with? Will it do MIDI and if so, how does one connect to it?
Ah, latest SoundStudio, interresting. Good luck with MIDI (timing and emulation)
Still no answers to what actual (host) OS is, and which emulator is used.
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Screenshot of version of A-EON's OctaMED v7.9 working well on the A600GS in 1080p. It has a few more functionality changes to be made before it is bumped to V8:
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/9/9c/Octamed.png/375px-Octamed.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/9/9c/Octamed.png)
AmiBench programs:
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/2/27/A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png/375px-A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/2/27/A600gs_amibench_screen_2.png)
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You have to feed us diehards with details ..
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Another week of hard work developing OctaMED Soundstudio. The original source code is from 1996 last touched by Teijo Kinnunen.
Our lead developer has implemented a very important feature on behalf of A-EON to take this to version 8. Hope to have some screenshots very shortly.
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Thanks for update, sounds very interesting :)
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Some exciting news: the feature most requested for OctaMED is now working. After 28 years AHI support has been added!
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/8/81/OctaMED_AHI.png/375px-OctaMED_AHI.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/8/81/OctaMED_AHI.png)
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Awesome! Thank you for the update!
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It's not all about games.... there is a serious side to the A600GS (https://www.a600gs.com)
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/7/7a/A600gs_apps.png/450px-A600gs_apps.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/7/7a/A600gs_apps.png)
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Smooth interface :) Seems like easy to add more also, show more :D
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They've got my interest. I'd really like to know more about it and I hope there's a lot more info coming before the A600GS is released.
How easy will it be to install my existing classic Amiga software?
How compatible is it with classic Amiga demos?
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Just use Amazon questions like people do with THEA500 Mini! ;)
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They've got my interest. I'd really like to know more about it and I hope there's a lot more info coming before the A600GS is released.
How easy will it be to install my existing classic Amiga software?
How compatible is it with classic Amiga demos?
From the looks of the screenshots, it’s bespoke. Although I would be interested if the A600GS will allow for a full on Amiga Workbench experience?
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From the looks of the screenshots, it’s bespoke. Although I would be interested if the A600GS will allow for a full on Amiga Workbench experience?
It does indeed: AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench) is built in, ready to go, fully configured - no hacks needed.
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Do you have some Amiga or C64 9-pin joysticks ? Plug them into the A600GS (https://www.a600gs.com) for multiplayer fun!
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/5/5c/A600gs_front.jpg/600px-A600gs_front.jpg) (https://wiki.amiga.org/index.php/A600GS#Ports)
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So is this thing just going to be another black box? If so, boring! Given the nice looking packaging in the first post, I was kinda hoping it would have been much more than that, perhaps something in the spirit of the original A600.
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It would be totally funny if it was called the A300GS XL!
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A600GS is today featured on The Retro Hour (https://theretrohour.com/amiga-kit-how-to-run-a-full-time-amiga-business-in-2024-the-retro-hour-ep415/) show, hosted by Dan Wood and Ravi Abbott:
https://theretrohour.com/amiga-kit-how-to-run-a-full-time-amiga-business-in-2024-the-retro-hour-ep415/
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Hello all.
I have been looking for an Amiga system and I have spent a lot of time looking at reconditioned original Amigas, the MiniMig, the MISTerFPGA, and others ; but they all had drawbacks which ruled them out.
The A600GS recently came to my attention, and for my requirements it looks like it fits the bill. 8)
I was wondering about the applications available in Amibench, as I can’t seem to find much information on this.
I would be looking for:
Essential applications:
Web browser
E-mail client with POP3 / SMTP support
Player for MP4 videos
Player for MP3 audio
Word processor
Nice to have applications:
RSS reader
SSH client
VNC viewer / server
Does anyone know if these applications will be available in Amibench – either bundled with the OS or available as third party software?
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I think the bigger question would be. Can you install classic native Amiga Programs on this system? Which would negate the need on relying on 3rd party products being released.
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Yes, you can install them in Amibench if you so require.
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Save your position in games and resume them instantly by simply selecting the saved game icon and clicking Start. Don't worry: the amount of saved games is not limited. This useful feature has been added to the A600GS (https://www.a600gs.com) this week. Check out: https://wiki.amiga.org/a600gs
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/c/c1/Saved_states_selection.png/510px-Saved_states_selection.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/c/c1/Saved_states_selection.png)
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There are several years of development behind our System V46 components. These have been put to good use for the A600GS (http://www.a600gs.com) project. Some of the many components used within the pre-installed AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench):
(https://amigakit.com/images/amibench_file_versions.jpg)
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Looks like you have a problem with ascenders and descenders in your font being erased by the previous/next line.
Best regards,
Niels
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@nbache
The new SysZen font needs tweaking before release.
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Will these machines be on sale at Kickstart 02?
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Will these machines be on sale at Kickstart 02?
That’s a good question. Would be a missed opportunity if it wasn’t. A limited edition Kickstart 02 version 😉
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The A600GS will be on sale at Kickstart 02 show.
We have some big news coming this week about some software development of it.
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The A600GS will be on sale at Kickstart 02 show.
We have some big news coming this week about some software development of it.
Excellent! Any plans for any YouTubers will be getting their hands on one to review and demonstrate?
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(https://www.amigakit.com/images/news/news_release_a600gs_armgraphics_sm.jpg) (https://www.amigakit.com/pdf/News_Release_A600GS_ARMgraphics.pdf)
Cardiff, 9th March, 2024
AmigaKit Ltd is pleased to announce an important software development for the forthcoming A600GS (http://www.a600gs.com) computer system. The new ARM Graphics Library is pre-installed accelerating the performance of AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench) and 68K applications.
The ARMgraphics.library was created by AmigaKit's in-house developer to bypass the bottleneck of the 68K graphics functions. It accelerates graphics rendering performance in applications.
AmiBench is pre-installed on the A600GS computer system. It opens the desktop environment in high resolution 1080p with True Colour icons. Now it can use the new ARM Graphics Library for various purposes including faster rendering of windows, icons and backgrounds.
Third party developers can take advantage of this library by using it's powerful functions from their 68K application. It also offers an opportunity for 68K games developers to enhance their games with faster graphics rendering.
The library provides a link between 68K programs and the native ARM processor.
Further work is underway to patch 68K system graphics functions so older applications that are not written to use the ARM Graphics Library can benefit.
AmigaKit has developed AK-Datatypes, Picture Datatype and Datatypes Library over the many years for the Enhancer Software on X5000, X1000 and A1222+. These have been compiled for 68K to run on the A600GS, In addition these system components can also be accelerated by the ARM Graphics Library for extra performance.
The A600GS computer system is due for launch in the second quarter of 2024.
Additional Information about A600GS, AmiBench and it's components can be found on these websites:
A600GS: www.a600gs.com (http://www.a600gs.com)
AmiBench: wiki.amiga.org/amibench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench)
(https://amigakit.amiga.store/images/light/store_logo.png) (http://www.amigakit.com)
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I suppose A600GS currently runs Amiberry 5.6.x as underlying core. Will there be an upgrade path to Amiberry 6.x which is currently in development (available as preview)?
Which leads to the next question whether the A600GS hardware is capable of running Amiberry 6.x at full speed? Upstream says the 6.x branch needs reasonably more CPU resources compared to 5.x branch.
This is rather important as staying with Amiberry 5.x also means staying with an older WinUAE core.
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(https://www.amigakit.com/images/news/news_release_a600gs_armgraphics_sm.jpg) (https://www.amigakit.com/pdf/News_Release_A600GS_ARMgraphics.pdf)
Cardiff, 9th March, 2024
AmigaKit Ltd is pleased to announce an important software development for the forthcoming A600GS (http://www.a600gs.com) computer system. The new ARM Graphics Library is pre-installed accelerating the performance of AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench) and 68K applications.
The ARMgraphics.library was created by AmigaKit's in-house developer to bypass the bottleneck of the 68K graphics functions. It accelerates graphics rendering performance in applications.
AmiBench is pre-installed on the A600GS computer system. It opens the desktop environment in high resolution 1080p with True Colour icons. Now it can use the new ARM Graphics Library for various purposes including faster rendering of windows, icons and backgrounds.
Third party developers can take advantage of this library by using it's powerful functions from their 68K application. It also offers an opportunity for 68K games developers to enhance their games with faster graphics rendering.
The library provides a link between 68K programs and the native ARM processor.
Further work is underway to patch 68K system graphics functions so older applications that are not written to use the ARM Graphics Library can benefit.
AmigaKit has developed AK-Datatypes, Picture Datatype and Datatypes Library over the many years for the Enhancer Software on X5000, X1000 and A1222+. These have been compiled for 68K to run on the A600GS, In addition these system components can also be accelerated by the ARM Graphics Library for extra performance.
The A600GS computer system is due for launch in the second quarter of 2024.
Additional Information about A600GS, AmiBench and it's components can be found on these websites:
A600GS: www.a600gs.com (http://www.a600gs.com)
AmiBench: wiki.amiga.org/amibench (https://wiki.amiga.org/amibench)
(https://amigakit.amiga.store/images/light/store_logo.png) (http://www.amigakit.com)
Looks good and comes with a Fully Licensed Octamed as well 👍🏻
Maybe Ravi Abbott could give it a go for his DJ mixing 😉
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AmiBench Def Icons rendered in window - accelerated by the ARM Graphics Library:
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/6/66/A600gs_amibench_deficons.png/600px-A600gs_amibench_deficons.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/6/66/A600gs_amibench_deficons.png)
(click to expand (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/6/66/A600gs_amibench_deficons.png))
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Looks good…
Will this also support Warp3D gaming? Such as Payback.
How are the screenmodes done? P96 or is it some sort of New Monitor drivers that emulate the Alice?
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Will this also support Warp3D gaming? Such as Payback
...and the recent Wazp3D port of WipEout?
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...and the recent Wazp3D port of WipEout?
Didn’t know about that.. Is it on Aminet? Or somewhere else.?
Cheers.
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https://arcziii.itch.io/wipeout (https://arcziii.itch.io/wipeout)
I think speedwise it is currently only playable under Win-UAE or a CM4 powered PiStorm32 (and the latter is still a bit slow and in need of optimisation). However, it would be fun to try on the A600GS if this Arm library graphics boost really is a major step forward.
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some sort of New Monitor drivers that emulate the Alice?
You mean Lisa.
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@Boing-ball
A Warp3D driver for the A600GS is a large development project - months of work. The current ARM Graphics Lib is a large undertaking so that has some additional development first before moving onto newer projects.
A-EON Technology owns Warp3D and we have the source code to port over in future if need be.
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@Boing-ball
A Warp3D driver for the A600GS is a large development project - months of work. The current ARM Graphics Lib is a large undertaking so that has some additional development first before moving onto newer projects.
A-EON Technology owns Warp3D and we have the source code to port over in future if need be.
That’s good to know. I think it would great if Warp3D was developed on further. Plenty of older RTG type games out there 👍🏻
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Nice picture of A600GS :)
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Development of AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/index.php?title=AmiBench) for the A600GS continues.
The new Clock utility added this week with a wide range of skins/themes and sizes which can be selected
(https://www.a600gs.com/images/AmiBench_Clock.png)
(https://wiki.amiga.org/images/thumb/4/45/A600gs_amibench_screen_5.png/600px-A600gs_amibench_screen_5.png) (https://wiki.amiga.org/images/4/45/A600gs_amibench_screen_5.png)
a600gs.com (https://www.a600gs.com)
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Development work on the public release of AmiBench (https://wiki.amiga.org/index.php?title=AmiBench) V46.1 is coming to a conclusion in time for the soon to be released A600GS (https://wiki.amiga.org/index.php?title=A600GS) computer. The latest program to be backported from the Enhancer Software to the A600GS is the Calendar app. The Calendar is fully skinnable with 20 themes provided.
For the programmers out there, It uses the Shared Image Class, now accelerated by the ARM Graphics Library
(https://www.a600gs.com/images/amibench_calendar_a600gs.png)
a600gs.com (https://www.a600gs.com)
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Excellent! Can’t wait to see how this works…
Will any YouTubers be getting one to demonstrate and review? I know Chris Edwards mentioned he was to receive one, but nothing transpired.
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Clock and Calendar. Next up - the Weather applet.
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Clock and Calendar. Next up - the Weather applet.
;D, sarcastic as usual, got to love Kolla.
Is there anything you do not moan or have an issue with?
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It wasn’t sarcasm - are you suggesting that the next fluff you’ll show off isn’t a weather app?
What then? On screen post-it notes?
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Thanks! Here is a sneak preview of AmiBench with its new Dock, Calendar and Clock.
(https://www.a600gs.com/images/amibench_dock_med.png) (https://www.a600gs.com/images/amibench_dock.jpg)
We hope this will be the ultimate 68K distribution.
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We hope this will be the ultimate 68K distribution.
If it is made for the 600GS exclusivly, and enhanced for that, it is not really a 68k Distribution, now is it?
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@TribbleSmasher
SystemV46 / AmiBench is 68K back ported from the Enhancer Software OS4 codebase. It represents 6 years of development work and works well on 68K machines. In recent times, we have since adapted it for the A600GS and added the ARM Graphics Library.
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Here is a small part from the Quick Connect section of the printed manual that comes with the A600GS:
(https://www.a600gs.com/images/manual_quick_connect.jpg)
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Here is a small part from the AmiBench section of the printed manual that comes supplied with the A600GS:
(https://www.a600gs.com/images/manual_amibench.jpg)
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Wow! Ethernet and Wireless! Fantastic. What will be used for the TCP/IP stack? And USB Stack?
Cheers Amigakit 👍🏻
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Obviously it uses Linux for tcp/ip and wifi, UAE provides bsdsocket.device to the Amiga.
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Obviously it uses Linux for tcp/ip and wifi, UAE provides bsdsocket.device to the Amiga.
Thanks Shelly. 👍🏻