OS 3.1 Open Sourcing Question

[takemehomegrandma]

No point in it, it's already been reimplemented 3 times over.

Well, I can *definitely* see the point!

The 3 re-implementations are for "NG Enthusiasts" only, while the fourth one (or really, the first one, since Amiga OS was and is the *original*, the only *real* Amiga)



This one is still is of very much interest to:

1) Retro fans using real Amiga HW, or UAE
2) Retro fans using new HW that mimics the real Amiga, like Minimig
3) Fans (not sure it's right to call them "retro" only) that wants to *improve* the real Amiga HW, I'm of course thinking of NatAmi!

None of these has the *slightest* interest in any of the three re-implementations. It's not difficult to understand. They want to use the real Amiga 68k apps in the true way, the real classical Amiga games, demos, etc, and flawless compatibility is the most important thing. There is no alternative to the real Amiga OS then, running in a 68k environment with all the custom chips in place (either in HW or in UAE). "NG Enthusiasts" has a different view, they want to use an Amiga environment in a way that is as close to 2011 level computing as possible; modern Internet apps, playing modern media files, etc. Amiga compatibility is an appreciated bonus, but that's not the main thing. To them, it's mostly a matter of choosing one or more of the re-implementations.

What the Amiga 68k fans might be interested in however, might be a continuation and improvements of Amiga OS (and by that I'm *not* talking about Hyperions OS4, which is yet another re-implementation, and the most immature one even). Especially NatAmi would benefit from this, since they will need an OS that can make the most use of the new features of their board. That's what I call "Amiga OS+" in the picture above in lack of a better word. An evolved version of the real Amiga OS 68k. The NatAmi crew will probably make their own third party add-ons and replacement if they ever get this far with their HW, possibly using some stuff from AROS, and writing some stuff themselves. It will however be completely unofficial of course.

Amiga OS 68k can only be distributed by Hyperion AFAIK thanks to that crappy "agreement" (cough cough (read: robbery)). But not even they can release it as open source, since Amiga Inc still owns it. You think it's a mess? It truly is!

(Edit: Oh BTW, the time of the first MorphOS release is one month too late in the picture, my bad... )

[takemehomegrandma]

Cheers to that!

I'd definetly count myself in category 3, not only because my current HW setup represents a substantial amount of money, but also because I still like using the "original" AmigaOS. This does not mean I'm against any form of taking things ahead. As a category 3, I'm dreaming of OS 3.95 and some bad a** replacement for my CSPPC.

Many claim there would be no market for the latter, and that it would be too expensive for anyone to seriously consider. Well, consider Stachu's modified CSPPC cards reach prices as high as 1300€ on eBay these days. Add to that the HW we get from Individual Computers seems to sell out pretty quick, keep in mind it is made for a computer that was put out of production 15 years ago.

Yes, I think there are many people still using and having interest in real Amigas, I think this very site is a testimony to that (IMHO Amiga.org has had a clear "classic" focus since the very beginning, even if it allows *any* kind of Amiga). And what many people doesn't seem to understand, is that this interest builds on other values than those of the "NG" options, and has different requirements altogether. Having said that, I am not sure a replacement for CSPPC would be the most obvious wish in this part of the community, at least not if it's PPC based. Maybe a "68050" or "68070" based Cyber Storm replacement instead?