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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: espskog on September 08, 2011, 11:11:37 AM

Title: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: espskog on September 08, 2011, 11:11:37 AM
Question #1
I hope someone can tell me if I can run MorphOS on a Apple Laptop with a G4 cpu. If yes, which model -- and are all drivers ready (or is morph OS best running on desktop macs with g4)

Reason I ask is because I want to buy a Laptop to run AROS on -- but I want to know if MorphOS support any laptop aswell before I spend the cash.

Question #2
What would be the best laptop as of today to run AROS on. I would very much like to have 3D suport if there are any laptops that aros can utilize the 3d gfx card on. And I need wifi either thru a usb dongle or pci/pcmcia or anything that gives me wifi :)

Are there any "best suited" laptops ? I prefer wifi before 3d...wifi is a must.

Any suggestions are highly appreciated.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: fishy_fiz on September 08, 2011, 11:41:39 AM
As things currently stand the only option is AROS. MorphOS powerbook support has been mentioned for a while, but as of yet isnt supported. As for which aros laptop to get, despite what some people might suggest Id steer clear of an Asus Aspire, for no reason other than theyre kinda crappy. They are well supported, but ATOM cpus are particularly weak, especially when you remove hyperthreading from the equation (which aros doesnt support). There must be a bunch of old 1-1.5ghz-ish pentium3, or athlon based laptops out there what are supported too, and they'll be much faster than an atom.

A rough guide for supported hardware goes a little something like:

gf1 through gf9 based cards (gts 250 is a renamed gf9, so also supported). This is probably the best option for gfx being its the only option with 3d acceleration (even small amounts of 2d acceleration is done via gpu for gf cards). ATI cards from things like rage pro through to radeon x850, and also newer (some radeon hd cards, but I cant be more specific here). Intel gma is also supported. Both ati and intel are 2d accelerated only though.

For sound you have intel hd audio (also includes some realtek codecs if Im not mistaken) ac97, sblive/audigy, sb128, and a bunch of others (going by memory, so please excuse the vagueness).

For wifi I think the only options ar some atheros based chips plus old prisms2 devices.

Feel free to ask for more details and I'l try to provide them.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: bloodline on September 08, 2011, 12:03:39 PM
You can't run MorphOS on a MacBook... It doesn't have the right CPU... However I run AROS on my MacBook without problems, and most laptops will run AROS... If you are clever then you can choose one with "supported" harware and get accelerated gfx and proper audio, wifi etc... :)
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: Kesa on September 08, 2011, 12:25:57 PM
Quote from: bloodline;658437
You can't run MorphOS on a MacBook... It doesn't have the right CPU... However I run AROS on my MacBook without problems, and most laptops will run AROS... If you are clever then you can choose one with "supported" harware and get accelerated gfx and proper audio, wifi etc... :)

Are you sure about this? Piru put up a video a while ago showing a G4 MacBook booting up MOS. I thought a G4 PPC was MOS compatible?  :confused:

Maybe you, Fishy Fiz and me are thinking about different things   :)
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: Kesa on September 08, 2011, 12:33:27 PM
Here it is...   :) Although now i see it was for a Powerbook though...

PowerBook-G4-MorphOS-3-sneak-preview.mp4 (http://www.sintonen.fi/video/misc/PowerBook-G4-MorphOS-3-sneak-preview.mp4)
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: bloodline on September 08, 2011, 01:10:55 PM
Quote from: Kesa;658438
Are you sure about this? Piru put up a video a while ago showing a G4 MacBook booting up MOS. I thought a G4 PPC was MOS compatible?  :confused:

Maybe you, Fishy Fiz and me are thinking about different things   :)
You are talking about a PowerBook... I honestly would not recommend one of those... Over priced, under powered and now, no software...
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: gertsy on September 08, 2011, 01:20:59 PM
Go the Macline.  Sorry I mean Bloodbook.   No sorry make that Macbook.  LysDexia is acting up again.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: Daedalus on September 08, 2011, 01:30:21 PM
Yep - all MacBooks have Intel processors, it's the iBooks and PowerBooks that had (have) PPC... I'm still waiting to see if a version comes out for my trusty G4 iBook :-)
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: _ThEcRoW on September 08, 2011, 01:47:06 PM
G4 powerbooks are good hardware and reliable. If you want in the future to run MorphOS, go for it.

AROS is still picky about the hardware it can run on natively. I wasn't able to put it on my old toshiba satellite, and recently it refused to do it on my asus eeepc, so be careful with the hardware you choose.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: espskog on September 08, 2011, 02:12:38 PM
Allright. Thanks guys for the quick responses. I'll settle for AROS then :) I dislike the MorphOS license fee, so i'll find a suitable laptop to use. Looks like I can pick up an Aspire On A150 for about $50 from ebay, but as you say -- it's quite weak. Yet -- it all depends on what I plan to use my aros laptop for.

Nevertheless, I'd like to find a very cheap laptop for this -- since aros probably does not need as much cpu power afterall for my purposes ... which are slim :)
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: HenryCase on September 08, 2011, 02:18:19 PM
Quote from: espskog;658460
Allright. Thanks guys for the quick responses. I'll settle for AROS then :) I dislike the MorphOS license fee, so i'll find a suitable laptop to use. Looks like I can pick up an Aspire On A150 for about $50 from ebay, but as you say -- it's quite weak. Yet -- it all depends on what I plan to use my aros laptop for.

Nevertheless, I'd like to find a very cheap laptop for this -- since aros probably does not need as much cpu power afterall for my purposes ... which are slim :)


I wouldn't worry about the Atom CPU, it's got enough power for AROS. Here's another option for you to consider:
http://aros-exec.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&type=&topic_id=6294&forum=24
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: Terminills on September 08, 2011, 02:25:52 PM
Quote from: HenryCase;658463
I wouldn't worry about the Atom CPU, it's got enough power for AROS. Here's another option for you to consider:
http://aros-exec.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&type=&topic_id=6294&forum=24


I personally wouldn't waste my money on a laptop without 3d support.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: paolone on September 08, 2011, 02:27:29 PM
Sorry to seem harsh, however I think I have to translate in simplier words espskog's question:

"can you tell me the exact vendor and model of any AROS-supported notebook? I wish it had 1) wi fi and 2) 3D acceleration working, in this order of importance".

So now, if someone knows such brand and model, please tell him what to buy. Unluckily I am not able to do so, since the only portable computers I have supported by AROS are a Compaq Presario N610c and an Acer (not asus) Aspire One netbook A150, both without 3D acceleration. And only the netbook has wi-fi.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: EDanaII on September 08, 2011, 02:36:01 PM
I don't know if my Lenovo SL-510 supports 3D or not. I haven't tested that. I do know that I've been able to run all the basic stuff, Graphics, Sound, Networking with few issues. I can't claim it meets Espkog's requirements but it does meet mine. :)

Here is a hardware list (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Aros/Platforms/x86_Complete_System_HCL).
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: Terminills on September 08, 2011, 02:37:23 PM
Quote from: paolone;658466
Sorry to seem harsh, however I think I have to translate in simplier words espskog's question:

"can you tell me the exact vendor and model of any AROS-supported notebook? I wish it had 1) wi fi and 2) 3D acceleration working, in this order of importance".

So now, if someone knows such brand and model, please tell him what to buy. Unluckily I am not able to do so, since the only portable computers I have supported by AROS are a Compaq Presario N610c and an Acer (not asus) Aspire One netbook A150, both without 3D acceleration. And only the netbook has wi-fi.



http://aros-exec.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6022&forum=26&post_id=56413#forumpost56413
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: fishy_fiz on September 08, 2011, 02:49:27 PM
Heh, Asus Aspire,..... I keep saying that  :)

As mentioned I guess it really depends on what a person wants to do. My loathing of ATOM cpus (once upon a time it at least had a point, these days its barely any more power economical than a Sandy Bridge based cpu, let alone something like an E-350, which is not only more power economical, but also has an intergrated radeon 6xxx gpu ondie) probably slightly biases any info I suggest, but at $50 I guess it's not like youre taking any real finacial risks.
Title: Re: AROS on laptop *OR* MorphOS on MacBook ?
Post by: espskog on September 08, 2011, 05:28:07 PM
Many thanks for all the tips and the information. It is true, I do not really need 3D since I will be using it as a "sofa-computer" whereas wifi is more important as I need it to ssh into my server and do administrative things without having to walk over to the server (lazyness ftw). And of course, everybody hates cables...or at least I do. So all I want is the power cord as the extra cabling to the laptop. Now, I could of course use a linux distro -- but I think that is too easy. It is much cooler to run a real os like AROS :)


So I put in an offer for a A110 Acer Aspire at $40. We'll see if it get it or not. Nevertheless, I aggree with you guys. It is probably easy to find a cheap laptop which will boot up AROS aswell, but from my angle, I need it to have wifi working.

Now, I do see that the driver for Realtek USB dongles will be out in a few days. This would solve my problems as I could just use a Realtek NanoUSB adapter ***IF*** the adapter chipset is supported. I would really like to see which Realtek chipsets are supported so I can order a dongle which I know will work.

3D -- would be nice for a desktop pc where I could play some games and stuff on, and I might go for one when I feel like it (future project to build one that is mini-itx sized with vesa mounts for the back of the monitor).

Ah, if I just get the possibility to SSH from aros -- that's 99% of what I require :D

And telnet to my BBS, of course (which is over at silverhawk.ath.cx for those who likes BBS's) -- We've been up for 20 years soon. Yihaa...