Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: superfrog76 on September 17, 2013, 08:13:33 AM
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Hi
It was pointed to me that few people are making console with ARM processors, which like the Caanoo from Gamepark, or the PAndora, are in fact able to run Amiga games trough emulation.
Now, I was wondering if it was possible to run the OS natively on ARM.
I know that it was built to run on 68K, but while we cannot run the original system, we may run a modified version, like Aros or 4.0?
I've purchased one of these beaglebone boards; it is just 40 dollars and it is great as low cost computer (heck, it runs a full desktop system with Angstrom, surf the internet and is also able to play music and video; runs almost better than a cheap desktop); and I was wondering if someone tried to port for it a version of AmigaOS.
I may probably just install UAE for Linux, and run some games, to see how it runs, but I am intrigued by running the real OS on it, if it is even possible...I am not an expert on the OS matter.
Anyone has some insight?
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Someone's currently working on an ARM AROS port, though AFAIK it's currently rPi-only. There's also AROS hosted on Linux, which you should have no trouble running on the BeagleBone.
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There's a hosted version of AROS for the Raspberry Pi that might also work on the BeagleBone. The problem with the ARM-native version of AROS is that it's based on the unstable branch that has yet to be finalized. This means that it may not be ready for any closed-source projects yet since compatibility-breaking features may yet be introduced, thus requiring a recompile.
The problem with trying to port an operating system to a new processor is that some of the parts of the program are written in raw machine language instead of compiling languages like C. AROS was designed to be portable from one architecture to the next and as far as I know, it's the only Amiga-like OS to run on the ARM architecture.
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AROS looks like the best bet right now.
I think most people in Amiga-land have given up hoping for AmigaOS to get ported to a non-PowerPC architecture so we can make use of <£100 hardware instead of having to use custom expensive hardware.
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I see, so AROS would be the only real option for these ARM powered devices.
Is there any documentation about how to recompile the kernel for BB? the Pi is cool but it is a bit underpowered, and the BB is much faster, which makes it more likely to be able to run software better and faster.
Heck, if it run on my 030-50MHz, should run nicely on a GHz processor with accelerated GPU :)
Also I heard about Minimig; and was wondering what is the os that is running on it....conceptually seems like a pi or a BB.
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Minimig is running 68k AmigaOS. It's not an emulation running on a different platform.
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I see, so AROS would be the only real option for these ARM powered devices.
Sure I'm biased, but AROS is the only real option full stop ;)
Is there any documentation about how to recompile the kernel for BB? the Pi is cool but it is a bit underpowered, and the BB is much faster, which makes it more likely to be able to run software better and faster.
Pi underpowered? You'll struggle to find as powerful a computer for £20... Also, IRC, the BB has weaker GFX performance than the Pi ;)
For the money, the pi is the best option IMHO. -edit- the BB is really for electronics/hobby prototyping. The pi is a consumer electronics device.
Heck, if it run on my 030-50MHz, should run nicely on a GHz processor with accelerated GPU :)
Also I heard about Minimig; and was wondering what is the os that is running on it....conceptually seems like a pi or a BB.
Minimig is something else, basically an A500 on a single chip (two chips if you include the 68000)... It will run the original AmigaOS and the 68k build of AROS.
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AROS for ARM also runs hosted on Android too. You can get it from the nightly build download page on http://aros.sf.net