Thomas Frieden: OS4 Questions and answers

[System]

Good read!

Ip forwarding is very welcome here ... hopefully this does include masq functionality?

[System]

This is different from 'screen swapping' though right? I mean, you can change from a screen in, say 800x600 and bring a 1024x768 one to the front like OS3.x ?

Yes, support for different screens is an extremely useful feature lacking in all mainstream OSes of today. When users are better informed it may become an important selling point for Amiga.

[System]

i dont see why one would want to use two different resolutions

I would say for the same reasons why some people simultaniously use multiple resolution monitor displays.

For instance it would come in handy when you are developing a website and you want to see (on the fly) what your website looks like with different screen resolutions.

Or think about the future when for example 5120x3840 resolutions or higher resolutions are common for desktop usage, then many of your applications will look like tumbnails on your desktop or their layout could be completely ruined.

Screen dragging is a must have, but i think i could do without the multiscreen resolution factor.

I don't think that would mean much added value as compared to simply having applications running in seperate windows. On AmigaOS4 you can simply drag the window out of the display in any direction and see/use the Window of another application underneath.

[System]

lempkee, I partially agree with what you stated, but I don't think an efficient well designed OS will hurt 3rd parties at all. I even believe a modular OS like AmigaOS offers 3rd parties far better competitive oppertunies.

For example webbrowsers, multimedia players and even far more fundamental OS components are not in any way tied to the underlying OS, unlike the monopolistic Windows OS. This fact offers many oppertunities for an innovative competitive market especially when a well established company would offer OEMs the freedom to choose their own components for consumer devices.

Also I don't believe people should be bothered with upgrading their computers all of the time, this even without adding much functionality, but just to be able to use the latest OS, to browse the web and write a document.

Instead there are many more oppertunies for making money, like for instance selling portable hardware and household devices which work seamlessly with computers and the internet. IMO there is a huge potential market for devices like webtablets, digital interactive TVs, PDA and smart phones, at least if they can all work seamlessly together. Amiga Inc's homesever platform and high performance binary indentical layer could eventually provide such solutions.   :-D