Distribution Licence For Workbench...

[Darrin]

Have you tried asking H&P for a license to OS3.9?

[Darrin]

No... for the simple reasons that OS3.9 can still be purchased online and therefore is still a commercial money making product that can be obtained easily and legally enough...

even if it is overpriced.  

[Darrin]

Actually I just did a search to find someone who actually sells it and gave up after 5 pages of "free downloads".

Even Amigakit don't have it in stock.

It makes me wonder when the last time a real OS3.9 CD was pressed.

[Darrin]

Once Cloanto offers a copy of WB3.1 for sale unbundled, I will happily purchase it.

I'd love to see them bundle a large LHA archive of their OS3.x install that could be extracted to a real Amiga and run (we can add our own RTG if necessary).

Unfortunately you can't just copy their WinUAE OS3.x environment over (well I couldn't last time I tried).

And for the record, I've bought Amiga Forever packages several times.  

[Darrin]

Take note Franko.  Barry Altman used the same excuses when he plagiarised fan art for his website.

Yeah, but Franko isn't claiming to have created a new OS called "xWorkbench3.1C=" and taking pre-orders.    

[Darrin]

Anyone capable of typing 'workbench31.zip' into Google has been able to download Workbench whenever they needed to for as long as I can remember anyway, I don't see the need for this debate.

Yeah, but I for one would rather download ADFs from a trusted source like Franko's website instead of some unknown origin ADF that might have a virus installed "for shits and giggles".

I knew my Minimig was a "real" Amiga when it caught a bootblock virus off an ADF of P.O.W.  

[Darrin]

Now there's an idea a nice wee virus that detects greetin faced copyright mafia armchair lawyer wannabes...

That would be nice knowing that they downloaded it despite their lofty morals and found themselves infected with a nice new virus made especially just for them...

I like the sound of that...

You could call it the "Dammy Exterminator Virus" and it could pop up a message "Something awful has happened to CommodoreUSA"  

[Darrin]

And Cloanto have paid very large sums of money into the AROS 68k and Kickstart replacement bounties. Without their help the AROS68K project wouldn't exist at the level it is now!

It is a Free clone of AmigaOS that CAN boot real Amigas and run Amiga software! That is the future! Not pirating copyrighted software!

So it works PERFECTLY then?

[Darrin]

It only started working at all, late last year! As I'm on the Dev-list I can see the improvements daily, with our support it will surpass the aged Commodore produced OSs

Right, so my point is, until you can provide a 100% (or even 99%) compatible Kickstart replacement and AROS 680x0 package then it doesn't enter this discussion.  We may as well be talking about Cold Fusion.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see AROS appear as a modern compatable Workbench replacement, but it has been something like 20 years so far and it still isn't there and I'm not prepared to wait another 20 years for it to mature.

I've always got the feeling that AROS is about pushing the Amiga OS onto other, faster hardware and 680x0 versions are a bit of a sideline.

[Darrin]

Um, AROS provides a Free Workbench/Kickstart replacement... One that is not encumbered with stupid copyright issues... Please explain how that is something you don't "have a use for or need"? This whole thread is dedicated to the fact you DO have a need for just such software!?

In my case, it doesn't work so I'm not paying for it.

I will promise the AROS team one thing, when it works correctly and I'm using it then I'll make a donation to the cause.

Like Franko, I pay money for things that interest me.  I bought a C-One board, I bought one of the early Minimig v1.1 boards, I've bought a Chameleon and I've bought a FPGA Arcade all because I want to help them get developed and released as commercial items (except for the C-One which morphed into the Chameleon and the Natami, but then it always was a dev board).

[Darrin]

How do I put this? AROS isn't a company, it's not a "Team", it's not a project, it's a source code repository. This source code is free for anyone to use and when compiled generates software that clones AmigaOS. This source code is added to and improved by members of the Amiga community.

You can't donate to the AROS team, you can simply make requests for features/improvements and add an incentive to inspire a coder to take up the request. Whatever is the result of that, become part of the AROS code and is free for anyone to use. It is a community effort, by the comment for the community.

I realise you might not understand the opensource movement so this can seem alien, but the end result is worth the effort. I have donated both money and code to the project and I would expect others to do the same if they want the Amiga to still exist in 20 years.

You say it doesn't work, I know then that you haven't even tried AROS68k...

Does it work 100%?  The answer is "no" so I don't need to try it yet.

Once it does work and I can use it as I use WB3.x then I can donate to the team by donating to "bounties" to add extra features.

You see, if it actually did "work" then  we would all be using it right now and we wouldn't have this thread.  Correct?

[Darrin]

Try it, see for yourself

I will and I'll get back to you.  A4000 should be OK?