FPGA Replay Board

[HenryCase]

Actually, what color is AROS meant to be....is green already taken

AROS is the black camp.

[HenryCase]

So why in the world do I keep seeing posts related to the ROM size limitations of specific Amiga models?

Are you sure it's not the RAM limitations you're seeing reference to? For example, if your OS (regardless of whether it's stored on HDD or on ROM) is too large to fit in the RAM of your computer (talking about standard functions not extras), then you have a problem.

[HenryCase]

Thanks. The first part I kind of already understood. And the rest helps somewhat.
Does that mean that in older Amigas there no way past a 512KB limit?
And if the later Amigas have 1MB ROM does that mean that an AROS kickstart will be easier to create for them or offer more features?

Are the ROMs shipped with classic Amigas flashable? As far as I know they are not. In other words, if you need a new Kickstart you have to buy new hardware. If you want to use a larger kickstart you buy a Kickstart replacement chip/board that can handle it.

The main issue with the size of the AROS ROM is with the size of Wanderer. There has been talk of creating a Wanderer Lite to get around this issue. Other than that, there are no major components (AFAIK) that will need reworking to make an AROS ROM of a similar size to a classic AmigaOS ROM. For some software, you don't even need a Workbench replacement like Wanderer anyway (such as most games), so for this software the issue of size is not applicable.

[HenryCase]

Jason already started on "wanderer lite" he called it workbook iirc. =]

Ah cool! I noticed lou_dias used that name in this thread, but I didn't realise Jason was working on it, good times. :-) Just found a screenshot of Workbook (clearly WIP):
http://download.aros3d.org/pictures/workbook.jpg

[HenryCase]

So, except for the workbench replacement, everything will fit?

Here's a useful post, made by one of the two main developers of the AROS 68k branch, Jason McMullan:
http://www.minimig.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=372

Couple of quotes from the post:

By the way, the current status of AROS m68k is that it can run most shell and GUI commands of Workbench 1.3 and 3.x, and several applications. We're currently missing a lightweight 'Workbench', so you have to use the very bulky 'Wanderer' or some other workbench replacement.

Sorry for the large size of the ROMs, but they are jam-packed with debugging code. We plan to shrink them quite a bit once we have full functionality.

In other words, yes, in time.

[HenryCase]

Sorry, I don't have a direct link. I think there was something recently on EAB - someone is enhancing some core Kickstart libraries and making ROM images.

Hattig, do you mean the work Cosmos is doing (see links below)?
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=57950
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=57419

[HenryCase]

AROS m68k ROM + AROS Wanderer = Complete open source solution for Amiga?

Does it work?

Game compability?

There is plenty of proof out there that it works. Best way to test it for yourself is by running a nightly build of AROS 68k in WinUAE.

Game compatibility is a tricky point to address, as the AROS ROM is improved almost daily at the moment. Let me point you to a comment made by gilgamesh over at AROS-Exec:
http://aros-exec.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=54110#forumpost54110
I hope that answers your question. ;-)

[HenryCase]

Can these AROS 2x 512 kB ROMs be used on an Amiga 500 ?

Considering it only has a 256 kB ROM from start.

Also does Wanderer work alright? (not perfect)

I don't think AROS works on an A500 at the moment, don't think there's a graphics driver for OCS (yet). It does work on real hardware though, as shown in this blog entry showing AROS running on an A1200:
http://www.evillabs.net/wiki/index.php/AROS_m68k-amiga#Jan_11.2C_2011:_AROS_on_Amiga_1200_.2B_ACA_1230

[HenryCase]

Rom ? Where ? What ? :-) In which setting do you want dopus in a rom area?

Espen

You can use DOpus as a Workbench replacement, it's lighter than Wanderer so has been discussed as an option until Workbook is ready.

[HenryCase]

The danger comes from platform fragementation. It's rather early for natami to try dominating the Amiga market. There never has been a coldfire Amiga, so there is no software that takes advantage of it except for that which you produce yourself & that software won't run on anything but a natami. That would kill my interest pretty quickly.

You do know that the Natami doesn't use a Coldfire CPU, right?

[HenryCase]

Anyone else thinks that the Arcade FPGA has killed the Minimig completely?

The FPGA Arcade is the next stage in the Minimig's evolution, it didn't kill the Minimig, it ensures it lives on (the Minimig core that is).