Free Magellan!

[brownb2]

übercool!!!

lets start a bounty!

I prefer a Snickers, chewier and a bit nutty.

[brownb2]

And still yet today, I am able to do things that even Windows 7, and Mac OS X still don't offer, I.E. being a complex filing system that is capable of SOOOO MANY things, and yet uses up so few system resources. It's fast, it is responsive, highly configurable, and it's FTP friendly!

What are those things I can't think of a single one? Probably best open a new thread to reply as this is a bit offtop
IMHO Windows and Ubuntu really surpassed the Amiga mark around 2002/Windows XP - that's being generous, a lot of people think Windows 98/2000. I blame the Amiga magazines for the inferiority complex/delusion (no pun intended) and that made readers think that the Amiga was somehow technically superior to a 128MB PIII 500 with 32 channel sound and a 32MB 3D card because the Amiga could multitask back in 1985. It's like saying the Ford T first pushed 15 MPH and had no complex parts it's the best and simplest car - it the original, but not the best, since we've improved on the design.

[brownb2]

How do you sync any given number of folders using OSX or Windows, or even Ubuntu, from the desktop? How do you make "magic" hotkeys on those systems so that if you press a given key while copying images, those images are also converted, scaled or whatever you like in the same process?

Windows and Ubuntu have built in viewers for that, if not there are plenty of drag n drop (onto icons or windows) apps to do it.

How do you build a player application with queue list on those systems?

Unless I misunderstand here nearly all media players do this.

How do you group icons of different types and functions on the desktop of them? There is just so many things you can do with Directory Opus Magellan and ARexx that is not only impossible with OSX/Windows/Any given *ix desktop, they are concepts that noone have even thought of on those platforms.

Windows - click order by file type. Ubuntu has a number of different options depending on the desktop.

Directory Opus Magellan is the one Desktop this is _not_ for "most users", it would just be a dream come true...

I don't disagree - it brings the OS right up to date and is exactly something we need on the Amiga. The point being all of this stuff can be done on Windows/Ubuntu. My argument was with the point that this stuff couldn't be done on other OS' or done better.

[brownb2]

Nope, not the same thing - you didn't get the point.

 But I'm not talking about a media player, I'm talking about building your own playlist manager for whatever program or reasons you might need it for. You can for example dump URLs into a lister to have them queued up for playback on remote mediacenter box. You can create mail browser or news reader with the DOpus listers... the possibilities are endless. And you can assign just about any hotkey you like.

Drag and drop dumping URLs and not surprisingly in a list manager they queue. Generally speaking a list of RSS feeds != media player lists and I would expect them to be dealt with separately.

You mean Gnome, not Ubuntu.  

Or KDE, or... splitting hairs.

Trust me, I use Windows7, OSX, KDE3, Gnome, KDE4, XFCE4, E17 and lot of other desktops for all they're worth, and they dont really have the concepts that Magellan offer. You don't get it, and that's all fine, move along.

Oh please spare the sanctimonious claptrap - being dismissive just infers to me you have a weak argument. Rolling off a list of window managers doesn't impress when you're talking about a file manager with benefits. As I've already said - most modern UIs do this stuff (I shall clarify, do this out of the box, may need tweaking/plugins etc.). My point of argument is suggesting that work in a file manager cannot be done in any other OS' UI is either wilful ignorance or naivety, the argument is NOT that Magellan has unique benefits (which it does in that it can help manage lists all in one place).

No - they certainly cannot be done on Windows/Ubuntu - as a Linux users since 1994 - why would I otherwise care?

I've been a Sun OS/Solaris 2.4 (Unix) user since '97 having even owned my own SparcStation and external network drive does that make me understand a file manager better? No? Wow... I am astounded.

On a side note, bless my old SparcStation I gave it away years ago but that clunky machine had personality and just enough 64 bit power in a 173Mhz processor to run Solaris 10. *Sigh*

[brownb2]

1: I can quickly and smoothly navigate my folders without the random pauses that Microsoft is so keen on.

You have a point. I'd say the benefits of auto refreshing/navigating/accessing potentially massive folders on a journalled filesystem and doing file type identification to aid with preview (if enabled) and file corruption prevention outweigh the disadvantages but I'm willing to cede this because it occasionally bugs me too. I tend to only see it on network file copy in Windows 7 however (probably DRM checking).

2. I can double click on the desktop to access my drivers.

Windows users can do that with shortcuts on the desktop. You can also have quick launchers for explorer locations in Windows.

3. I can open up an FTP site as a drive.

You can also do this or even choose to use Webdav instead. (Quick how to if you're really interested)

4. No Explorer crashes.

I haven't had one of these in years (mostly Win 98 era), but I can just restart it via task manager if I have problems. I do see a lot of Amiga WB crashes that require me to do a full reboot.

5. I don't need much more than 4Mb of RAM to do this.

But it's only providing basic functionality - playing a better than VGA video, copying a DVD or anything requiring buffering is going to take a long time.

6. I can totally configure my file types to be double click, right click, or interactive with a button.

Ubuntu provided button swapping functionality for single double etc. You can even change the handiness of the mouse and I suspect Windows also allows this.

7. There's more I'm sure.

Granted, OS X or Windows can probably emulate a few of these features with a concoction of 3rd party software (I.E. Dopus), but it ain't no where near the same as on an Amiga, just slower, bulkier, and less responsive, and out right impossible on a machine with the same specs of an Amiga.

I'm digressing a bit from the point and going onto the Amiga in general -
bulkier I agree with - but I prefer to have the added bells and whistles. Get a brute of a machine and it irons out those responsiveness kinks. I'm not saying underpowered compared to todays machines is bad (I do own Amigas ), but when it comes down to getting a modern workload done fast (converting DVDs, preparing multiple GBs of files for an MP3 player, streaming HD video etc) I'd rather do it with that machine!

[brownb2]

And what he said! Great points!

Yes but the majority (if not all of these) can be done in Gnome (note I'm not mentioning Windows here).

As mentioned it's great to see things like "Very configureable startmenus" (on Windows - toolbars, Gnome probably has the same), "Global hotkeys which work everywhere" (again Gnome), "Very comprehensive function editor" (on Gnome perl, python etc etc all industry standards, and at a push can install Rexx too) etc come to Amiga OS. I'm in no doubt the last point is good specifically for the Amiga file managment as compared to using perl but I really wouldn't want to have to learn a proprietry(?) new function editor just to manipulate files automatically based on decisions. If you're used to writing it, and have a pang of nostaglia for it then of course it's going to look better than a general purpose language To not labour this any longer - we've found newer and somewhat better ways of doing the same things which are available in other OS but I'm very happy that this sort of stuff is getting open sourced on the Amiga.

[brownb2]

@brownb2
So you're saying we should use Gnome, KDE or whatever instead of bothering with what is the topic of this thread - why don't you just take a hike already.

Read my posts - I haven't said that. What I objected to and have stated in a few of the posts is the belief that other OS don't do what Workbench + Magellan is capable of. Thanks I intended to go hiking this weekend - who told you?

[brownb2]

This conversation is bit difficult as you apparently haven't used Magellan2 ever and aren't familiar...

Guilty as charged, I assumed it was a suped up DOPus 4/5 with desktop integration. Was I far wrong?

So it's good compromize between separate ftp client and mounted ftp.

I completely agree - again what I disagreed with originally was that features such as this were not available in other OS. I entirely agree with the rest of the quote in Magellan's ability.

Magellan2 is just perfect for those! Aren't we talking about the program, not the platform you run it?

Sadly although I'm trying to keep it on track we are talking about the abilities of Magellan2 and doing stuff with similar ease these days in other OS.
My comments are getting replied to in the belief that somehow I'm saying that the Amiga + Magellan is inferior, what I have been saying is that PCs UI in general have met or bettered it in some circumstances which would be expected since innovation is often copied.

 

On Windows they aren't that configurable for the user. You can't have total control of them in same way. And how they are consistent and cooperative with other components of the system.

It was my belief that file associations, right click Open With et al would replicate this behaviour.

In function editor you can define what commands (internal, amigados, workbench, script, arexx) are executed in what order and what data is provided to them. Do they need some output options, do they need to be executed asynchronously, do they need more data with different type of requesters (string, secure string, file/dir requester etc), what info of the files or environment are given etc etc. It just gives you possibilities to do everything you can imagine without needing to think any external tricks or scripting language knowledge etc.

Okay I see your point, you'd need extra programs to do this in other OS - but I imagine they are available.

I haven't found anything similar although I've used lots of different systems for my work and fun.

This is where there is a key difference I think - I've never looked for things similar, I've looked to do the same thing but in a different way and so my original post would have been best recognised as the other systems can't do what the Amiga does in the same way.