OS4

[neofree]

OK, I havent heard anyone even mention OS4 on this site in a loooong time.  Not even the "when is OS4 coming out" question that used to get asked all the time.  I won't dare ask that.  But... Is it even still being worked on??

Thanks,

Neofree

[cecilia]

you really need to locate a group and go to meetings to see one in action. it's about 90% done (that's just my number, not anything official. so don't quote it!)

it's being worked on by a bunch of beta-testers EVERYday. every month that I have the chance to go to such meetings I see improvements in speed and capabilities.

but, you should try to see for yourself.

[neofree]

i'd love to.. by buying a copy!!! (yes i know beta comes with boards - but faith that it will be completed is non-existant for me - i wont want one until it's officially out) since i dont generally get stuff until they've been out for awhile and price has came down.. just think how long i have to wait! geez..  it's always been 90% done for 2 years or more.. why does it have to be perfect to be released?  

[coldfish]

To answer your original question, most people just got tired of waiting.

I'll catch up with OS4 sometime down the track, either when its ported to cheaper hardware or through emulation.

[SamuraiCrow]

neofree wrote:
OK, I havent heard anyone even mention OS4 on this site in a loooong time.  Not even the "when is OS4 coming out" question that used to get asked all the time.  I won't dare ask that.  But... Is it even still being worked on??

Thanks,

Neofree

The OS4 developers generally hang out on AmigaWorld.net whereas Amiga.org is primarily an Amiga Classic website.

[drHirudo]

Even if it's not finished yet, AmigaOS 4 in it's current state (after update 3) is pretty usable for me and it fulfills all my computing needs, so I don't care if it's gets updated more this year or not, since it works perfectly for me (and not only for me). Final release would be more useful for the news followers and the antiamiga dudes, who would still complain, than for the users themselves, since it's wouldn't have much new features added or vital bugs fixed, but it works pretty well now anyways.

Well someone might jump and say there is not decent browser for it. So what? I browse the net pretty often, but mostly non commercial sites and I don't have problems obtaining the needed information, or reading specific sites. Well some flash anims and shockwaves are missing, but not a big loss nevertheless. On some sites the Google adds are missing, like now on Amiga.org for example, so using Amiga for browsing have plusses as well.

Not an office suite for AmigaOS 4 available! Not a big loss either. The classic DTP, SpreadSheet and Text editors work fine.

No games - well I am not a big fan of the latest 3D accelerated games, although some FPS games are already ported to AmigaOS 4, I prefer the classics and MAME 0.97 works pretty fine for me, plus I switch to FPSE from time to time to play some Scooby Doo, Crash Bandicoot, Do Don Pachi, Gradius Gaiden etc..

Although the latest video and audio codecs are not yet available for the Amiga, I have almost no problems playing movies with MPlayer, and even with cyrillic subtitles, so my movies watching needs are fulfilled as well. When I like some movie, I have no problem burning it on DVD with Frying Pan, since update 3 which added support for UDMA capable drives.

So more updates or final release of AmigaOS 4 coming sooner or later, as an AmigaOS 4 user, I mostly don't care. As I said previously, to me it seems that the outside people are looking more about it, for purchasing or other reasons, I don't now.

[neofree]

The problem is that anyone who would make software for OS4 that wanted to charge for that software isn't going to beleive that they have any market because there is no clear view when it will be released.  Sure the hobbyists (which make up most of the users anyway) will be fine using the pre-release and so on.  But right now year after year goes by and still no OS4.  OS4 does not need to be a Windows XP replacement.  Just release the damn thing so it will have a chance (if even does anymore).

Thanks,

Neofree

[McSquirrel]

Computers are getting more and more indispensable nowadays. And aren't you bothered by Wind*ws? I often remember those old days (I was solely using an A2000/030/OS2.x during the years 1993-1999) when there was less to click, but more was getting done. A perfect OS needs to have a reasonable file system and easy-to-use shell (so why do I have to store my personal files anywhere at "C:\Documents and Settings\MyName\My Files" ??). Linux may also be confusing. And remember all those users whose PCs get more and more slowly just because of vast numbers of tools running minimized at system tray. I don't need thousands of buttons and menus to get my job done, as all these result in confusion. I believe that one day Easiness in Operating Systems will win, so we can all go back to work using PCs instead of working on their problems. So, OS4 may have a chance. There is a noticeable stem of users, and even though it still looks like a niche product, one day it could teach us a new kind of freedom.

*hopefully*
-McSquirrel

[cecilia]

neofree wrote:
it's always been 90% done for 2 years or more.. why does it have to be perfect to be released?  

that's not true. and the only way to really know this is to see it in action and watch as it has developed over the last year and a half.

there's about 3 updates - which has been available to people who got the first "pre-release".

this obsession with "official" release with giant fanfair isn't important at all. i guess it's me that likes the hands on, small group of people working on a hobby project feel to this, but that's the way I am.

WinUAE and AROS give me the same excitment. I love my emulation. it keeps improving, getting faster and more stable. YEAH!

there are no parades when each version is released, but I know I get happy!