It's 20 years on, and Windows still doesn't have...

[danwood]

You have a link to that quote?  Might make for an interesting read.
.

It was on an episode of Windows Weekly podcast iirc, can't remember the episode number sadly, but it was sometimes last summer.

[Matt_H]

I think there are very few (perhaps none?) things where Amigas OS (or MOS) limits Amigas usability. It's the lack of SW that is the most usual problem, then the lack of MIPS.

Very nicely said!

[persia]

I would have said that all operating systems limit their users in some way, shape or form.    What the AMiga lacks is the basic tools that developers need to develop software in and a market for developers to sell those products in once they.  

There are more iOS, OS X, and MS Windows users in your typical shopping mall than there are Amiga users in the world...

[trekiej]

FWIW, I do have fun using Aros ( Icaros Desktop 1.4.5 ) and playing DukeNukem on it.
Aeros seems to help where drivers are lacking.

[KimmoK]

@lsmart
>Amiga will not improve. Maybe AROS will, but I am not sure. You may hope for some
>up to date software and maybe some hardware, but there are no resources for
>real improvements that will benefit Joe Random.

I think on this topic "Amiga" means AOS+MOS+AROS.

But your comment seems like the most pessimistic to date.
Every release AOS, MOS and AROS have improved.
There have been real improvements that are visible to user right after first bootup.

And (for example for AOS) updated 3D and multicore support is being implemented.
You think those will never be ready?

>Windows will change substancially, but it seems that they "improve" it for a different
>target audience than us: Sony Tristar, Time Warner, Intel, ASUS, D ELL, HP and Microsoft.

I agree on that. At work XP has been the only approved Win variant for a long time, interesting to see if Win7 brings improvements to user experience.
So far, update after update, outlook, office, etc. M$ productions have become harder and harder to use.
My needs on SW R&D have not changed, but ten years ago same things (around office part of the work) were much simpler to do. And our whole SW team agrees.
In the end... I'll be surpriced if win7 manages to improve things. First time since NT4.0 release?


btw... on this topic, I think also AEROS can be considered to be "Amiga". Is there any big thing that can not be done on AEROS? It runs also windows SW, mind you.

[persia]

I've been playing with Windows 8 and I think Microsoft tried to do too much in one bite.  The deprecated old Windows desktop's presence is annoying, I find myself asking where the h*** did Metro go many many times.  There's just something counter intuitive to having both Metro and the legacy desktop there.

Windows 7 is rock solid but it's starting to show it's age.

[commodorejohn]

I've been playing with Windows 8 and I think Microsoft tried to do too much in one bite.  The deprecated old Windows desktop's presence is annoying, I find myself asking where the h*** did Metro go many many times.  There's just something counter intuitive to having both Metro and the legacy desktop there.

I think that rather than trying to do too much at once, they tried too hard to combine product lines that were separate for a reason. For every person like you who wonders what the legacy desktop is doing in your Metro, there's someone like me who wants the new crap gone and wonders where the environment I'm used to went...

[lsmart]

Every release AOS, MOS and AROS have improved.
There have been real improvements that are visible to user right after first bootup.

And (for example for AOS) updated 3D and multicore support is being implemented.
You think those will never be ready?

btw... on this topic, I think also AEROS can be considered to be "Amiga". Is there any big thing that can not be done on AEROS? It runs also windows SW, mind you.

Oh, I didn't mean to sound too pessimistic. But most of the improvements we are seeing today is support for existing hardware and file formats. AEROS and AOS have added some hooks to make the UI easier for people who are using Windows but I turn them off as soon as I can. I really think the UI of 1994 (+MFR+cycletomenu) was the best UI for AmigaOS and has not been improved since. AmigaGuide has been replaced by HTML and PDF and the documentation has been neglected and became less useful than in the days of the fishdisk. This is what I think Joe Random will notice.

I am a fan of the things Hyperion is trying to do for the core of AmigaOS and am really impressed with the work of the Friedens. And I admire AROS for having created such a perfect copy of our beloved system. (I don't know MOS enough to praise them, sorry) I think they are great now and there will be some improvement on the road.

But I had hoped that other OS would improve the way I can work with multiple files and programs, help me remember which file is which, give me feedback when I click, let me change the settings according to my mood. Windows had the finances to do this, but instead they plan on a renting model for Office.

[desiv]

Windows 7 is rock solid but it's starting to show it's age.

See, and this is something I don't understand...

Basically, it works well, but the problem is that it's looking old???

If it's designed to work well, and it does work well, why change it?

Just because it's been like that for a while and it's time to change?

I'm not a fan of change for the sake of change...

I love change where it makes sense...

Just me..

desiv

[commodorejohn]

Just me..

Not just you. Not in the least.

[B00tDisk]

I don't see 7 as "showing it's age" at all, and until MS pull their typical ****ery along the lines of "this service pack/DirectX update/security update/hotfix wouldn't work/can't be supported by the kernel/would require a rewrite of the OS (but not really), so you'll have to upgrade" I'm not budging.

[persia]

Because touch is the future.  Everyone moaned when the introduced the mouse, too.  The desktop/laptop are about to become a niche.

I have a MacPro at home and at work, but my MacBook is starting to feel abandoned because of my iPad.  Keynotes, web surfing, youtube, facebook, even server maintenance. It's all there and all better on my iPad.

We are on the very beginning of a new computer generation.  Windows 7 is the pinnacle of the mouse age, but that age is ending.

See, and this is something I don't understand...

Basically, it works well, but the problem is that it's looking old???

If it's designed to work well, and it does work well, why change it?

Just because it's been like that for a while and it's time to change?

I'm not a fan of change for the sake of change...

I love change where it makes sense...

Just me..

desiv

[desiv]

Because touch is the future
...
We are on the very beginning of a new computer generation.  Windows 7 is the pinnacle of the mouse age, but that age is ending.

I think you've made some big assumptions there, and we have yet to see if they pan out.
Touch is the present, for mobile devices.
It works well in that area...

Touch has been tried and tried and tried for the desktop environment and has yet to succeed.
It doesn't mean that it won't, but I wouldn't say for sure that it is the future.

It might be.  
Gesture might be..
Voice might be..
Some combination of those...

And a keyboard and pointing device of some kind might also be..

I'm not convinced that touch will work with the desktop.
Then again, I'm not convinced the desktop will survive other than in business and some niche areas...

desiv

[commodorejohn]

Because touch is the future.  Everyone moaned when the introduced the mouse, too.  The desktop/laptop are about to become a niche.

I have a MacPro at home and at work, but my MacBook is starting to feel abandoned because of my iPad.  Keynotes, web surfing, youtube, facebook, even server maintenance. It's all there and all better on my iPad.

We are on the very beginning of a new computer generation.  Windows 7 is the pinnacle of the mouse age, but that age is ending.

You keep saying that, but the age of non-touch devices keeps sticking around...

[Duce]

Touch in the MS sense will not work on the desktop - as in the fingers on the screen method.

Touch, gestures wise - as Apple desktop products use, is something completely different and entirely workable, and I dare say even productive.

The deathblow of Windows 8 will be the fact it's just a mish mash of traditional and touch interfaces and neither of them are very pleasant or familiar to use.  Perhaps they will sort that out before it goes public/retail, but I'm not confident they will, or that they even see the flaws in the approach they are taking.

It's a very cumbersome OS to use, and while it might work well on the Windows 8 RT Surface Tablet, I fully expect Windows 8 to be the next Windows ME, lol - with Win 7 being the new Win XP, the OS people stay with for the next 10 years.

[Kesa]

I have said this before but i will say it again. I think MS are going about it all wrong. They are trying to turn Windows into a tablet style os and it doesn't work. But they have already done this with the xbox. Why not use a games console as a base for creating a new os instead of using windows.