Classic VS NG

[spirantho]

Not wanting to sound like a flame, but honest question... why do you not think that OS 4 is the link between the original Amigas and the Next Gen Amigas?  AmigaOS 4 is still AmigaOS at its heart - that's a pretty big link!

[Lurch]

Has been a most helpful thread, glad to see it hasn't turned into the usual flame war. I'm thinking that I might be leaning towards OS4.

The problem is there isn't an easy/convenient way of obtaining OS4 hardware, so much easier to find an old Mac although it's proving hard to find a 64MB mac mini.

I'll possibly give MorphOS a longer try, going to attempt using workbench so will see how that works out :-)

Might see if there is an OS4 theme LOL.

[zylesea]

Has been a most helpful thread, glad to see it hasn't turned into the usual flame war. I'm thinking that I might be leaning towards OS4.

The problem is there isn't an easy/convenient way of obtaining OS4 hardware, so much easier to find an old Mac although it's proving hard to find a 64MB mac mini.

I'll possibly give MorphOS a longer try, going to attempt using workbench so will see how that works out :-)

Might see if there is an OS4 theme LOL.

I like my 1.67 GHz Powerbook with MorphOS pretty much. It's of small size and really silent. Speedwise it is very conveniant. And with a cardbus WLAN card lack of a driver for Airport eventually got rendered rather void. It's the best "Amiga" I ever owned in my personal Amiga history of ~ 25 years. And with only about 250 EURs (ebay) a few years ago it was an easy decision to just get it.

[Duce]

Can always try before you buy with an OS4 machine.  I'm sure an OS4 owner wouldn't mind letting you VNC into their machine so you could poke about a bit and see how you enjoy it.

[Boot_WB]

Has been a most helpful thread, glad to see it hasn't turned into the usual flame war. I'm thinking that I might be leaning towards OS4.

The problem is there isn't an easy/convenient way of obtaining OS4 hardware, so much easier to find an old Mac although it's proving hard to find a 64MB mac mini.

I'll possibly give MorphOS a longer try, going to attempt using workbench so will see how that works out :-)

There are a few options you can configure to make Ambient behave more like workbench (mainly disabling new fetures: disable browser mode, disable autosorting, etc) - see here for a previous discussion on the subject.

Might see if there is an OS4 theme LOL.

There's an OS3.9 skin:
http://korni.ovh.org/morphos-skins/?i=AmigaOS3.x_Skin.png
I thought there was an OS4 skin somewhere, just can't seem to find it atm.

[eliyahu]

I thought there was an OS4 skin somewhere, just can't seem to find it atm.

there are actually a couple, but i've not found them terribly good, TBH. on the other hand klesterjr came up with a brilliant AOS4 theme for MOS, but for various reasons, isn't planning on releasing it.

i've hacked my ambient setup to mimic workbench as much as possible, and although i still very much prefer using AOS4, MOS is certainly a nice alternative -- especially considering the much better price/performance of the hardware platforms it supports. both are a good choice.

-- eliyahu

[Amiga_Nut]

Not wanting to sound like a flame, but honest question... why do you not think that OS 4 is the link between the original Amigas and the Next Gen Amigas?  AmigaOS 4 is still AmigaOS at its heart - that's a pretty big link!

Not a problem. NB my reasons are only personal to me though and might not make sense to others so I hope nobody takes offence. It's just a feeling I have now compared to how I felt using machines 3 decades ago.

It's not that there is no link at all between an Amiga 4000/040 from Commodore and AmigaONE x1000 and other Next Gen Amigas in my opinion, theres is a spiritual link back to the OS ethos in Workbench/Kickstart for sure. They don't look like either OSX or Windows design choices either that's for sure. It's just for me the Commodore Amiga's were more than just their OS. They were from a different time where your host hardware took the brunt of the workload through well thought out exclusive custom chipsets to make the use of the machine more pleasurable whereas the newer machines are all 100% software type solutions. Sign of the times and I am not passing negative judgement on the new machines though (it's not like you will get a virus as often as even a Linux based machine haha and for some people that is worth every single dollar invested in any Amiga system).

In a way for me it feels like computers have come full circle back to the original Commodore PET in 76? (arguably the worlds first 'modern' mass produced commercial public targeting computer) which just had some nice features built into the system comprising hardware for sale to any company...like for example the very useful PETSCII graphics set for making simple games (look out for PET Moon Patrol one day haha)
After a couple of decades of ingenious custom/bespoke components from all manufacturers we are back to the very early times. Maybe one day someone will write an OS specifically for Oculus Rift to make a radical new path for domestic computers but for now we are back in the 'quality computer=quality software/firmware included in the package running on generic components'.

But even if all you do is run WinUAE you're still an Amigan, which is why semantics like emulator users, Commodore Amiga collectors and NG Amiga owners today are part of the same group. But hey I still only have CRT TVs in the house but watch HD movies on them just to be awkward*

(well technically I am just feeding a broadcast quality signal into the TVs to approximate the quality of analogue TV transmissions which at the time were far superior to the non-HD options for TV set top boxes today btw so not crazy at all IMO)

[Lurch]

So I have the G4 quicksilver hooked up to the KVM. To be honest I'm still going back to the A1200.
When I get some free time will copy over some of the programs/games I use at the moment I don't have much installed on the G4.
Will look at setting up WHDLoad etc and see how that goes.

After the easter break I'll take another serious look at OS4 hardware, and look at resurrecting my WindowsXP/WinUAE box :-)

I enjoy playing around with different OS's/hardware, I think I'm still looking for that same buzz I had opening up the A500 all those years ago.

[Tenacious]

...I think I'm still looking for that same buzz I had opening up the A500 all those years ago.

I remember that buzz.  I got it when I brought the A500 home, every time I bought a coverdisk, when I upgraded to OS2.1, A570, HDD, etc.  I even caught it when finding some of the other classic platforms that I couldn't afford when they were new.

My employer sent me a new computer, tablet and smartphone - just tools and tracking devices.

[wawrzon]

It's not that there is no link at all between an Amiga 4000/040 from Commodore and AmigaONE x1000 and other Next Gen Amigas in my opinion

correct me if im wrong but hardwarewise i dont see any link at all.

os4 is claimed to be derived from amiga operating system sources, which may well be the case, hard to tell for anybody except those who had seen the closed sources. user observable fact is that its ui tries to mimic 3.x workbench behaviour where it apparently scores over the morphos/ambient or other alternatives.

[spirantho]

correct me if im wrong but hardwarewise i dont see any link at all.

That's a good thing - can you imagine sticking a 1.8GHz processor on any custom chipset? It would be so much slower than the mainstream alternatives these days. What would be ideal would be a custom version of a mainstream chip like the RadeonHD chips which included AGA compatibility - but it'll never happen, partially because there's no point (nothing uses bitplanes now anyway, and it's easy to emulate the full AGA chipset these days).

os4 is claimed to be derived from amiga operating system sources, which may well be the case, hard to tell for anybody except those who had seen the closed sources. user observable fact is that its ui tries to mimic 3.x workbench behaviour where it apparently scores over the morphos/ambient or other alternatives.

It's not mimicking anything, it is Workbench. That's its greatest asset and its greatest liability at the same time (Ambient is arguably better, but it's not Workbench - whether that's a good or a bad thing is subjective).

One thing is certain, though - AmigaOS4 is AmigaOS. That is the link.

[wawrzon]

That's a good thing - can you imagine sticking a 1.8GHz processor on any custom chipset? It would be so much slower than the mainstream alternatives these days. What would be ideal would be a custom version of a mainstream chip like the RadeonHD chips which included AGA compatibility - but it'll never happen, partially because there's no point (nothing uses bitplanes now anyway, and it's easy to emulate the full AGA chipset these days).

i have not in any way judged it, i just said that there is no link. thats all.

It's not mimicking anything, it is Workbench. That's its greatest asset and its greatest liability at the same time (Ambient is arguably better, but it's not Workbench - whether that's a good or a bad thing is subjective).

One thing is certain, though - AmigaOS4 is AmigaOS. That is the link.

just one paragraph later you contradict your argumentation from above. custom chipset and amiga hardware standards in general cannot keep up with the current ones so drop them. on the other hand you defend keeping workbench against even a slightly more modern solution such as ambient because its the legacy in your eyes.

[spirantho]

I completely agree with there being no hardware link - you're right. But the OS is a link as it's the same OS (just a later version of it).

I wasn't actually defending Workbench (or attacking Ambient) - my point is just that AmigaOS 4 is - for better or for worse - AmigaOS, and that includes Workbench.

Ambient and Workbench both have strengths and weaknesses - as I said, Workbench is both AmigaOS 4's greatest strength (it is to many people what makes it "AmigaOS") and also its greatest liability (it's missing a lot of things expected of a modern desktop environment).

[Lurch]

I remember that buzz.  I got it when I brought the A500 home, every time I bought a coverdisk, when I upgraded to OS2.1, A570, HDD, etc.  I even caught it when finding some of the other classic platforms that I couldn't afford when they were new.

Use to get it with the C64, even going to the local computer store and going through the games on sale.

Use to bike over to Milford, about 30-45 minute or so ride to the nearest Amiga store and look at all the new Amiga's on the shelf.

Miss purchasing Amiga mags and trying out cover disks. I remember a friend of mine giving my 100's of cover disks that was I good weekend. :-)

Amazing buzz swapping games on the weekend, and walking into a friends downstairs room full of 1000's **cough** pirated game disks and Amiga's humming away. He got caught when the copyright laws changed here though.

Anyway off topic, hopefully have some time tomorrow to give MorphOS another thrashing tomorrow. Will post how I get on.

[stefcep2]

Use to get it with the C64, even going to the local computer store and going through the games on sale.

Use to bike over to Milford, about 30-45 minute or so ride to the nearest Amiga store and look at all the new Amiga's on the shelf.

Miss purchasing Amiga mags and trying out cover disks. I remember a friend of mine giving my 100's of cover disks that was I good weekend. :-)

Amazing buzz swapping games on the weekend, and walking into a friends downstairs room full of 1000's **cough** pirated game disks and Amiga's humming away. He got caught when the copyright laws changed here though.

Anyway off topic, hopefully have some time tomorrow to give MorphOS another thrashing tomorrow. Will post how I get on.

I think the "buzz" you're talking about goes by another name "nostalgia".

Its like people who who prefer old cars. I have a 1999 Mercedes and a 2005 Mazda6.  I like the styling of the Mercedes, and the solidity of the build.  It was my dad's car and I have good mmeories about it.  But every time I swap to the Mazda6 is obvious that its quicker, quieter, handles far better, uses less fuel, brakes better, is safer-this in car that cost 40% of the Mercedes (without accounting for inflation-might be about 25% in real terms).

We choose to ignore the limitations because they remind us of the good times, and the people of our past.

[psxphill]

I think the "buzz" you're talking about goes by another name "nostalgia".

How could that be when the buzz occurred when you were experiencing it for the first time?
 
I enjoyed games more when I was younger, not because they were better than they are now but because they were better than anything I'd seen at the time.
Plus I was young and care free.