What is your main OS besides the Amiga OSes and why?

[TeamBlackFox]

The latest computer I have purchased is an i7 laptop and it came with Windows8, which I absolutely hate.  I updated it free to 8.1, but it did not help any, and I am so tempted to downgrade to Windows7.

I use it mostly for one MMO game that I play with a few friends and family members, plus my CAD drawing software, but lately about half of my time spent on the i7 laptop is running AmigaForever, which it does very well.

What is really disappointing is that even with all of this power and RAM and hard drive speed, I still experience glitches during video playback occasionally.  The simplicity of Amiga (and Amiga inspired) systems is so much more fun and relaxing to deal with.  I am always trying to do more on my Amiga/Amiga inspired systems and less on my Windows/Mac/Linux systems.

I suppose you have a point here regarding AmigaOS's ability to manage memory fairly well, if relying on cooperative multitasking with a preemptive scheduler. I also think the message passing and overall efficiency with which the OS and hardware combined can do is something that many operating systems have failed to do.

However, there are severe drawbacks to using AmigaOS for a day-to-day which have prevented me from using it beyond as a novelty on the 3000:

Lack of any basic or advanced security mechanisms
Lack of task isolation and privilege separation, meaning malicious programs can run and lock up a system or send it into a Guru meditation
Lack of sophisticated filesystems with features like RAID, snapshots or crash-safety which I use and rely on every day
Lack of updated browser
Lack of 64-bit support ( I rely heavily on 64-bit math, pointers, and memory addressing for many programs which I run and have had hands in developing )


Also, on Windows, anytime it comes up in conversation these days I think of this immediately, since Android 19 runs Windows apparently with that voice of his: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsx09hDU0Sw

[Amiduffer]

Windows 7. Only because I use the Pinacle Studio program for digitizing VHS tapes and editing video. Otherwise, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

[Pakrat]

OS X Leopard 10.5.8 (Powerbook G4)
Why do I use it? Because it's not Windows. ^^

SpartaDOS X 4.20 (Atari 130XE with a hard drive)
Best and most powerful DOS for the 8 bit Atari systems, hands down.

[guest11527]

Lack of 64-bit support ( I rely heavily on 64-bit math, pointers, and memory addressing for many programs which I run and have had hands in developing )

64-bit math on AmigaOs is as good or bad as 64-bit math on every other 32-bit microprocessor. On every system I've seen, 64-bit math is something that has to be supported at the compiler level. The 68K has no "native" 64 bit math, but offers enough instructions to allow it (addx, subx, and multi-precision multiplication and division are well-known algorithms).

The problem is rather that the "system compiler" SAS/C has no native support for it. Adding support is not a major issue, though the resulting code is arguable non-ideal.

What is a problem that the whole device/filing system infrastructure lacks support for it. Devices with more than 2^32 blocks already create a compatibility problem (between TD64 and the dreadful NSD), files >4GB create problems, more than 4GB memory is not possible... So it's actually not the math part that causes problems. The infrastructure is missing. It simply wasn't an issue back then.

[TeamBlackFox]

It is a little more complicated than that in my case, what I mean is I rely on a 64-bit CPU and ABIs that support the 64-bit features of the CPU. I do not currently code on x86, 68k or ARM32, I instead have supported and focused mostly on MIPS, POWER, and ARM64 and all of my programmes I have helped write require and are optimised for, 64-bit big and little endian CPUs.

Anyways the topic is seriously getting out of hand. Even if I had 64-bit capability I wouldn't be able to use it for everyday work. I don't work on systems that have no concept of memory protection or privilege separation.

[Blinx123]

My main systems are currently

Mac OS X 10.9.x Mavericks and GNU(Step)/Linux. Though with the latest progress I made on Anima (my very own OS, mainly inspired by Mac OS X, NEXTStep and Amiga OS), I might soon run that one as my new main OS

Almost done with the login manager (both back- and frontend. Though the former uses experimental, interpreted code. Will later replace this with fully compiled and properly audited code).

https://scontent-a-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10636917_735314176506114_210760376585479809_o.jpg

EDIT: That one is from my GNUStep based Linux distro.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/1403024_735331573171041_438591473160101029_o.jpg

[yssing]

You can develop GUI applications using a terminal based toolset, you know. In some cases it doesn't matter what the customer prefers, because the customer won't even know that the software is running.

True, I can develp GUI's using terminal based toolset, I can create GUI's using just C and creating everything by hand, but if you ask the end user if the want to pay for it, the answer in my case is a no. So for me it comes down to a time/money issue.

It is also very true, that the customer usually don't know what OS the program is running, but since, the company I work at, supplies customers with entire POS systems, support and training also matters, so trying to make our customers use linux or something they are not familiar with would mean loosing customers.
True that broswers can do alot, but there area lot of short comings when it comes to POS and creditcard terminals and browsers.

Any way I did not mean to start a flamewar, the question was, what OS and why..

[yssing]

You might be astonished. End users in Windows land - yes, those are GUI users. But a lot of software doesn't have a GUI, and doesn't interact directly with the user.

I know.

[Blinx123]

@yssing

Are credit card terminals in Denmark running Windows?

[Linde]

True, I can develp GUI's using terminal based toolset, I can create GUI's using just C and creating everything by hand, but if you ask the end user if the want to pay for it, the answer in my case is a no. So for me it comes down to a time/money issue.

The end user pays for your development tools? My point is that you don't have to use GUI tools just because you're targeting a graphical environment, I'm not saying that you'd necessarily be handing the customers terminal based applications.

It is also very true, that the customer usually don't know what OS the program is running, but since, the company I work at, supplies customers with entire POS systems, support and training also matters, so trying to make our customers use linux or something they are not familiar with would mean loosing customers.
True that broswers can do alot, but there area lot of short comings when it comes to POS and creditcard terminals and browsers.

I can't argue against your particular choices or situation. Your original argument was about users in general, which is why I even responded.

[yssing]

@Blinx. I never said that. We "talk" to them via dll.
@Linde. Customers pay their bills, which then pays our salary and the companies expenses.

[Blinx123]

@yssing

Ah. Ok. Was really shocked, for a second.
I guess I can take Denmark off my list of "countries I'd never pay with a credit card in".

@Linde

Unless the resulting UI is either really simple (i. e. something one would be able to create in zenity and the likes) or the company/developer in question has a really good, prototype based model, putting UIs together in a graphical fashion is still considerably more straightforward.

I'm really envious of Apple's Cocoa framework. It seems to work quite well in regards to quickly creating a usable graphical user interface.
In contrast, Junior (one of the two frameworks of my Anima OS) in its current form requires people to import prototypes or manually create a new form. Something that can be quite cumbersome.

[psxphill]

I guess I can take Denmark off my list of "countries I'd never pay with a credit card in".

Windows is used for credit card payments in all countries. Linux too and look how often that gets hacked.

[carvedeye]

I use windows for everything, gaming, browsing, downloading etc...... and I use my Amiga for that retro feeling

[Blinx123]

Windows is used for credit card payments in all countries. Linux too and look how often that gets hacked.

Actual credit card terminals and backbones don't use Windows.
Basically the whole banking sector concentrates around certified Unix solutions.

There are major requirements when it comes to banking.

You entering your credit card info on Amazon is not the same as a server processing and routing your personal data.

[guest11527]

Actual credit card terminals and backbones don't use Windows.  

Well, maybe that goes for the backbones and the servers, but the actual terminals (what's inside the ATM) is pretty much Windows here in Germany, XP, sometimes even Win2000 or OS/2. I don't even want to think about security... Much the same goes for ticket machines for bus or train services.

The servers for internet banking services - now that's a different story.