Amiga OS 4.1 comes to new SAM460ex Board from ACube :-)

Great News!!!

Amiga OS 4.1 comes to new SAM460ex Board from ACube !!!

See: http://acube-systems.biz/index.php?page=news

andi

SAM440 AmigaOS 4.1 Update2

Great news.

@fastbit66

yep great news indeed though we all new it was going to ship with OS4.1uw anyhow

but I sure hope Hyperion fixes the problems USB problems that I have been experiencing with Update 2 before they start selling these new Sams !

@fastbit66

Just read it recently, and was very impressed! Latest AmigaOS 4.1 for A1-X1000 and now for SAM460ex! Very much appreciated! Great work!

The USB2 drivers are currently undergoing testing to ensure that when they are released the end user gets the best drivers that can be found under AmigaOS4.

While I'm sure that every effort will be taken to ensure the operation of such drivers is as faultless as possible, I'm sure Hyperion will only release the drivers as, and when, they feel this situation has been met. Although a "beta" driver might appear before a release candidate driver has been finalised, this would enable the community to test a driver which is still undergoing development, and give feedback in the event that a "dodgy" USB device causes problems. I'm only summising here, so feel free to shoot me if I'm wrong.

While the USB driver development should be straight forward, it is actually complicated by the fact that the hardware does not adhere to the specififed standard. Anyone that feels brave enough should search the internet for devices that cause problems, as they will find a long list of devices that disregard the specifications and that don't fully work under Linux without substantial patches or changes to drivers. Chances are, the same device will not fully function under OS4 for exactly the same reason.

Workarounds for bad hardware are simply not possible in a market the size of this, and drivers that overcome hardware problems are best left to a market that can sustain it. More-so, to a market where hardware manufacturers actually write their own drivers for their target platform. This is definitely a situation of convenience for the "Windows" world, as users can download drivers for devices that simply do not comply with USB standards, and hardware users on other OS's have to fight to get that support purely through bad hardware design.

I would urge anyone that is using USB devices on OS4 to stick to manufacturers that know what the the standards are and are able to create hardware that doesn't require software hacks to get it working..

Simon

@Rigo

I understand that but I'm not pleased that 2 very important devices I use on a daily basis worked great on Update 1 and now don't work at all under Update 2

Great work Acube and Hyperion and other involved devs.

You guys make the Amiga platform shine again!

@328gts

And those devices are what?

@Rigo

The other reality is HW is so damn cheap these days who the hell cares if something doesn't work, go out and buy another type or search for a clue in regards to this...

I have no time for people who moan about something doesn't work... today HW is pathetically cheap... what the hell do people spend there money on anyway? since these types of people like to get every small amount of there dollars worth?

I bet they waste it on something they consider important in a life style... sheesh!

Annoys me endlessly... LOL

They think they have problems? I have to now decide whether I should get the next SAM HW model just to have it...

@fastbit66
Maybe I've misinterpreted the specs but it looks like you can only have one media device (hard disk or CDROM) i.e. "1x SATA2". Is that correct?

@xenic

Well yes you're right!
When I first read the specs I thought there's one SATA2 Connector in addition to the the Sata(1) ports - but now i took a closer look to the diagrams in the user manual of the SAM460ex board.
I can't see any other SATA ports - there's only that one SATA2 connector !!

Really strange - hmmmm....... So i guess you must use an SATA port expander in the PCI-e slot to connect more devices. There are also multipliers that allow multiple storage devices to be connected to a single SATA controller port.

@xenic

Yes, I thought this was somewhat strange too... I guess you have a SATA HD and then have everything else as USB...

Ultimately it may have some bearing on whether I get one or not... and this coming from me is as serious as it gets LOL

@fastbit66

Good news for all Amigans.

TrevorD

@TrevorDick

INDEED!

VERY interesting times are ahead!

@TrevorDick

Yes - the more possible hardware we have to run AmigaOS 4.x the better for all Amigans.

But I 'm really looking foreward to get an Amiga X1000

@Slayer

Well, someone from ACube has to officially informed people, like you, who are interested in buying that machine, because I really - really doubt that the current version of UBoot is capable of booting through a SATA port connect at PCI-e 1x.

A sata port won't release your hands cause you must be equally capable of booting through dvd-rom (when installing the OS) AND through an HD afterwards.

Right now, the wisest current configuration would be; HD connected on board's SATA (bootable), DVD on a SATA-port (non-bootable), Initial setup the OS though bootable USB (given the driver is polished and doesn't trash the memory stick like I am getting on the Sam440Ep). External DVD via USB will be way to slow and equally needs very good usb driver IMO.

If a future update on UBoot or a new version is already at work someone must tell you but given the silence I highly doubt it for the time being.

@fastbit66

Quote:

It is not mentioned in the specs (aCube's or AMCC's), but the board does appear to have an IDE/PATA header on it. If that is the case, the obvious solution is to connect the optical drive there.

Following up: I had a good look at the user manual for the sam460ex which seems to describe every connector on the board and none of them are IDE headers. Therefore all you are left with is:
1) USB optical drive
2) SATA multiplier (if supported)
3) SATA card in one of the expansion slots.

@All

It's definitely fantastic and well worth it!