Amiga OS 4.1 Future Development

Seeing new softwares coming to os4 and new games, i'd like to know your opinion about future development of Amiga OS.. Do you think that developers should focus on new features or do you prefer to have more bugfixes and more improvments where today OS4 lacks?.. like for example the 3D?

Tell me what do you think about it..

Edit: the original post is in the poll section, my idea was to create a poll but for some reason it doesn't work, or i did some mistake.. btw tell me here your opinion please

@nubechecorre

Both of them IMHO, but also a new Workbench it's essential (almost for me) ... aniway step by step, just be patience and enjoy what we already have

@nubechecorre

A new 3d system and support for modern gfx cards are high on my list. Along with java and flash. If we wantnon amiga people we need good browser with flash,java etc. And give me dual core support and full mem protection. And maybe 64bit os?

@nubechecorre

Well to summarise.

1. Hyperion must catch-up on the last 10+ years of software dependancies such OpenGL and Java that modern software applications and programmers have come to rely on and path the way for easier porting of code between platforms.

2. At the same time it must ensure that the OS takes full-advantage of the X1000 in all respects.

3. In parallel it must develop and make available a comprehensive Software Developer Suite rather than a myriad of downloads of X, Y and Z. The suite should include a Debugger, Editor and Interface builder that maximises the full potential of the platform.

4. Additionally to go hand-in-hand with the Developer side it requires a comprehensive back-end online help repository and to compliment all this a central download area where only software application developers that conform to Amiga-style guides can upload to.

Lots of work.

A comprehensive SDK is already availible at:

http://hyperion-entertainment.biz/ind ... d=36:amigaos-4x&Itemid=18

@samo79

I suspected it might, but as I don't have an Amiga yet its hard to tell because Hyperion don't mention what is actually included in the kit. ^.^

@djrikki

ok, but as we are not M$ and we don't have tons of developers, if you have to choice, would you choice for a better performance with what we have now, or you prefer to have new features but with these performance. With these performance i mean take no full advantage of the current hardware available?..

@nubechecorre

In that case, new features first, epic bug fixing later.

@nubechecorre

Quote:

Better performance with what we have now should be priority, e.g. things like improved 3D drivers, USB2.0. These will be important if x1000 is to have any success.

Bug fixing is important, people will be disappointed if they buy an x1000, find the OS buggy (not that it is on sam440) and basic things like USB have to run at lower speed because of shortfalls in drivers, etc.

Other than that, a tidy up and update existing parts of the OS, like prefs and the clock would be nice. Maybe removing some redundant bits and pieces to help keep the footprint small.

The simple fact is that the lifeblood of any operating system is applications. As a result, the focus for development on AmigaOS 4.x should be on those things that make creating and porting applications simpler.

@Daniel
Have to agree with you, USB2 + faster 3D are the most important, since these impact many things people want to do. But I think it's nearly as important to fix the last few bugs that are easily found (such as USB Joysticks not being recognised by AmigaInput if they are already plugged-in before booting).

Wizzy big new features can come after that, even if they make it easier to port new applications. (e.g. Porting of some applications is already hampered by sub-optimal 3D performance, and porting Firefox was seemingly hampered by bugs that were fixed in Update 2, not to mention improving Cairo's speed in Update 2.)

I am for video subsystem / 3d changes/speedup. That is the most important part of OS which can bring for us new blood, and will give us more enjoenable and modern software (and with bigger user base, we will have more software).

Then removing 68k support from core at all, add JIT from petunia to EUAE and make EUAE as default for running any 68k programm.

Then memory protection / resource managment (for killing all the tasks with all those windowses/resoruce opened by app) and alt :)

@varmfskii
Porting of apps already not so hard. In general all problems with porting usually come to bad source code initially. All programms which done in good way, need only few changes (like add stack cookie, change linking libs and add PROGDIR: except all that linux stuff like /usr/bin and alt).

@kas1e

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Anything which relies on fork() is very difficult (admittedly there is unlikely to be anything done which solves thios particular problem) and porting things which rely on a particular GUI are a bear as you basically have to rewrite the GUI from the ground up. Of course that is from the perspective of a programmer who hates to deal with GUI code in any way shape or form.

@nubechecorre
Yes we all love Mesa and SMP but we should consider that they are launching a new system and at least as a "BASE" it should provide software to handle any task (TW being a big part of this equation), and some "easier ways" for noobs coming back.

The last part should be priority number one, many things are easier now compared to the past (default click to front, adding or taking out stuff from start up, defining screen modes just to name a few) but what about the way we define a default program to open files? (Deficon???? come on, you gotta be kidding).

My 4 most desired requests (not mainly for me, but for noobs i invite here to show them the system):


A)a "tickable" option inside the info panel that allows you to specify that the program you indicated for launching that icon is to be used for ALL icons of the same type (or something similar that makes such definitions simple).

B) a built in thumbnail engine (I have mine, but there should be a good default one).

C) easy copy and paste and files operations in general (ie: integrate many functions from Filer in WB by default).

D)A back button gadget connected to the R-Amiga+Open parent behavior.

On the latter:

oddity N.1: Whats the point of having that "automatic closing" of parent drawers, when if you do the opposite they stay open?

Oddity number 2: how can you ask a user that wants them to close automatically to right click with the mouse while ALSO holding down R-Amiga in order to reach after another sub-menu, the feature that allows you to open the partent drawer and have the current one close automatically? (it is so awkward that I simply use "open parent" and close the other manually most of the time).

Oddity number 3: how can you just ask a user that simply wants to get back to the former drawer to open a right click menu in the first place? (in 2010?)

Solution: just add that back gadget directly connected to the R-Amiga+open parent behavior, and we're done.

@nubechecorre

My personal AmigaOS 4 future wish list:

1. New 3D Graphics Subsystem supporting at least the FULL OpenGL 2.0 (or greater) specification. Never again a 100% CPU based and hungry implementation of Transformation and Lighting. No more (again CPU hungry) wrapping like currently OpenGL->MiniGL->Warp3D->Picasso96 it does.

2. Making the second core of NEMO working under OS 4.x

3. Support for more than ~1,75 / (2 GB) main memory

4. Adding support for the digital outputs of modern sound cards. In drivers and their related control panel. This would also boost DVD playback (especially) on the low entry OS 4 machines, cause currently the cpu has to convert the digital ac3 audio stream to stereo which costs a significant amount of performance. When using digital audio out - no need for audio processing -> just pass through !

5. New memory management system offering full Memory Protection and support for a Task Manager


and the last one a more or less funny one:

Implementation of the original AGA Chipset for the XCORE :D

@IamSONIC

whot about kernel protection will it automatic come with SMP ???

@nubechecorre

some form of anti-virus/anti-spyware and Firewall should be considered given the impending explosion of interest in our favourite OS.

@samo79

Quote:

It may make for a more productive discussion if people indicate why current things are deficient.

For example, a developer considering how to improve Workbench will consider:
Why is a new Workbench essential?
What's obsolete and should be removed?
What's broken?
What's missing?
What is awkward or hard to use?
How to make it easier to use?
What's too slow?
What's too fast?
Should things that appear on screen be moved to a different location?
And surely many more questions...

USB2.0

@IamSONIC
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Digital output of my ESI Juli@ sound card works just fine ! And AFAIK it's not the CPU converting sound from digital to analog. It's the hardware on your sound card that does the job.

@Swisso
It's hard to make a virus killer without any virii as a reference AFAIK We have ipfilter firewall already but ipfilter is hard to configure. I was checking what features there's in the bsdsocket.library (the "internet" library) one night and it looks it could be quite simple to make a simple firewall app.

@billt
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Exactly. People are moaning what they hate and what is s**t but they are not able to tell exactly why they think that way. Developers, like we all, are not telepathic mind readers. People have to tell themselves what's wrong.

@all
Many people are saying 3D is somehow bad like we were going to get many recent DirectX11 level of games ported from Windos and Xbox. All games ported to Amiga are 10-15 years old Quake3 and Freespace2 and so on. Those games were targeted to 200-500 MHz Pentiums. So I think those games should work just fine on current (or shortly coming) 600-1800 MHz hardware. And MiniGL has a lot of OpenGL features already AFAIK. So i don't think replacing 3D subsystem is that important right now IMHO.

They said USB2 is already in beta testing so a little bit more patience.

@DAX
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There's Save as default icon option in the Projects menu in the Information window. Is that what you're looking for ?

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There's ContextMenus commodity which adds those features into context sensitive popup menus (use right click).

@kas1e
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Why removing it completely ? Does it do any harm existing there ? (I don't think so IMHO.)