AmigaOS 4 reviewed

ArsTechnica got a look at a pre-release version of AmigaOS 4 a full two years ago, but as those familiar with the much-loved platform know all too well, things move slowly in Amigaland, which accounts for why the final version of OS is only now available for download. As before, the folks at ArsTechnica got one of the first looks at it, installing the OS on their coveted Micro AmigaOne box in hopes of reliving good old days of 1989. While they end up giving the OS a thumbs up for the most part, it's unfortunately not without its failings, and probably only of interest to die-hard Amiga fans and those curious what all the fuss was about. On the upside, the installation is apparently fairly straightforward, and the OS itself has been given a bit of facelift, with the usual shininess added to spruce things up. The OS hits its biggest snags when you go online, with a browser that doesn't support CSS and an email application that doesn't support HTML, although both would seem to be only temporary problems should development pick up. Of course, to try out the OS for yourself, you're gonna have to track down an AmigaOne system of your own, which is no easy feat, given that the only company making 'em has ceased production. Those of us not so lucky will just have to hold onto the faint hope of an Intel port somewhere down the line.

[deus_ed @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:23AM]

I think i'll stick with OSX

[Koz @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:31PM]

I have a dual 2.7 with Mac OS X and 5.5 GB of ram that I use with Photoshop, Illustrator and crappy Micro Office among others, but I still greatly miss so many things that the Amiga did to make computing really fun. The Mac is going in the right direction, but if Jobs had a hand in the Amiga then it would have been years ahead of anything else.

[owen @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:32AM]

Ohh .. that brings back memories ..

[Revels @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:03AM]

Does it run Speedball 2 and Deluxe Paint IV AGA?

[zoara @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:14AM]

Deluxe Paint! Ahhh, memories.

[Revels @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:23AM]

Oh, the animations you could squeeze into 512k!

...512k.... seems crazy these days... *feels old*

[Phil @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:28AM]

oh get over it guys... this was a fun time but no need to keep the patient alive for THIS long

[Xinerauqs @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:52AM]

Don't forget Wordsworth!

[Zorro @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:23AM]

Read the review before slagging off the Amiga - this is non cutting edge hardware and can multitask as many programs as a brand new pc running XP - on top of that it can be rebooted in 7 seconds! Sounds like it would make an ideal basis for a Media Centre computer to me!

Just cos its old doesn't mean its crap!!

[Yaya @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:57AM]

Wait... I don't get it. They made a brand new OS that only runs on old computers? Old computers that are no longer being made?

[Maff @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:57AM]

@ Yaya, it can run on new computers too, a company bought out Eyetech who made the AmigaOne and now there's no one to make that model, although there are some companies working on a new board

it can also run on A1200 with a Blizzard PPC accelerator (and it's still faster than a Windows PC!)

@ Revels - not sure about Speedball, but DPain IV has been tested and is working perfectly, as well as newer image editors like photogenics

@ Phil, there's still thousands of Amiga users about, why shouldn't they get an updated OS?

[Colin @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:05AM]

I remember back when I had to choose between the Amiga and the Atari ST and I was on a student income...I had to go ST and had alot of fun with it (emulating Macs, running my first BBS, running Wordperfect (!!!) etc) but in the long run I regretted not getting that Amiga.

Congrats to these guys for keeping the Amiga going...

[Maestro @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:30AM]

Don't forget to bring you KICKSTART disk on a 3.5 floppy.

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:32PM]

AMIGA4EVER!

I don't quite see how lacking HTML Email is a negative.

[Varthall @ Oct 17th 2007 9:49AM]

Same here. HTML could be handy as an added feature, but it shouldn't be a requirement.

[Ray-- @ Jan 23rd 2007 1:18PM]

so this doesnt work on my A500 with the a 68040 + HD expansion?

[JG @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:38PM]

Amiga was IT. I laugh at all the Apple guys at how they rep their OS system so much when Amiga was way ahead of everything during its day. I'd love to check this out.

[Matt Carrell @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:18PM]

Will it run on an Amiga 3000? Mine still works!!!!!!!!!

[Varthall @ Oct 17th 2007 9:47AM]

Only if it has a PPC board, and when/if the version for classic Amigas will be released.

[mike @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:09PM]

Amiga was IT. I laugh at all the Apple guys at how they rep their OS system so much when Amiga was way ahead of everything during its day
--

Huh? How is that a dis on Apple users. Amiga was way ahead back in... er.. the 90's? When Apple was on the brink of disaster?
So, for the record, OS X is still the most advanced and slickest OS out there? Got it.

[Koz @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:41PM]

Mike,

You are correct that "OS X is the most advanced and slickest OS out there", but there are things that could be incorporated into OS X from Amiga OS - things that were done 20 years ago - and make a much better OS.

Koz

[steviant @ Jan 24th 2007 1:07AM]

I think they mean back in 1985 when the Amiga was, to be fair, kicking serious ass.

The OS had a GUI, pre-emptive multitasking and an abstracted driver model from it's introduction (remember we're talking less than a year after the introduction of the Mac).

But the real power of the Amiga was in the hardware design. The CPU was the same powerful 68K unit chosen by Apple to power the Mac, but was supported by three custom ASICs that served as co-processors for sound, video and memory management.

No other system at the time had the same multimedia capabilities, and it was years before people began offering similarly capable add-on cards for the PC and Mac.

Just because OS X rocks today doesn't mean that Apple have always been ahead of the game. In fact Steve Jobs apparently considered the Amiga as the basis for NeXT's computers after leaving Apple, but dismissed their hardware as too expensive.

Ironically, NeXT's computers ended up costing more than $10,000 at their introduction, a cost largely attributed to their employment of DSPs in similar roles to the Amiga's much cheaper and simpler custom chipset.

[Striderhayasa @ Jan 24th 2007 6:00PM]

Nobody remembers Brillance and True Brillance, Scala? imagine 3D? Gods, Agony. lamatron, Turrican? I loved the Amiga. Computing has never been the same when Commodore went under.

[Biff_Meister @ Jan 24th 2007 7:03PM]

Is it twice as good as OS/2?

[johnny @ Mar 29th 2007 3:26PM]

My first computer was a amiga A500+ and i regret selling it. Since then ive had three PCs and now a mac and none come close to the amiga in terms of enjoyment.Mac comes close though.

[Timo @ Jan 21st 2008 9:37AM]

The good old Amiga - I have gone back to the old A1200 again, been really jaded recently with Apple now. It feels great to still use Workbench - so much more responsive and in the end more fun and productive. Mac OS X maybe better than Windows but that is not saying a lot!

[Pascal @ Jan 1st 2009 8:48AM]

Why don't they make an OS that works on a modern console like Playstation 3 or Xbox?
This hardware is powerfull and available everywhere.

It would be great to buy an new amiga OS and install it on a modern console that you can use as powerfull computer.