Well, from my perpective, I have gone from it's Amiga's fault to Hyperion's fault and then back again so many times that I may as well have been playing hopscotch.

Is it greed? Is it because they care about the product? Is it cos they love the community? What?

* I want a damn resolution!
* I want Amiga OS4 to be available to buy with nice new shiny hardware
* I want not only Ack, but ACube and Troika to be able to sell their hardware, let the market decide which mobo they want.

I just want the Amiga community to increase in numbers once more. The product is good, just the politics behind the scene that's killing it.

Aaarrghhhh!

Edit: The Petition was sent at about 600 signitures. It sort of tailed off at just over 600 http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/amiga/signatures.html

M-Pegit now has a Manual frame selection mode!

A new 2.0 version of M-Pegit has been uploaded to OS4Depot
and should be available soon.

M-pegIt is a program to select and capture frames from an
Mpeg video file and save them as bitmap (.bmp) graphics
files. As of Version 2.0 it supports two use modes,
"Auto Mode" and "Manual Mode".

The original "Auto Mode" provides the ability to set a
range of frames along with a "Skip Frame" value to
automatically capture a series of frames.

New in 2.0 is a "Manual Mode" which provides the capability
to view and step through frames, 1, 10, or 100 at a time
and capture the currently viewed frame. This makes it easy
to capture the exact frame you want.

Check out the extensive AmgiaGuide documentation for more
information.

If you like this program let me know!

@Mikey_C

I hear ya Mikey, I'm getting cross-eyed reading all the docs and then all of the analysis on all the boards. Pass the asprin bottle when you're through eh?

I think we all knew the state of Amiga was a real mess before this. Now with lots of the info coming out of the shadows, we can really see what a mess it truely is.

Not only has this thrown a dark cloud over things, but I
had also started a bit of a parody music project called.... 'amigaland' of course. I thought it would be a fun contribution to the community. I was about 70% finished when this lawsuit hit. It really threw a wrench in the theme of my project. Not quit sure yet how to finish up now with all these new twist, but I still plan to finish it.

Plaz

@GregS

Quote:

Please expound?and explain how it is going to be easier for a person to remember what seems like a long string of numbers that they likely didn?t even choose rather than an actual name that they did choose.

@Curty

amen to that old chap!

@ChrisH

Neither JIT nor JAVA are a good solution, the former because of the reasons you outlined, and JAVA is just too unreliably and demanding for serious apps running on small and diverse HW.

OS4 stripped down to the bare bones, gives a real platform rather than a VM, and that means a robust base once it is ported. The REBOL base, plus whatever compiled plugins make another small headache (relatively speaking) port.

The exciting thing, is that if this is put together in this way, and the plugins are well designed and generalised, the number of small apps that can be produced quickly could be huge, and space occupied by them trivial (unlike anything done in JAVA).

The only other thing I would suggest, if this is anywhere near the truth of what is being planned, and if anyone involved is reading this, is the FILE SYSTEM.

Get rid of filenames + Location, and use IDs, and World-wide Unique IDs (WUIDs - I have a system up and running, plus a useful directory system).

A File System that uses Titles for people, like header data from REBOL scripts, but uses WUIDs for file identification, surrendering REBOL blocks for file selection and reference would be a very good step to take (plus class information of course).

An XML wrapper (that converts to REBOL blocks) and can contain binary with one simple extension of XML, would make an ideal filesystem file container (like IFF) for all files on the system.

But whatever happens let it happen quickly.

@Billsey

No source, I was seeing references to Bill having been talking to Carl re the recent court case documents.

It was co-incidence that I was also looking intensely at REBOL's site at the time, trying to work out how cross-platform it could become without having a real OS that was also recompiled.

REBOL could be looking at a very cut down LINUX (I have been looking in that area as well, but a very cut down LINUX still seems a megabyte eater.

So while REBOL could be looking at a separate solution the fit with AMIGAOS seems very close to the 2007 project of REBOL 3.0, and REBOL 3.0 seems to be taking on a mix of technologies that would suit OS5.

That is it I am afraid. No inside knowledge but a good fit. Then reading this thread again, the fit seems re-enforced by the thoughts of others.

Plus there was that mysterious phrase by Bill, that AI would support crossplatform by some mysterious means that was not INTENT or TAO related (I have been a great fan of the TAO VP approach, so this had me confused for a long time - how the hell could they do it).

The last bit comes from my experience working with a company using scripts to produce applications - combined with shared generalised compiled code, the size of individual applications can be made very small (this is counter intuitive - but believe me shrinkage is a big factor when so much compiled code is reproduced needlessly in every application - generalize this often used code, tends to make it smaller and more robust).

REBOLs plugin's seem to be following the same path.

That is small generalised compiled code (hence much more easily portable).

Which brings me back to OS5. Either it is done entirely through VP code, or it becomes a hybrid - the smallest underlying OS that can be ported, a small core scripting engine that can be easily ported, a collection of small generalised plugin's that can be easily ported - and apps then become mostly scripts that run exactly the same everywhere they are run.

There is no other workable solution, there is no way that traditionally compiled programs (ie stem to stern compiles) can be made easily portable - the overhead's, even with a good SDK for "transportable" C and C++ will cause even greater app bloat.

Getting something like OS5 actually moving means breaking the isolated app approach. An OS5 would require apps that are inherently as light as possible, and this means maximising shared generalised compiled code fragments (ie REBOL plugins).

I suspect that the VP TAO system may have made portablity a trivial thing, but at the expense of application bloat.

Bloating, aside from portability, is a fundamental problem with with the direction of present computer industry (not helped in the least by C++).

There are many merits in the REBOL system, one of which is the levels of abstraction possible. A good OS like AOS4, stripped absolutely bare, presents a great level of HW abstraction. REBOL supplies a great potential level of Application abstraction.

Do that right and actual port problems, while not disappearing, are dramatically reduced.

Also it makes sense of Amiga India's specialisation. And perhaps why Amiga Inc is getting so active in getting hold of the AOS4 code at this time and seems to have developed, at least, a neutral or even a good relationship with those that actually coded for AOS4. REBOLS IOS concept also seems ideal for OS5 (plus it is up and running!).

When AI was looking at TAO, AOS4 would have been seen as a sideline. Change the viewpoint and AOS4 becomes a great asset.

Basically there is just guessing involved, but when things fit so well, and the players have been talking to one another, it just looks too good to be ignored. The fact is that all the things that attracted me back to the Amiga scene could be in the making.

What is the lowest version of AmigaOS you still use regulary?

@Ami603

If you are using a Reaction GUI, generally it will work (perhaps with minor modification) under OS3.9 and OS3.5. While derived from ClassAct, the current ReAction classes are quite a way removed from them. It will take a bit of work to get an OS4 ReAction GUI working on ClassAct. It's not impossible, but it might be more work than it is worth.

How many people are still using OS3.1? Ah, a poll methinks.

Chris

@Curty

http://aminet.net/package/dev/gui/classact33

maybe that would allow it to run under 3.1?

@ppill

Although id love to, this may be straying way across the line from my port as the version I have built here is virtually a straight recompile.
Perhaps if I get some some spare time ill knock out a simple gadtools gui.

@All

Ive had a chap email and hes tested it on OS3.9 and all seems to be good!!!
Now I just need to repackage and release, Ive added a few other things to the OS4 version so ill prob include both OS4 and OS3.5+ versions in the same arc.

@Mikey_C

Chin up big fella.
It hurts everyone of us,
I felt sick when I read about the court case.

AOS is my life, whether that is a good or bad i dont know but its my hobby, my favourite past time and I think it would really hurt having it all taken away from me.

Through all the bad times weve had not once have I ever felt like leaving the Amiga platform and its gutted me everytime weve lost people to the otherside.

This court case stinks, but its happening and theres nothing we can do about it, we need to be strong in possibly the worst time for us as users.
I just hope it works out for all the people have put their blood, sweat and life into making OS4 wot it is today, and just hope they get what they deserve.

Lets all stick together, keep our chins up and hope it all get sorted and pretty quick at that.
Good luck Amigans,
We deserve it!!!!!

@Mikey_C

It will soon be over so don't worry. My tip is don't read all the legal documents, let the judge have that headache.

How did your petition go?

BTW, do we know when it all goes to court?

@Mikey_C

my 2p

To be fair there is a dispute and it needs settling for the platform to move forward... but as long as development doesn't end and those who have put 5 years worth off effort in get paid for their coding time I wouldn't be upset if Amiga Won.

OK possible hypethetical scenario. Hyperion settle and sell OS4 object and source code for 2 Million, pay the development costs, approx 1 million, according to the court docs.

OS4 Devs contracts get transfered under TUPE to Amiga.

NDAs get transferred or new ones signed with Amiga.

The OS4 show goes on with the same team but contracting for Amiga not Hyperion.
Hyperion have a million in the bank to become the premier software developer of OS4 Games / Applications.

Down to the judge though mi amigo.

@Mikey_C

The biggest problem I've got with all of this is the apparent pain the developers have all gone through entering this risky business in the first place, and the potential issues if OS4 is not resolved correctly.

If one day it is all over, and there is no resolve, we'll all look back at the past 10 years and say, "if only...". ..and that'll be sad.

It's in the hands of the courts now, speculating and worrying won't achieve anything, but I guess there isn't much else to do! Hold tight and brace for impact, or something!

Cheers,
Bean.

@Mikey_C

Quote:

Valium is more suitable....
There's irresistible urge to grab heads of all sides and bang'm together...

Jack

Having read all the court material available so far, its gotten to the point where my head hurts!

I just want to get to the end. We need new hardware and the general release of OS4.

But this is gonna drag!

Man, my head really hurts! Who's right? who's wrong? is 2 million too much? too little? Who has all the rights? Hyperion? individual developers? Amiga inc?

Arrrghhhh!

Someone pass the asprin!

I have done some emails to Carl and Bill some time ago about this.

It would not surprice me if there would be some REBOL parts in the future.

DE + OS4 + REBOL, perhaps ?

@joerg

Quote:

Thanks.

Quote:

Done.

Quote:

That was a mistake. There should have been an icon, except I forgot to include it in all three releases I've made up to now. The icon I'm using is the def_disk one.

Thanks for pointing it out. I probably wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

@salass00

Quote:Ok, then probably only the 64 bit directory scanning functions like ExamineDir() were not in the SDK yet.

Quote:I've tested it successfully with a 4,546,701,312 bytes image file.


Quote:You can remove everything after the StackSize line from?CD1 and CD2, the "Control" options in these mountlists are only supported by CacheCDFS and are ignored by CDFileSystem.
You should use different names for the diskimage.device mountlists, if someone has 2 CD/DVD drives installed he has a CD1: already, and on classic Amigas at least DF0: is always there (unless the floppy drive is broken). An icon for DiskImageGUI should be included, even if it's just the def_tool one, if you put it into SYS:WBStartup without icon it's not started.