Virtio GPU, QEMU, KVM, etc.

@sofistisoftware

This 3 years old thread, not sure I understand, the context of your comment, I agreed to comment 21, did not respond to comment 30, my comment on 34 was about not being able to capture the market, ending up with a small part of the market, Hans did quite agree on what direction to take.

@smarkusg

done

@derfs
Thank you.

I am firmly convinced that emulation is not a threat, but rather the most realistic and powerful catalyst we have to significantly grow the AmigaOS 4 user base. Right now, the high entry barrier, dictated by expensive, niche, and often delayed dedicated hardware, is precisely what keeps potential new users and developers away.
Emulation removes this barrier overnight, allowing anyone with modern, powerful hardware to run and appreciate OS4. However, to make this experience truly viable, engaging, and modern, we cannot treat emulation as a mere second-class fallback: we need a fast, highly optimized emulated environment.
Developing a standardized suite of VirtIO drivers for AmigaOS 4 (GPU/display, block storage, network, input, and audio) is the exact missing link. By offloading hardware complexity and maintenance to the host hypervisor, we solve our chronic driver bottlenecks and grant OS4 immediate access to modern performance and peripherals without reinventing the wheel every time a new chipset appears.
A streamlined, highly responsive virtualized OS4 would immediately attract enthusiasts, developers, and returning Amigans. Growing the user base through accessible, rock-solid virtual machines is the only practical prerequisite to creating the critical mass needed to fund and sustain any future native hardware projects.
VirtIO is definitely the way forward, and focusing development efforts there would benefit the entire ecosystem.

+1
And also a dedicated and optimized version of the OS

@ldg72

I completely agree with you. I am (or I was?) an Amiga enthusiastic user since the Amiga 500 that I expanded with extra RAM, extra floppy and original external HDD (A590 if I recall correctly); I still remember the awe when I switched loading the Workbench from floppies to HDD (3.1, I also upgraded the original ROM). I then changed my A500 with a brand new A1200 which the final transformation saw it in a tower case with SCSI HDD, CDROM, BlizzardPPC + BVision, I still remember the huge step from the 68k to the PPC, and it was a simple 603e! Not to mention the major step up in the graphic compartment.

Then unfortunately everything collapsed and after few years a bought my first Mac, in my mind was the machine more similar to an Amiga, at least they shared the same processor.

Some extra years has passed, I have spent some time with UAE/WinUAE/FS-UAE emulating some old good games and playing around with Haage & Partner AmigaOS 3.9 and their Boing Bag updates.

Some times ago I bumped in some hardware related Amiga websites but unfortunately I was not willing to spend a lot of money to buy a bare system knowing it cannot be used for everyday needs, so I was really, really glad that QEMU made available a more then usable platform and I was really happy when I saw my AmigaOS 4 (yes I bought the classic version to use it through xUAE) in full glory on a more recent emulation.

I believe that an "off the box" emulation kit would attract many, many more (old) ) and maybe new users interested in the platform (maybe curious on what is changed since Workbench 3.1), but unwilling to invest significant time and money in a niche. Those new users could then starts to utilize the platform and, why not, contribute to it. In my own very, very small way, I'm (re)starting to take my first steps into AOS4 programming again -- for now, by dusting off an old project of mine (more for my own pastime and enjoyment, I admit - since it is, in fact, an incomplete project).