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Enhancer Software 1.4 Released

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[ Edited by Spectre660 09.09.2018 - 11:01 ]

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Well if that isn't a big surprise. There's a level of cooperation you wouldn't have seen a few years ago.

Very cool.

If it was possible, it would make me appreciate Bigfoot all the more.

We are very grateful to Mark (and Frank) for their help with this component. It was a great contribution to the latest Enhancer Software.

> We are very grateful to Mark (and Frank) for their help with this component.

Are they allowed to use the code in a future MorphOS release?

I‘d guess it was the other way round, them providing sources already done for the MorphOS version.

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Is it based on some open source licensed code? Otherwise providing binaries should suffice...

The Linux fortune of Tabor isn't looking very bright either. It's QorIQ P1022 powerpc-spe CPUs support is already obsoleted in gcc 8.x (klick) and will be thrown out in gcc 9.x if nobody steps up to actively maintain it.

I guess code can still be compiled with gcc using another -mcpu target for e500 or generic ppc. But I suppose it will be hard to utilize floating point instructions then as this is the job of the SPE?

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It is my understanding that Mark is very busy with real world work. So A-EON sponsored his time to develop the driver for both OS4 and MorphOS. As part of the agreement he has provided us with the full source code for future development. If our team update the source in due course, we are happy to share the changes back to Mark for the benefit of supporting our X5000 customers, whether they prefer OS4 or MorphOS.

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Actually A-EON Technology Ltd has always been happy to cooperate with users and developers across all Amiga inspired systems. Frank and Mark had a special preview of Tabor and Cyrus prototype boards way back in 2013. Mark has stepped in a few times to help us with firmware upgrades building on the work done by Varisys contractors. So you may be surprised that the Amiga community is a lot more cooperative than some speculation suggests.

[ Edited by amigakit 10.09.2018 - 10:52 ]

@thread

Upon returning from vacation Costel posted this retrospective of h/w and thoughts about responsibility and future concerns.
As it is in German, I always appreciate a correct translation of any items you might think warrant further discussion.

Source

further info re:plans

#6

> A-EON sponsored his time to develop the driver for both OS4 and MorphOS.
> [...] he has provided us with the full source code for future development.
> If our team update the source in due course, we are happy to share the
> changes back to Mark

Nice :-)

> Frank and Mark had a special preview of Tabor and Cyrus prototype
> boards way back in 2013.

Yes, bigfoot told the story about P5020DS and Cyrus 3 years ago here on MorphZone. But wait, they also got Tabor prototypes (for evaluation purposes, I guess)? That's interesting, as nothing will come off of it as it seems (due to the MorphOS Team's expressed aversion against SPE/e500v2).

> Mark has stepped in a few times to help us with firmware upgrades
> building on the work done by Varisys contractors.

I remember some of his comments on the X5000/Cyrus U-Boot from 2 years back. Until now, I wasn't aware of the scope of your cooperation in this.

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Bigfoot isn't human, I don't believe it. Has he ever been seen in person?

How can we get him working on Amiga NG full time? I guess there just aren't enough of us to afford him giving up his day job, but I wish we could.

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As hard it may be to believe, but light does indeed still escape him !!!



*guess I really should run now*

> Has he ever been seen in person? ;-)

http://obligement.free.fr/gfx/pianeta2013_morphos_1.jpg
http://blog.a-eon.biz/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Frank_Mark_Mat.jpg
https://morphosuser.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/22461.jpg
https://morphosuser.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/2271.jpg

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Mark? He's all too human.
And when Aeonkit states that he's really busy, he actually IS damned busy.

And on top of his full-time work, he still stepped up to create a boatload of support for new video cards for us, and a network driver for both us and the OS4 community.

I'm glad Aeon let it be known that Mark and Frank were both offered Tabor access, since I've been keeping that quiet for awhile now.

And apparently the number of MorphOS developers with X5000 boards is continuing to grow.

Before everything begins to look completely unbalanced, and everyone gets the impression that Mark is the sole developer working on new projects, we all know Jacek and Andre have new projects in the works.

Frank is still quietly working in the background, and core developers like kiero and cyfm are still very much part of the community.

Hey, even Ralph is still here, since the last time I sent in a message about a registration inquiry he was the one that responded.

For a community that legacy fanatics keep writing off as "dead", things seem quite lively.

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Now that would be a serious diagnose ;)

> Mark and Frank were both offered Tabor access

And they even took that offer it seems ;-)

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Actually, before Frank steps in to clarify, I can not and do not speak for him.
Haven't exchanged messages with him in quite awhile.

Rumblings of his whereabouts are, to me, like the sounds of jungle cats at an indistinct distance.

And the operations of the development team as a whole are as inscrutable as an Asian mystery religion.

That being said, I have faith we are headed in the right direction, and that there is a captain at the helm of the ship.

Do those comments make a diagnosis any easier?

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Took, examined, decided to "step over it", who knows.

What we can count on, is our developers listen to us, and we said a long time ago that the core used in the P1022 wasn't desirable.

They call the shots, but I trust their decisions.

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It might be that there is a Frank on the team so silent that not only I completely forgot about him no the team also left him out of the "about MorphOS window".

Or it might be that your not aware what the fm in cyfm stands for.


I'll take door 2.

Oh...man Frank was right, I'm an f'ing idiot.

OK, and I HAVE been in touch with him.

Thanks grandpa.

In any case, the three I associate with video/2D/3D development and support all are on a similar page.

And since graphics is at the core of any Amiga related OS, as Frank would know from his days working on the CyberGraphics drivers...

Hey, like I said before, like a religious fanatic I'll just step back and suggest that the future is in more capable hands than my own.

Edit - Just knowing Frank and Ralph are still actively involved is very encouraging.

And I think with that, I better bough out too.

Look I find a peek around the curtain to find the "Oz" is there and that he's just a man encouraging.

[ Edited by Jim 10.09.2018 - 13:57 ]

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To be clear, the above link refers to the so-called Hyperion driver that Costel is now writing about.
Not to be confused with the work of Rene or Mark and Frank.

#6

"Don't buy that, wait for our version."

Hyperion never change.

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You mean the driver Costel has never finished because he thinks Aeon needs to provide him more technical information?
Yeah, THAT I wasn't mistaken on.
And Spectre660 already made sure I was aware of Rene's work.

The question is, how is Costel's work "better", if he can't gather the info he needs himself?
Even I have access to NXP technical support (and have had a relationship with Freescale and Motorola before them).
Its not hard to get technical info from the Soc vendor.

@Jim

It is not Costel's work.
He states that Hyperion are using an outside developer as well.
His assessment of the two drivers is based on how/if they handle getting the correct MAC address .
Of course if the X5000 production boards have a "Thing" with the MAC addresses then his basis for the assessment could be incorrect. No reason to go to war. At some point both driver versions may be available to X5000 users .


[ Edited by Spectre660 10.09.2018 - 16:11 ]

> What we can count on, is our developers listen to us, and we said a
> long time ago that the core used in the P1022 wasn't desirable.

I'm not sure they listened to us. It's absolutely plausible they came to the same conclusion completely on their own :-)