>> the Lite version is actually affordable.
>...but offers only one free PCIe slot after plugging a graphics card.
Which is an X4 slot that might potentially be able to be divided into four X1 slots.
If that can be done, we have a slot for a network card, sound card, and USB 2.0 card (since the TalosII only supports USB 3.0 - but then again, as per another thread, I'd love to see us support USB 3.0 as it would greatly improve i/o throughput for external drives), leaving one X1 expansion slot for any other needed device.
>> SAM460 emulation versus X5000 emulation? The latter might be more capable
>How so?
Simple, the SAM460 has a weaker cpu (even if we compare them at similar clock speeds) to the X5000.
It also only devotes half as many PCI-e lanes to the video card as the X5000.
If the emulation truly is accurate in its duplication of each boards capabilities, then obviously the X5000 emulation would be the more capable one.
Of course, the best resolution to this would lay in just porting the OS to Power 9 natively.
But even if this is never done, it still might be possible to run MorphOS with an X5000 or SAM460 emulation.
On a system that is powerful enough to do a competent emulation of X64.
Consider this for a second. A system that could run MorphOS PPC without resorting to qemu, and still run MorphOS X64 (or as I like to think of it MorphOS NG) via whatever emulation IBM is using for X64 (be it qemu or whatever).
This is another reason for me to consider the TalosII Lite. I could still run Power based OS' and software, while running other OS sessions big or little endian, native or emulated, via the hypervisor.
Further, what outside of legacy Amiga compatibility prevents us from creating a little endian variant of MorphOS?
And wouldn't a port to X64 be easier if you could run BOTH forks of MorphOS on the SAME machine?
Think about it, the cheapest Power 9 cpu, the four core supports sixteen concurrent threads. That is as many as the BEST Ryzen 7 cpus (the 1700, 1800, 2700X, and the still unreleased 2800X).
And Power 9 has variants that go up to 22 cores (at AMD, only Epyc can beat that core count, and a 32 core Epyc processor supports only 64 concurrent threads versus a 22 core Power 9 cpu which can handle 88 concurrent threads - double that for a two processor system and the Power 9 system would support a whopping 48 more threads that the Epyc system).
>...and a potential little-endian AROS/PPC wouldn't make sense running trapped inside the virtualization of another platform when it can run on POWER9 natively
Right, it WOULDN'T make sense because AROS has a switch that allows it to be compile as either big endian or little endian.
So initially AROS will be run hosted on a big endian variant of Linux, the next goal being a move to a little endian variant of Linux, with a final goal of a native little endian port.
This X64 fork that has already been committed IS a risky venture that might not bring us a significant increase in our user base, but until a qemu emulation for MorpOS PPC is adopted it WILL eliminate compatibility with our current base of software unless that software is recompiled. And legacy Amiga software will require either UAE or the afore to mentioned qemu emulation of MorphOS PPC.
So, to state this clearly, I AM adopting Power 9. It should be capable of running BOTH forks of MorphOS. Obviously a powerful X64 system could do the same.
But at around $2000, the Power 9 system is not significantly more expensive than a high end Ryzen based system, and it actually cost LESS than an X1000 did.
I the past, we argued over adopting the X5000, decide not to adopt the 11,2 PowerMac even though in many ways it is superior to the X5000, and now we appear to be dismissing a system that runs faster both, is capable of running 8 times as many concurrent threads as the X5000 and 4 times as many as the Quad G5, with enough power to realistically consider emulating an X64 system (and the X5000 will never be able to do that adequately).
Outside of WarpOS, MorphOS was the earliest operating system on the Amiga market to support PPCs (it might even predate WarpOS, I'm not sure).
And for all the calls to drop PPCs in favor of X64, it means jettisoning our original ISA in favor of the ISA of the direct competitor to both the 68K and the PPC.
And we should do this just because Apple did?
Fuck Apple, they should have gone completely to ARM, and btw I would like to remind you that that was the ISA I was advocating before the decision was made to move to X64.
So, I will follow you all to X64, I just might not be running the software on an X64, unless we face serious platform limitations.
I which case I'll build an X64 system just for MorphOS.
But I'm feed up with Microsoft, I never cared for Intel, and the idea of having an open system (with everything from the hardware, to the firmware, and the OS being open) is VERY attractive to me.
So this Summer I'm experimenting with Linux hosted AROS ports to a variety of PPC platforms, with the eventual goal of porting it to Power 9 (and no doubt the T2080 laptop if it ever reaches production).
I'll also stay informed about SAM460 and X5000 emulation, as well as X64 emulation on Power 9 platforms.
My goals are set. The MorphOS developers goal to fork to X64 is set.
But that doesn't mean that MorphOS PPC development has to stop.
The AROS community doesn't feel obligated to limit themselves to one ISA.
Why should we? Because of limited developer resources?
Bullshit. Open up development to more programmers.
So what if MorphOS is proprietary.
Even Hyperion uses outside developers.
That's what non-disclosure agreements are for.
In short, let's stop dicking around, and instead of thinking of this as a limited hobbyist OS, how about considering the original goal which was to create a REAL alternative OS?
I'm tired of the "Pinocchio" crap.
And I believe you all think to small. I aim to punch up, not limit myself to slow incremental change.
So I'm still a part of your community, but I had to join a Linux group to get the Qorlq platform I wanted created (the majority of the Amiga community being too timid to think it could be done, now that I've adopted Linux, I might as well explore AROS.
And I want an alternative platform, not just another alternative OS in the great sea of options in the X64 world.
I think the fixation many of you have on limiting our future direction(s) may eventually lead to us drown in that "sea".
[ Edited by Jim 18.05.2018 - 11:11 ]"Never attribute to malice what can more readily explained by incompetence"
