Hello World! I'm Back! For the past several months, I've been heavily burdened with massive personal problems that hindered my advances with MorphOS, and now I'm back! My 18th year of GNU/Linux experiences is coming up on July 21st and I'm planning on focusing on AmigaOS or AmigaOS-like systems as my retirement hobby.

For the past several days, I have been wanting to run AmigaOS 4.1FE and started wishing for the AmigaOne 500. I'm wishing to retire my massive Unix & GNU/Linux system administration skills for AmigaOS development.

Since I am already working MorphOS on my broken iBook G4, I am wondering what advantages/disadvantages I will have, in the event I get a system that runs AmigaOS 4.1FE with the perspectives of End User and Development.

Maybe I am confused about what MorphOS really is, compared to Amiga Forever and AmiKit. I want to run an AmigaOS or AmigaOS-like system without emulation. I'm actually tired of tweaking configuration scripts to get an AmigaOS system running. I do like the idea of MorphOS, that it is usable 30 seconds after I press the power button. AmiPUP has the idea, but still runs AmiKit under GNU/Linux.

As for that AmigaOne 500 system I am wishing for, I have noticed that MorphOS will also work on it. That's a part that confuses me... MorphOS 3.9 vs AmigaOS 4.1FE.

Will I see any benefits in AmigaOS 4.1FE compared to MorphOS 3.9?

Note: I am a disabled person in the Philippines. Amiga hardware is not locally available and Philippine customs overtaxes (up to 3x) on imports.

> Maybe I am confused about what MorphOS really is, compared to Amiga Forever and AmiKit.
> I want to run an AmigaOS or AmigaOS-like system without emulation.

MorphOS is as much emulation as AmigaOS 4.x is, and it is nothing like Amiga Forever or AmiKit.

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Yes, what Andreas is pointing out is that they are both new OS'.
MorphOS supports the OS3.1 application programming interface, as does AmigaOS4.
Many older application will run on both, but OS4 is basically designed to be a port of 3.1 with a few enhancements. MorphOS is designed to advance past the limitations of the older operating system. Of the two, I would choose the latter.

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Difficult one to answer, depends on your personal preferences to some degree, however, in an effort to give some overview:

AmigaOS is a reimplementation of Commodore's OS 3.1 operating system, built with access to the original source code which in many areas remains unchanged, however using a new kernel (ExecSG) built by Hyperion sometime after 2001. It runs on AmigaOne, Sam, and Genesi PowerPC systems (SE, XE, micro, Sam440-ep/flex, Sam460ex/cr, X1000, Pegasos II). There is a 'classic' version that runs on Commodore Amigas equipped with a PPC expansion.

MorphOS is a reimplementation of Commodore's OS 3.1 operating system, built by reverse engineering the original components and reimplementing them, using a new kernel (Quark) built by the MorphOS team (mainly Ralph Schmidt in the early days afaik) sometime after 1998. It runs on Sam, Genesi and Apple PowerPC hardware (Sam460-ex/cr, Pegasos I, Pegasos II, nearly all Apple G4 desktops/laptops/minis/all-in-ones, some PowerMac G5s).

Both are currently limited to 32-bit mode when running on 64-bit processors. Both are currently limited to running single-threaded on one core, even on multi-threaded/multicore processors.

AmigaOS4.x was built by the people who ported Freespace and Shogo from linux to AmigaOS, with much help from Olaf Barthell and many others.

MorphOS was built by the programmers behind the finest Amiga expansions (Blizzard, Cyberstorm), RTG subsystem (Cybergraphics), and kernel extensions (PowerUP), amongst many others.

AmigaOS has support for some more recent graphics cards than MorphOS, and has some features (eg Paula audio chip wrapper/emulator) that MorphOS does not.
AmigaOS runs on more 'new' hardware than MorphOS (custom hardware, v expensive sadly), MorphOS supports a vast range of commonly available Apple (PowerPC only) hardware which is easily obtainable, replaceable, and affordable.

When running on the same hardware MorphOS outperforms AmigaOS in most (all?) areas, however AmigaOS doubtless has some features that MorphOS lacks.

Sorry if that seems a bit one-sided. :)

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They are emulation packages which can be run on any system running Windows, or whatever the system requirements are. Either way, they essentially run as a program on Windows/whatever, cleverly hiding the use of windows apis and drivers to access system resources.

MorphOS (And AmigaOS, and AROS (native)) are operating systems which directly access the hardware using their own kernel/drivers, not relying on a host OS underneath.

AmigaOS and MorphOS, both of which run on PPC processors only, include in-built 68k 'emulation' to allow them to run binaries built for the Amiga series of computers which used a 68K processor. In each case this 'emulation' translates the 68k code into ppc code as it is run - translating the code into native ppc instructions rather than actually emulation a 68K processor (if I understand rightly).
The translation is invisible to the user, 68k binaries run just like ppc binaries.

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Individual preference may vary. There are some programs on AmigaOS that seem interesting which aren't available on MorphOS, and vice-versa.

Games, especially opengl ones, will probably be quite a bit faster in general on MorphOS due to AmigaOS rtg limitations and MorphOS having much faster graphics drivers (comparing performance on the same hardware).

Development cycle/updates are a lot more frequent and polished on MorphOS. User feedback and bug reports are acted upon more quickly in general.

Users and app developers of each OS are friendly and grateful for feedback.

MorphOS devs have never (publicly) wished death upon a large proportion of their users! :D

In summary, it's a topic that could easily descend into acrimony. I'm sure asking the same question at Amigans.net would lead to a similarly one-sided perspective. (if the thread didn't get locked first. :P)

>MorphOS developers have never (publicly) wished death upon a large proportion of their users.

Love that comment.
Much better summary than mine.

> using a new kernel (ExecSG) built by Hyperion

Rather built by the Frieden brothers and licensed to Hyperion :-) There was even a declaratory action about this.

> There is a 'classic' version that runs on Commodore Amigas equipped with a PPC expansion.

...and on WinUAE/FS-UAE emulating the same.

> MorphOS [...] runs on Sam, Genesi and Apple PowerPC hardware
> (Sam460-ex/cr, Pegasos I, Pegasos II

...Efika 5200B :-)

> nearly all Apple G4 desktops/laptops/minis/all-in-ones, some PowerMac G5s).

iMac "all-in-ones" are not supported at all.

> AmigaOS4.x was built by the people who ported Freespace and Shogo from linux to AmigaOS

Hyperion ported Freespace from Windows to AmigaOS, and they ported Shogo from Windows to Linux, MacOS and AmigaOS.

> When running on the same hardware MorphOS outperforms AmigaOS in most (all?) areas

Do you have some benchmark results for MorphOS vs. OS4 on Sam460? (You know, comparing them on Pegasos II is unfair towards OS4 because <put idiotic reason here>.)

> Amiga Forever and AmiKit [...] are emulation packages [...].

AmiKit is more like a pre-configured software package as it lacks the Amiga Kickstart ROM and OS. So it is advised to use AmiKit in conjunction with Amiga Forever, complementing each other.

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Don't mention the ROMS ;)

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..but some eMacs are.

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Actually I don't, just anecdotal from long before release, and not as comprehensive a statement as 'in all areas' :)

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Amikit includes the emulator (WinUAE) but not the roms or OS, hence the recommendation.

(me strikes 'correct Andreas_Wolf on something' from life's to-do list) ;)

My personal experience is that AmigaOS 4 feels much more like AmigaOS 3.1 in every way and MorphOS don't. But the reason for that is very simple: AmigaOS 4 strives to be like a better looking 3.x while MorphOS is trying to be a more advanced version of AmigaOS. If you like things staying the same, you will like AOS 4 better. If you want things to be more "advanced", will will prefer MOS.

Another experience is that AOS is not as solid as MOS. It has more problems, driver issues and crashes. Also, Hyperion has a long and very extensive history of promising way too much and bad mouthing other systems (especially MorphOS), which resulted in that MorphOS users started to badmouth back in kind.

For example, Hyperion and A-EON promised that the new AmigaOne X1000 would be delivered with the new and vastly improved AmigaOS 4.2. It would have real memory protection, multi-core support, modern 3D system and all kinds of goodies for the modern world computer user. This was in 2010. Hyperion has still not released 4.2 and not even shown a "proof of concept" or anything. The only thing told is that "work is well under way" and "we are not nearly finished". X1000 was eventually released in 2012 with a modified version of 4.1 (and extra hardware like sound card because the built in components still lacked drivers) and a free licence for 4.2 when released. But they still had to pay 30€ for 4.1 FE when it came.

Also, FE has problems. One big one is that it's not fully compatible with earlier versions of 4.1, which has promted a lot of people to dual boot 4.1 and FE in order to be able to use all their software.

This is the truth of the state of AmigaOS. It's not pretty and many users have expressed their disappointment about it. Though the blame is usually on Hyperion and not the OS itself, which I respect.

Hello Everybody! Thanks for the comments! I am just re-entering the Amiga scene and I didn't know a lot of the information that was posted here.

Basically, as I see in the comments, MorphOS 3.9 and AmigaOS 4.1FE are parallel technologies from a same origin. (My current understanding...)

I guess, since I am already using Amiga Forever, MorphOS and AmiKit, I am not missing anything from the Amiga scene that other Amigans are enjoying.

Thanks, again, everyone that has commented for the comments! Have a nice day!

Welcome to MorphZone.org KuyaMarc!

My suggestion for you is to find someone (maybe yourself, if you can do soldering work) to repair your current G4 iBook, as it is a perfectly capable system for doing MorphOS programming work. If you can't do the soldering work yourself, then find someone else who lives close to you who can, and get an estimate of how much the work will cost. Alternatively, get prices for what it would cost to purchase any other Mac G4 systems within the Philippines. That way, you won't have to pay any import taxes, which would be required if anyone on this forum were to donate a system to you and ship it from outside the Philippines.

Perhaps then, one or more members of these forums, will decide to donate the money required to purchase your repairs, or to purchase a system local to where you are.

I would forget about getting an AmigaOne 500 system donated to you. They are not cheap, and I think you will find development on MorphOS3.9 is much less headaches than trying to develop for AmigaOS4.1FE. As other's have written in this thread, progress on MorphOS is faster and more complete than Hyperion has been able to provide for AmigaOS4.1FE users. Hyperion just does not seem to have the manpower to complete all of their goals in a timely fashion, and AmigaOS4.x users have been waiting many years for most of the things that Hyperion has promised. There is still no projected completion date for AmigaOS4.2 and all of the advanced features it is supposed to come with.

My suggestions for you come from experience, as I am an owner of many MorphOS systems, as well as an AmigaOne X1000 w/AmigaOS4.1FE (plus a huge collection of Commodore Amigas and a user of AmigaForever, AmiKit, via emulation on an Intel i7 laptop).

Good luck!

[ Edited by amigadave 16.07.2015 - 10:55 ]