Yokemate of Keyboards
Posts: 2720 from 2003/2/24
Quote:
Reminds me of ssolie saying "this and that will come with the next version" and then had to row back and postpone it to later versions. Exactly the same situation. We thought MOS team was a bit smarter than OS4 team.
Absolutely *not*! There is a clear difference between a MorphOS *user* relaying a *roadmap* as a feature list for the *coming version only*, and the developer team themselves promising things that turns out to be missing out when the thing actually gets here. Also - don't shoot the messenger, everyone can do a mistake!
And I think this list still is kind of complete for 3.0 release, while some things (is WPA/WPA2 finished in AROS yet? Airport? Etc) might need more developing time? I really appreciate the glimpse of a roadmap of what we can expect from *coming* releases in the MorphOS 3.x branch, and that it indeed will continue being developed along this branch.
Because one of the bigger news was
embedded in the message (I hope that this is translated and relayed back to us in a correct way, I don't know myself, I'm just a messanger so "no shoot me!"):
Quote:
Ok, I'll give it a shot... not a 100% accurate translation but you'll get the main ideas.
"Et Apres" slide:
- Make Morphos portable (64 bits), integration in a VM for dev and test.
- Architecture choice : X64 ? , ARM ?
- Compatibility PPC and 68K ?
Speech:
For now, we concentrate on the few Apple models that are available. So: Powerbook and potentially Power Mac G5, we'll see if it's worth to support them or not.
Once we're done with that, we'll look into an architecture change, either X64 or ARM, whatever is interesting when we get there, which should take a few years.
Meanwhile, we get into the 64 bit compatibility to prepare the ground.
We will make it run in a virtual machine, a bit like AROS. That's for development [...] so that we can start working on it without having a machine available yet.
So yes indeed, within a few years, we will change the architecture.
The problem related to this (change of architecture) is that the PPC & 68K compatibility will likely be lost.
It may be reintroduced later by writing emulators for these 2 processors.
But it will require time... and will it be really interesting since most of the applications are now native and we have control over them ? It remains to be seen.
Morphos 3 will be free for users already registered and upgrading.
Those who buy a powerbook will have to buy a license for it.
Also, there will be a change in the pricing.
Older machines like Powermac, Mac Mini and Pegasos will see a little reduction in the license price... a little less.
Question, in the audience, about ameliorating the QBox (I couldn't hear the whole question)
Reply :
The QBox is a recent kernel that can, in theory, support SMP, Memory protection, and other modern concepts. The problem is that AmigaOS, due to its API, does not allow to implement these concepts. Any application requiring memory protection would not be compatible, because the architecture of AmigaOS relies on sharing memory access.
Any application can access another application's memory (space)....
The QBox is the kernel and the Abox, which is what allows to run all what we see here, is only a process in Morphos.
The QBox is something wider that we haven't had time to develop since all the efforts have been directed toward the compatibility with AmigaOS and the applications running inside it (the ABox).
Will we have the ressources to develop the QBox more than what it is now?
We'll see... When the time comes for the architecture change, it's possible we look into it seriously. Right now, for the support of G4 and G5, it's not necessary.
On the long run...we'll see...
!
So if this is correct:
1. MorphOS 3.x will be continued to be developed on PPC, and we have had a glimpse of what to expect. So while the PPC platform is dead as a desktop platform, MorphOS is not, and it will continue to support it and make the most out of it!
2. There will be a life for MorphOS *post PPC* as well!
(This is the best news of all IMHO!
) When MorphOS has supported all relevant available PPC systems, when it has come as far as it possibly can on PPC (probably in one or a few releases down the 3.x path) it won't roll over and die! No, it will continue on a different architecture!
3. It will then go 64-bit.
4. Since all this means a policy change when it comes to Amiga backwards compatibility, it will *possibly* be using a more developed "Q-box" as well? Who knows...
Interesting times ahead! I just felt like new life was poured into the MorphOS! New hope!
MorphOS will make the most out of the PPC platform, there will be more PPC releases post 3.0 (3.1, 3.2 etc), and when it can't get any further, when all HW has been supported, it will jump to more modern, probably mainstream hardware! That's still years away of course, but it means either x86 or ARM support (or maybe both - once they have made the necessary changes for a platform migration, perhaps it won't be that difficult to support more than one? Only speculation of me, of course...)
I mean: YES!
(Edit: Oh - and there will be a *price drop* for the MorphOS license for some systems...
)
[ Edited by takemehomegrandma 14.11.2011 - 08:30 ]MorphOS is Amiga
done right! MorphOS NG will be AROS
done right!
