AROS is getting more atention...

In my last post people may have though that my optimism was misplaced or that I was just ranting... I won't hold it against anyone - it's a common cliche in the Amiga community, so it's easy to transfer onto AROS as well.

But guess what, AROS guys only have reasons to be smiling about...

With the release of VmwAROS 1.0, people got a much better idea of what AROS is able to do.


Features include (and not limit to):
- New, customized system files
- Shutdown Wanderer funcion on supported hardware
- Widescreen graphic modes on selected cards
- Added Ken Lester's iconset
- Added sound in Quake
- Complete development chain with GCC 4.2.2, Python, ecc
- VmwAROS can now compile AROS
- Added new games
- Updated many programs
- Added 68K application support with AmiBridge
- Added automatic extractor for multiple archive files (PoorARC)
- Added PDF document support (PoorPDF)
- Added first-run configuration script
- Installing VmwAROS won't leave volumes without icons anymore
- Fixed typing issue with SimpleMail
- Added many desktop wallpapers from M. De Angelis (JohnSmith)
- Updated VmwUpdate and SwitchMuiMaster
- Added GhostScript
- Fixed many file associations
- Corrected paths and ASSIGNs
- Added VmwAROS services manager in Prefs
- Improved PDF user/reviewer guide
- ...and many, many more!

Adding to this pinpoint release, MPlayer has been ported by Krzysztof Smiechowic (based on the MorphOS one by Fabien Coeurjoly) and so you can now watch several Video formats on AROS, and in an impressive fashion I might add. A lot of work regarding low-level drivers has been commited and so more hardware is being supported, as well as many bug-squashing.



As for the browser Stanislaw is working on AROS port of OWB, and has done a fantastic work so far. Everyone was just hoping for a simple, basic and only supporting of the most functional Web features, but the developer is going for the big prize including multi-tab browsing. Finally an Amiga modern WEB browser in almost every respect.


On the same subject I noticed that some Ill-minded subjects regarded Stanislaw work as more than simple copy-paste affair of Jörg Strohmayer AmigaOS 4 port. Jorg work was excelent and Stanislaw has given credit to what he "borrowed" (or looked into) from it:
- "(...) I replaced SDL events with intuition.library events provided by the Zune event handler registered in the custom class. Code from AmigaOS4 OWB port written by Jörg Strohmayer saved me a lot of work in this stage. (...)"
Other than the work on OWB port itself, Stanislaw wrote a new port of SDL for AROS ( the other was old and buggy). Messed with MUI fixing a few bugs and adding a new class to it (the dynamic tab gui) . He also aims to turn the web browser into a zune .mcc resource (a lot of software will benefit from this). And more is still in the works...

From the AmigaOS side (classic 68k) comes Ignition. This spreadsheet application has gone open-source. Right now is being ported by Mazze for AROS and seems to be nearing the end.
I must say that I await anxiously this because it's Amiga dev roots rather the *n*x ones - it should be interesting to have a program so needed that behaves in true AmigaOS fashion.
All that remains missing is printing support (in AROS)... Alas...


As a final note, and this will angry a lot of Amiga fanatics, but believe or not SAM, Pegasos and Efika are not the only so called modern amigas anymore. Why not iMica One - just because it's not PPC? Well this Mini-ITX computer will be bundled with VmwAROS1.0x and the initial profits will be reverted to AROS development. Check the specs yourself...


Ok, jokes aside this sexy mini-PC is a good machine to run AROS. Of course you can install AROS in any X86 machine (preferably above Pentium II 133 mhz), and with SAM440 and EFIKA soon, the truth is just one: AROS is not compromised by the hardware.
And on this subject (hardware availability) is AROS stronghold - let's face it, the other AmigaOS like are hardware compromised - So they better get stuck in good machines!
Well... Do they? While AmigaOS 4 has migrated from AmigaONE (dead PPC hw platform) to SAM440 (not so powerful but still good), MorphOS is still migrating to EFIKA (very low specs in comparison with other PPC hw) and Mac PPC hw (which has ceased production).

I have no crystal ball nor I have a degree in future foretelling, but I can say that this is not definitely the end, and guess what maybe 2009 will be the year of AROS ;) or 2010 or whatever... (just kidding regarding the hype)!