This month I've been deciding where my upgrade options lie. I know I'd originally settled for A CyberstormPPC, but I've been toying with the idea of a November Box (beta test OS, IBM PC compatible architecture, only a year's lifespan - to be honest) or waiting to see what the new year brings on the PowerPC front. I'd still rather like to get a dual/quad PowerPC system if possible, preferably the transAM if the possibility of an MMC option is true. However, the transAM has taken a back seat while MetaBox (PIOS) work on the set top box market... so it's just idle speculation.
It's amazing really. I go away to Germany for a week and return to find AmigaOS 3.5 has become the latest piece of major news. Not only that, but it is set to fill an important gap which lies between old and new Amigas.
Since the announcement of the development machine, I (like many others) have been concerned about the lack of support for those who aren't interested in making a temporary transition to an x86 development platform, irrespective of how logical the reasons. Judging from the messages I've read on the Internet, or received by mail, it's quite a large chunk of the Amiga community, particularly the thriving shareware and public domain scene who have been the lifeblood of the post-Commodore days. After Amiga Inc.'s early pro-PowerPC stance, many people made an investment in PowerUP, confident in its future support. OS 4 swept all that to one side...
...but now it's back. OS 3.5 that is, and with it the backing of PowerUP as an important enhancement to 'classic' Amigas. I'd like to diverge at this point, to mention that I really hate the term 'classic', which seems to have invaded society, from 'Classic' Cola to 'Classic' Trek - look, it's proper Coke and The Original Series of Star Trek okay? However, I'm not sure as to what else to term the original Amigas - pre-Renaissance, perhaps? Divergence over.
From what I can gather, OS 3.5 provides a suitable bridge between original and next generation. OS 5 promises to be fully OS3.5 compatible and, in turn, OS 3.5 will be OS 3.1 compatible. Applications developed with OS 3.5 in mind will, therefore, be suitable for OS 5, removing the uncertainties which have gathered over retaining next generation compliance. In the process, 3.5 gives the non-development, non-OS 5dev community the chance to preview a small selection of next generation features - as well as bringing RTG and RTA into the realm of the official (both of which are long, long overdue).
OS 3.5 also features something which is unique in the Amiga community, but taken for granted on other platforms - hardware requirements. Not since the 8-bit days have I seen a machine which never gave minimum machine specifications for a new version of the OS. But that has gone - for the better. Interestingly, Apple's OS version 8.5 has been announced as the first PowerPC-only version of MacOS - it seems everyone is trying to cast off legacy baggage for the millennium.
Actually, the first thing I heard about 3.5 was that it would be on CD-ROM only. Most people have a CD-ROM by now, and with CD-ROM options for the Amiga so diverse, and cheap, there really isn't any excuse for not having it. Switching to CD-ROM makes sense, as it's a far more versatile medium than disk - faster, larger, more robust.
The decision to place the 68020 as the minimum processor makes a lot of sense. A lower processor system isn't going to have the power or features to make good use of the new OS features, and if anyone is actually still using a basic A500 or A2000 as their primary machine, it's unlikely they're going to be considering an upgrade anyway... so why let them drag the new vrsion down to accomodate?
4 MB? Four whole megabytes??? Are they crazy? Actually, although I'm surprised at the minimum RAM specification, it does make sense - I think I have about 2 MB of RAM in use after I've booted (with several background programs), which is very good for an OS these days (the 32MB Pentium at work has about 8 MB in use after a minimal boot!). 4 MB is a reasonable value, and allows a great degree of flexibility... I doubt a minimal boot of the OS would probably use all of that anyway, it's more like a worse case scenario. Besides, who actually has less than 4 MB these days? Most systems I've seen seem to have at least 8MB, and I feel very lowly at 16MB - at least one regular visitor to these pages has a 128MB machine! (I have a hard job using up 16 MB, except in Photogenics... what do you use all that RAM for?)
PowerPC support is excellent news, as is the graphics and sound card support, finally. Interestingly, CybergraphX is due to go commercial with version 4 (could OS 3.5 cause a problem with those plans?). The sound card support is good news, though I've never actually been much of a sound user. After moving from an A500 and TV to an A4000 and (speakerless) Monitor, I rarely use audio (though I have the A4000 attached to an old Sony MegaBass radio/tape player) let alone consider a sound card (well, at hundred quid a throw, it's not something I can justify). However, with the improved sound support, taking over from the excellent AHI, the Amiga sound card revolution may get a useful nudge in the right direction - just as graphics cards did with CyberGraphX and Picasso96. (By the way, people always seem to emphasise the overhead of AHI - the AHI apps I regularly use barely make a dent on my 25 MHz 68030, even on maximum quality settings etc. Have I missed something?)
Internet support is also an important additon, though I have to admit I can't see this being much use except to brand new users or those with an ISP account on a Mac/PC, but no suitable Amiga software (!). It may encourage a few more unconnected Amiga users to get online, but I'm not sure how many of those are left. Still, it's a smart move for the PR value of it - people unfamiliar with the Amiga may well see the included Internet connectivity and realise that Amigas can go online. I hope that if/when OS 3.5 is bundled with new 680X0 Amigas, the Internet connectivity is emphasised - it'd be nice to see a cheap A1200/OS 3.5/Modem bundle available for people looking to go online with a tight budget.
All in all, OS 3.5 looks like an excellent piece of work... I can't wait to upgrade.
http://www.suite101.com/topics/page.cfm/1365
The November update probably isn't much interest to Amiga veterans - there's a little something about OS 3.5, and a little introduction to the November Box. However, I do have an Amiga buyer's guide available. It's actually on this Geocities account for the moment, rather than Suite101.com's server. You can find it at:
http://www.oocities.org/Area51/Cavern/1076/buyersguide.html
It's not great, and I did have to trim down some specifics, but I'm confident it's a good start. Please, if you get a spare moment, cast your experienced eyes over the guide and let me know if you have any comments or suggestions to make (or links to other Amiga buyer's guides!). Not being an A1200 owner, or coming from a novice user's perspective, or having had to decide between so many options, it's tricky to discuss certain things - particularly when you bear in mind it'll be someone else's money! I particularly need feedback on A1200 issues to consider.
The guide was also written in the pre-OS3.5 climate, so I admit I might need to refine the minimum specifications in light of this. Think of it as a beta test... look forward to your comments!