J.M. Lapilainen
Posts 24 22 Sep 2019 02:26
| Vojin Vidanovic wrote:
| Haiku, BeOS whatever you like, but please include Linux. From pure console, LXDE, KDE, XFCE to MATE etc. it can only offer more. Plus the apps in accordance to kernel version and GUI.
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I don't want to sound rude, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but those bloated desktop environments (and bloated toolkits, bloated malware disguised as init and friends, pulseaudio, you name it) are not something that a) would run comfortably or at all b) should be run at all on V4. Libreoffice or Firefox will not run on V4, ever. Even if we had required raw power available, even if we would have that imaginary, blazing fast dri-driver for (S)AGA, expecting things to compile for m68k just like that is not realistic. We are at the point where x86 support is being dropped because software people want to run wont necessarily even compile anymore without patching and it's just not worth the effort. Linux kernel however can be somewhat lean and fast enough on slow hardware and outside the usual bloat you're used to seeing in Linux systems there's plenty of software that runs OK on older Pentiums and similar systems, from init systems to shells to window managers. With something like V4, you would realistically be looking at something based on busybox or maybe suckless.org core or similar, a very minimal shell, very minimal window manager, slimmed down xterm or urxvt and your choice of command line applications or simple gtk2 applications at best, to get things done. You'd still be surfing the web with netsurf, most likely a lot slower than you would on AmigaOS, and that's with the assumption you would have a working network with Vamp under Linux. I could go on and on with this but I'm sure everyone gets the point already. All that said, I would still like to see Linux booting on Vampire, and maybe create a small distro for it. In my not-a-real-developer and not-a-real-engineer mind I see two options: - 040 MMU (emulation?) which would benefit both those who need it under AOS and those who want to run Linux/NetBSD/Whatever. Also comes with the benefit of feature completeness which would no doubt make at least some Vampire haters lose one of their arguments. - Something more future proof that would fill the requirements (in context of this topic) of Linux/NetBSD (meaning support in kernel). If it would benefit, for uneducated example, future AROS development/progress some way, all the better. Somewhat offtopic: Even though many people in here see Linux/NetBSD support silly and not worth the effort, and I can certainly understand why, I see it only as a positive thing. If we can gather the money and someone delivers and gets paid, isn't it already a good thing itself? I think it's worth noting, that even after all these years, linux-m68k is still there. There may not be many left interested and working on it actively, but I'm quite sure there is interest in a new Amiga (or m68k platform). IIRC Vampire has been mentioned in linux-m68k mailing list already (at least Geert has background with Amiga). I can't speak for anyone else but I'm pretty sure there would be help available with Linux side of things, if that's required. In general, *n?x world is full of weird people (like me) who love running their choice of OS with esoteric toasters and developing for it. Meaning, potential customers outside the Amiga/Atari scene. While supporting and focusing on AROS is no doubt the most sane thing to do now, having the option of Linux ready when the magical ASIC day comes will certainly be a big positive and it will bring more people in. I'm maybe half joking, half wishing here, but you get what I mean. Who knows, maybe you guys eventually succeed in making m68k great again :)
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