Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site bnl44.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sbcs!bnl44!jpm From: jpm@bnl44.UUCP (John McNamee) Newsgroups: net.micro.68k,net.micro.amiga Subject: Re: OS9 on Amiga Message-ID: <1001@bnl44.UUCP> Date: Fri, 6-Sep-85 14:18:25 EDT Article-I.D.: bnl44.1001 Posted: Fri Sep 6 14:18:25 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 8-Sep-85 11:21:13 EDT References: <576@sftig.UUCP> Lines: 36 Xref: linus net.micro.68k:103400002 net.micro.amiga:3902028 > Actually, I'm surprised that the same thought didn't occur to the > developers of either (both) of the amiga or the 520ST. It would seem that > OS9/68K would be an ideal substrate for the 'visual/mac-type' user > interface that they provide. Does anybody know why they decided to "go > their own way" and develop custom OS's for their machines. The Amiga does run a custom operating system, but the ST runs GEMDOS which is available on more than just the ST (Northern Telcom has announced it is using it, others have licensed it but have not announced their product yet). DRI has Concurrent DOS almost finished, and GEM can sit on top of that for multitasking operation. My personal opinion is that the mass market does not need multitasking, and won't want to pay extra money to get it. As a programmer I want multitasking, but that doesn't mean the majority of people buying these types of systems do. > Are the OS9 > developers so unreasonable about relicensing that this was impossible? > Or is there something about OS9 that makes this less sensible than I think > it is? Microware is actually very good about licensing terms and prices. I don't know why Amiga doesn't run OS-9, but there is a reason the ST doesn't. Atari didn't want to finance the development of a totally new product. Microware has no windowing product for OS-9. DRI already had GEM running on the PC, so getting it up on the 68000 was a question of porting the code rather than starting from scratch. There is no reason a third party couldn't put OS-9 up on either the ST or Amiga. I know of one company that is looking at doing it for the ST right now. -- John McNamee ..!decvax!philabs!sbcs!bnl44!jpm jpm@BNL44.ARPA "MS-DOS is a communist plot"