6 ms·

Author here, thanks for posting! Happy to answer any questions or chat Amiga stuff in general. Bear in mind - as I said in the article - I'm more-or-less a tota

Author here, thanks for posting! Happy to answer any questions or chat Amiga stuff in general. Bear in mind - as I said in the article - I'm more-or-less a total newbie when it comes to all this stuff. I have been involved in the Amiga scene since I got my first A600 in the 90s, but really just observed the coding side of things from the sidelines although I did enjoy a brief stint as a Graphics Artist using DeluxePaint for a UK Scene group. My C code will probably make your eyes bleed, and I'm sure I've got some factual details wrong but diving back into this platform again (and discovering all the little details that made it so advanced for the time) after a long absence has been a lot of fun!

tralarpa 3y ago
Do I see there an A1200 with a case that doesn't close properly because you put a 3.5" HD in it instead of the more expensive (and less capacity) 2.5" HD? :) Edit: Ah, no. I just read the article. It's the accelerator, I suppose.
- mark_round 3y ago
  Ha, good eye :) Nah, you see an A1200 that I am constantly fiddling with, and I frequently take the SD and CF cards out to clone! I do have a set of backup scripts that clone content to a CF card in a PCMCIA adapter but I always feel safer with a full "dd" backup or similar. Because I keep opening it up I just leave the screws removed for easier access and make sure it's kept dust free every so often.
  - danby 3y ago
    If you're willing to mod the case (or buy a new case you're willing to mod) I can strongly recommend a CF2IDE relocator https://retroready.one/collections/adapters-interfaces/products/cf-to-ide-amiga-a600-a1200-external-cf-adapter-no-ide-cable-required https://retroready.one/collections/adapters-interfaces/produ...
helpfulContrib 3y ago
How do you feel about the Amiga 500 as a platform for teaching systems programming? These are a lot more accessible to kids and the like, than the fully loaded A600 that only a few of us have stashed in the attic/atop the retrocollection .. Kids really love retro-computing (I'm a curator at such a museum, also) and the #1 request is - how do I get some hardware to get started? What of the new-school platforms do you consider a viable answer to that question, Amiga systems-hacking wise?
- glimshe 3y ago
  Having done system programming on retro platforms, my recommendation for this specific purpose is to use a great emulator, and the Amiga happens to have UAE which is one of the best emulators around. Debugging will be a lot easier and you deal way less with the grind of using an old piece of hardware. I understand if you want the full retro experience, but the full experience won't necessarily be conducive to better learning.
  - bluescrn 3y ago
    This. One day I'd like to revisit Amiga coding. I did a fair bit of Blitz Basic and a little bit of 68K ASM back in the day, but learning it was challenging as a teenager in the pre-Internet era. I'd definitely rather edit+compile/assemble code on a modern PC and do most testing in UAE. I don't need the nostalgia of slow reboot cycles and reloading things from floppy disks when my code inevitably crashes/hangs, let alone editing blurry code on a 14" CRT TV...
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      Even people targeting the real hardware often compile these days on a Mac or PC.
      - bluescrn 3y ago
        The tricky bit is deployment to the Amiga. My only way to put files onto my Amiga at present is a CompactFlash card (or 3.5" floppies) I don't have ethernet hardware on my Amiga (and may not have enough RAM for that approach), but maybe there's a slower-but-simpler solution with a parallel/serial port link? UAE makes that deployment easy, making a PC folder accessible as an Amiga drive. The downside is the lack of smooth 50Hz (PAL) display. Although I do have a g-sync monitor, so maybe that's a solveable problem these days...
anfractuosity 3y ago
Very interesting article, I've only vaguely heard of the more modern Amiga computers. Looking at https://www.hyperion-entertainment.com/index.php/where-to-buy/direct-downloads/174-amigaos-41-final-edition-for-classic https://www.hyperion-entertainment.com/index.php/where-to-bu... the latest versions of the OS run on the 1200+ with an accelerator, I assume then the A500 isn't really supported any more? I've got an A500 I bought second hand that I need to play with more, it came with some interesting looking software such as AMOS 3D. Just wondering if you have any recommendations to obtain a HDMI output. I just found - https://www.retropassion.co.uk/product/rgb2hdmi_amiga_500/ https://www.retropassion.co.uk/product/rgb2hdmi_amiga_500/. Also it sounds like I should probably dismantle it to remove the battery?
- mark_round 3y ago
  OS 4.x runs on PowerPC processors, and there are a bunch of dedicated systems like the X1000, X5000 or SAM460EP. You can also run a "classic" OS 4.x version in emulators or on classic Amigas fitted with PowerPC accelerators. You could always snag a used Mac Mini PPC and run MorphOS on it for a similar experience; MorphOS is a sort of "off-shoot" from the Amiga family tree but has very active development including up to date browsers like https://wayfarer.icu https://wayfarer.icu. Hyperion have also released updated and bug-fixed versions of "classic" AmigaOS, and you can purchase the ROM sets and disks for e.g. OS 3.2 to use with an original machine like your A500. For HDMI output, I use an Indivision card. It's a little fiddly to fit (has to clip in over the top of some other chips) but gives a great stable and crystal-clear DVI or HDMI output. There are also external "flicker fixer" boxes or scandoublers that turn the Amiga 15KHz video output into something useable by modern displays, but in my experience they tend not to give as good quality output or have lag issues when playing games.
  - vidarh 3y ago
    To add to the MorphOS option, there's also AROS which aims for more Amiga compatibility, but also runs natively on x86 PCs or hosted under Linux (you get a window with the full AROS desktop) w/out a VM if you want. (At one point I had a AROS setup that booted straight into FrexxEd with my Linux home directory made available, and Linux-hosted AROS "booted" the entire OS and started FrexxEd faster than my admittedly bloated Emacs setup would start....)
LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago
Hm. Your link to the Apollo meanwhile points to something else, I guess? Try this one? http://www.apollo-computer.com/ http://www.apollo-computer.com/ Err... this? http://www.apollo-computer.com/v2legacy.php http://www.apollo-computer.com/v2legacy.php
Lucretia9 3y ago
Use AmigaE, far nicer than C. Never tried Chris Handley's "Portabl E" compiler.

tralarpa 3y ago

Do I see there an A1200 with a case that doesn't close properly because you put a 3.5" HD in it instead of the more expensive (and less capacity) 2.5" HD? :) Edit: Ah, no. I just read the article. It's the accelerator, I suppose.

mark_round 3y ago
Ha, good eye :) Nah, you see an A1200 that I am constantly fiddling with, and I frequently take the SD and CF cards out to clone! I do have a set of backup scripts that clone content to a CF card in a PCMCIA adapter but I always feel safer with a full "dd" backup or similar. Because I keep opening it up I just leave the screws removed for easier access and make sure it's kept dust free every so often.
- danby 3y ago
  If you're willing to mod the case (or buy a new case you're willing to mod) I can strongly recommend a CF2IDE relocator https://retroready.one/collections/adapters-interfaces/products/cf-to-ide-amiga-a600-a1200-external-cf-adapter-no-ide-cable-required https://retroready.one/collections/adapters-interfaces/produ...

helpfulContrib 3y ago

How do you feel about the Amiga 500 as a platform for teaching systems programming? These are a lot more accessible to kids and the like, than the fully loaded A600 that only a few of us have stashed in the attic/atop the retrocollection .. Kids really love retro-computing (I'm a curator at such a museum, also) and the #1 request is - how do I get some hardware to get started? What of the new-school platforms do you consider a viable answer to that question, Amiga systems-hacking wise?

glimshe 3y ago
Having done system programming on retro platforms, my recommendation for this specific purpose is to use a great emulator, and the Amiga happens to have UAE which is one of the best emulators around. Debugging will be a lot easier and you deal way less with the grind of using an old piece of hardware. I understand if you want the full retro experience, but the full experience won't necessarily be conducive to better learning.
- bluescrn 3y ago
  This. One day I'd like to revisit Amiga coding. I did a fair bit of Blitz Basic and a little bit of 68K ASM back in the day, but learning it was challenging as a teenager in the pre-Internet era. I'd definitely rather edit+compile/assemble code on a modern PC and do most testing in UAE. I don't need the nostalgia of slow reboot cycles and reloading things from floppy disks when my code inevitably crashes/hangs, let alone editing blurry code on a 14" CRT TV...
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Even people targeting the real hardware often compile these days on a Mac or PC.
    - bluescrn 3y ago
      The tricky bit is deployment to the Amiga. My only way to put files onto my Amiga at present is a CompactFlash card (or 3.5" floppies) I don't have ethernet hardware on my Amiga (and may not have enough RAM for that approach), but maybe there's a slower-but-simpler solution with a parallel/serial port link? UAE makes that deployment easy, making a PC folder accessible as an Amiga drive. The downside is the lack of smooth 50Hz (PAL) display. Although I do have a g-sync monitor, so maybe that's a solveable problem these days...

anfractuosity 3y ago

Very interesting article, I've only vaguely heard of the more modern Amiga computers. Looking at https://www.hyperion-entertainment.com/index.php/where-to-buy/direct-downloads/174-amigaos-41-final-edition-for-classic https://www.hyperion-entertainment.com/index.php/where-to-bu... the latest versions of the OS run on the 1200+ with an accelerator, I assume then the A500 isn't really supported any more? I've got an A500 I bought second hand that I need to play with more, it came with some interesting looking software such as AMOS 3D. Just wondering if you have any recommendations to obtain a HDMI output. I just found - https://www.retropassion.co.uk/product/rgb2hdmi_amiga_500/ https://www.retropassion.co.uk/product/rgb2hdmi_amiga_500/. Also it sounds like I should probably dismantle it to remove the battery?

mark_round 3y ago
OS 4.x runs on PowerPC processors, and there are a bunch of dedicated systems like the X1000, X5000 or SAM460EP. You can also run a "classic" OS 4.x version in emulators or on classic Amigas fitted with PowerPC accelerators. You could always snag a used Mac Mini PPC and run MorphOS on it for a similar experience; MorphOS is a sort of "off-shoot" from the Amiga family tree but has very active development including up to date browsers like https://wayfarer.icu https://wayfarer.icu. Hyperion have also released updated and bug-fixed versions of "classic" AmigaOS, and you can purchase the ROM sets and disks for e.g. OS 3.2 to use with an original machine like your A500. For HDMI output, I use an Indivision card. It's a little fiddly to fit (has to clip in over the top of some other chips) but gives a great stable and crystal-clear DVI or HDMI output. There are also external "flicker fixer" boxes or scandoublers that turn the Amiga 15KHz video output into something useable by modern displays, but in my experience they tend not to give as good quality output or have lag issues when playing games.
- vidarh 3y ago
  To add to the MorphOS option, there's also AROS which aims for more Amiga compatibility, but also runs natively on x86 PCs or hosted under Linux (you get a window with the full AROS desktop) w/out a VM if you want. (At one point I had a AROS setup that booted straight into FrexxEd with my Linux home directory made available, and Linux-hosted AROS "booted" the entire OS and started FrexxEd faster than my admittedly bloated Emacs setup would start....)

LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago

Hm. Your link to the Apollo meanwhile points to something else, I guess? Try this one? http://www.apollo-computer.com/ http://www.apollo-computer.com/ Err... this? http://www.apollo-computer.com/v2legacy.php http://www.apollo-computer.com/v2legacy.php

Lucretia9 3y ago

Use AmigaE, far nicer than C. Never tried Chris Handley's "Portabl E" compiler.