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MorphOS 3.12 released, (silent) support for PCIe PMacG5 and iSight iMac added
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That sounds really interesting 
could anybody post a little video demo/review of this new release? I couldn't find any on Youtube...
could anybody post a little video demo/review of this new release? I couldn't find any on Youtube...
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That sounds really interesting
I'll do one as soon as I've got everything installed and set up right.
The license is the hard bit for me - that and the browser. If it came with say, enough licenses for a family of boxes, I’d be into that - $25 per computer at a minimum buy in of say four licenses for $100. I could live with the browser if that was the soft spot but as-is you’d have to drop a small fortune to run it on your ppc boxes. Multiple licenses per purchase would certainly open up sales & visibility of a great post-OS X product.
I will burn a CD tomorrow and give it a spin since my 12" iBook is hardly used.
Might be an interesting option to run on that one.
in an Atari cave these past months
Might be an interesting option to run on that one.
- How is the battery life ? I have a Newertech battery .
- Does lid close suspend work ?
- Brightness/Volume keys work ?
- Youtube playback in the browser ?
- Amiga games emulation ? What Amiga hardware can one emulate ?
- Powerbook 5.6 is out of the question with its Nvidia GFX card ?
- How can one install a dual boot with MorphOS ?
- How does it handle the right click on an iBook ? How is the Touchpad sensitivity ?
- Oh and just one more thing , does it have a Terminal
in an Atari cave these past months
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I can answer some:
1. Don't know yet as I've run my Powerbook plugged in - I can say the battery meter is very sophisticated.
3. Yes they do.
4. Yes, using the fullscreen script that's built in to OWB, I've seen 360P drop as low as 30% CPU which is unprecedented.
5. Amiga 68K emulation didn't work for me with music apps - or rather they did but too slow.
EDIT: Found they do work with careful fine tuning of config file.
7. Instructions are online.
8. Works out of the box on Powerbook, two finger tap or two finger tap and hold plus button. Sensitivity is not as good as OSX but far better than Linux.
9. It has the Amiga shell but it can SSH into remote consoles etc.
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I've been playing with MorphOS for a couple of days now ( with a reboot every 30 minutes ).
Really like the OS to be honest, and compared to anything else currently on PPC, it's really fast.
I will actually really consider buying it if the browser was more up to date. I think in modern times, any OS requires a good browser.
).Really like the OS to be honest, and compared to anything else currently on PPC, it's really fast.
I will actually really consider buying it if the browser was more up to date. I think in modern times, any OS requires a good browser.
I've been playing with MorphOS for a couple of days now ( with a reboot every 30 minutes
Really like the OS to be honest, and compared to anything else currently on PPC, it's really fast.
I will actually really consider buying it if the browser was more up to date. I think in modern times, any OS requires a good browser.
I judge this like any OS on any of my Powerbooks/iBooks - something to play with but not my daily driver - as such, the failings of the browser don't concern me so much. And as I said, it's efficiency for Youtube is incredible - shows the possibilities on the PPC hardware with the right programmer.
Unfortunately, after asking on the MorphOS forum, the instabilities I'm experiencing are likely to be hardware related, so I'm never going to get a reliable system on this old battererd Powerbook.
Also, it's easy to be disappointed on a superficial evaluation - the install leaves a lot of gaps that need to be filled, however, unlike Linux, all the extras you might seek out are designed specifically for the hardware and work well.
On an unrelated note, tomorrow my new internal powersupply for my Atari ST arrives, yes I've been hiding
in an Atari cave these past months
A few years ago, I got an immaculate Atari 1040STE with extra RAM, colour CRT and a whole stack of disks for £40 - after getting an adaptor to attach an LCD for mono hi-res I acquired Cubase and Notator bundles and put togeth a MIDI setup. Great fun but I eventually caved in to the re-sell value
It can always be better if you report bugs to the developers (as you do). That's why it is so important because bugfix will be released in a very short time (always after main release). So the more bugs are reported, the more bugs will be fixed. So let's do it
It can always be better if you report bugs to the developers (as you do). That's why it is so important because bugfix will be released in a very short time (always after main release). So the more bugs are reported, the more bugs will be fixed. So let's do it
The problems I've had are so many and inconsistent the feeling is it's the Powerbook - once I have everything installed, I'll establish what crashes are repeatable, then report those.
A few years ago, I got an immaculate Atari 1040STE with extra RAM, colour CRT and a whole stack of disks for £40 - after getting an adaptor to attach an LCD for mono hi-res I acquired Cubase and Notator bundles and put togeth a MIDI setup. Great fun but I eventually caved in to the re-sell value
I own a Mega ST, a 520 STFM, several 520/1040STE's and I've also got the original Atari 520m that requires an external FDD: you've made me curious as to what would be the re-sell value on that.
I own a Mega ST, a 520 STFM, several 520/1040STE's and I've also got the original Atari 520m that requires an external FDD: you've made me curious as to what would be the re-sell value on that.
You'll be shocked!
I've just checked eBay UK and I'm shocked at the ST prices in general. Wow, I got most of mine for free and the one that I did pay for, it was £20 with dozens and dozens of games, joysticks and a colour monitor.
£399 for an STM! Shocked indeed.
£399 for an STM! Shocked indeed.
Not so - scan through the forum and I've posted on new developments for PPC Linux and installed it many times - I'm just accutely aware of it's failings and wince when newbies are told it's a panacea to breathe life into ancient Macs.
I like and use it on X86-64 but on PowerPC it's always been a compromise here and there.
@Lastic
1 Same as under OSX, maybe a bit better
2 No suspense mode at all
3 Should all work
4 Should work
5 You need UAE for classic games, a bare A500 is doable
6 PowerBook 5.6 is the early 1.67GHz 15“, those come with a Radeon, 12“ PowerBooks come with NVidia and are a nogo
8 Depends on the model, the last gen with a Radeon9550 have 2Finger USB Trackpad, while the older ones have the simple ADB one. Good iBooks are the 1.33GHz 12“ and 1.42GHz 14“ which is IMO pointless as it isn‘t really smaller than an 15“ PowerBook.
1 Same as under OSX, maybe a bit better
2 No suspense mode at all
3 Should all work
4 Should work
5 You need UAE for classic games, a bare A500 is doable
6 PowerBook 5.6 is the early 1.67GHz 15“, those come with a Radeon, 12“ PowerBooks come with NVidia and are a nogo
8 Depends on the model, the last gen with a Radeon9550 have 2Finger USB Trackpad, while the older ones have the simple ADB one. Good iBooks are the 1.33GHz 12“ and 1.42GHz 14“ which is IMO pointless as it isn‘t really smaller than an 15“ PowerBook.
This is kind of an arrogant / ignorant statement. Keep in mind these Macs are more than 13 years old now, and some are literally being given away for free.
To install the paid version of MorphOS on my 12" iBook G4 for example, would cost almost 3x with the iBook is currently worth. I couldn't have paid any more than $30-35 for it and that was back in 2015 for the latest and greatest 12" model.
Whether it be Linux distributions or stuff for OS X, even hulking public resources like we have here, the real life-breather is the community support, long after the manufacturer has abandoned it. Therefore, it stands to be said that whatever OS newbies pick for their machine, they can count on having a dedicated backing right with them.
That's the heart, and I think it deserves all the credit (as far as panaceas reviving dead arches).
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And yet users install a GPU and SSD that together can cost 3 times the cost of their vintage Mac?
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It certainly does but even the community on here can only do so much - as far as I'm aware there're no programmers on here who've written code for problem areas on PPC?
Some users, but probably not most. Plus the SSD can be removed from the PPC Mac and used with a more modern computer as well if desired, which makes the cost more justifiable.
The only upgrade I had done with the iBook G4 is the RAM to 1.5 GB. It's still mostly stock, including the battery. Runs Tiger well but TenFourFox is beginning to show its age, sadly. If MorphOS comes with a more modern browser than it may be worth paying for, but not at the current price.
To be clear, I’ve paid no more than $10 for any of my PowerPC Macs. I’m done flogging this horse, though. If people want to throw their money at MorphOS, that’s their prerogative. Whatever.
A quick update from a 3 hour session yesterday with MorphOS on an iBook 12" 1.33 Ghz with an mSATA SSD.
MorphOS boots fast , like in 2 seconds, of course the SSD plays a part in it also.
It is very fast in everything.
Touchpad is very usable out of the box but no tap to click (for which on OSX you also have to install additional Kexts)
OWB is capable of playing back 360P Youtube in browser and it doesn't stutter.
BUT
OWB sometimes can't open a HTTPS site because of the certificate for ex
planetemu.com works on http but not https, maybe I still need to update OpenSSL or system certs ?
FanControl is irregular, like Youtube is playing but I can't hear a thing because of the fans ramping up like mad.
Maybe it was due to my battery being empty and thus charging generating more heat, will check once my battery is full and also on battery power only (lifetime,CPU throttling,fans)
Somethings I probably need to find out so more lack of user knowledge than MorphOS.
How to maximize a window
How to make Shortcuts to for ex MUI shell
Grunch seems to lack a lot of software, I used mos.aminet.net for those I couldn't find
E-UAE works with games and demos but I still need to find the keyboard shortcuts for it, it does eat up all CPU.
Shell commands in general but again lack of knowledge , I never owned an Amiga.
First impressions : works good out of the box, daily driver OS not yet convinced,but for an iBook which chokes on OS X Leopard/Linux at doing web browsing , emulation it is a nice alternative.
Of course I should install MintPPC and wait on the newer OpenBSD to compare.
MorphOS boots fast , like in 2 seconds, of course the SSD plays a part in it also.
It is very fast in everything.
Touchpad is very usable out of the box but no tap to click (for which on OSX you also have to install additional Kexts)
OWB is capable of playing back 360P Youtube in browser and it doesn't stutter.
BUT
OWB sometimes can't open a HTTPS site because of the certificate for ex
planetemu.com works on http but not https, maybe I still need to update OpenSSL or system certs ?
FanControl is irregular, like Youtube is playing but I can't hear a thing because of the fans ramping up like mad.
Maybe it was due to my battery being empty and thus charging generating more heat, will check once my battery is full and also on battery power only (lifetime,CPU throttling,fans)
Somethings I probably need to find out so more lack of user knowledge than MorphOS.
How to maximize a window
How to make Shortcuts to for ex MUI shell
Grunch seems to lack a lot of software, I used mos.aminet.net for those I couldn't find
E-UAE works with games and demos but I still need to find the keyboard shortcuts for it, it does eat up all CPU.
Shell commands in general but again lack of knowledge , I never owned an Amiga.
First impressions : works good out of the box, daily driver OS not yet convinced,but for an iBook which chokes on OS X Leopard/Linux at doing web browsing , emulation it is a nice alternative.
Of course I should install MintPPC and wait on the newer OpenBSD to compare.
Tap to click can be enabled in Prefs.
The left gadget in the top right corner is iconfy which is also available from contextmenu there.
For the shell, check the Ambient menu, not 100% sure if there is a shortcut listed.
Or put the shell and other often used apps in a Panel (dock).
The left gadget in the top right corner is iconfy which is also available from contextmenu there.
For the shell, check the Ambient menu, not 100% sure if there is a shortcut listed.
Or put the shell and other often used apps in a Panel (dock).
For me tap to click was working straightaway but it is there in the settings pane.
On my Powerbook, the fans haven't kicked in once (or if they have I didn't hear them) - there is a threshold control for them in settings and also there is a temperature monitor available by right clicking in the top right corner (along with many other modules.)
For shortcuts so far I've used a panel at the botton that behaves like the dock - panels are available in Ambient settings and are highly configurable.
Grunch isn't complete like package managers in Linux are - you do have to check various sources, so like OSX in that respect.
E-UAE can be configured by altering the .uaerc file - there are too many options to list here but setting the Amiga to run at 'real' speed instead of 'max' will lower CPU useage - there're other options too.
In summary, no I don't think it's a daily driver but it's great to tinker with and see a totally different OS that has a significant nod to Workbench on the Amiga.
There's so much to discover within it - I haven't scratched the surface yet.
I was blown away by Youtube performance - or rather the devs using a video overlay trick to render video that halves the CPU use.
EDIT: The default Ambient skin is dated and awful - I wish they'd change it. As is, take a moment to go into the settings and get something more presentable.