AROS, one of the three branches of the so-called New Generation Amiga, is doing quite well considering the small number of developers (which is unfortunately a problem of the entire Amiga family). However, if we do not sit on typical AROS forums, we may get the wrong impression that nothing new is happening in this field. I decided to start monthly summaries of events from the AROS world, so as to present the most important changes without unnecessary waffling to those Amiga fans who are not into the topic on a daily basis.
The most actively developed version of AROS is the 32-bit version (ABIv0) which is currently maintained by Krzysztof “deadwood” Śmiechowicz and we will focus on tracking this version, as it is recommended for installing on real hardware as of today.
The latest, clean system: ABIv0
Based on the current ABIv0, two distributions are supported on an ongoing basis, i.e. systems stuffed with packages of additional software:
Aros One x86
Tiny Aros i386
I do not recommend other distributions such as the popular Icaros Desktop a few years ago, at least until the authors update them.
In November, thanks to the effort of deadwood and the community, 16 bugs were fixed, which brings us closer to the release of a new stable version of ABIv0 in December.
One of the bugs was fixed as part of the “Bug of the Month” initiative, which means that users of the ArosWorld forum vote in a poll for the most annoying bug in their opinion, and then it is fixed as a priority :) In November, this way the problem in the workbench.library was eliminated. The current poll can be found in this topic.
Another new initiative is to make a list of recommended hardware for AROS x86. For years, there has been a misconception that since AROS x86 exists, it should run on any x86 hardware. No, that’s not the case and it won’t be for a long time. Of course, checking if AROS happens to work on what we have at hand can be great fun in itself, but if we want to use this system we should reach for one of the recommended hardware. They were selected not only in terms of current compatibility, but also price and availability on portals such as Ebay or Aliexpress. On the list of fully supported hardware we have two laptops, one complete desktop and two motherboards. The list is not yet closed and there will certainly be additional items on it.
At the end, I would always like to throw in a summary of new software. This month, unfortunately, we did not have the premiere of any big program. However, there were a few smaller productions and updates on Aros Archives. I leave you with the list below until next month :)
Sacrificio Pagano (v. 2.00)
(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
A simple program for those who believe in magic ;) It allows you to configure your own altar on the computer screen, which is supposed to facilitate engaging in magical practices.
Changes in version 2.00 (01-11-2023):
- Added Spanish language.
- Changed the background music of the intro.
- New backgrounds for the ritual.
Sacrificio Pagano
Passcodes (v. 1.00)
(author: Nathan Hesterman)
AROS version of the popular board game Codenames. Passcodes works on a local network (client/server) and allows fun for two to 32 players.
Passcodes
AGet (v. 0.1)
(author: C. Hahn)
AGet is a simple application for testing HTTP servers, web applications and APIs by sending HTTP requests to the server.
AGet
AnimWebConverter (v. 6.00)
(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
A simple program for playing or converting animations: anim, gif, apng/png, yafa and lbm (only mode 5), avi.
Changes in version 6.00 (15-11-2023):
- New intro and changed program environment.
- Compiled with the latest version of Hollywood 10.0.
- Removed the use of the old flicanim plugin for the new flic.
AnimWebConverter
NetStratego (v. 1.1)
(author: Nathan Hesterman)
AROS implementation of the board game Stratego for two players. We can play on a LAN or on one computer.
NetStratego
Videntium Picta (v. 3.00)
(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
Videntium Picta is an image viewer whose main feature is respect for user privacy (there is no list of recent files, no playlist, it can be used from a USB memory, CD, etc.).
Changes in version 3.00 (23-11-2023):
- The program becomes mailware. To unlock the demo version, you need to send an email to the author.
- Now the program has an intro.
- Removed the old flicanim.hwp plugin in favor of the new flic.hwp.
Videntium Picta
iConecta (v. 5.00)
(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
A small and simple program for testing internet connection.
iConecta
F1Champ (v. 6.21)
(author: Pasi Ylinen)
Statistics on Formula 1 in the form of an Amigaguide document covering every year from 1950 to 2023. A must-have for every F1 fan. In the new version, 22 tracks were added for 2023.
F1Champ
Omanko! (v. 1.20)
(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
A small tool created to generate MD5 and CRC32 checksums of files.
Changes in version 1.20 (28-11-2023):
- Compiled with Hollywood 10.0.
- Minor visual improvements.
Omanko!
IFFIconDataDecoder (v. 1.00)
(author: Mike R.)
Documentation in PDF format and accompanying source code snippets to help explain the format of storing image data in IMAG chunks for Glow Icons.
IFFIconDataDecoder