All hardware was configured and working properly. I was a bit weary of that, since my mouse and keyboard are both USB; however, they worked fine, including the mousewheel so I could scroll easily. The network was also up and running; I was on the web with AWeb without ever touching a configuration panel.
The Amiga UI (the Workbench, even though strictly speaking only the file manager is called Workbench) looks quite similar to a MacOS desktop. Drive icons are located on the desktop (including CD drives and my Windows HD), there is a global menubar on top, and a row of icons on the bottom with which you can launch applications and configuration utilities.
The global menubar in Workbench works differently than the one in the MacOS, because the Amiga had a two-button mouse. This means that in order to access the pull-down menus in the global menubar, you first need to right-click and hold inside or the application window, or the menubar itself. This is confusing, and personally, I do not like it at all. However, one should not forget that I have been using the 'normal' way of accessing menus all my life, so it may just be a problem of 'getting used to'.
Terminology in AmigaOS also differs from what we Windows/KDE/GNOME/OSX/etc. users are used to. AmigaOS uses a 'workbench' rather than a 'desktop' metaphor; this means that instead of folders, you have drawers; data files are called projects; and widgets are gadgets. So, instead of a 'File' menu, you have a 'Project' menu.
I have played with AmigaOS 3.x using Amiga Forever for a few weeks now, and I must say, the lack of protected memory really shows. Without any clear reasons, out of the blue, the OS breaks, and a reboot is required ('press left mouse button to continue'). This is a major problem, and extremely annoying.
All in all, the AmigaOS 3.x part of Amiga Forever is well-built; the emulation works without a hitch, no configuration is required, and all the hardware is properly detected. The frequent crashes I experienced are due to the technical limitations of AmigaOS, and have nothing to do with the actual Amiga Forever package.
Usage: AmigaOS 1.3
AmigaOS 1.3 literally made my jaw drop. Even though the OS is of course horribly outdated, and it looks just as bad, the functionality of this operating system from the mid-80s is just stunning. For instance, the OS could convert any written word into speech, using different speeds, different voices, and different intonations (expressive, monotone). The second impressive aspect are the various demos: one of them shows a juggler juggling around metal balls-- all in 3D. Take a look at the screenshot.
Another really cool feature is the 'dragging' of workspaces. The AmigaOS can have multiple workspaces (even at different resolutions) and you can then drag one workspace down to reveal the one behind it. To get an idea, take a look at the screenshot. Here you can see how I dragged the Robocity demo, which has its own workspace, halfway down, to reveal the primary workspace. Really cool, and definitely something I'd like to see in other operating systems.
The one major bug I encountered was that the colours randomly changed; you can see that the characteristic blue/orange colour scheme has vanished in the workspace-dragging screenshot. This happened numerous times, resulting in different colour schemes each time it happened.
In conclusion, AmigaOS 1.3 is, no surprise, rather useless, but impressive nonetheless. Cloanto has done its job rather well again; using AmigaOS 1.3 required no configuration whatsoever.
Conclusion
It is kind of difficult to draw a conclusion. As I already said, for Amiga fans Amiga Forever is a must-have, there is no denying that. It is probably the next best thing to using a real Amiga, and it requires no effort at all.
However, what about the original point of this review? Does it have anything to offer to OS enthousiasts today? I have to answer this question with 'yes'. The premium edition which I used for this review might be a bit too expensive for non-Amiga fans ($59.95; EUR 53.41), but the download edition (which lacks the videos, the packaging, Amiga Explorer, and KX Light) is definitely worth buying ($29.95; EUR 26.68), even if it's just to gain just a little more knowledge and understanding about this at-the-time revolutionary operating system.
--Thom Holwerda
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