Drobe have an in-depth article detailing the upcoming new features in RISC OS Ltds latest version of their OS, ‘RISC OS Select 3’.
One of the big changes (amongst many other improvements) is that it will support alpha channel sprites at OS level. There’s lots of screenshots as well.
RISC OS Select 3 in Detail
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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All I can say is that from the screenshots, it’s hideous! They need to use some nice fonts, take away that damned pattern in the background, and make things a lot less grey.
I’d suggest that after using it for a while, you wouldn’t be so quick to say that. In any case, the font, background, window borders, etc are entirely customisable. The importance of the screenshots is somewhat to show possibilities, and there’s never going to be anything that everyone likes with something like that.
How ironic the RISC Filer is adding features like graphics thumbnails that have been in ROX-Filer (A clone of the Filer for Linux/UNIX) for a long time.
The window tools, window textures, icon sprites and icon borders are fully customisable by the user. The screenshots shown are from the default ROM set and some people like the classic marbled look. However, users can load and incorporate new icons, tools and textures at any time and there’s lots of themes to chose from.
MacOS X and WinXP themes exist, for example. See:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the.watsons/themes/
26 bit? RISCOS 4 is a 26-bit OS? How much RAM is supported with 26 bits? and can the CPU do 32-bit math?
26-bits refers to the operation of the ARM processor in that particular mode where the addressing range of the program counter is limited to a 26 bit range (the rest of the bits are status bits). The processor is otherwise able to perform 32-bit operations such as addressing a full 4GB range for data and other bit operations, etc.
The question of how much RAM is supported isn’t really relevant, because, as in most OSes, logical mapping applies.
RISC OS 5 on the other hand, operates the ARM in a 32-bit mode.
OK so how many current versions are there of RiscOS floating around now? There’s version 5 (32-bit), RISC OS 3 Select, and a Version 4???
How compatible are they with one another?
Ignoring versions available before the RiscPC was released (2 and 3.1x):
3.5
3.6 \_ Released by Acorn for RiscPC and A7000(+)
3.7 /
3.71 /
4.0x – Released by RISCOS Ltd. Basically a bugfixed RISC OS 3.8 (The last version Acorn worked on)
Select – Enhanced version of RISC OS 4. Three releases so far. ROM Images are soft loaded from disk.
5.0x – 32bit RISC OS produced by Castle Technology Ltd. Essentially, this is a 32bit version of RISC OS 4, with some fairly major enhancements.
So, in essence, the higher the version number, the better the OS. Select, however, muddies the waters as it has a (fairly large) number of features which are not present in RISC OS 5.
http://www.drobe.co.uk/riscos/artifact582.php has more information.
A project I am involved in is working on Rox OS. The idea is we will be bringing across some of the great ideas from Risc OS and Rox. We will be using Rox Filer, the Linux kernel and X to build on. A new website for the project has just been setup at http://roxos.sunsite.dk
Apologies if it looks a bit plain at the moment, it’s still very much work in progress.
Screenshots bring back memories of my first personal machine – an Acorn Archimedes A320. Completely ahead of its time, even in 1990. Unfourtanately, 13 years later, the RicsOS doesn’t seem to have changed much, superficially, at least.
Does this thing run an x86 or does it need its own hardware?
I know ARM means Advanced Risc Machine… but thats about all I know. What are the uses of the hardware, how is it different from things I’m familiar with like PPC and x86, how does it perform? Does the “old looking” hardware it comes on affect performance comparatively? (I went to riscstation to look at desktops about 1000 pounds for a 46mhz chip and 64mg of EDO ram.)
The risc os, whats unique about it? I looked at the features its adding, but the addition of a trash can, and an alpha channel don’t really tell me much about how the OS is structured or what really makes it unique.
It only runs on RiscOS compatible machines with an ARM processor.
The ARM, which first saw light as Acorn RISC Machine, was the first consumer oriented RISC processor. Its code is rather compact despite being RISC, and ARM assembly programmers are quick to sing its praise.
The ARM was first used in Acorn’s own home machines, the Archimedes line, followed by their RiscPCs, using the new StrongARM processors. ARM was spun off by Acorn, sold to DEC, and wound up in the hands of Intel. Its main niche nowadays is integrated appliances, such as phones, PDAs and just about anything “integrated”. At Intel, the ARM replaced their aging i960 RISC processor, but there are third-party suppliers of ARM processors too, such as Cirrus Logic.
As for RiscOS, it was the OS of the Archimedes and RiscPC. It fits onto a 4 MB set of ROMs. It behaves rather differently from other OSes. Some concepts which have found their way into current mainstream OSes, such as an icon bar (Windows) and appfolders (MacOS X) can be said to be RiscOS innovations. One of its strong points is how it takes drag and drop to another level.
In the late nineties, Acorn decided to drop out of the computer industry, changing its name in order to concentrate on network and multimedia appliances. IIRC, the RiscOS rights were sold to Pace, the satellite receiver and STB maker, who used it in a multimedia terminal of theirs. The rights to the hardware designs were taken over by several smaller companies such as Castle and Riscstation. The main desktop RiscOS development is now handled by RiscOS, Ltd., while the hardware manufacturers are having a hard time putting a new hardware design on the street. It’s a bit difficult, since Intel doesn’t cater much for the personal computing segment with their ARM developments, and the new ARM processors aren’t that well suited for straight integration into backwards compatible RiscOS machines. Castle have actually managed to make their new Iyonix (sp?) machine now, so there is some light on the horison, though.
Just to elaborate on the previous answer.
ARM was spun off as ARM Ltd which is when it changed its name from Acorn RISC Machine to Advanced RISC Machine. ARM Ltd is, to this day, an independent microprocessor design house.
They signed an agreement with DEC which allowed DEC to develop the StrongARM. By some bizarre quirk of legal fiat Intel *lost* a case brought against them by DEC but *won* the right to buy DEC’s fabs and the StrongARM licence.
As ARM Ltd don’t own any fabs their business model revolves around licencing their designs and taking royalties. Hence many semi-con companies manufacture variations of the ARM core. The original manufacturing parter was VLSI but that has balooned to include just about every major concern.
Turning to Risc OS and Acorn. Acorn didn’t so much refocus as implode, flailing around wildly. Some of us might say it was a mistake to kill the only profitable part of their business, workstations, before getting a toe hold in another market. During the implosion all Acorn’s workstation assets including IP and engineers where sold to Pace. When it became obvious that Pace was only really interested in this deal as a way to recruit a load of skilled engineers cheaply Risc OS Ltd was set up to licence the OS for desktop development.
Whilst the word “sprite” sounds really interesting, wasn’t a “sprite” just the file format RiscOS used for images. It wasn’t (in my day) anything to do with “sprite” as in “hardware graphic object” as seen on the Amiga, C64 or anything like that. If that’s the case, that makes the announcement seem a little less exciting.
Mind, our old (now thankfully defunct) A3000 could only support 256 colors in the available modes (mode 13 comes to mind), but still seemed quite good at the time. I wrote quite a few cool little demos in Basic using Sprites and Screen banking. Ah, those were the days 😉 If only I still had the disks!!
Speaking of RiscOS… I remember Arthur.. now does anybody else? Some weird pre RiscOS/First release of the Desktop. IIRC you booted to a prompt, and then had to type ‘Arthur’ to get to the GUI. This was when I was 16 (13 years ago) so forgive me if that’s a bit sketchy 😉 I remember my IT teacher getting most excited about ‘THE NEW ROMS’ that had RiscOS propper on them!!! Those were the days.
Acorn computers were always naff though. I guess it’s the same with US readers and Apple2/Macintoshes. You use them at school, build up a picture of them, which then taints your memory for decades. Shudder…
Arthus – yes, that was a rushed out release of RISC-OS as I remember. One of the major downsides to it was the fact that it couldn’t actually multi-task. Proper support for that went into the proper RISC-OS roms.
Yes – I do remeber the Computer teacher getting rather excited about the new ROMS to upgrade the machines.
hmmmm . . . memories.
It was indeed ahead of it’s time, but I think rather badly managed throughout it’s life. For it still to be dragging itself along through Castle and other companies is vaguely sad. Sometimes it’s better to be known as a shining light that was extinguished than as a shining light that keeps getting dimmer and wrinklier by the year. Kind of like a Granny going out clubbing nowadays.
Dunk
A large show of RISC OS computers, hardware and software will be on display at the Wakefield Computer show this weekend
visit http://www.wakefieldshow.org.uk/ for details, then head along for a look. They have great prize draw too!
Cheers
Steve