Amiga OS 3.3 top 3 "must have" features (Wishlist)

[eXeler0]

In the event that we would be so lucky to get another update to this long-lived OS, what would be the top 3 "must have" (as opposed to nice to have) features that are not already present in OS 3.2.1?

My pick (trying to keep it realistic, so no stuff like "memory protection etc)

*Some sort of "Remote Update feature" to set up downloads and point the to a destination to do mass updates of datatypes/ firmware/ drivers and what not, with ability to save it to different profiles. (Eg, if you switch between CPUs or hardware setups)

*True Type fonts support

*More robust handling of images and sound out of the box. (For example, maybe picview does a quick analysis of the image you want to open vs available resources before it starts loading for a long time only to fail later due to "out of memory or something similar - and maybe you get the option to autoscale or /convert to a native format etc).

(P.S. The 3.2.1 and beyond thread is >1600 post long, any 3.3 suggestions there are not so easy to find)

[DisasterIncarna]

1) Some clever magic way of implementing a forced ScreenNotify type affair, when workbench needs to close/reopen (typically to change screenmode), forcibly freeze/hibernate/vanish all active windows that would stop the close/reopen operation, do the ScreenMode change then put the windows out of hibernation/back to normal.

2) Rehaul the color palette system to be RTG friendly (or just loads colors in general) out of the bag, with the OS doing the color remap stuff and not needing programmers to do it manually or relying on external libraries to do it which ends up bloating software. There is a distinct lack of software which is runnable on the workbench that uses graphical elements, probably due to the color+remap issue being a complete pain in the backside to work around without trashing the workbench palette.

Maybe there is some clever MUI magic that can do this? but it would be nice to have for boggo standard intuition apps, when a programmer decides to "stick image in window", ideally the OS should just do the color remap stuff automagically.

3) Not a major issue, something actually simple? i think? A personal gripe for me is the fact the Window Image we select in WBPattern scrolls with the window slider, that to me feels silly, there should be an options to have the image remain static with only the icons/contents moving, it also ruins the effect of some window images we use that arent tileable images.

[Jope]

3.3 or 3.2.2 or 3.2.3? ;-)

- screen menu and window menu on right click for both respective depth gadgets
- pcmcia ide driver in ROM for easy bootstrapping (could scsi.device somehow be redirected between motherboard ide and pcmcia ide for space savings or are they too different?)
- more versatile fkey commodity with support for more key / mousebutton combos (MMB for screen to back is one use case)

[Minuous]

@DisasterIncarna:

#1 is not necessarily a safe thing for the OS to do by itself, which is why it needs the cooperation of applications.

#2 is already supported via bitmap.image.

[Pyromania]

Here’s hoping classic AmigaOS continues to get updates.

[Thomas Richter]

Please understand that new interfaces help little without applications using them. Hopefully software should be build in such a way that it runs optimally regardless of the hardware it is running on. That some datatypes exist only for specific CPU types is IMHO not a very wise development - ideally, you should grab your harddisk, install it on another Amiga, and it should be working. That's not given if software is CPU-bound.

True-Type support you get today. It's in Aminet, and it works. Nothing to be done.

If you want "screen notify", then you need applications to cooperate. The same goes for pen handling. Who will update existing applications?

For more powerful commodities, there are surely plenty in Aminet. I consider the operating system as the "Ford Escord" solution. It's brings you reliable from A to B, and that's it. If you want very sophisticated solutions, then that's better left to third parties.

[TuKo]

1) Integrated network stack (Roadshow)
2) MagicMenu-like feature
3) Integrated RTG stack

[DisasterIncarna]

Originally Posted by Thomas Richter

Please understand that new interfaces help little without applications using them. Hopefully software should be build in such a way that it runs optimally regardless of the hardware it is running on. That some datatypes exist only for specific CPU types is IMHO not a very wise development - ideally, you should grab your harddisk, install it on another Amiga, and it should be working. That's not given if software is CPU-bound.

True-Type support you get today. It's in Aminet, and it works. Nothing to be done.

If you want "screen notify", then you need applications to cooperate. The same goes for pen handling. Who will update existing applications?

For more powerful commodities, there are surely plenty in Aminet. I consider the operating system as the "Ford Escord" solution. It's brings you reliable from A to B, and that's it. If you want very sophisticated solutions, then that's better left to third parties.

Thats kinda why i was hoping for the OS kinda magically circumventing the need for programs to co-operate for the likes of screen notify (if it is/was even possible to impliment), yeah people can add support for that in future projects but a lot of software we use is old and wont be getting any such updates.

My thought process was thinking along the lines of trying to fudge support for the old, rather than hoping for the new.

It's no biggie ofc, this is just a "wishlist", not a serious "i want" list. imho, wishes should be fantastical/unlikely

[Tigerskunk]

I'd just like to have a more unified look and feel of the OS. For instance, the different preference apps still look too different from each other. Some stuff feels like being out of 1.3, while others look a lot more modern.

Solution would probably be to recreate everything in Reaction. Which is probably a lot more difficult and time consuming than I think at the moment.

Other than that i am fine. I concur with Thomas that the OS should be as lean as possible.

[James]

Originally Posted by DisasterIncarna

There is a distinct lack of software which is runnable on the workbench that uses graphical elements

Distinct lack = thousands!!!

[Thorham]

31 khz boot menu (15 khz default, press some key for 31 khz).

[Thomas Richter]

Errr.... you have that since 3.1.4.

[nogginthenog]

Originally Posted by Tigerskunk

I'd just like to have a more unified look and feel of the OS. For instance, the different preference apps still look too different from each other. Some stuff feels like being out of 1.3, while others look a lot more modern.

Have you used Microsoft Windows? Some stuff in Windows 10 is from Windows 3.x

[Paulthetall]

1. Standard PCMCIA support (that it recognizes PCMCIA cards (Amiga 1200/600)
2. Igame integration
3. whdload integration.

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by Paulthetall

1. Standard PCMCIA support (that it recognizes PCMCIA cards (Amiga 1200/600)
2. Igame integration
3. whdload integration.

The philosophy of the devs for 3.x is to keep it lean, minimalistic, and not do another 3.9 bloatware edition, so while 1. above seems fine, the other two won't fly.

but.. the #1 thing I wrote about, some sort of configurable remote download functionality. I'm "thinking out loud" here but, maybe users could create "profiles" (a bunch of URLs/paths for latest or certain versions of libs, datatypes, firmware, what not and you could "batch fetch" and install certain stuff easily. Such profiles could then be shared in the community.
Right now, the guessing game of all the stuff to download first to get some things running is an annoyance for me.

[lmimmfn]

Bootable PCMCIA, for me this is a must needed feature just because it means I don't have to take the case off, update the CF card, put it back, case on. Booting from PCMCIA allows for swapping CF cards easily for different boot configs.

[Leon Besson]

A lot of what’s being described here. For example auto software updates, roadshow integration is already something Hyperion have been doing with AmigaOS 4.
I know 4.1FE classic has a lot of this already. So it would make sense to bring these features into a M68K AmigaOS.

[QuikSanz]

A good app/Game launcher is not a bad idea. But who's to say what's good is in the eye of the beholder, that's the problem.

Chris

[Tigerskunk]

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Have you used Microsoft Windows? Some stuff in Windows 10 is from Windows 3.x

Might be, but that stuff is usually hidden away quite well.
Even MS Paint looks a bit more modern these days..

[malko]

Originally Posted by Tigerskunk

Might be, but that stuff is usually hidden away quite well.

Hidden ? Hum... hidden from knowledge of the devs, maybe. Winbloat is such a mess that it requires daily patches to patch an old "useless feature" that no one is aware that it is still there in the depth of the messy code...

Originally Posted by Tigerskunk

Even MS Paint looks a bit more modern these days..

That's right but only the GUI as the program can't do much