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1. Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Oct-2023 18:09:20 UTC Bernie

   I'm at #AmiWest 2023 in Sacramento. #amiga #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Oct-2023 18:14:46 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     I've always been a big #Amiga fan, but until now I never had a chance to see the largest Amiga show in the USA and, perhaps, in the entire world. #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Oct-2023 18:24:51 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     A tribute to the first #Amiga prototype presented by #Commodorr at CES.

     This machine had unbelievable multimedia capabilities for 1984. But the word "multimedia" was invented several years later. #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Oct-2023 18:37:26 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     Commodore's technology preview became even more unbelievable after the wired breadboards got shrunk into three VLSI chips, allowing everything to fit within the slim desktop case of the Amiga 1000.

     #amiga #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 04:59:52 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     I notice the original #Amiga hardware reference manuals published by #Commodore.

     I had the second edition of one of these; it's probably where I saw for the first time terms like DMA, bus cycle and memory bandwidth.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 05:23:03 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     35 years later, some of the things I learned from this book are still burnt deep into my neurons 🥲

     For instance, this "fingers diagram" clarified which hardware sprites would be rendered in front or behind each of the two bitplane layers in dual-playfield mode.

     #amiga #commodore #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 05:26:45 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     The Amiga Hardware Reference Manual was great just like this:
     https://archive.org/details/amiga-hardware-reference-manual-3rd-edition/page/45/mode/1up
     #amiga #commodore #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 05:33:40 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     Next to the manuals I notice a peculiar Zorro expander card.

     The tag says "Ranger", the codename of the second generation chipset designed by the original Amiga developers and canceled by Commodore 😢

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 05:45:50 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     This one looks like a next-gen Amiga with 68030 + 68882 FPU and SMD memory chips.

     It's essentially an Amiga 3000 designed to fit inside an Amiga 1000 case. I forgot to ask if it was another prototype ditched by Commodore.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 06:32:44 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     The designer of the Amiga graphical interface Intuition was supposed to give a keynote on Saturday, but nobody saw him. We all hope he's ok.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 16-Oct-2023 07:13:02 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     The other badge belongs to Garry Hare, an interim CEO of Amiga Inc. in the post-Commodore bankruptcy era.

     Garry spoke about those tumultuous times at Saturday night's banquet. In 2004-2005, he planned to relaunch the Amiga as a mobile gaming platform, before iOS and Android were released, but suddenly decided to step down after becoming aware of certain illicit stock transactions conducted by an unnamed European investor.

     Anyone knows who Garry might be alluding to??

     #amiga #commodore #stonks

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 18-Oct-2023 07:18:17 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     • Jope

     @jope This guy?
     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentti_Kouri

   • Jope (jope@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 18-Oct-2023 07:18:18 UTC Jope

     in reply to

     @codewiz Pentti Kouri perhaps?

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 18-Oct-2023 07:28:22 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     • GabeMoralesVR

     @GabeMoralesVR I had a physical copy of the first English edition of the Amiga Guru Book, but I can't find it 😞

   • GabeMoralesVR (gabemoralesvr@mastodon.gamedev.place)'s status on Wednesday, 18-Oct-2023 07:28:23 UTC GabeMoralesVR

     in reply to

     @codewiz I wanted a physical copy of this book but it's been out of print for years and ebay prices are absurd, so I made a dummy account on Lulu, uploaded the pdf as a prototype of my own "book," then ordered a single test print copy for like $10. I love having a physical copy of this book.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 01:56:34 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     Trevor Dickinson's keynote at #AmiWest 2023 was of course about the upcoming A1222 Plus.

     #amiga #retrocomputing #powerpc

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:09:05 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     This new PowerPC Amiga board has been under constant development for almost a decade.

     COVID and the global supply chain disruption further delayed the project, but they seem to be back on track to start selling the first batch of A1222+ boards by the end of the year. Fingers crossed 🤞

     #amiga #amigaos4 #retrocomputing

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:17:42 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     The A1222+ is a collaboration between A-Eon (makers of the AmigaOne X1000), Amedia Computer (an online distributor) and AmigaKit (makers of Enhancer Software for #AmigaOS4)

     The boards are being manufactured by ACube Systems, makers of the Sam #PowerPC boards.

     https://amigang.com/hardware-amigaone-a1222/
     #amiga #amigaos #retrocomputing #amiwest

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:35:39 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     Several long-time Amiga developers contributed to the software platform, which is based on #AmigaOS4 and incorporates many software enhancements from... err... Enhancer Software :amiga:

     http://wiki.amiga.org/index.php/Enhancer_Software

     A friend at #AmiWest bought a copy of Enhancer in my name, so I will be able to test it on my old Sam 440ep board.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:38:43 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     Meanwhile, #AmigaOS 3.3 for classic m68k #Amiga computers has been under continuous development since the release of OS 3.2 in 2021.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:46:07 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     The single most interesting addition to #AmigaOS 3.3 is the new console handler WCON, which supports tabbed terminals and more.

     #amiga #amigaos

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 02:50:52 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     I noticed lots of small usability changes, such as being able to push windows outside the screen border and resize them from any border. These things are a given on modern desktop environments, but the Amiga user interface Intuition was designed 38 years ago, well before Windows 3.1!

     The super-detailed release notes of Intuition reveal the dedication of the #AmigaOS kernel team ❤️

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 03:01:20 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     At the ReAmiga4091 booth, I meet Stefan Reinauer, engineering lead of #Coreboot at Google.

     As a side-project, he made a perfect replica of the fantastic 4091 SCSI II host controller. I had the original one and loved it.

     There are actually a few enhancements to the software and to the programmable logic arrays which make the fastest Zorro 3 controller a little faster.

     They even reprinted the A4091 user manual and the box.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 03:07:19 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     It's exciting to see this 38-years-old platform being under active development, with new #Amiga hardware and software being released in 2023 ❤️

     I just wish I had more time to contribute.

     #amigaos #amiwest #amiwest2023

   • mbo77 (mbo77@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 10:29:40 UTC mbo77

     in reply to

     @codewiz
     "Constant development" - are you certain about that?

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 10:29:40 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     • mbo77

     @mbo77 Well... yeah, it might not have been very active, but year after year there's at least *some* observable software development activity on the PowerPC platform beyond AmigaOS 4.1 FE:
     http://wiki.amiga.org/index.php/Enhancer_Software#Releases

   • mbo77 (mbo77@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 19:22:09 UTC mbo77

     in reply to

     @codewiz Oh, I thought you were referring to the A1222.

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Oct-2023 19:22:09 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     • mbo77

     @mbo77 You're right, I was.

     But I suspect the required OS updates played a major role in slowing down the product. Small batches of A1222+ have been manufactured and distributed to developers several years ago.

     There's also an ongoing legal dispute around who owns the rights to distribute AmigaOS 4 beyond the "Final Edition".

   • Christian Horn (globalc@chaos.social)'s status on Friday, 27-Oct-2023 07:52:28 UTC Christian Horn

     in reply to

     @codewiz Seems like you got caught on 14:50 :)
     https://youtu.be/ZmhhEYx2RQM?t=890

   • Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 27-Oct-2023 07:59:21 UTC Bernie

     in reply to

     • Christian Horn

     @globalc Good catch!

     These are my photos of the event:
     https://photos.app.goo.gl/fwFeWidp2yTuzYXW8