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Foxbat

Foxbat

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Nov 25, 2003
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Wasn't the Amiga O/S written in a 4th generation language? My memory of that time is hazy. I seem to remember it was unusual and groundbreaking in its day.
 
That's awesome! My first computer when I was a kid was an Amiga 500! Parents bought it for me for Christmas the year it came out. Somewhere I still have a picture of ten-year-old me with all the boxes before we started assembling it all.

That's actually quite the trip down memory lane. I was just looking for a new mouse yesterday online, and perusing all the crazy gaming mice that are available now...then compare that to that monster blocky looking two-button mouse that I started my computer life with on the Amiga. :D
 
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TheKrell said:
Wasn't the Amiga O/S written in a 4th generation language? My memory of that time is hazy. I seem to remember it was unusual and groundbreaking in its day.
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I started my software business back in '89 with a program named 'Scene Generator' for Amiga only. It took off and I got distributors. The world was thirsty for Amiga software. Not many developers. Eventually I made Mac and Windows versions. Amiga died in '94.

After 32 years in business, 2021 was my worst year ever. I am burnt out and will likely retire in a few years. (I'm 64).

My Amiga software was largely written in assembly language, with "C" for the GUI. Not sure what language the Amiga OS was written in.
 
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TheKrell said:
Wasn't the Amiga O/S written in a 4th generation language? My memory of that time is hazy. I seem to remember it was unusual and groundbreaking in its day.
Click to expand...
The Amiga Operating System was written mostly in C with some parts in 68000 assembly language.

What is interesting was that the filesystem (disk operating system) was based on TRIPOS from Cambridge University and it was written in BCPL, a great grandfather of C. This code would linger until AmigaOS 4.
 
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While it isn't tied to the A500 comeback, I was cleaning out a cabinet at work yesterday and came across a Hydra Ethernet card for the Amiga 2000/3000/4000 card bus, plus a bunch of 512KB DIMMs, and an Opal 24-bit graphics card! It's been a long time since I've seen DIP chips, composite resistors, and no surface-mount components on a circuit board. Ancient!

edit: a photo for the archives:
5BC6D630-F06A-4E42-BEA5-DE92E3FA0548.jpeg
 
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Foxbat said:
I was cleaning out a cabinet at work yesterday and came across a Hydra Ethernet card for the Amiga 2000/3000/4000 card bus, plus a bunch of 512KB DIMMs, and an Opal 24-bit graphics card!
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I have an Opalvision card that I won as a door prize in one of my spare A2000 computers.

My current problem is I can't use the video card slot-based Raspberry Pi scan converter in my A2500 because my Video Toaster lives there. The chip socket solutions seem so A500.
 
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I've got floppies for the various productivity programs (ah, the days of loading floppy after floppy to install software…) that I removed as well. No idea if they're still usable. Maybe I should pull out the Amiga 1200 that's sitting in the closet and find out? I know it still runs Lemmings 2! :)
 
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Juan said:
Does that include the BBS experience?
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What does the BBS experience have to do with old fashioned hardware?

Forums are arguably carry on the BBS experience other than the fact that you don't watch the characters slowly paint onto the screen (up to 2400bps anyway) and your fellow users may be from anywhere.
 
harshness said:
What does the BBS experience have to do with old fashioned hardware?

Forums are arguably carry on the BBS experience other than the fact that you don't watch the characters slowly paint onto the screen (up to 2400bps anyway) and your fellow users may be from anywhere.
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Thats the only social media that a vic 20 could be used for...they even had an old fashioned modem that you put the handset in
 
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harshness said:
What does the BBS experience have to do with old fashioned hardware?
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Way before computers, there were serial terminals such as re-purposed teletype machines. 110 baud if memory serves!

You haven't lived until you've played Star Trek on a teletype. :D
 
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TheKrell said:
Way before computers, there were serial terminals such as re-purposed teletype machines. 110 baud if memory serves!

You haven't lived until you've played Star Trek on a teletype. :D
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In 1998 or so they used old PDN lines to verify PIN numbers on ATM machines..a dial up modem is 56k..these were like 9k
 
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