Should I Buy One Of These?

[Bobsonsirjonny]

Of all the consoles/game systems I've missed owning personally during their heyday:

• Sega Genesis (played with friends)
• Sega Saturn
• Sega Dreamcast
• Amiga
• Nintendo 64 (played with friends) *
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (played with friends extensively) *
• Nintendo GameCube

Amiga stands out as the one I just kick myself over. While it's really a computer, not just a game system (duh), I'm a gamer, so Amiga Toasting graphics for TV doesn't apply to me. There are a number of things that the Amiga did so well, I really can't fathom why we aren't trying to do it today.

For example, putting the OS on a PCI-Express card. Why the hell not? Even VISTA might run fast - and you certainly can't warez it!

* I now own this.

Well the GP2X is very Amiga like in that anyone can dev for it - it's cheap. When that break out box comes out... could we see a resurgance of the bed room coder, but actually developing on the GP2X itself?

 

[nubie]

Well the GP2X is very Amiga like in that anyone can dev for it - it's cheap. When that break out box comes out... could we see a resurgance of the bed room coder, but actually developing on the GP2X itself?

Good point.

But forget the room, with the GP2X you could be a "bed coder"

I personally want to try one of those micro USB keyboards that strap onto a PS2 controller, that should be small enough to use with the GP2X

 

[Epicenter]

I've watched that particular thread on amiga.org since it started. Dennis has said he is considering making the verilog source open but he has also stated he has no plans to add AGA support or a 68060 as of yet.

Emulating a 68060 would probably be out of the question on the ARM920T, except maybe with a very fast ARM9 ASM core and an overclock to 280+ MHz on the 920T.

There are a number of things that the Amiga did so well, I really can't fathom why we aren't trying to do it today.

For example, putting the OS on a PCI-Express card. Why the hell not? Even VISTA might run fast - and you certainly can't warez it!

Well, on a PCIe card implies solid state storage, and over 1 GB of solid state storage is still very expensive. Especially in a format that is fast enough for use for booting and running an OS in realtime without caching it into RAM before actually executing code from it. It also complicates updates.

And SOMEONE would manage to get the OS image from the card running off an HDD after the release of the first beta. :lol:

 

[DavidBeoulve]

Well, on a PCIe card implies solid state storage, and over 1 GB of solid state storage is still very expensive. Especially in a format that is fast enough for use for booting and running an OS in realtime without caching it into RAM before actually executing code from it. It also complicates updates.

And SOMEONE would manage to get the OS image from the card running off an HDD after the release of the first beta. :lol:

Hmmm... true!

Perhaps rather than solid state storage, the PCI-Express card should handle operations the OS overloads the CPU with - the overhead work - just the way 3d GPU cards take a load off. But that'd be a whole new technology that would need to change drastically with every major OS update.

*dreams*

 

[Tobriand]

Well, there's changes ahead with the physics card that seems to be being developed. Albeit not something I'm intending to buy, but I'm not exactly a high-end gamer.

Might be the sort of thing to try and get a few mobo makers interested in researching, though... an extra chip designed to speed up OS-esque operations specifically would be actually a big help, speedwise.

Of course, if developed today, it'd probably take advantage of trusted computing esque technology to sandbox bits of the OS and make it hard to back up and fiddle with manually, but whilst from the techie end-user point of view, that's bad, from any manufacturer's one, it'd be ideal.

I wonder why they haven't done it already?

 

[Epicenter]

Well, on a PCIe card implies solid state storage, and over 1 GB of solid state storage is still very expensive. Especially in a format that is fast enough for use for booting and running an OS in realtime without caching it into RAM before actually executing code from it. It also complicates updates.

And SOMEONE would manage to get the OS image from the card running off an HDD after the release of the first beta. :lol:

Hmmm... true!

Perhaps rather than solid state storage, the PCI-Express card should handle operations the OS overloads the CPU with - the overhead work - just the way 3d GPU cards take a load off. But that'd be a whole new technology that would need to change drastically with every major OS update.

*dreams*

A bloated OS processor? Bloat Processing Unit, BPU?
Might as well add Dave Barry's WGU, or Whirring Grinding Unit.

 

[Alex.]

Being able to compile directly on the GP2X? I'd be sold

- Alex

 

[Epicenter]

That seems more gimmicky than anything. Who really wants to try and do all their development right on the GP2X? With a small USB keyboard and mouse perhaps it'd work well, but to be reasonably usable you'd really need a windowing system or decent IDE, and without any means to manipulate graphics or audio all you could do is write code or compile it.

 

[DavidBeoulve]

...Whirring Grinding Unit.

:lol: *cackles* :lol:

 

[Alex.]

all you could do is write code or compile it.

A new wave of text adventures!

- Alex