What development is needed for the Amiga?

[drwho]

I was on AmiNET last night, looking at the thousands of programs available for the Amiga and wondering what is actually *needed* from a development perspective by the Amiga community that isn't already there?

I'm not talking about games or word processors here, there's already plenty of that stuff. I am talking about things like device drivers that need to be updated, or are lacking completely, critical applications that are readily available on modern day platforms but not on the Amiga, etc. In other words, what are the missing/broken things that make you curse like a sailor at 3:00 AM while working on your Amiga?

As a developer myself, it would be interesting to get perspective from people who actually use the hardware and operating systems.

 

[desiv]

I think the only thing that is "needed" on the Amiga is a Web Browser that handles todays websites better..
I don't mean I expect my 1200 to play high def youtube vids.. ;-)

It's just that it's getting tougher to browse even these forums..
(I believe Amiga.org has a separate proxy for their site that supposedly filters it to make it happier for 68k users..)

Or perhaps, rather than a full blown browser, maybe something like a Tapatalk client specifically for forums...

When I'm on my 1200, I generally have my laptop handy for checking the forums.
(Actually, reading them isn't usually a problem, but posting seems to be problematic.. Heck, even my Android tablet with it's fairly new browser doesn't like some of the editors on some of the forums..)

desiv

 

[highlandcattle]

Such a forum application would indeed be lovely. Other then that I can't think of much either. Better browser support but that is pretty difficult I guess.

 

[drwho]

It's interesting really. Things like email, ftp, irc, etc. are actually handled very well by the Amiga. IIRC, x-chat was even modelled after AmIRC (please correct me if this is wrong, I vaguely recall hearing it before ...).

Browsers are a thorn though, and I anticipated that being the first thing that people would mention.

I can see why this is a difficult thing to do, especially on classic hardware. It looks like OS4.x may handle this better (is that true? I'm assuming ...) There are so many different tools involved in surfing the web, everything from AJAX to ZK (java framework) and everything in between.

I think the task of creating a basic browser is probably pretty easy, the problem is supporting all of the various media and scripting related technologies.

Is there even a flash/shockwave player for the Amiga that works?

 

[commodorejohn]

Third-party Flash players have a long way to go. Linux's gnash works for simple, older stuff like Homestar Runner, but it even chokes on YouTube. Lightspark looks promising for newer sites, but it's still in development, and of course there's no 68k support (even PPC support was a recent addition.)

 

[Templar]

I would really like to see a complete and updated Office Suite for AmigaOS.

 

[drwho]

I would really like to see a complete and updated Office Suite for AmigaOS.

Aside from all of the existing "office" type applications out there (Pagestream and the like ...) is there an effort to port something like openoffice to the Amiga?

 

[merlinkv]

From my side....


- Updated Internet browsers and plug-ins

- New pdf viewers & converters

- A complete suite like OpenOffice.... wohooo... a dream!!

- Drivers for new Epson printers will be appreciated (I have TX700W & TX800FW )

 

[desiv]

is there an effort to port something like openoffice to the Amiga?

Oh, I hope not... :wooha:
No offense, it's a great suite for a HUGE PC, but it's seriously bloated....

I'd rather have a browser that can run Google Docs or something...

desiv

 

[drwho]

is there an effort to port something like openoffice to the Amiga?

Oh, I hope not... :wooha:
No offense, it's a great suite for a HUGE PC, but it's seriously bloated....

I'd rather have a browser that can run Google Docs or something...

desiv

It sounds like that is the biggest request. Unfortunately, the browser problem on the Amiga is fairly complex.

Even if you get past porting/writing all of the supporting framework for the "helper" applications to play media and display images, etc. you would hit a brick wall for hardware platform support.

It would be one thing if you were doing this for OS4.x systems running on more modern hardware, but, I get the impression (please correct me if I am wrong) that the problem isn't as big of a deal on those types of configurations. It's more the "classic" hardware which is sort of stranded since there is finite hardware upgrade and expansion options.

I don't think it's hopeless, although it's certainly not a trivial project. I guess you could start with the low hanging fruit. First, maybe modifying and existing browser for the Amiga to try and speed up its page rendering. Once you can load a page relatively quickly, I guess you could move up to optimizing how images are loaded. This might address some basics.

Maybe after that, you could bolt on a framework for handling the addition of helper applications like video players, animated gif handlers, pdf support, etc.

I know I am over simplifying, smarter people than I have probably tackled this problem and I am sure that those people would have legitimate reasons why what I am suggesting has not been done.