SymbOS - A rather impressive Z80 multitasking operating system gets a new release

Thread: SymbOS - A rather impressive Z80 multitasking operating system gets a new release
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SymbOS - A rather impressive Z80 multitasking operating system gets a new release​


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Doom was never officially released on the Amstrad, nor was it released on any other system of that time. Doom was just way beyond in computer development. Thankfully if you have the latest version of SymbOS however which has just been released for the MSX, Amstrad CPC, Enterprise and PCW. You can not only play the latest 8bit version of Doom converted by Prodatron, but many other games such as Sakoban, 2048 and yes even Flappy Bird via this graphically impressive Z80 operating system.




SymbOS is a multitasking operating system for Zilog Z80-based 8-bit computer systems, which is not only based on a microkernel, but provides preemptive and priority-oriented multitasking managing random-access memory (RAM) with a size of up to 1024 KB. Furthermore it also contains a Microsoft Windows like graphical user interface (GUI), supports hard disks with a capacity of up to 128 GB and can already be booted on an unexpanded Amstrad CPC-6128, a 128K-MSX2 and an Amstrad PCW.

Download and more info: http://www.symbos.de/

Source: Indie Retro News
 
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Absolutely insane - does it require enhancements beyond the base system eg RAM upgrades etc?
 
Snes nes said:
whats this operating system and why is it special
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It allows multitasking and a modern desktop on old 8-bit computers.

HariSeldon said:
Absolutely insane - does it require enhancements beyond the base system eg RAM upgrades etc?
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It runs on the base systems, but more RAM the better from the sounds of it.

- We recommend to use SymbOS on an Amstrad CPC system with more than 128KB ram and a mass storage device like the SYMBiFACE 3, M4Board or a SYMBiFACE II compatible IDE hardware (X-MASS).
 
Bullet Club said:
It runs on the base systems, but more RAM the better from the sounds of it.

- We recommend to use SymbOS on an Amstrad CPC system with more than 128KB ram and a mass storage device like the SYMBiFACE 3, M4Board or a SYMBiFACE II compatible IDE hardware (X-MASS).
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Bit of a niche within a niche then. I'm not sure how many people expand their Amstrads tbh though my 8-bit knowledge isn't what it should be. Certainly in the 16-bit world there was a disparity with the Amiga being easier to upgrade and more expensive leading to more people doing it (as the owners were generally wealthier) while the cheaper harder-to-upgrade Atari ST tended to remain stock in most cases. Of course any machine in active use now will likely have a Gotek drive but not much beyond that.
 
Bullet Club said:
It looks like RAM packs have been released for it that connect to the expansion port.

X-MEM, a new memory expansion for all CPC.

X-MEM, a new memory expansion for all CPC.
www.cpcwiki.eu

Amstrad 512k RAM expansion for CPC 6128 & 6128/464+ Plus computers (not CPC464)

Amstrad 512k RAM expansion for CPC 6128 & 6128/464+ Plus computers (not CPC464)
www.simulant.uk www.simulant.uk
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Cool - I knew there was a lot of cool new hardware coming out on the Amiga scene but didn't realise the Amstrad was so healthy. It was my first computer, the first thing I coded on.
 
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Snes nes said:
whats this operating system and why is it special
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You're probably wondering why people do it. The answer is that it's a challenge to push the limits of a system far beyond what anyone thought was possible, squeezing every last drop of potential from the hardware to do what no one else has. No one is going to actually use this for anything, the fun for them is making it work.
 
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Amazing. Just to put this in perspective for console gamers: The Z80 was used as a sound processor in the Genesis/Mega Drive (The action on screen was controlled by the more powerful Motorola 68000 main processor).
This is a Windows Style OS running multitasks on a processor that was considered old in the early 1990s.
 
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bunta0 said:
Amazing. Just to put this in perspective for console gamers: The Z80 was used as a sound processor in the Genesis/Mega Drive (The action on screen was controlled by the more powerful Motorola 68000 main processor).
This is a Windows Style OS running multitasks on a processor that was considered old in the early 1990s.
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Consider the Z80 launched in 1975 way before people really had home computers, and even the 68000 is older than most people realise, having arrived in 1979. In both cases I think they arrived with more power and expense than was feasible for home computing but as production costs came down they became more practical. In a way one could argue that the seeming rapid development of CPU tech in the 1980s was actually just 1970s tech reaching affordability.
 
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Soodanim said:
You're probably wondering why people do it. The answer is that it's a challenge to push the limits of a system far beyond what anyone thought was possible, squeezing every last drop of potential from the hardware to do what no one else has. No one is going to actually use this for anything, the fun for them is making it work.
Click to expand...
thats pretty cool musta been quite a bit of work its interesting how we could theoretically use this if ya got to even though thats probably not realistic
 
HariSeldon said:
Bit of a niche within a niche then. I'm not sure how many people expand their Amstrads tbh though my 8-bit knowledge isn't what it should be. Certainly in the 16-bit world there was a disparity with the Amiga being easier to upgrade and more expensive leading to more people doing it (as the owners were generally wealthier) while the cheaper harder-to-upgrade Atari ST tended to remain stock in most cases. Of course any machine in active use now will likely have a Gotek drive but not much beyond that.
Click to expand...
I am not an ST person by any means, but isn't a RAM upgrade to 4 mb quite common in those circles?
 
Stifler's Mom said:
I am not an ST person by any means, but isn't a RAM upgrade to 4 mb quite common in those circles?
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Not uncommon for a modern STe but rare back in the day, but the STFM was a bitch to upgrade so less common with that. In truth though there's little point having more than 1MB since virtually nothing uses more.
 
HariSeldon said:
Not uncommon for a modern STe but rare back in the day, but the STFM was a bitch to upgrade so less common with that. In truth though there's little point having more than 1MB since virtually nothing uses more.
Click to expand...
wasn't ram a big deal back then or was it all consumer hype
 
Snes nes said:
wasn't ram a big deal back then or was it all consumer hype
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Ram was a big deal but most users were gamers, games tend to be built for hardware that's most common, so most ST games were built for 0.5MB STFM with a few for 1MB STe. Serious software sometimes needed more but usually it would run on 1MB with enhancements for more, because so few people had more.
 
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