Was the Amiga the 1st true multi-tasking home computer?

metalmackey · 16 Feb 2008 at 22:15

Ello guys,

I was just thinking how good the Amiga was in its day

IIRC (i'm getting old

) Workbench had things windows still doesn't have. Icons of any size for each app and animated too. So was it the first multi-tasking home computer? And why dont companies name chips like Fat Angus anymore?

pegasus1 · 16 Feb 2008 at 23:35

True multi tasking needs more than 1 CPU core so no it didnt multi task. Contrary to urban legend, woman cant multi task because humans cant multi task. We, like single core CPU's can do one thing then pause and do another thing then carry on with the first task. The human brain uses a temp storage system much like a PC wil use its memory to store information while it carries out other tasks.
Having said that the Amiga in all its guises (and i have 2 in the loft) was very advanced in the GUI department.

dan^uk · 16 Feb 2008 at 23:49

In terms of the computing definition of multitasking, the Amiga did it (preemptive multitasking to be exact).

Unix-based systems and VMS did preemptive multitasking around the same time, however the Amiga was the first to be widely available to home users.

Oh and a human can multitask (try driving a car without multitasking!).

Outcast · 16 Feb 2008 at 23:51

Have some Enlightenment

metalmackey · 16 Feb 2008 at 23:52

I remember most of the demod had copper bars bouncing

The ST could do good stuff too, I saw a demo with 4 channel sound and 4096 colours LOL

pegasus1 · 17 Feb 2008 at 00:10

Outcast said:
Have some Enlightenment

Right back at ya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context_switching

metalmackey · 17 Feb 2008 at 00:26

Has programming gotten easier or harder now? I reckon easier coz CPUs are fast enough to need less optimising. Also, SDKS do half the work for ya LOL

spicypixel · 17 Feb 2008 at 00:35

I dunno, its pretty hit an miss, due to lots of SDK's it means that it can break when they get updated, there's more hardware variety about to have to base performance on.

pegasus1 · 17 Feb 2008 at 00:38

metalmackey said:
Has programming gotten easier or harder now? I reckon easier coz CPUs are fast enough to need less optimising. Also, SDKS do half the work for ya LOL

Console games ported to PC are a classic example of lazy programming.

Dano · 17 Feb 2008 at 00:57

pegasus1 said:
True multi tasking needs more than 1 CPU core so no it didnt multi task. Contrary to urban legend, woman cant multi task because humans cant multi task. We, like single core CPU's can do one thing then pause and do another thing then carry on with the first task. The human brain uses a temp storage system much like a PC wil use its memory to store information while it carries out other tasks.
Having said that the Amiga in all its guises (and i have 2 in the loft) was very advanced in the GUI department.

Not really, the amiga while only having one CPU (actually mine has two, pity it could only use one at a time...) did indeed use seperate chips to achieve several tasks at the same time. The blitter for example, could be doing things independantly of the CPU and vice versa so it was a true multitasking computer, but I think it's more probably akin to the PC's CPU and hardware soundcards/gfx cards to be honest.

Had mine apart just yesterday trying to fix it, poor thing is in a right state after some so called 'mate' borrowed it and left it in a damp garage for over a year over a grands worth (well ok, not anymore) of machine DOA

chesterstu · 17 Feb 2008 at 01:13

pegasus1 said:
True multi tasking needs more than 1 CPU core so no it didnt multi task. Contrary to urban legend, woman cant multi task because humans cant multi task. We, like single core CPU's can do one thing then pause and do another thing then carry on with the first task. The human brain uses a temp storage system much like a PC wil use its memory to store information while it carries out other tasks.
Having said that the Amiga in all its guises (and i have 2 in the loft) was very advanced in the GUI department.

That's parallel processing not multi tasking, school boy error tbh they teach that in Level 1 compsci at uni

pegasus1 · 17 Feb 2008 at 01:18

Dano said:
Not really, the amiga while only having one CPU (actually mine has two, pity it could only use one at a time...) did indeed use seperate chips to achieve several tasks at the same time.

So tou are saying you had a multi core/cpu Amiga.
Modern PC's use seperate hardware to work concurrently with the CPU but that isnt really multi tasking.
Today i recorded MOTD whilst ripping and encoding Saving Private Ryan, now that is multi tasking , used both my cores at 100%.

Dano · 17 Feb 2008 at 01:30

So tou are saying you had a multi core/cpu Amiga.

Still have, it has 2 CPU's inside it, but as I said it cannot use both as far as I know.

Modern PC's use seperate hardware to work concurrently with the CPU but that isnt really multi tasking.

You're right, it's not multitasking, but the amiga could, it did use those chips individually and independantly and that was multitasking.

Today i recorded MOTD whilst ripping and encoding Saving Private Ryan, now that is multi tasking , used both my cores at 100%.

Doesn't mean it was multitasking, effective context switching could do that, I refer you to your earlier link

pegasus1 · 17 Feb 2008 at 02:34

Dano said:
Still have, it has 2 CPU's inside it, but as I said it cannot use both as far as I know.

You're right, it's not multitasking, but the amiga could, it did use those chips individually and independantly and that was multitasking.

Doesn't mean it was multitasking, effective context switching could do that, I refer you to your earlier link

Both cores at 100%.
The Amiga had a single CPU my friend, not a multi core.

semi-pro waster · 17 Feb 2008 at 02:39

pegasus1 said:
True multi tasking needs more than 1 CPU core so no it didnt multi task. Contrary to urban legend, woman cant multi task because humans cant multi task. We, like single core CPU's can do one thing then pause and do another thing then carry on with the first task. The human brain uses a temp storage system much like a PC wil use its memory to store information while it carries out other tasks.
Having said that the Amiga in all its guises (and i have 2 in the loft) was very advanced in the GUI department.

If I'm wrong please correct me but it sounds like what you are effectively saying is we time-splice basically, the same as any single core CPU would.

And for the original question, Atari ST was pretty much as good as the Amiga and even I wouldn't have called it a multi-tasking system as such, it came close but not quite,

Dano · 17 Feb 2008 at 03:51

pegasus1 said:
Both cores at 100%.

As already pointed out, that could just be parrallel processing and context switching, not multitasking. However, you are to my knowledge correct in thinking it is truely multitasking by seperating processes accross the cores.

The Amiga had a single CPU my friend, not a multi core.

No, mine has two, the original 68000 and the 68030 in the expansion board, as I said, it cannot use both so far as I am aware even though both are present in the system.

mame · 17 Feb 2008 at 11:24

The a1200's took an expansion card that had a maths co-processor and usually 'fast' RAM aswell

metalmackey · 17 Feb 2008 at 12:20

Did it actually say Fat Angus on the chip? Or was it just a nickname that stuck?

mame · 17 Feb 2008 at 12:26

I'm surprised no one has mentioned what 'amiga' means? Its spanish for female friend. Amigo - Amiga, Male - female.

"Might stay in tonight and play on my female friend"

aph · 17 Feb 2008 at 12:38

pegasus1 said:
True multi tasking needs more than 1 CPU core so no it didnt multi task. Contrary to urban legend, woman cant multi task because humans cant multi task. We, like single core CPU's can do one thing then pause and do another thing then carry on with the first task. The human brain uses a temp storage system much like a PC wil use its memory to store information while it carries out other tasks.
Having said that the Amiga in all its guises (and i have 2 in the loft) was very advanced in the GUI department.

Not entirely true. What about autonomous movents. Not me personally, I don't smoke, but people can drive a car, smoke a fag, have a conversation and listen to the radio... all at the same time? That's multiple "tasks" done simultaniously.