Kitty – the mascot of AROS (by Eric Scwartz) since 2002
Short introduction
AROS stands for AROS Research Operating System (pronounced AR-OS) and it is a open source implementation of AmigaOS 3.1 which ceased development in 1994 when it's original owners Commodore international went bankrupt.* Back then, several Amiga fans wanted to follow the example of Linux (an open source implementation of Unix) and make an open source alternative that would belong to the community rather than an commercial entity.Work started in 1995 under the name of Amiga Replacement Operating System. The idea was, like the name implies, to completely replace the existing AmigaOS. But since the idea also was to be platform independent they change the name to Amiga Research Operating System. However, since the brand name Amiga is copyrighted the developers changed the name once again to it's current recursive acronym.
During the years AROS made slow but steady progress and are now reaching the end of it's alpha stage. Today AROS is good enough for certain everyday functions like internet browsing and e-mailing, but can still not compete with the big players like Windows, MacOS and Linux. However, AROS is much faster and much more responsive than the mentioned operating systems.
And much more fun to play with!
Features
The look of Icaros Desktop – a very popular AROS distro
If you are used to AmigaOS 3.1 you will feel right at home with AROS. But even if you have never used it (or have not used it for a long time) you will understand most of it by just using Windows or MacOS. And if you like the Linux prompt you are going to like Shell. AROS have something for every taste. Some good features might be new to you though.
RAM
Every computer needs Random Access Memory (RAM) to ship data back and forward. In AROS you can also use it as a temporary hard drive. Everything you put in RAM is going to disappear once you restart your computer. A very useful feature indeed.
Distributions
AROS doesn't come feature complete and lacks most everyday programs. In come the distributions, or distros. These distros are tailor made for the end user. They are bug tested and comes with a variety of useful third party programs. It is highly recommended to use any of these distros to test AROS. Here are the main ones:Icaros Desktop – A very popular distro targeted mainly at desktop computers (x86 based computers). Have most applications imaginable pre-installed.
AspireOS – A lighter distro than the others tailor made for the x86 Acer Aspire One mini laptop series (more precisely models A110, A150 and ZG5).
Broadway – A distro made for the ARESONE AROS x86 desktop computer line.
AEROS – A Linux and Broadway based AROS distro in order to use it on more x86 computers, plus you can use Linux applications as well.
AROS Vision – A distro for Amiga computers.
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* Later Hyperion Entertainment would develop a new operating system called AmigaOS 4 that is based on the original 3.1 source code. They have continued development since early 2000's.
