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Goto Technical
FAQ Questions
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What is RISC OS 6? |
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RISC OS 6 is the latest, most up to date, version of
RISCOS to be released by RISCOS
Ltd. It is based on a completely 26 bit / 32 bit
neutral source. From that source can be built either a 26 bit version
suitable for machines such as the Risc PC, A7000, A7000+, R7500, Omega, A6 & Mico,
or a 32 bit version suitable for
computers such as the A9
Home and Iyonix.
N.B complete support for some of these computers may
require additional software development which has not yet been undertaken. |
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What computers is RISC OS 6
going to be available for? |
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RISC OS 6 has been released initially as a softload for existing
and previous Select
subscribers. The release is a softload suitable for
Risc PC, A7000 and Virtual Acorn products. The softload versions of RISC OS 6
will only load on top of RISC OS 4.00 and above. It will not officially be
available as a softload for Omega, Mico or R7500 computers as we either do
not have access to hardware to test those versions, or they require the
inclusion of software components to which we do not have rights. Some of the
components of RISC OS Six have been reported to work on the above machines,
but we cannot offer any support for them. |
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Why is it called RISC OS 6? |
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RISC OS 4 has always been linked with 26 bit computers
and so it was logical that with the move to a new source base, that supported
both 26 and 32 bit computers, that it would be accompanied by a new version, or name,
for the new release. Earlier version numbers of RISC OS were linked to
the kernel number. However in RISC OS 4 the kernel version numbers have
increased far faster than general updates to the whole Operating System. The
current kernel has gone over the 10.00 mark, (up from 6.80 in RISC OS 4.39)
and so it was decided that the next release would have to be something other
than RISC OS 4. Since RISC OS 5 had already been used,
it was logical that RISC OS 6 be the name for the next version of RISC OS
developed by RISCOS Ltd.
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Is RISC OS 6 the same as Select 4? |
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No. RISC OS 6 is the base from which all future
versions of RISC OS, to be released by RISCOS Ltd, will be developed. RISC OS
6 Preview contained a number of features over and above those that are
necessary solely to accommodate the 32 bit conversion of RISC OS 4.39
(Select3i4). |
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Who will get RISC OS 6? |
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The RISC OS 6 Preview was available for FREE DOWNLOAD for
anyone who renewed their RISC OS Select subscription after May 31st 2004
even if that subscription had since lapsed. Full
releases of RISC 6 (such as 4i2 or 4i4) are only available to registered
subscribers to the RISC OS Select scheme. A years subscription costs from
�99 and offers one years worth of updates plus a licence to install RISC OS
6 on up to 10 compatible machines.
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Does RISC OS 6 have a HAL like RISC
OS 5? |
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RISC OS 6 has a hardware abstracted kernel, which allows
for support of hardware components which are fundamentally different to the
original Acorn hardware designed around the VIDC, IOMD and MEMC chips. This
abstraction allowed Advantage 6, for example, to write the necessary code to
allow RISC OS to run on the A9 Home hardware without any alterations to the
main RISC OS components. In effect it is a Hardware Abstraction Layer, but
it is all contained within the RISC OS 6 kernel.
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So is RISC OS 6 just another name
for Select 4? |
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No. RISC OS 6 is the 32 bit neutral version of RISC OS
developed by RISCOS Ltd. It is being made available via two channels. Adjust
32 is the name for the 32 bit version of RISC OS 6 which is available on
the A9Home. RISC OS 6 will also be available via the Select 4 scheme. |
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What connection does RISC OS 6 have
with Advantage 6? |
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Lets just say that it is not a co-incidence, indeed we
hope that everyone will soon see the advantages of RISC OS 6. |
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Is there going to be a RISC OS 6
version for the Iyonix? |
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We have always been committed to providing RISC OS 4 (and
now RISC OS 6) on all desktop RISC OS capable machines. This has been
evidenced by our co-operation with all the manufacturers who have wanted to
use RISC OS on their products. The most notable examples of this are the work
we have done with Advantage 6 to bring the A9Home to market, and with 3QD
on the VirtualAcorn product range, which now includes StrongARM processor
emulation and which will shortly be expanded to provide support for RISC OS
6. We are awaiting further news from RISC OS Open Ltd and
Castle Technology Ltd as to their further plans for the development of RISC OS
5. Some people have assumed that because we have not made any definite
announcements with respect to Select 4 on the Iyonix, that we are not
interested in doing the work. The facts are however that our resources are
limited, and priority has been given to working with partners who actively
want RISC OS Select features on their products.
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Will the RISC OS 6 source be
available? |
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There are no plans to make RISC OS 6 source available
for public access. However RISCOS Ltd has always been willing to work with
developers who require access to source code in order to develop
specific products, and that policy will continue. Several projects are
currently underway that are based on co-operation with other developers. |
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Is RISC OS 6 going to utilise any
features available from the Open Sourcing of RISC OS 5? |
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We await the full details of the licensing terms and
conditions that will be applicable to RISC OS 5 source code. When these are
known we shall be able to review the situation. However the current
expectation is that there are very few features that are present in RISC OS
5 that are missing in RISC OS 6, that have a very high priority for
inclusion in future releases of RISC OS 6. |
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Physical ROM versions |
| RISC OS 4.02 |
Risc PC |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 4.03 |
Omega, Mico, RiscStation R7500 |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 4.04 |
Kinetic Risc PC |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 4.39 |
Risc PC, A7000, Omega |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 4.42 |
A9Home |
32 bit |
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Softload versions |
| RISC OS 4.39 |
Risc PC, A7000, Omega, Mico,
R7500, Virtual Acorn |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 6.06 |
Risc PC, A7000, Virtual
Acorn |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 6.10 |
Risc PC, A7000, Virtual
Acorn |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 6.14 |
Risc PC, A7000, Virtual
Acorn |
26 bit |
| RISC OS 6.20 |
Risc PC, A7000, Virtual
Acorn |
26 bit |
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