Changes

== Characteristics ==

== Characteristics ==

TOS is stored on non-rewritable [[ROM]] chips attached to the motherboard, giving the system an "instant on" capability. However if no disk was present (either hard or floppy) the system would usually wait a considerable time before booting to chance for one to be inserted.  

TOS is stored on non-rewritable [[ROM]] chips attached to the motherboard, giving the system an "instant on" capability. However, if no disk was present (either hard or floppy) the system would usually wait a considerable time before booting to chance for one to be inserted.  

The TOS ROM's contain the GEM (Graphical Environment Manager) GUI from Digital Research, and is similar to the MAC-OS "classic" GUI of the mid 1980's. Early versions of this (prior to TOS 2.06) were restricted in that additional icons could not be placed on the desktop for quick launching. Later versions were much more flexible. In addition it was possible to use any number of third party "replacement" desktops (and even complete GUI's).  

The TOS ROM's contain the GEM (Graphical Environment Manager) GUI from Digital Research, and is similar to the MAC-OS "classic" GUI of the mid 1980s. Early versions of this (prior to TOS 2.06) were restricted in that additional icons could not be placed on the desktop for quick launching. Later versions were much more flexible. In addition it was possible to use any number of third party "replacement" desktops (and even complete GUI's).  

TOS allows for co-operative multi-tasking. This is done by the use of "Accessories", specially designed programs that are launched on startup and accessed from the "Desk" menu. They are distinguished by having an *.acc extension and must be stored in the parent or BOOT directory on a disk or hard drive. Normal (*.PRG) programs cannot be used as accessories. Up to 6 accessories may be available on any one boot partition. Only one *.PRG program may be used at once.

TOS allows for co-operative multi-tasking. This is done by the use of "Accessories", specially designed programs that are launched on startup and accessed from the "Desk" menu. They are distinguished by having an *.acc extension and must be stored in the parent or BOOT directory on a disk or hard drive. Normal (*.PRG) programs cannot be used as accessories. Up to 6 accessories may be available on any one boot partition. Only one *.PRG program may be used at once.

== MultiTOS Features ==

== MultiTOS Features ==

MultiTOS was a major leap forward for TOS, and in some ways this was it’s downfall. The new AES, which handled graphical calls and essentially acted as the bridge between the operating system itself as the GEM desktop was a dramatic step forward from previous versions, including three dimensional and colour icon support, as well as extended colour depths and all the slightly weird screen resolutions that the Falcon supported with it’s entirely new VIDEL graphics chip. This, combined with the heavier MiNT kernel made the OS slow and somewhat bloated. It was the only version of TOS since v1.0 to be supplied on floppy disk (a further performance bottleneck) rather than ROM.  

MultiTOS was a major leap forward for TOS, and in some ways this was its downfall. The new AES, which handled graphical calls and essentially acted as the bridge between the operating system itself as the GEM desktop was a dramatic step forward from previous versions, including three dimensional and colour icon support, as well as extended colour depths and all the slightly weird screen resolutions that the Falcon supported with its entirely new VIDEL graphics chip. This, combined with the heavier MiNT kernel made the OS slow and somewhat bloated. It was the only version of TOS since v1.0 to be supplied on floppy disk (a further performance bottleneck) rather than ROM.  

In addition, MultiTOS supported true multi-tasking, improving on MiNT's early restrictions of being able to support multiple command line ("TOS applications"), but not but programs that used the GUI ("GEM applications").  

In addition, MultiTOS supported true multi-tasking, improving on MiNT's early restrictions of being able to support multiple command line ("TOS applications"), but not but programs that used the GUI ("GEM applications").  

==MultiTOS Becomes MiNT==

==MultiTOS Becomes MiNT==

As Atari abandoned MultiTOS, Smith persuaded Atari to release the MultiTOS code onto the internet, to allow further community development. Atari agreed, and MultiTOS and MiNT ultimately swapped roles, MultiTOS becoming the foundations for a new generation MiNT operating system. As open source and third party development of Atari based hardware developed, the bottlenecks imposed by the Falcon hardware were mostly overcome, and MiNT has been able to develop increasingly sophisticated features, incorporating advances from both other TOS projects as well as the [[Linux]] world.

As Atari abandoned MultiTOS, Smith persuaded Atari to release the MultiTOS code onto the internet, to allow further community development. Atari agreed, and MultiTOS and MiNT ultimately swapped roles, MultiTOS becoming the foundations for a new generation MiNT operating system. As open source and third party development of Atari-based hardware developed, the bottlenecks imposed by the Falcon hardware were mostly overcome, and MiNT has been able to develop increasingly sophisticated features, incorporating advances from both other TOS projects as well as the [[Linux]] world.

==See Also==

==See also==

* [[Operating system]]

* [[Operating system]]

* [[Tails (operating system)|Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System]]

* [[Tails (operating system)|Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System]]