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'''TOS''' was the operating system used on the [[Motorola]] 68k based computer systems released by [[Atari]] in mid 1980's and early 1990's, the ST, Mega, TT and Falcon systems. An official explanation for the acronym was never given by Atari, but it is often said to simply mean "The Operating System", or perhaps "Tramiel Operating System", after the owner of Atari Corporation at the time, [[Jack Tramiel]].
'''TOS''' was the [[operating system]] used on the [[Motorola]] 68k based computer systems released by [[Atari]] in mid 1980's and early 1990's, the ST, Mega, TT and Falcon systems. An official explanation for the acronym was never given by Atari, but it is often said to simply mean "The Operating System", or perhaps "Tramiel Operating System", after the owner of Atari Corporation at the time, [[Jack Tramiel]].
== Characteristics ==
== Characteristics ==
== MiNT Becomes MultiTOS ==
== MiNT Becomes MultiTOS ==
In the early 90’s it became clear that a true multi-tasking was the future of operating systems. Although TOS had been greatly improved by a mix of incremental developments, particularly with the release of the Atari Falcon, it was also the release of this more sophisticated system that showed the limitations of the system.
In the early 90's it became clear that a true multi-tasking was the future of operating systems. Although TOS had been greatly improved by a mix of incremental developments, particularly with the release of the Atari Falcon, it was also the release of this more sophisticated system that showed the limitations of the system.
An independent programmer from Canada, called Eric Smith had already been exploring such options when he realised the difficulty of porting UNIX programs over to TOS. He developed a multi-tasking operating system that was fully TOS compatible, but contained better, though still limited, multi-tasking, and several UNIX similarities, making porting programs from UNIX much simpler.
An independent programmer from Canada, called Eric Smith had already been exploring such options when he realised the difficulty of porting UNIX programs over to TOS. He developed a multi-tasking operating system that was fully TOS compatible, but contained better, though still limited, multi-tasking, and several UNIX similarities, making porting programs from UNIX much simpler.
Smith had released his work on the internet as a GNU project, and a prominent programmer at Atari itself, Allan Pratt, became aware of the project, and suggested that Atari use MiNT as a kernel for a new and improved version of TOS that would be able to take advantage of multi-tasking and also improve it’s networking skills. Later Atari systems had, after all, been released with both AppleTalk networking ports, and the Falcon sported as DSP port, which it was anticipated would be used for a sophisticated type of analogue modem, which ultimately never surfaced.
Smith had released his work on the internet as a GNU project, and a prominent programmer at Atari itself, Allan Pratt, became aware of the project, and suggested that Atari use MiNT as a kernel for a new and improved version of TOS that would be able to take advantage of multi-tasking and also improve it's networking skills. Later Atari systems had, after all, been released with both AppleTalk networking ports, and the Falcon sported as DSP port, which it was anticipated would be used for a sophisticated type of analogue modem, which ultimately never surfaced.
The proposal for MiNT forming the basis of a new version fo TOS was accepted, and MultiTOS was born.
The proposal for MiNT forming the basis of a new version fo TOS was accepted, and MultiTOS was born.
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.
[[Category:American Inventions]]
[[Category:American Inventions]]
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Operating Systems]]