It took a little longer than originally planned, but the new version of Icaros Desktop is now online. We've done all our best to make it better than before, with more stable system files and better polishing of all parts. Many little glitches of the past have been removed, many applications have changed place, AmiStart menu are now faster to load also in "full" mode and the look & feel of the operating system should be the best so far. We have changed the way AmiBridge and LUPD work, introduced a new preference tool for Icaros Services (no more ugly script), made integration of M68K application easy, enhanced 3D support, extended screen dragging to VESA modes, chosen with care the best games we could include and re-compiled most of them to use the latest SDL libraries. This is true also for emulators, and thanks to Yannick Erb we have also a little 'exclusive': the FCE Ultra emulator for Nintendo NES. As usual, I'd like to thank all the people who helped me: Neil, Deadwood, Yannick, Niko, Steve, Luke and everyone who downloaded the internal betas, tested them, and spotted the bugs I could not notice alone. They also helped me providing fresher and fixed binaries, and in a few words they made Icaros Desktop 1.3 a reality. We really hope you'll enjoy our distribution, try it on your PC and maybe install it onto a spare, compatible machine, to use it everyday.Press Release / Fact Sheet
Editors who wish to learn quickly about Icaros Desktop, can download a PDF sheet here
> Download PDF press release in English (1,2 MB)
New from Icaros Desktop 1.2.6
- kernel from may 27th 2011 and system files from may 14th
- fixed arosc.library
- new GRUB
- updated almost every SDL game and emulators
- new SDL and MESA libraries version
- reworked AmiStart full behavior (will be faster)
- reworked directory layout under Extras
- exclusive feature: NES emulator FCEU
- added screen dragging for VESA modes
- reworked AmiBridge, now with seamless integration (1)(2)
- reworked LiveUpdater, now using update packs instead of ISOs
- better artistry
- removed unnecessary games and programs
- added some new games and applications
- improved stability over 1.2.6
- improved compatibility with AmigaOS 3.x APIs
- improved support for USB network adapters and modems
- improved graphic drivers for VESA modes
- updated Nouveau Nvidia driver to version 5.30
- fixed and improved Giana's Return
- added Sqrxz and Sqrxz 2
- added LPairs and Primate Plunge
- updated Text2Pdf to latest version
- added lolcode interpreter to development tools
- updated nasm to latest version
- updated fpc to latest version (2.5.1)
- updated VICE to latest version (except C128 emulator)
- updated atari++ and Hatari to latest version
- added Stella to emulators
- ...and many more!
Hardware requirements (for Live! mode and installation)
Any pentium-class x86 or x64 processor from AMD or Intel; any AGP or PCI Exress card; PS/2 mice and keyboards are best, but USB ones should work too; a EIDE or SATA DVD-ROM drive; 64 MB of RAM for the minimum full-featured experience (256 Mb or more recommended); EIDE/PATA hard drive with 4 GB of free (unpartitioned) space; Many SATA chipsets are already supported. SATA drives in IDE mode should work flawlessly.
Notes:
(1) AmiBridge now works differently, please look at this video and read the Icaros manual for proper configuration. Using Amiga Forever from Cloanto is heavily suggested.
(2) There is a limit to resolutions Janus-UAE can use for integration. If you notice issues at highest resolution, try lowering both AROS and AmigaOS screen size first.