AROS centimeters closer to 64bit

We’ve just entered the new year, and that means we’re going to see some overviews about what the past year has brought. Today we’re looking at AROS, as AROS News – great name, very classy, you’ve got good taste, don’t change it – summarised AROS’ 2024, and it’s been a good year for the project. We don’t hear a lot about AROS-proper, as the various AROS distributions are a more optimal way of getting to know the operating system and the project’s communication hasn’t always been great, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been sitting still.

Perhaps the most surprising amount of progress in 2024 was made in the move from 32bit to 64bit AROS.

Deadwood also released a 64-bit version of the system (ABIv11) in a Linux hosted version (ABIv11 20241102-1) and AxRuntime version 41.12, which promises a complete switch to 64-bit in the near future. He has also developed a prototype emulator that will enable 64-bit AROS to run programs written for the 32-bit version of the system.
↫ Andrzej “retrofaza” Subocz at AROS News

This is great news for AROS, as being stuck in 32bit isn’t particularly future-proof. It might not pose many problems today, as older hardware remains available and 64bit x86 processors can handle running 32bit operating systems just fine, but you never know when that will change. Int the same vein, Deadwood also released a 64bit version of Oddysey, the WebKit-based browser, which was updated this year from August 2015’s WebKit to February 2019’s WebKit. Sure, 2019 might still be a little outdated, but it does mean a ton of complex sites now work again on AROS, and that’s a hugely positive development.

Things like Python and GCC were also updated this year, and there was, as is fitting for an Amiga-inspired operating system, a lot of activity in the gaming world, including big updates to Doom 3 and ScummVM. This is just a selection of course, so be sure to read Subocz’s entire summary at AROS News.