FreeMiNT
From SpareMiNT Wiki
FreeMiNT is a free, open-source operating system for 16/32bit Atari computers and clones, based on the original MiNT by Eric Smith and officially adopted by Atari Corp. It is compatible with TOS, but adds a lot of new functionality not available in any other TOS-compatible operating system.
- The origins of FreeMiNT
- Read more about compatibility
- Features
The current release is FreeMiNT 1.17. See the downloads-section for details.
[edit] FreeMiNT vs SpareMiNT
FreeMiNT is the name of the actual operating system, consisting of a kernel and a GEM compatible AES (XaAES). This is all you have to install if you only want to be able to run GEM-programs concurrently (ie. multi-tasking).
SpareMiNT is the name of a FreeMiNT distribution. It contains a lot of software ported from the unix-world, and properly set up it will give your Atari much of the functionality of a unix system while still being able to run GEM programs.
[edit] Why use FreeMiNT?
There are many good reasons for using FreeMiNT, the best reason is probably that you find it interesting! FreeMiNT offers a lot that TOS or other TOS-compatible operating systems don't.
- FreeMiNT is constantly being developed and supported by the FreeMiNT community.
- It's very flexible - it can be used as a pure multitasking GEM-replacement if you just need to run GEM-applications concurrently, or it can be used as a lightweight unix-clone.
- It's modular & extensible - support for additional features like file systems or networking can be added as modules.
- It's completely free (ie. owned by no-one). If you want, you can modify FreeMiNT to your needs and share your work with the FreeMiNT community.
- Runs on all Ataris, clones and emulators. Exotic hardware like the Afterburner or CT60 is supported.
- FreeMiNT also runs on the FireBee.
[edit] About the Wiki
This wiki is a project to allow the FreeMiNT community to help create and maintain up-to-date documentation. Do you want to contribute to this project? Please read these guidelines on how to contribute.
