RISC OS On Raspberry Pi

RISC OS review and demo on a Raspberry Pi 3 B+, including running BBC BASIC. RISC OS was originally designed by Acorn in 1987 as the first operating system for an ARM processor, and now has its source code managed by RISC OS Open Limited (ROOL).

If you enjoy this video, you may like some of my other alternative operating system reviews and demos, including:

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#RISCOS #RaspberryPi #ExplainingComputers

[mjdxp]

I really love these alternate operating system videos, they really give an interesting look on the possibilities there could have been for operating systems today.

[matthehat]

RiscOS was the first GUI-based OS I ever used. The Acorn A3000s we had at school were truly amazing machines. My dad had a PC compatible at the time and I remember it blew his mind seeing them on parents evening. I still occasionally use RiscOS today on my Archimedes A440 whenever I fancy playing PacMania

[SussexHistory]

I know it seems like a toy, but programming in BBC Basic under RISC OS is a much simpler way to develop for an embedded system. Whereas under Linux you'd have to develop in C, compile it, test it, compile it, test it, under RISC OS you can use the GPIO library with BBC Basic and it'll work just as fast! The topic of your next video is "Controlling LEDs with the Raspberry Pi using RISC OS"! Have fun!

[Desmaad]

RISC OS is the OS that pioneered the contextual menu, for which we should be forever thankful.

[twoshedsjackson]

This video took me back to 1973 and writing BASIC programs on a teletype ( no visual display in those days ) connected between my school and the Hatfield Polytechnic DEC System 10. I must have been among the very earliest children taught "Computer Science".

[TheSulross]

One of the great virtues of the early 80s micros is they tended to support having their power switch turned on and then boot (from ROM) immediately to a BASIC prompt. That characteristic made them great for novices to learn and explore.

The RISC OS supporting the Raspberry Pi - where it boots (fairly quickly) from an SD card, and that the RISC OS provides a very quick and easy entry access to get to a BASIC prompt, I believe this combo (RISC OS and Raspberry Pi) comes closest of anything available today (other than antique retro hardware purchased off of eBay) to equaling that early 80s micro experience.

And really it's superior than the early 80s micros in that the BBC BASIC is a much better dialect of BASIC than Microsoft BASIC (that was used in practically all the other early 80s era PCs). BBC BASIC is faster performing, as better structure programming capability, and is more full featured. If one is a neophyte and wants to learn an 80s BASIC, it's the one to learn.

A;sp the RISC OS is rather nice all and all for an 80s GUI desktop OS. Very compact implementation (fast and lean). And unlike all the others from that era, the RISC OS itself still lives and breaths and is being maintained. If you go with Mac classic or Amiga, or Apple IIgs, etc., all those require finding retro hardware or buying rather expensive (and imperfect) hardware recreations or software emulation programs. Yet a modern, in production, Raspberry Pi can run the 80s era RISC OS (or modified variant thereof). That's almost unique (well, other than allowing that modern PCs can run MS-DOS - but not quite the same proposition).

THIS NEEDS TO BE MORE OF A THING ==>> RISC OS/BBC BASIC running on very affordable Raspberry Pi

Folks that is your ticket to getting a taste of retro computing - be an experiencer instead of just a passive on-looker

[starttherebellion]

I thoroughly enjoy every one of your videos Chris! I feel the world will be OK when I see you on the monitor and hear your reassuring voice and positive demeanor. You could make videos about anything, and I'd be happy watching them. Learning about new computer technology (and future trends on your other channel) is just a bonus! :D

[willyarma_uk]

Yay RISC OS. I was beginning to think you were ignoring it but that was a great video and demonstrated it quite nicely. I'm very pleased you covered it. I had an Archimedes from 1990 (and a BBC before that) and spent every day programming it when I was a teenager. I still have those original computers.

[cdl]

To keep the desktop tidy, open things using the right button, which closes the parent. Closing things with the right button will open the parent, and if I remember correctly, if you click on the close icon while holding either shift or ctrl (I don't remember which) then the parent opens without closing the child.

The apps are directories (folders) that contain their resources, which generally follow a set structure. Hold down the shift key and double-click to open them instead of running them. There is normally a script called !Run that does whatever is needed to run an app, and another called !Boot that deals with the preliminaries when an app is first seen by the file manager. The icon images for the app are in a file called !Sprites. Installing apps is simply a case of copying the whole directory, and uninstalling is done by deleting the folder.

[Kohm]

I remember using RISCOS in school, I could not understand why anyone would ever use a PC at the time

[chriholt]

Yet another fascinating and nostalgic look at an OS seemingly frozen in time. Thanks Chris!

[MrSoftypolimer]

This brings me back to my high school days.

[kjamison]

Thank you, Christopher. I found this informative as well as entertaining.

I was introduced to RiscOS 2 in 1995 when I began working at a school. It was quite an intuitive system and although I was unfamiliar with it, I soon understood how to get the best from it.

The biggest problem by far was the lack of printer drivers. Most new printers came with Windows or MacOS drivers. Our local Education Support Centre had to code drivers from scratch and then release them to schools - it usually involved a twenty minute drive to the centre to pick up the floppy disks. On the plus side, I got to have a conversation with one of the IT guys with whom I had been to FE college.

The other problem was teachers in that department buying printers and then asking me to install them in classrooms. My first question was if they had driver disks for that printer and the answer was usually “Isn’t that your job to create the drivers?”

Of course, it wasn’t. One printer sat in its box for three months until the IT support guys received enough requests for a driver to be written. They were busy guys and didn’t turn out drivers unless there was enough demand.

Thankfully a shift in how IT was delivered in schools saw the Archimedes systems consigned to recycling while Windows XP computers replaced them and a new IT guy at the school took over.

[TTULangGenius]

I love the Pi’s versatility! I recently got a Raspberry Pi 3 B+with my Christmas money and am eager to try so many things on it (your channel was a factor in my decision to buy one).

Going to try out RISC OS now! :)

[jamzap]

Always Amazing Analysis. 2019 is off to an excellent start.

[marcusaureliusf]

I loved how you explained the basic functions of the user interface. Many other channels skip that part and I'm like "Wow, what do all these buttons do?"

[piers]

This was really interesting to watch and demonstrates an operating system from around the time I was born. Excellent video.

[esra_erimez]

Yet another fantastic video with Sunday morning breakfast. This is a wonderful introduction to RISC OS, anyone that is interested should look into interviews posted on YouTube with Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber. They are the architects of the ARM processor and RISC OS.

[johnm]

Another trip down memory lane. I started with a BBC Microcomputer back in the day and when it was launched I bought an Archimedes and, later, a Risc PC. BBC BASIC is wonderfully powerful and it even includes a built-in assembler. I didn't realise that RISC OS had finally been made open source. I'm going to dedicate a Raspberry Pi to running it.

[drhlucas]

What a trip down memory lane. I grew up with an A410 and an A3000 running RISC OS 4 and have very fond memories of playing all sorts games on them. Twin World and Zool were two of my faves. My dad switched to Mac in 1995 but at least one of those machines lived on and some years later my grandmother wrote her thesis on it.