Subject: 3.0 is NOT 2.1+AGA! (was Re: Installing WB 3.0 on an Amiga 500?)
From: Christoph <[email-masked]>
Date: 20 Apr 1993 08:08:08 +0200
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc

[...]

Differences between AmigaOS Release 2.1 and AmigaOS Release 3.0:

(listed in the order they sprang to my mind :)

- Support for AGA chipset (obviously...) esp. for Sprites
- Enhanced performance and reliability (thousands of fixes!!!)
- New data types system with AmigaGuide, text, picture and sound data types
- MultiView replacing Display as a general file/clipboard viewer
- New BOOPSI pointer, colorwheel and gradientslider objects
- New directory caching file systems (DOS4, DOS5)
- Screen, Workbench, and window backdrop picture and pattern
- System supplied and customizable 'busy pointer'
- Palette sharing, support for 96 bit colors
- Complete new Palette Preferences allows customization of GUI colors
- Interleaved bitmaps for improved speed on deep displays
- Much improved and fixed GadTools for better 'look and feel'
- Faster memory allocation routines
- New memory handlers for "poor man's" virtual memory
- Support for future OwnerID/GroupID and related protection bits
- DOS allows early abort of ExAll call
- Asynchronous WB Info requester, callable by applications
- New commands for ASL and Easy requesters (from Shell)
- PAL/NTSC bootup switch along with enhanced bootup menu
- HDToolBox uses GadTools and other fixes
- Screen attachement (AKA screen families)
- MUCH faster layers (i.e. windows :)
- Timed alert for GURU (reboots automatically)
- New SAD (Standard Amiga Debugger?) replaces ROMWack
- Exec supports memory pools (FAAST!)
- New message based semaphore system (can be used with old semaphores)
- Some forward thinking functions in gfx to support RTG
- Faster console (bitplane masking!) and fixes
- Support for graphic tablets
- 'NewLook' menus with scaled Amiga and checkmark images
- Much improved QBlit() system
- ...

Anything forgotten? (Mail me, I'm compiling a *complete* list :)

Christoph 'Pepo' Feck, TowerSystems.