Kev Beardsworth reckons the two recent Geneva releases have put Geneva back on the map...Geneva undergoes constant development by Dan Wilga at Gribnif software and offers an alternative to MagiC for anyone looking for a reliable multitasking operating system. I'm sure most Geneva users who have kept the faith since the early releases are fed up being told Geneva is inferior to MagiC because it's "only a co-operative multi-tasking system". Don't let this technical difference worry you! You would be hard pushed to benchmark the difference let alone notice it in everyday working environment. Anyway from the release of Geneva release 4 Geneva does support pre-emptive multitasking used together with MiNT for anyone who really needs it (see boxout). What Geneva does offer is a low memory overhead, a modern fully configurable 3D interface featuring, tear away menus, one of the best file selectors around, a wealth of configuration options, unlimited (apart from memory) concurrent number of applications/accessories and free upgrades.
This adds up to one helluva operating system. Amazingly these features have been around since version one so what does Geneva now offer since version 5. Apart from improved pre-emptive multitasking support when used together with MiNT (which should give MiNT a new lease of life) Dan has added a Process manager - similar to one found in MagiC and added a number of refinements to the Task Manager, including some bug fixes to the program flags which can be used to force programs to behave themselves.
Apart from the usual sprinkling of new features the main thrust of these Geneva upgrades is to add reliability and support for emerging standards and this release is another step in the right direction with support for the "undocumented method of iconification" used by ST-Guide and Freedom amongst others. I suppose Geneva release 6 will be seen as a minor upgrade when compared to 5 by many but there is evidence Geneva is finally being taken seriously in Europe. For example, the latest Thing desktop beta, is now Geneva compatible! This has to be seen as a breakthrough because for the first time Geneva users will have a choice of desktops. The combination of Geneva and Thing, with its comprehensive AV-Server abilities, should prove a tempting combination for power users. If you bought an earlier Geneva version and it's now lying dormant in a dark corner of your system get hold of the free upgrade patches and I'll wager you'll be pleasantly surprised. Geneva is a serious contender.
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