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== [[Image:CBM.png|thumb|right]]CBM ==
Apart from the UI mentioned above there is another surface for FutureOS, the command bar menu [[CBM|CBM]]. It consists of several flexible pull down menus and file selectors. You can easily use [[CBM|CBM]] for your own programs. Since all programs that use [[CBM|CBM]] look similar its also easy to use different programs in an intuitive way.
== File system ==
== Hardware ==
The OS supports many of the hardware available for the CPC, including real-time clocks, the Vortex disc drives, several mice & trackballs and the Dobbertin HD20 hard disc. Also the [[SYMBiFACE II|SYMBiFACE II]] (RTC and PS/2 mouse, RAM, ROM, IDE low level) is supported in system .8 beta. One of the ambitions of FutureOS is to support all hardware available, like 3.5" B-drives, Vortex F1-D-drives, HDDs, real-time clocks, serial interfaces etc. Hardware expansions usually need drivers that can be flexibly added to an OS. Contrary to this approach, a goal of FutureOS is to provide a monolithic centrally-oriented architecture where all drivers are implemented in a hardcoded way. This is possible since the CPC has clearly defined hardware expansions compared to a PC.
*''Disc drives and hard discs:'' FutureOS supports up to eight drives and up to four hard disc partitions. It buffers the directories read from any mass storage device in the expansion RAM.
*''Plug and Play:'' If a hardware expansion is connected to the CPC FutureOS will '''automatically detect ''' that expansion, initialise it and make it available to the user. The architecture of the OS allows you to add and remove hardware on purpose. The user can switch external hardware on or off in the configuration bytes (use ConfigOS utility).
== Supported Hardware ==
'''8 bit printer ports<br>'''
*8 bit printer port 6128 Plus
*8 bit printer port patch ([[8255|PIO]])
'''Drives<br>'''
*3" A-drive
*Vortex M1-X
'''Expansion cards<br>'''
*[[CPC Booster|CPC Booster(+)]]
*HD64180 Coprocessor card
*[[SYMBiFACE II|SYMBiFACE Symbiface II]]
'''Floppy discs, formats:<br>'''
*Data
*Hegetron [[Grafpad II|Grafpad II]]
'''Hard-disc<br>'''
*[[Dobbertin Harddisc|Dobbertin HD20]] (72 KB/s data transfer rate)
*IDE hard discs (173 KB/s with [[IDE8255|IDE8255]], 162 KB/s with [[CPC-IDE|CPC-IDE]] or [[SYMBiFACE II|SYMBiFACE IISymbiface]])
'''Joysticks<br>'''
*Analog Joystick (6128 Plus)
*Digital Joystick 2
'''Light-Pens<br>'''
*[[Dk'tronics Lightpen|Dk'tronics]]
*Lindy
'''Memory expansions<br>'''
*[[Dk'tronics memory expansion|Dk'tronics]] 64-512 KB, 256 KB and compatibles (512 KB *[[Dobbertin Memory Expansion|Dobbertin]], 64 KB - 512 KB *[[SYMBiFACE IIInicron RAM-Box|SYMBiFACE IIInicron]]) 256 KB and 512 KB *[[CPC4MB|Jareks 4 MB RAM expansion]] Up to 4 MB*[[RAM7 2Mb memory expansion|RAM7's RAM expansion]] 2-8 MB *[[SYMBiFACE II|Symbiface]] 512 KB
'''Mouses'''
*CPC-Mousepack 2.0 (Reisware)
*Geos (c64)
*PS/2 mouse ([[SYMBiFACE II:PS/2 mouse|SYMBiFACE IIPS/2 mouse]](Symbiface)
'''Real-Time-Clocks'''
*Dobbertin Smart Watch (at ROM select 15)
*[[SYMBiFACE II:Realtime clock|SYMBiFACE IISymbiface]]
'''ROM expansions<br>'''
*Amstrad ROM expansion
*[[Ramcard 128|RAM7's RAMCard]]
*Super Power ROM
*[[SYMBiFACE II|SYMBiFACE IISymbiface]] Pseudo ROM '''Sound cards''' *[[Digiblaster|Digiblaster]] *[[Future Player|Future Player]] - MP3 Player
'''Trackballs'''
== Applications / Demos / Games ==
The following programs are downloadable can be downloaded at the FutureOS homepage, see Weblinks below.
*Captain Future demo
*[[CBM|CBM]] (pull down menu library)
*Darth Vader demo *[[FilmeMacher|FilmeMacher]] (movie player including some examples)
*[[FIOLIB|FIOLIB]] (C library)
*[[Flash ROManager|Flash ROManager]] (management of Jareks Flash ROM expansion)
*Fractal demo *[[FuturePlayer|FuturePlayer]] (internal MP3 and WAV player not available for the public)
*[[FutureView|FutureView]] (disc mag)
*[[Gerelakos|Gerelakos]] (RPG under construction)
*[[GMSK|GMSK]] (sprite converter)
*[[GSED|GSED]] (Graphic Playground Editor for 2D / 3D games)
*Hero (third party game)
*Meg Ryan sample demo
*[[Return of the Sisters|Return of the Sisters]] (a Giana Sisters Clone)
== Conclusion ==
FutureOS is designed as an OS with fast routines and support for nearly all CPC expansions. It has specialised file handling and memory management capabilities that support programs up to 4 MB. The idea is that development of games, graphic tools, word processors, sound (especially MP3), management of big amounts of data, and programming languages are possible in this environment. At this point, the user can listen to MP3 files, work with graphic, use C programs, watch movies & demos and play games. <br>
== Web links ==
