There have been discussions in the past about porting Chrome to Amiga, but one of the issues has been the resource usage - how to make it work in a 32-bit address space.

An interesting article recently popped up about work being done to reduce Chrome's resource usage. More info here: https://www.neowin.net/news/google-is-testing-a-never-slow-mode-for-its-chrome-browser

@gregthecanuck

The ArcticFox browser which I am currently using with Fienix on my X5000 would be a nice port across to the Amiga platform.

http://forum.hyperion-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=4205

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@gregthecanuck

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There have been discussions in the past about porting Chrome to Amiga, but one of the issues has been the resource usage - how to make it work in a 32-bit address space.

I cannot help but wonder where you are getting your information from.

Google Chrome has been available for 32bit platforms for many years and it can be run on devices with 2GB or less of system memory. In fact, Google introduced "Android Go" last year. It targets devices with beween 512MB and 1GB of memory and features a special optimized version of Google Chrome.

Last edited by ASiegel on 07-Feb-2019 at 11:30 AM.

@ASiegel

I got my information from a new site like most people?

When I said "32 bit address space" I meant working within the limitations of that. In Amiga's case max 2GB memory. Some Chrome screenshots have shown individual tabs eating over 1GB of memory. Taming that can only be a good thing.

I didn't know about the optimized version of Chrome for 'Go'. Sounds like it has potential... if it is open-source?

@gregthecanuck

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When I said "32 bit address space" I meant working within the limitations of that. In Amiga's case max 2GB memory.

AmigaOS uses a 31 bit address space, hence the 2GB limit you mentioned. With a 32 bit address space, you could use up to 4GB, which is still a somewhat passable amount and common for new entry-level computers.

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Some Chrome screenshots have shown individual tabs eating over 1GB of memory. Taming that can only be a good thing.

Chrome is hardly to blame for this, however. Complex websites are very demanding with regard to both memory consumption and CPU use.

In comparisons, Chrome does not have a substantially higher memory consumption than Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge on the same hardware, for instance. (Firefox appears to fare a bit better than other browsers for the time being but that is expected to change as "Project Fission" proceeds and Firefox gets Chrome-style per-tab process isolation.)

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I didn't know about the optimized version of Chrome for 'Go'. Sounds like it has potential... if it is open-source?

Well, I do not see how it would have more potential than Webkit which is still being maintained and updated for iPhones and iPads with as little as 1024MB of system memory today.

Webkit has already been ported in the past and is used by Odyssey. So, why would anybody start from scratch with Chromium instead?

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that "insufficient memory" is not stopping anybody to port Chromium.

@gregthecanuck

Chrome on my X5000 would be very welcome!!!

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@gregthecanuck

Greg, I have a 32 bit Dell laptop with 2gig. memory, running Windows 7. Chrome runs just fine with multable tabs open.

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Webkit has already been ported in the past and is used by Odyssey. So, why would anybody start from scratch with Chromium instead?

Well, sometimes it’s easier to start from scratch. The WebKit in odyssey obviously needs work to work fully. And then we’d be patching an old WebKit.

If I understand correctly chrome/chromium includes ppc-support officially, which WebKit doesn’t.

IMHO it’s be better to build upon one official browser repo and try to get a team together, and create build and patch instruction that works, without hassle.

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@jaokim

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Well, sometimes it’s easier to start from scratch. The WebKit in odyssey obviously needs work to work fully. And then we’d be patching an old WebKit.

It works "fully" as far as I can tell. It just lacks support for the latest web standards as the currently used version is a bit dated.

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If I understand correctly chrome/chromium includes ppc-support officially, which WebKit doesn’t.

I am afraid this is not correct if you are referring to "big endian" PowerPC support at least.

The focus with regard to IBM's POWER chips is very much on little endian software suppport. "Big endian" has been dying out for years and the general software support for it is a reflection of this development. This is unlikely to change.

@ASiegel

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I t works "fully" as far as I can tell. It just lacks support for the latest web standards as the currently used version is a bit dated.

You mean the current version for OS4? The thing is that, apparently it’s hard to get the sources for a version that compiles. There is a repo with a newer Odyssey which doesnt compile, due to various stuff, one thing being big-endian ppc support. So no matter what, we need big endian ppc support somehow. I’ve tried with the newer sources and merge with some tenfourfox/leopard ppc sources. But wasn’t that easy, and I never got it to work.

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Anyone contemplating a port of Chrome should first try building it from source on an existing platform (Linux, macOS, or Windows) just to gain an appreciation of the enormous scope and size of the project.

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@bison

That wouldn't be Amigan way. First thing you should make a bounty without doing anykind of research.

@jaokim
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You mean the current version for OS4?

I am not familiar with that particular version.

@bison

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Anyone contemplating a port of Chrome should first try building it from source on an existing platform (Linux, macOS, or Windows) just to gain an appreciation of the enormous scope and size of the project.

For extra fun try it on a big endian Linux machine and we'll see how easy it is to compile compared to Odyssey Once done they can try how well it runs on BE (spoiler alert: it doesn't ).

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@Rose

I would gladly pay to get a modern web browser. Just say when

@gregthecanuck

Hadn't there been talks with regard to Spotify as well and where is that?

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@1Mouse

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Hadn't there been talks with regard to Spotify as well and where is that?

It kind of just fizzled out. I think it was down to a lack of familiarity development on Amiga OS.

Interesting news Really. Don't use MS Soft IE or Chrome in a cp..

(Gotta special version of Opera)

Many would buy a program, 1000e pc for the net as Amiga can't make it possible anymore and Please proove me wrong.