General EmuTOS Benefits

• EmuTOS can be loaded as a program instead of requiring a ROM update

• This allows users to make sure that EmuTOS is suitable for their needs before doing a time-consuming ROM replacement. In systems where a ROM update is not feasible, users can still run EmuTOS.

• EmuTOS includes a built-in hard disk driver

• This provides basic support for ACSI, SCSI and IDE devices (and also SD/MMC devices in some configurations). This is a free, although basic, alternative to commercial packages.

• EmuTOS supports more languages than TOS, making it available to a wider audience

• It even supports dynamic switching of keyboard mapping between Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.

• EmuTOS supports both Atari- and DOS-style FAT16 partitions

• This allows easier transfer of data between DOS and Atari systems. Users can create files and folders on one system, physically move the data, and then access them on the other system.

Benefits for specific Atari systems

• Atari ST/MegaST systems

• The standard EmuTOS ROMs for Atari ST systems are the 192K ROMs. These provide a more user-friendly desktop than Atari TOS 1.x. In particular, menu item shortcuts are supported, as is the ability to open a desktop drive by using the Alt key.

• Atari STe/MegaSTe systems

• The standard EmuTOS ROMs for Atari STe systems are the 256K ROMs. These support some third-party add-on hardware (including alternate RAM) without the need to load additional drivers. They also include a built-in command-line interface, which supports basic file operations and can be invoked before the desktop starts. This makes it is much easier to fix problems where e.g. a bad desk accessory or AUTO-folder program is preventing a clean startup.

• Atari TT systems

• The standard EmuTOS ROMs for Atari TT systems are the 512K ROMs. These support additional CPUs (including the 68060 and Apollo 68080) without the need to use patched versions of Atari TOS. Like the 256K ROMs, they also include the built-in command-line interface. They also support multiple languages.

• ARAnyM users

• EmuTOS provides a version of the ROMs specifically for ARAnyM users. Since ARAnyM emulates the 68040, this version is compiled specifically for the 68040, which provides greater performance. In addition, EmuTOS uses the STOP instruction where appropriate to minimize host processor usage. For users of aranym-mmu, the built-in 68040 MMU support simplifies configuration.