Will there every be another computer like the amiga?

[haywirepc]

I was wondering, with the multitude of people turning the ps3 into a full computer and many other things going on in the world of technology, gaming and entertainment...
 
Will there ever be a computer like the amiga again?

What if some company marketed an inexpensive pc/console combo that could hook into any tv or monitor, and was perhaps a bit light on processor but heavy on custom chips or a great os...
 
What if someone marketed a linux based small pc/games console with a customized linux opensource modded out the wazoo os, would that interest anyone?
 
What if that computer could run dos, windows, linux and amiga games and programs, would that be of interst to people today if it was inexpensive enough and had the right kind of case/packaging? I am thinking of an all in one pc/console like the 500 or 1200...  
 
What if it had some kind of equivelant of custom chips, or because it was mass produced and programmers could talk right to hardware again, would that interest more people?
 
Would it catch on in todays market? Seems to me that there has to be room for another platform other than wintel pcs and macintel machines...
 
Is there room in the market in todays times for such a computer/entertainment console? What do you think?

Steven

[ElPolloDiabl]

Custom chips sound great and you could at least make it easy to put the OS on an small SSD drive or ROM. The problem is  the cost of development, you could build a cheaper computer with off the shelf parts and getting volume discounts.

We do have some custom built hobbyist computers like the Natami, they seem to have pretty grandiose plans for it. Could be a new Amiga, wait and see.

[quarkx]

The sad fact is, that it will never happen. Most companies will not spend the time/money to innovate or create new hardware/ custom chips. They will continue to build boxes with off the shelf technology- it is way cheaper.
The netbooks tried to sell with linux, and the public demanded they have Windows, even though the linux boxes cost less. I know when the ASUS EEEPC came out, all my customers wanted one and paid me to put Windows on all of them, even though they only had a 4 gig hard drive. We sold over a hundred, and NOT ONE customer would even TRY the linux install.
So the MASS public will continue to demand Windows, because they are familiar with it.
That, in a nutshell, is why in the last 15 years, linux has not taken a lead over Windows, and never will. That is also why a custom chip/ hardware computer will never outsell an X86 or ARM processor box (and the only reason the ARM is gaining ground is because people have no clue its not X86).
Companies will only take chances on proven and cheap technology, that they know they can flog to the average joe out there. Plain and simple.

[haywirepc]

I see your point about windows and I have faced the same resistance everytime someone calls me. Being the nerd in your family/neighborhood...
 
People call me or ask me for computer help all the time. My standard answer to most problems is "install linux." because most often its spyware, viruses or related problems. They don't want to hear that, your right they want windows.
 
What if it ran windows on a vpc that could be easily rebooted if infected?
 
In other words, this dream amigalike console entertain system would have compiz, with one one the 4 sides of the cube being windows... Would that satisfy the masses and make people want to use our ficticious pc?
 
Steven

[mikeymike]

I mostly agree with quarkx's response, though I'll point out a few things.

The PC platform came to life (as a gaming platform and Amiga replacement) when they started dedicating hardware to particular functions like graphics, and Microsoft made DirectX.  The same goes for the games console when Sony entered the arena and pushed dedicated hardware.  The Amiga succeeded for a while too because of dedicated hardware, whereas the game consoles of that era were really made from off-the-shelf hardware, and the PC's gaming abilities were a bit of a joke in comparison.

The PC doesn't consist of off-the-shelf hardware, it's all specifically designed for that role.  Game developers have a pretty solid platform to build on, even though it is stagnating (allegedly because the hardware is too far ahead and the developers can't keep up - not sure - I can see how it might be true).

If the PC continues to make a retreat from high-end gaming, that will leave a niche (but which the console manufacturers will try to cater for - perhaps they are already, it's all a matter of taste), but requires a lot of attention for a new player to try and cater for it.  If Microsoft were to screw up utterly again now (which they did with Vista, but I think they've saved themselves with Win7), then it leaves room for a potential new player in the desktop OS market, but that requires even more attention than the gaming market.

If a new player were to try and enter either of those example markets (that's assuming they have the backing of a big player like say a hardware manufacturer - nvidia is a possibility due to their lagging behind in general), it would be a MASSIVE achievement, perhaps dwarfed by the second coming of Christ, but I'm trying to find something to put it in its proper perspective  It would be almost as large an achievement if Canonical managed to push Ubuntu to be a major player in any consumer market, and they have quite a few important advantages going for them.

So I think an Amiga platform needs to target a niche market, and not a dwindling bunch of sceptical fans that liked something that Amiga was once.

[tasmanian guy]

No there wont be another Amiga, like there wont be another Commodore 64.
 
Both of them still have such a community spirit and even hardware that is still being produced, though the company that made them went bust with bad management.

[amigadave]

The answer is NO!

There will never be another experience like the Amiga.  The infancy of home computers where there were many different choices that actually had a chance to compete with each other will never repeat itself in the same way.  The concept of home computers that started before the Amiga and ended when Intel and Microsoft gained their monopolies in market shares is over and for it to repeat would take something revolutionary, not evolutionary.  It will take the creation of something that has not even been thought of or dreamed of.  Something completely new and hopefully not anything that can be bought my Microsoft, or Intel.

[haywirepc]

Yes I fear you may be right... Remember "Back in the day" when there were tons of computers to pick from, and everyone argued why their choice was superior?

Because of the x86 intel and amd dominance, that type of competition seems long gone, as evidenced by mac's switch to intel processors.
 
Does anyone else miss that time when there were lots of different computers, using lots of different processors, operating systems and
enviorments? I sure do...

Somehow, I think the market is still ready for something different, but I think the focus has now shifted away from hardware and one to software.
 
Just think about x86 now. You can run windows.. Dos like freedos if your a little retro nuts... Mac,linux, aros, haiku and a few others that are gaining ground.
 
To me, its as if the diversity has left the hardware and entered the purely software arena, as hardware is so cheap to get if you go mainstream many have just opted to produce different software.
 
Is software the new diversity that used to be different hardware platforms? Is everyone just forced to use x86 now? what do you think?

Steven

[dammy]

I'll add my voice to the "No" camp.  Amiga was at a time when hardware was evolving from some pretty basic and very limited hardware to the systems we have today.  The limits back then were what could be done reasonably with the limits of hardware without making the cost prohibitive.  Today, hardware is cheap and evolving to mobile market.  Desktops are giving way to notebooks/netbooks/tablets or gaming consoles for the average person.  OSs that fail to evolve to take full advantage of hardware's physical and tech changes are doomed.

[Lando]

There are already millions of computers like the Amiga in homes around the World.  The fact is, very PC and Mac today has custom chips in the form of the GPU on the graphics card and the SPU on the sound card.

My Mac is used as a Media Center with Plex, Streaming 1080p content from the Internet or from a 2Tb external HD, using my iPhone as a touch-sensitive wi-fi remote.  It's used for playing games with detail, resolution and gameplay Amigas could only dream about, for using the Internet, for everything.  And it can hook into any TV or monitor available today since any new TV is going to have DVI or HDMI ports.  And it's a third of the size and less than half the weight of my old A1200.

Why would anyone want to go back 25 years in time to a computer as limited as the Amiga when today's Mac can do 1000 times as much, 1000 times faster and for a fraction of the cost.

[B00tDisk]

People call me or ask me for computer help all the time. My standard answer to most problems is "install linux."

If that's your answer to every computer problem it's a wonder anyone keeps calling you.  I can lock down a Windows machine in five minutes, spend five more minutes educating the user, and that's the end of it.  That locked down machine will be just as usable to the customer as it was when I started, so no, it doesn't involve deleting their user account

[amiga92570]

There are already millions of computers like the Amiga in homes around the World.  The fact is, very PC and Mac today has custom chips in the form of the GPU on the graphics card and the SPU on the sound card.

My Mac is used as a Media Center with Plex, Streaming 1080p content from the Internet or from a 2Tb external HD, using my iPhone as a touch-sensitive wi-fi remote.  It's used for playing games with detail, resolution and gameplay Amigas could only dream about, for using the Internet, for everything.  And it can hook into any TV or monitor available today since any new TV is going to have DVI or HDMI ports.  And it's a third of the size and less than half the weight of my old A1200.

Why would anyone want to go back 25 years in time to a computer as limited as the Amiga when today's Mac can do 1000 times as much, 1000 times faster and for a fraction of the cost.

I agree with you, but A-eon is going to try just such a feat! :confused:

[mdv2000]

Well, while there won't be an Amiga again... there is something else starting to take hold.  Yes, Linux has not won the desktop - but the desktop is slowing becoming less of a factor.  Most people I know now put more money into their Cell Phone/PDA - like iPhone or other Smartphones - than they do their pc.  I am still using the same PC I built 3 years ago - but I just got an iPhone and over the next 2 years will put more money into it than I have spent on PC hardware over the last 3 years.

The next generation of users will not care about powerful boxes at home - it will be mobile with digital distribution.  If you own stock in Gamestop - sell it now - the day of buying anything in a store that is digital content is coming to an end very soon.  Who buys CDs, DVDs, etc?  People who want to waste money.  Music is cheaper on iTunes.  Netflix makes movies way cheaper to rent/stream and most TV content can be found legally free to view on the net (So who even needs cable TV?)

Microsoft has just released a new Xbox Elite with 250GB drive- why? Because they realize there is more profit to be made with digital distribution. Download Content (DLC) is where the real profit is for Microsoft and game developers.  It cuts out the cost of physical media creation/distribution, it cuts out dealing with companies like Wal-mart... and it kills the hated (and non royalty paying) used game market.  I remember an article by the people who made Left 4 Dead - there where upset that there where over 2x the number of unique Xbox Live accounts played their game than bought it new - used sells was huge for this game and it hurt there market potential cause people like me always wait for a used copy.

If I can get it cheaper used, I always do, but under Digital distribution that is not even an option so I will have to buy it new or skip it - and most games won't skip sequels to their favorite titles.  Plus, its harder to pirate cause they have to hack the distribution source - not just the install program.

If there is to be another Amiga - it will be a media intense, gaming, mobile device that has great connectivity to web based applications.  Microsoft has been reporting working on a web-based office - they see the writing on the wall - so they can sell service - not media/install/support headaches.

 The war for the desktop is moot since the real money will be in other places.  Don't believe me, get an iPhone and see how much you really need your desktop.  You could argue the iPhone is the spirit of the Amiga. It went against conventional wisdom and showed much larger phone makers like Nokia and Motorola that there was more to a phone than talking and text.

Amiga showed me there was more to computing than a command line and poorly written dos programs.  If you want to see another Amiga - get the guys trying to make a desktop OS - like AROS - make an OS for a smartphone.  Then the Amiga could be truly reborn.

[dammy]

I agree with you, but A-eon is going to try just such a feat! :confused:

No they are not.  They are giving pretty much top possible PPC solution which will be about upper end netbook if the ARM dual cores come out at the same time.  Problem for A-EON, there isn't much further to go on the PPC road after this.  

Of course the high end netbook with dual core ARM is going to be far cheaper then the X1000.

[B00tDisk]

No they are not.  They are giving pretty much top possible PPC solution which will be about upper end netbook if the ARM dual cores come out at the same time.  Problem for A-EON, there isn't much further to go on the PPC road after this.  

Of course the high end netbook with dual core ARM is going to be far cheaper then the X1000.

Is AROS targeted to dual core ARM notebooks?  Heck you guys run on everything else, I say go for it (if you're not already).