Why should we get excited about this if this branch will be equally likely to dry up should Hyperion's money problems end in bankruptcy? OS3.9 is fine for users IMHO and there are a small number of Classic developers still operating that a bug fix may interest so what exactly are we attempting to achieve?
Look, I'm not doing a sales pitch here, because I don't have to. My income from this is exactly zero, and it's all for fun. It's a bug fix after all, even though it went a bit overboard. So, there is really nothing revolutionary new here, and I'm not trying to sell you this as something new.
Even if Hyperion goes bankrupt, it surely does not affect the software on your system. It does not make the update worse, even if it is the last update. So, what exactly are you afraid of? That it is the last update? And if so, why would it help not to install it?
AmiKIT is a Workbench replacement, many still use Directory Opus and now Amiga OS 3.1.4 is here!?! Rather than ask us to ask Thomas technical questions Thomas should tell US why this is of interest and what would be the benefit of buying it over and above OS3.9? I'm not trolling, this is a serious question.
3.1.4 is not a workbench replacement. An updated workbench is part of it, yes. But it is an updated operating system. Why this is of interest? How should I know - why do you care about an Amiga? An Amiga is not a "useful" system anyhow. If your main use is to play legacy games, for example, the operating system is irrelevant for you in first place, and you probably run it under 1.3.
I addressed and fixed the bugs I found probably because I'm a little bit perfectionistic, and I like to get the system as good as I possibly can.
I don't know whether this is a "sufficient" explanation for you, but as said, I don't need to sell 3.1.4. to you. It is the way how I wanted to have it, under the constraints we had. I would have also loved to update 3.9, but we couldn't. So it is 3.1.4, not 3.9.4, neither 3.14.
Lots of work and extra 060 support is a great addition IMHO but does this all actually add up to a better and more complete product compared to OS3.9 or do you just view this a cleaner and future proof (from a technical viewpoint rather than legal obviously) version?
Actually, that list is a bit outdated by now in the sense that the list is quite a bit incomplete. Anyhow....
3.1.4 goes into a different direction than 3.9. 3.9 was about new features. 3.1.4 is about bugfixing. Why not a 3.9 bugfix? Because 3.9 is lost in time and space. 3.1.4 is the best we could do.
Is it "future proof"? I beg your pardon. Amiga and "future"... If you want a future proof system, buy a PC or a smartphone. Actually, buy a new one every two years. (-: