Well I agree with a lot your saying. I certainly can't get too excited about Pegosis and pretty much anything Bill Buck has his hand in.
The simple fact is that AmigaOS is, as of OS 3.9, a very old OS and it's going to take time to make it a great OS again. That's the thing to keep in mind about OS4- they've done a lot of work, but is just to get it running on modern hardware. The next versions are the ones to watch for, these should start adding more needed features. It's like when you build a tall building- the first step is to did a big hole. OS4 is kind of like that: a foundation and a clearing out of all the junk that's become part of over the years.
As for the DE, well I think of it as Java (it's that too), it's a collection of technologies that can be used with Intent's work. You can write apps using as much or as little as you want. Most programs I write use a combination of both with Amiga's stuff being a bit higher-level than some of the low-level features Tao provides.
Finally, what I really agree with you on is the "C-64-isation" of the Amiga market. Fact is, when you can run Amiga software (UAE) on a PocketPC, you know the hardware is old. What's more, like the C64, there are no new Amigas being built- just aging machines that are cobbled and customized. I've said it many times, I think once AmigaOne/OS4 is out and people are using it, we'll slowly start getting some momentum back in the market.
