Hyperion pre-announces OS4.1

[Matt_H]

I wouldn't really call that a "pre-announcement". It looks like a plain ol' announcement to me.

Funny that it comes hot on the heels of MorphOS2 and adds similar functionality. Brings back memories of Microsoft's announcement of the imminent release (which of course slipped) of MS-DOS version-something in order to cut sales of competitor DR-DOS.

Still no functional "Preview" button in the cumbersome GUI Prefs, I see.

If this helps dodge legal issues, though, then they have my full endorsement.

[Matt_H]

Plaz wrote:

So why we bother?

My guess is that it's a move to leverage their position in the law suit and any negotiations. Amiga Inc has little or nothing while Hyperion is moving on to 4.1. That's got to annoy some one over at A.I.

I do wonder what the hell Amiga, Inc. would actually do if they got their hands on OS4.

Here's one for the lawyers: Does a change in the product name, even as miniscule as a .1 release increment, constitute a "new" product, clear of the previous contract? Hyperion could dump the 4.0 code from December, 2006 (or even earlier) on Amiga, Inc., shutting down their argument of breach of contract, while the actual, important codebase has advanced considerably. OS4 has already been marketed with a new Amiga logo, so they're not in violation of the Escom-era, Bodoni-typeface trademark that Amiga, Inc. still owns...

[Matt_H]

@ Darrin

There's only one slight problem: reading a CD on the Efika! :-)

I suspect it's more likely to "just coincidentally" work on the SAM boards, but I'm not expecting it to - I had secretly hoped for such a thing with the Classic release. I'm not holding my breath for this one..

[Matt_H]

@ takemehomegrandma

I think we're nitpicking over the definition of words. :-)

[Matt_H]

@ itix

Yes, the points I was referring to were the transparency and the new list view for Workbench windows.

(I haven't tested transparency that extensively under MorphOS2, so I don't yet have an opinion on how it affects the user interface.)

[Matt_H]

@ Kronos

Well, the filesystem is definitely new, so no trouble there.

Amiga, Inc. has the "Amiga" trademark, but do they have the "AmigaOS4.1" trademark? Can Hyperion successfully argue that it's not a derivative work? That's why I summoned the lawyers :-)

[Matt_H]

@ uncharted

Relax, it's just a little fun with words. We've got to learn to laugh at ourselves as a community after all nonsense over the years.