THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT AT WOASE

[System]

Wow if this is true then... what does this mean for Aos5. This will have the power to link with everything out there and surely that makes windows look pants... surely M$ aren't going to let it get in the way of .Net or is this a way to keep their hands on our crown jewels. :-o

[System]

I'm..... confused.... must fight revulsion..... Microsoft bad? Microsoft good?..... Time for Guru Meditation.......

[System]

Yes......Thats whats buggin me. What does M$ get out of it. If Amiga developers get the royalties then surely more people will move back towards Aos.!!!
Why would M$ help us come back unless Gatesy is a closet Amigafile....No ....it's late and I'm dreaming again. :-?

[System]

The Amiga brand name on Microsoft products...

Actually it is the other way around. But Microsoft has been an Amiga developer/publisher before.

This deal only makes sure AmigaDE developers will have access to a very viable consumer market and widely available retail channels.

Other companies will take notice of Amiga as well, as IMO most computing related companies suffer from a tunnel vision syndrome (what are the folks at Microsoft doing today?).

[System]

but i do keep wondering why the DE developers haven't managed to make any software yet.

There are two different kinds of AmigaDE developers (although there is some overlap). Those who add technology enhancement to the AmigaDE and content developers.

The first entertainment pak is pretty good IMO, the second one will contain 4 other good games as well. For a review of Crossword Evolution read further here at GetBoiged. These two "paks" and soon 2 more, will be sold through Microsoft's retail channels.
 
There have been several teasers for PDA/cellphone targeted software titles currently under development by the AmigaDE developer community. Among them there are  very suitable games for future packs, i.e.
Brain Teaser or Jackpot!

[System]

@ z5

That is your opinion, IMO having AmigaDE products available through major retail channels  is a major milestone for Amiga products during the last 8 years.

Amiga will gain more brand recognition, and with regard to AmigaDE you are IMO just plainly wrong. Both the Amiga team and Tao have come a long way to make intent/AmigaDE suitable for developers and consumers solutions. Actually they have done an amazing job.

BTW here's a half year old interview with Fleecy if you are interested. Also note that Hyperion are also supporting the AmigaDE technology, and AmigaOS4 and the AmigaDE will share common APIs and other source code. Seamless AmigaDE integration into AmigaOS4 is also planned for future AOS releases.

[System]

And i still can't figure out which benefits AmigaDE integration into OS4 would give us.

pJava and J2ME support for instance, and lots of other dev tools and technologies like i.e. Renderware or CodeWarrior. When the AmigaDE and intent take of in a great way, AmigaOS will likely greatly benefit from these advancements as well.

Playing Planet Zed on our desktop Amigas? No thanks...

Why not? Planet Zed scales perfectly to higher desktop resolutions, as demonstrated by Bill McEwen on TechTV.

Personally I love classic 2D shoot 'em ups, I would love having Planet Zed for AmigaOS4. Actually I am hoping to see a good new Turrican clone for the AmigaDE in the future as well.

[System]

@ Seehund

"Amiga Anywhere" is not interesting to MS, "Amiga on MS PocketPC/Smartphone" is.

Of course Microsoft will not use its marketing muscle to promote rival products, but Amiga Inc isn't tied to Microsoft neither. There is more stuff in the works, stay tuned.  :-D

[System]

what exactly AmigaAnywhere is

AA is an AmigaDE derivative.

AA/DE content is usually platform independent, like for instance Planet Zed being demonstrated, running on both Linux and PocketPC powered PDAs at the WOASE show.

The "Paks" Microsoft will be distributing will only include a PocketPC version of the AmigaDE derivative. So you cannot simply plug such a card into a Linux PDA, at least not without this PDA having the needed AA player pre-installed.

The PocketPC player is a couple of megabytes big, small enough to bundle with 4 games. Ideally target devices would all have the needed AA/DE player pre-installed, as you would then have a couple of spare megabytes on the card to use, and you could easily plug any AA pak into any AmigaDE compatible device, just like Bill demonstrated on the TechTV show.

[System]

Hey guys, remember that Apple teamed up with M$ when they came back from the dead under Steve Jobs. Jobs introduced a "special guest" at a MacWorld Expo, who turned out to be Bill Gates on the big screen. A lot of attendees thought it was a stage act & booed loudly.

Look at Apple now. Teaming up with M$ could make Amiga  a stronger company -- and, unlike Apple, we're not getting IE6 rammed down our throats.

Although getting IE6 and Office wouldn't hurt OS4's chances, either. :-D

[System]

Think of it like this - by encouraging a potential competitor they are trying to show that they don't have quite such a monopoly on the emerging hardware platforms that Amiga Anywhere targets.

No monopoly no expensive court bills.

[System]

Are there any DE developpers out there anyway?

Yes, there are more active DE developers than you may suspect. Some of their names you probably recognize, others of us hope to become recognized as time goes on.

As for the Microsoft announcement; I am extreamly excited. As a software developer for a major US corporation, the possiblity of forming my own company to develop software that "I want to make" is very exciting. Amiga is providing that opportunity for me and anyone else who wants go along for the ride. Microsoft is providing one of the avenues down which we may travel and hopefully prosper.

NOW is the time stop bemoaning past mistakes and get involved, in any way you can, in creating Amiga's future. It's either that or get out of the way so the rest of us can do it  ;-)