Why not AmigaOS4 for x86 Platforms?

[terminator]

Antiriad wrote:
I was just wondering why the AmigaOS 4.0 won't be released for x86 Platforms which make more than %90 of PCs around the world? Why do you think linux is gaining on the Windows OS?

I do not think OS 4.0 will survive for too long!!!!

Just my thoughts....

Just how long do you think it would survive in the MS sandbox?

It would be dead in minutes. Who in their right mind would waste time developing for an x86 version of OS4 when they may as well just release it for Windows.

Why would anyone buy anything for the x86 version of OS4, when they can buy almost anything at the local pc superstore, today.  Not 18 months from now.

People who keep whining on about this x86 issue just don't see the big picture.  

So an A1 costs more than a low end PC.  Well, that's the price of admission.  Don't like the price? Well, you are not obligated to buy a ticket.

[terminator]

mdwh2 wrote:

terminator wrote:
Just how long do you think it would survive in the MS sandbox?

It would be dead in minutes. Who in their right mind would waste time developing for an x86 version of OS4 when they may as well just release it for Windows.

Why would anyone buy anything for the x86 version of OS4, when they can buy almost anything at the local pc superstore, today.  Not 18 months from now.

Replace "x86" with "PPC" in what you wrote, and the same points apply.

Would you wait 2 years to buy an Amiga version of a game, and pay $75 for it, when you can buy the windows version right now for $50?

If you answered yes, would you be willing to buy that title for $75 in 2 years, instead of buying the older, now discounted Windows version, which sells on the next rack for $30?

AmigaOS cannot coexist on the wintel platform with windows.  Windows will trump everything.  MS has annihilated  every other operating system that tried to exist in their sphere.  Those who tried to make money from an alternate OS in that ecosystem were eliminated.





(Linux is an exception, it isn't a commercial product, nor does it really have any traction outside of a few specialized zones.  It costs nothing but your time to install, so it's no big loss if you don't use it.)

[terminator]

Waccoon wrote:

terminator:  Just how long do you think it would survive in the MS sandbox?

Or anywhere else?  People need to stop kidding themselves.  Whether Amiga uses x86, PPC, or something else, Microsoft isn't just going to disappear.  We're in Microsoft's sandbox no matter what hardware we use.

Of course, if we use PPC, we're in Microsoft's sandbox, with Apple ready to take away our pail and shovel.

When you're on PPC you are not in the MS sandbox.  They dominate x86.  Do you think bill gates lays awake a night worrying about Apple's sales?

No, he could care less.  All he is interested is selling another copy of Windows.  The MacOS doesn't run on x86, therefore it is irrelevant.

terminator:  People who keep whining on about this x86 issue just don't see the big picture.

Namely, that you obviously can't build an x86 system just for AmigaOS that won't run Windows.  The CPU is, of course, the only thing that matters in a computer.  The Mac is a completely original architecture that has nothing in common with those PCs and their evil, evil open standards.  Anyone who disagrees obviously has no idea what a brilliant idea it is to sell underpowered hardware for huge sums of money.

Many, many companies use the hard-a**ed business model Amiga uses, and they regularly go out of business.  People just don't learn.[/quote]

The CPU is everything right?

So I should be able to run my PET programs on an Apple ][.  Right?  Or a VIC-20?

The CPU is only one part of a larger system.  There are issues like the memory mapping, I/O systems, etc.  Hence, the Apple ][, VIC-20, C-64, and even the PET, while running with a 6502 processor, are not compatible.

Even if you could add the UBoot to a PowerMac, it wouldn't work because you don't know anything about the system architecture.  And the people who do know are not telling.  If they wouldn't tell Be, what exactly are Hyperion's chances?

terminator:  So an A1 costs more than a low end PC. Well, that's the price of admission. Don't like the price? Well, you are not obligated to buy a ticket.

Good point, but it seems a lot of Amiga users don't like the price of admission, either.  It wouldn't be so high if Amiga's business model involved branching out into new markets and focusing on software and killer apps, instead of trying to resell buggy, expensive hardware to die-hards just so they can run software that already runs on everything else:  Linux.[/quote]

What separates the men from the boys is the cost of their toys.

There isn't the time or the space here for an economics lesson either.

[terminator]

bloodline wrote:

DavidF215 wrote:

terminator wrote:
(Linux is an exception, it isn't a commercial product, nor does it really have any traction outside of a few specialized zones.  It costs nothing but your time to install, so it's no big loss if you don't use it.)

Say what? Then why is Microsoft so concerned about it?

Because Linux is free and Windows is not.

As long as Linux is around in the server market, MS is going to be unable to charge what they think their commercial products are worth.

Look at how much they charge for Office, since they have little competition.

Charge too much for a server application, and suddenly Linux looks attractive to the bean counters.  Any decent IT department with a few Unix Gurus on staff would have no issues with installing Linux.  (Forget the lamers who run windows and have little experience outside of it: They cause more trouble than they're worth when not administering windows.)

[terminator]

DavidF215 wrote:

I wouldn't call Linux exactly free. It can be bought in many computer stores like Best Buy and CompUSA. And often times next to Windows XP. So, I don't consider "it's free" as a major reason why Microsoft is afraid of it; I would agree that it is a (one) reason, but I don't think that is the primary reason why they are now compaigning against it.

Linux is free.  When you buy a commerical package, you are not paying for Linux, you are paying for the media, the packaging, and any additional materials the publisher supplies.

You could download it too, less the CD, box, and any printed matter.

If it is because Linux is free, then if AmigaOS4 was free, then it too should (at some point) become a threat to Microsoft. And saying that x86 hardware is cheaper is not a good argument because as AmigaOS4 became more popular, then more demand for PPC solutions would drive the prices of PPC hardware down; thus, PPC hardware would eventually become similarly priced to x86 hardware. And if Pegasos II's PPC solution takes hold in the "free" Linux market, then because Linux is "free" PPC prices may drop anyways, so AmigaOS may benefit from it.

*Edit-add*

As a thought, Hyperion may ought to consider providing AmigaOS for free. They can get financing through various other means including requiring OEM's to pay a small $10 license fee for each AmigaOS4 license installed on the computer; they can also charge a small upgrade fee like Microsoft and Apple do.

Time for a reality check: At $10/install, Hyperion would be dropping development tommorrow.

OS4 is included in the price of the A1 system.  You buy an A1, you get OS4.  If not, it may as well be free because the number of installs would exceed the number of legit copies.

What's next?  Demanding OS4 on floppies?

[terminator]

Waccoon wrote:

terminator:  As long as Linux is around in the server market, MS is going to be unable to charge what they think their commercial products are worth.

It's Linux moving out of the server market (cell phones, PDAs, anything a step closer to a desktop...), that has Microsoft scared.  So long as MS controls the desktop, they can charge what they want.

Bill's Gates wet dream is to figure out a way to make money off the corporate customers.  In particular, the media industry.

There is a lot of money to be made selling servers and services to sell music and movies online.  MS knows that.  The desktop customer means nothing, he is just a consumer to be delivered to MS' corporate clientele.

A lot of the functions MS' server software could provide can also be done with Linux.  So it is hard to convince Warners to part with millions so they can sell you movies over the internet, when they could probably build their own systems based around Linux.  Without MS charging for updates and their "file formats".  All MS has to do is add features to their media player, include it in a service pack, and then use that to force the media companies to upgrade their software...

For the most part, Linux isn't really a threat to their stranglehold on the desktop.  Windows is sold as a simple product, so that is what most people will go for. They stick with what they know and understand.  Linux is too complex and demanding for the average computer user (or computer reseller....)

Windows is deceptive: it looks simple, but underneath, it isn't.  Too many people make money off that, so they aren't interested in persuading the average user to convert to anything else.  Same reason why IT people hate Macs: Hard to justify big bucks to maintain a reliable system...

terminator:  Look at how much they charge for Office, since they have little competition.

The vast, vast majority of people who have Word don't really need it.  Practically every student at my college submit newspaper articles in Word format, even though they were just text documents with no special formatting.  Just about every place where I have ever worked had Word on every computer, and all they did was print out bulletins and memos.

Just use WordPad and RTF for that!  Geez...

It's sick, but that's what happens when managers buy computers that are then used by other people.  The people who buy software in business environments are rarely the people who use it.

Oh yeah, and our newspaper office was forced to upgrade Word every year, or we couldn't read new Word documents written on newer computers.  It was sick, and probably still works that way.
[/quote]

The sheep use word because it was "free".

Management buys in, because they think it's better (and the MS salesman wouldn't leave until they bought Word.)

We use WordPerfect at work, preparing legal documents.  Still, some people agitate for Word, claiming it's "better".  A few courses in WordPerfect, and they would probably have less problems.  We're at WP10, yet I don't think the file format has changed since WP6.

Of course, many pc users have no idea what the SAVE AS function can do...