Hyperion Entertainment CVBA and Amiga Inc. reach settlement

[bhoggett]

I hate to say it, but I don't see what real difference any of this is likely to make. Hyperion's position has never wavered and Amiga Inc have in truth never been more than a flea-like parasitic annoyance (though often used to justify decisions Hyperion made themselves along the way).

AmigaOS will never again be developed for cheap, readily available hardware and as a result it will never attract a significant user base. This in turn means not enough developers will be available to develop the quality of software that would entice users to buy an obscure and expensive system just to get access to the software.

It's a reverse chicken and egg situation - here there are no more eggs and the last hen died years ago. What we're witnessing is the sad, lonely crowing of that last, doomed cock.

I have no doubt that Hyperion care passionately about what they do, nor that they have proved themselves far more productive than Amiga Inc ever were, but when it comes to showing wisdom and foresight they've been as blind as a naked mole rat.

I speak as someone who would like to take an active interest in AmigaOS again, but who simply can't afford the stupid levels of expenditure such an exercise requires (and has required for some considerable time now). I'd need to be comfortably rich or professionally motivated to spend that sort of money and that's a negative on both counts.

That's not likely to change just as nothing has really changed on the Amiga scene for years. Avé! Duci novo, similis duci seneci! (as Terry Pratchett might put it)

[bhoggett]

Oh, ye of little faith, Bill...

Yes Ed, I'm aware of the irony of my Amiga.org rank, but I'm way too long in the tooth for faith. Nothing much ever changes around here.

[bhoggett]

Actually Bill (being serious for a moment) I was poking fun at those who might think Hyperion is our savior. I actually think much the same as you. That said, I'm not against letting Hyperion try. As I often like to phrase it: "I'm crossing my fingers, but I ain't holdin' my breath."

Of course, as I mentioned before, as long as Hyperion is fixated on PPC, I won't even bother crossing my fingers...

If I was convinced Hyperion were trying, I'd be more enthusiastic. I rather get the feeling that they're happy with their decisions and plan to carry on regardless - judging from the OS4 roadmap news we're hearing.

I would have thought that enabling as many people as possible to experience the platform, try it out and maybe get interested enough to contribute would have been of the highest priority in the near future, but it seems to me the target is to continue on the same path followed for years and sink what few development resources exist into other obscure low-volume hardware platforms only a few handful of people will ever see. Great for the wannabe engineers who want to hone their skills in building custom hardware, but at the end of the day completely irrelevant to everyone else except the small fanatical following already desperate to waste their money on the next oddball project to come along.

I have never been able to work out what Hyperion's business plan is. You'd expect either a push to popularise the platform or a small, dedicated and above all profitable market they are happy to exploit - but in reality they have neither and no sign of a change of strategy on the horizon.

I followed a random link to another site and noticed someone welcoming the news and saying all they wanted now was a decent browser, java, a proper office suite and Flash support and they'd be happy to give it a go. The reply was something along the lines of "Why not ask for the moon while you're at it? You should lower your expectations." ...which to me epitomises everything that is wrong with the scene and why this latest legal development is unlikely to make any difference at all.

As you, I will continue watching, but no more than that. (Unless I win the lottery of course, but for that I'd have to play...)

[bhoggett]

@bhoggett

When I entered the Amiga World it was because it was on the bleeding edge, that edge is so far away now that it is an unreachable goal, so why bother, Hyperion have a market that wants on a few changes, a retro OS that can use more modern hardware and one in which they can do a few modernish things, that's a doable thing.  That appears to be Hyperions target.  

And that market doesn't care about price, they'll pay what it takes.

Sure, but is it a 'market'? Do sales even cover the cost of development? I seriously doubt it.

Not that it matters. I agree that Hyperion are only interested in the people already committed to their strategy, which is exactly why the rest of us are going to read the above news and just go "Meh". It makes no difference to us because we know Hyperion will do nothing to make the platform more accessible.

With Amiga Inc., AmigaOS would have been in the hands of a company incapable of doing anything progressive. With Hyperion, it is in the hands of a company unwilling to do anything progressive - at least going by their track record so far.

Accord to Hyperion's website they have an exclusive license to the name AmigaOS. Meaning that the name AmigaOS still belongs to Amiga Inc, so Amiga Inc being the owner of the name could conceivably still produce an AmigaOS and they still own Classic AmigaOS.

Actually, the exclusive part of that license means Amiga Inc cannot produce their own version of AmigaOS unless that licensing agreement is terminated. We are not party to the terms and conditions of the deal, so it would be a matter of speculation as to what could legally constitute a reason to terminate the agreement. Hyperion don't own the brand or the name, but they are the only ones who can produce AmigaOS.

Obviously this would not affect existing licensing agreements, such as the one under which Cloanto distribute the Classic AmigaOS.



@EDanaII

Yes, MorphOS is in the same boat, but they are unaffected by this story.