What's the Deal With CommodoreUSA?

[kedawa]

And here I was expecting a Seinfeld bit.

[kedawa]

If I had the money to set up a small computer business, I'd buy the same cases and peripherals that CUSA uses and resell them at far lower prices under the brand name Commode.
I'd offer a choice of OS including AROS, PC Linux OS, PC-BSD, Windows, and maybe Haiku.
I can't imagine it would be any less successful than CUSA.

[kedawa]

The original OS for the A1000 didn't start out as an OS for Amiga.
I don't see why we should hold anything new to a higher standard.
QNX is perfectly adequate.

[kedawa]

Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but yes it did. The original version of AmigaDOS was based on TripOS

Exactly.
I never said the OS wasn't developed for Amiga, just that it didn't start out that way.
The whole argument is ridiculous though, as the machine itself was originally supposed to be a game console.
It was never some idealistic crusade to create the perfect computer.
It's a footnote in the history of computing, and it will never be anything more than a hobby for the nostalgic.

[kedawa]

Sure, but it all had to start somewhere.  Are you saying that the stuff that was brought in from outside the project came after they developed the components you mentioned?
I thought it was the other way around, but of course my memory of these things is fuzzy.

If someone wanted to make an Amiga-inspired system today, what would they have to do to be true to the 'spirit' of the platform?

The hardware obviously has to be a combination of a capable and cheap off-the-shelf CPU and a custom chipset that is a multimedia powerhouse.
The OS has to be built from the ground up for that specific hardware and be very efficient and responsive, giving the UI the highest priority.
But how much would it resemble the original Amiga?  Would the same design choices that made sense in the early 80s be appropriate today?