Argo wrote:
But Macs are not PPC! :lol:
There are lots of reasons. Lack of documentation of the Mac PPC hardware, licencing issues, politics, fear of piracy, ...
Try a search of the forums here and at AW.net.
The piracy issue is a joke. By the time piracy could be measured, there would have to be enough applications to justify the OS as the only one you need. Since Hyperion would be supplying games for sale on OS 4, assuming they are copy-protected, pirated copies of their OS could still generate revenue for them in the form of game sales. That's another way to measure piracy - let's say they sold 10 copies of their OS but 50 copies of a game for the OS...hmmm...
At it's current state, each copy of the OS could be serialized and OS updates could be made to function on registered copies only. Requiring an internet connection for validation in this day and age is not unreasonable. Anybody here of Microsoft's Genuine Advantage program?
Registering could be done by dealers at the point of sale.
If someone sells their system, an online interface on Hyperion's site could handle the licensing transfer.
Honestly, the only reason OS4 is not on another platform is EYETECH. Time to repackage it as "KickStart/Workbench PPC 1.0" and eliminate the term "Amiga OS 4.0" and the sole hardware partner from the equation as well.
I have an even more novel idea:
Make OS 4 free yet retain all rights to it. Then make money on licensed software sales. Sort of like how consoles work. Release OS 4 free on mulitple PPC platforms. Who ever wants to download the install can - for free. No applications included. Sell developer's kits. Sell software.
