AROS is not a magic bullet!
As much as I think Open Source is the way forward, there are issues that need to be thought about with AROS.
First and most importantly there needs to be a clear roadmap, is 3.1 the be-all and end all of the project? What lies beyond. (If this is already available, then I'd be greatful for someone to pass along a link)
Backward compatibility. This one will rage as long as MWB vs. Newicons I think ;-) It needs some very serious consideration. Sadly it's a reflection of our recent (and not so recent) history that we need to rely on old dead 68k stuff to make up a bulk of the software library.
AROS is not as advanced (functionality wise) as OS4/MOS. Even though 68K and x86 users probably outnumber Peg/AOS users, we would need as many on board as possible. There are a number of people out there that want nothing less than what is offered by the commercial offerings.
MORE APPS! - 'nuff said
How would a sudden rise in popularity affect AROS? For a long time now, the AROS group has been relatively small (but growing). Would a mass exodus, as seems to be suggested here, cause problems? Would you suddenly get a huge number of people all pulling in different directions? Would you start getting splintered development?
I'm glad people are activly thinking about the future direction of the platform, there's still life in it yet. Just don't want people to jump the gun.
P.S.
Matt if you are reading, I've been meaning to reply to you excelllent post on MP AROS, but I've lacked the time to do it properly. And it deserves to be replied to properly.
