So this comes up constantly. "Amiga should move to x86 and everything would be way better".
I don't think its all that simple really. Here's some things that'd at least warrant exploring:
1: Time and money required to port the operating system. I have absolutely zero idea how long this would take, but I am assuming it'd be a pretty significant endeavour.
They could use AROS as the foundation and simply compile Reaction and other OS4 only stuff, that AROS is missing add a fancy OS4 Theme and ta da ! Theres OS4 x86
2: Time and money required to port applications.Without app's, an OS is worthless.
AROS is API compatible. Most C programs can be recompiled with minor changes.
I dont think there are much PPC Assembler apps for OS4.
Integrated UAE can provide 68k program compatability. (almost done - Janus UAE)
3: Oh hey there AROS! What functionality does os4 give that AROS doesn't ?
The Name. Not much more.
4: Most overlooked:
Hardware support. .
Write drivers for one single Chipset + GPU and you have plenty of Hardware to choose from.
But IMHO it really doesnt matter anymore if Hyperion goes x86 or not. They wont gain any significant market share. They might survive if they find a cheap entry Hardware. That could be a nice ARM Netbook or if they are in Luck, someone produces a PPC based Netbook.
