AmigaOne Hardware Design

[KDog]

Why did Amiga decide to design/develop custom hardware for the new AmigaOne platform?Since they've made a system that can run Linux or AmigaOS out-of-the-box, why didn't they just design the AmigaOS to run on x86-based hardware to begin with without the need for a custom-designed motherboard?

What advantages will we have by using a custom-designed motherboard, when there aren't really any kick-@ss custom chips on it (e.g., next-rev. Hombre). I mean, ArticiaS, AGP 2x, no firewire support... What gives? If they'd have gone with a Linux-base and worked from there, we'd at least have drivers for gfx/sound cards... I guess my point is, if you're gonna make it a custom job, then give it some rockin' custom chips.

Also, isn't the rumor that they will eventually make AmigaOS for x86-based machines, anyway? Why not cut out the middle-man, then, and cut out the custom design stuff?

[KDog]

It isnt custom.

Well, thanks for the info. I guess I thought the A1-board was custom-designed since it took them an eternity to get the machine shipped.

If nothing was custom, why didn't they select better components for the base system? Why couldn't they have cranked it out in a couple weeks?

I guess what I'm asking is... what is it about the A1 board that makes it so special when there are tons of other board designs out there that were already superior when Amiga released the design specs for their system? Am I missing the point entirely?

[KDog]

Aha! Now it's starting to make sense. In other words, the A1 board is a "dongle" for AmigaOS. Well, I guess if software developers have a good idea of what hardware is supported by Amiga (a limited selection, mind you), they can better tailor their wares to that hardware.

Now, if we can just get them to ship OS4 sometime this year!