Apart from the hobby/nostalgia factor, is there actually any real reason to use OS4? My reasons for using my last miggies, were some really good old aps, and great old games.
It's a vicious circle: you need a user base to attract developers, and you need applications to attract users. A slow but steady trickle of either will start to propagate the other.
Are there aps for OS4 which can attract a user base?
You could attract a fairly large user base with a few decent internet apps and a couple of decent media players. There are plenty of people using Windows who just surf the web, email, listen to mp3s and watch the odd movie.
I think it can run UAE, but can it run it as well as Windows on cheap, fast hardware? I presume it would make better use of an underutilised PPC accellerator on a classic miggy, but what would it actually be used for? Can the classic version take full advantage of the old hardware for running old apps?
I have read that a number of scene demos work well under OS4, so hardware access doesn't seem to be a problem, but I don't think retro gaming will attract many buyers.
For my computer usage, I currently find XP to be the most capable OS. It has the apps I need to do my work, and I can buy a copy for about $20 now. I use Xubuntu for other tasks at home. Xubuntu performs pretty well on modest hardware, and can do standard jobs quite well, but there isn't the functionality of my favourite Windows apps.
Yes, AOS4 is missing some useful or vital features at the moment, but it it is also free of some of the less desirable aspects of Windows. Email viruses for example.
The Amiga doesn't need to compete with Windows in every arena. Leave spreadsheets to MSOffice, and games to the PS3. Make AOS the premium choice for internet communication, media playback and general home computing without the hassle.
Imagine an Amiga ad campaign "Because Windows is for dull people in Offices"
So I'm left wondering: apart from being kind of cool in its own way, what does OS4 offer at this point? I loved my miggies, but I'm not a fanboy. My really good old Amiga apps have now been superceded by my Windows apps, and I'll probably buy a PS2 or PS3 pretty soon for gaming.
If the hardware and software needed for AOS4 can compete on price with a Windows machine, it could offer a more enjoyable experience for the less technically inclined, in much the same way the Mac used to be promoted.
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