Has CommodoreUSA shipped anything?

[Jan]

Hi guys 'n gals!
though I just signed up here *blush* I'm a real Amiga fanboy

Now back to the topic. I really don't get all the negativity towards Commodore USA.
These new renderings are not stolen and these guys are actually in negotiation with
the designer.

That said I don't quite get their current business model either.
Who is the target market for a PC64? Probably some nostalgic fanboys - maybe you
sell like 900 units, that's if you're lucky. I am however really interested in the
development of the new Amiga line, and I'd like to bring across my pov about what
I think a new Amiga needs… though I'm afraid it flies in the face of many Amiga
enthusiasts.

I do hope Commodore USA builds a kickass high performance workstation and does not
go the ‘low cost / low performance’ way. We already have a Mac Mini.

For me the logical thing to do is drop all lame as hell PPC stuff and go with todays
MUCH faster and much more cost effective x86 architecture. Currently Intel i7
processors are a good choice.
For the GFX card forget about these laughable Radeon R700 they want to use in the
X1000, I'd suggest nothing slower than an ATI Radeon HD 5870.

Firewire, USB and a Blu-Ray drive with a slim A1200 style keyboard would be heaven.
Let’s hope they stick to Yoz design. We can just put the stuff that gets hot in the
A3000-esque box.

So now to the thing you will hate me for The software support in MorphOS, AmigaOS
and even AROS is from the pov of a professional musican,  hobbyist video artist,
3d modeller and programmer a joke.

Logic Audio, Final Cut Pro, Maya, the whole Adobe Suite & After Effects (running on
OS X!) are essential. For Nuendo, Samplitude, AutoCAD, gaming and XBOX360 programming
a Windows 7 System does fine - no let me rephrase - is much recommended.

There is no way those other Amiga OSystems could ever catch up with the amount of
driver support currently available for Windows and OS X Systems.
So in my opinion the best and most efficient thing to do is choose all parts like
network, firewire, Bluetooth, USB and soundchip to be commodity (Mac compatible!)
PC hardware.

For a workstation a SSD or even SSD raid would be appropriate. All other parts like
power supply and GFX card should be customized to the lowest noise level achievable.
Since we are Commodore freaks the first batch of Amiga workstations comes with a  
free HardSID PCIe card included.

The user runs Linux, Mac OS X, Windows 7 or if she’s a masochist AROS x86 (that's if
the devs ever catch up with the port… ).

Since we’re helpful peeps who know what people really need, all Amigas will get a
DVD with custom OS X SATA drivers to support Read/Write on NTFS drives right from
the start. As well as some kind of Linux Mint distro for starters with no OS
whatsoever. Amigas should be fun for everyone, no?

We also do our own custom Amiga boot menu OS X / Windows / some Linux distro / AROS.
Hey we could even do a competition who comes up with the most slick boot screen.

If people want to work as professionals in the media industry they need to use the
professional software at hand. Even if there was a brandnew realtime OS with never
heard of resource and task management it would be useless from the perspective of
someone who works in such an   environment and has to exchange work with others.

Speaking of price ranges, an Amiga workstation system like the one described above,
would fall in-between a MAC Pro and one of these so called “Gamer PCs” that look
like a Walmart Halloween decoration.
There would be plenty of opportunities for the Amiga community to support the Amiga.
Like  improving the Linux Mint distro for those who prefer to go without OS X/Win,
or working on AROS drivers.

But isn’t this just a normal PC with the Amiga label attached to it?
Well, given Yoz Montana’s design and the feature list above, it’s something that
does not exist yet but is closest to what I envision a modern Amiga to be.

Just my 2 cent.  

[Jan]

@Jan
What exactly is it that doesn't exist?
So far I already have whatever CUSA is "offering", the only slightly interesting bit is the properly layed out amiga keyboard.

Btw - halfway down your post you start using "we" as if you're part of CUSA - what's that about?

hi kolla,
no, I'm in no way related to C=USA. Just read my post as a wishlist.
English is not my 1st language either, so forgive my laziness

As for what does not exist. Apart from the design, a computer optimized to all the features described
in my first post does not exist. It would take weeks of research.
Also, while I might be able to assemble and configure something at least close to it, many people I'm
working with won't ever. I'd expect from C=USA and the community to build up a level of support for
such a system that would simply not exist in a DIY solution.

greetz

[Jan]

Oh come on now, do you really think MAC people are professional, they only know how to punch keys.

Huh, I for one quite like the score to Inception and Gladiator. This guy knows how to punch keys for sure

I figured the Amiga emulation for the iPhone was developed on a MAC,  probably by a n00b

By the way, developing iPhone/iPad apps is one fine way to earn money these day,
especially for programmers just starting out. As well as for people who like to
design little retro style games with a small team. Not unlike Amiga development back then.

There's still stuff like XNA development for Xbox360 that you definitely need a
fast PC for. For e.g. to run a windows emulation under a LinuX system equals way
too much hassle and speed loss. Also I still do my online gaming on Windows
machines.

The Amiga may no longer be used by professionals anymore for such tasks but that's what a PC or Mac is for.

I dream about changing this, I really do

I'm still pussled, you describe what sounds like an ordinary barebone PC system and then you write that it doesn't already exist?

Well, you are most welcome to show me a silent high end PC System in a design that somehow resembles Yoz ones :knuddel:
and is compatible to my specs (including a custom boot loader and supporting community) and runs OS X
'out of the box'. (read without fiddeling kexts and in auto update mode).

What most folks at sites like OSx86 build is all too often a neverending re-configuration marathon.
Personally I need both Windows 7 as well as OS X. I would probably enjoy working every now and then
on some Linux distro that aims specifically at the Amiga community.

One big advantage for a 'chameleon system' as described would be the user base and the knowledge transfer
as many people would have the same initial configuration. Hmmmm, chameleon sounds like an excellent name btw

The one proposed OS X driver disk for not so computer savvy people, would make some people I work with order
an Amiga today. Sometimes it is those little things that make all the difference.

Yeah, the backbone of an Amiga would be a hand-selected collection of commodity hardware parts coupled with
excellent design. It would not be about custom chips like Xena or fancy exotic processors, nor about one specific OS.
Though Aros could become a viable alternative to the Linux distro one day.

Speaking of design, some people buy Kenwood others buy Bang & Olufsen. Some buy Alienware towers,
some buy Amigas There is a proven market for people who value good design.
Maybe it's time for C=USA to think about a different business model approach.
Ferrari wouldn't sell you a chassis without an engine either.

[Jan]

Was it? Shocking, considering that the iOS SDK is OSX only.

and that's exactly why I chose this example.  
By the way, it runs great.

There are very good reasons for why you do not see high end i7 in such tiny cabinets. There are also reasons why you don't see OSX sold with regular PCs.

What might this A4000-esque box be good for, come on it doesn't take much imagination

Then you either build a hackintosh yourself, or you buy a Mac. Apple do not allow OSX to be sold with other computers than Apple machines, doing so means that you have to face Apple in court. This has already happened.

I already have and can therefore say it would be a great idea  to assemble an Amiga
with having OS X driver support for each an every part in mind, rather than building one
based on PC hardware and later cry for drivers having no dev team.
It's legal where I live in Europe and for the states , well, you do not have to advertise
that your system runs OS X just perfect, word of mouth will do here

And who will provide that? The ignorants of CUSA?
[...]
Why would it interest anyone here that one can order a PC with Amiga sticker on it? Do you not grasp why we are here? Do you not understand that it is Amiga systems that are our interest here?

You know what I love most about Robert J. Mical? He's such a friendly charming persona.

[Jan]

UAE running on whatever device is not really news, you know. We were running UAE on PDAs (Zaurus and iPaq) almost 10 years ago already.

given the number of sold iPhones and the achieved performance on the ARM it's apples and oranges,
anyway, I don't think this adds much to the discussion as my point was having an Amiga that I can
also use to develop iPhone apps. It's a waste of time assembling a hackintosh, when you could buy
a cheaper than Apple package that works right out of the box, looks great and is tagged with a
Commodore logo.
 

Host CPU and a cooling system.

Yep and a high performance GFX card. For a keyboard only version (if they plan to offer different models)
one could think about mobile versions of the i7, like the ones used in the the Mac Book Pro (i7-620M)
Either way it would be enough to experience some heat on the keyboard, which I actually like

Which is fine, but how is it in any shape or form relevant to Amiga?

It all makes sense if you go back to my first post. This is my vision of a future Amiga.
It's okay if you want to jump on the escapism train and bath in childhood memories,
or just want to fiddle around with outdated hardware and relax,
I just have a vision very different from yours and I am not even sure whether C=USA can pull it off.
Either way everyone should speak for themselves, which brings me to your next question

And what does that have to do with anything?

It has to do nothing with the Amiga and everything with you and your tone of speech,
but you probably already figured that out on your own, right? :kitty: