Amiga Platform

[downix]

NewRevolution wrote:
Thanks.

Still, I must be lagging a bit behind.....
What is IIRC and gcc   :-?

IIRC == If I Recall Correctly
GCC is a C compiler

Open source or not doesn't really matter.

So if I get a hold of a PowerPC based (60x/G3/G4) system (e.g. Mac) - I can just start programming? Or can i develop applications for Amiga on my PC?
I recon as loong as the coding isn't hardware specific, it doesnt really matter. But if I start programming against file system, memory etc - I should have a Amiga platform.

I am afraid just any PPC solution will not help.  However, there are a few solutions that can help you focus on developing apps that can run on AmigaOS once it arrives:

First, buy an Amiga w/ a PowerPC card.  That limits you to an Amiga 4000 or 1200, with the Phase5 cards.  The 4000 solution especially offers you a rapid case, for you get the actual AmigaOS and will gain earlier access to the next-gen AOS as well as to the Amiga-compatable OS, MorphOS.

Next, if you have a PC already, there is Amithlon.  Amithlon is an emulated Amiga for the PC on a custom Linux kernel.  Not the easiest thing to work with in my experience, but some people enjoy it.

Finally there is the Pegasos motherboard, a PowerPC motherboard that comes with the forementioned MorphOS.  Some people slag off MorphOS, others praise it, but from your viewpoint it might do the job.  Since MorphOS is an AmigaOS-API compatable OS, an application developed for it should re-compile for AmigaOS 4.0 without much effort once it arrives.  Plus then you'd cover your bet, having an app for both PPC'd Amiga solutions.

Some people might mention the AmigaONE motherboard from Eyetech, but it only runs Linux at this point, so for your needs (that is, as a developer) it does not do the job at this point.

That's how the cards fall from my point of view.  And as I know someone will bring it up if I don't mention it, I work for Genesi, the makers of the Pegasos, so I am biased naturally to our solution.  I am trying to present an honest and fair evaluation of your options, however.  I just hope this was helpful.

[downix]

@NewRevolution

Well, a G3 Pegasos rev 2.0 is slated to retail for $299.  The G4 for $499.

And yes, I agree that AInc took the wrong approach to AmigaOS.  They should have let the MorphOS team be the official OS rather than force so many terms on them that the license would have resulted in a horrid mess and cost years of development time.  (Yes, they were negotiating for this at one time, but could never come up with a solution for the requirements that was agreeable to all parties)  This hurt AInc, rather than MorphOS, in the end.  MorphOS simply allied themselves with AROS to provide the AmigaOS-API compatable system, showing that the source code to AmigaOS itself is not as useful as some might think.  The result, however, is this further schisming of the market, no different from a few years ago when WarpUP stepped in to hurt PowerUP, and did nothing but kill the PowerPC'd Amiga platform by throwing multiple standards that could not be made to work together.  (Developers didn't know weither to use PowerUP or WarpUP for their solution, so in the end the critical pieces ended up split between both camps resulting in a lack of critical mass for the solution to go forward.  This ended up killing the PowerPC card company, Phase5, as not enough customers purchased the card to make a stable enough market to expand with due to the fact that there was no clear development-center in this area, leaving the original 68k Amiga a more attractive option)

Ok, there, blew off some steam.  Thanks for giving me the option here.