Swimming with Sharks! (SharkPPC)

[Targhan]

Ok, I'm throwing down a thought on the SharkPPC from Elbox...

While most of us will be looking for a completly new system (re: A1
peggy war), I can't help but to be heavily tempted by the Shark from
Elbox.  If there is any way I can afford two of the PPC things,
one of them will be the Shark.  There is just a coolness factor in
saying, "look at what my 10+ year old Amiga can do!"

So, what do you guys think?

[Gav]

Yeah im with ya on that 1 mate i myself am not really interested in the a1 or pegasos i would of been if never spent a load of time and moey over the last year on my 1200.So im going for the shark:)woohhoooo come on i want it now:)

[Ponos2D]

Same goes for me!

But not just because of coolness factor(which is one of
my reasons too)! I don't want to sell it! My Amiga is
to valuable to me!

I will swim in dangerous G3/G4 waters :-D

[Troels_E]

We will have to wait and see if it will actually arrive. I believe it will cos Elbox have a rather good track record of actually delivering promised products.

It would be rather cool to buy one for the old A-1200 but I guess I will spend my money on an A1 or maybe a Pegasos(2 maybe). Depends on pricing, when OS4 is available.

Still I think there is a market for the Shark. The Mediator have sold very well and I think a lot of the owners will want to keep there classic and upgrade it with a G3/4 PPC.

Maybe Rogue or HyperionMP could tell us when/if it will be supported in OS4?

[Kay]

I was originally opting for the Shark, as it seemed the most economical solution for a Mediator owner, but a couple of things changed my opinion:
1. Elbox didn't send a card to Hyperion. Instead they just claimed that it would run the AmigaOne version of OS4 through compatibility. This makes the Shark "not officially supported", and I really can't be arsed with that.
2. Hardware has a limited lifetime, and having lots of really ancient components in my system won't improve reliability.

I'll get my AmigaOne, and keep my A1200 for old incompatible software (at least until Hyperion gets a proper transparent AGA emulation working;-)). Possibly I'll downgrade it a bit.

I *might* consider a Pegasos 2 or 3 in the future, if it can run AmigaOS then.

Kay

[Targhan]

I feel ya' there!  My A1200 has been with me a long time, and I still
love the old girl.

[Targhan]

@Kay

I can't really argue with your logic, as there is a definate amount of
time left in the old computers, and I remember the bit between
Hyperion / Elbox.

Still, for me... I really want one, irregardless of other decisions on
AOne or Pegasos.  I haven't looked at their pricing in a while, is the
card still cheaper than buying a new M/B?

[MarkTime]

Elbox makes money selling products to upgrade the classic Amiga computer, and the shark announcement was a key ingredient in getting people to invest in the old computer.

I don't think Elbox has any reason to announce that Shark development has stopped, and every reason not to make such an announcement.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on a Shark.  Hey, I like the Elbox products, but until a product is shipping, its not part of my thinking.  Non shipping products have a way of never shipping.

[Erwin-K]

Here in the U.S. of A. for those of us who use Video Toasters the Shark would mean more power and extended life for our systems.

[Targhan]

@Erwin-K

I hadn't thought of the VideoToaster guys!  You know another possible answer for the toaster folks would be the ColdFire project, which would allow you to continue to use OS3.1 ;-)

I'm not sure of the link anymore, or I would have posted it...

[Kay]

> Still, for me... I really want one, irregardless of other decisions on AOne or
> Pegasos.

I can understand that. It does have a certain geek factor.

> I haven't looked at their pricing in a while, is the card still cheaper than buying a new M/B?

Well...the price is listed as TBA on their website. Waaaaay back in October 2000 they stated in an announcement that their prices would 390EUR for the G3@400 model, and 520EUR for the G4@550. I suspect both the price and the specs are outdated by now, though.

I have every reason to believe that if it is ever released, the Shark probably will be the most economical solution. It is not a full motherboard, and you will not have to buy any extra components (except RAM), as you will already have a complete system. Too bad they didn't release it 2 years ago. Even with only WarpOS support, it would propably have sold pretty well. Now I doubt they have much of a chance competing with the AmigaOne.

Kay

[artman]

I've got an A3000D just sitting here, waiting to see if the Shark does come out.  Then I'll buy a Mediator to go with it and the Shark, put the whole shebang in a tower.  Bingo!  I'll have as much FUN with it as I have with my A2000 '060.  Yeah, I guess you could say I'm hooked on the "Classic" boxes. :crazy:

[Madgun68]

Yeah, I guess you could say I'm hooked on the "Classic" boxes.

Welcome to the club!

I just built my second towered PPC amiga. My friends think I'm quite mad. :crazy::-D

Oh yeah.. I'll definately be wanting a Shark for at least one of them, if and when they do come out.

[Bodie]

Targhan wrote:
@Erwin-K

I hadn't thought of the VideoToaster guys!  You know another possible answer for the toaster folks would be the ColdFire project, which would allow you to continue to use OS3.1 ;-)

I'm not sure of the link anymore, or I would have posted it...

Does the Coldfire project include the good ol' 2000?

[Gav]

On the elbox online shop they say the shark will begin production as soon os4.0 is out for the a1.