potential PPC Amiga REAL CHEAP

[adolescent]

Since we're on the Linux topic.  How about a fully supported, fully featured, linux distribution of Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) for Xbox?  Available now.

   
Limited Edition 2005, a special new version of its operating system that blends the most up to date popular open source applications, including Firefox 1.0.2, with specific customisations resulting in advanced multimedia, internet and development capabilities. These features include out-of-the-box Web content RSS reading and software sound mixing (so multiple applications can play sound at once). Limited Edition 2005 is the only Linux system to allow the trouble-free coexistence of 32-bit and 64-bit applications. It also offers enhanced hardware support for removable devices, including the ability to boot from USB keys.

Summary of important applications:
Linux kernel 2.6.11.6 ; KDE 3.3.2 (with some backports from version 3.4, including kpdf) ; GNOME 2.8.3 ; Firefox 1.0.2 ; GCC 3.4.3 ; The GIMP 2.2 ; Cdrecord 2.01.01a21 (with DVD+R dual-layer support) ; OpenOffice.org 1.1.4 ; MySQL 4.1.11.

A special feature that will certainly appeal to gamers and enthusiasts is that the new release from Mandriva has support for the Xbox console, empowering users to bridge the divide between gaming and other computer activities.

[Louis Dias]

I never really looked at AROS.  Don't know much about it.  Isn't it currently just an x86 rendition of OS 3.1 that was somehow reverse-engineered?  That also means that it wouldn't be compatible with 68k software.

Revolution will include a hard drive.  Probably of the 2.5" variety since the whole system is under 1.25" tall.  I remember the 121 MB 2.5" harddrive I had in my CD32's SX1 expansion.  Ah the memories.

Anyway, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11175&item=5774404253&rd=1 could be a storage solution once the OS is loaded from official game disk or memory card.  Again, I would really prefer a licensed product that has the entire OS on a Cube 3" disk.  The drive has such a quick seek time that I don't think you'd notice much slowdown when system libraries are opened.  Newer libraries could always be patched in using the traditional methods (setpatch or whatever).

When I was a full time programmer/admin, all our comapany's apps were loaded from mapped network drives.  I don't see that as an issue at all.

Finally, the A1 is even less attractive after reading about thi so-called hardware fix: http://www.forefronttechnologiesinc.com/Products/?item=106

I call that a work-around.  LOL, minus one PCI slot.

Oh, and I was playing Metroid Fusion on my 'Cube's Game Boy Player.  After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that the disc loads a software emulator and the device is just an interface to read the GBA cartridge.  I say this because you can eject the cartridge and switch games without powering down the system.  Also, it draws a changeable border around the screen to make up the resolution difference.  The GBA's resolution is 240 x 160 pixels and the cube is running at 320x200 for this emulation.  Again, this just points at the high speed parrallel interface on the 'Cube as a potential solution to adding an internal hard drive, usb ports and the like.

Adolescent, it seems that since AROS is x86, maybe you could get that running on the XBOX.

Nice to see everyone getting along.

[seer]

I call that a work-around. LOL, minus one PCI slot.

And where does it say the fix makes 1 PCI slot unuseable ? They don't discuss what the HW fix is at all.

Or if you are refering to the "PCI-based IDE controller" that's is not the fix.

[Louis Dias]

adolescent wrote:

lou_dias wrote:
http://brokensaints.com/blog/

holy shiznit, a 3D addon for the gamecube at last year's E3!
Revolution with stereoscopic 3D!

Yes, the second coming of the Virtual Boy. :lol:  Glad to see Nintendo has the gimick market in the bag.

Yeah, that guy drew some far out conclusions.  The company that does do steroscopic 3D has denied any involvement with Nintendo.  Can't wait until Tuesday! E3!  I guess you've seen the official Xbox 360 specs: triple core G5 running at 3.2GHz?  Supposedly Revolution is running a quad-core at 2.5GHz.  No news on the Nintendo special mods for the chip yet.  Also, Revolution's ATI RN520 chip has 16MB of eDRAM vs. 360's 10MB.  Like I've stated before, Nintendo has stuck with ATI and ATI will take care of Nintendo.

I remember when the XBOX was first announced and MS was looking for hardware suppliers...  Originally the plan was an Athlon CPU and ATI chipset...  In the end, they went with NVidia and Intel and that's what kept their hardware costs so high and prevented them from making a smaller loss on the hardware. It cost the same to make an Xbox from day 1 to the day they will discontinue it this summer (hmmm, the 'cube may outsell it afterall ).  Actually more,don't they throw in the DVD remote for free now?  C'est la vie.

[Louis Dias]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8785

The plot thickens...

[Louis Dias]

seer wrote:

And where does it say the fix makes 1 PCI slot unuseable ? They don't discuss what the HW fix is at all.

Or if you are refering to the "PCI-based IDE controller" that's is not the fix.

The website clearly states that that is the fix.

Read the comments here...it seems there is no real fix... http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45929

Maybe that's why there is no OS4.  How can you release an OS for a hardware platform that is not stable at all?

Hey, I know where I can find a stable and cheap PPC platform: http://www.nintendo.com.au/gamecube/system/index.php

[seer]

n the end, they went with NVidia and Intel and that's what kept their hardware costs so high and prevented them from making a smaller loss on the hardware.

Well, MS doesn't really care I suppose, plenty off money to spent, the Xbox was just to get into the market, they succeeded at that.

They knew very well what needed to be done for it to become a succes. Did it do as good as MS wanted/hoped ? Ask MS, only they know.

Now they are in the console market, and pretty big for a new kid on the block. (Ad yes, they were new in the hardware/software console market). Commodore failed at that as well remember.

Some people suggested that the Xbox was a testing field for palladium as such, it may have failed as well, but that's the reason for testing.

[seer]

The website clearly states that that is the fix

No it doesn't say the PCI IDE controler is the fix. Why would an A1 owner need to send the board in so they can put in thePCI card ?

As for the link, hop on over to amigaworld and ask around about the fix. Don't be afraid of the red tint there., it's not that bad. Also, if you read the comments in your link you can see it is clear that the PCI controller isn't the HW fix.

Maybe that's why there is no OS4. How can you release an OS for a hardware platform that is not stable at all?

That's just a troll remark, sorry. You scream when (you think) somebody is trolling at you but you can't stop your self.

Put your money where your mouth is, set up a business, contact Amiga Inc, Nintendo and get the job done. Nobody else is willing to take the gamble.

[Louis Dias]

seer wrote:
Well, MS doesn't really care I suppose, plenty off money to spent, the Xbox was just to get into the market, they succeeded at that.

They knew very well what needed to be done for it to become a succes. Did it do as good as MS wanted/hoped ? Ask MS, only they know.

Well,  

Todd Holmdahl, the designer of Xbox 360 chipset:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/612/612995p1.html

"We want to design the most powerful, elegant and useful design for developers to create games with Xbox 360," said the impressively tall, lanky Holmdahl. "With the Xbox we had a merchant semi-conductor relationship. With Xbox 360 we have designed and own the chipset, so we can go to whomever we want with it. We're not paying Intel and Nvidia this time," he explained, referring to the exorbitant price paid out each time an Xbox was manufactured.

It seems they felt it was an issue.  Nobody like to lose money...NOBODY.

Also, you got any venture capital money that you can send my way to get this project going?  How can you accuse me of a troll comment when this thread is exactly about NOT using the A1 and using something cheaper, more stable and abundant?  Dare I say - I was right ON-TOPIC.

[seer]

It seems they felt it was an issue. Nobody like to lose money...NOBODY.

The Xbox project was a calculated risc, top management of MS knew that. To get into the market you need to spent money. With the Xbox 1 the got into the market. With Xbox 360, the are getting ready to make money of the Xbox project.

If Xbox 1 failed, MS might have pulled the plug on the Xbox project.

MS could afford to take this risk. Hardly anybody can take on Nintendo or Sony. Sega chickened out..

It may not sound smart to loose money on a project, but in a market as consoles you'd better be prepared to do so if you want to get in.

Also, you got any venture capital money that you can send my way to get this project going?

Your plan, your needs, your ideas, you get the money and work it out. Nobody NOBODY is willing to gamble on your idea. If anybody did, you wouldn't be here crying I want OS4 on Nintendo.

Go to a bank, or a VC. Give them your business proposal (You do have one do you ?). See if they want to gamble with you. I highly doubt that.

How can you accuse me of a troll comment when this thread is exactly about NOT using the A1 and using something cheaper

Because it was trolling. "There is no OS4, A1 hardware is buggy. The fix is useless". Talk to the A1 owners, most of them are happy wth their "unstable" boards.

You don't even know what the fix is. You believe it's a PCI IDE controller.

Oh, perhaps you can contact Acill. At least he was willing to put his money were his mouth was, getting OS4 ported to the Pegasos2. To bad the red trolls made it impossible. Maybe you can convince him in an port to nintendo


/edit

We're not paying Intel and Nvidia this time," he explained, referring to the exorbitant price paid out each time an Xbox was manufactured.

That doesn't say MS or even Holmdahl think that making a loss on the Xbox was an isue.

Holmdahl simply stated that Intel and Nvidia aren't getting money. The good reporter then added that Holmdahl is supposedly reffering to the "exorbitant price"..  

[Louis Dias]

seer wrote:
Your plan, your needs, your ideas, you get the money and work it out. Nobody NOBODY is willing to gamble on your idea. If anybody did, you wouldn't be here crying I want OS4 on Nintendo.

Go to a bank, or a VC. Give them your business proposal (You do have one do you ?). See if they want to gamble with you. I highly doubt that.

Enough current Amiga owners cried out and suddenly OS4 and the A1 were born.  If enough cried for OS4 on Nintendo or Xbox 360 or PS3, something would happen.  Me doing it by myself has been discussed already and is a dead issue.

Because it was trolling. "There is no OS4, A1 hardware is buggy. The fix is useless". Talk to the A1 owners, most of them are happy wth their "unstable" boards.

You don't even know what the fix is. You believe it's a PCI IDE controller.

I know there is a PCB workaround.  But there are comments that state that even that isn't 100% stable.  So that is where the IDE pci card solution came in.

One of the comments:

Cache misses aren't the DMA bug, data corruption is. The VIA's chipset only uses a small segment of the full DMA capability, which limits the data corruption which occurs over it. Now, the SiI chip uses the full DMA spectrum, which causes more data corruption.

Even today people STILL don't grasp what the MAI problem is. It isn't a cache miss, it's data corruption

I mean if you never use the ethernet port on the A1 then I guess you never come across the bug...so much for having an internet capable machine...  As far as A1 owners that are not running OS4, I'm sure they have Linux drivers for another 3rd party PCI NIC that lets them use an ethernet port and the IDE without data corruption...  It just isn't an option for the potential OS4 customer as no other drivers exist for OS4.  So while the A1 may be an excellent Linux platform, I don't see it as a good OS4 platform.

Something has to change.  It seems that it's the A1 that has to change.  If Eyetech has to go out of it's way to design a brand new mb (actually they didn't even design th A1, MAI did), why not use something that already exists and is stable: Nintnedo Gamecube.  Eyetech can design the "GBA Player"-like addon that will give you IDE ports and the like...  One without a 'DMA bug'.

That doesn't say MS or even Holmdahl think that making a loss on the Xbox was an isue.

Holmdahl simply stated that Intel and Nvidia aren't getting money. The good reporter then added that Holmdahl is supposedly reffering to the "exorbitant price"..

There are plenty of well-published articles about how MS tried to renegociate their contracts with Intel and NVidia.
http://news.com.com/2100-1047_3-5061321.html?tag=fd_top
I guess it lawsuits are always a non-issue to Microsoft.

Oh, perhaps you can contact Acill. At least he was willing to put his money were his mouth was, getting OS4 ported to the Pegasos2. To bad the red trolls made it impossible. Maybe you can convince him in an port to nintendo

Well, I don't know who the 'red trolls' are but maybe you could refer Acill to this topic then.

[seer]

Enough current Amiga owners cried out and suddenly OS4 and the A1 were born. If enough cried for OS4 on Nintendo or Xbox 360 or PS3, something would happen. Me doing it by myself has been discussed already and is a dead issue

I've seen a few people in this thread that seem to support you.

Take the roll of a leader, contact them, set it up. Don't keep on going here. This way, nothing is going to happen. Nobody is going to do what you want just because you think the idea is good.

People wanted a A500/A1200 style case for the A1. A few guys took the ball and are trying to run with it. They are not rich, but at least they are not talking on the forums "Please please make my idea happen". They are doing everything they can to get it done.

People wanted a G5 PPC amiga. 1 guy tried to get that done. AFAIK, he "failed". At least he tried to set it up.

So.. What have you done so far ?

but maybe you could refer Acill to this topic then.

Me? Why should I do anything for something I don't want and the original poster doesn't seem to want to make happen himself ? Acill is a member of this forum, try to find him in the memberlist or search functions.

Or do you really think he would bite if I contacted him and he discovers you didn't want to take the effort of contacting him yourself ? Good plan ! Let's get involved with somebody and spent my money with somebody who doen't do anything himself.

Sorry, you sound like you only want the easy way.

Even today people STILL don't grasp what the MAI problem is.

Problem is, different "experts" say different things about the MAI problem. The red ones say it a feature not implemented by Linux drivers, the blue ones call it a bug. You seem to think the blue version is correct. Most A1 owners prefer the red version tho.

[Louis Dias]

@seer

All I can say is if you don't support this topic then why bother posting in it?  If all the anti-topic messages were removed from this thread, I doubt it would exceed 2 pages and may have died along time ago.  This thread contains 8+ pages of trolling.  Sadly, this is the norm and not the exception for new/different ideas...

I am on my way to having a GC-Linux setup.  All I am missing right now is Datel's MaxDrive & Phantasy Star Online 1&2.  I already have an ethernet adapter and ps2 keyboard adapter for my gamecube as well as 4x and 16x memory cards.  Maybe I could get a second ps2 adapter and plug in a ps2 mouse...the cube has 4 ports afterall.  So while I am moving forward in some areas, I am limited by both time and money.

People who do this for a living (Hyperion & Eyetech) are not.  Also, legally speaking, I can't modify any OS4 code to run on the GC.  Again, this boils down to Hyperion.  Maybe they could open-source their HAL, while leaving the rest of the OS closed.  If someone could write a HAL for multiple PPC platforms, then they could expand their market.  However I believe that they are legally obligated to the A1 and are just waiting for it to crash and burn before they release OS4 on another platform.  

It's a theory but is there another explanation for a product that was "95% done" 2 years ago to not be released.

[seer]

All I can say is if you don't support this topic then why bother posting in it?

You want support ? Stop posting and start doing something. People support those who do something, not those who only ask.

You think I'm anti topic ? Read again, I told you what you need to do in order to get what you want. If I was anti topic I would have said, give it up.

Sadly, this is the norm and not the exception for new/different ideas...

If you did something instead of posting you might get somewhere. People have tried to tell you that since the beginning of this thread. You simply don't listen.

They have also tried to tell you why nobody is going to get OS4 on a Nintendo console. From a technical point of view to a business point of view. You either simply ignored them or countered them. I'm not saying you are wrong with your hardware arguments, neither am I saying you are right.

Sofar, all you have done is asking other people to do what you want. It doesn't work that way.

[seer]

So while I am moving forward in some areas, I am limited by both time and money.

People who do this for a living (Hyperion & Eyetech) are not

Excuse me? Are you saying that Hyperion has the time and money to port OS4 to a Nintendo console ??

are just waiting for it to crash and burn before they release OS4 on another platform.

According to Hyperion and Amiga Inc, OS4 is allready running on non A1 or Classic PPC Amiga's.

[Louis Dias]

seer wrote:

Excuse me? Are you saying that Hyperion has the time and money to port OS4 to a Nintendo console ??

Well, were did the time and $ come from to develop OS 4 in the first place?  They can allocate time and money to it like before and are the only legal developers.

According to Hyperion and Amiga Inc, OS4 is allready running on non A1 or Classic PPC Amiga's.

in beta...  Again it boils down to being able to release a stable product.  How can you release a product where using the ethernet port and IDE at the same time can randomly cause data corruption?  It's Russian Roulette.  And it looks like it's the hardware that needs changing.  Change it.