Greetings, fellow amigans!
Was sitting here thinking about my favourite
computer platform and it's future.
At first glance it may seem that Amiga inc. has no interest in the release of hyperion's Amiga Os4.0. No hardware manufacturers, except for eyetech,
have been granted the licence to ship Os4.0 enabled systems. AINC seems keen on having the Os run exclusivly on Amiga branded hardware. Greed, or quality control?
Once upon a time Amiga hardware provided the user with capabilities other systems just couldn't offer. Today the situation is quite different, with the possible exception of HAM, so there is no apparent need for any specific hardware base. Or am I wrong here?
I understand the difficulties of finding hardware manufacturers willing to go for
the Amiga that also have the needed fundings to follow through and also have the
money to sustain themselves in the small Amiga market.
There'd be no point in allowing licence for a company that would not survive and would not be able to provide any support for it's product.
The initial market is just too small for more than a few competitors.
Most will play it safe and produce hardware solutions for multiple platforms.
I hope this is good enough for Amiga. Trying to have someone rebrand their products for the sake of Amiga would be very hard as they may have already made a name for themselves, and may not want to be tied to a small fraction of a larger potential market.
It seems to me that most of the products I've drooled over these past years will all come to nothing. I just can't see how it would work.
Would it be safe to ship a PPC expansion for classic Amigas if a brand new mobo is available for half the price or less?
Is it safe to ship a brand new mobo for the amiga market if that means having to exclude other avenues of the computer industry?
Eyetech took a risk, and I suspect payed dearly for it,a and for that they should be applauded, hailed and respected.
I can't understand the complaints about possible Amiga hardware solutions being too much of yesteryears technology. I mean, most of us have been stuck with 68K and AGA for more than a decade, I wouldn't mind even the smallest upgrade. A 400-500Mhz Cpu sounds like heaven to me along with retargetable gfx and audio.
Being behind for so long, we can't expect to start right back on top- can we?
I'd like to see the new Os soon on a screen here at home. I think the team behind SAMANTHA should get a licence. Coz I really love that board. And I think Elbox should
get a license for a classic upgrade if they can lower the price somehow. I wouldn't spend that much on my old A1200 unless there'd be nothing else available as I would
need the mediator along with various expansion cards as well. The powervixxen is a tempting piece of kit also and, I understand, would be cheaper too. Other systems could run os4.0 with a USB based kickstart ROM or something if it's technically possible- I don't know, but it might not be a smart move businesswise, depending on already made investments and agreements following the different outlook of yesterday.
I wish I could get a hint of which route Amiga is likely to take hardware wise so I could prepare fundings, but alas no. But I will remain patient and await the decisions that are made. I hope 2007 will be fruitful for us all.
These were my thoughts and opinions, let me know yours if you wish.
