Hi-End Amigas from Amiga Inc. True or fake?

[Phantom]

According that I still have not a new Amiga motherboard to run AmigaOS 4.0, and after reading about the low and hi-end Amigas from ACK and Amiga Inc, I am in deeply thoughts.

Is this a fake announcement from Amiga Inc, just to make me and other people to wait for another long time when these machines will be for sale, or it's just a typical announcement from Amiga Inc (which it means nothing after all)?

I am very confused (and believe me I am still searching for an Amiga motherboard to run AmigaOS 4.0 since 2005 )

[AmigaHeretic]

@Phantom

Well, if I may modify your sig a little....

"We don't sell computers, we sell lies" - Amiga Inc.


Uh, I hope that answers your question.  :-D

[Matt_H]

Time to kill some more horses! :horse: :horse:

[murple]

Far as I'm concerned, there haven't been any Amigas made since Escom went under. Any new "Amiga" will probably be an Amiga in name only... though if they can run AmigaOS that should count for something, I suppose, unlike the name-pirates selling PC gaming systems under the Commodore brand.

[Rob]

@murple

What makes a computer an Amioga

[vk3heg]

Rob wrote:
@murple

What makes a computer an Amioga

A machine with:

1 - Low memory foot print.
2 - fast with that low memory foot print.
3 - a OS that doesn't take 500gig for the hd..
4 - Custom chips that allow "True" Multitasking.

Some people are dreaming if they think a new machine is going to be here any time soon. How long has it been since they last got made?

[Varthall]

Rob wrote:
@murple

What makes a computer an Amiga

Depends on who you ask. Personally, I call a modern Amiga a computer which:

- is sold with a copy of AmigaOS (which must be compiled from, or at least been derived fron the original AmigaOS sources) which runs natively

- runs most of the OS-friendly software for 68k Amigas made from 10 years ago until today (no need to natively support the old non-DOS games, there are already emulators for that)

- it shouldn't be a PC (i.e. a x86 machine using BIOS as its firmware) or a Mac (x86 or PPC)

Still, I call Pegasos machines running MorphOS Amigas, for their high level of compatibility, while I don't fell I'd call Amiga a PC running AROS native, rather a machine running an AmigaOS clone.

IMHO, of course.

Varthall

[Waccoon]

vk3heg:

A machine with:

1 - Low memory foot print.
2 - fast with that low memory foot print.
3 - a OS that doesn't take 500gig for the hd..
4 - Custom chips that allow "True" Multitasking.

The first three have nothing to do with hardware.  The forth disregards the fact that every PC has a chipset far more advanced than anything the Amiga ever was, complete with a memory controller and lots of independent busses.

Could we stop obsessing over specs and think about functionality?

It also makes me sick to hear people herald PPC over x86.  In case anyone hasn't noticed, the CPU alone has never been a very important thing in the Amiga.  I don't care what CPU is inside, because the GPU and chipset will be doing most of the hard work.

For me, the Amiga was special because:

1 - It didn't forcibly hide the nuts and bolts from the user, but avoided needless exposure.
2 - It has multiple interface choices, with an elegant balance between the CLI and GUI.  Linux totally fails at this.
3 - Like Windows, it is document centric.  Many other OSes at the time were highly application centric.
4 - It is utilitarian and uncluttered.
5 - It is responsive.
6 - Prefs were stored in the RAM disk, so you could use different settings in a session, and not have to commit those changes.

[unite]

One problem with the Amiga is that the hardware hasn't really progressed over the last lot of years.  OK there are loads of addon boards to help with this but in general the basic Amiga hasn't changed cause the companies died.

If you take the PC market, its been progressing nicely with updates across the range of hardware.  A modern PC will not run software of 10years ago but this isn't seen as a problem as the hardware and software have both progressed together.  

Since this hasn't happened with the amiga, if a new Amiga 74000 was to be released with new spanking  2ghz cpu 4gb ram, 3tb hd etc i.e. greatly faster than what we all currently have then I think it would be in no way compatible with current software as the software is written around the hardware.  This is proven in games were you add your accelerator board and the game doubles in speed.  (same with old DOS games, you try wing commander on a modern pc) the games were written to the hardware.  If the hardware is updated and even if they ran they would not be playable without patching of some sort.  Applications would be that much of a problem as they can be updated easy enough but they would all need to be new versions and wouldn't be backwards compatible.  But lets face it that the Amiga is remembered alot for its classic games (or I remember it that way) which would in no way work.

I think there is to much of a technology gap now for the Amiga to come back rocking the world again.  Just gotta wonder how many years it will be before the last Amiga mobo finally dies.  

Not so sure all that makes sence but you know what I mean.

[_ThEcRoW]

If you consider an Amiga a machine that hasn't some sort of bios, the the Amiga ONe is automatically discarded, as the Uboot is a open source kernel loader developed before the A1, so by your definition it is a PC and not an Amiga.
Classic games wont work on aros as well they don't work on the A1 with os4 without the aid of UAE.

[Varthall]

_ThEcRoW wrote:
If you consider an Amiga a machine that hasn't some sort of bios, the the Amiga ONe is automatically discarded, as the Uboot is a open source kernel loader developed before the A1, so by your definition it is a PC and not an Amiga.

The AmigaOne's firmware isn't BIOS, nor it is BIOS compatible. I was referring to the specific BIOS used on PCs, not to a generic firmware: the BIOS is just one type of firmware, as is UBoot or OpenFirmware.

Classic games wont work on aros as well they don't work on the A1 with os4 without the aid of UAE.

Correct.

Varthall

[jorkany]

Is this a fake announcement from Amiga Inc, just to make me and other people to wait for another long time when these machines will be for sale, or it's just a typical announcement from Amiga Inc (which it means nothing after all)?

It's not a fake in the sense that it *is* an announcment, but the stuff mentioned in the announcement is all fake.

But don't take my word for it. The first deliverables are due "Summer 2007". Check back when Fall arrives to find out where you can by the announced hardware. Unless pigs are flying around by then, you won't be able to make such a purchase.

[redfox]

@Phantom

These are MY OPINIONS.  Reality may be different.

IMHO, the timing of this announcement and some other announcements is the key.  These announcements were made public just before Amiga Inc publicly cancelled the agreement with Hyperion and pressed for litigation in the courts.

IMHO, the hardware announcement was one of several announcements made by Amiga Inc. to backup the claims Amiga Inc. would be making in its preliminary court documents.

IMHO, this was simply theatrics on the part of Amiga Inc., waltz onto center stage and then sue Hyperion.

However, there is another party to the hardware announcement, and that is ACK Software Controls.

For me, this is where it gets tricky.

While I do not believe Amiga Inc., I'm not so sure about ACK Software Controls.

Even though many people are skeptical of ACK, I am still willing to give ACK the benefit of the doubt.  I do believe that Adam has worked on hardware and that he has run into issues with the licenses.  I do not know if the announced products exist.

IMHO, we will not see any new hardware bundled with AmigaOS4 until the court case is settled.  If ACK goes ahead, he will be sued by Hyperion (and maybe even Amiga Inc. or Itec/KMOS).  If ACube goes ahead, they will be sued by Amiga Inc. (and maybe Itec/KMOS).

---
redfox

[leirbag28]

What an Amiga is is NOT a matter of opinion.
no matter what anyone thinks an A1200 is............an A1200 is still an A1200 with whatever specs it has.

An Amiga is definitely a Machine with custom chips...........this is where everyone's head gets confused by the word: Custom Chips.  No one is talking Fat Agnus, Denise and Paula here........those are obviously outdated...........A modern Amiga (A REAL Amiga) would be a Machine with NEW modern Custom Chips, capable of excellent gaming better than X-Box 360 and PS3, yet a full blown computer.... it's that simple.  Picture a PS3 but with a Keyboard and Workbench 3.9 or OS4 if you will. PS3 is the closest thing on this planet to a REAL Amiga that is left.

AmigaONES are NOT Amigas. They are PPC clones. While a New Amiga can contain PPC chips.......it will only truly be an Amiga if it had Custom chips, and was unique and was manufactured inhouse by Amiga Inc themselves.

if Amiga Inc allows other Amiga Clones to be made, well then those would be real Amigas too, but just Clones of Amigas. I am fine with that. Just as Panasonic made Nintento  Game Cubes, this would be the same idea here.

[Varthall]

leirbag28 wrote:
What an Amiga is is NOT a matter of opinion.
no matter what anyone thinks an A1200 is............an A1200 is still an A1200 with whatever specs it has.

There's no question about what Amigas were in the past. What differs in opinion is what are today's Amigas (or if there are any). This IMHO all depends on how everyone experiences/have experienced the Amiga, and what makes feel them it's unique. Some feel that Amiga was unique because of its hardware, some others feel the OS alone was more important, and others think the philosophy behind AmigaOS was the most important part.

Varthall