What's the point of the MiniMig?

[da9000]

mike- wrote:
The Minimig is essentially our chance to do what amiga and ack so far has failed to do, hardware.

I must agree with Mike: The single most important reason, in my mind (other than all the other "duh" reasons already given). Also closely followed by another: Dennis wanted to do it, and just because he could, he did. Congrats to Dennis and his brilliant skillz! I'm very happy to know that one part of the future of the Amiga is in a TRUE AMIGAN'S hands, finally!


Oh, and one little comment for the impatient people ("not useful since it's so weak", or "I'd rather have a 10Ghz Amiga with all the bells and whistles"):

Clue #1: Dennis ain't making it just so you'll have your NeXT-GEN Amiga. Look to Amiga Inc. (hard laughter) for that. He's doing it for fun and for himself primarily, not you. Stop thinking of yourselves.

Clue #2: without crawling, you won't have walking, so either shut your whining (to put it mildly) and/or help Dennis and the other folks out so that your 10GHz Amiga comes sooner rather than later! And remember: you've waited since 1993-4 until 1997-8 for a more powerful Amiga (PPC), so why don't you give these guys the same amount of time and then come back and look at MiniMig. You might just be surprised!

[whiteb]

Also, what came first, the Black and white TV or Color ?

You have to admit, it was not until Dennis brought out 1.0 (and then 1.1) that people then jumped on and one day, you will have better versions, but all it needed was ONE person to kick it off.

From this, there WILL be more versions.  Its a shame that it has taken the fanbase to inspire new hardware, instead of Pathetic companies like A.inc just sitting around trying to find more people to sue (Scientologists ?).

WHY an amiga 500 to start ?, because there is very little documentation of the hardware out there, and what there is, it is of an Amiga 500, from this you can build.  How can you build a house without foundations ?

[_yak_]

The truth is, Dennis made Minimig mainly to show himself that he can do it. He didn't think at that time if it's going to cost more than an A500 or if it's going to make any economical sense. It was an opportunity for him to achieve something that nobody ever did. And he did it. Thoughts like, what next, what to do with it now, came later. He decided to open source it to let the community get the most of it. Being open source, it can be enhanced by others or simply produced. It can fork in many directions. It was at no point created to let anybody get a cheaper A500, it was a hobby project all the way. And it's great that even when it costs more than an A500, there are quite a lot of reasons (already pointed out in this thread) to want it.

Minimig is just cool!
Thanks Dennis!

[XDelusion]

 Currently the Minimig is not expandable in ways that a 500 was, no CPU update, no RAM expansion, no Hard Drive, etc.

 Right now it is just a cool way to play those old demos and games on the TV, which I respect, but there is NO WAY I can afford to lay down $200 for a game system with limited RAM and limited CPU.

 For now I'll place my faith in AROS, E-UAE, MorphOS, and perhaps Amiga inc themselves.

[arkanoid]

My opinion is that the MiniMig is a fantastic achievment by Denis and he has my utmost respect. However, as it stands, it really is of no interest to me. Yes, it is hardware but it is essentially hardware _emulating_ hardware (save for the 68000 chip). It would feel no different than using WinUAE in that sense.

However, this project has fantastic potential. Add PPC/060/PCI slots/memory upgrade/enhanced-turocharged-custom-chip-features/etc and it could get interesting. I guess the sky is the limit, which is a nice thought when you are talking about anything Amiga-based. ;-)

oh, and the greatest thing about this whole project is that it doesn't have some parasitic self-serving "corporation" behind it. its destiny is truely "in our hands" thanks to Dennis. Nobody has the right to complain about it, the foundations are there and if any of us want to make it better we are free to do so.

[amigadave]

gdanko wrote:
Maybe I am stupid or maybe I am some sort of infidel, but I do not see the point of the MiniMig. This unit emulates a 7 MHz A500 for > $200 USD? Why bother buying this thing when you can get a real A500 for about $25 USD?

I say we string the infidel up by the b@!!$ and then burn him alive!   :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I had to read backward through three pages of messages to find out just who this infidel could be.  Blasphemy from such a good Amiga acolyte too!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Lots of good points made, and "Yes" it does not make sense to buy a Minimig for $200 instead of getting a good used A500, or A1000, but that is definitely not what the Minimig was created to do.  I wanted one just because it is Amiga history in the making and as far as I am concerned it is a must have for any respectable Amiga collection.  In fact, I was elated to find that my Minimig PCB had arrived when I returned home this evening (thank you very much Nusim).

The Minimig is an important first step toward what will hopefully become the greatest chapter of Amiga history - Open Source Amiga Hardware AND (I hope eventually will lead to an) Open Source Amiga-compatible OS!  Then we won't have to worry anymore about Amiga Inc., Hyperion, ACK, and all the rest that have let us down year after year after year.

It really is incredible to me that one person has done what no group or company has been able to do in over 10 years.  What do I mean???  Not just produce a piece of hardware design, but Dennis has inspired so many Amiga users and fans to have a positive outlook toward the future.  Dennis has inspired many to actually take actions of their own to improve his design and dozens are actively discussing further improvements.

What is the point of the Minimig?  It has many, and I am so grateful to Dennis for putting forth his talents and the considerable effort to make this inspiration possible.  :cheers:  :bow:

Really, gdanko, considering the recent events with AI vs Hyperion you must admit that many members here have gone from this  :horse: to this :banana: when they are talking about the future of Amiga hardware development.

Yes, it will take a very long time and the outcome is unforseen at this time, but hope has been renewed for some and at least for me, it is more fun to be an Amiga enthusiast today than it was several months ago.

More than my 2 cents,

[taunusand]

Homer wrote:
Come on guys, there is no negative reason for the MiniMig existing ! Thanks to Dennis, we have a feasible future for dying hardware, and a possible future for expansion   :-o
Where is the negative in this  :-?

Exactly my words!

I hope that i can buy an MiniMig one day :-)

68000 or 68060 does not matter, it's just an MUST HAVE thing.

The Minimig IS the foundation, those who don't like it, don't boy it and let others have it :-D

[wizard66]

Don't forget !
Building the Minimig is also fun.
Making your one Amiga gives a special feeling if you run it the first time, (And I know build 3 units already, more to come).
The Minimig is so nice and tiny and is't using much space !
I Love My Minimig BIGTIME  (A500 setup takes to much space on my desk...)
The Scandoubler is amazing crystal clear output on my TFT.
Also new updates will come out!
I recived a e-mail from Dennis that he is rewriting the floppy controller for multiple .adf suport.

[AeroMan]

Hi,

  Minimig is cool ! It is such an amazing hobby project.
  I'll make mine as soon as possible... (or as soon as my daughters give me free time  :-D )

[amigadave]

wizard66 wrote:
....I recived a e-mail from Dennis that he is rewriting the floppy controller for multiple .adf suport.

That is great news!  I was not sure Dennis would continue to work on the Minimig, thinking that he might instead move on to some other unrelated project of interest to him.

[Boudicca]

Why do people climb mountains.....
Why do you go the long way round....

IMHO the Minimig....is major step.....a breakthough that can mean a computer built around a Emulated in hardware Core...

Yet....The minimig beyond that...na.....A Over priced Amiga it is !.....worth the money....nope.....but nice to say I was there....

Someone said that once all the amiga 500s are gone...what now....my friend there are literally hundreds if not 10,000's of Amiga 500's sitting in peoples cupboards. They are not rare or failing by the sack load. If you want to buy a minimig to be a part of the scene, the tek and the soul of something new and different, thats one thing...if you want an a500 buy one.....someone said $25 was about right....you were robbed.....The last two I paid for were less that $5......both working (I have 3)...

Lets face it Dennis's work is brillant....but at that BOM cost, your building it!, just because its there......

Shaz

[freqmax]

There are some possibilities with the Minimig. That may actually make it more sought after.
It's likely possible without any hardware modifications to run Atari ST, Macintosh 68k, Sega, Early x86, Proberbly most 8-bits. With some fpga tricks even early Sun, SGI, NexT aswell.
Then there's the possibility to do demos coded directly in HDL (like vhdl) and really exploit the fpga power. Or even use the fpga capability to interface with other electronics as logic analyzer etc..

[leirbag28]

@gdanko

Quote:
 What's the point of the MiniMig?



 Whats the Point of a Sony PSP when there is a PlayStation?



this should answer the question.



I would be extremely exstatic about a handheld Amiga. This is the beginnings of an Amiga PDA.

[alexh]

This is the end.

[Faerytale]

Minimig is cool. But just like WinUAE its just not the real thing

[Speelgoedmannetje]

leirbag28 wrote:

I would be extremely exstatic about a handheld Amiga. This is the beginnings of an Amiga PDA.

Maybe someone is crazy enough to put it in a dead Atari Lynx (with still working buttons, speakers and screen) :lol: