C-One with expander

[trekiej]

How many people plan to get one?
Do you think it will help the Amiga community?

I think we need a big box Amiga.
Cheers.

[Darrin]

I've already got one.  I'm looking forward to comparing it with the Minimig v1.1.

[trekiej]

Great, look forward to seeing the comparison.

[Darrin]

There's a few others with one on Minimig.net.  Not much has been posted yet, but I'll try and put together some sort of review this weekend.

[quarkx]

trekiej wrote:
How many people plan to get one?
Do you think it will help the Amiga community?

I think we need a big box Amiga.
Cheers.

IMHO, the C-One will no do anything for the Amiga and will be lumped in with all the other past attempts. The problem is simple.
It was never meant for Amiga, so any real attempt at hardware, will at best be just a poor substitute for real hardware.
Second, the C-One (like the Amiga-one, Sam440 etc) is way to expensive for most people who prefer the original hardware. I keep asking myself the same question, if I had a grand to blow on Amiga hardware, why would I buy it, when I can get a very nice A4000 or 1200 and not have to worry about all the nightmares that go with the "newer" systems.

If I wanted to screw with emulators, clones etc, I would use linux, WinAUE etc. I am a hardware junky and the Original hardware is what I am into.

it will be a flash in the pan for a few years, but only the real, dedicated (and rich) Amigaians will shell out the money for them.

IMHO someone should re-issue the A4000 and the A1200 in a modern design, Using real Chips, not some "simulation". The motherboards should be a up to date , drop in replacement for these systems- Like the Phoenix A1000 motherboard did all those years back. I know a lot will flame me over this, but, If i want a 65 mustang GT, I am not going to put a fancy paint job on a Taurus and "emulate" a 65 GT. Its just not the same.

[orb85750]

Regardless of where one stands on the emulation vs. real hardware issue, I am simply happy that so many people still really care about the platform.  With regard to releasing new real Amiga hardware systems (without the Amiga trademarked name), is it even legally possible?  While most of the patents have probably expired, no copyright has expired for any known AmigaOS/ROM.  Correct?

[quarkx]

Actually, my point was, not to get into a hardware software debate, but simply less then 1% of people who use and collect Amiga's will ever see one in person. It's numbers will be too low to make a dent in the community. It's the same for the Amiga one, Sam 440 etc. Too expensive and too rare for many people to even look at.

[Darrin]

@ quarkx:

I have WinUAE (or rather Amiga Forever) running on a fast PC and it doesn't "feel" the same as the Minimig.  The Minimig has that Amiga touch and there's no farting around with digital joystick settings or the like.  You plug it in and boot:  It's a real Amiga and when you compare it with an A500 with a scan doubler (and now a turbo card and extra RAM) then it is a cost-effective replacement with the added ability to use ADF files instead of corrupted floppy disks.

The C-One is a different kettle of fish.  Yes, it costs a lot more, but it has the potential to offer a lot more.  I didn'y buy it just for the Amiga side because I already own a Minimig.  What I want is a single machine that can replace my C64 and Amiga for most uses and have the ability to connect to my existing hardware (there are C64 serial ports, cartridge slots, Amiga clock ports, IDE headers, floppy headers and a PCI slot).  Don't bother mentioning emulation again, because I've done that on the PC and you don't get the feeling that you're using the actual hardware plus you have to jump through hoops to use the peripherals.

Your A4000/A1200 in a modern design is very possible, but it will probably be based on a Clone-A motherboard looking very similar to the C-One in size.  I'm sure The Daddy will build a case for it.  :-)

[Darrin]

quarkx wrote:
Actually, my point was, not to get into a hardware software debate, but simply less then 1% of people who use and collect Amiga's will ever see one in person. It's numbers will be too low to make a dent in the community. It's the same for the Amiga one, Sam 440 etc. Too expensive and too rare for many people to even look at.

You're right about the price.  The only way it will ever come down is if someone does a massive production run similar to the C64-in-a-joystick device with the Minimig.  It's still going to be expensive, but the possibility of a $99 computer in a cheap plastic box is possiblity and that would place it in a good position to sell around Christmas.  

The problem is the Kickstart which Amiga Inc holds by the balls.  Unless you can supply a complete package consisting of the Minimig, case, PSU, keyboard, mouse, joystick and an SD card pre-loaded with a few games and KS1.3 then your average consumer is not going to buy it.

[trekiej]

If Mini-mig had 8 megs of fast and 2 meg chip, it would be just fine with me. There is plenty of productivity software that would run on it. Putting software on an SD card may be the hard part.

[Rob]

@trekiej

Have a read of this thread, it contains a lot of information from Jens which should help you decide if the C-One + Extender is right for you or whether it would be better to wait for the full blown Clone-A.

[trekiej]

Yes, I have seen it.

Pros:
      New;
         currently being manufactured
         warranty;
                   can be repaired
      ATX Form factor
      more memory
     
Con:
       Price
       older tech
       no AGA
       possible license issue with AInc.
Can anyone think of anything else?
 :-)

[trekiej]

A video slot for a Video Toaster.

[quarkx]

Darrin wrote:

The problem is the Kickstart which Amiga Inc holds by the balls.  Unless you can supply a complete package consisting of the Minimig, case, PSU, keyboard, mouse, joystick and an SD card pre-loaded with a few games and KS1.3 then your average consumer is not going to buy it.

This is what I don't understand. If Amiga Inc holds the Kickstart, why not make your product (motherboard etc) have a socket, and the BUYER supply's a real Kickstart rom. This sure would save everyone a buch of grief, and KS roms are very inexpensive and easy to come by. the only decision is to use a 500,2000 ROM or a "double Chip" ROM.

[Darrin]

quarkx wrote:
This is what I don't understand. If Amiga Inc holds the Kickstart, why not make your product (motherboard etc) have a socket, and the BUYER supply's a real Kickstart rom. This sure would save everyone a buch of grief, and KS roms are very inexpensive and easy to come by. the only decision is to use a 500,2000 ROM or a "double Chip" ROM.

Damn good idea.