Update from Eyetech (after my review)

[Elwood]

After my review about the AmigaOne you have probably already read (available here, Alan Redhouse sent to me a reply that should be interesting for everyone.

From Alan Redhouse, Eyetech:

"UBoot is under constant development and refinement by Hyperion, But documentation has been difficult to obtain and I, particularly, have been pushing Hyperion to press on with OS4 rather than continuously tinker with and polish UBoot - there are only 2 Friedens! The k/b reset problem only occurs with out of spec keyboards in our experience. Typing 'reset' at the UBoot prompt always works with a Radeon 7000 card in our experience.
There may be some problems with a Voodo card - I don't know - we do not have one!

A second problem is that it is only practical to flash UBoot at the factory, so there is an inevitable several week lag between us submitting the boot code (which comes from us, not MAI) to the factory to build a batch of boards, and those boards reaching earlybird users such as yourself. This period can be typically 6-8 weeks. It is for that reason that that we have now asked the factory to remove software protection from the ROM so it can be reflashed by earlybird purchasers.

Finally please do not fall into the trap so frequently set up by some people - that this is really a MAI designed and produced product and that we merely resell what we are given.

MAI contracted out the original design, and jointly we have drawn up specifications for the current (and future) board versions to ensure that they are cost effective and saleable. This spec has then been given to a third party specialist to design into a manufacturable board. Our supply contract is directly with the factory, not with MAI. Although we have a close working relationship with MAI, we have materially dictated the board design and specifications, and have placed and funded the build.

Cheers

Alan"

[System]

I don't think anyone "set up" traps or feelings that Eyetech is merely a reseller of MAI boards.

But it is no lie that the Teron CX, PX, and Eyetech's AmigaOne lines are very very similar, perhaps barring some cost-efficiency changes, and a few extra minor features.

It is one thing to tweak a motherboard design that someone else made and get another company to bring it to profitability for you.

It is another altogether to design one from scratch, in-house, and produce it using your own means.

This is the difference I think people are "setting up", and believe me, it is not a trap to build your machines not far from your head office, and have your chief engineers stand over the production lines!

Eyetech are doing the A1-Lite, via a 3rd-party outfit, with close collaborations with MAI. That doesn't change the nature of the AmigaOne - a tweaked reference board, built in Taiwan, 2 weeks away shipping time..

AmigaOne-Lite is going to be a new board, but currently is merely a shrunken version of the A1, with a Radeon stuck in the middle.

Drawing up specifications is a lofty task indeed!
I can do that, and I'm no hardware designer. Even Fleecy can do it!

PowerPC!
PCI slots!
AGP!
64MB of Memory!!!!

.. which footballer shall we name it after?

=Neko=

[JurassicCamper]

Another Day Another anti  Amiga & Eyetech Bash :roll:

[Wilse]

> .. which footballer shall we name it after?

Gazza.  :-P

[Wilse]

@JurassicCamper:

Another Day Another anti Amiga & Eyetech Bash

You didn't seriously expect Matt to praise them did you?  ;-)

BTW, cheers for the Voodoo info - appreciated.

[The_Power_of_the_Ginger]

It is after reading this post that I have decided I haven't a clue about the hardware or software of computers. as long as it runs lovely playable games I'm alright.

As far as I know voodoo is something evil and part of black magic and should never be touched. Good for eyetech for not dabbling with it! ;-)

[Seehund]

Neko said:

But it is no lie that the Teron CX, PX, and Eyetech's AmigaOne lines are very very similar, perhaps barring some cost-efficiency changes, and a few extra minor features.

They are identical. Even Alan has quit pretending otherwise by now.

I don't see why Eyetech sees people stating this simple fact as "setting up traps" or whatever.

Why do some people apparently see this as "trolling"? The hardware is identical, and there's nothing "bad" about Eyetech "merely" (Alan's wording) being a reseller. It's a good thing of course. Does anyone really think that Mai would choose to sell older revisions, or revisions with less features, than a reseller like Eyetech? Mai still owns the design.

The division of markets is an artificial creation, it has nothing to do with imagined differences between hardware. That artificial division between an "AmigaOS hardware market" and the "hardware market for everybody else" is where the smaller volumes come from. That's where the higher price for Terons (or any future licensed hardware) when sold by Eyetech (or any future licensee) comes from. Et c.



Alan Redhouse said:

The k/b reset problem only occurs with out of spec keyboards in our experience.

The specification I believe is PS/2. Are people trying to use non-PS/2 keyboards, or is there an additional secret specification?

A second problem is that it is only practical to flash UBoot at the factory, so there is an inevitable several week lag between us submitting the boot code (which comes from us, not MAI) to the factory to build a batch of boards, and those boards reaching earlybird users such as yourself. This period can be typically 6-8 weeks. It is for that reason that that we have now asked the factory to remove software protection from the ROM so it can be reflashed by earlybird purchasers.

6-8 weeks? Maybe they should look into transferring the firmware images by FTP or e-mail, instead of shipping them saved on floppies by rowboat to Taiwan? FFS, doesn't he understand himself how ridiculous this sounds? It'd be quicker to solder a *PROM burner from an Aminet description and flash the chips inhouse at Eyetech before shipping each board!

Is he honestly suggesting that they have until now sold Terons with the firmware chips DELIBERATELY write protected? Part of that "added value", I presume...

There's a trait of paranoia to the whole text. Who set a "trap" to make people believe that Mai manufactures anything? Very confusing. Doesn't everyone know that Mai is not a manufacturer?

we have materially dictated the board design and specifications

That's cute. And so flexible to interpret. Does Eyetech's hardware design department share offices with AInc's legal department?

One word: "Zico"

[Seehund]

Gazza.

But will Gazza have a "next generation Matrox graphics card"?

[Bobsonsirjonny]

AmigOne is a blah, blah, blah...

A Mercedes is a Volkwagon under the bonnet.
An MG is a sports tuned Rover 75....

Does it matter. OS 5 is intended to be hardware independent.

Personally, I wouldn't have cared if they had taken  a really nice  X86 board and dongalised it and wrote OS 4 for that.

Hardware is fast enough now for most people's needs. Bottom line is give it a few years and it'll all blend into one soup of irrelevance :-) - Its the OS that counts,...

Though that isn't strictly the only reason why we back our  respective horses, and  have these disscusions.....

[BADHead]

@Bobsonsirjonny
I agree.I Just hope os4 or os5 make it to the PC or
even Mac and AmigaDE takes off as it makes sense .

[The_Power_of_the_Ginger]

OS 5 can run on a vacuum cleaner for all I care. As long as it works and is good and sells millions...

[mikeymike]

Personally, I wouldn't have cared if they had taken a really nice X86 board and dongalised it and wrote OS 4 for that.

Doesn't that defy the point of running it on x86?

[Elwood]

@Neko:
>Drawing up specifications is a lofty task indeed!

I don't see how this comment is related to Eyetech work. It's not a post about AInc.

@Seehund:
>Are people trying to use non-PS/2 keyboards

I don't think "specification" is precise enough to think it describes the PS2 interface specification.
Anyway, this Uboot problem is far from being a pain. It's just annoying and it will be corrected in the future.

>6-8 weeks? Maybe they should look into transferring the firmware images by email

It's not only transfering the bios file. Alan said it is the time needed to produce the complete board + shipping them. Please read again.

Bye

[ikir]

Another Day Another anti Amiga & Eyetech Bash

 :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(  :-(

W A1 :-)

[itix]

@elwood:

Btw regarding your review you wrote some time ago... When I read your
review first time I recall you mentioned on-board audio there. Later
on I was going to make a question about it but could not find this
audio from review at all.

I just wonder if my memory is weak and I remember wrong? Or did it
change? :-D