Amiga Inc answers your questions (updated)

[JuSho]

Bill McEwen -- Yes, Amiga actually entered into a contract in 2005 with a firm to develop some products based on the Amiga classic technologies and we are looking forward to seeing those products. We have also been in discussions with the creator of the MiniMig, but he decided to go another direction.

Nobody interessted what that is? Could that be the Coldfire project(s) ? Elbox ?

[gary_c]

Doesn't this speculation about AOS5 give a deja vu feeling? I wonder if there's any more reason now to believe AOS5 is a real possibility than there was several years and several million dollars ago (in terms of Amiga, Inc. resources burned through). Investors have become even more indulgent? That's hard to believe.

That grandiose AOS roadmap that got auctioned off a few months ago got quite a few laughs, but it seems Bill McEwen is still guided by it, or at least wanting to give that impression to the people eager to hear it. It's fun to dream of a happy, shiny future, but I hope nobody is getting their hopes up too much.

-- gary_c

[itix]

I find it interesting that Amiga Inc acknowledges presence of Troika.

[ironfist]

This sounds to me that Troika has no license to
sell their platform(s) together with AmigaOS 4.0.

If you interprete the answer as they have moved
from discussions to a final agreement, my bet is
that Troika would have told the community a
long time ago, if they had a license.

It's not like anyone ever asked the question..

[itix]

If you interprete the answer as they have moved from discussions to a final agreement, my bet is that Troika would have told the community a
long time ago, if they had a license.

Now you are saying the obvious. But people were reluctant to think it... Everytime when too much good is coming people get their blinders on.

[Atheist]

ironfist wrote:

This sounds to me that Troika has no license to
sell their platform(s) together with AmigaOS 4.0.

If you interprete the answer as they have moved
from discussions to a final agreement, my bet is
that Troika would have told the community a
long time ago, if they had a license.

It's not like anyone ever asked the question..

ironfist!!!!

Could it be that Troika will sell an AmigaOS4.0 capable machine, without license, and that's what's trudging through the courts?

It would make sense that they wouldn't want to show a working MB in public, in that case!

Until "When it's 100% done" with a working MB.


Maybe, they're looking to pressure from us, to come to bear on Amiga Inc. to be given that license, after "the cat's out of the bag", so to speak??

[humppa]

Could it be that Troika will sell an AmigaOS4.0 capable machine, without license, and that's what's trudging through the courts?

They would need to bundle their HW with AOS 4.0 for which they have to pay royalties to Amiga Inc.
So it would involve both Troika and Hyperion.
Very unlikely to have a lawsuit only for the "intention" to do something.

[weirdami]

@itix

Only in passing, though, more like he was hedging off any "what about Troika" comments.

[weirdami]

@amigadave

I didn't get the impression that this buy-back option thingy was ever executed, only that it was introduced in a new contract that Hyperion signed so they could get the extra operating funds. Who knows if the money Hyperion got was in fact the money the buy-back option relates to.

[itix]

Could it be that Troika will sell an AmigaOS4.0 capable machine, without license, and that's what's trudging through the courts?

It would make sense that they wouldn't want to show a working MB in public, in that case!

Until "When it's 100% done" with a working MB.

They could always go for, say, AROS. Name it Amigo OS and print slogan "Only Amigo makes it possible".

[weirdami]

@JuSho

We are working on a product that would allow the retro games to be played on various devices, and I hope that we will have some more concrete timing on that product very soon.

^^^^Isn't that what he meant?

[weirdami]

@Englyst

...But I got my T-shirt :-D

I still cannot believe that some people starts to put out negative reply's to these answers you have put up. When finally sticking your head out with a very wanted response it's getting treated like a soccer ball at the World Championships.

I thought the same thing, except... I DIDN'T get my t-shirt. :-)

I don't know why the negative folks even bothered if nothing coming out of Amiga is either the truth or "Amiga enough". I say go sit on your "peg" or blow it out your AROS, but stop being a meany head naysayer that just wants to bring people down.

[Desler]

After having read Bills answers I am pretty disappointed. Amiga Inc is more or less singing the same song they did almost 4-5 years ago.

- OS5 is coming and have been under development for two years. By whom and based on what fundament?

- Hyperion will NOT be developing AOS after 4.0. Yes very rational. Remove the one company that people still respects and who actually gets the job done

- Legal disputes between Amiga Inc. and Hyperion. OMG AGAIN?!?! Whatever happend to the professional attitude of NOT saying this in public before anything was decided. Wasnt that what we all hated Bill Buck for?? Seems the only product Amiga Inc. can produce is legal meetings. What can they possibly archive by doing this. One could wonder why AInc suddenly directs its attention toward Hyperion shortly after the Smith Aerospace deal. GOD FORBID Hyperion to make any money (OK that is pure speculation. But its my best guess)

The conclusion I can draw is that Hyperion should continue making revisons to OS4.0 and never release it (If any of you Hyperion guys are reading this I will happily buy ANY revision in the future ESPECIALLY if its not the final OS4). Also people should just start selling OS4 capable hardware. Eventually AInc would spread itself so thin in legal buissness that they'll run out of money or be bought by MMOS dissolve and form a new AInc where after all old contracts apparently is void

[JoePillow]

Let me quote this part from question and answer 24:

Q: ... the security certificate on Amiga.com has expired at the end of 2005... Is Amiga, Inc. nothing more than a software publishing house?

A: Bill McEwen -- I would not place any importance on the software certificate "issue." The certificate has been renewed and is currently in use...

As everybody can see if they visit https://www.amiga.com/shop/, the site does indeed have a new certificate, issued by Starfield Secure Certification Authority on August 29, 2006. But... just click on the lock symbol or equivalent, depending on your browser, to see who the company that requested and obtained the certificate is! It is Amiga, Inc. (Washington), and not Amiga, Inc. (Delaware)!

But... Didn't the same Bill McEwen just say in reply to question 2 that the Washington company and the Delaware one are unrelated, and that the Washington company is now closed? Let me quote again:

There has been no deception and no hiding of the assets in any form or matter.
...
This was an asset purchase agreement, and once completed, Amiga, Inc. of Washington (which now owned nothing) closed its doors.
...
the Washington Amiga and the Delaware Amiga are unrelated
...
There is no deception, no hiding and the fact that we announced all of it in the public forums would make that clear.

Now, I am getting really confused. Bill McEwen is telling us, the community, that the Washington company is closed, and that everything is now done via a new Delaware company, which is the only Amiga company. And that there is no deception. So, "they" are now the Delaware company, right? Bill McEwen also just told us that "they" are in business, and that "they" just renewed a security certificate. He also encourages the community not to place too much importance on the security certificate. (Why does he do that?) But, in my humble opinion, this is instead very important. Because a security certificate requires paperwork, and verification, not just nice words like we are hearing here, and apparently there is something that is not right here, because what we are told is the new and only Amiga company cannot even get a security certificate!

Look for yourself inside the certificate:

E = webmaster@amiga.com
CN = www.amiga.com
OU = Web Services
O = Amiga, Inc.
L = Issaquah
S = WA
C = US

This is the old Washington company, apparently still being used (even if inactive) when it is convenient to do so. In Mr. McEwen's own words, this company is now... "unrelated" and "closed its doors", and there is "no deception". If things like "unrelated" and "doors closed" mean nothing, and a security certificate and related audit is "not important", what meaning and importance can we expect to be attributed to "no deception and no hiding"?

[itix]

Now, I am getting really confused. Bill McEwen is telling us, the community, that the Washington company is closed, and that everything is now done via a new Delaware company, which is the only Amiga company.

I got an impression that Delaware Amiga is not connected to Amiga/DE/AA but just some other company.

Obviously they closed their Amiga Inc in Washington and opened new Amiga Inc in Washington :-) It probably isnt illegal in the USA.

[Will]

Re: Security certificate

Wow, talk about reading a lot into something. Most likely what happened is that Bill M got on the phone and said,

"Hi, it's Amiga Inc here, our security certificate has run out. Can you renew it please and send us the bill"

and Starfield said

"Yes, Bill, we'll do that right away"

and nobody remembered to mention that in legal terms the company had actually changed.