Hyperion Entertainment CVBA and Amiga Inc. reach settlement

[persia]

It's a change in liability, if Hyperion goes bankrupt the creditors can no longer go after the assets of the Frieden Bros or anyone else who has a share of the company.

Can somebody explain the significance of hyperions change CVBA.  What does this mean  ?

[flow]

3. Nor did Hyperion's announcement say they were no longer associated with AI.  This is a settlement between two partners over a contract dispute, both sides had to give.  That means AI got something out of this fails to mention what that was. Since I doubt Hyperion could afford significant payment to AI and they did change legal status, it does make one wonder if AI got shares out of Hyperion.

http://www.amigans.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=40591#forumpost40591

[ssolie]

@dammy
Let me check my AmiWest notes here...

Hyperion will continue development, commercialisation and distribution of AmigaOS 4.x and beyond including AmigaOS 5.x world-wide and without any restrictions of any kind. Hyperion has ensured that it can continue these activities even in the event of an Amiga Inc. bankruptcy, insolvency or restructuring.

Hyperion is the only party allowed to use the "AmigaOS" trademark, Amiga Inc. included. There will be no "AmigaOS 5" from Amiga Inc. nor any other Amiga "operating system".

Amiga Inc. abandons all claims on the AmigaOS 4.x intellectual property and will refrain from any interference with the development and distribution of AmigaOS 4.x and beyond.

Personally, I think it would be best if we all stopped playing armchair lawyer and looking for ways to fail. AmigaOS is back in the hands of somebody who cares. It is time to stop speculating about what could go wrong and start thinking about all the things that could go right. AmigaKit still has a few boards left if you'd like to join us. Otherwise, get out of the way because there is nothing holding us back now. 8-)

[jj]

It's a change in liability, if Hyperion goes bankrupt the creditors can no longer go after the assets of the Frieden Bros or anyone else who has a share of the company.

 
Thanks

[bhoggett]

I hate to say it, but I don't see what real difference any of this is likely to make. Hyperion's position has never wavered and Amiga Inc have in truth never been more than a flea-like parasitic annoyance (though often used to justify decisions Hyperion made themselves along the way).

AmigaOS will never again be developed for cheap, readily available hardware and as a result it will never attract a significant user base. This in turn means not enough developers will be available to develop the quality of software that would entice users to buy an obscure and expensive system just to get access to the software.

It's a reverse chicken and egg situation - here there are no more eggs and the last hen died years ago. What we're witnessing is the sad, lonely crowing of that last, doomed cock.

I have no doubt that Hyperion care passionately about what they do, nor that they have proved themselves far more productive than Amiga Inc ever were, but when it comes to showing wisdom and foresight they've been as blind as a naked mole rat.

I speak as someone who would like to take an active interest in AmigaOS again, but who simply can't afford the stupid levels of expenditure such an exercise requires (and has required for some considerable time now). I'd need to be comfortably rich or professionally motivated to spend that sort of money and that's a negative on both counts.

That's not likely to change just as nothing has really changed on the Amiga scene for years. Avé! Duci novo, similis duci seneci! (as Terry Pratchett might put it)

[EDanaII]

Oh, ye of little faith, Bill...

[AmigaPixel]

Either way it will be interesting to watch. I see at as progress or at least a nice change.

[coldfish]

It's good news for Hyperion, I s'pose but what have they won?

I'm in the same boat as bhoggett and wayne here, even with this news it's hard for me to be enthusiastic about AmigaOS in 2009-10  apart from some residual sense of nostalgic fondness or familiarity for the name and the GUI conventions.

A platform is only as useful as its applications and modern AOS can't begin to attract the quality of software development that the average computer user has become accustomed to over the last 10-15 years using Windows, MacOS and even Linux.

AOS has a niche as a hobby platform among Amiga enthusiasts, but that doesn't seem to be a sustainable market for a business such as Hyperion to thrive in, long term. So eventually they will have to concede, taking future OS development with them.

Of all the Amiga-ish flavours I would guess AROS might eke out some future being open and hardware agnostic, but even that will have trouble being anything more than a novelty/hobby platform.

[bhoggett]

Oh, ye of little faith, Bill...

Yes Ed, I'm aware of the irony of my Amiga.org rank, but I'm way too long in the tooth for faith. Nothing much ever changes around here.

[EDanaII]

Actually Bill (being serious for a moment) I was poking fun at those who might think Hyperion is our savior. I actually think much the same as you. That said, I'm not against letting Hyperion try. As I often like to phrase it: "I'm crossing my fingers, but I ain't holdin' my breath."

Of course, as I mentioned before, as long as Hyperion is fixated on PPC, I won't even bother crossing my fingers...

[bhoggett]

Actually Bill (being serious for a moment) I was poking fun at those who might think Hyperion is our savior. I actually think much the same as you. That said, I'm not against letting Hyperion try. As I often like to phrase it: "I'm crossing my fingers, but I ain't holdin' my breath."

Of course, as I mentioned before, as long as Hyperion is fixated on PPC, I won't even bother crossing my fingers...

If I was convinced Hyperion were trying, I'd be more enthusiastic. I rather get the feeling that they're happy with their decisions and plan to carry on regardless - judging from the OS4 roadmap news we're hearing.

I would have thought that enabling as many people as possible to experience the platform, try it out and maybe get interested enough to contribute would have been of the highest priority in the near future, but it seems to me the target is to continue on the same path followed for years and sink what few development resources exist into other obscure low-volume hardware platforms only a few handful of people will ever see. Great for the wannabe engineers who want to hone their skills in building custom hardware, but at the end of the day completely irrelevant to everyone else except the small fanatical following already desperate to waste their money on the next oddball project to come along.

I have never been able to work out what Hyperion's business plan is. You'd expect either a push to popularise the platform or a small, dedicated and above all profitable market they are happy to exploit - but in reality they have neither and no sign of a change of strategy on the horizon.

I followed a random link to another site and noticed someone welcoming the news and saying all they wanted now was a decent browser, java, a proper office suite and Flash support and they'd be happy to give it a go. The reply was something along the lines of "Why not ask for the moon while you're at it? You should lower your expectations." ...which to me epitomises everything that is wrong with the scene and why this latest legal development is unlikely to make any difference at all.

As you, I will continue watching, but no more than that. (Unless I win the lottery of course, but for that I'd have to play...)

[coldfish]

That Hyperion are talking about bringing USB 2.0 support to OS4 just as the rest of the computer industry is moving to USB 3.0 speaks volumes.

[EDanaII]

@ bhoggett

But as you know, it isn't just Hyperion. MorphOS appears to be much in the same boat. To me, it's another example of the so-called Amiga curse. What made the Amiga such a great piece of hardware was the drive to get it right, which ran them 7 million over budget and eventually into the arms of Commodore. Now we got both professional Amiga camps demonstrating that same stubbornness... but how they arrive at the conclusion that PPC is the right course is, in fact, a mystery to me.

You're right, of course, the best business plan is the one that earns them the most money. But they remind me of someone trying to sell top-quality lemonade for 500$ a glass and is left wondering why no one is enjoying the drink.

[persia]

Accord to Hyperion's website they have an exclusive license to the name AmigaOS.  Meaning that the name AmigaOS still belongs to Amiga Inc, so Amiga Inc being the owner of the name could conceivably still produce an AmigaOS and they still own Classic AmigaOS.

But realistically this is a tiny market, a few thousand people, which Amiga Inc has pissed off, so there's really no incentive for them to even think of producing their own AmigaOS, but there would be some opportunity for them to produce classic machines in partnership with someone like NatAmi.

@dammy
Let me check my AmiWest notes here...

Hyperion will continue development, commercialisation and distribution of AmigaOS 4.x and beyond including AmigaOS 5.x world-wide and without any restrictions of any kind. Hyperion has ensured that it can continue these activities even in the event of an Amiga Inc. bankruptcy, insolvency or restructuring.

Hyperion is the only party allowed to use the "AmigaOS" trademark, Amiga Inc. included. There will be no "AmigaOS 5" from Amiga Inc. nor any other Amiga "operating system".

Amiga Inc. abandons all claims on the AmigaOS 4.x intellectual property and will refrain from any interference with the development and distribution of AmigaOS 4.x and beyond.

Personally, I think it would be best if we all stopped playing armchair lawyer and looking for ways to fail. AmigaOS is back in the hands of somebody who cares. It is time to stop speculating about what could go wrong and start thinking about all the things that could go right. AmigaKit still has a few boards left if you'd like to join us. Otherwise, get out of the way because there is nothing holding us back now. 8-)

[persia]

@bhoggett

When I entered the Amiga World it was because it was on the bleeding edge, that edge is so far away now that it is an unreachable goal, so why bother, Hyperion have a market that wants on a few changes, a retro OS that can use more modern hardware and one in which they can do a few modernish things, that's a doable thing.  That appears to be Hyperions target.  

And that market doesn't care about price, they'll pay what it takes.

[bhoggett]

@bhoggett

When I entered the Amiga World it was because it was on the bleeding edge, that edge is so far away now that it is an unreachable goal, so why bother, Hyperion have a market that wants on a few changes, a retro OS that can use more modern hardware and one in which they can do a few modernish things, that's a doable thing.  That appears to be Hyperions target.  

And that market doesn't care about price, they'll pay what it takes.

Sure, but is it a 'market'? Do sales even cover the cost of development? I seriously doubt it.

Not that it matters. I agree that Hyperion are only interested in the people already committed to their strategy, which is exactly why the rest of us are going to read the above news and just go "Meh". It makes no difference to us because we know Hyperion will do nothing to make the platform more accessible.

With Amiga Inc., AmigaOS would have been in the hands of a company incapable of doing anything progressive. With Hyperion, it is in the hands of a company unwilling to do anything progressive - at least going by their track record so far.

Accord to Hyperion's website they have an exclusive license to the name AmigaOS. Meaning that the name AmigaOS still belongs to Amiga Inc, so Amiga Inc being the owner of the name could conceivably still produce an AmigaOS and they still own Classic AmigaOS.

Actually, the exclusive part of that license means Amiga Inc cannot produce their own version of AmigaOS unless that licensing agreement is terminated. We are not party to the terms and conditions of the deal, so it would be a matter of speculation as to what could legally constitute a reason to terminate the agreement. Hyperion don't own the brand or the name, but they are the only ones who can produce AmigaOS.

Obviously this would not affect existing licensing agreements, such as the one under which Cloanto distribute the Classic AmigaOS.



@EDanaII

Yes, MorphOS is in the same boat, but they are unaffected by this story.