So where did the PPC amiga thing come from?

[actung_bab]

Overly simplified: It started with the guys that later brought us the Pegasos and MorphOS...

they might been paid to work on software but was phase 5 that did funded the event
also warp up programs as well they where more system freindly but did love quake ppc that was power up

[Karlos]

It's kind of strange when Commodore was making x86 boards for Amiga's before PPC ever came along.   Amiga's real roots are more x86 than PPC.

Bridgeboards served no purpose beyond hardware compatibility for guest operating systems (MS DOS et al). The AmigaOS host didn't use them for anything AFAIK.

[actung_bab]

Not interested in yet another thread of "PPC is dead" gibbering. We've all been there enough times.

What I am wondering about is.. what is the absolute earliest talk and from who, about amiga going powerPC ?

In other words.. where did it start?

gee when read through amiga folks been blessed if your half glass full person look all good hardware of the years made me think getting a cheap cheerfull ppc card forget what its called still avaible i think it can run os 4 well orginal one anyway

[commodorejohn]

Bridgeboards served no purpose beyond hardware compatibility for guest operating systems (MS DOS et al). The AmigaOS host didn't use them for anything AFAIK.

Well, they are used for working with ISA cards...from 68k software

[nicholas]

Bridgeboards served no purpose beyond hardware compatibility for guest operating systems (MS DOS et al). The AmigaOS host didn't use them for anything AFAIK.

Only because nobody wrote a PowerUP/WarpOS style kernel to run on the x86 chips on the cards.

[minator]

Even now, PPC is capable of producing competitive, competent performance.

The current top end desktop PPC is the dual core 2.5Ghz PPC 970MP.
Well, it would be but they've probably stopped making them now.

Intel have been through 2 Architecture revisions since then, any advantages the PPCs had have long since gone.

Adequate, maybe.
Competitive, certainly not.

[Nlandas]

Not interested in yet another thread of "PPC is dead" gibbering. We've all been there enough times.

What I am wondering about is.. what is the absolute earliest talk and from who, about amiga going powerPC ?

In other words.. where did it start?

Wonder no more....
http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/ppchistory.html

[Iggy]

Wonder no more....
http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/ppchistory.html

PPC isn't even close to dead, hundreds of new users join each year. And the hardware improves each year.

[runequester]

Maybe its just because Im drunk, but you guys are totally awesome

Thanks for all the good information, interesting links etc

[Kronos]

Only because nobody wrote a PowerUP/WarpOS style kernel to run on the x86 chips on the cards.

Which would have been quite an achievement considering that both CPUs were completly seperated except for those 128kb Janus-Mem while PPC and 68k could both directly access the whole addressrange.

[Karlos]

Only because nobody wrote a PowerUP/WarpOS style kernel to run on the x86 chips on the cards.

Alas, bridgeboard cards weren't anything like the later PPC+68K cards so such a kernel could not have been developed. The x86 and x68K had their own physically (as in hardware) separate memory spaces for one thing...

-edit-

Kronos beat me to it.

[utri007]

A500 when it arriver was a economy choise for people, in that time computer with HD was about 2-3 times more expensive.

Lets not forget that. Its all about software, NOT hardware.

There are plenty of PPC based computers, in every electronic store, at least here in Europe. You can get about 150€ computer, with lan, usb, dvi/scart and probably with WLAN. OS they uses is Linux. CPU is from 350mHz to 1000mHz, ram is 128mb to 512mb

Those computer are cleverly disguised to Digital TV set top boxes. About 50% them are actually PPC based computer Linux inside. I call them computer, because they have all the needed connectors, usb, hdmi/dvi/lan etc They are digitv boxes only because the way OS is installed and configured.

"cleverly disguised", about that here is nice joke about it

http://www.dontevenreply.com/view.php?post=84

[bloodline]

Alas, bridgeboard cards weren't anything like the later PPC+68K cards so such a kernel could not have been developed. The x86 and x68K had their own physically (as in hardware) separate memory spaces for one thing...

-edit-

Kronos beat me to it.

What about Vortex's boards? These seem to have access to the Amiga address space

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=346

[drHirudo]

What was the first software that made made people buy PPC cards? I heard some Video Toaster users got their PPC boards for faster Lightwave that was using PPC compiled modules. When I looked at P5 PPC boards in 1999 it was terribly expensive without any good software to get it into consideration. In 1999 the 68060 was the better option for me.

[Kronos]

@bloodline
Being connected to the 68k-socket (or turbe-slot in the A2000) doesn't mean they have full access to the Amiga-addressspace.

Having 2 (different) CPUs on the same bus was what made the P5 cards so expensive and there was no need for that on a bridgeboard. All you needed is some form of communication and some helper task on the 68k-side to emulate  PC-GFX, ports and massstorage (or on the x86 side if you were useing stuff from the Amiga side).

By that definition RiscOS would also been x86 as atleast the RiscPC could host small 386 (486 ?) system via a special slot on the mobo.

[bloodline]

@bloodline
Being connected to the 68k-socket (or turbe-slot in the A2000) doesn't mean they have full access to the Amiga-addressspace.

Quite! But this particular board used system ram and I/O via the Amiga's I/O... So I'm guessing that the 286 must have more access to the Amiga than most