Would you support this project? -please read-

[angrybrit]

Frankly, I'd like to have a new line of Amiga style cases developed instead of a new motherboard.

I'm getting an AmigaOne Lite (when they come out) and I don't like ANY of the case I've seen.  They are awful (like 99% of all Windows PC cases) compared to what Commodore gave us.

Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX formats.  And it we be cool if we could stack'em.  So that I could plug a small Linksys KVM between the Pegasus and an AmigaOne.  The Amiga 3000 could be a starting point for some ideas.  It's the prettiest case of all Amiga computers.

[Waccoon]

New Amiga could be like this:

What's the point if it runs Workbench just like any other hardware?  Or do you expect such software to be hard-coded, thus preventing any forwards mobility?

AAA+ custom chips

To do what?  Operate timers?  Control floppy drives and IDE?  Play sound? Today's PC chipsets are very much like what AGA used to be:  hardware and bus controllers with integrated GFX and audio.

The only really nice thing about the Amiga was Exec, so a real-mode CPU crash gave you debug output, much like a protected-mode crash.  Today's PC's still just lock up or explode randomly and you never know if it's bad software or an overclock problem.  :-)

3D customable chip

Today's 3D chips already do just about eveything.  A custom RAMDAC with a *proper* sprite engine would be nice, though.  That would get rid of flicker for good if objects don't quite sync with frame buffer swaps.  :-)

USB 2.0 as standard

Well, that's one thing the AmigaOne doesn't have.  :-)

New 92 keys Amiga keyboard

It amazes me how few computers have dedicated undo/redo buttons.  A method for overtyping would be nice, too, so you can use a keyboard like a typewriter.  For example, why bring up a character mapper to find the (é) symbol, when you can just type (e), backspace, and then overtype the (e) with the appropriate inflection?

Still, most of that can be done in software using custom keys and remapping.  You hardly need a custom keyboard so much as a "rebadged" keyboard.

Now its the time to think new.

PC's don't sell in the tens of thousands, anymore.  They sell in the hundreds of millions.  You have to believe that hardware standards evolved the way they did for a reason, even if Windows doesn't make much sense.

Of course, this is strictly in terms of hardware.  For software, I don't think it makes any sense to make a brand new OS and then make it work just like Windows, UNIX, or whatever.  If you're going through that much trouble, you might as well try to fix all the bad points and keep the good stuff.

It's easy to do that with software.  Hardware is just a means to an end.

[Waccoon]

Frankly, I'd like to have a new line of Amiga style cases developed instead of a new motherboard.

Yeah, why is it the overclockers get all the different stuff, which basicly is neon and colored cases with LCD front panels?

What ever happened to the *real* inspiration behind the iMac:  reducing cable clutter, reducing noise, taking less desk space, going wireless, abolishing the bulky "tower" configuration...

[Al_B]

No, it's too little too late.

UAE on my AMD 2200 processor, is probably faster.

Instead, write an Amiga OS package that will work on a Sony Playstation 2.  They're design is sorta like an old Amiga. (CD32/CDTV)  And there's 50 million potential customers!    

[whabang]

It could be fun as a hobby machine with a a4k-compatible ATX-mobo, however there would be too much work and too little gain. By the time it would be finished, emulation would be a better alternative.

The keyboards sounds interesting though...

[Crumb]

AAA and Coldfire are the only differences with a modern board...

The OS doesn't run on coldfire and a coldfire sucks compared to a G4... even running 68k code.

We are running PPC native apps and do you want to slow down everything with a coldfire?

I would use a powerpc instead of a coldfire. Come on, OS4 and MOS runs on ppc, not on Coldfires. There's no coldfire software out and it would only be SLOWER.

AAA isn't finished and even if it was finished it would be a waste of time compared to companies that work only doing chipsets. You can't compete with them in features or price.

We no longer need AGA compatibility, we have get rid of it. If you want to run AGA apps, run UAE or use the real Amiga. If you insist on thinking that AGA is something wonderfull put a xilinx on a pci card and start programming it. But I can't see the point in investing money in being AGA compatible. AGA is dead. AAA isn't finished.

And using a coldfire is a waste of money.

I would use PPC or x86, that's all. The OS already runs on PPC. If I wanted other cpu I would use x86.

BTW
The Amiga mice/keyboard/case is a good idea.

And if somebody released a PCI card with an Altera it would sell well too

[AmiDelf]

I, for one, would love such a project. In fact, I've been designing my own custom chipset for several years, but it's a hobby project more for my

We need a new Amiga! Its time to think this now, and not in 2-3 years, when the Amiga feeling is lost.

Please contact me at:
mberg@broadpark.no

amigaworld.org would love to help out annyone out there going for such project.

Amiga lives on! I want the Amiga feeling back. Dont you? And.. someone here just dosent read my comment. I also included 3D custom chips, intergrated into a custom based Amiga computer.

With this new Amiga, the Amigascene could come back. AmigaOne is doing something, but not ennough I feel.

Regards,
Michal, www.amigaworld.org

[bloodline]

AmiDelf wrote:

I, for one, would love such a project. In fact, I've been designing my own custom chipset for several years, but it's a hobby project more for my

We need a new Amiga! Its time to think this now, and not in 2-3 years, when the Amiga feeling is lost.

Please contact me at:
mberg@broadpark.no

amigaworld.org would love to help out annyone out there going for such project.

Amiga lives on! I want the Amiga feeling back. Dont you? And.. someone here just dosent read my comment. I also included 3D custom chips, intergrated into a custom based Amiga computer.

With this new Amiga, the Amigascene could come back. AmigaOne is doing something, but not ennough I feel.

Regards,
Michal, www.amigaworld.org

Send an Email to Dammy, he might be able to help you.

[voxel]

Hi Amidelf :-)

Your project sounds like a revamped boxer mobo ;-)
But it would be nice with some things more :

- A1200/4000 motherboard form factor models, as direct replacement for such,

- exchangeable processor daughterbord so you can take the one you want (coldfire, ppc, whatever...)

-pci AND zorro III/IV slots (dreaming ;-) )

- flashrom kickstart,

- 100% backward compatible with ECS/AGA

--- :-)

Amigalement,
Jean-François, Amiga ONLY since 1985.

[lempkee]

i simply dont see this as viable at all , i would love to mess with AAA and all that but i know why commodore and amiga + escom + gateway + tulip didnt go further into it , as it costs money!! and alot of it!.

we surely need something special in the next gen amiga's but i would say that instead of thinking about AAA (which is infact dated compared to the saturn's 2d and the playstation 1's 3d) we should instead ask ati/matrox/nvidia to do an AMIGA styled gfx chip/customs, they have the expertise and they are the ones who make the new standards, and as we all know everything in the pc world theese days ages rapidly.

Gc/xbox and ps2 got their own custom designs based on well known designs from the time they where built and improved , making new stuff from scratch would (i guess) make the consoles even expensiver + would put the creators in an money issue over time..

dont get me wrong, i am a big fan of amiga and its custom chips and i would love to see an AGA on PCI card or simmilar ways but thats just about as long as i would go for now.

Amiga needs money, amiga needs an os and most of all Amiga needs to rise in its potential market before we can dream about a new custom design.

we all know what happened to the A/box , BOXER and so on, diffrent designs i would love to have but as time went on it showed how hard it would be and most of all the kind of an budget you would need.

[bloodline]

lempkee wrote:

Amiga needs money, amiga needs an os and most of all Amiga needs to rise in its potential market before we can dream about a new custom design.

we all know what happened to the A/box , BOXER and so on, diffrent designs i would love to have but as time went on it showed how hard it would be and most of all the kind of an budget you would need.

Custom designs are a thing of the past, Wain is right when he speaks of a new technology... I see Hypertrasport and it's offspring to deliver that new idea.  It allows the use of CPU's and other hardware in ways that haven't been tried before.

[AmiDelf]

The thing here is, that BoXeR could be something good, but it failed.

This project is aimed at getting a project complete.

Regards,
Michal, www.amigaworld.org

[lempkee]

amidelf:i doubt that mr.thinker (mr.tinker?) or any of the others would be interested to continue on their projects, we all know what it led to in the end..

and most of all the boxer was cool in 99 but by todays standard it would be crap compared to lets say an (allready old) AmigaOne .

[lempkee]

amidelf: btw since u suggested Coldfire and its 2xx mhz model, would you please tell me (and others) how fast that is compared to ...lets say an 060 /50 mhz cpu and most of all the compability it has regarding the 68k family , i know the answer but i suspect someone else on here doesnt!

and another problem is that coldfire needs its own kernel and os code, it is compatible to some extent but you will need special sw to "make use of" the coldfire cpu.

i know i will invest in the coldfire board that OLIVER is making, but i do that mostly because i want it in my cd32! and i dont expect it to run os4.

[AmiDelf]

This new Amiga, would be THE Amiga for everyone who knows what Amiga is.

Yes! a 220MHz ColdFireV4 cpu, is way faster than 060 offcourse.

If not AmigaOS4 will run on it, AROS could for example, or something else.

When I buy a Amiga, I want to buy a real Amiga, and not a PPC motherboard with a PC modified case wich a reseller puts tougether for you. Thats not an Amiga and I know that there is lots of people wich agree with me. But its TABU to say something else today, than going the cheapest way.

Sorry for beeing so harsh, but Amiga 6000 would be a great computer. But its just to hard for people to think custom. But it can be done!

Look how beutifull the Amiga 4000T case from Commodore was and all the things wich was with it. Both SCSI and IDE controllers on motherboard++ Thats the cream of the cake in Amiga world. And A6000 would go even further.

I want AmigaOne, but I also want the real Amiga feeling back. So do others and if we can get tougether and show and support such project. This can be done. Its all about will,.. the will to challenge the world we live in now.

Regards,
Michal, www.amigaworld.org

[PMC]

It's a great idea IMHO, but although Coldfire would be a great upgrade solution for classic users, it doesn't make any sense now that we're migrating to PPC.  Nor can I see the point of resurrecting AAA after over a decade.  Such technologies would be viewed as an anachronism today and an expensive one at that.

I'd personally like to see something a little more imaginative and radical than the existing ATX PPC designs, preferably with industry standard interfaces (eg ATX, PCI etc) but with a thorough rethink more in line with the traditional Amiga way of doing things (for example, I don't want to see an ugly BIOS screen when starting my machine).  The point made earlier about it not necessarily being about how powerful the hardware is but how it's used is valid and I believe there's space in the market for such a solution today, provided it can compete on cost grounds.