Hey, people, check out this new thread at Amiga.org:

Amiga.org Site Announcements : "A couple of clarifications" from Bill McEwen

Pay special attention to item #2 in that post. It takes the wind out of alot of cynical, pessimistic interpretations that people have been waving, flailing, and flinging about as if they were imfallible, undeniable fact.

Why the frack do people tend to read the worst possible interpretation into all sorts of things in the world? It never ceases to outright flabbergast me!

_________________
"I love peacenicks, they're so easy to conquer." --Ivan J Ironfist, the Dictator

@NomadOfNorad

Just noticed that news post too. I wonder if this will calm people down?

Hans

_________________
Join the Kea Campus - upgrade your skills; support my work; enjoy the Amiga corner.
https://keasigmadelta.com/ - see more of my work

@NomadOfNorad

Hehe, sweet. Cheers for the clarification Bill.

FuZion.

@Hans

Quote:

Hans wrote: @NomadOfNorad Just noticed that news post too. I wonder if this will calm people down? Hans

I krukking doubt it!

_________________
"I love peacenicks, they're so easy to conquer." --Ivan J Ironfist, the Dictator

@NomadOfNorad

Quote:

I krukking doubt it!

The people that are up in arms over the Q&A were up in arms over everything else anyway. That's what they live for. This clarification, which really didn't need to be made, will likely just cause more of the same.

@weirdami

I think his comment about "We want to see OS 4 ship, but by the time we get everything worked out you may be running version 5." was somewhat cynical and misleading. This clarifies that point.

@NomadOfNorad

Quote:

NomadOfNorad wrote: Hey, people, check out this new thread at Amiga.org: Amiga.org Site Announcements : "A couple of clarifications" from Bill McEwen Pay special attention to item #2 in that post. It takes the wind out of alot of cynical, pessimistic interpretations that people have been waving, flailing, and flinging about as if they were imfallible, undeniable fact. Why the frack do people tend to read the worst possible interpretation into all sorts of things in the world? It never ceases to outright flabbergast me!

What does it clarify? He already said he wants to see OS4 ship. Nobody has questioned this intention, hell, they paid for it, why wouldn't they want to recover their investment?

Last edited by T_Bone on 20-Sep-2006 at 09:19 PM.
Last edited by T_Bone on 20-Sep-2006 at 09:17 PM.

_________________
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." - Oscar Wilde

@NomadOfNorad

Don't know if I'm typical or not, but I never tried to read negative interpretations into the Q&As -- though I've learned to be skeptical. Odd things just jumped out at me. Add to this Bill McEwen's tendency to "stretch the truth" in the past, and the subsequent comments by Rogue and Evert Carlton about what he said re Hyperion and AOS, and you get a lot of reason to still be skeptical, overall, IMO. I'm all for optimism, but it's reasonable to keep it toned down until what's really the situation becomes clear. Obviously, there's a lot more that hasn't been said about most of these issues.

I guess, on the other side of it, it seems odd, if somebody doesn't believe Bill McEwen's statements jibe the first time around, that a "clarification" by Bill McEwen would set everything straight. In his follow-up he says "We would not have spent the money for the embedded products if we did not think that OS 4 could fit into the long term as well as short term plans of the company and the community." Recall the situation when Amino was becoming Amiga, Inc., when they were getting into embedded products, and what they said about the desktop then -- is this latest comment consistent with what they said then or not? The whole issue is credibility, so the only real clarification is some kind of corraboration from another source.

-- gary_c

Edit: quote added.

Last edited by gary_c on 21-Sep-2006 at 03:14 AM.

_________________
zukakakina.com - themes.tikiwiki.org

@T_Bone

Quote:

T_Bone wrote: What does it clarify? He already said he wants to see OS4 ship. Nobody has questioned this intention, hell, they paid for it, why wouldn't they want to recover their investment?

Well, one thing it clarifies is that the "legal action" is just the two respective companies' lawyers getting with each other over the wording of the contract or such, rather than, as alot of people seemed to think, that there was some sort of lawsuit and counterlawsuit going on...

But, I'm with you on the investment thing: The fact that Amiga Inc have themselves put alot of money into the development of OS4 tells me that they do fully intend that OS4 be distributed to end users.

_________________
"I love peacenicks, they're so easy to conquer." --Ivan J Ironfist, the Dictator

@NomadOfNorad
Quote:

Well, one thing it clarifies is that the "legal action" is just the two respective companies' lawyers getting with each other over the wording of the contract or such, rather than, as alot of people seemed to think, that there was some sort of lawsuit and counterlawsuit going on...

I guess you could interpret Bill McEwen's backpeddling that way, but when Evert Carlton of Hyperion says "Suffice it to say that some statements by Amiga Inc. were clearly in contradiction with the views held by Hyperion's attorneys both on a legal and on a factual level" (URL) it tends to support initial impressions that things are a lot more complicated (i.e., nastier) between the companies than just routine "lawyers getting with each other". I'm not trying to whip things up into a frenzy here, since ultimately it doesn't really make that much difference to me, but I'm also unwilling to just sit still when I see what appears to be somebody trying to play down statements that produced unforeseen and unwanted reactions.

-- gary_c

_________________
zukakakina.com - themes.tikiwiki.org

I guess that I am the only one who finds it worrying that the relationship between Hyperion & Amiga Inc has broken down to such a degree that they need to talk through their lawyers. And worse - that the legal wrangling has only just started, so that Bill McEwan may well be correct in his assessment that OS5 may be out before the OS4 situation is resolved. :(

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@ChrisH

I hope it's only you who read that between the lines while reading a bit to fast.
The clarification does not say that they are talking through their lawyers, it does not say that it has broken down, all of those worries are fictions of your imagination.

Read clarification #2 again and get rid of your worries.

@Smurfen

Quote:

Read clarification #2 again and get rid of your worries.

That part simply states that the respective lawyers are talking to one another, which in no way contraddicts or dispells any of the doubts that have been casted over the issue. Most of all, it doesn't clarify whether or not the buyout clause has been triggered.

Incidentally, that may be what the lawyers are talking about. What I read in these "clarifications" is some kind of damage control

_________________
“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary
system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
~~ Henry Ford

@Smurfen
There is no need for any reading-between-the-lines - they have flat-out stated some clear facts, even if those facts are spread-out over a number of different paragraphs. It's really more of a case of join-the-dots, than imagining facts. But I honestly can't be bothered to argue the point (and in fact am trying to avoid doing so).

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@ChrisH

”Anyone looking for blood and guts will just have to be disappointed”

Well at least there not shooting or throwing knifes at etch other

I think this AmigaOS5 thing is more worrying then some legal trouble whit Amiga Inc and Hyperion as long as they kill etch other or becomes enemies.
I believe AmigaOS next focus should be on drivers NOT go multi platform.

_________________
http://lifeofliveforit.blogspot.no/
Facebook::LiveForIt Software for AmigaOS

@NutsAboutAmiga

Quote:

NutsAboutAmiga wrote: I believe AmigaOS next focus should be on drivers NOT go multi platform.

The problem with not going multi-platform, however, would be that we'd be stuck on the PowerPC while the world moves on to x86 risc CPUs like the AMD64, and wind up falling behind again.

I, personally, welcome the multi-platform aspect of OS5, because it means all Amiga programs (except for the oolllllld stuff) would someday run on whatever then modern processor comes along.

Nevertheless, first things first: We should focus our efforts on getting OS4 out to the masses, and to add whatever mundane stuff (like print drivers (by porting CUPS most likely), and other kinds of drivers) to OS4.

There really is no reason for Amiga Inc to release OS5 until they've had plenty of time to get all the kinks worked out of it. And that could presumably take another year or two after OS4 is officially released. Even if OS5 is "complete," there's still reason for them to work on refining it and adding more stuff to it, which would then allow plenty of time for OS4 to flower in the marketplace.

And, actually, giving OS5 more time to be worked on (to give OS4 more time to spread) would also allow them to get as many drivers and whatnot ported to OS5 as they wanted.

_________________
"I love peacenicks, they're so easy to conquer." --Ivan J Ironfist, the Dictator

Get the popcorn, the legal Amiga Show is back on screen !

Those who hoped for a release in 2006 can forget it, the best think that may be released this yeat would be a Release Candidate and if things go well, that hardware magically appear out of the blue and that no other problem happen, maybe people will get a G4 with AmigaOS4 by spring 2007.

Of course, the most likely thing to happen is that AmigaOS4 will either never be released or will be released *after* AmigaOS5 around 2009. It's most probable that Amiga Inc will do anything to regain control over the Amiga name, they probably found somebody to sell the Amiga IP they have for a fortune but are blocked by the current agreement with Hyperion, hence the fact that no harware licence is granted. No hardware, no product called AmigaTwo and no way for Hyperion to release a product with Amiga in its name.

It's the same old thing--Fleecy did a string of clarifications after his Q&A sessions, if I recall correctly.

Understanding is something all should strive for; but we already understand the path: the path is B.S. :) What more clarification can there be--unless it is from the community to Bill and/or Amiga, Inc.: "YOU WENT THE WRONG WAY.", "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY." "I TOLD YOU SO."

_________________
I was a ZX Spectrum owner....

@falemagn & gary_c

Give it a rest, damn it. Since they are in discussions about certain legal issues, he obviously is not in a position to go into further detail. All we need to know is that they are in agreement with each other and that someone looking for blood and guts will have to look elsewhere. If anyone is trying to cast doubts here, then it is YOU. I mean, even if we can't by the means of a verified fact exclude certain possibilities, there is no reason to dwelve further in such speculations when it has become clear that no such meaning was intended by the statements made.

Last edited by samface on 23-Sep-2006 at 01:26 AM.

_________________
Sammy Nordström, A.K.A. "Samface"

MINDRELEASE.net - The Non-Commercial Network of Digital Arts.

Samworks D & C - Professional Web Development (in Swedish)

@gary_c

Quote:

I guess you could interpret Bill McEwen's backpeddling that way, but when Evert Carlton of Hyperion says "Suffice it to say that some statements by Amiga Inc. were clearly in contradiction with the views held by Hyperion's attorneys both on a legal and on a factual level" (URL) it tends to support initial impressions that things are a lot more complicated (i.e., nastier) between the companies than just routine "lawyers getting with each other".

Unless you choose to interpret Evert Carlton's statement as one of the misinterpretations that caused Bill McEwan to clarify his original statements, of course. Again, there is simply no reason to put more meanings into things, just try to listen to what people are actually trying to say.

_________________
Sammy Nordström, A.K.A. "Samface"

MINDRELEASE.net - The Non-Commercial Network of Digital Arts.

Samworks D & C - Professional Web Development (in Swedish)