Hello.

I have mailed Jens Schönfeld of Individual Computers and asked him some questions about this product.

I have permission from him to post his respons here.
I also made this poll to see what kind of demand/interest there is.
Please vote true.

I would also like to point out his request that no one mail him on this subject asking
him "when is it's done".

Quote:

Me: I'm wondering if there are any plans to produce Kickflash

Quote:

Jens: I have not thought about that product in a while. I used the name "Kickflash" for the 1 MB Zorro flashcard that speeds up booting of OS3.5 and OS3.9 systems, and it'll also work with OS4 on classic Amigas.

Quote:

Me: How many orders would you need to produce a small batch ? and if so at what price.

Quote:

Jens: It'll have to be something like 200 units. I do have a working prototype that I showed at the Amiga show in november 1998, and the design files can be converted to up-to-date-chips. Can't give an exact price, but I'd guess something like 70-80 EUR.

Quote:

Me: May i post this information on www.amigaworld.net and see what response i get ?

Quote:

Jens: Sure, you can post that, but I don't want to get eMails like "when is it done?", because I already have enough projects in the pipe. The best thing would be an investor who would place an order for 200 or more units. Note that there would be different versions for different types of Amiga, so every type would need a 200-unit order. I'd say A1200 is the type that you can sell the most for, but I doubt that it would be 200 these days. ciao, -- Jens Schönfeld

I belive that Jens is right about that the A1200 is the one to aim for.
I think this would be a great thing for Both AmigaOS 4 and OS 3.5/3.9.

You could place all setpatch updated in this flash rom and forget about ever having to doubble boot from a cold reset again to load patches.

Last edited by Nickman on 25-Feb-2005 at 10:01 PM.

@Nickman

Ahhh come on!

4 ppl have voted, is there not more then 4 1200 users on this board ?

@All

Can I suggest that if you own an AOne you don't vote? This would give an unrealistic reading - you only wouldn't buy it because you couldn't use it!

GiGa

_________________
Owner of uA1-C with OS4.0

@giga

I am currently working on my A1XE Problem (It has been a while as February was a really busy month !). So if I manage to fix it, it's unlikely I will use much my A1200s anymore (I amy keep just two of them and sell the rest...). But if I am unsuccessful, then I may consider this product !

Jerry

_________________
- AOS has been ported to ex-86 ! It's called AROS and WinUAE... Or E-UAE on Linux !

- A1XE-G4 up and runing with:
512MB Ram / 200GB and 80GB HardDisks on Sii0680.
AOS4 Final Update / AmiZilla 0.1 Alpha

Quote:

giga wrote: @All Can I suggest that if you own an AOne you don't vote? This would give an unrealistic reading - you only wouldn't buy it because you couldn't use it! GiGa

i didn't write that as i thought ppl were smarter then that. If the poll is for a product aimed for A1200 users then why would a non A1200 user vote..

But i guess it's for the best to mention it.

I have an A4000, but I've managed to resist voting

_________________
Snowboarder, Airsofter, Programmer, Writer and AmigaOne XE G4 owner.
Experienced applications developer and part-time snowboard instructor

@MetalJoe

hmm isn't the 3.1 kickroms the same for both A4000 and A1200 ?
If so i guess this will work on both too.

@Nickman

As far as I'm aware, they are. I just noticed the request was for A1200, so assumed (bzzzt!) there was some reason it wouldn't be suitable for A4000.

_________________
Snowboarder, Airsofter, Programmer, Writer and AmigaOne XE G4 owner.
Experienced applications developer and part-time snowboard instructor

@Nickman

with ALL my respect but . . . forget to receive feedback on Classic Amigas here . . no more

I've noticed, from a while, that about ALL the help request about Classic, are redirected to NIL: . . . so

Bye

PS- Classic Amiga only here

_________________

@Framiga

I don't see why not. If the machines are still working (as mine is) why should they be discarded (or have I totally misread your post?)

@Nickman

I'll vote for yes.

_________________

@Theodosius

check your DB (in the last year) and you'll see the reason

_________________

@Framiga

Dude, check your PM!

_________________

I had to vote NO. Have two A1200's one in perfect working order with '060+Zorro+PIV but an A1 too and the A1200 is'nt booted anymore usually.
Not many users own a Zorro for A1200 anyway?
So no for me.

@Nickman

I belive there's a lack of options there... where's the "Yes if the price is right but no more bs prepay plz"?

_________________
/Brian
--
Computerhollic, Amiga is my fix!

@PR

Quote:

Not many users own a Zorro for A1200 anyway? So no for me.

Did you even read the information in the link i gave in my post ?

This is NOT a zorro card.

*Sigh* what did i expect. Well here are the info for those who are lazy *****:

Kickflash is a special kind of Rom-Swapper for the kickstart-rom(s) of your Amiga.
Being different from regular Rom-Swappers, Kickflash doesn't have room for a
second or third rom chip. Instead, it has got flash memory that can hold a kickstart
rom image. You can write any version of kickstart into that memory and have it
available after the next reboot. Flash memory is non-volatile, that means, it doesn't
loose it's contents when power is switched off. On the other hand, it's electrically
erasable. As soon as the new Kickstart V3.5 is available, you're the first one to have
it as a rom. It has already been announced that nobody will produce mask roms of
Kick 3.5, so Kickflash is your only chance to get rid of the inconvenient reboot for re-
kicking the new rom. Besides, re-kicking uses memory, and Kickflash does not, so
you can use your fastmem for more important things.

You can also use Kickflash to make your computer compatible with old software by
programming Kickstart V1.3 or 2.0 into the flash - it's up to you, there's no limits.

If something should go wrong while "flashing" a new version (power failure,
computer crashes), don't panic! Just switch back to your rom, and the computer will
start normally. Even when the switch is set to "rom" instead of "flash", the flash can
be written and verified. The operation just takes a few seconds. For protection
against viruses, the flash memory can be write-protected.

As with all our products, the installation is very easy: Remove the kickstart roms,
place Kickflash into the empty sockets, and insert the roms into the sockets on the
Kickflash. Additional connections are not necessary!

Quote:

Brian wrote: @Nickman I belive there's a lack of options there... where's the "Yes if the price is right but no more bs prepay plz"?

There is only two chanses in Hell this will ever come out.

1. Either 200 ppl pre pay 80 Euro for this product. We order a batch and get what we payed for.

2. We get atleast 200-300 ppl that thinks this is awsome. This could make some 3 party place an order of 200. And then we can buy the kickflash from them.

I DID put (pre) in () just for that reason. It points to both those who thinks they will pay and those who DON'T wanna pre pay. I just want a number. If it gets 12-20 ppl intressted the thing is doomed anyway. So no meaning to go on. If not then the next step can be taken.

But as Framiga is saying. This place is perhaps not the place to post this at. All you get here if you say something about the classics are "GET AN AMIGAONE" crap.

Quote:

Framiga wrote: @Nickman with ALL my respect but . . . forget to receive feedback on Classic Amigas here . . no more I've noticed, from a while, that about ALL the help request about Classic, are redirected to NIL: . . . so Bye PS- Classic Amiga only here

Yeah i know what you mean.

@Nickman

I may be interested, but like many others here, I would rather see the product completed and available before purchasing, missing option in the poll me thinks

Mikey C

_________________
No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.

@Nickman

Well, I have an A1, but I also have a few A1200s that I might employ in embedded situations... Might be nice to have code available at bootup.

_________________
"Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard, be evil."

I would buy a PCI Kickflash for the A1.

_________________
Philippe 'Elwood' Ferrucci
Sam460 1.10 Ghz
AmigaOS 4 betatester
Amiga Translator Organisation