Please reference this post and the thread it originated from. Since my response is off topic to that thread, I've moved it here.
@CodeSmith
Quote:
t doesn't matter anyway, technology is not standing still and by the time the lawsuit gets resolved, OS4 won't have anything left to offer. Portables like cell phones and PDAs already have CPUs that run at hundreds of MHz and have several MB of memory, so very soon running "heavyweight" OSs like Windows XP on your handheld won't be a problem (heck, iPhones run MacOSX already). OS4's major advantage, its low resource requirements, won't be important any more and the only thing left will be the lack of modern features like full OpenGL or a JVM. |
Just to add fuel to your argument, there is this.
As much as I'd really like to see OS4 go somewhere, at this point I think both AI & Hyperion have jumped the shark.
Presuming that AI are acting in good faith with respect to AA2 (though I'm very doubtful). AI have no intention of moving forward with OS4, period. I mean seriously. Does anyone here doubt that AI regret OS4? After all, it was never meant to be their flagship product. That was going to be AmigaDE, AA and now AA2. OS4, like OS3.9 was meant as a stop-gap. And perhaps as platform to leverage DE/AA as a 'native' non-hosted OS. After AI realized that OS4 wasn't going to fill those shoes, AI sabotaged any effort to move OS4 forward. With the possible exception of the PDA port, which I believe was still just a stop-gap for AA/AA2.
At this point they only want OS4 back because they don't want anybody else to have it.
Setting OS4 aside. I personally think AI are delusional if they believe they can supplant Java or .Net/Mono+Silverlight/Moonlight with AA2. Especially if it turns out it's just a beefed up version of elate. Regardless of what AA2 ultimately is, given AI's track record, who in the industry can believe AI will deliver? After all, the only thing they've put out so far are a bunch of mediocre games* that are pretty much a dime a dozen. All for the Windows platform mind you (what ever happened to Linux support? ). What other products does AI have? Vaporware this and vaporware that. AA2 is OS5, blah, blah, blah.
Hyperion's only chance is to win the legal battle. Unfortunately I don't think Hyperion have the constitution to see the court fights to their end. Especially not so long as AI has the benefit of Pentti Kouri's funds to persist. I think Hyperion will eventually fold a la Be Inc. That is to say that without being able to win a case against AI/Microsoft, Hyperion/Be will not/could not maintain their existence long enough to put out a profit making product. And yes, I acknowledge that Hyperion haven't exactly been angels. However, they at least earned (by an order of magnitude) the benefit of my doubt compared to AI. I honestly believe their inability to pay its contractors is a direct result of AI's sabotage of OS4.
* Most of the classic titles are as near and dear to my heart as you. But lets face it, they are not premiere titles anymore. They are nostalgia titles and that is as it should be. _________________ Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community. |