@all

The beta program is intended for dedicated people with the following skillset:

- ability to assemble a full system with just a bare motherboard and memory provided to you

- ability to file accurate and detailed bugreports in a dedicated bugtracker (Bugzilla) in order to help AmigaOS 4 developers track down any remaining issues

- sufficient dedication and time to test newly developed components which are released on a daily basis (as is the case now for AmigaOS development and AmigaOS betatesters)

- adherence to the terms of a NDA as part of a larger contract which allows everyone to pull out with a full refund prior to actual shipping of the hardware

- a 750 euro deposit to attract the most dedicated people.

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program.


The beta program is quite explicitly NOT intended for:

- people with limited knowledge of AmigaOS

- people with insufficient skills to assemble a system with a bare motherboard as a starting point

- people with insufficient time and dedication to carry out the required testing of software components and file bugreports against the appropriate AmigaOS components

- people who beieve that by signing up, they will learn the identity of the CPU or other undisclosed information which most likely will only be disclosed prior to shipping at which time they can bail out with a full refund if they don't like the specs

- people who do not intend to abide by the terms of the contract including the NDA provisions (which they can evaluate prior to signing or not signing) as this will not be taken lightly at all

This is a limited, closed betaprogram intended to ensure the best end-user experience possible.

Existing AmigaOS 4 betatesters have precedence over "newbies" and people with a development trackrecord will have precedence over people without such trackrecord. Other than that, it will be "first come, first served".

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My current and foreseeable employment situation affords me the time to dedicate to such an endeavour but alas does not afford me the finances required, such is the irony of life

I'm trying to sell my car at the minute, maybe i should invest the money i get in this

I'm not sure that would be very clever though

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I would really like to be on the team but im afraid i would break NDA in some way.

Quote:

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program.

What are the implications of not being considered an end user?

@ppc_addon

I'm not talking about consumer-laws. I'm talking about dedicated people who dosn't care if the processor is made by company 1 or 2. Or if it's a 1ghz or 1.2 ghz....

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Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

@Hyperionmp

Thanks for the post - that clearly states what kind of people you're looking for.

_________________
Maintainer of www.bigbookofamigahardware.com

@Petrol
Quote:

Can we know what's wrong with the first rev. of the board?.

Since no one else seems to have answered this...

My guess is not so much 'wrong' but 'different'. Remember the X1000 was first announced using the 400MHz XMOS chip, and later news announced that the latest, 500MHz variant would be used. This is likely to be the cause of the difference, at least partly.

tiffers

@bitman

They're looking for the money-paying kind.

In all seriousness, it sounds like a nice program for anyone interested in more directly financing OS4 hardware and software development. As with all contracts, talk to an attorney before signing. A-eon and Hyperion are for-profit businesses, and they do not have your best interests in mind. A little distrust (look up the definition before responding) is not a bad thing; it's just the way things are done.

_________________
Sam440ep-flex 733 MHz/1 GB RAM/Radeon 9250/AmigaOS4.1 Update 2
borked A1200/Blizzard1260+SCSI-IV/Z4+MediatorZIV/Deneb/Voodoo3/CatweaselMk3
more borked A1200/MBX1200z/Indivision
A500/clockport/RRNet
A600/A603

@tiffers

There was a little bit more about it in the AF magazine.
Rev2 was because of some HW issue, not the update of xena.
To my understanding, it delayed the AOS4 porting process a little.

_________________
- KimmoK
// For freedom, for honor, for AMIGA
//
// Thing that I should find more time for: CC64 - 64bit Community Computer?

Quote:

What are the implications of not being considered an end user?

Just a guess... similar to the A1 earlybird offer, it probably means you will have to buy the "final" OS when available instead of getting it with the initial purchase price.

Scott Woodall

This is very good news, it like they really want the AmigaONE X1000 to be the system for the end users, like me, I been a bit put off getting a OS4 system mainly due to the facts of hearing about crashs and the amount of work, settings and sometimes coding you need to do to just get things running smoothly.

so I do hope they go to some really good developers homes, not forgetting to not only test the Os and hardware but start making some new apps for us users

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AmigaNG, YouTube, LeaveReality Studio

tthis is very very interesting:

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program.

So.. what means this sentence?

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@hyperionmp

nevermind

Last edited by AmigaBlitter on 31-May-2010 at 06:47 AM.
Last edited by AmigaBlitter on 30-May-2010 at 11:00 AM.
Last edited by AmigaBlitter on 29-May-2010 at 09:44 PM.
Last edited by AmigaBlitter on 29-May-2010 at 07:58 PM.

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retired

Quote:

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program. So.. what means this sentence?

Maybe warranty issues?

_________________
My photos on Flickr

So you get to PAY to be part of a QA team? And you aren't considered an end user? How is this fair or equitable?

Beta testers EXPECTED to perform to a certain level, as outlined in the Hyperionmp post, should be PAID, not have to PAY.

This is dirty, plain an simple. Pay QA testers. Don't try to leech money from an already burdened community.


These are the offending points in question:
- ability to file accurate and detailed bugreports in a dedicated bugtracker (Bugzilla) in order to help AmigaOS 4 developers track down any remaining issues

- sufficient dedication and time to test newly developed components which are released on a daily basis (as is the case now for AmigaOS development and AmigaOS betatesters)

Last edited by Jason on 29-May-2010 at 11:57 PM.

I guess that is why you get a discount. To me that kind of equals being paid.

They're probably selling the boards at or near cost, but don't be naive. It's a commercial project masquerading as a community project. I have no doubt that Trevor, Thomas, Rogue, et al enjoy Amiga related projects and enjoy being part of a community, but the reality is they have to make money at what they're doing, and the Amiga community likes to feel "special." I wouldn't be the first one to say that Amiga users share a codependent relationship with Amiga vendors.

_________________
Sam440ep-flex 733 MHz/1 GB RAM/Radeon 9250/AmigaOS4.1 Update 2
borked A1200/Blizzard1260+SCSI-IV/Z4+MediatorZIV/Deneb/Voodoo3/CatweaselMk3
more borked A1200/MBX1200z/Indivision
A500/clockport/RRNet
A600/A603

@Hyperionmp

Quote:

- a 750 euro deposit to attract the most dedicated people.

So the beta program boards are more than 750 Euro? (Since 750 is only the deposit).

Quote:

Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program.

Ever? Or only during the beta?

_________________
Pegasos2 G3 running AOS 4.1 and MorphOS 2.0
Amikit user, tinkering with Icaros VM (AROS)
EFIKA owner
Amiga 1200

Its my understanding an "end user" is a paying customer.

"Note that you will NOT be considered an end-user if you are allowed into the betatest program."

So, if my first sentence is true, then beta testers will not have to buy the x1000 os4 port when its complete.

It's also normal to do a very small rev 1 proto run to verify that the schematic/etch is correct. Corrections are made, if any, & a rev 2 production etch is made. Those waiting for a rev 3 etch will most likely be waiting forever.

_________________
Hate tends to make you look stupid...

I must say Ben's post gave me a good old laugh. I can see where he is going with his Amigan filter but it is totally unenforceable. I had a bit of fun with this, no mean spirit intended I just want to highlight the absurdity of this.

Quote:

- ability to assemble a full system with just a bare motherboard and memory provided to you

In order to test this in advance please report to your nearest Amiga user group so that Ben can watch via Skype and a webcam you choose between a range of different cases and try and install an ancient BTX form factor motherboard, memory and boot it.

Quote:

- ability to file accurate and detailed bugreports in a dedicated bugtracker (Bugzilla) in order to help AmigaOS 4 developers track down any remaining issues

In order to check your credentials we are giving you a Bugzilla login. Please download the special version of SabreMSN with a bug in it and await a call from Ben Hermans. Ring ring!
Ben: FREAK! DOUBLE CLICK NOW!
Candidate: whaa........?
Ben: TICK bloody TOCK!
Candidate: ok ok ok ...
Candidate clicks
Candidate: It grimmed, what do I do now?
Ben: You got 30 seconds left WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT DO you DO!!!
Candidate thinks, ah, bugzilla
Candidate logs in after scrabbling for details, and gets as far as typing in "it crashed" before..
Ben: Times up FREAK!
*Silence while Ben checks Bugzilla*
Ben: You failed. Wheres your grim trace? Wheres your eloquent description of your new Amiga system and everything you got connected into it? Hmmmm? How on EARTH is Jahc going to find the bug that he deliberately put in with this description "it crashed!"???? Now **** off back to using Ubuntu lamer!

Quote:

- sufficient dedication and time to test newly developed components which are released on a daily basis (as is the case now for AmigaOS development and AmigaOS betatesters)

This mean daily tests? Does that mean you get given a test plan? Does it mean its going to be organised. After all function shipped on a given day might not be applicable to a given install. Please supply a breakdown of your schedule for the next three months.

1 week in

Phone rings.

Ben: FREAK!!! You've not FILED a report or replied on the ML for over 3 days!
Freak: Sorry dad. I *stutters* was at a job interview, my cat died and my girlfriend was pregnant.
Ben: Insufficient dedication. Go buy yourself a Mac.

*Calls back*
Ben: It was the girlfriend claim that gave you away.

Quote:

- adherence to the terms of a NDA as part of a larger contract which allows everyone to pull out with a full refund prior to actual shipping of the hardware

Phone rings...
Ben: Have you ever broken an NDA before?
Freak (lies): No?

Quote:

- a 750 euro deposit to attract the most dedicated people.

Welcome to capitalistopia where your dedication is measured by your bank balance.

Phone rings....
Ben: Where did you get this money?
Freak: I did 750 paperrounds yesterday, but I'm really on the dole and a layabout but here is my credit card number
Ben: Welcome to the beta-tester programme

Quote:

- people who beieve that by signing up, they will learn the identity of the CPU or other undisclosed information which most likely will only be disclosed prior to shipping at which time they can bail out with a full refund if they don't like the specs

Does this mean that if you sign up, you wont learn the identity of the CPU you have bought? Cool! You should sell this new cloaking device technology.

Quote:

- people who do not intend to abide by the terms of the contract including the NDA provisions (which they can evaluate prior to signing or not signing) as this will not be taken lightly at all

They evaluate whether they intend? You don't evaluate it?

Quote:

Existing AmigaOS 4 betatesters have precedence over "newbies" and people with a development trackrecord will have precedence over people without such trackrecord. Other than that, it will be "first come, first served".

And woe betide your track record. But I already posted about that on amigans.net

Seriously, good luck to people, and good luck to the people actually DEVELOPING the drivers for X1000. But unless this beta tester programme is properly managed, with proper test plans, people wont have the first clue of what is really expected of them and nor will the developers get the information they need. But I'm sure with the voluminous experience of managing people who pay to work Hyperion are going to get it right.

Absolutely sure.

100%

No question.

But in truth its more likely that names that submit will be talked about, discussed if they are "right" or not and many discarded. If they even get 20 applicants at the end that meet their filter I'd be surprised. I'd also be pleasantly surprised if they DID say we had 100+ applicants and chose 20. This would indicate some level of quality control and that they were serious about what Ben is claiming is the criteria above. Otherwise its an artificial number.

Anyhow, prepare for your rejection slips

(I wonder if this will end up in my Stasi file?

Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:54 AM.
Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:49 AM.
Last edited by DaveP on 30-May-2010 at 05:47 AM.

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A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Thats why I keep logs.