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FeaturesMain »» AmigaOne Updates
AmigaOne Update 2 (6-Oct-2003) 
(Read 7115 times) | Wider Opportunities for OS4
Looking back over my column in the last issue of Total Amiga (just to make sure that I'm not repeating - or, worse, contradicting - myself!) I notice that I wrote it just after the IBM PPC Technology Forum in Boston. I'm writing this just before I set off to speak at the next one. This time it's in Beijing on 24th September to an audience of movers and shakers in the Chinese IT sector. The audience comprises representatives of CNITSEC (the Chinese government's `China Information Technology Security Certification Centre' - catchy isn't it?); the Chinese Academy of Sciences and around 75 major Chinese IT manufacturers. So it's another sweat to get the column out on time - Robert certainly chooses his editorial deadlines well!
 So what's all this got to do with the price of peas I hear you ask. Well China is now embarking on the next stage of its IT industrialisation program, and - surprise, surprise - they aren't too keen to pour a significant proportion of their GDP into Mr Gate's pockets. They are actively looking for viable alternatives to the Wintel platform. The PPC is such an alternative, and given the relative success of the `Earlybird' Linux-based AmigaOne, I've been asked to baffle the Chinese at this conference, after apparently successfully baffling the Taiwanese audience with my presentation at the first PPC forum in Taipei last February.
At the Taipei Forum I took my life in my hands and gave a live, on-screen demonstration to an audience of several hundred delegates of the multitasking capabilities of OS3.1 running on a CD32/SX32 with 4MB of memory, 170MB hard drive, and an `030@14MHz cpu. It worked, it impressed, and the technical audience were able to translate, in their own minds, the performance they saw on this minimalist hardware platform to the expected performance of OS4 on AmigaOne hardware. Suffice it to say that as a result of that presentation there are now several significant Taiwanese companies - plus IBM - who are anxious to evaluate OS4 for commercial applications as soon as it & it's SDK are released. In Beijing - fingers (and other more sensitive parts of my anatomy) crossed - I hope to be demonstrating OS4 booting and running on a real AmigaOne.
Of course the forum will largely focus on Linux-PPC as an alternative OS to Windows - the Chinese have at least heard of Linux - but I will be doing my best to ensure that the compact, near-realtime, ROM-able nature of OS4 comes over as a very cost-effective alternative for the industrial, embedded and STB markets. In parallel IBM will be doing their level best (to a very receptive audience it has to be said) to show that PPC is a better technology than x86 for a new industry with little Wintel legacy baggage to carry. And more PPC acceptance = more OS4 opportunities = the best chance for the rebirth of the Amiga in mass markets. Wish me luck in Beijing!
AmigaOne Status
I am pleased to say that we have finally just about caught up with the backlog of AmigaOne orders and are on the point of being able to deliver to dealers ex-stock. This means that board orders should be able to be delivered, Worldwide, within 2 weeks of ordering and bespoke systems in less than 4 weeks. However I am still surprised how strong the market for Earlybird systems continues to be - I guess the reason is that now it is quite widely known that OS4 is booting on the AmigaOne many people are keen to secure the Earlybird offer (with OS4 for free) whilst the offer still lasts (it stops when the release date for OS4 is announced by Hyperion).
At the time of writing there are still some Linux driver - and VIA south bridge initialisation issues - to sort out, but the objective opinion of the vast majority of Earlybird purchasers is that the AmigaOne is a rock-solid platform and that the nay-sayers and rumour mongers who insisted otherwise before its widespread release now have huge facial omelettes to try to remove.
AmigaOne-Lite
The pre-production AmigaOne-Lite is now up and running and we will be sending samples out to selected developers to port/test drivers for the new hardware (RAID, gigabit ethernet, IEEE1394 etc) in early October. If you wish to participate in this program please email us at info@eyetech.co.uk. Sort the driver and keep the board!
High performance cpu modules
The 1.3GHz G4 cpu's are expensive, and unsurprisingly dual cpus are twice as much. Exact prices will depend on volumes, exchange rates etc but the price of dual 1.3GHz G4 cpu modules is unlikely to be under ukp6-700 +VAT. If there is enough demand (ie a minimum of 200 units) we will put these modules into production around December. Please email us at info@eyetech.co.uk if you are interested.
OS4 Betatesters offer
We have reached agreement with Hyperion and most dealers to make AmigaOne Earlybird boards available to registered OS4 beta testers at 10% discount. If you are eligible and wish to take up this offer please contact an official AmigaOne dealer - see www.eyetech.co.uk/amigaone/dealers.php for contact details.
Changes at Eyetech
As many Total Amiga readers may know we fell into this Amiga business, several years ago, almost by accident. Our main expertise was, and still is, in providing cost-effective, IT solutions into specialist commercial and industrial markets. In the early 1990's some of the presentation systems we supplied were based on the Amiga platform. Then Commodore went under and we started a retail operation whilst the Amiga operation was sorted out. Its taken nearly 10 years - and a lot more involvement than I ever expected - but the resurrection of the Amiga, hardware and OS, is now all but complete.
However, in bringing the AmigaOne hardware to market we have - in the UK - undertaken a dual, and increasingly conflicting role: that of wholesale supplier and retailer of the AmigaOne. With the increasing sales of the AmigaOne this is no longer a practical proposition - our best added value to the future of the Amiga is to ensure new models are brought on, dealers and user groups are properly supported and peripheral opportunities - such as the Beijing Forum - are fully exploited. The upshot is that from the end of September 2003 we will be concentrating our efforts on industrial markets and dealer suport and will no longer handle retail sales of Amiga products to end users directly. (We will of course satisfy existing orders and handle warranty etc issues from past sales).
I am delighted, however, to be able to announce that from 1st October retail sales in the UK will be handled by Stellar Dreams (http://www.stellardreams.co.uk). Who is Stellar Dreams? It is Sven Harvey's (author of the Amiga column in the UK's Micromart magazine and well known Amiga enthusiast) company. Sven is a long-time and ardent Amiga supporter, and is in my view ideally placed to make a great success in the UK of the Amiga's coming global rebirth. Please give Sven and Stellar Dreams your full support.
Until next issue
Alan
Article kindly supplied by Total Amiga Magazine - Issue 16
- DaveyD
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