Wow, a nice product with Amiga roots given away for free by Microsoft. There must be a catch some where. The article is nice enough to mention Amiga too. What a strange day. Well I'm off to download and see if it reminds me at all of that demo version I ran on my Amiga.... like 12 years ago?

They did the same thing with Bars & Pipes years ago, but they held on to it a long time. Caligary gets released right away, but then it was windows based I guess.

Plaz

Last edited by Plaz on 25-Jul-2008 at 02:05 AM.

I think the "catch" is that Google have allowed people to add 3D objects to Google Earth for ages and Microsoft is trying to catch up. By making the software free I guess they are hoping to get more people on board, and make Virtual Earth more popular as a result.

That's it, they're playing catchup behind Google. I happen to think Google Earth and its modelling tools are pretty great, but now Microsoft will probably walk all over them within a year or two :( Look at MSN Messenger.

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RobTheNerd.com | InstallerGen | SMBMounter | Atoms-X

I have been using google's Free version of "SketchUp" for a couple of years now. It is an amazing piece of software.

3D software can have a very steep learning curve (Blender) but SketchUp will have you making impressive shapes in under an hour. (Animation too)

SketchUp was designed as architectural software but it has many users now and has been shown to do "organic" shapes as well. Many, many free plugins have been made available and Google seems to be suporting all of it. Runs on PC's and Macs.

See it here http://sketchup.google.com/

I loved True Space on my Amiga so I'll check this out!

Bob C.

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But only the note speak the new version for Windows not for Amiga, or MicroSoft goes to launch a program for Amiga since their Amiga Basic, I think that they change their politic of only working for theirs monopoly......

It's really easy to blame Microsoft and say they won't release a new version, when the original author with his own company wouldn't release a new version himself for the Amiga either..

It's all economics.. Could they continue to make money when the company did have an Amiga product? Sorry the writing was on the wall way back then..

So why are they giving away the Windoze version but not the Amiga version!??

Obviously they're still hellbent on killing the Amiga, some things never change

Quote:

Obviously they're still hellbent on killing the Amiga

Jeez, listen to yourself. The amiga stopped being a blip on their radar in 1994, when CBM died. I can imagine what would go on if some executive were to brief Ballmer on the Amiga "competitive threat":

Executive: Morning Mr Ballmer, I have here the dossier I compiled on a platform that I believe to be a competitive threat.
Ballmer: I've got ten minutes before my next meeting, can I just get the Cliff Notes?
E: Sure
B: OK, so this platform, is it a games console, a PC operating system, an office suite or a music player?
E: It's an operating system
B: Ahh, yes. Details please. Does it run on AMD64?
E: Actually, it runs on PowerPC
B: Oh, that's interesting. Can it be a threat to our XBOX 360?
E: No, it runs only on a closed set of about a thousand proprietary computers. No more are being made, the manufacturer went under a few years ago.
B: Uhhh, ok... Can you tell me about the OS and the company behind it? Are they planning an x86 or AMD64 port?
E: Sure, the OS is called AmigaOS...
B: Oh, Amiga. We know those guys. Weren't they making PocketPC games?
E: Ah, there's the thing. The OS is being developed by some Belgian company, that Amiga Inc (the company you're thinking of) is currently sueing for IP infringement. They won't be able to port to other platforms until the suit is resolved. Our estimates, based on court papers, put this at around 2010.
B: So, let me get this straight. This competitive threat comes from an OS that runs on a very small number of prorietary computers, that aren't being manufactured any more, and was written by a company that's being sued by a company that makes PocketPC games, for stealing their IP.
E: Correct, sir
B: Take a holiday. A long one. You need it.

This proves my point exactly. If there is no commercial reason for them to be trying to kill the Amiga, and yet they are still attempting to do so, then it is clearly some kind of anti-Amiga vendetta.

@Minuous

OK, we'll just have to agree to disagree here. You may want to consider this...

By all accounts Amiga Inc is a tiny company, easily less than 10 people in it, if that many. People are splitting hairs over "bankrupt" vs "insolvent", but most agree that at one stage their bank account was pretty close to empty. Yet somehow, in the space of a couple of years, they've managed to amass enough cash to keep a team of several lawyers employed for over two years. These lawyers charge a few hundred dollars an hour, each. Where did all this money come from? Interestingly enough, the lawsuits started not too long after Amiga Inc became a Microsoft partner, see eg Microsoft's own website, where Bill McEwen describes how "we would not be having the success we are having (...) had we not been part of MPAC." (MPAC being Microsoft's Mobility Partner Advisory Council). Where is Amiga's blood money coming from? Is Bill Gates still smarting from the proverbial beating he got from Jack Tramiel over CBM BASIC, and so funding the destruction of the last part of his legacy, like they tried with SCO UNIX and Linux?

Now THAT is a conspiracy theory my friend, not some lame thing about not releasing some program that's been obsolete for over a decade.