AmigaOS4 for Classic - 30th November

[Harrison]

I think the only solution because of this is for the developers of OS4 classic to work with a hardware manufacturer and create a PPC accelerator bundle for A1200 owners. I know that many still don't yet have a PPC for their systems so being able to buy a compatible one with OS4 bundled together would be a solution many would be willing to buy.

Also as we have all been waiting for so long already, even many with an existing PPC board would probably buy into that too just so they finally have a directly supported hardware solution.

I've always thought that will all the third party companies producing hardware for the A1200 to expand it beyond it's original design is great, why they never got together and actually developed a reference design for them all to work from was madness. It would have reduced manufacturing costs too.

[Buleste]

Let's face it cooperation between companies has never been the Amiga way. I think if Hyperion had worked with Elbox then there could have been a joint Shark PPC and OS4 Classic launch but even then you would have to buy a mediator PCI board so for the price of a super fast PC with all the bells and whistles you can have an Amiga running the OS we should have had 5 years ago with very little in the way of New software.
Another worrying thing about the Acube site was that the screen shots were from a A4000 running OS4 but also an AmigaOne. Could they not get the 4000 to ren everything???

[Harrison]

but even then you would have to buy a mediator PCI board so for the price of a super fast PC with all the bells and whistles you can have an Amiga running the OS we should have had 5 years ago with very little in the way of New software.

While this is very true, we do have to admit that the Amiga is no longer a mainstream well supported platform and is instead a platform for Amiga enthusiasts. This will always cost more than any mainstream platform due to the proprietary hardware. If we want to enjoy the Amiga then we have to pay the premium.

I'm currently still quite sceptical over OS4 actually every launching as a finished product. How long as it now been in development?

Ever since Commodore went out of business we have seen a lot of companies promising the Amiga community new hardware or software and the companies with the biggest claimed have never delivered and instead just faded away without any follow up announcements.

Look at the Dragon Coldfire for example. How long ago was that meant to be ready? It was first announced in 2004, and they showed the preview of it over a year ago and still nothing. Elbox's last update about it is even dated November 2006! And this is a product I have been wanting to buy since it was announced as I'm more interested in running 68K Amiga code than PPC and this would have been perfect.

[Stephen Coates]

As there are actually versions of OS4 avaliable for Classic and AmigaOne, it was only going to be a matter of time before it gets released as a final product.

I've no idea when we'll be seeing the Dragons though.

[Harrison]

But they have been saying that for a very long time now Steve. Look how long ago the Amiga One was sold with the OS4 beta included. Years ago, and they said the final version would be available soon after that.

I hope it is correct and we see it released in the next few months. But I am sceptical just because of the past.

[Puni/Void]

Just have to add something in the middle of the discussion here. As I've been searching around for hardware to soup up my Amiga, I've noticed that it is too expensive for me. PPC accelerators are currently going for quite a lot of money, and I personally can't justify spending over 300£ on old hardware. Therefore I won't be upgrading my old Amiga to meet the demands of OS4. I will instead wait and see if new hardware will be released in the future. In the meantime I guess things will work out OK with my 030 powered 1200 and WinUAE.

So what do you guys think about the current price situation when it comes to PPC cards for the Amiga? Will you consider spending something like 250-300£ on such hardware?

Also, do you think OS4 will be ported to work with EFIKA or the new SAM? If yes, will any of these be of interest to you?

[Harrison]

If OS4 is ported to run on brand new hardware then yes I would be very interested. But I would not be willing to pay £300 for an old PPC accelerator that probably cost less than that when new and might not even work properly due to age and being second hand.