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Amiga Update (1999-07-10)
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_ __ _ <>_ __ _ ||
/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || A M I G A U P D A T E
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || -News and Rumors-
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_|| (An Occasional e-mail
KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING || Newsmagazine)
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AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc.
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990710
N O W I T ' S L I N U X
J I M C O L L A S O N L I N U X K E R N A L
Q N X R E P O R T S T O A M I G A N S
Q N X R E S P O N D S T O A M I G A
T H I S M O R N I N G F R O M M R . C O L L A S
T H E L I N U X W O R L D R E S P O N D S
O P E N L E T T E R T O T H E C O M M U N I T Y
U P D A T E O N M A J O R A C T I V I T I E S B Y A M I G A
A M I G A H I R E S D R . L I P E S
A M I G A 2 0 0 0 S H O W
A M I W E S T 9 9 U P D A T E
S A K U 9 9 W E B S I T E
E A S T A N G L I A N G R O U P L A U N C H E D
A M I C O L A A N D . . . U N D E R S H O R T S ?
Y A M 2 . 0 A T L A S T !
P R E C O N F I G U R E D T I M I D I T Y T O A M I N E T . .
A 2 0 0 0 H D S F O U N D !
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
Now what in the name of Jay Miner is going on? In the last couple of
days, QNX posted information about the upcoming Amiga OS and their
work on the kernal, complete with information about developer support.
That was followed by President Collas of Amiga saying no, the QNX post
is misleading and furthermore, QNX will NOT be the kernal for new OS.
Instead, it'll be the Linux kernal (not the whole Linux OS, just the
kernal). This little exchange has caused as much or more confusion and
consternation as the events right after Commodore's bankruptcy.
We certainly don't know what's behind all this, and wonder if anyone
else has the full picture, either in or out of Amiga? We do know there
is supposed to be a technology brief released by Amiga soon, which
should contain some answers. We'll bring that information to you in a
special issue if that's the best way.
As we reflect on the events of the last few days, it looks very much
like someone was "blindsided". It's hard to believe QNX was caught
unawares, unless Amiga management is totally incompetent and didn't
keep them posted. However, it's also hard to believe QNX would post
what they did knowing the information was misleading at best. Yet one
or the other of these cases almost has to be true. The problem is,
either case would be unprofessional. The least frightening for Amigans
is that QNX posted "bad" information, hoping to force Amiga's hand.
One thing is certain. Linux has become a powerful force in the
computer world, and the reasons mentioned in the letter from Mr.
Collas below are real. We've got mixed feeling about all this of
course. Whatever happened resulted in a very ugly situation. However,
an alliance with the Linux world could well turn out to be a very good
thing for Amiga. As Amigans we need to see where all this leads before
making any final decisions, especially harsh ones.
---
One bit of housekeeping information I have to mention. Due to some
technical problems with our current ISP, we are considering moving the
"Update" elsewhere, perhaps to something like One List. This would not
affect you noticeably, except there would be a small advertisement
which we could not control on the bottom of each issue. If you have
concerns about this, please let us know. I'll have more information on
this in the next issue.
Brad Webb,
Editor
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E-mail to the E-ditor:
Due to the length of this issue, we're holding our e-mail replies
till next time. Brad
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N O W I T ' S L I N U X
Amiga selects Linux as their Next Generation OS Kernel
July 9, 1999 - San Diego, California. Amiga has selected Linux as the
OS kernel for the new Amiga Operating Environment that is scheduled
for release later this year. Amiga is selecting Linux after several
months of evaluating the technical progress of the OS and the
tremendous industry support that Linux has gained.
The development community has given Linux a major endorsement and the
momentum that Linux now enjoys is having a significant impact on the
computer industry. There are a large number of hardware device drivers
and software applications written for Linux already and this number is
growing daily.
"Our strategy for implementing the new Amiga is to integrate the best
technology in the industry into a new, efficient, exciting and
revolutionary computer platform focused on the future'' said Jim
Collas, President and CEO of Amiga. "Using Linux as our OS kernel is
only one component of the overall Amiga Operating Environment.''
Look for more information on the choice of Linux as part of the
overall Amiga Operating Environment in the Executive Update section of
our {Amiga's} web site.
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J I M C O L L A S O N L I N U X K E R N A L
{This is the "more information" mentioned in the previous item. Brad}
Dear Amigans,
After months of research and in-depth discussions with all of our
technology partners we have decided to use Linux as the primary OS
kernel for the new Amiga Operating Environment (OE). I know this
decision is a shock to many of you given the previous announcements
and activities relative to QNX. This was a very complicated and
difficult decision to make and I assure you that I didn't make this
decision without a significant amount of research and deliberation. We
have been researching Linux since February but didn't finalized our
decision until several weeks ago. We were planning to communicate it
to the Amiga community in the technology brief that will be released
in the next few days.
I am pressed to communicate the Linux decision before the technology
brief because of information released by QNX in the last few days.
This information had not been reviewed or approved for release by
Amiga. In light of our Linux decision, this information is confusing
and misleading so I would like to take the time to clarify the
situation. I can't disclose any details of the Amiga/QNX discussions
because of legally binding confidentiality agreements but I can talk
to you about our decision to use the Linux kernel. I think that you
will agree that this is the right decision once you understand the
reasons for this decision.
Before I continue, I should mention that our technology decision does
not reflect negatively on QNX. I believe that QNX is a good company
with great technology. I just believe that Linux gives us a better
chance of executing our plans successfully.
The decision to use QNX as our OS partner on our next generation
multimedia convergence computer (MCC) was made late last year. When I
took over as president of Amiga in February of this year, I initiated
an in-depth review of existing Amiga plans and decisions. As president
of Amiga I had to make sure that we were defining a strategy and an
execution plan that would allow Amiga and the Amiga community to be
successful. We reviewed our strategy, architecture decisions,
technology partners, and execution plans. During this review period we
also added a number of very talented and experienced people to help us
finalize our technology and product decisions. I am confident that we
now have a solid and exciting plan that people can have confidence in.
Linux has been picking up substantial momentum over the past year as
a viable, open OS alternative in the marketplace. This momentum, the
growing commitment to Linux applications from a wide variety of
software vendors, and the growing availability of Linux device drivers
from hardware vendors, makes it a compelling candidate. Additionally,
with all of the significant component suppliers putting resources on
writing drivers for Linux it was difficult to get them to port to yet
another operating system. Using the Linux OS as a foundation for our
Amiga OE allows us to leverage a significant amount of available
software drivers and utilities. This allows us to quickly support
multiple graphics cards and other peripherals.
Given the above-mentioned advantages, we decided to do an in-depth
technical analysis of Linux to determine if it was a suitable OS
kernel for our new Amiga operating environment (OE). As we ported
parts of our higher level operating environment and AmigaObjectTM
architecture to Linux, we discovered some significant performance
advantages in the Linux kernel in areas such as distributed object
messaging across a network (up to 10X the performance of Windows NT).
Although Linux configurations can be very large in size, the core
pieces of the Linux kernel are actually very small and efficient. In
considering hardware requirements we also found companies working on
hardware components that were optimized for the Linux kernel.
Additionally, Linux is probably the most stable operating system
available in the market. After months of in-depth research we were
confident that we could build an extremely exciting next generation
Amiga based on the Linux OS kernel.
Does this mean that the next generation Amiga will not be unique?
Absolutely not! Remember that the OS kernel is only one component of
the new Amiga OE and the hardware is unique. The revolutionary nature
of the Amiga OE is in the way it extends the traditional operating
system to provide a host environment for a new class of portable
applications - applications that exist in a pervasive networked
computing environment. We will be integrating multiple technologies
including an efficient windowing environment and a unique user
interface.
In summary, we decided to use Linux because of the incredible
momentum and the fact that it is solid technology and a good
foundation for our new Amiga OE. Additionally, the Linux community is
an impressive force that we should be aligned with. We share many
common values and objectives with the Linux community. Using Linux as
our OS kernel allows us to build a unique and revolutionary operating
environment while leveraging the enormous momentum of Linux.
The soon to be released technology brief will further explain our
architecture and plans for integrating all of the selected technology.
Once you read it, I am confident that you will understand the
revolutionary nature of the next generation Amiga. I assure you that
Amiga and the Amiga community will be a driving force behind the next
computer revolution.
Sincerely,
Jim Collas
President, Amiga
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Q N X R E P O R T S T O A M I G A N S
{This is the information from the QNX website which forced the
premature statement about the Linux kernal by Mr. Collas. Slightly
edited for better readability in our newsletter. Go to
http://www.qnx.com/amiga/ for the original. Brad}
Delivering on Our Promise to the Amiga Community
Dan Dodge
CTO, QNX Software Systems
Last November at Computer 98 in Cologne I promised to deliver an
advanced operating system that would once again put Amigans at the
forefront of technology. Over the past 7 months we have had a team of
over 40 engineers working towards making that promise and vision a
reality. We are now in the final stages of development and are poised
to put these new technologies into the hands of thousands of serious,
enthusiastic developers like yourself.
QNX is often compared to UNIX, LINUX and BSD. We do share the same
POSIX APIs, and most code written for these systems ports easily to
QNX, but the resemblance ends there. Based on 20 years of OS
experience, QNX has a radically more advanced architecture. It's a
massively scalable, multi-threaded, fault-tolerant, realtime OS
designed for devices and computers of any type or size. QNX provides a
unique network architecture where large full-service protocol stacks
aren't required on each computer and devices plugged into the network
are simply "discovered" automatically by other devices - all services
and peripherals of the new device can then be used by any other device
in the network. QNX is also the only self-hosted RTOS where the
development environment and the runtime target environment are the
same. And though we're not open source, we adopt an "open source"
policy for hardware-specific drivers. This allows us to continually
support the latest hardware advances, while still maintaining control
of core technology. More importantly, it ensures QNX has a focused
vision for the future.
If you haven't visited our web site before, I invite you to look at
the QNX Realtime OS and Photon microGUI®. If you'd like to dig a
little deeper, we've included some screen shots of the exciting new
look-and-feel for Photon below. We've also put the new QNX Neutrino
System Architecture manual online.
In a nutshell, QNX is the core and Photon the graphical environment
for our new OS foundation:
QNX - Supports POSIX thread services, MMU protected memory for all
applications and drivers, variety of file systems (QNX, flash, DOS,
CD/DVD-ROM, etc.), TCP/IP stack, transparent distributed networking,
and development libraries.
Photon microGUI - Complete windowing system with full Unicode support
for integrated internationalization. Also includes visual application
builder (PhABTM), powerful development environment (layered libraries,
over 50 widgets, built-in image support, online documentation, etc.),
web browser, multimedia player, 3D graphics, and gaming support.
Although Photon represents a unique new graphical environment, it
works seamlessly with existing windowing systems. You can, for
example, connect to a Photon desktop from a Windows desktop or connect
to a Windows desktop from a Photon desktop. And because a large number
of existing source bases use the X Window System, we allow developers
to compile an application for X and then run the application under
Photon.
QNX Developers Network for Amigans
To deliver this technology to Amiga developers, we're creating the
QNX Developers Network for Amigans. Qualified Amiga developers will
receive, at no charge, a complete beta development package that
includes the QNX Realtime OS, a suite of state-of-the-art multimedia
technologies, the unique network-distributed Photon microGUI, and a
self-hosted development environment. We will also create a dedicated
online newsgroup, as well as a web site to provide technology updates
and previews.
Initially, we're looking for beta sites interested in porting
existing applications or writing new applications. Companies and
individual developers are both invited to join - the only thing we ask
is commitment. We want active beta testers, not tire kickers, who will
promise to provide valuable feedback.
Of course, commitment goes both ways. So in addition to starting this
program, we will, as of now, become active and vocal in all the
appropriate newsgroups and magazines. We're looking forward to being a
fully active member of the Amiga community, and to working closely
with Amigans to create the next revolution in multimedia computing.
Initial Release
Our initial beta release will be for x86 PCs. While this hardware
platform may, at first, seem undesirable to some of you, remember that
most QNX applications and device drivers are source-identical across
CPUs and boards. As a result, any work done on x86 will migrate easily
to any other supported platform. We chose x86 because it's the
hardware solution most widely available at low cost in the time frame
that we wish to release the first beta - this Fall.
Are You Interested?
If you're interested in joining the QNX Developers Network for
Amigans, please click here to fill out the application form. If you
have any questions, email us at amiga@qnx.com.
If your company already has an application you wish to port, you're
also invited to contact the Department of Strategic Alliances at QNX
Software Systems. Email: amiga-ports@qnx.com Tel: +1 613 591-0931.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q N X R E S P O N D S T O A M I G A
{... and this is a response by QNX to the statements made by Amiga.
Brad}
9 July, 1999
Eight months ago we were chosen by Amiga as their foundation OS
partner. Our development group was thrilled to be part of the rebirth
of such an innovative product. To meet the challenge we knew it would
take a tremendous effort on our part. We had a team of people in place
working on our part of the Amiga NG soon after the alliance was
announced. Over the next few months we involved more and more of our
engineering resouces towards making QNX an advanced multi-media
platform. Our investment so far has been significant. These are costs
we have born ourselves.
It is clear today from Jim's letter that we were not chosen for the
next generation Amiga. Naturally we're disappointed. So, where do we
stand now? It is not our intent to confuse the Amiga community. We are
proud of what we have accomplished and want to include Amigans in what
we've achieved. I did make a promise to deliver an operating system
and I intend on keeping that promise. I don't want to split the
community, nor do I wish to engage in a war of words. I don't ask you
to "trust" me or to take me at my word. Both QNX and Amiga have
promised to deliver technology into your hands in the very near
future. I ask only that your assessment of QNX be based on what we do
and what we deliver.
Thanks for the overwhelming support we have received so far.
Dan Dodge
CTO, QNX Software Systems
----------------------------------------------------------------------
T H I S M O R N I N G F R O M M R . C O L L A S
{And finally, this posted just a few minutes before we mailed this
issue, form Amiga's President Jim Collas. Brad}
10 July, 1999
Response to Linux feedback
Dear Amigans,
I have read many of the comments from the Amiga community regarding
our Linux decision. The key observation I would make about the
feedback I have received is that people don't have a good
understanding of our plans for the next generation Amiga. This is my
fault and we are working to rectify this with the upcoming technology
brief. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not to judge the Linux decision until
you have a chance to read the technology brief.
The foundation OS is just one component of our new operating
environment. In addition to the OS, there are many components of
hardware and software technology being integrated into the final
product. The underlying OS is not what makes the next generation Amiga
revolutionary. You will more clearly understand this once we have
released the "technical brief'' in the next few days. Whether we use
QNX or Linux, the new Amiga will be exciting, elegant, easy to use,
incredibly efficient and yes, truly revolutionary!
I should mention that I was adamantly against Linux when it was first
suggested in March. It took several months of intense research to
convince me that it was the right decision. I can assure you that the
decision was not made without a significant amount of deliberation. I
would not have made the Linux decision if I didn't believe it offers
us a better overall solution while significantly increasing our
probability of success. Please read this letter in detail to get a
better understanding of the factors that drove this decision.
I would like to further explain the Linux decision starting with the
concept of revolutionary:
rev·o·lu·tion·ary ("re-v&-'lü-sh&-"ner-E): adjective; 1 c:
constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change in the
way of thinking about or visualizing something: a change of paradigm
<a revolutionary new product>
The key driving objective of our plans is to come out with a truly
revolutionary product that can drive the next computer revolution. By
definition, revolutionary ideas are not easy to visualize and are
difficult to communicate. The upcoming technology brief will help you
understand why the next generation Amiga is revolutionary. You need to
keep an open mind because revolutionary products ALWAYS challenge the
norm and most people think in terms of the norm. Once you understand
what makes the next generation Amiga unique and revolutionary you will
understand why picking Linux over QNX isn't a critical technology
decision.
Our design philosophy was to find a good solution for the traditional
pieces of the OS and build our revolutionary elements on top of this.
It's that simple. QNX is a good technical solution for the OS
components but poses a significant market and industry challenge.
Linux is sucking up the mind share and resources of most of the major
component manufacturers and technology suppliers. I simply don't
believe we can gain enough momentum without tapping into the Linux
momentum. Linux will give us continuous access to new technology and
components as they are released. With QNX we could get out a new
platform but I don't believe we would keep up with the rapid
technology changes in the computer industry. At Gateway, I was one of
the leading product executives in this industry and I have in-depth
experience in this area. IT WAS MY ASSESSMENT THAT WE WOULD FAIL ON
THIS PATH. Please take note of this statement. How could I NOT make
the Linux decision if I truly believe this? How could we continue on a
path that I think will have us fail? Who will benefit if we fail?
Let's also talk about the Linux technology itself. Some people view
Linux as a stable but large and inefficient OS. I had this concern
also when Linux was first suggested so we spent a significant amount
of time understanding Linux, its strengths and weaknesses. We have
even discussed our Linux evaluation in-depth with Linus Torvalds to
better understand the pros and cons. Linux is evolving at a very rapid
pace and I was satisfied that it could comfortably meet our technology
requirements. Part of the reason Linux is large and inefficient is
because there are so many options and different configurations. Amiga
will define a clean and efficient Linux configuration as a standard
part of our operating environment.
An additional advantage of Linux is the fact that there are companies
working on hardware components optimized for the Linux kernel. This
will allow us to gain efficiencies and increased performance on the
MCC through tight integration of hardware and software components. The
MCC hardware will be highly optimized for both the Linux kernel and
Java. In addition to the unique Amiga OE, the MCC will run Linux and
Java better than any other computer in the world. This is worth some
market momentum and will significantly increase our probability of
success. We should expect to sell many Amiga computers into the Linux
community and this is a good thing. We won't be successful unless we
can increase the size of the Amiga community.
I can understand the caution that many of you have on this
announcement and will work aggressively to alleviate your concerns. I
want to emphasize that it was not my intention to mislead the Amiga
community in any way. I have been working hard to put together the
best plan possible for Amiga to drive the next computer revolution. I
believe that the Linux decision is consistent with this objective.
Maybe I should have communicated this decision as soon as it was made
several weeks ago but I was hoping to get out more information on the
overall architecture first. I apologize for not doing a better job
planning the communication on this. I am making dozens of key
decisions a day and some of them aren't ideal. There are some people
that will use the confusion caused by this situation to fuel a
negative community reaction in order to split the community. It is
critical that we stand united as a community or all will be lost.
Please be patient, strive to understand, and have confidence. It's
been a long and turbulent ride but I promise you that the wait will be
worth it.
Sincerely,
Jim Collas
President, Amiga
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T H E L I N U X W O R L D R E S P O N D S
{Following are just two posts to the "Linux World" site on the web.
You can find these and more at
http://linuxtoday.com/stories/7523.html. Brad}
Subject: Two of the best things in IT history packed
together (Jul 9th, 08:51:36 )
I think I speak for every one, When I say that Commodore pionered the
PC market. I must admit I never had a Amiga my self I sticked with the
C 64 and then went to the XT but I always loved the machine powered by
the 68000 (a very fast and reliable 16 but CPU) that out performed the
Intels in a long shot. And they still do nowadays.
Linux is one of the best things that happend for the consumer/techy
OS market. And now both the advanced graphics,sound and motorola and
Linux in one box. I can't hardly wait and I will buy my first Amiga! I
missed out 10 years ago but I won't mis out now.
Raymond
Subject: This is Wonderful!!! - 2 of the best! (Jul 9th, 10:23:38 )
I never imagined this day would come.. but I'm glad it's here. I
think this is finally a step in the right direction for the Amiga.
Now, it is quite possible for Amiga to finally get the recognition
that it deserves. Lets just hope the new Amiga hardware takes a
similar step in the right direction.
Peter
----------------------------------------------------------------------
O P E N L E T T E R T O T H E C O M M U N I T Y
{This letter was written before the great QNX/Linux Kernal uproar
started. Brad}
From Jim Collas
June/July 1999
Dear Amigans,
I apologize for posting my June (now June/July) letter so late. I was
ready to post it last week, but decided to scrap it and re-write it
this past weekend for several reasons. One reason is feedback I
received from the Amiga community. To better understand the desires of
the Amiga community, I have been following many of the Amiga public
forums (in addition to reading the thousands of emails sent to me). I
have posted in a few of the forums when I felt it was important to
clarify information relative to Amiga's plans. In the
"comp.sys.amiga.misc'' forum I posted a message requesting feedback on
our strategy and plans. The post is in the thread titled "Collas and
LeFaivre - thanks for talking''. I received many good insights and
suggestions in response to my post, but while reading these responses
one thing was clear: I haven't given the Amiga community enough
information to clearly understand our plans. The community still
doesn't have a clear understanding of our product plans, and what we
mean by the term "operating environment.'' This is obviously not the
fault of the community but mine in not communicating enough
information. This is why I decided to scrap my original letter and
address this issue.
In the past several months, I have attempted to disclose as much as
possible to the Amiga community without disclosing too much to our
competition or violating confidentiality agreements with our
technology partners. I don't think I have been effective at striking
the right balance in this regard, so I just initiated an activity to
disclose more of our plans. We are putting together a five to seven
page product strategy and technology brief that will be released to
the Amiga community within the next week. This brief will help you
better understand our overall plans by giving you more details on our
new Amiga Operating Environment (OE) and Multimedia Convergence
Computer (MCC). The technology brief will also talk about new and
exciting Amiga technology. I will talk a bit more about some of this
technology later in this letter.
This brief will also disclose some of our 3rd party technology
choices. We have spent the last four months evaluating technology and
defining the next generation hardware architecture and software
structure. We have now finalized the architecture and structure. We
have also finalized all of our major technology and partner choices. A
significant amount of effort and resources went into the evaluation of
3rd party technology - you may be surprised at a few of the decisions
but I am confident you will agree that they are the correct choices.
Before you read the brief you should understand that we are still not
at liberty to disclose all of the details of our plans. I don't want
to disclose too much to potential competitors and we are under
confidentiality agreements with our key technology partners. Within
those boundaries we will disclose as much as we can. The difficult
part about not being able to disclose everything is that some
decisions don't seem to make sense unless you have all of the
information. We have no choice but to work around this for now.
As background information for the technology brief I would also like
to discuss the concept of revolutionary products and our strategy for
implementing the next generation Amiga.
REVOLUTIONARY PRODUCTS:
rev·o·lu·tion·ary ("re-v&-'lü-sh&-"ner-E): adjective; 1 c:
constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change in the
way of thinking about or visualizing something: a change of paradigm
<a revolutionary new product>
The original Amiga was revolutionary because it drove a fundamental
change in computer graphics performance, capabilities, and overall
value. It allowed people to do things that couldn't be done with other
systems at the time. It moved computers a big step into the future by
fundamentally changing the way people viewed and used computers. The
next generation Amiga must do the same but in the context of the
present computer industry. Faster CPUs and faster graphics alone will
not drive a revolutionary new computer platform. They are important
but not revolutionary. Revolutionary thinking requires us to let go of
past preferences and envision a future that doesn't currently exist.
It requires us to develop technology and functions that enable this
future vision. This is the spirit of revolutionary innovation. The
same spirit that drove the original Amiga development team.
The problem is that revolutionary paradigm shifts are difficult to
envision before they occur. Let me give you an example. When I was in
college, I had a job as a software developer programming video games
for the Atari 2600, Commodore64, and Apple II (This was before the
first Amiga came out). At the current time, all video games were
programmed in assembly language. This was great at the time because it
gave you complete control of the hardware. I couldn't imagine
programming a game in a high-level language such as C++ because it
would be so incredible inefficient. It just seemed like an unrealistic
proposition. Well, the world changed. You can't manage the complexity
or extravagance of today's games in assembly. You need sophisticated
tools and a high-level language like C++. This was a revolutionary
paradigm shift that was hard to envision years before it happened.
Keep this section in mind as you read the technology brief that will
be released. It is not enough to bring out an incremental product. It
must be revolutionary in order for all of us to succeed. You must
think in a different dimension to understand the revolutionary nature
of the next generation Amiga environment. The technology brief will
help you understand this future vision - I look forward to getting
your continuing feedback on our directions.
PRODUCT IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY:
Our strategy for implementing the new Amiga is to integrate the best
technology in the industry into a new, efficient, exciting, and
revolutionary computer platform focused on the future. It is important
to understand this strategy so that you can better understand some of
our decisions. The computer industry today is much different than it
was when the first Amiga was designed. The initial Amiga was designed
when the computer industry was at its infancy. The computer industry
has now matured and the dynamics have changed significantly. The
industry is replete with companies developing and supplying great
technology and components. As an example, there are many excellent
companies offering sophisticated high-performance 3D graphics chips.
All of these companies have one goal in mind: to develop and ship the
best 3D graphics solution. These graphics companies have many
world-class engineers. Trust me, I know these companies well. To think
that we could design our own 3D graphics chip that was better is not
reasonable. This is why all leading computer companies (IBM, Compaq,
Gateway, Apple, et al.) now depend on 3rd party graphics companies. It
was clear to them that internal resources couldn't compete with
companies specialized in this area. This is the normal cycle of a
maturing industry and is the reason why we can't think in the past
when creating a revolutionary product for the future.
Does this mean that the Amiga won't be unique or lead in performance?
Absolutely not! Firstly, you shouldn't define performance by
exclusively using narrow benchmarks of today's industry. We need to
focus on addressing the next computer revolution rather than competing
with the last one. Secondly, an extremely efficient architecture will
make the most out of commonly used components like 3D graphics chips.
We can get remarkably impressive performance by coupling an industry
leading PCI/AGP graphics chip to the extremely efficient architecture
of the new Amiga. On the CPU side we have selected a CPU that will
bring exciting new capabilities to the Amiga. I can't disclose what
instruction set it uses at this time because of confidentiality
agreements. I can tell you that it's very exciting and NOT an x86
architecture processor. Our plan is to disclose the CPU in several
weeks at the World of Amiga and AmiWest shows. At this time I hope to
disclose all of our technology choices and partners.
In order to pull this great technology together and develop our
next-generation platform, we are also developing our own technology in
key strategic areas. This technology will allow us to make the product
unique, integrate 3rd party technology and create the final
revolutionary product. For example...
A TEASER:
The technology brief will also include the description of new Amiga
technology that I think is particularly exciting. It is an
object-oriented technology developed by Amiga called the
AmigaObjectTM. The AmigaObjectTM is a powerful software structure that
enables easy integration of technology, distributed computing,
high-speed network transactions, and communication between
applications. They are also powerful software building blocks that
will allow people to build impressive applications quickly.
AmigaObjectsTM are portable and transferable across platforms allowing
AmigaObjectsTM to proliferate throughout the network, the Internet and
the world. Do I have your attention yet? This is just one piece of the
new Amiga operating environment. It is this type of technology that
will allow us to build a revolutionary computer platform. We can
discuss this technology because we have now filed patent disclosures
giving us some protection against competitors. More on this in the
technology brief.
IN SUMMARY:
The upcoming technology brief will be released early next week. While
it will of necessity be at a fairly high level, it will still be the
most comprehensive description to date of the new Amiga product and
operating environment. I think it will go a long way in helping you
understand Amiga's future and the new products. I am very excited
about releasing this information and getting your response. After you
read it, I think you will agree that Amiga and the Amiga community has
a chance of driving the next computer revolution.
Sincerely,
Jim Collas President, Amiga
----------------------------------------------------------------------
U P D A T E O N M A J O R A C T I V I T I E S B Y A M I G A
{This was also posted before the QNX/Linux situation developed. Brad}
June/July 1999
Operations/Planning:
1) We have identified an office building for our operations in San
Diego. We will be moving out of the Gateway building into a separate
building in order to accommodate the expansion in Amiga's staff.
New Management Staff:
1) We hired Dave Curtis as director of object technology and
transaction services. Dave will be responsible for developing our
transactional object technology. Dave was one of the original
architects of CORBA and has worked for Inprise (Borland), the Object
Management Group (OMG), and other organizations focused on object
oriented technology. Dave's expertise will help us implement
transactional object technology in the Amiga Operating Environment.
2) We hired Dr. Jim Miller as director of user experience. Jim will
be responsible for all user interface design and software development.
Jim has worked in the human interaction groups of both Hewlett Packard
and Apple Computers. Jim is highly respected and well known in the
national and international user interaction (UI) community.
Major Development Programs:
1) O/S 3.5 - The target final release is August 21st at the Amiga
Downunder show in Australia. We are talking to Amiga hardware
development companies to qualify hardware products targeted at the O/S
3.5 release. We plan to come out with a recommended hardware
configuration and list of qualified Amiga hardware products for the
O/S 3.5 release.
2) AmigaSoftTM Operating Environment (OE) - We are developing our
next generation operating environment including operating system, user
interface, and some revolutionary software structures to be disclosed
at a later date. Target beta version is late 3Q99 with final in late
4Q99. We are also looking at the possibility of porting this new
AmigaSoftTM OE to the O/S 3.5 recommended hardware configurations. If
we can accomplish this it will allow people to run the new OE on
specific Amiga configurations with PowerPC boards.
3) AmigaSoftTM development system - This is planned in late 3Q99
along with the beta release of the new AmigaSoftTM Operating
Environment.
4) Amiga Multimedia Convergence Computer (MCC):
- We have finalized our industrial design and created foam models.
- The next mechanical design step is hard models. These will be
available for WoA and AmiWest.
- We have initiated final schematics of the system board design.
Shows and Community Activities:
1) We held a telephone conference with the Amiga press to bring them
up to speed on our plans.
2) We received all of the nominations for Amiga Advisory Council
(AAC) members. We will be notifying the top nominated members for
approval in the next week. First AAC conference call should occur
within two weeks.
3) We initiated multiple Amiga hosted forums accessible though our
Amiga website.
4) We will sponsor and participate in the 1999 London World of Amiga
show in late July.
5) We are also planning to support the AmiWest show in late July.
6) We are planning for the Cologne and Las Vegas shows in November.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A H I R E S D R . L I P E S
Director of Multimedia Services
Dr. Richard Lipes, Director of Multimedia Services, is responsible
for delivering 2D and 3D graphics, audio and video streams, and
special graphics effects for Amiga's products. He has over 20 years
experience in high performance computation on graphics, vector, and
parallel computer architectures, gained in large organizations as well
as three startups.
Prior to joining Amiga, Dr. Lipes was director of software
development at ARK Logic, responsible for design, development, and
maintenance of all software for 2D and 3D graphics accelerators. The
accelerator drivers supported both OpenGL and DirectX technologies. He
was previously at Silicon Graphics where he worked on Project Reality,
which produced the highly successful Nintendo 64 Gaming system and on
Magic Carpet, a project for delivering MPEG-2 audio and video, AC3
audio, and 3D graphics to set-top boxes and network computers.
Earlier, as director of imaging software at Kubota Pacific, he was
responsible for medical imaging software that supported 2D and
volumetric rendering of key medical modalities.
Dr. Lipes received his S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and his Ph.D. from Caltech, both in physics. He is a member
of the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE. He has served
on the board of directors of the Caltech Alumni Association.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A 2 0 0 0 S H O W
Randomize Announces International Amiga 2000
International Amiga 2000...The Amiga Showcase to the World
We would like to announce that the previously announced International
Amiga show in Toronto, Canada will not happen this year. Rather, we
have decided to to postpone International Amiga to early 2000.
As many that attended International Amiga 98 will know, we were
successful in a number of our objectives including:
o Bring developers and manufactures together to show new products
o Bring European based manufactures to North America providing
exposure and sales of their products
o Provide an great sales opportunity for all exhibitors and great
deals for users
o Hosting the most professional Amiga show in North America since
Commodore
So why are we postponing? Quite simply so that:
o we can co-ordinate IAY2K with the release of AmigaSoftTM Systems
and AmigaSoftTM Operating Environment
o we will show new systems, not announce them the Amiga market has an
opportunity to recover based on the release of AmigaSoftTM Systems
o We have the time to make IAY2K even better than IA98
International Amiga 2000 (IAY2K) will expand on the success of IA98 by:
o working very closely with Amiga, Inc.
o attracting North American and European developers and manufactures
of both Classic Amiga and AmigaSoftTM environment products
o providing a venue to the world for all things Amiga
If you have thoughts, or constructive input please email thom@randomize.com
Randomize, Inc.
R.R. #2 Tottenham
Ontario Canada L0G 1W0
Telephone: (905) 939-8371
Fax: (905) 939-8745
Orders: 1 888 RANDOMIZE (1 888 726-3664)
Sales e-mail: sales@randomize.com
Support e-mail: support@randomize.com
web: http://www.randomize.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I W E S T 9 9 U P D A T E
8 Jul 1999
AmiWest99 Update #4
AMIGA has annouced that Dr, Allan Havemose, Vice President of
Engineering, will be present at AmiWest'99 along with two members of
his staff, Richard Lipes, Director of Multimedia Services, and Jim
Miller, Director of User Experience.
Dr. Havemose has a long history with the Amiga. He was the European
Technical Support Manager for Amiga - building the European Amiga
developers program at Commodore ESCO, Manager Amiga Software
Development and Director of Systems software for OS 2.1 to 3.1 at
Commodore International in the US.
Dr. Havemose will be presenting a technological update on the New
Generation Amigas at the show and also conducting a question and
answer round table discussion as one of the seminars.
Mockups of the new Next Generation Amigas are expected to be shown at
the show. We also expect a presentation on the new Amiga 3.5 OS for
the Classic Amigas at the show.
Another Amiga pioneer, Carl Sassenrath, will also be present at
AmiWest to present seminars on his well known Rebol language. Carl was
the Manager of Operating Systems for Commodore Amiga, Inc. and
designed and implemented the original Amiga OS.
AMIGA has also donated two Amiga 1200HDs with Magic Packs which will
be given away as grand prizes at the end of the show days on both
Saturday and Sunday.
Hourly raffles will be held on both Saturday and Sunday where prizes,
donated by the vendors and other sources, will be given away. These
can include hardware as well as software. You must be present at the
raffle to obtain your prize. We will not ship prizes.
AMIGA has also provided an assortment of the round Amiga mouse pads
and the "Back for the Future" CDs which will be given away during the
hourly raffles. Among the other prizes so far donated by vendors are
Directory Opus Megellan from GPSoftware, four packs of the Magic
Software Bundle from Compuquick, and various prizes from Software Hut.
Remember, AmiWest99 is being held on Friday through Sunday, July
23-25, at the Holiday Inn, Sacramento NorthEast, in Sacramento, CA.
Classes and seminars will be held Friday through Sunday with the
exhibit hall being open on Saturday, July 24th from 10 A.M. - 5 P.M
and Sunday, July 25th 10 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Specially priced tickets for AmiWest99 are available in advance by
mail. Prices are: two day admission tickets, $12 and one day admission
ticket, $8. If you elect to purchase tickets at the door, the prices
are: two day ticket at the door, $15 and One day ticket at the door,
$10. If you are ordering a one day ticket by mail, please specify
which day (Saturday or Sunday) you are attending.
There will be a banquet dinner on Saturday evening, July 24th. Price
is $35 per plate. Banquet tickets must be purchased in advance. They
will NOT be sold on Friday nor Saturday due to the hotel needing
attendance figures for planning the banquet.
You can mail your requests for advanced admission and banquet tickets
to:
AmiWest99
c/o Sacramento Amiga Computer Club
P.O. Box 19784
Sacramento, CA 95819-0784
Make checks payable to "AmiWest".
Special hotel room rates are available at the Holiday Inn for those
attending AmiWest99. Room rates are $ 79 (Single) and $ 89 (double) if
reservations are made by July 1. You must mention that you are
attending AmiWest to get the special rate. You can phone the Holiday
Inn at 1-916-338-5800, 1-800-388-9284 (Tool Free - Hotel directly) or
1-800-465-8329 (Toll Free - Holiday Inn Reservation Number) to make
hotel reservations.
Hope to see you at AmiWest99 on July 23-24, 1999,
----------------------------------------------------------------------
S A K U 9 9 W E B S I T E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Finnish Amiga Users Group Announces Saku 99 Web Site
ESPOO, FINLAND - June 29, 1999 - Finnish Amiga Users Group is pleased
to announce that the Web site for its third annual Amiga event, Saku
99, is now open. The Web site features highlights, directions and
other vital information for interested visitors and exhibitors from
Finland and abroad. We are also planning a Saku 99 webcam and an IRC
channel.
Saku 99 will be the biggest Amiga event in Finland this year.
Following the success of Saku 98, which was visited by some 500 Amiga
enthusiasts, Saku 99 is aimed to be bigger and better than the
previous events. Mr. Petro Tyschtschenko of Amiga has already
confirmed his presence and other great highlights are planned. Saku 99
will be held on Saturday September 4th 1999 at the Science Centre
Heureka in Vantaa, near Helsinki.
Please visit http://batman.jytol.fi/~saku/english/ or our mirror site
http://tzimmola.tky.hut.fi/saku/english/, for further information.
E-mail inquiries may be sent to Janne Sirén (siren@mikrobitti.fi).
About Finnish Amiga Users Group
Finnish Amiga Users Group (Suomen Amiga-käyttäjät ry.) is a
non-profit organization for promoting Amiga computing and helping
Amiga users in Finland. Also known as Saku, after its disk magazine,
the group is trying to accomplish its goals by organizing meetings and
by publishing a disk magazine. Since 1993 the Finnish Amiga Users
Group and it's predecessors have released over thirty issues of the
disk magazine and held several public gatherings. Other
accomplishments include the Web site and Sakunet, a national Fidonet
style network of Amiga related bulletin board systems.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E A S T A N G L I A N G R O U P L A U N C H E D
About The...
East Anglian Amiga User Group
___________________
WELCOME!
Welcome to the East Anglian Amiga User Group. We are a brand new user
group based in Lowestoft, Suffolk but have an anticipated member list
of The World! We were set up by two very keen Amiga users Nigel
Holland and Michael Parker, to provide to Amiga user with all the
latest news, reviews and events etc. at a cost marginal to a
commercial magazine, yet providing the same accuracy and quality you,
as an Amiga user expect.
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
We do this by providing our users with a 8-weekly newsletter and
e-mail (were available) for important events in between issues. We DO
NOT hold meetings as we believe this to be unfair to users outside a
travelable distance.
In addition to this you will receive special disks (at least two a
year) with the latest Utilities, Games, Patches, Shareware and PD
around for the Amiga! Users will also get a Membership Card each and
every year.
WHEN IS THE NEWSLETTER DUE?
Distribution of the newsletter begins in August 1st 1999 so, if you
want to receive the first copy be sure to send your application off
well before then so we can cope with the demand. Then, after the first
issue is released the next one will be published and distributed two
months later, and so on!
HOW MUCH IS IT?
A years membership is just £10 (UK) -that's £1.20 an issue! Plus you
receive a membership card and at least two disks a year, not to
mention the newsletter is not filled with 100's of ads. PLUS: Every
issue is delivered ON TIME to your own doorstep!
WHAT CAN I DO?
You to can write for us, about anything Amiga! You could even end up
with you own column in every issue! If you don't fancy writing about
anything, why not tell us what you have in the way of Amiga equipment
and become our set-up of the month! Got something to sell? Want a
piece of Amiga hardware/software? Put it in our classifieds for all
members to read- and possibly buy!
E-mail the User Group (eaaug@eaaug.freeserve.co.uk)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I C O L A A N D . . . U N D E R S H O R T S ?
2 July, 1999
{Directly from the Amiga web sites. Brad.}
New Promotional Products Available Soon
New promotional products will be available at the World of Amiga on
July 24th and 25th.
There will be the cool drink for all AMIGA freaks: AmiCola
Also available soon: AMIGA shorts (sizes S, M, L, XL, und XXL, colors
white and black), and socks carrying the AMIGA logo
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Y A M 2 . 0 A T L A S T !
July 6, 1999
YAM 2.0 final has been released! It can be downloaded from the YAM
support site and - in a few days - from any Aminet mirror.
REQUIREMENTS
- Amiga Computer with an 68020 cpu or higher
- at least 4 MB of RAM
- AmigaOS/Workbench 3.0 or higher
- MUI 3.8 or higher
- bsdsocket.library compatible TCP/IP software like Miami, AmiTCP,
Genesis or TermiteTCP - PGP 2.6.x or 5.x (required only for composing
or reading encrypted mail)
- XPK libraries (required only for compressed folders)
- Internet provider who supports POP3 and SMTP services
FEATURES
- Basic functions: read, write, delete, reply, forward or bounce mail
- Four folders for incoming, outgoing, sent and deleted mail plus an
unlimited
number of folders for archived mail
- Folders can be compressed and/or protected with a password
- Support for multiple users. Optionally, addressbooks and other
config files can be shared
- Searchable address book supporting groups and distribution lists
- Built-in POP3/APOP client to check for mail on startup, on demand
or at regular time intervals
- Check up to 16 POP3 accounts in a single step
- Message pre-selection: browse message headers before downloading
large mails
- Write or reply your messages offline and send them to the mail
server using the built-in SMTP client
- Extract sender information from message headers and create an
address book entry with a simple mouseclick; a picture of the sender
is automatically downloaded and displayed
- Built-in support for UUencode and MIME to send and receive binary
files
- Co-operation with web browsers: send mail from your browser, pass
an URL to a browser
- Handle return receipts and read confirmation
- Support for anonymous remailers and mailing lists
- PGP/MIME support: encrypt and/or sign outgoing messages, check
signatures, decrypt messages. Works with PGP 2.6 and PGP 5.
- Fast internal editor that offers WYSIWYG textstyles and spell
checking
- Search your folders for messages (including full text search in
header fields or message body)
- Up to 100 filters to automatically process new or sent messages
- Comprehensive ARexx interface that allows other programs to control
YAM
- The graphical user interface of YAM (including toolbars and status
images) is fully user configurable
- YAM runs either on the Workbench screen or on any other custom
screen
- Context related online help through help bubbles and AmigaGuide
- Includes catalog files for many different languages
- Easy installation with the Installer
- Much, much more...
CONTACT
World Wide Web: http://www.yam.ch
E-mail : support@yam.ch
----------------------------------------------------------------------
P R E C O N F I G U R E D T I M I D I T Y T O A M I N E T . .
9 July, 1999
{The Timidity midi player has been on Aminet for a short while.
Recently, we learned that Giordio Signori was working on a (large!)
set of archives that would provide a pre-configured Timidity you could
download and use. Here's what he has to say on the subject. Brad}
I am going to upload on Aminet a ready-to-go preconfigured Timidity
archive with all the patches (be ready to download some megs ;-) so
you will not have to get crazy configuring Timidity.
It's not really a "product", as it's 100% free, since Timidity is
under GNU Public License. I thought that on Amiga we missed a very
good MIDI player with a good quality. So I've been searching for the
best samples usable with this great piece of software (that, note, is
not ported by me) and spent some days configuring the whole thing to
make it easier to use. I am impressed by the quality that it can
reach. The drawback is that the LHA archive is 15 megs, but with ftp
resume or HTTPResume it's not a problem to download in some days. To
be true, the archive for Aminet is ready, sitting here in my hard
disk. But I have been unlucky... yesterday I was uploading it, but
when I arrived at 14 megs out of 15, the line dropped!! So I have to
retry... maybe I will split the archive to make it easier to upload
and download. But once you downloaded it, you can be sure it's worth
the time you spent, as you can finally listan to MIDI files with an
astonishing quality. Just to comprare, the Star Wars soundtrack in
MIDI format, played with Timidity with this set of patches is nearly
identical to the CD one played by the orchestra, only good hears will
notice the difference! And all this is for free, what do you want
more? ;-)
Giorgio Signori
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A 2 0 0 0 H D S F O U N D !
Intrepid Communications Announces Supply of A2000HD Amigas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Intrepid Communications, Inc. announces the discovery of a cache of
new in-the-box and excellent condition used classic A2000HD computers.
All include: original keyboards and mice, internal 880K floppy drive,
A2091 SCSI controller with hard drive (most are 52MB) and Kickstart
and Workbench 1.3 or above. They are also equipped with an ASDG
multi-port serial board.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
New A2000HD (US) $400 plus shipping and handling.
Used A2000HD (US) $250 plus shipping and handling.
Orders may be placed by telephone by calling: (US) 1-407-678-6999
Credit card (Master Card/VISA) or pre-paid orders only.
As of 7/1/1999:
80 new units are available.
70 used units are available.
Intrepid can also upgrade and customize these machines to meet
specific needs.
Contact Lori Brown at the number above for further information or
e-mail sales@intrepidcomm.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amiga Update on the net:
All back issues available at:
http://www.globaldialog.com/~amigaupdate/index.html
{Note new address!}
Stop by and check out our archive!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1999 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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U P D A T E /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ U P D A T E
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