Just came to remember that Hyperion Entertainment spoke of the AmigaOS4 Roadmap, and now we know that Hyperion Entertainment is to bring AmigaOS 5 along when it's ready...

Too many times i was worried about the lack of support of
other CPU platforms than PPC, no matter how excellent and modern PPC has become and no matter how good its' future might be, in AmigaOS. Then i simply forgot the roadmap...

AmigaOne X1000 and a new SAM460 are on the way.
The new X1000 will bring along a lot of new features
that have never seen the days in AmigaOS. Features
like PCI-e, USB2, special Xena-support, DDR2 (later DDR3, i assume), HD-support, Java is coming, Multiprocessing features (SMP), new graphic subsystem, better 3D-technology and other important changes to AmigaOS...

X1000 will firstly be introduced with a special version of AmigaOS 4.1 for it. An initial version, while we know that
AmigaOS 4.2 will bring many more features and possible
a more change to the Workbench environment...

I guess that after AmigaOS 4.2, there will be a 4.5 with almost everything AmigaOS is missing, and a brand new
look and a new better way of doing things. Visually,
i guess it's AmigaOS 4.5 that will make AmigaOS totally
modern in the way it works...

Then finally, there is AmigaOS 5. I can only imagine it's from AmigaOS 5 that everything of missing important parts will at last be made into AmigaOS 5, a fully 64-bit SMP operativ system, which should be able to run on several CPU platforms other than PPC. Perhaps this one will be able to run on x86, too?

That's why it's so pointless of talking about an x86 AmigaOS at this stage. AmigaOS 4 have to be fully completed and made into what we want AmigaOS 5 to be..

I think that explains a lot.

@Antique

Oh yes, the R700 chips look extremely powerful, and they are based on HD-quality, so very good!

Well, the CFE BIOS is interesting. It stands for "Common Firmware Environment". You can google this...

I'm extremely sure it's a P.A Semi chip of short. The PA16T or what is called..

Very powerful!

Even the 1.6Ghz version should do a lot of amazing works!
It's very important that it can handle Altivec codes!

@KimmoK

Still, it's going to be really amazing! Looking forward to it.

@logicalheart

You are welcome. No problem!

@billt

According to A-EON, CFE BIOS is the one that will be used, but how it will be working, is a more interesting thing..

@Troels

Hello Yes, it was. Luckily, one provided the best answers which can be founc in an own topic in AW.net

AW.net could today announce the AW 25th Anniversary Celebration Puzzle Competition. The 1th price to win is the
AmigaOne X1000 computer system. The puzzle might be hard, but will give everyone a decent time to solve the puzzles...

You will find more information here:

AW 25th Anniversary Celebration Puzzle Competition!!!

I'm a bit stuck with the first question, so if any have the full answers, then it's possible to PM me the full answers, and i should figure out the rest...

@jahc

I fully agree. Couldn't say it better

@All

The SAM460ex doesn't really seem as a low-end system, but merely as a mid-range system with more power.

It's looking very good, indeed.

@phx

Indeed

@nubechecorre

Great news, making the entry-level Amiga more powerful as it could be viewed as a mid-range Amiga system.

This is good, really good..

@billt

Thank you, billt. It means a lot to me to know that. I'm sorry i was too defensive...

But lets not dvelve too much on what is happening in the general computing industry. We should be happy that AmigaOne X1000 will provide us a modern Amiga system to run AmigaOS 4.1. That's quite inspiring, really...

@ChrisH

Didn't see the thing about AW.net, but glad to know it wasn't ME who was the pessimistic guy...

It might be that PPC is the only choice for AmigaOS at the moment, but it's certainly far away a bad one...

Check out the latest A-EON interview, and you will find something really interesting...

It's true that they have to focus on PPC at the moment, according to what you say, which is true...

But still think of it. The Amiga uses the PPC in such a far better way than Windows uses the x86 architecture.

Think about that fact. That's quite a difference...

I will try to take well to hart making point-to-point topics as short and directly as possible...That's a good point..

While AW.net is the site where the interview with A-EON is happening, i decided that it would be a nice idea to provide the link directly to that interview...

Now part 3 of the interview is ready answered, and i am confident that you will find it very interesting...

Check it out here:

http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/v ... _id=30985&forum=42#550233

@billt

The long post you wrote by quoting me, you should take up this problem with A-EON and Hyperion Entertainment. I am sure they will provide the answers you are looking for...

@All

Well, this topic was never meant to be an April fool, but it was meant to be a serious perspective...

Some claim here that i was the pessimistic person from AW.net. It was quite the opposite, but i was overrun by the members who doubted me as a character and too many of the members there have lost the belief in the Amiga. I had the feeling that i was fighting a lonely battle there to convince people the opposite, without much of a success...

Nobody knows what CPU direction the Amiga will take in the future, but for now it seems to be PowerPC, and the reason is a clear one. We want the X1000 out as soon as possible, and that can be done by letting it use the latest incarnation of AmigaOS 4.1 as efficient as possible...

I'm happy to see that people realise that PPC is not dead and it has changed a lot the last few years...

A-EON and Hyperion Entertainment may know something we don't. Why do you think they keep their projects as secret as possible, until the time is right to reveal them?


I have tried many times to take up the debate about x86 vs PPC. I was even told by the people behind A-EON and Hyperion Entertainment that the debate is pointless as the situation stands for the meantime..

Does it really matter if the X1000 is using a modern PPC architecture? I'm sure it will benefit greatly from it, compared to how x86 is used on today's Windows systems...

Some might have felt annoyed about my enthusiasm, but at least i'm doing things the right way. There is no point of supporting the Amiga if you don't love it and believe in it as i do. I love it, and i believe in it. I believe it can do it again, and it's already showing a lot of potensial for the future...

I'm here to stay, as long as i live. Amiga is my dream and my way. It's like returning home again. That's why i will aband Windows in favour of Amiga. Why? Because the Amiga is a much better overall system to use than Windows, no matter how modern it is. There is no excuse anymore to aband the Amiga..

@billt

I find it interesting that you believe ARM will dominate, perhaps more than what x86 is currently doing...

You also say that PPC is loosing ground. That's very ironic, as PPC has changed a lot the last 5 years. There is now no longer any excuse to aband PPC now that a PPC motherboard uses any industry-standard components like PCI-E, DDR2 (the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 are very small), USB2, Gigabit Ethernet and several other industry-standard compoents, as
seen on any x86 motherboard of today.

It's true that PPC is currently only seen as a popular
choice for the embedded market, but because AmigaOne X1000 is the next-generation AmigaOne X desktop computing systems, it's likely that the X1000 will
bring so much attraction to the desktop market
by using a modern PPC as CPU...

IBM is still developing new PPC chips based on newer POWER architecture, and there seems to be a longterm
strategy to bring PPC further into the future. Multi-core
technology is introduced to the PPC technology, adopting much of the same idea as x86, and it's still important to assure that PPC uses low heat, and pushing efficiency to the maximum. Also look closely at what AMCC are doing with their PPC chips, and then you have P.A Semi with their extremely powerful PPC chips. Forget all about G3, G4 and G5 (the 970). They are long gone and not relevant for what is happening to PPC now..

I read the long interview with the people behind A-EON.
Especially one name should be noticed. Ben Hermans is one of the men behind this company, and has been working with Hyperion Entertainment for many years.
Another name is Trevor Dickinson. A man i guess many of you are quite aware of. A known name to the Amiga scene...

During that interview seen in AW.net, it was also mentioned that they spoke a lot with engineers having great knowledge of PowerPC and came to the decision to use the "Nemo" motherboard with the specifications for the X1000 that is already known. I also think that the XMOS co-processor dubbed "Xena" will bring along a lot of interesting features. Features that were never possible in AmigaOS before. We are into a great change.
A historic change for the Amiga, and an important one..

Would that mean PPC is loosing ground? I certainly do not think so. It sounds quite the opposite to me..

@KimmoK

It's an interesting perspective, and might be true.
Still, i believe that X1000 might change a lot of things...

The CPU is the least important thing to worry about as long as there will be an OS to run X1000, and as long as it will use the same components as seen on any x86 motherboard today...

I am also convinced that going for the X1000 is the rightest choice i have made ever in my life. To finally be able to "return home" again. That is what i want..

@328gts

Thanks, mate. I am not worried about what CPU it will use, as technology has become so modern today, it doesn't really matter what CPU it is using as long as the OS is
supporting it. In generall, the CPU itself is pretty much
irrelevant...It's what the OS can do with the hardware,
not what CPU a machine is using...

@billt and all

I don't think one should blame A-EON and Hyperion Entertainment at all. Some would say that choosing
PPC is a mistake, while others would say that if going
x86, we fall into the trap that Microsoft have made for
everyone else who have gone the same path..

Even that x86 is the dominant CPU for the desktop market, PPC is dominant in the embedded market. There might be an important point in this. We should also not forget that PPC has progressed extremely amazing the last few years,
and what AMCC and the chips from "P.A Semi" are edvidences of how advanced and modern PPC have
become today. It's interesting...

Then again we have the ARM, and perhaps ARM would be a very interesting thing to se in the Amiga. I can understand the direction X1000 is pointing at, at it seems there is a high wish to bring Amiga back into the desktop market also, and not only be viewed as an embedded system.

But again, we will know more when X1000 is released. Then we will also get an idea where the Amiga is heading..

I'm not really worried that PPC is chosen as a CPU as long as X1000 is using the same technology as today's x86 motherboard. Therefore, the only difference now is the CPU X1000 will be using. The rest is identical..

@billt

Almost forgot. You mentioned the question why i believe today's PPC support much of the same components as used on today's x86 motherboards...

These are the spesifications for AmigaOne X1000:

Custom case with Boing Ball
ATX Formfactor
CPU: Dual-core PowerISA? v2.04+ CPU
Co-processor: "Xena" XMOS XS1-L1 128 SDS
Audio: 7.1 channel HD audio
Memory: 4? DDR2 SDRAM slots
10? USB 2.0
1? Gigabit Ethernet
2? PCIe x16 slots (1x16 or 2x8)
2? PCIe x1 slots
1? Xorro slot (gives access to "Xena")
2? PCI legacy slots
2? RS-232
4? SATA 2 connectors
1? IDE connector
JTAG connector
1? Compact Flash

All these components, except the choice of CPU, are identical to what you find on today's x86 motherboards..