22.Jun.2003
AmigaWorld (ANF)
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Fortnightly Q&A's with Fleecy Moss - episode 13
The English online magazine AmigaWorld has published episode 13 of the regular questions and answers session with Fleecy Moss, CTO at AMIGA, Inc. (Update 2012-03-17, cg: as the original document is no longer available, the following content was moved into our database):
1) MetalJoe: Previous versions of the OS have had official support for C and Assembler developers. What languages (i.e. C, Assembler, C++, Objective-C) will be officially supported in the initial OS 4 SDK and which, if any, are planned for future 4.x releases?
Fleecy: C and C++ will be supported in the first instance. We are talking with third parties about other support (Basic, Forth, and some others). We are more interested in getting a comprehensive toolchain and documentation in place before we start considering other language support.
2) Rudei: Can you clarify that the Amiga trademarks are indeed safe and still licenced to Amiga Inc? There has been a lot of malicious talk recently and it would be helpful to have an official line so we can quash the rumours once and for all.
Fleecy: Our attorney tells us that everything is as it should be. You will never quash the rumours because the reason for them is mischief and as long as they are people out there wanting to cause mischief, then there will be rumours. We just keep quiet and get on with it.
3) Dandy: Will DRM (digital rights management) and/or TCPA have any impact on AmigaOs-platform and if so, of what kind will this impact be? (As I understood it, it will be forbidden to advertise or sell hardware within the USA which does not include/support TCPA)
Fleecy: DRM is something that many OEMs are asking for as well as many developers who are tied of losing sales via piracy.
However it is still a very fluid and unsure area in both legal and technical application and it is not at a point where we have to give it much general consideration, just on a per customer basis.
4) hnl_dk: What do you think of the outcome, of the "OS4.0 on tour 2003" until now?
Fleecy: I think it has been very good. The fact that dealers and user groups worked together to organise it is a testament to the power of the Amiga community, where everything doesn't have to be driven by the centre. Jurgen and the others have done a great job and it has started some lively debate about the new default interface and praise for many of the new graphical features. That alone has caused a huge increase in requests for information and registrations of interest from around the world. For those who have stood fast through all the rumours about how it will never happen, then it will never work, it must be giving them a good feeling to see that their trust was not misplaced. The power of Amiga is about getting through the bad times as well as the good times and the supporters, the AmigaOS4.0 team and the community in general has come into its own and from here on, things will accelerate towards launch and rebirth of the platform.
5) Wain: What does the current AmigaOS roadmap plan in regards to upgrade costs? Do we pay full retail cost for every OS version up to 5 and after? I realize none of this is set in stone.
Fleecy: For AmigaOS4, this is the most likely although we are considering some form of product subscription as well, wrapped up with extra services and support.
6) Turbo: Is the aim for Amiga OS4 to be exclusive to AmigaOne based hardware? If not, how will this manifest itself? Will it run on top of intent? Could it be ported to custom hardware like you would find in say... a PlayStation 3?
Fleecy: The AmigaOS4 product family will run on any PPC solution that is certified by Amiga. We have several customers in various stages of negotiation as to getting AmigaOS4 onto their products. AmigaOne is the only desktop. The Amiga Generation 2 (AG2) product represents the next stage of developing core Amiga technology that can then be used in various product lines, including the AmigaOS and the AmigaDE. The ultimate aim of AG2 is to have a core technology pool that is hardware agnostic and which implements advanced technologies that can be used anywhere we want and which, most importantly can span the different types of devices to create a single environment for OEMs, developers and users.
7) pods: I know of people who have expressed disapointment of the current workbench and icons libraries implementation. Has there been schedules, or has there been talk about replacing these implementation with something more up to date?
Fleecy: The development of AmigaOS4 had a very strict priority. Encapsulate hardware dependencies to create an abstraction, move and then enhance the core of the AmigaOS into this abstraction and then replace Amiga Generation 1 domains by Amiga Generation 2 technology. AmigaOS4.0 is dealing admirably with moving our platform from a 68k and custom chip based solution to a modern PPC, modular subsystem hardware model. In doing that, it is far more important for us to ensure that the foundations are made solid, efficient and then improved.
graphics.library, layers, intuition and Workbench are all very old services that have been hacked and patched beyond even the wildest dreams of Dr Frankenstein. The fact that it all still works and that it can be made to look even better is a testament not just to the far sightedness of the original designers but also the the immense skill and knowledge of the AmigaOS4.0 team.
However, one of the AG2 projects currently underway is for the entire visual domain, 2D, 3D, Video and User Environment and we are working hard to ensure that most if not all of that technology will be in AmigaOS4.1. You can be sure that we will keep the community apprised and show off some of the visual delights to come as soon as we can.
8) Sbaitso: Are you familiar with the Amizilla project? What are your feelings about it? Is there any chance Amiga, Inc. may contribute to the cause?
Fleecy: I think it is another great example of the Amiga community in action and putting its money where its mouth is to improve and extend the platform. We will not contribute to the cause because it is a third party effort and also because if the rules of the project are correct, then we would be supporting potential competitors as well.
However, the most important reason is because a brand new, world class HTML rendering solution is one of elements of AmigaOS4.1.
9) Asemoon: Are Amiga's PDA game packages selling well at CompUSA stores and will they become available at stores in Europe?
Fleecy: They appear to have sold out in most stores in the US and we are in negotiations with Microsoft both to extend the number of cards and the volume of cards. We are talking with other vendors who themselves want to sell the Gamecards and some of these are active in the European market. We'll post more details when we can.
10) Asemoon: Will there be any alternative themes included on the AmigaOS4 CD?
Fleecy: It is something that is being considered but we want to at least have one that is complete before considering adding others.
(Copyright © 2003 Amigaworld.net. All rights reserved.
Originally available at http://amigaworld.net/modules/fleecymoss/index.php?cat_id=24
You may freely redistribute this article, providing that a URL is provided to the original source,
and the copyright notices remain intact)
(ps) (Translation: cb)
[News message: 22. Jun. 2003, 15:32] [Comments: 0]
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