Critical components to open source

[idrougge]

Then you do it. That's how open source works (and fails).

[hth313]

I have now encountered several threads about open source related to Amiga, availability of cheap modern hardware and rescuing the Amiga platform.

For those that worry about having cheap current hardware or having Amiga OS in open source would be the key to rescue, you can actually watch in real life now how it would change matters. Just take a look at RISC OS which is in open source. They also have plenty of cheap new hardware to run it on. Amiga OS and RISC OS have a lot in common. They came on the market in the same time frame, found followers and are dated and left behind in the current world. The key difference between them today is perhaps that one is open source and have new hardware, the other don't.

RISC OS actually have plenty of current hardware starting at Raspberry Pi ($35) going up to Titanium (something similar to Tabor, in the same ball park both in terms of price and form factor). Yes, their high end system is essentially something like Tabor, which is the low end new Amiga system, that is not even sold on the market.

No, I do not have any answers to this, I just want to point out that if you want to know, the answer can probably be found out there.

For now, I will play with my Amiga, but I have also just ordered a Raspberry Pi and part of its duty will be to play with RISC OS. I intended to get more familiar with it.

Oh, they are also getting books updated and published! How about that?

[Bruce Abbott]

Originally Posted by gururise

68k Amiga is for nostalgia purposes only, not too much real work will get done on those computers (even Vampire accelerated), as the software ecosystem is just too old (ie. no modern web-browsing, no modern office suite, etc).

Judging by the content of this board I suspect very few of us are keen on doing too much real work on our Amigas!

You are right about the lack of 'ecosystem' being the killer, but for the Amiga this has always been so. In 1993 we didn't have a full compliment of 'industry standard' software, and we still don't have it today. If this is what you want then the answer is already out there - just get a modern PC and you will never have to worry about whether the 'ecosystem' is stopping you from working too hard.

But is that what people who are clamouring for open source really want? For me (and I suspect most other Amiga owners) it has always been a hobby, something to do for fun and relaxation. I might spend 6 hours a day programming while others prefer playing games or rearranging their desktop, but the reasons are the same. And many of us also enjoy the challenge of getting our machines to do new and different things - even when they are not new on other platforms. Managing to sign in to EAB and post this message with an A1200 connected to a TV in PAL composite? - Woo-Hoo! Doing the same on a modern PC with Windows or Linux? Boring!

As for nostalgia, you are right there too. But what does this really mean? For me it means going back to using an 'ecosystem' which is elegant, efficient, and straightforward enough for a mere mortal to feel that he is in control. My Amigas do 90% of that for me already, and hopefully the contents of this red and black box I just received today will make it 100%.