* Forwarded from "Team Amiga" Mailinglist
* Originally from: fleecy moss (fleecy@earthlink.net)
* Original date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 11:19:45 -0500


In my trawling around the community hangouts,
I have come across several misconceptions, rumours,
and a lot of confusion. Whilst I can't hope to answer
everything, here are some things I want to set straight.


0. Amiga will build a digital content universe. Digital
   content means anything composed of 0 and1 -
   applications, video, audio, games, emails, whatever.
   We will focus on 2 markets, the pathfinder market,
   for digital adventurers, power users, gamers,
   content creators, DTPers, artists, video  ppl
   and those who refuse to define a computer as
   a digital appliance. Our second market will
   cocentrate on the Domestic Digital Habitat (DDH).

1. If you are a personal computer person, there will
   be a personal computer second wave Amiga.

2. We will support classic development in so much
   as we want to help users and developers transition
   to a new machine. That will be the total extent of our
   support for the classic machine. If this involves further
   AmigaOS releases, then so be it.

3. We are targetting x86 and PPC for the first consumer
   release of Pathfinder products (if you are a personal
   computer person, this means you).

4. We will do everything in our power (that doesnt bankrupt
   us or interfere with our primary goals) to ensure classic
   Amiga software runs on the new machine in some form or
   another.. The new Amiga product family (formerly called
   AQUA) will run natively and hosted. This is to create a large
   market fast  for Amiga developers to profit from. For the first
   pathfinder release it will run hosted to see this market grow
   fast. We see one of our core duties as serving the developers.

6. We are talking to the Phoenix Consortium about common
   interests.

7. We have been contacted by QNX but currently have no plans
   to work with them.

8. We will develop Amiga products for another market, the
   Domestic Digital Habitat (DDH) market. This markets will
   be kept separate but products will work together if the installer
   so desires it.

9. There will be a new website and it will be public shortly. It has
   been tested on all browsers, Amiga and non Amiga, and given
   the compatibility problems between the implementations of open
   standards, our best effort has been made. The site   will grow
   quickly and more information will be added. We want it to become a
   village where all Amigans can come to voice their opinions, chat,
   and travel off  to different parts of the Amiga universe.

a. A developer support manager has been selected and they are
   working  on implementing   the developer support program. This will
   be in  place before the developer boxes are released.

b. The developer boxes are specced out, we have contacted several
   whitebox manufacturers and we are building the distribution.

c. Amiga will not provide dates until we have a product. We will share
   timelines, but will not attach dates to them. Enough damage has
   already been done.

d. We have had acceptances from 75% of our development team and
   their names and roles will be announced once we get back from
   training (before the end of the month).

This mail can be redistributed without modification within the community.
As further questions and issues come up, we will attempt to answer them.

• MUIbase, the database program, is now available in version 1.3. MUIbase is shareware, please don't forget to register yourself. Download: MUIbase-1.3.lha
• Frank Wille is offering the new version 0.7c of his ppc.library emulation for WarpOS for download: ppclibemu.lzx
• New Aminet uploads
• Registered users can download the Alpha2 version of ArtecScan 2.0 from Stefan Robl. Download: ArtecScan2alpha2.lha
• A new beta version 4.4 of Photogenics has been send out to the betatesters. Registered uses can get the new version from the website soon. The first public beta for Linux will also be available soon.
• Andreas Kleinert offers the new version 4.05 of the MPEG-player akMPEG4 (68k+PPC). Download: akMPEG4.lha - 137 Kb
• A new LAME beta version 3.60 of the MP3 encoder is available at the Audio Page. Download: LAMEbeta.lzx - 410 Kb

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        AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc.
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000108

   T A O ,   B A B Y !   T H E   P A R T N E R   A N N O U N C E D

       A M I G A   I N C .   T O   B E   A T   A M I G A   2 K

           N E W S R O G   D E V E L O P M E N T   E N D S

Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:

 Below we have the second big announcement in recent days by the
reborn Amiga Inc. This one concerns the "content platform foundation
partner" for future development. Not sure yet what all is covered by
that mouth numbing phrase but I am sure it will be interesting and, I
hope, encouraging to watch this relationship.
 There seems to be much more a feeling of relief in the shrunken Amiga
Community at this ownership change than there was when Gateway took
over, and that's as it should be. If we don't make it this time, at
least we finally have some Amigans with vision giving it a try. If
only that had happened back in 1994 ...

 We don't have an actual story on it, but if you read the items below
carefully you'll see that Amino is now Amiga. The change took place on
January 6. They'll be at the Amiga 2000 computer show this spring in
St. Louis, USA, and I can hardly wait. I believe this will be the
first chance for the newest Amiga Inc. to address a large body of the
community. If you can get there, it should be well worth your time.
 If I have my Amiga history right, this is the third Amiga Inc. to be
set up. The original development company (or were they not an Inc.?),
Gateway's, and now the former Amino. Correct?
 Brad Webb,
 Editor
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail to the E-ditor:

5 Jan 2000

brad,

 just a quick note to say "keep up the good work" ! i enjoy receiving
this e-publication. also, let me add that i prefer this "e-mail style
" as opposed to the old "download style "!!!! makes it easier for me
to read.

best,
dave
~~~~~~
Dave,
 Thanks very much for the note and the vote of confidence. Not sure
who's old download style you mean as we've always been e-mail based,
but I think I know what you're getting at. It's always been one of our
goals to get the news out to people, rather than wait for someone to
come to a website. We think the Amiga community needs both, and our
method can help get the message to people who would never see the
websites.
 Brad

======
1 Jan 2000

On 31-Dec-99, Brad Webb wrote:

> The transaction, effective immediately, includes the transfer of
> all Internet domain names related to Amiga which Gateway had held.
> Gateway retains ownership of all patents acquired when it bought
> Amiga in 1997.

 In other words, they have the right to develop something and call it
an Amiga, but not to make or sell any of the old hardware, possibly
the OS either. Then again, that might not to be a bad thing. We all
know how far behind the current hardware and OS are.

 When Tom Schmidt announced that Amiga wasn't going to be a computer
platform anymore, I started looking at the alternatives. I figured
there were three; Linux, Mac and (GULP!) Windows.
 - Linux is a Unix variant at heart. Switching to it meant night
school courses just to learn to use it. (I still haven't entirely
ruled that out.)
 - My GF uses a Mac and she's happy with it. I looked at the new iMacs
and they're nice machines, reminiscent in some ways of my good ol'
A1200, and the price wasn't too bad, considering what it was. Then I
took a gander at the software and nearly had a coronary! $800 for a
paint program???
 - Then there's Windows. I tried to look it up on the 'net. At first
all I found were jokes pages. I surfed over a few of them. It was
educational; nobody likes Windows! At last I found MS's homepage. The
first thing I saw there was ol' Visa Bill Gate's editorial about
"freedom to innovate," (whinging over the Anti-Trust Court obviously.)
By this time I was wondering what had possessed me to even consider
doing this to myself!

 I hope to heck Amino makes a go of Amiga. There are no good
alternatives out there.

        Allan
~~~~~~
Allan,
 I certainly agree with the sentiment in your last paragraph. It's
very early to have a feel for how Amino - now officially Amiga Inc. -
will do, but they've got the community in mind and that's a real plus.
 You do have one misconception in your note. Amiga Inc. has a license
from Gateway to the old patents, so there's really nothing stopping
them from doing just about anything they want to, including building
"classic" type machines if they wish.
 With the new Amiga in place, I think there's at least a good
possibility we won't need an alternative.
 Brad
----------------------------------------------------------------------

   T A O ,   B A B Y !   T H E   P A R T N E R   A N N O U N C E D

 Las Vegas, January 8, 2000 - Amiga Incorporated, a privately held
company based in Maple Valley, WA, has entered into a strategic
relationship with the Tao Group as the new content platform foundation
partner for the new Amiga. Terms of the transaction were not
disclosed. Bill McEwen, Amiga President/CEO, said that the company
selected Tao as the foundation partner for the new Amiga after
reviewing numerous other potential partners. "After extensive research
trawling the markets we found that Tao had the greatest similarities
and strengths with our vision, and the capabilities to get the job
done". McEwen said. "Amiga with Tao together will bring a new level of
capabilities, portability and scalability never available before."
"Tao has its roots in the Amiga so this is particularly satisfying for
us" said Francis Charig, Chairman and CEO of Tao Group. "What makes
this relationship so exciting to Tao is the relationship we can enjoy
with Amiga and the Amiga Community. The world has changed radically in
the last few years and there is a vacuum in terms of content and
software environments that meets the needs of the mass market. The
skill sets of the Amiga community combined with the power and
flexibility of Tao's software infrastructure means that the New Amiga
can create the most compelling content for the emerging digital
services and content markets."


ABOUT AMIGA

 Amiga Incorporated is dedicated to the development, design, and
implementation of components, services, and models that support the
digital experience of tomorrow. Amiga lead the world into the
multi-media experience in the early 80's, and will lead it into the
Digital content universe of the future.

ABOUT TAO

 Tao Group is an intellectual property generator and software company
specializing in technologies for home and mobile networks.
Incorporated in 1992, the Company provides leading edge products for
the emerging markets of intelligent consumer devices. The company's
philosophy is based on providing powerful frameworks for use right
across the range of networked appliances from smart phones to digital
television into which Tao's clients can build in their own branding
and incorporate their own added value. Tao's clients include blue chip
technology corporations in the United States, Japan and Europe.
Motorola and Sony are investors in Tao Group. Tao is headquartered in
Reading, United Kingdom, with representation in Japan and the US, and
its staff includes more than fifty world-class software engineers. Tao
is a Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 Winner and has won a series of
innovation
----------------------------------------------------------------------

       A M I G A   I N C .   T O   B E   A T   A M I G A   2 K

January 6, 2000

 Amino Development Corporation, renamed Amiga Inc. on Jan. 6, will
exhibit at the Amiga 2K show.

 In a conversation today with Bill McEwen, President and CEO of Amino,
now Amiga Inc.,stated that they will definitely exhibit at the Gateway
Computer Show - Amiga 2K, April 1 & 2, 2000.

 Things are happening with Amiga 2K, just as we promised. Stay tuned
for more information on the largest and best Amiga show in the
Americas... Amiga 2K.

 Amiga 2K will be held on Saturday April 1st - Sunday April 2, 2000,
in St. Louis Missouri, U.S.A. at the Henry VIII Hotel.

Bob Scharp
Amigan-St. Louis
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          N E W S R O G   D E V E L O P M E N T   E N D S

04-Jan-2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 ShadowWorks Software regrets to announce the end of the NewsRog
project for the Amiga. NewsRog is an NNTP News client running on Amiga
personal computers.

 Unfortunately, due to a combination of factors which include the lack
of a market for Amiga software, obsolescent hardware, and a recent
increase in piracy and fraudulent credit card orders, it is no longer
financially possible to continue developing NewsRog. The last version
stands at 1.8b, and the update is available to all registered users
via the web page below:

     http://www.frii.com/~srk/ShadowWorks/Preview/NR.html

 ShadowWorks Software is proud to have pioneered a large number of
news client features that have yet to be duplicated in any other
software that we are aware of. We regret that it was not possible to
continue development of the software, since there was a great deal
more planned for the future.

 ShadowWorks Software wishes to thank all of our loyal customers who
have supported our attempt to bring the Amiga a world class NNTP news
client.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amiga Update on the net:
 All back issues available at:
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Stop by and check out our archive!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2000 by Brad Webb.    Freely distributable, if not modified.
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