New Amigas

There seem to be all sorts of new Amigas on the way - so here's a look at them all...

Name: BoXeR
Company: Access (formerly Index Information)
Due: Now!
Specs: 25-75 MHz '040/'060, 2MB Chip RAM, AGA, SIMMs, buffered IDE, Zorro 3, ISA, PPC and CVision expansion slots.
Description: A new high end Amiga, particularly aimed at Video/Toaster usage. Much cheaper than an A4000T.
Price: 480UKP for bare motherboard (no CPU).
Likelihood: Very likely - should be shipping by the time you read this (and unlike some companies, Access tend to be on time with their products, and have already released one Amiga clone, also named the Access).

Name: InsideOut
Company: Access
Due: Now!
Specs: '040/'060, 2MB Chip RAM, AGA, SIMMs, Siamese software.
Description: An Amiga on a PCI card - can use the host machine's PCI cards on the Amiga side.
Price: 400UKP for card (no CPU).
Likelihood: Again, very likely, and should have been released by the time you read this.

Name: Pre-Box
Company: Phase 5
Due: Early '99
Specs: Multiple PPC processors, fast graphics chipset on board, Voodoo 2 for 3D, EIDE, UW SCSI, PCI slots.
Description: The A\BOX replacement, and looks to be an incredible machine, moving the Amiga to PowerPC and multiprocessing in one go. 680x0 and AGA will be provided by emulation. Multiprocessing is generally a far cheaper way of getting a given amount of computing power, due to the far lower cost of older processors compared to the latest ones. A port of Lightwave to PPC could put the Amiga back in first place in the rendering stakes. And the PowerMac will no longer be the fastest desktop on the planet...
Price: 1500UKP for 4x 200MHz 604e, 3395UKP for 4x 300MHz G3 (no hard drive, CD ROM, etc).
Likelihood: You can't help being sceptical. The thing about Phase 5 is that, although they may be very late with their products, they do finally get released - we now have PPC cards, and the BVision/CVisionPPC cards, even if we waited long enough for them. The A\BOX was just ridiculous (remember when it was to be released in early '97?) Hopefully we will see this beast of a machine, although it may take a little longer to arrive than early '99.

Name: Developer System for new Amiga
Company: Amiga Inc
Due: November '98
Specs: Depends on PC...
Description: PC running AmigaOS 4 and developer software, with optional InsideOut card
Price: Unknown
Likelihood: Very, we hope, given that this is required before the real thing, below. Whether it will be on time is another matter... Oh yes, it's still not known if an InsideOut card will be required, or only necessary if you want to run 'Classic' Amiga software.

Name: 'Amiga 2'
Company: Amiga Inc
Due: Late '99 / Early '00
Specs: Some new 'superchip'
Description: Erm. Based on some new superchip. Very fast.
Price: Very cheap (from 300USD)
Likelihood: Well - dare we consider? Escom were unsuccessful (PowerAmigas by early '97? Or maybe a Walker. Hmmm). Let's hope that AI's plan under Gateway is successful - a lot more successful.

Name: BoXeR 2
Company: Access
Due: Late '99
Specs: Uncertain. Guess: PowerPC on board with programmable graphics chipset backwards compatible with AGA, and PCI slots.
Description: Would emulate 680x0 software. It's impossible to say what the situation will be in over a year's time, and as such, how well suited such a machine will be to the Amiga market then. We should by then all be waiting for the 'new Amiga', but if that machine has been significantly delayed/postponed (or shock! cancelled), then we may be relying to machines such as the Pre-Box and BoXeR 2 to take the Amiga into the next century.
Price: Unknown.
Likelihood: Impossible to say, but again, Access tend to be on time with there products. If BoXeR sales are good, and they aren't put off by the plans for Amiga 2, then hopefully we will see this machine.

Name: PIOS ONE
Company: PIOS
Due: Unknown
Specs: PowerPC, PCI slots, EIDE, SCSI 2, DIMMs.
Description: A PPC clone running pOS, BeOS and Linux.
Price: Unknown.
Likelihood: Unfortunately, this seems to have got lost, mainly because of the fact that pOS still hasn't been released. And even if it does, you're unlikely to get much support for this - most companies will be developing for the 'real' AmigaOS, be it 'Classic' 3.1 on 680x0/PPC, or OS 4/5 for Amiga 2.

Name: A\BOX
Company: Phase 5
Due: They meant 2097, not 1997. Maybe.
Specs: PPC Amiga, Caipirinha chipset, UW SCSI, PCI slots.
Description: The mythical, elusive Super Power Amiga.
Price: Unknown
Likelihood: The strange thing is that Phase 5 seem to be saying that the A\BOX hasn't been cancelled, merely postponed. One wonders how much development of Caipirinha has been completed, or if they intend to continue with it. The specification of the Pre-Box is far greater than what was originally planned for the A\BOX anyway. I be pleased enough to see the Pre-Box released, let alone the A\BOX...

Mark Harman

Name:	BoXeR
Company:	Access (formerly Index Information)
Due:	Now!
Specs:	25-75 MHz '040/'060, 2MB Chip RAM, AGA, SIMMs, buffered IDE, Zorro 3, ISA, PPC and CVision expansion slots.
Description:	A new high end Amiga, particularly aimed at Video/Toaster usage. Much cheaper than an A4000T.
Price:	480UKP for bare motherboard (no CPU).
Likelihood:	Very likely - should be shipping by the time you read this (and unlike some companies, Access tend to be on time with their products, and have already released one Amiga clone, also named the Access).

Name:	InsideOut
Company:	Access
Due:	Now!
Specs:	'040/'060, 2MB Chip RAM, AGA, SIMMs, Siamese software.
Description:	An Amiga on a PCI card - can use the host machine's PCI cards on the Amiga side.
Price:	400UKP for card (no CPU).
Likelihood:	Again, very likely, and should have been released by the time you read this.

Name:	Pre-Box
Company:	Phase 5
Due:	Early '99
Specs:	Multiple PPC processors, fast graphics chipset on board, Voodoo 2 for 3D, EIDE, UW SCSI, PCI slots.
Description:	The A\BOX replacement, and looks to be an incredible machine, moving the Amiga to PowerPC and multiprocessing in one go. 680x0 and AGA will be provided by emulation. Multiprocessing is generally a far cheaper way of getting a given amount of computing power, due to the far lower cost of older processors compared to the latest ones. A port of Lightwave to PPC could put the Amiga back in first place in the rendering stakes. And the PowerMac will no longer be the fastest desktop on the planet...
Price:	1500UKP for 4x 200MHz 604e, 3395UKP for 4x 300MHz G3 (no hard drive, CD ROM, etc).
Likelihood:	You can't help being sceptical. The thing about Phase 5 is that, although they may be very late with their products, they do finally get released - we now have PPC cards, and the BVision/CVisionPPC cards, even if we waited long enough for them. The A\BOX was just ridiculous (remember when it was to be released in early '97?) Hopefully we will see this beast of a machine, although it may take a little longer to arrive than early '99.

Name:	Developer System for new Amiga
Company:	Amiga Inc
Due:	November '98
Specs:	Depends on PC...
Description:	PC running AmigaOS 4 and developer software, with optional InsideOut card
Price:	Unknown
Likelihood:	Very, we hope, given that this is required before the real thing, below. Whether it will be on time is another matter... Oh yes, it's still not known if an InsideOut card will be required, or only necessary if you want to run 'Classic' Amiga software.

Name:	'Amiga 2'
Company:	Amiga Inc
Due:	Late '99 / Early '00
Specs:	Some new 'superchip'
Description:	Erm. Based on some new superchip. Very fast.
Price:	Very cheap (from 300USD)
Likelihood:	Well - dare we consider? Escom were unsuccessful (PowerAmigas by early '97? Or maybe a Walker. Hmmm). Let's hope that AI's plan under Gateway is successful - a lot more successful.

Name:	BoXeR 2
Company:	Access
Due:	Late '99
Specs:	Uncertain. Guess: PowerPC on board with programmable graphics chipset backwards compatible with AGA, and PCI slots.
Description:	Would emulate 680x0 software. It's impossible to say what the situation will be in over a year's time, and as such, how well suited such a machine will be to the Amiga market then. We should by then all be waiting for the 'new Amiga', but if that machine has been significantly delayed/postponed (or shock! cancelled), then we may be relying to machines such as the Pre-Box and BoXeR 2 to take the Amiga into the next century.
Price:	Unknown.
Likelihood:	Impossible to say, but again, Access tend to be on time with there products. If BoXeR sales are good, and they aren't put off by the plans for Amiga 2, then hopefully we will see this machine.

Name:	PIOS ONE
Company:	PIOS
Due:	Unknown
Specs:	PowerPC, PCI slots, EIDE, SCSI 2, DIMMs.
Description:	A PPC clone running pOS, BeOS and Linux.
Price:	Unknown.
Likelihood:	Unfortunately, this seems to have got lost, mainly because of the fact that pOS still hasn't been released. And even if it does, you're unlikely to get much support for this - most companies will be developing for the 'real' AmigaOS, be it 'Classic' 3.1 on 680x0/PPC, or OS 4/5 for Amiga 2.

Name:	A\BOX
Company:	Phase 5
Due:	They meant 2097, not 1997. Maybe.
Specs:	PPC Amiga, Caipirinha chipset, UW SCSI, PCI slots.
Description:	The mythical, elusive Super Power Amiga.
Price:	Unknown
Likelihood:	The strange thing is that Phase 5 seem to be saying that the A\BOX hasn't been cancelled, merely postponed. One wonders how much development of Caipirinha has been completed, or if they intend to continue with it. The specification of the Pre-Box is far greater than what was originally planned for the A\BOX anyway. I be pleased enough to see the Pre-Box released, let alone the A\BOX...