Amiga

Dear Amigans,

The next computer revolution is on the horizon. It is a revolution that will unleash the full power of computers to the masses and finally fulfill the promises of the information age. It will create a new class of computing devices that combine power and simplicity to make computers and the Internet a natural part of everyday life. They will be exciting enough for the enthusiast and yet simple enough for the common person. They will work seamlessly together in a highly integrated operating environment encompassing the home, business, and the world through the Internet. This is the future of computing and the reason why we can't only develop an alternative computer platform. Faster CPUs and faster graphics alone will not drive a revolutionary new computer platform. They are important but not revolutionary. Revolutionary thinking requires us to let go of past preferences and envision a future that doesn't currently exist. It requires us to develop technology and functions that enabl e this future vision. This is the spirit of revolutionary innovation. The same spirit that drove the original Amiga development team.

We need the support of the Amiga community to drive this revolution. The Amiga community is one of the most heroic, passionate, and innovative communities left in the computer industry. We need these attributes to succeed because we have charted a bold course. Like heroic explorers in the past, we can't discover a new continent without losing sight of the old one for a long period of time. This makes some people very uncomfortable and anxious but it is a prerequisite of discovery and innovation. Some of you will feel compelled to jump ship and swim for familiar shores before we sail out of site. Most of you will stay for the excitement of the journey and the reward of discovery. For those of you who are staying with the ship, tie down the hatches and get ready for the future.

Before you read the technology brief there are a few concepts that will help you put it in perspective. One is a high-level view of the Amiga Operating Environment (OE). Instead of thinking of a single computer with hardware and an operating system, I would like you to start thinking about multiple computing devices integrated together into a single large "virtual” computer and an "operating environment” or OE to run this "virtual” computer. The OE seamlessly integrates multiple computing devices into a single, integrated, and seamless operating environment. Like the OS for a large "virtual” computer. The OE includes the OS for single computing devices but it also runs the overall "virtual” computer consisting of multiple computing devices networked together. Every connected computing device is both a building block and a window into this computing environment.

The other concept to understand is AmigaObject™. The AmigaObject is a powerful software structure used to access computing functions and capabilities. AmigaObjects are the main structures used to implement the Amiga OE. They enable easy integration of technology, distributed computing, high-speed network transactions, and communication between applications in the OE. They are powerful software building blocks that will allow people to build impressive applications quickly. AmigaObjects are portable and transferable across platforms allowing AmigaObjects to proliferate throughout the network and the Internet. Since AmigaObjects are transferable and accessible over the Internet, you can easily extend the Amiga OE through the Internet. This will become critical as broadband Internet access becomes more and more prevalent in the future. AmigaObjects are implemented using Java and Jini technology but are specifically optimized to implement the Amiga OE. AmigaObjects will allow us t o build our revolutionary computer platform.

The attached technology brief gives you some more detail on the next generation Amiga. Before you read it, I have to strongly emphasize that we have not released some of the most strategic parts of our vision and technology. The vision of how our technology unleashes the power of computing in the future is compelling. Unfortunately, communicating the complete vision at this time would jeopardize our competitive advantage and business success, especially if we released this information on our web site. I hope you can understand how important it is for us to keep certain strategic information from our competitors. I can only say that all of the few people who have seen our full vision have been extremely impressed. It is compelling and will drive the future of computing. I look forward to sharing more strategic details on the vision in the months to come starting at WoA and AmiWest.

Sincerely,

Jim Collas
President, Amiga

Click here to read the Technology Brief