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{subhead} AMIGA: Dead or alive? Will it survive?{def}{p}
Article by David Falksen
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January 2, 1999
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THE OLD DAYS
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I remember in the mid 80's when the Commodore 64 was THE game machine to
own. One could walk into almost any store and find hardware and software
for it. Best Products, a company that is no longer around, was one of my
favorite places to buy Commodore 64 games and software. Though primitive
by today's standards, C64 games were state of the art at the time.
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As the later years of 1987-1989 came-around, the IBM-PC began to get
into the game scene. Friends and I use to laugh at the poor quality of
IBM-PC computer graphics in the mid to late 80's. Games that were
written for the C64 had much better graphics and playability than their
IBM-PC counterparts.
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The 1980's was also a time when the AMIGA first entered into the
computer marketplace. Though the Macintosh and Atari computers had great
graphical capabilities, it was the AMIGA that stole the show. I remember
looking on the back of some computer games when I went to Best Products.
The IBM-PC graphics were terrible, the Commodore 64 graphics were pretty
good, but the AMIGA graphics were awesome. Computer game reviews in
magazines like Compute's Gazette and Computer Gaming World primarily
featured C64 games and had occasional mentioning of AMIGA, IBM-PC, and
Apple/Macintosh games. Graphic pictures of AMIGA games in these, and
other magazines, stole the show. AMIGA had an incredible 4096 colors,
the C64 had 16 colors, and the IBM-PC had a lousy three colors.
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There is no doubt that the C64 and AMIGA, but especially the C64, held
onto the game market for a long period of time. Even with the
development of CGA, EGA, and VGA on IBM computers, the C64 still had
superior graphical capabilities with smooth scrolling and animation. The
Commodore 64 still had better capabilities with the development of SVGA,
and even SVGA could not even touch the quality of graphics of an AMIGA,
no way.
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THE AMIGA QUESTION AND DILEMMA
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So what happened? Why did the wonderful and innovative AMIGA computer
fall by the wayside? How and why did a computer with inferior graphic
technologies triumph over a better product? There are many possibilities
and reasons that could answer these questions. Ask an AMIGA enthusiast
and an IBM-PC enthusiast these questions and different answers will
follow. One may say that Commodore did a lousy job marketing the product
while the other may say that the IBM-PC was a more open architecture.
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For whatever reasons led up to the current positioning of the AMIGA
technologies, one thing is certain: that the AMIGA's future is on the
line. The computer will probably survive in some form of technological
implementation be it a personal computer or a "hidden" computer. But
unless decisions are made that can place this innovative technology
ahead of other computer technologies, it may make a quiet, unfortunate
exit.
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I often wonder how many developers are going to continue to create and
push new AMIGA technologies. It seems as though every week or two
another company that supports the AMIGA in some form or fashion makes a
decision to disband operations. Some of these companies explain their
decisions with financial reasons while others make a quiet exit. Why?
What is causing it? How could it be prevented? Is the AMIGA technology
simply another innovation that had its golden years just in time to slip
away? From a business and financial perspective, can the AMIGA actually
play ball with the big companies like Intel, Sun Microsystems, IBM,
Microsoft, Novell, SGI, and others?
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Why not? Books have been written about companies that have been on the
brink of bankruptcy or complete collapse yet managed to make the
impossible happen. How did they do it? What methods and principles were
applied and implemented that created a miraculous return and
resurrection? How could such methods succeed in the face of disaster? It
has been said that one reaches a point in time and is positioned in such
a place that the only way to go is up.
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MAKING ANEW
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Ideas
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Ideas, innovation, solving problems, creating tools, new methods, simple
concepts, the desire to win, competition, risk, organization, dreams all
play a part in making the impossible possible. Finding something that
can push the envelop of human ingenuity to its breaking point while
being able to offer a practical yet perplexed solution is part of the
objective. They are principles that are part of the process of
technological development that can create new ideas and new
opportunities.
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The difficulty is making it happen. Dreams, ideas, concepts, desires,
and wishes are immaterial. It is nice to dream, wish, and desire a more
favorable outcome. That is the easy part. The hard part is making them a
reality.
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The Need for Innovation
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Amiga, Incorporated is in a position in that the decisions and actions
taken within the next few months can make the AMIGA the envy of the
computer industry and a tool that enhances business operations. New
technologies and capabilities must meet the demands and needs of both
small and large business. It must create a product that is the best in
computer graphics at an unbelievable low price. The end product must be
easy enough for the average user to operate with little frustration yet
flexible enough to meet the demands of power-users and Corporations.
Unlike IBM Personal Computers, the AMIGA needs to be less expensive to
maintain and troubleshoot.
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Maintenance Costs
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As a computer technician, I have worked on IBM-PC's with Windows
software long enough to know that there has got to be a better way.
MS-Windows systems are expensive to maintain and operate. Despite
Redmond's claims, that operating system costs companies much more money
than it should. Many technician don't say much because, thanks to
Microsoft, they have jobs. Nonetheless, the need in the marketplace for
an operating system that costs less to maintain is definitely needed and
would be welcomed if it could be proven useful, reliable, and
productive.
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Usability
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Designing an operating system that is easy yet flexible can be a
daunting task. Many people do not like Microsoft, including myself;
however, what Redmond has created out of a computer that came from the
land of the command prompt and pathetic graphics to what it can do today
is quite an accomplishment. Sure, they borrowed a few ideas from Xerox,
Macintosh, and Amiga, but that's the way the game is sometimes played.
They took other technologies and improved them. They created a GUI that
hides the confusing and non-user friendly world of the command prompt,
and as a result of their efforts, the IBM-PC became a more user-friendly
computer based upon open architecture that has become a widely used
machine.
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Adaptability With Emerging Technologies
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The new AMIGA operating system must be able to grow and adapt to new
technologies in a simple and reliable way. One should not have to spend
the hard-earned dollar on an upgrade every three to six months in order
to utilize new technologies or to implement new technologies into the
OS. The user ought to be able to add or to remove any part of the
operating system as needed or desired.
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Adopting the QNX Operating System as the primary OS for the Next
Generation AMIGA may be one of the best developments for the AMIGA in a
long time. It offers a modular design that is so flexible that it can be
used not only in a computer but also in embedded technologies such as
control equipment aboard the Space Shuttle.
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Not only is it modular, but with the FLEET technology developed by QNX's
manufacture, an entire new world of computing may open up. Projects like
Beowulf and FLEET are tapping into new technologies, ideas, and concepts
that are becoming reality and pushing the typical computer network to
the next level. Any computer network can share peripheral resources, but
FLEET technologies enable a network of computers that are combined into
a single computer and use not only peripherals from all the systems but
also combine the processing power of the computers. Connect an
A4000/060, an A4000/040, and an A4000/060, install FLEET software, and
you basically have an AMIGA 4000 at 160 MHz (060+040+060). Add a DEC
Alpha 533 MHz machine to the three A4000's and you may come up with a
good graphics workstation, theoretically. How is the helpful? Colleges
and Universities don't have to spend lots of precious money on high
dollar computers in order to gain processing speed. Add another 060
computer to the network and the central computer has an additional 60
MHz of processing power for scientific calculations. How about a small
business that needs to add a little more processing power for it's
accounting server but cannot afford to purchase a new, more powerful
computer? Add an A4000/040 computer to the FLEET system, and the central
server gains another 40 MHz processing power. And then there is the need
in graphic production houses to gain extra processing power to speed up
rendering times. Connect five new DEC Alpha 633 MHz computers with the
currently owned five DEC Alpha 533 computers, and the central computer
may run at 5830 MHz.
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WHERE THE MONEY MAY FLOW
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Funds for the holder of the AMIGA technologies can come through license
fees, software developed, computer sales, etc..
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Monies would not be earned primarily through software sold, but through
licensed technologies controlled and monitored by a central agency. The
philosophy of creating an Operating System with centralized features by
one company may not be the best method of innovation. One company cannot
be as innovative as the populous. The open architecture of the IBM-PC
has a vital contribution to the success of that computer. With Amiga,
Inc. licensing the technology in a manner that is similar to that of
open architecture and in a way that the populous can make the
innovations, the AMIGA may have a bright future ahead after all.
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Once a GUI was established, the principles and benefits of an open
architectural design had quite a significant part of Window's success.
The AMIGA must, in some way, follow this path. It must profit and
benefit from ideas that have gone before it that could make it into a
great technology. It should utilize some of the best technologies in the
computer industry in combination with known business models that have
proven successful.
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