˙˙00˙ ˙00˙01˙03˙01The Amiga of the Future?˙00 ˙ ˙ ˙03˙02S.DUVAN / CITRON. AND PIOS ˙02˙01˙01˙00˙ ˙˙01˙It's commonly known that PIOS are working on a computer said to be the Amiga of the future - the PIOS ONE. As a Christmas present, more information on this computer and the question of operating system to use was revealed.˙ ˙00 ˙ ˙Much has been said for and against the PIOS ONE even if the Amiga communtiy hasn't known that much about it. Dr. Peter Kittel, official spokesperson of PIOS and former employee at Commodore - especially active on the web -, has for a long time tried to convince the community that the PIOS ONE neither is a MAC clone nor a PC like Amiga, which operating system that should be used and so on. The PIOS ONE is designed to fit the needs of the current Amiga users. It is low in price even if it's got substantial power using PPC processors. What is the difference between this computer and a PC, then? ˙ ˙˙02˙A Multi-OS Computer˙ ˙00 ˙˙01The user will be able to choose among several alternatives for the Operating System Software, which all will be part of the normal shipment: ˙ ˙˙02BeOS˙01 by Be Inc. is a new, innovative operating system, which supports up-to-date concepts like Multithreading and Multiprocessing. In "Multithreading", each application program is separated into several parallel running "threads" on their own. Thus the software can make optimal use of "Multiprocessing", which means that several microprocessors run simultaneously in a computer independently. ˙ The operating system BeOS combines all qualities of modern software technology: ˙˙02*˙01 Microkernel ˙02*˙01 Preemptive Multitasking ˙02*˙01 Multithreading ˙02*˙01 Symmetrical Multiprocessing ˙02*˙01 Object Oriented design ˙02*˙01 Virtual Memory ˙02*˙01 Memory Protection ˙02*˙01 Client-Server Architecture ˙02*˙01 Modularity ˙02*˙01 POSIX and OpenGL compatibility ˙02*˙01 Graphical User Interface ˙02*˙01 UNIX-compatible bash Shell ˙ ˙Through all this, it is extremely fast, efficient in memory usage and harddisk storage, and still extremely compact. So you can start already with comparably low hardware effort and still exploit the power of a RISC computer. It's easy to use for the user, and easy to program for the developer. The operating system is future-proof, as it's designed after the most recent findings and designed so modularly that it can be easily expanded. BeOS ships standard with a complete development environment, consisting of the C++ compiler CodeWarrior from Metrowerks and complete documentation about the compiler, BeOS, and about further provided tools. I can assure you, just having seen the BeOS in action at the Party '96, that it's really cool. For some time, I've thought that Windoze would take over the world, but now I know that there is an alternative for everyone. The AmigaOS is, unfortunately, not up to date anymore and hasn't been for quite a while. The BeOS, however, really introduces some new concepts to the user friendliness and ease of the programmer. I haven't gone through this in detail, though, but I can say that I was impressed with what I saw. ˙ ˙˙02p-OS ˙01by proDAD is an operating system, which builds the bridge to the AMIGA world. Thus it is an extremely fast, compact, and efficient operating system which promises to get the maximum performance out of the up-to-date RISC hardware. The goal of this strategic alliance is to create with united forces an optimal combination of powerful but inexpensive hardware with an innovative operating system which bases on a future-proof concept. To achieve this, engineering people like Andy Finkel, Dave Haynie (both PIOS), and Holger Burkarth work hand in hand. Their experience in the field, together with their sense for future and innovation, lead to a user friendly, priceworthy, and modern device which will fit all situations. The operating system pOS counts as its strengths among others preemptive multitasking, multiprocessor support, JAVA, RTG, STG, as well as unbeatable compactness and consequentially speed. Already ported or currently being ported applications to pOS guarantee a broad offering of software in all thinkable areas from the start of distribution. Through pOS, the portable OS, which runs also on AMIGA 68k and AMIGA PPC as well as other systems, it becomes possible to integrate the new PIOS ONE hardware into an existing world of powerful applications. By this, the AMIGA market is opened, revived, and expanded, software developments become profitable again, and thus this is pOSitive activity for the market and of course for its usership. An advantage which multiplies with every new pOS-supported computer - an advantage which can only be offered by powerful hardware cooperating with a powerful OS! At the same time, it is possible on this purely PowerPC-based computer to run the operating system and the applications natively and thus much faster than on 68k computers or an emulation of them. The appreciated AMIGA feeling is returning. Overtuned systems with bloated operating systems now can be considered horrors of the past. The operating system pOS already exists, as it was also officially confirmed and was recognized in the market with considerable resonance. The PIOS ONE hardware will be completed already at the beginning of January. The completed system will be shown for the first time at CeBIT 97 and be available probably from May/June 1997. ˙ ˙˙02Linux ˙01is a platform independent operating system for highest demands. Porting Linux to PPC have already begun or is soon to begin. ˙ ˙The so-called ˙02null-series˙01 of the PIOS one - which is for developers only - may be ordered right now and is (taxes included) 2898 DM for the full 200 Mhz version. The completed system will be shown for the first time at CeBIT 97 and be available probably from May/June 1997. The total price for the entry model will be around US $1000. Distribution will be handled through world wide distribution centers and existing or newly acquired dealer networks. ˙ ˙˙02˙Hardware˙ ˙00 ˙˙01The hardware impresses by its modular concept, which drives the performance to new heights thanks to newest RISC technology. But it still allows for a priceworthy entry level, so that everyone can join the PowerPC world without being excluded from being able to upgrade to workstation niveau. The base configuration consists of two boards, the motherboard and the CPU module, plus peripherals like drives, casing, and power supply. The motherboard contains the basic elements of the computer, the three PCI and two ISA slots, as well as the audio part and all I/O, everything in proven standard technology, as it's used reliably and at low expenses in industry standard computers. Graphics is provided by a PCI-bus card. The CPU module is plugged on the motherboard, and it contains besides the CPU chip also the system RAM (in standard DIMM sockets) and cache RAM (also socketed, optional) as well as the control circuitry for all this. This way, maximum performance is assured also with faster CPUs. CPUs of the PowerPC 603 family are used, they can be shipped with clock frequencies of currently 133 to 200 MHz. In the future, also CPU modules with more CPUs for multiprocessor operation are possible. Also the processors are easily exchangeable among each other, so that it's easy to build an upgradable computer which can be equipped with a more powerful processor model later. For the PowerPC family, there exist concrete plans for the next years for their further development. Especially optimized versions for Multimedia applications and for extremely high computing power are announced. ˙ ˙˙02˙Details and Specifications˙ ˙00 ˙˙01Motherboard ˙˙02*˙01 diverse glue logic and control chips ˙02*˙01 Input/Output: ˙ + EIDE for harddisks and CD-ROM + floppy 1.44 MB + bidirectional parallel interface + serial interfaces for modem, MIDI, etc. + mouse and keyboard in PC standard on serial interfaces + PC-style game port + provision for USB (Universal Serial Bus) + 16-Bit audio onboard ˙˙02*˙01 3 PCI bus slots, one occupied with PC-style graphics card ˙02*˙01 2 ISA bus slots ˙02*˙01 board complies with ATX standard form factor ˙ CPU Module ˙˙02*˙01 CPU chip from the PPC 603 family, currently with 133 to 200 MHz ˙02*˙01 2 DIMM sockets for system RAM ˙02*˙01 1 DIMM socket for cache (optional) ˙02*˙01 controller chip(s) for RAM, PCI bus and cache (currently Motorola 105) ˙ The interface to the mainboard is designed in a way, so that in future also CPU modules with several CPUs for symmetric multiprocessing are possible. Case and Peripherals ˙˙02*˙01 ATX standard case with power supply ˙02*˙01 mouse: serial, PC standard version ˙02*˙01 keyboard: serial, PC standard version or Windows version ˙ To contact ProDAD or PIOS, write to: PIOS Computer AG Borsigstr. 5 D-31135 Hildesheim Germany proDAD Software Feldelestr. 24 D-78194 Immendingen Germany ˙01