COMMODORE 64 BACK FROM THE DEAD
David Murray
> In article <199808140117...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
> cor...@aol.com (CORD936) wrote:
>
> > The Commodore 64 has resurfaced -- and all the way from Davey Jones' locker.
> > And this time it's ready to sail the Web.
> >
> > Web Computers International, a startup based in the Dutch Antilles, is
> > resurrecting one of the first and, in its day, most popular home PCs by coming
> > to market with the "Commodore C64, Web.it Internet computer."
> >
> > The computer, which expected to sell for less than $400, will be unveiled at
> > the CEbit computer trade show in Hanover, Germany, at the end of August,
> > according to a company statement.
> >
> > Visit Web Computers International Web Page at
> >
> > http://www.webcomputers.net/pages/product.htm
>
> Hmmmm.
>
> A Commodore 64 in name only, it seems.
>
> Still and all, a noble name and worthy of resurrection.
I'd be ashamed to own such a device. I just got through reading the
specifications. It is just a PC just like any other. Woopie! They've got a built
in video converter so you can use it on your TV. That is where the similarity to
the Commodore 64 ends. Not to mention, running Windows3.1? Please! That is the
worst choice ever! ANYTHING would be better than that... Just to name a few: Linux,
OS/2, Windows 95, Windows NT, FreeBSD, heck... even MacOS (if it could be done)
would be tons better.. I hope it fails miserably... The Commodore 64 was much more
innovative than that. Making it run Microsoft products, especially Windows 3.1,
is doing the opposite of what the Commodore 64 did in the 80's. This new Amiga
they are working on, Gee why don't they just make it run Windows3.1 also.. It is
about the same stupidity.
--DavidM.
Lonnie McClure
proxy.airnews.net>, David Murray <w01...@airmail.net> stated:
> This new Amiga they are working on, Gee why don't they just make it run
> Windows3.1 also.. It is about the same stupidity.
calling it OS4) "November box" Amiga that is for development work, and
that the final OS5prod Amiga due by the end of '99 will definitely *NOT*
use an Intel CPU?
The only reason the development machine uses an Intel CPU is because the
software design tools for the new CPU are written for x86 chips (simply
because more people have x86 systems, NOT due to any similarities in the
CPU's).
This has be reiterated several times since the WOA announcement.
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Margie Grimsley
> > This new Amiga they are working on, Gee why don't they just make it run
Where do you find info on the new Amiga. I've been to Gateway's site and
development appears to be in limbo. Have they liscenced someone else to
build a new Amiga? Details, man! How about a URL!!!
> You are aware, aren't you, that the interim OS5dev (they've stopped
> calling it OS4)
Who is "they"?
"November box" Amiga that is for development work, and
> that the final OS5prod Amiga due by the end of '99 will definitely
End of '99? That's gonna be too late!
Ville Jouppi
<eel...@txdirect.net> wrote:
>Lonnie McClure wrote:
>
>> > This new Amiga they are working on, Gee why don't they just make it run
>
>Where do you find info on the new Amiga. I've been to Gateway's site and
>development appears to be in limbo. Have they liscenced someone else to
>build a new Amiga? Details, man! How about a URL!!!
http://www.amiga.com/ ? That's the URL to the Amiga Inc mainpage..
There's loads of info about the Amiga, recent and old to be found on
the net via www or ftp.. Just start with one site and surf on.
--
Universal CBM, PEZ, and TI-calc nut, Scout, Glider pilot, "Student"
Email: vjo...@sci.fi, URL: http://www.sci.fi/~vjouppi/
GSM: +358-40-5679999, IRCNet: Jope
South Park - What more could one wish for?
Lonnie McClure
<eel...@txdirect.net> stated:
> Where do you find info on the new Amiga. I've been to Gateway's site and
> development appears to be in limbo. Have they liscenced someone else to
> build a new Amiga? Details, man! How about a URL!!!
Aside from the Amiga newsgroups and Euromags (make the Euromag: October
will be the last issue of "CU Amiga", leaving only "Amiga Format"), two
online Amiga news sources are:
http://www.cucug.org/atnews.html
http://www.amiga.org/news.shtml
> End of '99? That's gonna be too late!
It takes time to design revolutionary new hardware and rewrite the OS to
support it. While it might be great for AI/Gateway to introduce a totally
new Amiga for Christmas of this year, the reality of it is that this is
not feasible. The last "new" computer I can think of that was developed
from the ground up in less than a year was the Atari ST, which used more
off the shelf than custom chips, and an OS that was derived from existing
Digital Research code. Even then, the first 520ST's had some rough edges
(no OS in ROM yet, and some reliability problems).
AI did caution users a few months ago that "Things would get worse before
they got better". The wait for the new hardware is the cause of the
"worse".
In the meantime, there is new hardware in the "classic" Amiga line (as
they now call it). Index's BoXeR motherboard would probably have been out
by now, if not for some problems related to parts Quikpak was to have
supplied that have been tied up by a dispute with the Escom bankruptcy
trustee. One way or another, it seems this will be resolved. Apparently
the time is being used to design more functions into the BoXeR's
programmable circuitry, so in time those parts will no longer be needed.
There are other developments as well, but you should be able to pick
those up on the AWD and Amiga.org websites.
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