Mr. Compton,
Because there is such a variety of what users want in
packaging and expandability of the Amiga, I would think there is
really only one way to go with it. Put the Amiga on a board or two
like any expansion board. We already have CPU cards, ram boards, and
other expansion boards. What should take the location or place of the
standard mother board is what the A4000 daughter board is, what the
high-flyer board is - a slot board.
Certainly by just focusing on improving the electronic
technology of the Amiga in the form of an expansion board(s) while
leaving it open for others to package it, power it, expand it, etc..
will contribute greatly to making available the resources (otherwise
spent else where) to improve the technology. This will also take alot
of expectations off of the owner (VIScorp) of the Amiga Technology as
to how it should be packaged, expanded, even marketed, etc..
Expectation no-one has really been able to meet, due the variety of
use.
Maybe I don't know enough about the integration of the Amiga
electronics but I would think it can be put onto one board or board
set (like the toaster).
The external or attached devices - The mouse has been redone by
others and monitors have been built by others. Even the power supply is
nothing special. The Keyboard may be the only external device to keep,
but in some Amiga units even it has been replaced and even removed
altogether. But the Keyboard is the one place where the trade-name can
be shown. Some want IDE, others SCSI or SCSI-II/III, and there's zorro
slots, ISA slots, etc... From the A1000 to the A4000T there is the
constant end user request, expandability. Another request is to improve
the technology, bring it upto and beyond what other systems have (this
is founded in the base technology of the tri-processors - the custom
chips team-working).
There really is only one way to give everyone what they want.
Simply produce an Amiga board with an expansion connector that allows
one to add what all they want via an expansion board of which third
parties will produce a variety of. An open-ended design that is only
one board. No more need to re-manufacture or re-tool, leaving this up
to those who are going to do it anyway (yea, I did the piggy-back ram
mod. to my A1000 and later added an insider board).
The only time there is a need to redo the Amiga board is in
improving the technology, not in re-configuring old technology to fit
some case or product idea. The board/unit should be such that it need
not be re-done just for a new product or case. That of the Amiga that
is open to change (within the current, not new, technology used)
should be made external to the board as an add on expansion.
If you want a laptop, CD32, Tower, Desk-top, rack-mount, ED,
etc.. Build it yourself or buy it from someone who does or will. Who
knows maybe someone will even come up with the idea of building a case
set that may be attached to each other like blocks to form a desk-top
or stood up for a tower, with the ability of the drive bays to be
turned accordingly. Maybe even the ability to add spacers and brackets
for a rack mount. Power Supply blocks of different power, drive blocks
of different drive count compacities, expansion blocks of different
number of boards. External port blocks with different abilities, etc...
But the basic blocks would be the Amiga Block, power block and the
external port block. The Amiga Block would have connectors for only
monitor, audio out, mouse (1), and keyboard. The Amiga block would have
a fan and a power LED, but no power supply, no floppy drive, no
parrallel port, no serial port, no drive bays, but it would have the
expansion edge that can be accessed from either side (or top and bottom
if turned this way) due to the small expansion board the Amiga board is
attached to. And feet are attachable where one migth need them as well
as the blocks having a way to secure themselves together. The width of
such a unit would of course be that of handeling an installable drive
and it's depth, well you get the idea.
What has got to be the biggest complaint of Amiga users is that
this or that should have been done this way or that way hardware wise.
Well maybe it's time to let them have only themselves to complain to.
Maybe it'll cost a little more, at first, but it is in
quantity that the price should fall, not in redesigning it to have
less or different ability. Everyone wants a lower price, but I can only
wonder what the price would be if the A4000, A4000T, A1200, CD32 Amiga
board was only one board instead of 4 or more boards. Certainly
quantity is important, and in looking at divide and conqure I can only
wonder if so many Amiga boards haven't contributed to the fall. Again
That which is different about these boards, not size but configuration,
should be put on it's own board and leave the KEY AMIGA board without
built-in limitations (leave that to what all is attached).
One might think that doing such would cause to much of a split
as to expansion compatabilities. But I believe it is more likley to
cause some standards to be set. No hardware expansion developer needs
to redesign packaging. Hardware development is better focused on what
goes into the hardware abilities, not outer shell. Package developer
are the ones to design and build complete units such as the CD32,
desk-top, tower, rack-mount, ED, lap-top, etc.. or such unit parts as
the Block idea above. Actually the largest Amiga based machine is
probably some coin based game machine in which it (Amiga) is hidden
(like so many Amiga based machines - including those hidden under some
skirt at a trade show -> Scala 100 for the IBM platform was being
demo'ed buy such a hidden Amiga.) In the Video/Film industry it (the
Amiga) was hidden, even to the point of just covering the Amiga Logo
up with a Toaster logo and selling it as an external device for the
Mac?
Sooooo.... Go with the flow and let's stop trying to second
guess or put constraints on those whom all have good ideas as to how
to package the Amiga, because they are going to do it anyway. Put it
on a board that has an open-ended connector. A board that has such
demensions that make it very versatile in use. And this is half of
what the Amiga is really all about. The other half being the OS.
I believe an advantage to doing this would be a reduction of
advertising/marketing cost or expectations of VIScorp. As the Amiga has
been, it's been mostly up to the third party developers to promote it
anyway, so open the door and let the idea of value added reselling
really take place. It's those whom sell to the end users that hear what
the end user wants, so let them build what the end-user wants. Don't
force on the seller constraints that are not needed. And certainly
don't force on the end-user constraints they would rather not have.
Personally my perspective of Emerson is that they are a
company whom has produced such devices that are known not to last as
long, but are generally cheaper to buy. Fine, but don't let it rub
off, Don't let this be a reason for not allowing higher quality
devices from being produced using the Amiga. Who really cares as to
how the Amiga is used, so long as it is used enough to finance
advancing the technology of it. And this include the OS.
In summary, don't try to second guess what people want to do
with the Amiga, how they want to expand off of it, package it, but
simply allow them to do so, while focusing on advancing the technology
of the chip set and OS. Design or spec out a building block case type
set and let everyone have at it.
The Idea is only buy what you want, can afford, need - granted this
may overall add to the casing and number of fans but no-one
can complain about not having enough space, power, cooling,
etc. Thru standard and quantity, cost will not be that much
more but versatility will out do such costs.
Product #1a - The Amiga Board/card
Product #1b - The Amiga Standard CPU/ram board/card
-replaceable by third party accellerators (as
it is now)
Product #2 - The Amiga OS
Product #3 - The Amiga Keyboard
Product #4 - The Amiga Mouse
Product #5 - The Amiga board block case w/basic ports
(large enough for the CPU/RAM board)
Product #6 - The Amiga power block w/built in fan
Product #7 - The Amiga port block (parallel, serial, and a 2nd
mouse port that can be switched to serial)
Product #8 - The Amiga drive block w/fan and interface card
options (SCSI, IDE, etc..)
Product #9 - The Amiga expansion bus block (holds four cards)
w/fan mount.
Product #10 -The Amiga block connector kit (includes a card
edge for connecting two blocks and
hardware for securing blocks together)
Product #11a - 11? - various sizes of Amiga block cases
Product #12a - 12? - various sizes (to fit #11) of pass thru
boards w/expansion slots.
Third party hardware developers following/using the block
concept will figure out things like feedable fax/copy blocks,
card swipe blocks, camera blocks, ups/battery block, etc..
If the block concept is done right, someone will figure a way
to easily add an LCD Display, with a keyboard mount, to the side
and you'll suddenly have a portable Amiga.
What blocks would the A4000 have? It has an expansion block
(mine contains a Video Toaster, Emplant card), a power block
(that I know can be put into at least half the space of the
expansion block), a drive block (that I know could be put into
a block the size of the expansion block), an Amiga and CPU/RAM
Block (also fitable into the size of an expansion block w/room
to spare), and a port block (1/4 or less of the height of the
expansion block). And I can add additional Blocks as needed. As
well as an LCD Display and Keyboard mount Without having to
Buy another system to become portable.
Fact is this would possibly be smaller than the Portable Case
I saw, though it might be a little heaver. As far as a lap-top
goes, someone will build it and plug an Amiga Board into it.
If there is any one thing about the Amiga that attracts
people, it would have to be what they can do with it. And there is no
way for any owner of the Amiga technology to see what so many will do
with it, before they do so.
Thank for reading,
Tim Rue
Email: timrue@mindspring.com
Copyright © 1988, 1994, 1996 Timothy V. Rue