Slecht nieuws voor Amiga fans: Gateway heeft besloten dat er geen nieuwe Amiga computers zullen komen (het wegsturen van twee hoge jopies, twee weken geleden, was al een onheilspellend voorteken). In plaats daarvan gaat Amiga zich richten op de ontwikkeling van een nieuw gebruiksvriendelijke Internet interfeesje:
Amiga's new direction may have been prompted by the input of recently hired high-profile scientists from Apple Computer, Xerox Parc, and Silicon Graphics. They'll work in a new research facility in San Jose, Calif. Further details regarding Amiga's new strategy, its technology partners, and investors in the project will be announced later this month, insiders say.The primary goal is to develop a powerful and widely disseminated interface that will make it easier for people to access content on the Web. Consider the process of downloading music. Today a user must execute a complicated process to find a Web site and download music to be used on a special player. In contrast, Amiga's new software could be downloaded or embedded onto networked TVs, telephones, or personal digital assistants, and will allow users to get what they want through simple touch-screen or voice commands. "You'll be able to say, 'Show me the news or the weather' and you won't have to wait through the hassles of booting up a PC," one source says. Later, Amiga envisions a business selling software applications over the Internet that will add functionality to Net appliances.
"The idea is to enable an extra layer of processing on top of Sun's standard to connect devices, then license it to manufacturers. It's not a bad idea, but the competition will be a little tough," says David B. Haynie, a former senior designer at Amiga and cofounder of Met@box, a German maker of set-top boxes.
"LIVING ON GARBAGE." For the Amiga faithful, Amiga's new direction will be a disappointment. "We've been living on scraps out of the garbage since Commodore went bust," says Harv Laser, founder of the AmigaZone.com online service. "This hurts."
