Amiga selects Linux as their Next Generation OS Kernel

Pátek Červenec 9 16:59:25 CEST 1999

Mili pratele a uzivatle sqveleho Linux OS!

Zda se, ze se nasla dalsi z mnoha platforem, ktera sve cile na trhu spojuje
s timto OS. Tentokrat sice nejde o klasicke Intel-based pocitace, ale myslim
si, ze clanek, ktery mi forwardnul muj kamarad z nemecka je vic nez
zajimavy!

Omluvte proto, ze jeho obsah patri spis do Linux-news, pokud tamjiz neni ...

S pozdravem

--------------------------------------
Vaclav Zelenka
NSD-Maintenance
ALCATEL Czech, s.r.o.
tel. (++420 2) 66094 217
fax (++420 2) 66094 334

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----- Puvodní zpráva -----
Od: Carsten Schroeder <aakt na gmx.de>
Komu: <aakt na gmx.de>
Odesláno: 9. eervence 1999 15:24
Poedmit: AaktInt special (09-Jul-99)

+++ AaktInt special +++ AaktInt special +++ AaktInt special +++

AMIGA uses Linux, NOT QNX, as kernel for the AmigaNG OS (09-Jul-99)
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<<July 9, 1999       Amiga selects Linux as their Next Generation OS Kernel

July 9, 1999 - San Diego, California. Amiga has selected Linux as the OS
kernel for the new Amiga Operating Environment that is scheduled for
release later this year. Amiga is selecting Linux after several months of
evaluating the technical progress of the OS and the tremendous industry
support that Linux has gained.

The development community has given Linux a major endorsement and the
momentum that Linux now enjoys is having a significant impact on the
computer industry. There are a large number of hardware device drivers and
software applications written for Linux already and this number is growing
daily.

"Our strategy for implementing the new Amiga is to integrate the best
technology in the industry into a new, efficient, exciting and
revolutionary computer platform focused on the future'' said Jim Collas,
President and CEO of Amiga. "Using Linux as our OS kernel is only one
component of the overall Amiga Operating Environment.''

Look for more information on the choice of Linux as part of the overall
Amiga Operating Environment in the Executive Update section of our web
site.>>

<<OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY
-----------------------------

Linux Announcement

Dear Amigans,

After months of research and in-depth discussions with all of our
technology partners we have decided to use Linux as the primary OS kernel
for the new Amiga Operating Environment (OE). I know this decision is a
shock to many of you given the previous announcements and activities
relative to QNX. This was a very complicated and difficult decision to make
and I assure you that I didn't make this decision without a significant
amount of research and deliberation. We have been researching Linux since
February but didn't finalized our decision until several weeks ago. We were
planning to communicate it to the Amiga community in the technology brief
that will be released in the next few days.

I am pressed to communicate the Linux decision before the technology brief
because of information released by QNX in the last few days. This
information had not been reviewed or approved for release by Amiga. In
light of our Linux decision, this information is confusing and misleading
so I would like to take the time to clarify the situation. I can't disclose
any details of the Amiga/QNX discussions because of legally binding
confidentiality agreements but I can talk to you about our decision to use
the Linux kernel. I think that you will agree that this is the right
decision once you understand the reasons for this decision.

Before I continue, I should mention that our technology decision does not
reflect negatively on QNX. I believe that QNX is a good company with great
technology. I just believe that Linux gives us a better chance of executing
our plans successfully.

The decision to use QNX as our OS partner on our next generation multimedia
convergence computer (MCC) was made late last year. When I took over as
president of Amiga in February of this year, I initiated an in-depth review
of existing Amiga plans and decisions. As president of Amiga I had to make
sure that we were defining a strategy and an execution plan that would
allow Amiga and the Amiga community to be successful. We reviewed our
strategy, architecture decisions, technology partners, and execution plans.
During this review period we also added a number of very talented and
experienced people to help us finalize our technology and product
decisions. I am confident that we now have a solid and exciting plan that
people can have confidence in.

Linux has been picking up substantial momentum over the past year as a
viable, open OS alternative in the marketplace. This momentum, the growing
commitment to Linux applications from a wide variety of software vendors,
and the growing availability of Linux device drivers from hardware vendors,
makes it a compelling candidate. Additionally, with all of the significant
component suppliers putting resources on writing drivers for Linux it was
difficult to get them to port to yet another operating system. Using the
Linux OS as a foundation for our Amiga OE allows us to leverage a
significant amount of available software drivers and utilities. This allows
us to quickly support multiple graphics cards and other peripherals.

Given the above-mentioned advantages, we decided to do an in-depth
technical analysis of Linux to determine if it was a suitable OS kernel for
our new Amiga operating environment (OE). As we ported parts of our higher
level operating environment and AmigaObjectTM architecture to Linux, we
discovered some significant performance advantages in the Linux kernel in
areas such as distributed object messaging across a network (up to 10X the
performance of Windows NT). Although Linux configurations can be very large
in size, the core pieces of the Linux kernel are actually very small and
efficient. In considering hardware requirements we also found companies
working on hardware components that were optimized for the Linux kernel.
Additionally, Linux is probably the most stable operating system available
in the market. After months of in-depth research we were confident that we
could build an extremely exciting next generation Amiga based on the Linux
OS kernel.

Does this mean that the next generation Amiga will not be unique?
Absolutely not! Remember that the OS kernel is only one component of the
new Amiga OE and the hardware is unique. The revolutionary nature of the
Amiga OE is in the way it extends the traditional operating system to
provide a host environment for a new class of portable applications -
applications that exist in a pervasive networked computing environment. We
will be integrating multiple technologies including an efficient windowing
environment and a unique user interface.

In summary, we decided to use Linux because of the incredible momentum and
the fact that it is solid technology and a good foundation for our new
Amiga OE. Additionally, the Linux community is an impressive force that we
should be aligned with. We share many common values and objectives with the
Linux community. Using Linux as our OS kernel allows us to build a unique
and revolutionary operating environment while leveraging the enormous
momentum of Linux.

The soon to be released technology brief will further explain our
architecture and plans for integrating all of the selected technology. Once
you read it, I am confident that you will understand the revolutionary
nature of the next generation Amiga. I assure you that Amiga and the Amiga
community will be a driving force behind the next computer revolution.

Sincerely,
Jim Collas
President, Amiga>>

(Source: AMIGA - http://www.amiga.com)

In a newsgroup posting Jim Collas adds:

<<I am not very happy with the QNX announcement. This announcement was
neither reviewed nor approved by Amiga. Several weeks ago we made a
decision to use the Linux OS kernel instead of QNX. We were planning to
communicate this decision to the Amiga community in the technology
brief to be released in the next few days. I know this is a shock to
many people given the previous announcements and activities relative to
QNX. I apologize for the way this is being communicated but I have been
put in an awkward position. The formal announcement will be on the
Amiga web site within 12 hours. Please read this for more information.

[...]>>

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