3 ms·

To an extent you are right, lots of Amiga software and hardware has traditionally been commercial and proprietary in a (maybe misguided) effort to save the plat

by einr 6y ago

To an extent you are right, lots of Amiga software and hardware has traditionally been commercial and proprietary in a (maybe misguided) effort to save the platform. That said, there is a lot of open source hardware too nowadays, here's a very helpful list: https://github.com/grovdata/Amiga_Sources https://github.com/grovdata/Amiga_Sources

teddyh 6y ago
From what I saw, this attutude was there from the very beginning, from the top down. (This has been observed before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22888726 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22888726)
- einr 6y ago
  Probably true. As an aside, coming from a Linux/Windows background and having partially moved to Mac recently, I observe the same of the Mac community. For instance, when Big Sur launched, there was a tiny little utility that did nothing but change the color of the menu bar, and they wanted something like five dollars for it. Lots of stuff like this on Mac, I find. Popular FTP clients and text editors and disk utilities and stuff like that, they all cost money. The equivalents on Windows are more often than not free-as-in-beer. Just an observation. But yeah, surely AmigaOS would benefit from being open source and free software in 2021, like EmuTOS or RISC OS Open. Unfortunately the ownership of the core parts of the OS has fallen into less than optimal hands (Cloanto...) and/or is still encumbered by patents or rights issues. So it goes. There is AROS though of course.
  - fractallyte 6y ago
    Just curious: what's wrong with Cloanto?
    - einr 6y ago
      Didn't see your reply until much later, but in case you're still wondering, this blog post about sums it up: https://jonlennartaasenden.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/hyperion-vs-cloanto-the-longest-running-lawsuit-in-the-history-of-computing/ https://jonlennartaasenden.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/hyperion...
      - fractallyte 6y ago
        Thank you, that's interesting! But it's just one side, and I wonder what the other side would write...
the_af 6y ago
> lots of Amiga software and hardware has traditionally been commercial and proprietary in a (maybe misguided) effort to save the platform Wow. "Misguided" seems like the understatement of the century. How can a niche retro platform be "saved" by keeping everything proprietary (and often expensive)?
- pjmlp 6y ago
  Most likely because the people keeping the platform alive have better things to do than offer free beer, and would rather spend their lives doing something else instead.
  - the_af 6y ago
    I'm not sure I follow. Giving something to the community, either for free or gratis, in a hobbyist space such as this one is not more work. It's clear people in the retro computing scene feel passionate about it -- they'd rather spend their time doing this and not something else (and if you see the people writing retro games, they are willing to put a lot of work into it). So how can this closed/proprietary mindset help "save" the platform? It only caters to the very small niche of people who are willing to pay relatively large sums for custom hardware & software with no real use (it's a hobby) and who will take it all to their graves.
    - pjmlp 6y ago
      Because the people charging for their work, would do something else if that wasn't the case, thus there wouldn't exist anything at all. They are passionate, just not that passionate. People doing retro games also happen to actually sell them, with nice packaging.
      - the_af 6y ago
        Yes, some sell them. It's puzzling to me, because this effectively narrows down their audience. > Because the people charging for their work, would do something else if that wasn't the case, thus there wouldn't exist anything at all. I don't know that this is the case for Amiga enthusiasts. They chose this not for the money, but because they love retro computing. They wouldn't be doing something else, just like a writer or an artist wouldn't. And by making their output proprietary -- and pricey! -- they are narrowing down their audience, which is the opposite of "saving" the platform. I've seldom seen people more passionate about their hobby (note: hobby, not business) than retro computing fans.

by einr 6y ago

teddyh 6y ago

From what I saw, this attutude was there from the very beginning, from the top down. (This has been observed before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22888726 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22888726)

einr 6y ago
Probably true. As an aside, coming from a Linux/Windows background and having partially moved to Mac recently, I observe the same of the Mac community. For instance, when Big Sur launched, there was a tiny little utility that did nothing but change the color of the menu bar, and they wanted something like five dollars for it. Lots of stuff like this on Mac, I find. Popular FTP clients and text editors and disk utilities and stuff like that, they all cost money. The equivalents on Windows are more often than not free-as-in-beer. Just an observation. But yeah, surely AmigaOS would benefit from being open source and free software in 2021, like EmuTOS or RISC OS Open. Unfortunately the ownership of the core parts of the OS has fallen into less than optimal hands (Cloanto...) and/or is still encumbered by patents or rights issues. So it goes. There is AROS though of course.
- fractallyte 6y ago
  Just curious: what's wrong with Cloanto?
  - einr 6y ago
    Didn't see your reply until much later, but in case you're still wondering, this blog post about sums it up: https://jonlennartaasenden.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/hyperion-vs-cloanto-the-longest-running-lawsuit-in-the-history-of-computing/ https://jonlennartaasenden.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/hyperion...
    - fractallyte 6y ago
      Thank you, that's interesting! But it's just one side, and I wonder what the other side would write...

the_af 6y ago

> lots of Amiga software and hardware has traditionally been commercial and proprietary in a (maybe misguided) effort to save the platform Wow. "Misguided" seems like the understatement of the century. How can a niche retro platform be "saved" by keeping everything proprietary (and often expensive)?

pjmlp 6y ago
Most likely because the people keeping the platform alive have better things to do than offer free beer, and would rather spend their lives doing something else instead.
- the_af 6y ago
  I'm not sure I follow. Giving something to the community, either for free or gratis, in a hobbyist space such as this one is not more work. It's clear people in the retro computing scene feel passionate about it -- they'd rather spend their time doing this and not something else (and if you see the people writing retro games, they are willing to put a lot of work into it). So how can this closed/proprietary mindset help "save" the platform? It only caters to the very small niche of people who are willing to pay relatively large sums for custom hardware & software with no real use (it's a hobby) and who will take it all to their graves.
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    Because the people charging for their work, would do something else if that wasn't the case, thus there wouldn't exist anything at all. They are passionate, just not that passionate. People doing retro games also happen to actually sell them, with nice packaging.
    - the_af 6y ago
      Yes, some sell them. It's puzzling to me, because this effectively narrows down their audience. > Because the people charging for their work, would do something else if that wasn't the case, thus there wouldn't exist anything at all. I don't know that this is the case for Amiga enthusiasts. They chose this not for the money, but because they love retro computing. They wouldn't be doing something else, just like a writer or an artist wouldn't. And by making their output proprietary -- and pricey! -- they are narrowing down their audience, which is the opposite of "saving" the platform. I've seldom seen people more passionate about their hobby (note: hobby, not business) than retro computing fans.