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Hi,
It's my opinion that the only way to create a potentionally healthy TOS based computer platform is to create something open source like.
I am 23 YO and about to graduate as an computer hardware engineer and I would love to do some hardware design in my spare time.
The problem as I see it: It is not to hard to design a 68060 / dragonball / Coldfire / PPC based system (i'm talking about hardware design only), but it is hard to make it a TOS machine.
Why is that, you ask? Well, to run TOS, it needs to be compatible...
To be compatible, you need to do many things "the same" as others did it (atari, medusa-systems, milan-computer, czuba-tech..)
But that's the problem. How DID they do it?
See what I mean? If the Milan III is cancelled by Milan Computer Systems, it wouldn't be too hard for someone else to pick up the pieces and continue development, if only the pieces were available! It's stupid that when I want to design a 68060 TOS computer i have to do all the research all over again while everything is allready done by Milan and Medusa.
It's also stupid that when I want to design a PPC based atari I have to have profound knowledge of how the original ST works ('backwards engineering'); It would be a lot easier to continue were e.g. the Milan-designers left.
Why not give away your complete hardware design including VHDL descriptions, rom codes etc? I mean you stated clearly that you don't believe in it anymore? It's not like you expect to gain a lot of money for it anymore!?
But there's more: Software.
Take MAGIC. I want to see improvements. I want to see it run in NATIVE PPC mode. I even want to port it to PPC myself... but I can't because: NO SOURCES AVAILABLE!
Take calamus. Great Program. Great Support, even now. Because of Calamus, ATARI DTP is still alive & kicking. But I'm afraid what happens if invers quits with it. No decent DTP package is left then.
The same goes for Cubase, Papyrus, just to name two.
I am willing to pay for a program if the sources are included, this way I am sure that development will continue by someone else if the original author quits (at least it isn't impossible to continue development).
So: what am I talking about?
Czuba, XTOS, TOSter, put ALL your resources online, maby some young engineers would like to help. Don't be afraid they might rip your work and charge money for it, designing an TOSmachine isn't considered economicaly healthy anyway.
As for the operating system: We should get the sources of Magic OR leave it for dead and continue with FreeMint and Xaes (or Woller: make N.AES sources available to the public).
As for software, Project Highwire sets an example: An open source compeditor for CAB, Draconist, let's do simular things with Cubase, Calamus, Papyrus.
Hey, I'm not saying that people shouldn't buy these products, in contrary. But I'm afraid if a author stops supporting his product (example: cubase, CAB) the atari scene is left with a big gap / black hole because there's no way for a single individue or even a complete crew to fill the gap; in other words to do it all over again from scratch.
Fellow ATARIANS, please give me you opinon on this.
Also: Let me know if there are young unexperienced engineers out there who feel the same as I do: confident about designing a hardware-platform but not enough knowledge of atari's registers, hardware issues etc. to design a TOS compatible hardware platform.
Any information of where I can obtain the information about the hardware I mentioned is also welcome of course.
Replicant
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We NEED Open Source Hardware & Software new
