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[News] Merlancia announce a series of computersANN.lu
Posted on 20-Oct-2000 09:09 GMT by Teemu I. Yliselä33 comments
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On this page, Merlancia Systems Engineering Labs (who seem to be affiliated with the Amiga dealer of the same name) announce the Torro series of multimedia computers, all running the new Amiga DE. They include desktops, handhelds, set-top-boxes and whatnot and run on Motorola processors (PPC and Coldfire) and Merlancia's own CPU (?). Make of it what you wish...

Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 1 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Teemu I. Yliselä on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Sure it smells like a hoax, but what the hey, I thought I'd post it anyway. :)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 2 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by bbuilder on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
I'm 100% sure that it is a hoax.
Someone trying to fool people, just like the iWin stuff...
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 3 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Harald on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
AmigaDE? What's that? Well, it seems to be a hoax for sure.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 4 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Harald on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 3 (Harald):
But on the other hand, they put quite some effort into it. Nice graphics, well designed layout ...
Nevertheless, it's a hoax, I say.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 5 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Mario on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Hmm..yes it looks like another hoax but we'll see if Bill McEwen says anything about it :)
Remember: "If its not on Amiga.com website, it's not true!"
;)
-=Mario
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 6 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Stefano on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 4 (Harald):
Well, if you ask me, I find their webpage terribly unprofessional, especially on the graphical side. My vote: it's an hoax.
Stefano.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 7 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Per Jonsson on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Poor sods if isn't a hoax...
/per
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 8 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by torsten on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Funny detail: someone misstyped their trademark MMC as "MCC" :-))
(at the top of the page)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 9 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Frederik on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 3 (Harald):
AmigaDEAmiga Digital Environment or in otherwords Operating environment, which
was the first words used.
Maybe it is a hoax maybe it is not.
But lets face it, the new amiga is not going to be an A4k with a new processor.
So why not let ppl do what they want, instead of calling everything a hoax.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 10 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by MIKE on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 9 (Frederik):
I doubt it's a hoax, this guy (quite a flake) is an Amiga Dealer, and Amiga Fanatic
he attends the US Amiga shows, he's the guy who wears the Boing Coat, you might of
seen in pictures in the past. He is a real amiga dealer, and well financed, and if
the Amiga One is just a pop board with their OS, then it shouldn't be too difficult
to throw one together.
Regards
MIKE
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 11 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 4 (Harald):
The Iwin website graphics looked far more professional. I say its a hoax.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 12 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Matthew Kille on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
A quote from the Amiga Open mailing list...
From: Gary Peake <gary@amiga.com>
To: open@amiga.com
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 06:57:09 -0700
Subject: Re: AMIOPEN: Merlancia
>http://www.merlancia.com/MISEL/Page2.html
>Are these guys for real?
Yes! Ryan just visited, signed the agreements and is off and running.
He has great faith in what we are doing, what you guys are doing and in
himself.
--
Gary Peake
Director - Developer Relations & Support
Amiga Inc.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 13 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Amifan on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 12 (Matthew Kille):
Is the coldfire supported by Elate?
The G4 based system sounds interesting, AmigaDE not, so a 68k emu and warpOS would be nice.
Anyone? :)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 14 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by embarassed on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 12 (Matthew Kille):
His site is embarassing and he can't have any cash flow considering the business model suggested there..
He may have faith in Amiga but how can Amiga have faith in him?????
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 15 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Rauli Korpi on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
So it seems to be for real...
Maybe this guy is so filthy rich that he can make something out of it. Who knows? We have to wait & see.
If these will be the very first machines equipped with AmigaDE, then he must have some production lines running...
And the website... professional or not, he's made it himself and it functions.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 16 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by bbuilder on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 12 (Matthew Kille):
A quote from the Amiga Open mailing list...
...
naah, you are just bullsh*tting me.
I have to go home & check that...
-bbuilder
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 17 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by John Waller on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
This is so funny, tragically funny. If a website is too slick, it is, defacto, a hoax, if it is not slick enough, then, it is a hoax. What is the ratio of graphics/text that determines whether a site is real? Are computer graphics sufficient, or do you need some photos to make it "real?"
Also, it seems that if no one knows anything about a site, then the site *must* be a hoax. That means that anyone putting up a site for the first time is obviously creating a hoax.
To call it a hoax without any info one way or another, is incredibly pompous and arrogant, kinda "Bill Gatesian". Whatever happened to "insufficient data to draw a conclusion?"
At the moment it is nothing but a site making an announcement, nothing more. Whether they are serious, or spoofing, we do not know. Even if nothing comes of it, it does not mean a hoax was involved. All we can do is sit back and watch, time is a great revealer of truth.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 18 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Wow, so the AmigaDE must be much closer to completion than
we thought...
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 19 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by bbuilder on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Ok... I read the page again.
It still sounds so... you know, hoax.
AT case? Who use AT cases any more???
Brushed aluminum, remember MMC at Jim Collas times?
Coldfire? Why bother????
Someone said:
> Wow, so the AmigaDE must be much closer to completion than
> we thought...
Did you see any dates?
So those boxes might come available in 2001/2...?
-bbuilder (I'll wait & see..., not holding my breath, though.)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 20 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by A3K on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Ryan has had those product names on the Merlancia.com "got boing?" site for some time. I believe that he originally intended them to be based around the Boxer motherboard, but be it as the BoXeR appears to be finally 100% USDA certifiably dead, he has shifted focus to the AmigaDE... Forgive me if I am wrong, but that is how I understood things.
The more I read about the new AmigaDE, the more enthusiastic I get. I really can't wait to see the final product. I will admit to being a bit standoffish in the beginning, but Amiga may have something with the DE.
A/3/K
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 21 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Teemu I. Yliselä on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 13 (Amifan):
A Coldfire translator exists for Elate.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 22 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Teemu I. Yliselä on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 19 (bbuilder):
I believe Coldfire is widely used in things like set-top-boxes, where it is intended to be used as well (just as the 68k series has been for quite some time).
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 23 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by szutoman on 19-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
First I would like to say that Ryan from Merlancia is a real neat guy. I interviewed him at AmiWest 2000 and he was talking to Bill MC about System Designs and that he was interested in sell a line of new AmigaDE computers. What was said at the meeting is anyone’s guess. THIS GUY HAD TONS OF STUFF AT AmiWest and did a bang up job there. Merlancia Inc IS FOR REAL…this is not a joke…
You guys really need to lighten up; Don’t kill the bird before it has a chance to fly!!!
szutoman
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 24 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by LuiXitaL on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
So the Amiga One would rise in ... Phoenix... Arizona?
Then again Bill knows some PR tricks and traps.
(He did said mid October, didn`t he? )
"When you are small it`s better to strike fast and move constantly."
The art of War... (and some personal experience =-)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 25 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Crom on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 4 (Harald):
>In Reply to Comment 3:
>But on the other hand, they put quite some effort into it. Nice graphics, well >designed layout ...
Actually both the logos and the layout are weak.
>Nevertheless, it's a hoax, I say.
A couple of years ago these guys tried to market Amiga workstations that never materialized. Oh and what the hell kind of name is MERLANCIA???
I'm amazed at the numbers of companiesannouncing Amiga systems that never ship really sad... Atleast Amiga inc are out there with the SDK.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 26 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by szutoman on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 25 (Crom):
Crom, perhaps you could help Merlancia out and create a swank new logo, seeing that you seem to be somone of some authority in this area.(-: You have critized them, now show us what you can do. Please poast your website and all graphical work that you have done so all of use can consider the merit and quality of your work.(-: His site needs some tweaking, but is not as bad as some of the other "Made BY Amiga" sites I have seen.
If you do not like something, its ok to constructively tell somone; moreover, it is curtious to give them some positive feed back as to what they can do to improve what was just critized.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 27 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Greg on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
It's interesting that no one's made reference to the "Torro" name. Someone knows his Amiga history, at least.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 28 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Scott Kurtz on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
I'm not quite sure what to make of the Merlancia announcement. From an advertising and promotional standpoint, the announcement seems downright amateurish. On the other hand, that doesn't necessarily mean that the planned hardware is not for real. There does seem to be a lack of focus. There are too many different new brand names being suggested. What if Microsoft, instead of announcing the X-Box, had suddenly said: coming soon, the X box, Y box, Z box, Z box junior, and Z2 enhanced box? I remember getting a little bit excited about the initial Antigravity announcement about the Alien Boxer "Neila" system, while thinking that there was something a wee-bit cartoonish or unreal about it. I don't find myself getting excited about Merlancia at all. Maybe I've become too cynical, but something seems amiss with Merlancia and I will remain, for now, very skeptical about them.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 29 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Hagge on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
errr.. check the date.. remember that thing for alternativ oses? remember talk about pre-production boxes? remember speak about specs middle october? That's all for me =)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 30 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Hagge on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
ohhh.. there was "what is amigade, it surely looks like a hoax". AmigaDE are AmigaDigitalEnvironment... thought you'de seen it at www.amiga.com before.
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 31 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 20-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 27 (Greg):
> It's interesting that no one's made reference to the "Torro" name.
> Someone knows his Amiga history, at least.
In this case, it should be "Toro", with just one "r".
Unless it's a mix between "Toro" and "Zorro"... :-)
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 32 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 21-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
In reply to Comment 31 (Anonymous):
I would REALLY like to see Amiga Inc make it, but everything that has
happened in the last months happened in such a unprofessional
fashion... the Mario64 thingy on their website, the way they handle
press releases, everything would be so much clearer if they'd made
separate announcements, eg. first announcing OS3.9 as a transitional
OS release, then announcing new hardware to make existing Amigas ready
for the AmigaOne standard, and the announcing the AmigaOne etc.. The
way they handled it (throwing all the facts into one hard to read
press release) is just so unprofessional and confusing.
Then their website layout, it is not consistent, click a link and you
might think you've stumbled onto a new site...
And have you seen the d'Amiga? I'm sure nobody expected a designer
case a la Apple Mac, after all it's just a dev machine, but it has to
have a huge boing ball on either site (a cheap sticker), making it
look, well, cheap...
And now I'm sorry to say the layout of this new company kinda fits...
I mean one look in a beginner's book on design would tell you how
awful these logos look... Tsunami with a combined "TS" (??) and a
Amiga style "I" with a strange spot on top of it (four very different
styles in one logo).
The technology of Amiga may be extraordinary, they may have very
talented people and the guy wanting to produce this machines is
certainly a true Amiga lover and will eventually sell these machines,
but it seems nobody is able to do some basic PR work.. They will
definitely have to work on this
Merlancia announce a series of computers : Comment 33 of 33ANN.lu
Posted by Merlancia Industries on 21-Oct-2000 22:00 GMT
Hasty moves are often bad ones. We wanted to do a pre-release on the TORRO website for now so that the Amiga community could get a grip on what is currently in the works. For those that think it is BS, I invite you to set up a private conference with us at COMDEX, or after COMDEX in phoenix. We will have a working prototype of the Hurricane at COMDEX. These systems have been in design for eight months now. The release dates on the Hurricane and the eClipS look like the 2nd Q of 2001 to 3rd Q 2001. The release date of the system also depends on the release of the AmigaDE (Digital Environment) which will be the OS of the TORRO series.
To answer a few questions:
1)TORRO is spelled with two "R"s with intention.
2)The original idea for the Tsunami ad the ApocolipS series was to use the BoXeR logic board. After July, this seemed more hopeless than ever. We have therefore decided to design and produce custom boards based on Motorola/IBM technology. For the Tsunami, we are planning the following features:
Motorola PowerPC 7400 (G4) at 500MHz or faster (fastest available at production time).
Dual processor slots if possible.
Up to 1.5GB+ RAM.
PS/2, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 (Firewire, internal and external).
SCSI-3 and IDE/ATA
Other features will have to be determined.
3) We know that the design of the MISEL site is sub-standard. please be aware that it is in "beta" form as of now. We have hired a new web specialist to take care of the MISEL site. The future MISEL site will feature a Flash intro, improved navigation, and a very much needed interface improvement.
4) The logos for the systems are still undergoing small revisions. Much better logos will be online in a week or so.
5) Conceptual sketches and composite drawings will be online shortly as well. We know you are all waiting for this...
6) Please stop the "this is a hoax" threads. Such threads could be considered slanderous and are not true. What do we have to gain by hoaxing the Amiga community? Merlancia Industries has spent enough time dealing with vapour companies. We are not planning on joining them. The only think hoaxing would do is create tension between Merlancia Industries and the Amiga community, thus creating loss of sales and business. We are not planning to do that, by any means.
7) You may e-mail with questions concerning the systems, and suggestions are always appreciated. All we ask, however, is that you do not send an e-mail saying: "When will the TORRO xxx system be available and how much will it cost?".
We will be posting costs when we know the "exact" production cost of the unit. We have no intention of having to change our list price because of an error.
Release dates will be posted in due time, and some have *already* been posted.
8) Merlancia Industries is not a "one man company". Quite the contrary. We have three engineers working on the TORRO series altogether right now, two web designers (merlancia.com and MISEL sites), a new PR handler, and two sales reps. We also have two more in shipping/receiving, thought that is really not anyone's immediate concern or care, if I guess right.
Actually, we are currently looking for Amigans with hardware/software development skills, as we are planning a port of FinalSuite over to AmigaDE as well as an update of FinalSuite for OS3.5/3.9 (No, I have no idea what 3.9 is going to have...sorry...wish I did...).
9) Finally, these systems are not "AmigaOne" systems. They are Merlancia MMC TORRO systems, running the AmigaDE. If Amiga, inc. decides to license us to brand them "Amiga-Anything", then that would be great. We are producing other Amiga merchandising items currently, however.
In closing, we would like to take one more moment of your time to assure you that this is for real. Tens of thousands of dollars have already been spent in the past month on this product series. (We have bank records to prove this...) We are not pumping all this money into a dead end product. At least, i hope we aren't.
Again, thank you for your support to the Amiga platform and community. I am an Amiga user too. I felt the pain and sorrow when CBM died, and Escom Died, and Gateway gave up with all the rest of you. Finally, after all these long six years, it seems that we have a new Amiga system on the horizon. I would like to welcome those that are interested to join the band wagon for the AmigaDE, and those that will stop at 3.3/3.5/3.9, i would like to say that I hope you will change your minds when you actually see what the AmigaDE is all about with your own eyes. We have other products on the drawing board currently that we are not going to announce anytime soon, for fear of another over-reaction like this. Just rest assured, they will rock your world.
Cheers,
Ryan E. A. Czerwinski
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