[Rant] EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower | ANN.lu |
Posted on 18-Oct-2001 13:16 GMT by Christian Kemp | 52 comments View flat View list |
First pictures of purpose designed high-end tower for the AmigaOne "[..] So as well as impressing existing Amiga users we also expect the AmigaOne to produce some real head-turning and jaw-dropping amongst the Windows-using fraternity. [..]" If the preliminary pictures are anything to go by, then the side view certainly looks nice, but why would anyone put the CD-ROM drives at the bottom of a tower and have four external 3.5" bays but only three 5.25" ones? Please discuss.
Update: This seems to be the tower from which Eyetech's version is derived. And at 535€, it isn't exactly cheap.
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 1 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Mikey C on 18-Oct-2001 11:20 GMT | Has anyone seen the pictures/artist impression of the tower.
- Drool, Drool, Drool, slurp.
Damn, this waiting I want an A1 in THAT Cool tower NOW!!!
Mikey C |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 2 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Anon User on 18-Oct-2001 11:26 GMT | I thought the AmigaOne was a standard ATX motherboard? Can't we just use whatever 3rd party case and power supply we want?
Don't get me wrong they can build cases if they want. And I suppose something that says Amiga might be a good idea. But, we could just use some bubble stickers with the boing logo on whatever case we wanted to use. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 3 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Solar (BAUD) on 18-Oct-2001 11:31 GMT | *Two* fans, not even counting power supply and gfx board? Hmmm.... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 4 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Smithy on 18-Oct-2001 11:33 GMT | On the top picture there is the word "NEYE" or "NAYA". What does this mean? |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 5 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Christian Kemp on 18-Oct-2001 11:35 GMT | In reply to Comment 4 (Smithy): > On the top picture there is the word "NEYE" or "NAYA". What does this mean?
From the press release:
| So ... over the last few months we've been working closely with French
| industrial designers Naya Design to come up with what we believe is a really
| stunning housing for the AmigaOne. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 6 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Lennart Fridén on 18-Oct-2001 11:38 GMT | Well, I wouldn't like to insert a CD into one of those standing on the floor (the tower that is, not me). Maybe one must mount the CD-ROm upside down and turn the tower upside down as well...:-) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 7 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Ben Yoris on 18-Oct-2001 11:39 GMT | I put Alan Redhouse and Naya Design in contact a few months ago and I can tell you one thing : Naya's towers are COOL !
One of the best piece of industrial design I've seen. That's really great they decided to work together. Hey Tony, keep up the good work ! |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 8 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Lennart Fridén on 18-Oct-2001 11:41 GMT | In reply to Comment 4 (Smithy): NAYA is the design company. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 9 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by m0ns00n on 18-Oct-2001 11:41 GMT | Looking forward to see the photographic pictures :-) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 10 of 52 | ANN.lu |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 11 of 52 | ANN.lu |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 12 of 52 | ANN.lu |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 13 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Sinan on 18-Oct-2001 12:41 GMT | Cristo Classic costs 550 Euros...too expensive..
Let's hope AmigaOne tower isn't as expensive as this one... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 14 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Lennart Fridén on 18-Oct-2001 12:49 GMT | In reply to Comment 13 (Sinan): Yeezz! That much money for a tower? What do they think we are? Amiga users? Erhm...rats! :-) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 15 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by priest on 18-Oct-2001 12:53 GMT | Ouch... shoud have thought that when they mentioned that "high end" stuff... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 16 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Joe "Floid" Kanowitz on 18-Oct-2001 12:53 GMT | Hmm.. Photographs? ;)
http://www.naya.fr/html/02_cristoclassic_en.html
The layout makes some minor sense. It reminds me of an inverted Cooler Master (wonder if it's based off one.. ;)), and keeping the drives low does keep them out of the hot air at the top of the case. (Hard to say if they get any airflow at all, though, with the supply venting upwards...) It makes drives more accessible, when the case is on a desk- monitor hutches are passe, anyhow (one's currently helping my 17" die of heat)- but as a downside, you can't stick a mug or an ashtray in front of the case. It does seem that something better could be done with the dead area at the top front, and the apparent lack of front-mounted USB jacks. A case like this really cries out for internal blinkenlights, and maybe a quick USB hack is in order- plug a little daughterboard onto an internal header, and let the machine pulse different colors and brightnesses, depending on system status.. (Hm, there's room for an LCD, or a nice set of matrix/bar displays, behind that front clear bit)...
When it comes to 5.25" bays, how many do you really need? I find myself more cramped for 3.5"- multiple HDs + floppy + MO drivepain. The downside is that you'd have to eat a 5.25" bay to mount USB headers in a reasonable position, and then 2x5.25" does get a touch cramped.
Aside from all that, the next iMac, it isn't, but it'll look sweet at shows, and prevent any arguments about what's really inside the case at demos. :) I wouldn't drop Euro/$ 535 on one, myself, but with a little added lighting, I can see it turning heads, and drawing people into Amiga dealerships... (Downside of an Al case- where do you find an Al monitor to match it? :)) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 17 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by ehaines on 18-Oct-2001 13:18 GMT | In reply to Comment 2 (Anon User): > I thought the AmigaOne was a standard ATX motherboard?
Yes.
> Can't we just use whatever 3rd party case and power supply we want?
Yes.
> Don't get me wrong they can build cases if they want.
Yes.
> And I suppose something that says Amiga might be a good idea.
Yes.
> But, we could just use some bubble stickers with the boing logo on
> whatever case we wanted to use.
Yes.
(I'm not into fancy towers myself; mine sits in a cubbyhole on the
floor so I don't really see it much.) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 18 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Christian Kemp on 18-Oct-2001 13:18 GMT | In reply to Comment 16 (Joe "Floid" Kanowitz): > When it comes to 5.25" bays, how many do you really need? I find myself more
> cramped for 3.5"- multiple HDs + floppy + MO drivepain. The downside is
> that you'd have to eat a 5.25" bay to mount USB headers in a reasonable
> position, and then 2x5.25" does get a touch cramped.
I'm currently using two external 5.25" bays (CD, CDRW), two external 3.5" bays (floppy, 4xUSB) and two internal 3.5" bays (HDs). The "EyeTech" tower would only allow me to add one more 3.5" device before I'd have to resort to buying extra adapters or external storage space.
As far as I'm concerned, for the crazy amount of money involved, I'd rather have something like this: http://www.coolermaster.com/products/atc/atc100.html :) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 19 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by PaulT on 18-Oct-2001 14:07 GMT | Even if it's to be the 'high end' model, there's no way that adding 400 Eu to the price (over a normal tower case cost) is going to help Amiga or Eyetech. I'd really like to support the new model, and was thinking strongly of getting an official A1. But the difference between, say $1300 and $1700 would probably be a deal-killer! I'd say that producing a few of these for dealers, collectors, reviewers or whatever would be a positive. They'd grab a few magazine covers, for sure. But making all of the machines to that price point could cut sales heavily. Remember, these are the days of fast G4 Macs and 1.4 GHz Athlons pretty near the $1000 price point....
PaulT (remove nospam for mail) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 20 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Conor on 18-Oct-2001 14:23 GMT | I have to say that that is the worst looking tower I have ever seen. It's absolutely rubbish. Eyetech are going to lose a lot of money on that tower. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 21 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Ben Yoris on 18-Oct-2001 14:27 GMT | I know Naya Design and I can tell you this won't be 535 Euros. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 22 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Bob Kennedy on 18-Oct-2001 15:21 GMT | Maybe its just upsidedown. If I want an ugly, counter-functional computer package, I'll fold an A1200 motherboard into an iMac case. Merlancia's brushed stainless steel is starting to look a little better. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 23 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by ehaines on 18-Oct-2001 15:58 GMT | In reply to Comment 20 (Conor): > I have to say that that is the worst looking tower I have ever seen. It's
> absolutely rubbish.
It's a matter of taste. Whenever you get "fancy," you turn some people
off and some on.
> Eyetech are going to lose a lot of money on that tower.
Not if the comments here are any indication. I don't much care for it
either; so? I can recognize the elements that cause some people to go
"wow, cool!" |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 24 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Kelly Samel on 18-Oct-2001 15:58 GMT | I think this case design looks great. Very nice indeed, but I do
agree that the price has to be more reasonable. I would
certainly consider it if it was only marginally more expensive than
a regular tower. Perhaps Eyetech can work out a good deal
on the towers or cut the price down when purchased along with
an AmigaOne system. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 25 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by John Block on 18-Oct-2001 15:58 GMT | Obviously have to see it, however gold tinted plexiglass sounds a bit,
well, vulgar.
Like all that brown transparent glass you see on 70s furniture. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 26 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Anonymous on 18-Oct-2001 16:38 GMT | In reply to Comment 7 (Ben Yoris): >I put Alan Redhouse and Naya Design in contact a few months ago
>and I can tell you one thing : Naya's towers are COOL !
>
I am sure it runs cool with that much airflow, but what for?
PPCs are not very hot und the drive bays at the bottom are an
ergonomic nightmare.
I remain very unimpressed by this expensive piece of casing.
Does it at least have some neons, so it glows in the dark?
It would be very interesting how they are going to fullfil the
CE electromagnetic shielding requirements with only aluminium
and acryl materials used. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 27 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Anonymous on 18-Oct-2001 16:45 GMT | GIVE ME BACK MY WALKER! ;-)
Ok, serious now...I think Merlancia's shiny full metal towercase is a
more professional workstation-like design. I like this "folded" front
look, reminds me a bit of WTC (*grin*) - just imagine that piece in
sterling silver...hmmmmm yummy. :^) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 28 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Paul McCord on 18-Oct-2001 17:55 GMT | COOL!
Now I must admit that I'm not especially bothered by the style of casing that my faithful A1200 has (a Power Tower), but these pictures are nice!
The feature list looks impressive, what with silent fans and gold impregnated plexiglass, along with some of the lateral thinking that has gone into the design. I'm also pleased to see a prominent Boing-Ball too. I like the idea of being able to use any case that you like, but the flagship model should not use an off the shelf case. The design language is showing a certain amount of self confidence and uniqueness that compliments the Amiga way of doing things.
I for one, do not try to apologise for using an Amiga and the fact that the design advertises it's brand prominently bodes well I feel. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 29 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Shanon on 18-Oct-2001 18:42 GMT | What, Eyetech worked with french industrial designers Naya? who are they trying to fool, they worked with NO industrial designers. That case is just as big a brick as beige pc cases where in the 1980's! Hell even those new potato shaped pc cases engineers have been doing the past few years (since the imac) are better than this! |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 30 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by victor # on 18-Oct-2001 19:51 GMT | "...why would anyone put the CD-ROM drives at the bottom of a tower...?"
Well, if one wants to put the box on the top his/her desk, it's much more convenient if the CD-ROM is at the bottom of the tower... But perhaps only if... ;) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 31 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Smithy on 18-Oct-2001 20:32 GMT | It's all very nice having a cool case design, but it aint gonna sell you any more unless you have a presence where people can see the case design, i.e. on the high street, in PC World etc...
Ironically enough, if there was a AmigaOS/x86 then PC World would probably sell it (they sell BeOS and a number of other x86 systems). |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 32 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by StAn on 18-Oct-2001 20:32 GMT | The front looks strange (and 3 external 3"5 bays would be enough iMO), but I like the side :) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 33 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Myke_c on 18-Oct-2001 21:40 GMT | In reply to Comment 29 (Shanon): They are trying to fool noone. I know personnaly the Naya designers and all that is said is true.
So please stop to be so agressive against Eyetech/Naya. I am so pissed when u try to do something innovative,
there are always naysayers who know the truth much than everyone else. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 34 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Brad on 18-Oct-2001 23:47 GMT | Ummmm... It's upside down folks. Maybe someone should tell them... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 35 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Alastair Marett on 19-Oct-2001 00:20 GMT | A lot of people have voiced disgust at the new case for the AmigaONE.
Many who don't like it admire the iMac style,which I agree are very
desireable.
I can understand some of them,but I can see why Eyetech choose this design.
1.High end design?
These pictures aren't the definative look of the finished product
as it states on the website for obvious reasons,just an idea.
There are better photos of Naya's case at :- http://www.naya.fr
2.Drives at bottom?
If the aim of this design is at high end/studio users this makes sense
as most will use computers on a desk.
Go to an authorised Apple dealer and see if they put their G4 Quicksilver's
on the floor!
3.Four 3.5 and only three 5.25 bays!?
Ah,this one is easy.Eyetech have a lot of important products
that use 3.5 bays - xMON,MemoryStick port,etc
which can still be used on the A1200 side.
One could also be used for a front mounted sound,
USB,Firewire,game ports.
4.It's too expensive.
This has yet to be confimed,but it is "high-end".
Other dealers may bundle differant packages and cases.
You can use any other case designs for the stand-alone motherboard.
Try here :-
http://www.colorcase.com
http://www.casedepot.com
....and this is just a few.
You could use a search engine or visit my links page at
http://www.sarnia.u-net.com/links.html ;-)
5.Wrong colors.
We will have to see if the plexiglass color looks more champaine than urine.
But you could suggest other colors to Eyetech - blueberry,grape
(those aren't very original) orange,electric blue,
frosted/patterned plexiglass or solid brushed silver.
So I have no concerns and absolutly love it?Not quite.
I find it boxy and could be better styled.
The boing logo could bee more subtle.
And I will want to see it in front of me before I make a purchase.
These are my personal opinions and no I'm not connected
with Eyetech or Naya. ;-) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 36 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by windtalkers on 19-Oct-2001 02:29 GMT | with a look like that I want one right away :) |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 37 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by priest on 19-Oct-2001 03:14 GMT | hopefully Eyetech bundles some neon lights with it ...
But really, I would like to see a cool Boing tower that
has the 5.25" drives on the top of the case, at least
four of them (CD,CDRW,DVD,removableHD).
Also those stainless steel/brushed aluminium towers shown
in other sites are cool, and more practical. Yep practical
is the key.
I've built a custom tower for my A4k, so I know how much
work hours are needed and therefore I'l looking forward
to buying a Cool and practical Amiga tower for my next
machine. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 38 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Seldon on 19-Oct-2001 04:55 GMT | In reply to Comment 20 (Conor): I'm completely agreed! Well, we've to wait for final release, but from what I can see now, it has the worst design I've ever seen in my life! Besides who cares of 3 (!) 3.5 bays and what about an integrated one for floppy instead? (it looks nicer for sure). AmigaONE board needs an A1200, so a custom case is needed... luckily we can use the ELBOX/PowerTower. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 39 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by scania on 19-Oct-2001 04:55 GMT | Gotta be the suckiest tower `design` ever! A troupe of blind monkeys could do better!!
If I do buy an A1 mobo , it`ll go into a black aluminium Coolermaster 101 or maybe I`ll mod a G4 case. :D
http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/x/mxw52/g4pc/ |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 40 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Graham on 19-Oct-2001 06:45 GMT | In reply to Comment 37 (priest): Why do you need a CD, a DVD and a CD/RW? You can do with only the DVD and CD/RW. Removable HDs are a good idea though, but there may be alternative technologies around that will provide the same functionality (e.g., PenDrive) for transporting your work around.
I think that the drive bays provided will be good for the vast majority of high-end users.
Will Eyetech start selling a range of 3.5" and 5.25" drives with aluminium fronts now, just to match? I am hoping for a 3.5" bay adapter for USB/Firewire and audio connectors at the very least - reaching around the back is a hassle.
One thing you might want a 5.25" bay for is for one of those Audigy cards with the internal 5.25" I/O and controller box. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 41 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by priest on 19-Oct-2001 06:59 GMT | In reply to Comment 40 (Graham): >Why do you need a CD, a DVD and a CD/RW? You can do with only the DVD and CD/RW.
A PC dealer that I know told me that it is a little miracle if CD drive lasts in daily use more than 6 months.
I've also heard that CD/RW drives break even more easily.
So while do not know how durable DVD drives are, I prefer using CD ROM drive that is cheap.
Perhaps in future I'll replace CD ROM with DVD/CD ROM.
>Removable HDs are a good ideathough, ...
Yep I agree that they are becoming obsolete.
>One thing you might want a 5.25" bay for is for one of those Audigy cards with the internal 5.25" I/O and controller box.
Very good point.
So 1 external 3.5 slot for USB, one 5.25 for Audigy, one for LCD display, ... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 42 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by kriz on 19-Oct-2001 07:47 GMT | What ? A CD drive only lasting in 6 months ? Hmm the one i got here have at least been used 3years...
And about the tower : Great! But I hope you can buy only the notherboard too, making the special tower an option.... (and my new amiga should not sit in an ordinary pc tower!)
keep it up! |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 43 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by John Block on 19-Oct-2001 09:03 GMT | At http://www.naya.fr/images there are more pictures, look for the names
containing "clasbig"
To my eyes it is just a see through box, like a basic fish tank or museum
display case.
Now, Eyetech do warehousing control systems.
Wonder what they look like?
Ruggardised to stand up to the warehouse environment?
Industrial chic?
Can anyone find pictures of these? |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 44 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Don Cox on 19-Oct-2001 09:03 GMT | In reply to Comment 43 (John Block): You can see pictures of Eyetech's rackmount computers in the next
issue of Amigactive. These have black steel cases, and optional flight
cases.
No room for PCI cards, though. |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 45 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Floyd Dameron on 19-Oct-2001 15:10 GMT | In reply to Comment 7 (Ben Yoris): Since I prefer to place the CPU case on the floor to conserve desktop space I would prefer the CD ROM drive close to the top. Just my $.02. Still it is refreshing to actually see new hardware for the Amiga after roughly seven years. Looks like I get my wish to actually see a modern "Amiga." Kudos to Eyetech.
-Floyd |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 46 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Floyd Dameron on 19-Oct-2001 15:30 GMT | In reply to Comment 18 (Christian Kemp): Nice case. Now all I need is the cost and where to buy it.
-Floyd |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 47 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Floyd Dameron on 19-Oct-2001 15:40 GMT | In reply to Comment 38 (Seldon): I think you should go back to the Eyetech web page, it does state that the AmigaOne is a fully functional motherboard. It does not need an A1200 or A4000.
-Floyd |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 48 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by André Siegel on 19-Oct-2001 16:52 GMT | In reply to Comment 47 (Floyd Dameron): "It does not need an A1200 or A4000."
But AmigaOS4.0 will need an A1200/4000 to work. So until AmigaOS4.2 is released (which is said to be *fully* retargetable) you cannot use an AmigaOne without an !200/A4000...
One problem though, by the time AmigaOS4.2 is ready, 66Mhz of bus speed and 1x AGP will look utterly out-dated... |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 49 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by Troels Ersking on 19-Oct-2001 19:39 GMT | In reply to Comment 48 (André Siegel): It sure will look outdated at that time (it does allready:) but still it will probably feel damn fast and still is a lot faster than our current ppc boards.
It could also be that Eyetech will do nev revisions of the A1 hardware, updating busspeeds etc. AmigaTwo! Who knows??
Troels E |
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EyeTech preview AmigaOne tower : Comment 50 of 52 | ANN.lu |
Posted by John Block on 20-Oct-2001 07:11 GMT | In reply to Comment 49 (Troels Ersking): My understanding was that "amigaone" was "one" processor whereas
intent can support more that one
processor. |
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Anonymous, there are 52 items in your selection [1 - 50] [51 - 52] |
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