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[News] News from Genesi: Genesi is Busy!

Posted on 24-Jan-2003 15:34 GMT by Senex

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In a new official statement at MorphOS-News.de, which is mainly a compilation of previous comments at ANN & Amiga.org, Genesi addresses the current problem with satisfying the demand for Pegasos-computers and ask if someone would like to port "wxwindows" to MorphOS: News from Genesi: Genesi is Busy!

Our first week back in Europe after the New Year was an exciting one. We wanted to catch up a little before we made this post. We have plenty of information to share and we know that many of you need an update. Here goes…

Most importantly, we cannot ship the Pegasos if we cannot make it! We met with Mai at CES and Mai confirmed they will ship the old Articias to us. Once we get them we need to mount them on the April PCB and then the mainboard. We know there is plenty of frustration out there for those of you that want the Pegasos. They will be available again soon. We will continue to sell the Pegasos with the old Articia until we get the new samples and can test them. In the meanwhile, we have been working with a replacement chip that is a bit more expensive, but it seems to work fine. In this case, we will have two suppliers for this component and will not be restricted in the future. All the other components required are in stock and ready for assembly. Just to recap:

1. The Pegasos is:

a. Upgradeable – from G3 to G4 to Dual CPUs, etc. (IBM will release 64 bit PPC in March, after the G5 (?), and as recently announced IBM and AMD are going to do R&D together, etc.). As IBM and Motorola share the IP of the PPC, we think they will be around and competitive with Intel into the future -- especially with the move toward more mobility and less CPU power consumption. See the latest IBM announcement. Of course, that means a Pegasos II, or a PegasosPlus, etc., etc.

b. Scalable - can be stacked, i.e., 1) three/four dual G4 boards in a case would give potentially +8GHz of CPU speed in a "desktop" machine at a very affordable price (this is only a good marketing pitch -- "8GHz on the desktop") or 2) later, multiple boards can be rack mounted and stacked "up to the ceiling."

c. Modifiable - it can be made smaller omitting elements to a base station for a mobile device (eclipsis or even an EyeCam). It can be turned into a Home Server that sits with the Home Entertainment Center/Theater (Psylent) or really scaling back to a simple Satellite DTV receiver (looking for a cool name, this is the project we have been contracted for -- in the end we will share the IP).

d. In the meanwhile the Pegasos becomes an increasingly stable and a viable Development Platform for the future and all the projects mentioned.

e. Finally, it offers an alternative hardware platform to various OS specific development communities, attracting innovation and creativity. It has Open Firmware (which also makes it easy for peripheral developers to develop hardware that works with the platform).

Check out http://www.osnews.com/topic.php?icon=69 and then return to the OSNews home page. This is the kind of broad market interest we need. We already have a number of LinuxPPC distros running (and Mac-on-Linux) and an agreement to port OpenBSD has been executed and we are working with Rebol already.

2. MorphOS

a. Starts on the Pegasos and grows increasingly functional

b. Runs on Macs by the end of 2003. This will be marketed as a special application for Mac that does not "run" on the host hard drive (but can). We will sell the application, the OS is just there to make it work or just sell the OS. The application could be related to a smart card with the OS in the ROM of the reader, or a CD with a cool game, etc., etc. This could also be done “as a cross-platform class toolkit, such as wxwindows, that assumes the native look of the respective target OS. Users wouldn't object to applications written with such a toolkit (they wouldn't know) and developers certainly wouldn't object to the idea of selling to multiple platforms simultaneously.” Anyone want to port wxwindows to MorphOS? Anyway, until then, MorphOS will be bundled with the Pegasos and be available at no additional cost.

c. Provides the ultimate 'connectivity' through the various efforts (mobile, satellite, desktop, server, television, etc.

Together the PEGASOS and MORPHOS are the "CORE TECHNOLOGIES" of Genesi.

3. The next stuff... tied into smart cards (Trusted Community, Copyright Protection, etc.). More on this another time…;-)

That is the basic game plan.

The STB we are discussing is quite different than what has been attempted historically. The basic version does not have an uplink. It is very inexpensive and it is basic in form and function (but as much for less, remember the C64 slogan was: “it is not how little it costs, it is how much you get”). Interactivity comes through smart cards. This is a satellite television receiver with some memory. The smart card is used to enable elements of the signal. Authorization levels depend on subscription or payment per event/movie (pre-paid or pay-as-you-go). Of course, a more advanced version could be a base station for the eclipsis. Then there is the Psylent (formally Pega-shush)...a 24/7 ISP bundled home server that does not have anything to do with the Satellite DTV STB, but EVERYTHING to do with a "state of the art" Home Entertainment Center. Everything begins and advances WITH the Core Technologies, the Pegasos running MorphOS. We can profit from the core technology by adapting it to various "configurations" which will allow us to build the Company and the Developer base.

When things are really stable, then there is the mass-market beginning with the sale of the OS/Application to Mac Users...then the hardware...etc. BUT, FOR NOW WE ARE JUST FOCUSED ON THE TECHNICALLY ORIENTED COMPUTER USER.

NOW, take all this and combine it with some of the recent ideas we have been discussing with the Phoenix Developer Consortium (www.phinixi.com). Genesi and Phoenix will initiate a VA Software/SourceForge relationship. This will make it easy for Developers who might not want to be “part” of Genesi, but still associated closely with the hardware platform. Nevertheless, the opportunity is much more than an open source/Linux Development Community. Genesi owns the IP of the hardware AND the OS. We can leverage off both Open Source and Closed Source virtues while still capturing the valuable hardware revenue. We have decided this can be shared with members of Phoenix as Distributors/Integrators of a platform that is INITIALLY oriented to TECHNICALLY oriented people anyway. The sale of Pegasos machines configured with various potential OS's seems to be a unique revenue producing opportunity and MAYBE a "new" way of "selling" the computer...like a multilevel marketing scheme...ding-dong...its not the Avon Lady! It is the Phoenix Man with your Pegasos! We could develop a whole tiered system...when you recruit ten Phoenix Distributors you become a Phoenix Flyer! OK, we will not get too carried away, but you get the idea...

We are just brain storming, but using www.genesisupport.com to "answer" the "silly" support questions, provide User Group Forums, and the latest OS/application upgrades seems like a good way to go. In the meanwhile, we will set up Phoenix members in a VA Software/SourceForge like relationship that evolves into unit sales and then maybe System Integrators/Service Providers (like the old LAN/WAN businesses). This could be a cool stroke to capture widespread interest once the publicity effort really kicks into gear...;-) We already have begun discussions with Phoenix members in New Zealand, the USA, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Japan. This grass-roots approach could hold some valuable benefits for a broader community. Please share you thoughts with us.

Lastly, thanks to the Genesi Team who made CES a great experience for us. Have a look at some of the CES photos on the GenesiSupport pages. We have recently brought a number of very talented people into Genesi. They all deserve recognition and they will be getting it soon.

Best regards,
R&B.