04-Dec-2024 11:48 GMT.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Anonymous, there are 469 items in your selection (but only 269 shown due to limitation) [1 - 50] [51 - 100] [101 - 150] [151 - 200] [201 - 250] [251 - 300] [301 - 350] [351 - 400] [401 - 450] [451 - 469]
[News] Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4ANN.lu
Posted on 18-Jul-2004 12:20 GMT by Jens Schönfeld469 comments
View flat
View list
During the first months of this year, we were totally surprised by the overwhelming demand for Catweasel MK3. All stock has been sold, and even our retail partners do not have anything left in stock. The demand was so high that one controller even went for more than 150,- EUR on eBay!
Unfortunately, it turned out that a new production run of the existing MK3-design cannot be done for reasonable prices, so a re-design became necessary. The new controller is now in the first stage before mass production, so we're confident to be able to show the first controllers at the Amiwest show on july 24th and 25th in Sacramento, Califoria.

Many improvements have been made compared to the Catweasel MK3 that can be summarized under the headline "bigger, better, faster". The changes in detail

The most obvious change is the size of the card: With only 2.5 inch (63.5mm) height, it complies with the low-profile PCI standard that not only fits into any normal computer case, but also in flat models that are so famous among so-called "case-modders". The Flipper-interface will not be continued. Those who need a Catweasel for their classic Amiga can use the Catweasel Z-II S-Class, which is still availble.

Improvements on the floppy controller
Kylwalda built in
While the old Catweasel models always had their own floppy drives that were installed in addition to the existing controller and drives, the MK4 has the option of using the existing diskdrives. After the machine has started, th drives can be used just like before, and after the drivers have been loaded, the Catweasel can take control of these drives when necessary. This is especially useful for smaller cases with fewer drive bays.
We already addressed this problem earlier with an additional product called 'Kylwalda'.

Suppot for auto-eject drives
These drives without eject-button are well-known from Macintosh computers, and they're now fully supported by the Catweasel. You can also mix floppy types, one with an eject-button, and another from the Macintosh world on the same cable.

Hard-sectored disks supported
This kind of 5.25 and 8 inch disks were already readable with the previous Catweasel models, but writing was only possible with a high software effort, and it required a realtime operating system. This effort is not necessary any more with the new controller, because new options allow complete support of these disk types in hardware.

dual-ported memory
Contrary to it's predecessors, the new Catweasel MK4 can pass the data that it is currently reading from a disk to the computer while the read access is running. This allows realtime emulation, and errorfree function of copy-protected software on emulators.

more flexible read- and write operations
In addition to working on whole tracks, which made all previous Catweasel models so flexible, tracks can now also be accesed in part very precisely. Should this become necessary for compatibility or speed reasons, the Catweasel MK4 is perfectly prepared.

extensive timer-functions
Although most operating systems already offer timer-functions in software, you cannot always rely on them. The most recent example are the timing-problems that occur with Hyperthreading-processors and Windows operating systems. Since all timers are running independantly in the hardware of the Catweasel MK4, nothing can go wrong in this regard.

all events can trigger an interrupt (IRQ)
Together with the hardware-timer functions, this is the best solution for multitasking operating systems. The driver software does not have to check regularly if the controller needs attention, which reduces the processor load.

Improvements on the keyboard interface

In addition to Amiga-keyboards, PS/2 devices can now also be connected. Not only keyboards, but also PS/2 mice are supported. The keyboard controller can now trigger IRQs, and for those customers who want to continue using their favourite combination of PS/2 mouse and keyboard on USB-only computers, the Catweasel MK4 has two connectors of this kind.

Improvements on the joystick ports

Amiga mice supported in hardware
Amiga mice only have minimal electronics that always pass the movements of the device to the computer in realtime. Classic Amiga computers have hardware-support for interpretation of these signals in the chipset, and this support has now been added to the Catweasel. Theoretically, using Amiga mice was already possible with the Catweasel MK3, but this required a software effort that was not justifiable. With the new hardware, the software effort is reduced to a minimum.

every signal can be programmed as output
The digital joystick ports of the 8-bit computers of the 80s were mostly usable in two directions, they were not only inputs, but also programmable as data outputs. We're following this tradition, and also present this possibility for the Catweasel MK4.

compatible with CD32 pads
The game controllers of the Amiga CD32 can now also be used on the Catweasel. A special capability of the classic Amigas (and therefore also of the CD32) made these pads exclusive for this computer, if connected to other computers, not all buttons of the pad could be used. Technically speaking: Even the potentiometer-pins of the digital joystick ports can be programmed as outputs on the Catweasel MK4.

Improvements on the SID audio part

DC-DC converter eliminates noise
On the Catweasel MK3, it was possible that noises from 3D-graphics cards or high-speed harddrives were coupled into the 12V-power supply of the SID audio part. This cannot happen any more on the Catweasel MK4, because a DC-DC converter is an insuperable obstacle for such noises.

cycle-exact control
In addition to the known programming that's compatible with the Catweasel MK3, the MK4 has a sophisticated script-language for SID control. This lets the programmer define the exact time for data that's being written into the SID chips. To make sample playback sound exactly like on a real C64, the data rate to the SID chip must be kept at a constant rate. This is accomplished with Fifo memory that's big enough to maintain the datarate even under high processor load conditions.

Digiboost for new SID versions
As opposed to the 'classic SID' 6581, the newer SID-chips 8580 and 6582 cannot playback samples any more. This option, which is also called 'the fourth voice', is replaced by two sigma-delta converters on the Catweasel MK4, so the fourth channel is also audible with the newer SID versions. Since the filter properties and the sound of mixed waveforms of all SID versions have their supporters, this should make the decision for the right chip a little easier.

Filter capacitors selectable
Commodore has defined three different capacitor values for the filters of the SIDs during the years that this chip has been produced. The result was that the same chip sounded differently if used in different computers. To bring the sound as close as possible to what you are used to, the filter capacitors can be chosen with a few jumpers.

precise clocking
The Catweasel MK3 used the commodore-chip 8701 to recreate the exact same clock. Since our stock of this chip is empty with the Catweasel MK3 being sold out, we have cloned it on the main logic chip of the Catweasel MK4: The exact base frequency is generated with crystals that have been made especially for us. By division and multiplication according to the specifications of the C64 schematics from 1982, we managed to replace the 8701, which is not made any more. Even the slight difference between PAL and NTSC computers is software-selectable!

two SIDs for stereo sound
You'll have twice the SID pleaseure after installing a second SID chip. Every SID has it's own selection of filter capacitors, and SIDs of all versions can be mixed.

Technology improvements

compatible with 3.3V and 5V PCI slots
Even though PC boards with 3.3V PCI slots are not yet widely available, the Catweasel is prepared for it. The roadmap of the PCI special interst group plans to abandon 5V PCI slots within forseeable time, and the Catweasel is perfectly suited for that date. Local generation of the 3.3V power also ensures proper function on early PCI motherboards that do not comply with the ATX standard.

two DMA interfaces
In addition to processor-based data transfer, the Catweasel MK4 can excahnge data with the main system through two low-speed DMA channels: The first goes throught he PCI slot, and it has a capacity of about 8K per second and direction. The second uses the direct connection to the onboard-floppy controller, and the speed is up to 100K per second.

low power consumption
The Catweasel MK4 makes use of the latest FPGA technology with 2.5V core voltage. This reduces the power consumption of the new controller to a fraction of what the Catweasel MK3 used. This also reduces heat generation a lot.

re-configurable logic
The FPGA on the Catweasel MK4 is completely re-configurable by the drivers. This means that a hardware update can be done through the internet! Should we find a disk format that cannot be handled with the current hardware, the core of the Catweasel can be 're-wired' to address the problem. The controller doesn't even have to be taken out of the computer for ths update!

drivers for many operating systems
The Catweasel MK4 is delivered with drivers for Windows 98(se)/ME/XP/2000, Amiga OS4, and for Mac OS X at a later date. MorphOS drivers are available for a surcharge.

The Catweasel MK4 will be available starting october 2004.
The target retail price is 99,- EUR.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 201 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Fabio Alemagna on 19-Jul-2004 19:09 GMT
In reply to Comment 198 (Bill Toner):
I don't claim the term "racist" is not used to refer to discrimination among "biological" races, what I claim is that it can be extended to a discrimination to any other form of races, not just the biological ones.

Here in Italy using "racist" that way is quite common, people know that "racist" means "discrimination on the basis of races", and people know that "race" has a wider meaning than the one the common American attributes to it.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 202 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Kolbjørn Barmen on 19-Jul-2004 19:26 GMT
In reply to Comment 196 (Fabio Alemagna):
Now, please back up your claim that there are dog races with some real proof will you? :)

How many poodle races are there really? One for each size-colour combo?
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 203 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Stefan Burström on 19-Jul-2004 19:41 GMT
In reply to Comment 177 (Johan Rönnblom):
>[About the Pegasos 2]

Well, I was refering to Pegasos 1 since that is the only board I have made any homework on, so don't put any words in my mouth I didn't speak.
> The USERS of a cheap, subsidised mainboard [...]

>Well, of course you're entitled to speculate, but I find it quite arrogant and not very sympathetic to state for a fact something which you really have no idea about.

'Really no idea about'. Try 5 years of experience with consumer electronics. On the contrary, I think it is you and a bunch of other people who have no idea what you are talking about but you are so stuck up defeinding Genesi that you havn't had time to actially do some research before you voice your opinion.

>We all know that the Pegasos consumer sales do not wholly finance development and research. However, you go further than this, claiming that each board sold would actually be a loss.

Well, all the research I have done points in that direction. But really, we are splitting hair here. Even if the boards did break even as such they are still subsidised since someone else is paying all Genesis other costs.

>I think you're missing quite a few factors which make cheap production possible in the Pegasos case. Let's compare it to the A1 for example, which is a very similar product technically and with regards to volumes.

Well, as I said before, I don't care about the A1. Why do you insist on doing this?

- Considerably smaller board.

Right but it is still a ~100 sq inch PCB. 6 or 8 layers I'd guess. Microvias between layer 1-2 and 7-8 to be able to route the BGA's. A small scale production run of such a PCB easily reaches 100 USD per board. And that is before the startup costs for the PCB fab is distributed on the boards.

- No major licensing costs involved, in-house design.

This isn't a part of the BOM, but still yeah, you are probably right, there are little or no licensing costs her.

- Very little organisational overhead, more or less two people (Carda + Knäbel) design *and* produce the units.

Well, this isn't part of the BOM either but since you brought it up. PADS power logic will cost you around 5kUSD and PowerPCB incl BlazeRouter at least another 20kUSD. Quite 'moderate' cost, isn't it???

- Convenient production: as Carda previously (co-)owned the production equipment, they can operate it themselves and don't need to pay anyone externally to do this.

Right. Well, I sincerely hope that DCE doesn't have lots of customers
since the machinery is a ticking loss not utilized by paying customers.

- Small sale- and resale organisation, bPlan ship directly to dealers.

Right. Did some reasearch here too. GGSData sold Pegasos boards for around
5760 SEK inc VAT. That's 4320 SEK wo VAT. Remove a moderate 30% dealer margin
covering shipping etc. brings it down to around 3000 SEK or 330 USD (at that
time)

Now, try to calculate the BOM given those figures. Do you still wonder why I
think that the boards were sold at loss?

>Now as I said, of course you can speculate. I personally always found it funny that BAFs manage to turn even the low cost of the Pegasos into a disadvantage, but anyway.

Calling me a BAF? Just wondering because doing my homework wouldn't be that easy
beeing blind...

>But I wouldn't run around telling people that production and sales of the A1 is not commercially viable, as I really don't have any knowledge about the matter.

Yes, but at the same time you still claim to have the knowledge to claim the
Pegasos is? The equations arn't that different from each other after all...

>Fortunately for him, Genesi agreed to pay a considerable part of the costs. The disagreement is, as far as I've understood it, over the cost of an additional

Oh yeah? Jens should be 'fortunate' that Genesi only screwed him over for some
of the money they owe him?

hotel room rented by Jens. I've only heard BBRV's version in detail, I've asked Jens about it but he will not answer.

>Due to the let's say, "less than constructive" attitude displayed by Jens, I'm not really inclined to buy his version, especially when he doesn't even want to give it in any detail.

Well, you are not really inclined to buy any story that puts Genesi in a bad light but that has been rather obvious for quite some time...

rgds,
Stefan
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 204 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Fabio Alemagna on 19-Jul-2004 19:54 GMT
In reply to Comment 202 (Kolbjørn Barmen):
> Now, please back up your claim that there are dog races with some real proof
> will you? :)

What do you want me to show you, the genetic maps of dogs belonging to different species? Hope not. However, you can reason another way.

1) Physical characteristics are genetically determined

2) Dogs belonging to the same races have an high number of the same phisical characteristics, so that they all look the same except for minimal details (due to random variations in the genes).

3) Dogs belonging to different races have different sets of peculiar characteristics which do not intersect each other.

Fom the above 3 statements, you can inferr that dogs belonging to the same species share a big amount of alleles which determine physical characterstics, and that a subset of those alleles is specific to that race, and is not shared with any other race.

Now your question would be: can't we inferr the same about humans, if we substitute "dog" with "human" in those 3 statements, and "race" is one of "Causasian", "Mongoloid", "Negroid" or "Australoid"? The answer is no. Let's look at those statements in detail:

1) This one still holds, of course

2) If race is either one of the ones amentioned above, then this statement would imply that two "Caucasians" all look the same except for minuscule details, and so would the Negroid, the Mongoloid and the Australoid. This is obviously false, hence this statement is false.

3) There's no common, well defined characteristic within the same race (like the skin colour: even in the same race, colours can differ greatly), how can there be a set of unique characteristics for any given race?

In any case, even if you would like to argue about point 3, you surely cannot argue about point 2, which is thus false and which thus renders impossible to inferr about humans the same thing we inferred about dogs.

> How many poodle races are there really? One for each size-colour combo?

Poodles all look alike, that's why you call all of them "poodles", however there are evident and consistent variations which make it possible to distinguish many forms of "poodles". Without doubts, the genetic difference between poodle of different kinds is less than the one between any given poodle and, say, a doberman, thus the term "race" can be used in a weaker way when talking about poodles or other kind of dogs which can be differentiated the same way.


Reply to this comment | Top
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 205 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Kolbjørn Barmen on 19-Jul-2004 20:05 GMT
In reply to Comment 201 (Fabio Alemagna):
> I don't claim the term "racist" is not used to refer to discrimination among
>"biological" races, what I claim is that it can be extended to a
>discrimination to any other form of races, not just the biological ones.

But are there other form of races than "biological"? Why, what on earth for?

> Here in Italy using "racist" that way is quite common, people know that
> "racist" means "discrimination on the basis of races", and people know that
> "race" has a wider meaning than the one the common American attributes to it.

Racist in italian, a person who shaves? :)

Really, in my view, it is very much the english (read american) term that has gone to blasts, the norwegian dictionary is quite accurate in my view:

"rase - gruppe individer innenfor en art med arvelige fellestrekk som skiller dem ut fra andre grupper"

translated means: group of induviduals within a species with heritable common features that distinguishes them from other groups.

You can look it up yourself if you like: http://www.dokpro.uio.no/ordboksoek.html in both norwegian variants.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 206 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by brotheris on 19-Jul-2004 20:06 GMT
In reply to Comment 185 (Jens Schönfeld):
So you wanted that BBRV would pay for more space than they used ?
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 207 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Amon_Re on 19-Jul-2004 20:11 GMT
In reply to Comment 206 (brotheris):
No, he wants BBRV to pay for all the space they used.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 208 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Jens Schönfeld on 19-Jul-2004 20:16 GMT
In reply to Comment 206 (brotheris):
Not correct. I wrote another invoice after that for the ramaining 18 square meters, same price per square meter as for the first 36. Fairly good deal for someone who had to be pushed to pay (I had to threaten to remove electricity if they don't pay like everyone else did). The terms were "in advance", and BBRV didnt pay until sunday afternoon, when the show was nearly over. I already contacted my lawyer and the police for assistance, as German law puts me in the position of the landlord in such a constellation. It was last minute to hold them back, because someone trustworthy assured me that someone has been sent to get cash. I'm sure that I wouldn't have seen a single cent if I wouldn't have done that.

A few weeks later, I was contacted by the holtel that the Genesi staff stayed in, they asked me where to get hold of BBRV, because the bill wasn't paid yet. Need I say more? Oh, and yes, I have proof for that. It's an eMail from BBRV.

Jens Schönfeld
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 209 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by MIKE on 19-Jul-2004 20:18 GMT
In reply to Comment 204 (Fabio Alemagna):
>> 2) If race is either one of the ones amentioned above, then this statement >> would imply that two "Caucasians" all look the same except for minuscule
>> details, and so would the Negroid, the Mongoloid and the Australoid. This is >> obviously false, hence this statement is false.

Of course they do, genetically speaking, contrary to your earlier statements most anthropoligist do believe in racial delineation, contrary to the politically correct bureaucrats funding them. The only reason such things are proposed is because some people believe without such classification as race, there can be no racism. I prefer the truth over being protected from incorrect thoughts.

The races can can be identified clearly by genetic markers, as well as looking at such things as the skeletel structure as well as the features of the skull. The "look/skin color" argument isn't what a forensic scientists would use to identify the racial characteristics of a decomposed body with.

http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/race.html

>> 3) There's no common, well defined characteristic within the same race (like >> the skin colour: even in the same race, colours can differ greatly), how can >> there be a set of unique characteristics for any given race?

Sure there is, any forensic anthropologists can identify characteristics ascribed to the traditional races based on the make up of the skeleton, as well as examination of the skull.

http://www.angeltowns.com/members/racialreal/race.html
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 210 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by MIKE on 19-Jul-2004 20:19 GMT
In reply to Comment 209 (MIKE):
skeletel = skeletal
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 211 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by itix on 19-Jul-2004 20:38 GMT
In reply to Comment 208 (Jens Schönfeld):
But why MorphOS users must suffer from this? We are not BBRV.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 212 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Fabio Alemagna on 19-Jul-2004 20:55 GMT
In reply to Comment 209 (MIKE):
> Of course they do, genetically speaking, contrary to your earlier statements
> most anthropoligist do believe in racial delineation,

Anthropologists and biologists are two different kind of scientists. Biologists look at the genes, anthropologists look at the exterior aspect.

When you look at the genes, you see that, on average, one person differ from another, be it of the same race or not, for an amount of 0.2% of genes.

> contrary to the politically correct bureaucrats funding them. The only reason
> such things are proposed is because some people believe without such
> classification as race, there can be no racism. I prefer the truth over being
> protected from incorrect thoughts.

What you call "race" is not what gave birth to racism as we like to refer to. The "races" you refer to are way more than the four we've talked about all along here. You can of course cathegorize people on the basis of their common characteristics, but then there are so many characteristics, and so few of them are shared among a group of people, that you end up with hundred or even thousand of races.

We're not like dogs, when I say that dogs of the same race all look the same, except for insignificant details, I really do mean it: they are pretty identical. Within an human race, instead, people differ greatly among each other. Yes, Negroid all have a dark skin, but then among Negroids there are those with little noses, others with long noses, others that are pretty tall, others that are pretty short... then you end up with a multitude of "subraces", so many that you begin to wonder whether it makes any sense.

> The races can can be identified clearly by genetic markers, as well as looking
> at such things as the skeletel structure as well as the features of the
> skull.

That's not enough of a difference to distinguish people in "races". A slightly different skull shape and a slightly heavier bones structure doesn't make for a new race, and genes confirm that.

> The "look/skin color" argument isn't what a forensic scientists would
> use to identify the racial characteristics of a decomposed body with.
>
>http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/race.html

From that very site:

"...it is clear that race does mean different things to different people. In the context of forensic anthropology, the term race is unambiguous.".

So, you see, there's a well defined context there, there's no pretension that that's the way races are universally defined, unlike you want to make us believe.

> Sure there is, any forensic anthropologists can identify characteristics
> ascribed to the traditional races based on the make up of the skeleton, as
> well as examination of the skull.

Yes, that's perhaps the only effective way to really cathegorize people physically, however there's no genetic justification to name those "races", because, although very appariscent, genetically speaking those differences are totally unsignificant.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 213 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Fabio Alemagna on 19-Jul-2004 21:04 GMT
In reply to Comment 205 (Kolbjørn Barmen):
> But are there other form of races than "biological"? Why, what on earth for?

Because "race" can simply mean "cathegory". In Italian it's very common the expression "Che razza di...", (razza=race) which translates in English in something like "What kind of...". Of course "What race of..." would also be correct, but I agree that it's a lot more unusual than the former.


> Racist in italian, a person who shaves? :)

I'm not sure what you mean there...

> Really, in my view, it is very much the english (read american) term that has
> gone to blasts, the norwegian dictionary is quite accurate in my view:

> "rase - gruppe individer innenfor en art med arvelige fellestrekk som skiller
> dem ut fra andre grupper"
>
> translated means: group of induviduals within a species with heritable common
> features that distinguishes them from other groups.

I'm not disputing that's what "race" also means, but it's quite common, at least in some countries, to use it in a broader way. And dictionary shows that in English that usage is correct, which in turn means that the guy who used "racism" to refer to the discrimination between Pegasos and AmigaONE users by certain Sweden people is quite correct, although it has a weaker meaning than the one usually attributed to it.

> You can look it up yourself if you like:
> http://www.dokpro.uio.no/ordboksoek.html in both norwegian variants.

Sorry, but I don't speak Norsk ;-)
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 214 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Jens Schönfeld on 19-Jul-2004 21:06 GMT
In reply to Comment 211 (itix):
You have a product that I have subsidised. Well, that I was forced to subsidise. No need to discuss this any further, because I made my decision. Life is much easier without MorphOS drivers.

Jens Schönfeld
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 215 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Graham_NLI on 19-Jul-2004 21:21 GMT
In reply to Comment 181 (Fabio Alemagna):
Fabio, nobody likes a know-it-all, and in every argument you've got in on ANN you never back down, regardless of the subject, your qualifications in the subject, and so on.

Fact is, you can be wrong, or when it comes to theoretical stuff, nobody can be wrong, only less likely.

This 'race' stuff in this thread should all be deleted in my opinion. It wasn't on topic, and in the end there is no such thing as the "Race of people that use Pegasos computers" so it wasn't racism to start off with. Pettyness maybe. But it is his decision, and if he has had nothing but bad experiences with that company and their users in the past, I don't blame him for giving up on them in order to get some sanity in his life. Maybe the support was a bit poor to Adam, I think that politeness and an effort to help will go a long way, but perhaps we don't have the whole story.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 216 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Darth_X2 on 19-Jul-2004 21:51 GMT
In reply to Comment 214 (Jens Schönfeld):
> You have a product that I have subsidised. Well, that I was forced to subsidise. No need to discuss this any further, because I made my decision. Life is much easier without MorphOS drivers.


were you also forced to subsidize driver development for OS4? Or did Hyperion pay you for this?
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 217 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Darth_X2 on 19-Jul-2004 22:12 GMT
In reply to Comment 208 (Jens Schönfeld):
> few weeks later, I was contacted by the holtel that the Genesi staff stayed in, they asked me where to get hold of BBRV, because the bill wasn't paid yet. Need I say more? Oh, and yes, I have proof for that. It's an eMail from BBRV.


So how much did it cost you to pay for the hotel rooms of the entire Genesi staff for their visit?

I assume the rest of the story goes like this..



BBRV walks up to hotel clerk, signs the register and tells the clerk "Jens will take care of it", then turns to Raquel "I can't beleive how nice and generous Jens was to offer to pay for everything, including the hotel rooms for our entire staff! What a nice guy!"

Raquel "Yes, Of course! He's such as nice generous guy!"

Bill then grabs raquel's hand and spins her around in a pirouette.

They exit stage right. Walking hand-in-hand smiling at each other into the sunset...
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 218 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Jens Schönfeld on 19-Jul-2004 22:24 GMT
In reply to Comment 217 (Darth_X2):
Not sure if you're confusing things here with your nice story: I did not pay for any hotel room. I rented the best place in town, the Eurogress for the show. Thendic France (predecessor of Genesi) stayed in the hotel that is directly next to the Eurogress, the best hotel in town, the Quellenhof. Since they knew that the Thendic/Genesi staff was there for the show, they asked for my address at the Eurogress, the Eurogress asked me back if they're allowed to give my contact information, I agreed, and then the hotel contacted me. That was way after the show was over.

The hotel wanted information from me. They did not want money. I cannot say if they ever got the money, the only information I have is said eMail from BBRV where they state "we'll pay them".

Jens Schönfeld
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 219 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Graham_NLI on 19-Jul-2004 22:24 GMT
In reply to Comment 216 (Darth_X2):
If he had an AmigaOne already, then it was only his time that he invested. He also had no past history with Amiga Inc, Eyetech or Hyperion to dissuade him from writing the drivers. Also, I'm sure he wants to use his own hardware on his own motherboard!

Judging from the reaction in this thread, I think that he has every right to decide who he writes drivers for and who he won't. It might be a nice gesture to supply a register level document for someone else to write drivers of course, and that person can take on the support role for a system that he doesn't own and isn't likely to willingly own.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 220 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Darth_X2 on 19-Jul-2004 22:25 GMT
In reply to Comment 217 (Darth_X2):
I wish I knew a good screenplay writer. We almost have enough good material here to make the movie: Pirates of Silicon Valley II
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 221 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Darth_X2 on 19-Jul-2004 22:30 GMT
In reply to Comment 218 (Jens Schönfeld):
> The hotel wanted information from me. They did not want money.

Good thing you didn't have to pay for it all, that would have been a bill!
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 222 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Darth_X2 on 19-Jul-2004 22:40 GMT
In reply to Comment 219 (Graham_NLI):
>If he had an AmigaOne already, then it was only his time that he invested. He also had no past history with Amiga Inc, Eyetech or Hyperion to dissuade him from writing the drivers. Also, I'm sure he wants to use his own hardware on his own motherboard!

That makes sense!

Jens picks up the A1 board in his hands and turns it over... "Pffffffft!!!! I could do better than this! What a piece of... *cough* ..er, work!"

> It might be a nice gesture to supply a register level document for someone else to write drivers of course, and that person can take on the support role

A great idea indeed.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 223 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Emeric SH on 20-Jul-2004 06:21 GMT
In reply to Comment 86 (Jens Schönfeld):
"I reached out my hand by offering drivers, that was about 24 hours ago. It seems like the community has nothing better to do than biting that hand. What do you think will this do to my motivation?"

I can only speak for myself - I offered to purchase it with MorphOS drivers in an instant. When it turns out that the extra price is not simply for covering your Pegasos' costs (check out my posts, I even thought that it goes for a fair purpose), but rather to discriminate Pegasos owners, and punish Genesi in a very weird way - then what do you think this will do to my motivation buying it?
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 224 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Amon_Re on 20-Jul-2004 06:28 GMT
In reply to Comment 223 (Emeric SH):
It's not "some weird way of punishing Genesi", it's to cover the expenses involved (buying one or 2 pegasos systems, time etc etc), the reason why he opted for this is because he doesn't own or actually want a pegasos system, but he'd need one to be able to support it.

I don't think he's being unreasonable about this, you can't expect him to be able to support a platform he doesn't own do you? And the costs required to support MOS/Pegasos are higher then the costs to support the rest of the systems (whom he already owns), he could have bought a pegasos 2board & devided the costs over all cards, or he can charge an extra fee for the MOS drivers.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 225 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by priest on 20-Jul-2004 06:45 GMT
It has been said over and over again that adding memory protection breaks AOS3.x API.

Now, what happens when memory protection is taken in use in MOS? Will drivers made during this MOS=Aboxb era work when MOS starts to use memory protection & Qbox?
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 226 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by -D- on 20-Jul-2004 06:53 GMT
In reply to Comment 224 (Amon_Re):
I haven't read through most of this thread, and I'm only writing this because I met Jens (albeit very briefly)
at AmiWest last year and think he's a genuinely nice guy, and one of the few left in "amiland" that actually
has anything creative/constructive/interesting/new to contribute. Anyhow, I think it's ridiculous and downright
sad for anyone to bash the guy, he's definately not entitled to support any specific platform, and furthermore
I wouldn't invest any serious effort - for minimal or likely "zero" profit - into something that didn't interest me,
for whatever reason...especially considering some of the people surrounding the platform are acting like complete,
unbridled wankers. Just my .02. (the above opinion from someone who owns a pegasos)

Damion
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 227 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Hans-Joerg Frieden on 20-Jul-2004 07:06 GMT
In reply to Comment 51 (Bill Hoggett):
> how about pestering Hyperion and Genesi for not co-operating with each other?
> If anyone's been splitting the community, it's them.

Bill, I marvel at your ability to draw the name of Hyperion into every stupid thread on ANN. Can't you just, for one time, keep our name out of something that is completely and utterly unrelated to the topic?

No, probably not.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 228 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 20-Jul-2004 07:24 GMT
@jens:

Try to keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out!
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 229 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Don Cox on 20-Jul-2004 07:25 GMT
In reply to Comment 226 (-D-):
"I haven't read through most of this thread, and I'm only writing this because I met Jens (albeit very briefly)
at AmiWest last year and think he's a genuinely nice guy, and one of the few left in "amiland" that actually
has anything creative/constructive/interesting/new to contribute. "

I met him at a WOA in London, which must be about 5 years ago, and I completely agree with you. Jens is a good guy.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 230 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 20-Jul-2004 07:26 GMT
In reply to Comment 227 (Hans-Joerg Frieden):
@hans-jörg:

Try to keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out!
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 231 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Hans-Joerg Frieden on 20-Jul-2004 07:31 GMT
In reply to Comment 230 (Anonymous):
Try to put a name to your posting and I might actually take heed of it.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 232 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Peter Gordon on 20-Jul-2004 08:45 GMT
In reply to Comment 229 (Don Cox):
Spoke to Jens at breakpoint about writing SID and keyboard drivers for OS4... had a nice chat about the Amiga and the Mk4 Catweasel. I hope to see him at next years breakpoint. Nice guy.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 233 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Fabio Alemagna on 20-Jul-2004 08:47 GMT
In reply to Comment 215 (Graham_NLI):
> Fabio, nobody likes a know-it-all, and in every argument you've got in on ANN
> you never back down, regardless of the subject, your qualifications in the
> subject, and so on.

That's probably because I never enter topics which I'm not sure I can be right about.

And when someone has been able to produce convincing arguments, I do have backed down. Don't give to me the responsibility of the failure of others to prove their points.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 234 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by T_Bone on 20-Jul-2004 08:48 GMT
In reply to Comment 59 (Fabio Alemagna):
"No point in discussing this further, since this is entirely OT and since we'll never agree. I stand by my opinion shared by many (the majority of them, actually) modern biologists."

I'm a bit late to the game, but you're right about race.

Anyway, I categorize people according to the Clinal model, according to B blood allele. :-)

" It is clear that all of the models fail to adequately carry out the entire job. The typological model is the most unsound because presumed racial traits are not found exclusively within defined races. In addition, focusing on new sets of traits often results in assigning people to different races, despite the fact that they were lumped into the same race before. The populational model makes sense theoretically but fails to account for most of the distribution patterns around the world because we do not limit our breeding to isolated populations. The clinal model comes the closest to grasping the real nature of human variation. However, it is undermined by the occasional discontinuous distribution resulting from migrations and the few remaining small isolated communities. The patterns of human variation around the world are not only highly complex but also are constantly shifting through time. Furthermore, the rate of change in the patterns has been accelerating as our numbers grow and as long distance travel and migration become more routine."
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 235 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Emeric SH on 20-Jul-2004 08:53 GMT
In reply to Comment 224 (Amon_Re):
"It's not "some weird way of punishing Genesi", it's to cover the expenses involved (buying one or 2 pegasos systems, time etc etc), the reason why he opted for this is because he doesn't own or actually want a pegasos system, but he'd need one to be able to support it."

Thanks Amon for not reading either the thread or my comment through :) The Extra cost was all right for me to the very point where came some other explanation from Jens into the picture. Check out my posts, if you'd like, I never argued what you're trying to explain me.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 236 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Olegil on 20-Jul-2004 09:04 GMT
In reply to Comment 215 (Graham_NLI):
Heh.

One cannot talk about racism in the context of Pegasos/AmigaOne users, because you cannot define a race based on just one single criteria like that. The fact that people actually try to make an argument out of it shows they aren't thinking, and by Descartian logic cannot be proven to exist. Hopefully he's just a figment of my imagination and if I concentrate really hard on doing some work now he'll very likely just stop existing.

Descartes: I think, therefore I am.
Fabio: I'm annoying, therefore I am.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 237 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Jupp3 on 20-Jul-2004 09:07 GMT
In reply to Comment 214 (Jens Schönfeld):
>Life is much easier without MorphOS drivers.

Life is much easier without having to even think of buying the new Catweasel MK4.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 238 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Anonymous on 20-Jul-2004 09:12 GMT
In reply to Comment 224 (Amon_Re):
Thats not true.
Jens said himself on a old Thread on Amiga News, that he is planning to let the Mos Users pay for his Problems with Genesi. What he is doing here is pretty Obvious...
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 239 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Ketzer on 20-Jul-2004 09:13 GMT
In reply to Comment 201 (Fabio Alemagna):
> I don't claim the term "racist" is not used to refer to discrimination among "biological" races, what I claim is that it can be extended to a discrimination to any other form of races, not just the biological ones.

Many things "can" be done. In English that isnt the meaning of race, and at least IMO it is wholly inappropriate to try to change the meaning of a word of a foreign language.

> Here in Italy using "racist" that way is quite common, people know that "racist" means "discrimination on the basis of races", and people know that "race" has a wider meaning than the one the common American attributes to it.

So since when is English is native language of Italy? If racist/race has a different meaning for you over there, then your translation is wrong.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 240 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Adam Waldenberg on 20-Jul-2004 09:18 GMT
In reply to Comment 214 (Jens Schönfeld):
You really need to grow up. I guess alot of people don't mature according to their age; you are living proof of that it seems. Just because Bill Buck gave you a hard time doesn't mean you have the right to steal people's money.

You have no ethics whatsoever as far as I can see.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 241 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Ketzer on 20-Jul-2004 09:19 GMT
In reply to Comment 240 (Adam Waldenberg):
Thats business basics. More hassle with the product, more cost to the consumer.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 242 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Ketzer on 20-Jul-2004 09:22 GMT
In reply to Comment 240 (Adam Waldenberg):
Oh and accusing someone of stealing because he asks for money for something you want from him, indicates that youre the one who needs to "grow up".
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 243 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Adam Waldenberg on 20-Jul-2004 09:23 GMT
In reply to Comment 241 (Ketzer):
Read my previous posts before you open your mouth.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 244 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Adam Waldenberg on 20-Jul-2004 09:25 GMT
In reply to Comment 242 (Ketzer):
READ THE REST OF MY POSTS, You twat. I'm really sick of people like you that just throw in idiotic comments without even reading through a thread. He didn't "ask" for any money... And he stole money from me because I have a board here that doesn't work that should have.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 245 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Ketzer on 20-Jul-2004 09:28 GMT
In reply to Comment 243 (Adam Waldenberg):
I did, and thats exactly what I think of your comment I replied to.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 246 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Ketzer on 20-Jul-2004 09:29 GMT
In reply to Comment 244 (Adam Waldenberg):
Thats not stealing either. And insulting is another link to "grow up".
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 247 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Amon_Re on 20-Jul-2004 09:36 GMT
In reply to Comment 229 (Don Cox):
Ditto here, i agree too
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 248 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Amon_Re on 20-Jul-2004 09:38 GMT
In reply to Comment 235 (Emeric SH):
Then i didn't grasp your point, sorry
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 249 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Adam Waldenberg on 20-Jul-2004 09:38 GMT
In reply to Comment 246 (Ketzer):
If you don't think it's stealing you REALLY need a reality check. Period.

If someone promises a product and you buy it because you plan to use it... Shouldn't you get it then? And be able to use that product?

Anything else is stealing money. Read my other posts in this thread and it will be pretty damn clear.
Announcement: Technical data of the new Catweasel MK4 : Comment 250 of 469ANN.lu
Posted by Amon_Re on 20-Jul-2004 09:39 GMT
In reply to Comment 238 (Anonymous):
Link please, and that's not how i interpret his posts :p
Anonymous, there are 469 items in your selection (but only 269 shown due to limitation) [1 - 50] [51 - 100] [101 - 150] [151 - 200] [201 - 250] [251 - 300] [301 - 350] [351 - 400] [401 - 450] [451 - 469]
Back to Top