> I have no idea why the boards built for AmigaOS 4.x went with
> U-Boot instead of Open Firmware.

I believe there were no OpenFirmware implementations open sourced before Eyetech's AmigaOne came out, and not many before Sam440 development started. In fact, until 2006 there were only OpenBIOS and SLOF that I know of. Btw, the X1000 uses CFE, which is neither OpenFirmware nor U-Boot.

They could have licensed something prior to 2006. I know that U-Boot being GPL frustrates them, regardless. Varisys may have already been using CFE in other products, or perhaps choosing Broadcom as a firmware vendor insured continued support. That makes more sense from a commercial standpoint and will hopefully benefit users longterm. Let's just hope the A-Eon partnership survives the release of the first board (and doesn't bury its financial backers, who seem like good chaps). No one wants another Eyetech situation, regardless of they're Amiga persuasion.

EDIT: In the meantime, new world Macs have Open Firmware, so the hacking can continue.

[ Edited by Trev on 2010/11/23 14:33 ]

> They could have licensed something prior to 2006.

Yes, of course. But that would have meant additional costs. I can imagine that this had a role in the decision.

> I know that U-Boot being GPL frustrates them, regardless.

How do you know? And why do you think is it?

> Varisys may have already been using CFE in other products

I think the main reason for using CFE on the X1000 is that the Electra eval board uses it. Whether or not Varisys put CFE on their VM31 module is not known to me, though.

@Andreas_Wolf

Re: U-Boot and GPL, I know Thomas Frieden (and perhaps others) see source releases for AmigaOne firmware as dangerous, probably because there's no easy way to recover from a bad attempt at flashing an AmigaOne. AmigaOS 4.x DRM makes user-supplied changes difficult, regardless. A-Cube, on the other hand, posts Sam4x0 firmware source immediately and welcomes community input.

@thread

I wrote a draft of a proper guide to "reducing" Open Firmware expansion ROM images this afternoon. Rather than relying on voodoo and finger crossing, it attempts to explain what you're removing and why. Perhaps someone will find it useful: http://www.spookysoftware.com/home/morphos/reducing-open-firmware-expansion-rom-images/. (EDIT: Users on Mac forums have previously described the process as "not an exact science." That's hogwash, obviously.)

[ Edited by Trev on 2010/12/20 16:46 ]

[ Edited by Trev on 2010/12/20 16:50 ]