@discreetfx,

Do you really get that much support with MorphOS? Compared to AROS which has mailing lists and forums and an IRC channel too?

The FreeBSD guys made their choice with their license which gets BSD software out to the rest of the world. The same license made WebKit the best browser engine on the planet - so much so that Apple, Nokia and Google's contributions (which they did NOT need to make) continue to make it the best free AND paid for browser on the planet (by paid for, I mean for Apple you would probably do better to be running a Mac, and for Nokia, the chances are you bought a $500 phone). The same kind of license, ironically, applies to the TCP/IP stack running on MorphOS, many of the included tools and features (including PNG icons).

With AROS on the Efika MX, you need to buy the Efika MX. Isn't that a fair enough price for the support you'd get? The original idea was that the Efika port of MorphOS would be free, and Genesi actually paid up front for this (while it was still MorphOS 1.5), and until it took 2 years to actually get there, was still the plan.

Did your 150 Euro make up for the 2 years without an OS update? :)

Let's be honest; there is a lock-in with MorphOS, which is the hardware. It only runs on discontinued products. We no longer actively support the Pegasos and the Efika will probably lapse except for special cases in a few years. Apple have not made a PowerPC Mac Mini for 3 and a half years. It would be better for MorphOS all-round if it ran on hardware that, while still a lock-in to certain hardware models, was actually purchasable without going to ebay or Craigslist.

Without that hardware available, the number of new users will be absolutely zero, and the market can only decrease.