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However, there is *no future* in the Mac Mini. It's a way for developers to get a powerful developing platform, and current community MorphOS desktop users to get something better and faster to at a cheap price. But if MorphOS is to ever get a serious and sustainable commercial future (it is a proprietary, commercial OS after all), then something else is needed. The LimePC devices (of which the CherryPal is one) could have been a base for such a future:

Link

Multiply the total volume of all the devices with its respective retail price, and then deduct 10% (which would have been Genesi's part). A lot of money. And this was a draft, from what I heard the real deal was even better. Something like this is needed, it would be a jackpot.

I will love the Mac Mini port, but it won't ever lift MorphOS beyond the hobby status it's in now. So whether there is a "need or space for another Efika-like MorphOS machine" or not depends on your ambitions with the OS.

@ Darth_X

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I completely disagree. An Efika Open Client is perfectly capable to run a 19, 22 or 24 inch monitor in its native resolution. You do not need a G5 level processor to do that.

The CherryPal computer, on the other hand, is incapable to do so. Running an operating system in a 1024x768 display resolution appears to be anything but "modern" at the end of the year 2008. In fact, it is a major step backwards compared to the Efika Open Client.

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[ Edited by Velcro_SP 09.04.2011 - 10:20 ]

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Hi Andre. I guess you were the MorphOS Team member that discussed with Genesi about the possibilities of an MPC5121e MorphOS version.
Why can you assure that this CPU is unable to drive a decent screen? Is it because the integrated display unit (DIU) steals too many clock cycles to the CPU (just like the old Amiga chipset did)? In that case, then, I guess one can forget about using also the PowerVR (for which there's no public driver) and the AXE...

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Mind you, those sales figures come from the "contract" that the chinese shitted on a long ago. I guess you already knew it, but it might confuse people. The THTF deal was indeed jackpot, but never materialised. In fact, Genesi was betrayed by them. A scary story indeed, about engaging a partner that immediately turns out as a competitor, without the slightest respect for ethics...

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Go check the specs, 1280x720 or 1024x768 is what you can get from the DIU.

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The strategic move would be to become *the* OS for a high volume consumer device (*any* kind of suitable device), and get away from the old desktop OS model where the *user* first pick some hardware and then pick an OS for it.

How often do you change OS in your PDA or cell phone? Or in your STB? You never do that, and why should you? The device is there to fill a purpose, to be the solution to a user need, and the OS is merely one component of the package that also consists of the hardware and most important - the SW applications that actually provides the desired functionality.

Looking at just the OS, and the OS alone, then MorphOS would be a perfect match for every single one of the LimePC concepts, ranging from that key-ring sized device and PDA sized devices, to the UMPC and HDTV. Problem is - where are the applications? Where are the PDA applications, the organizer, etc. Where are the STB applications (TV/tuner SW, EPG, Teletext, PVR, etc)? You get my point? Without these applications, the OS is useless on these kind of devices.

So now when MorphOS has reached this kind of mature state it's in now, maybe the MorphOS team should start thinking about some kind of commercial future for it and start developing the necessary applications that could make it happen? How about forming some kind of vision? A strategy from that? And then start working towards that goal? At least if the ambition is at any higher level than forever being a hobby OS...

(And also finding a way to *focus* the work better on porting in order to speed things up - taking *two years* to get MorphOS to the Efika is not acceptable. With this practice, all ships will have sailed since long.)

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I have no idea what Genesi is up to at the moment, but there has been some talk about an 8610 based Netbook over at powerdeveloper.org. Maybe that's their new project, I don't know. But again - how would MorphOS fit in *there*? The same problem as above...

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*WE* will soon have the Mac Mini port. This will be great. It could be the most powerful yet cheapest MorphOS suitable PPC device we will *ever* see.

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I think that anyone who approaches THTF with a big enough order could get a deal. Looking at their history, they seem to have been all about supplying OEM products...

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I don't know about "opens up a big market". I don't think so really. Perhaps a bunch of "Amiga Classic" and a few "OS4" users will join, people who already are into the game so to say. But there aren't that many left today in 2008, and I doubt there will be many joining from the outside.

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Personally I think a 8610/MorphOS based Dreambox kind of STB could become a hit! The Dreambox is in a premium segment of the STB market (above the cut-throat price competition), and is not really challanged by any competition at the moment. With the right set of SW, MorphOS would be very well positioned there...

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Which would good enough for any of the LimePC concepts and similar products.

The only design that *could* hurt from it, is the ThinPC/CherryPal, but there are many situations/applications where this would be enough as well. Not for a workstation or serious desktop though, but the hardware doesn't fit there anyway...

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The affordable LCD HDTV's for sale on the market are 720p. The ones that have PC inputs (ie SVGA) support resolutions of 1280x768 or 1024x768. So a low cost device that plugs into a TV should support 1024x768 resolution. It would suck though if you had a 1080p HDTV and the device only output 720p.. but then regular DVDs are only 480p





[ Edited by Darth_X on 2008/12/11 11:33 ]

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Indeed. Since the only reasonable usage of a 400 MHz 603e class device would be some netbook or other ultramobile device (maybe some in car entertaining system or such), the 1024x768 is still sufficient.
My Eee has a 1024x600 screen (as most netbooks), for presentations it is important to support the most common beamer resolution which is, to my knowledge, still 1024x768.
Nobodoy (except maybe the folks at Cherrypal ,who claim the CP would be superior to Vista or Leopard (whatever that claim should say)) is suggesting to replace you Core 2 Duo with a 5121...

Thus, I think the 5121 could have made some pretty sense, but as of now I am over it, and guess the last chance is the 8610 (in a way TMHG pointed out quite good a bit below).
*If* the CP is sold like hot cakes within the next few months I'd still encourage the MorphOS-Team to provide a port ASAP. But I *very much* doubt the CP will sell well (at least for the current price, if they cut it down to ~150 US$/120 EUR it would be another story)...

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[ Edited by Velcro_SP 09.04.2011 - 10:21 ]