wee doors banging

I was lucky enough recently to be invited (by DDNI) to lunch with Trevor Dickinson, the man behind the company behind the latest “next generation” Amiga computer, the AmigaOne X1000.

Yes, “lunch”, not “launch”. Not yet.

The X1000 is an entirely new platform being developed by A-Eon Technology. AmigaOS 4 compatible, it brings the hardware up to date with built in dual core 1.8Ghz+ PowerPC processor, Radeon R700 graphics, 7.1 audio, DDR2 RAM and support for gigabit Ethernet, USB, SATA and PCIe devices. The classic Amigas were famous for their custom chips, and the X1000 goes one step further with the inclusion of an XMOS Core “programmable CPU” co-processor, a “customisable chip” who’s abilities are defined by software.

Amigans at lunch

Trevor himself is amiable and chatty, and make no mistake he’s a retro computer and Amiga enthusiast with an enviable collection of around 150 old machines. I’d love to have the space and time.

As the three of us sat over lunch of fish and chips the conversation ranged from the hazards of flying small aircraft over mountain ranges, to building down-hole-data diagnostic and monitoring systems for drilling rigs, and eventually – and at length – on to all things Amiga and X1000.

“We’re not Apple”, says Trevor. He acknowledges that the X1000 is a machine for hobbyists, much like himself, and that it will be marketed as such. ”We’d be happy to break even”, he claims, and I believe him. His infective enthusiasm for the project and the Amiga platform in general shines through. The X1000 is clearly, in no small part, a labour of love.

A-Eon are being careful to avoid the hardware niggles that have plagued previous “next generation” Amiga hardware projects. A very limited run of revision 2.0 X1000 motherboards is being produced in the next few weeks, and only if this goes well will a (slightly) larger run of boards be manufactured fora distribution to beta testers before autumn. Full production and retail availability is expected around Christmas, priced £1,500 or more for a complete system including an AmigaOS 4 license.

I’d largely ignored the next generation Amiga projects until now, due to price of the hardware and software and their incompatibility with my primary Amiga activity of creating WHDLoad patches for classic games, so today’s lunch was a welcome, informative and fascinating insight into the scene from someone directly and deeply involved in it.

Big thanks to DDNI for the invitation and to Trevor for taking the time out to chat.