Dear A\BOX enthusiasts,

One of the most important factors of the success of the A\BOX is the availability of programming tools and documentation at the launch of this dream - machine. The term "programming package and documentation" refers to (in my opinion):

1) 3D rendering - raytracing software 2) Paint - image manipulation - image retouching - vector drawing - video editing software 3) Sound software (samplers, trackers, midi composers, FX processors) 4) Editors ( text editors, 2D and 3D map editors, programming language editors) 5) programming languages(C/C++ , pascal) 6) a set of programming libraries that offer full - control of every aspect of the machine(OS,graphics,sound,TCP/IP, etc) 7) assemblers - debuggers 7) full documentation of the PowerPC processor, the Caipirinha Chip, the architecture

It is important for the following reasons :

1) The machine will be a very complex piece of modern technology, making the hacking of the hardware very difficult. The Amiga suffered from this, because Commodore was unable or reluctant to release full technical specifications of it's wonder machine, thus forcing programmers to play away with the hardware to discover its capabilities, resulting in very slow development rates(that is also backed - up by the fact that the first wave of Amiga games releases were Atari ST ports)

2) The Caipirinha chip is a first in the computing world; no similar concept exists in the micro computers market of today. This is another reason why the technology can not be (easily) reversed - engineered, so the full range of capabilities of the machine should be made known to programmers right from the start

3) Large software companies will be reluctant to invest money and time into software development of a new platform, because it will not be viable from a marketing and economic point of view, especially when no software development tools exist and the companies should have to invest in developing software development software.

4) The most likely sources of software at the first steps of the a\box will be computer enthusiasts like me or small companies that will not risk too much by developing for a proprietary machine, fox example demo coders groups, amateur programmers etc. The existence of a programming package such as the one mentioned above will help these people to access the machine’s superior capabilities easier and faster, thus making the a\box an attractive computer platform sooner. Additionally, the most likely buyers of the A\Box will be computer - related people with a high technical knowledge that can appreciate the a\box technology. I consider myself one of those but I have many friends that do not know much about computers and of - course concepts like «UMA memory architecture» and «1.6 GB bandwidth» mean nothing to them. So it is important for the a\box to provide access to the full - range of its capabilities right from the start, enabling for some quickly - produced breathtaking jaw-dropping software that will act as a commercial for the machine to the non-technical masses

5) the availability of such a programming and documentation package will jump-start software development at all levels , especially from the back - bedroom programmers and small software companies. This is extremely important, since the majority of PC software (especially games) take over 18 months in average to be completed. The shareware PC scene is slowly dying : the best PC shareware games are commercial games that have taken over two years to be developed (see recent releases such as Shadow Warrior, Blood, Quake etc). You should also take into account the current trent of emulation : Todays or even tommorows PCs can not emulate 16-bit game consoles and arcades to full frame - rate, but the a\box will be able to do that. People like small - scale software to complement "big-time" games like C&C, Quake etc. Imagine also the following scenario : If the machine is released in June 98 , and we consider the time that it will take for the a\box to be sold in significant numbers, the time to reverse - engineer the machine and the time to develop a big commercial game, we could be looking at the first important a\box game releases in the year 2000 the earliest( I am talking for a\box showcase software and not PC conversions). By that year, the PC will have Talisman, AGP and other 3D technologies plus a superlative back - catalogue of 3D games, and suddenly the a\box will not be an attractive option. On the other hand, if that programming package will be available in the launch of the a\box (perhaps pre-installed in the machine or in a CD-ROM packaged with it), some demos and quick games will come up, enhancing the possibility of a breathtaking demo or game to come up and sell the computer. We must not forget that some of the reasons for the success of the Amiga were the Juggler Demo, Defender of the Crown, Shadow of the Beast, etc, games that literally sold the Amiga to the European masses

6) A lot of the abilities of the a\box will come from the Caipirinha chip. If the programmers do not know how to use it, they will be tempted for the quick solution , to utilise the CPU for everything(graphics,sound), thus showing that the a\box is not significantly advanced over the PCs(remember the initial impressions for the Amiga and the Atari ST? the mass market/media considered these two machines as of equal capabilities(with the Amiga slightly superior), but the true Amiga capabilities were revealed much later when custom-made software was developed)

7) The full documentation of the OS will enable the programmers of 'serious' applications(I do not beleive that games are not serious software, but I am saying this for illustration purposes) like word - processors, spread - sheets, image processing software, CAD, etc to utilise the advantages of the AmigaOS(the best OS today) as soon as possible, thus making software better,easier to use, conforming to a\box OS standards etc. When the next version of Microsoft office comes out, it will require a full 580 MB hard disk(ok i do not know that, i'm joking) to be installed, whereas an a\box office suit will require much less space and resourses, provided that the programmers know the OS as early as possible.

8) A good WWW browser will be easier to develop when full documentation is available, perhaps making the a\box the best platform for the internet(as well as a server solution, since it will be based in a modern linux kernel). The importance of networking applications that can be easily intergrated into the home and office environment will be a characteristic of the dominating computer platform of the next century. The a\box is a perfect candidate for that, and if that programming package would become available from the start, the posibilities for world domination could be enhanced.

9) By giving away a full development package to the public, new talent in software could be revealed much more easily. That is important especially when it comes to a new platform...

I think that the above - mentioned reasons are more than enough to persuade you for the importance of software development software for the a\box at the launch date. If you have a different opinion, you can mail me at the following address :

se96aam@brunel.ac.uk

Regards

Achillefs Margaritis(currently studying software engineering at Msc level in UK)