My all time favorite line of computers is still the Amiga, best known as a series of home computers made by Commodore. It’s still very much alive, with people creating software, firmware (‘Kickstart’), hardware add-ons and emulators (both purely in software and re-created in FPGA hardware).
However, unfortunately there’s also quite a few discussions about who owns what (trade marks, copyrights, …) and about what makes a ‘true’ Amiga or Amiga ‘experience’.
I will not try to answer these questions, or give legal advice, but would like to list some key players, products and useful terms. That way, I hope to make it all a bit clearer to myself and possibly other people as well.
For now, I’ll just make an alphabetically sorted list.
A1200.NET
Creators of new cases (housings) and keycaps for classic Amiga hardware (A500 and A1200 cases, keycaps also for A600). A1200.NET also appears to be trademarked.
A-Eon
Makers of NG Amiga hardware (PowerPC based hardware that runs AmigaOS 4)
Since november 2014, A-Eon now develop Personal Paint for the (NG & Classic) Amiga formerly developed by Cloanto.
Amiga Forever
Software emulation suite by Cloanto, including tools and disk images. A good source for legal copies of Kickstart ROMs and WorkBench disk images.
AmigaKit
Originally (I think) an Amiga store, now also owns the A1200 trade mark in some countries (?). They are UK based.
Apollo Team
Created the Vampire series of FPGA-based hardware. Most versions plug into an actual Amiga and take over part of the hardware with new versions inside the FPGA. Basically, a fancy accelerator. The latest (as of writing) version is standalone, which basically equates to a high-spec classic Amiga (without officially being an Amiga).
Cloanto
Creators of the Amiga Forever software emulation suite who also appear to have the right to distribute the classic Amiga ROMs up to version 3.X and matching Workbench disk images. Also includes a tool called Amiga Explorer to copy files between an emulated and a real Amiga over serial port or TCP/IP. Some Amiga retailers (shops) also sell Kickstart ROM chips with a license from Cloanto which should make them legal copies. Cloanto did NOT make AmigaOS 3.1.4, see Hyperion . I think they also have no rights for AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9 (Haage & Partner) and the 4.x versions for NG/PowerPC Amiga systems. (Hyperion)
Haage & Partner
Created AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9, which are updates to the last Commodore version of Workbench (3.1) and require Kickstart 3.1, as well as a minimum of a 68020 CPU and at least 6MB of ‘Fast’ RAM. Still being sold by stores like Vesalia.
Hyperion
Hyperion Entertainment is a Belgian company who claim to have the right to AmigaOS (disputed by Cloanto), and made the new version 3.1.4
They also released AmigaOS 4.0 and 4.1 which is for several PowerPC-based systems, but not for ‘stock’ classic Amigas (e.g. A500, A1200 without PowerPC accelerator board…)
Individual Computers
The company of Jens Schönfeld, who makes some great hardware for C64 and Amiga, and now also claims to have the right to the P96 (formerly Picasso 96) software, used for bigger screens with newer graphic chips (aka RTG). In the press release of december 22nd, 2018, he speaks of (only) one licensee which is Hyperion for their AmigaOS 4.1. However, in 2001 Cloanto claimed to have licensed Picasso96 for Amiga Forever. Meanwhile, there’s also a shareware version (version 2.0) on aminet
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