AmigaBounty kind of an idea but HW aligned

@Mods - Just move this or destroy it if need be :-p

I wrote this in another thread but decided perhaps it wouldn't get the expose it deserved, so here it is again in its own thread.

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What always never fails to amaze me is they never seem to do what alot of people would actually pay for.

Why can't they have a few motherboard configurations with custom built options.

ie everything is upgradable/interchangable and with socket plug in replace sort of thing and the bare veins of the system and chips etc not affected by change of configurations could be surface mounted.

Surely this is truely achievable?

why don't we make a bounty sort of thing where we actually hand the money over (x amount of dollars for a certain type of configuration) and so it is held till the machine is made. The money is released when they have made the required x amount of boards and ready to send.

This way, there is no doubt people will buy them since the money is held in trust for definate purchase...

hmmm, maybe this is a good idea for one of those multi billion dollar websites for sale 5 years down the road

understand?

could be a time scale thing... we go right, who wants this type of configuration... there could be a list of 3 main ones with variables not really that important... so 3 expanded to 6 perhaps

The Amiga community has say 2 months to put there money in... a cut off time etc...

once that is up the production team begin to build x amount of 6 different types and no more...

bingo... 100% sales with 100% no risk...

Of course there will be indicators of amount verses numbers... say we can confirm 20 of x configuration... we all pay the trust of the money as if there would only be 20 sold... if it is discovered actually 30 were brought the amount would come down and everyone of those 30 would get a small amount returned... just thought the scale could be listed as well... 1-50 $1200 51-100 $1100 etc... just used 50 increments since that'll be more of a reasonable impact on potential prices... maybe 100 but hey, it's an example...

plan for the worst case scenario and perhaps a return cost later... another safe guard for the manufacturers
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Perhaps this exists to a less an extent somewhere else? But I'm sure it's fesibility study driven if it does. My idea is perhaps we ask the manufacturers if this is possible or they'd be interested before anything else is decided.

@Slayer

Do you realise that many months are needed to produce a board from a blank paper to the final product?
It means people would have to pay and then wait for 9 or 10 months for their board.
I don't think you would accept this.

@Elwood

There would of course be a waiting period. BUT at least we know there is the hardware we want coming and it will be at the spec we no longer need to dream of. Most sensible people these days have a mortagage don't they? Anywhere from 10 to 25 years. Personally I couldn't care less how long I had to wait as long as it was coming. Without an idea like this perhaps there won't be much more HW action, well, not as much as some of us would like.

Your anticipated 10 month period is probably worse case scenario and granted could be a reality. But we already have the design and something we already know that works and seems to work well.

We have waited for so long already with no idea generally what would surface, so what is the difference except a grand scheme to help shape the potential future of specific HW for AmigaOSx.x>

I'd be more than happy to put up the money Elwood

You don't know the Amiga History I have I don't think heh

But thanks very much for bothering to add an opinion, even if it is a sit on the fence type ideal

@Slayer

Making hardware is a lot more involved than porting open-source. Trust me, I've wanted to make a highly modular platform for ages. I've been cooking my idea in my head for about 5 years now... I woul dnever ask for bounty money or people to donate to one for such a thing though. What if I never get something sellable? It would take *_MUCH_* longer than a couple months to do...

@Slayer

I can see your idea but I don't think complicated hardware designs and bounties make a good match.

Hardware design is expensive and will take a long long time. Bounties will not make an income that is large or steady enough to cover development costs.

IMHO hardware should be strictly business, it's the only way things will get done.

@Slayer

Quote:

Actually 10 months would be considered about 1/3 of average. SAM, for example is now in year 3, going by the earliest writings about the board from the developer.

#6

@Slayer

Quote:

I would call 10 months for a hardware design, prototype, test, debug, respins, and finally production to be incredibly optimistic.

I've been working on my hardware design for about 5 years, and have yet to do a single PCB trace layout for it. Others in the PowerPC hardware universe are beginning to do something reasonably close to my idea, so I may try and make use of that someday, even if it's not exactly what I'd like. (Though what I'd like became impossible with the deaths of PA Semi and Uli Electronics, my second-best is still to me better than what I see happening out there) It'll be at least May before I can shell out the big bucks for an evaluation of the (IMNSHO) 3rd-best solution, according to that vendor.

hmmm

I guess AmigaBounty wasn't the greatest parrallel I could make.

I didn't perceive hardware development as being a major hurdle so perhaps I was quite naive in that respect.

I just thought, sort out roughly what can be done (by suitable developers) offer this in a few variations (we are targetting power users mostly though, I'm not interested in moderate users) and then we go from there.

If the developers know there stuff and know the funds are already there then motivation shouldn't be a problem. Sooner its done the sooner they are paid etc.

Perhaps it's too idealistic, I'd be happy to pay now and wait a year. A year passes incrediably fast and compare that to the 15 years or so we have had to wait for the SAM etc, I really don't care. What's a few thousand out of the kitty for any stylish power user elitest?

bah LOL

I really am the only real Amiga User left

@Troels

Quote:

I just noticed you said this, the thing is, that is exactly what I am saying, it would be JUST business. The bounty concept is only a name I gave to collecting all the money and that it wouldn't be delivered to them until the hardware was ready. but it WOULD be given 100% guaranteed.

Who ever joined this ideal would pay in full the total amount for the finished product, there would be no finance or false promises.

I'm sure this was all explained in my initial post

perhaps I got so carried away I got a little vague.

again I stress not everyone thinks like I do so it is very idealistic to most except to me of course, it's as real as it gets.

I always put my money where my mouth is