Posts by FirstNinja

When launching the "nn" USENET client, the program says "no news is good news" while it's fetching the recently posted articles. Frankly put, I've never really understood the gist of it, but I suppose that no news means that everything is moving along in a neat manner without any obstacles. No news means no trouble, so to speak.

Jens and the rest of Icomp - may I ask if this is the case with the A1200 Reloaded, too? I can't wait to set up a brand new A1200 and try out Release 3.2, so I'm following the project closely. If you don't mind, a brief spring update would be most welcome. Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone.

I recently bought an ACA1234 from Individual Computers. Knowing that previously developed A1200 CPU boards don't require any custom support libraries for Release 3.2, I'd like to know if this holds true for the ACA1234, too? In other words, should the generic 68030 library provided by Hyperion be used with OS 3.2?

Thank you for providing really well designed Amiga hardware!

With all the cool stuff that's on Icomp's radar right now, may I please what's the roadmap for 2022 is shaping up to be? Quite a few projects have been put on the back burner (like the highly ancitipated A1200 Reloaded, the new batch of Indivision cards for the CD32 and the Catweasel replacement, and as far as I understand it a new USB platform also being planned for). Although I understand if this topic borderlines business privacy, but it would still be nice if you can paint the picture for 2022 with broad strokes, so to speak.

Quote from Jens

I already talked to Bill Borsari about that, asking him if the "interview style" is an option again this year. It is more dynamic than playing back a pre-recorded message, which was originally requested.

You're totally right - the format worked out really well, likely as a result of the thought-through questions, your equally thought-through (and enthusiastic) answers and, again, that your English is on par with native speakers. Oh, and that a few surprise out-of-the-blue announcements were made, too. It was a ton of fun to watch!

Here's hoping that Borsari will give thumbs up for something similar this year, too!

Quote from Jens

The Commodore A1200 Reloaded is moving higher and higher on the prio list, but there's still a few things I want to get out of the way before I dedicate most of my time to that.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Oh, and one more thing. I think a ton of users would be really interested in hearing what you just said, and then some. I really enjoyed your Amiwest keynote last year (both content- and language wise), so if you are planning something similar for Amiwest 2021 then dropping something exclusive news about the A1200 Reloaded project would likely be highly appreciated by the audience. Just thinking out loud here!

Quote from Jens

Besides, these aren't so rare. The Catweasel MK2 has been sold in 4-digit quantities - a very successful product back in the days.

For good reason, I should add. As far as I can tell by the old reviews and forum threads I've come across, all members of the Catweasel family are a solid piece of work. I suppose that's also the reason why they don't show up on Ebay that often (and why the price is through the roof once they do - price and demend, I guess).

Jens - if you don't mind me asking, how is the A1200 Reloaded project coming together? After some delay I'm hoping to land a CD32-themed A1200 case and a set of matching keycaps this winter. Having a brand new A1200 motherboard inside it would really be the icing on the cake!

Hi again!

Regarding the Catweasel, I'm sure everyone at Individual Computers already now about it, but you may still be interested in knowing that the Ebay scalpers seem to have gotten totally out of control. I'm watching new Catweasel auctions, and this just came up (in short, the asking price for a Catweasel MK2 Anniversary Edition is $425 USD, excluding shipping) - screenshot attached.

Hi Jens and everyone else.

May I please ask if an Indivision ECS with HDMI/DVI connectivity would be feasible to design and manufacture? Since a few days, I'm the owner of a CDTV and having a digital video output straight to the tv would be really nice.

Thoughts?

This post is a great example of why I should log in to the iComp forums more often. Amazing work, Jens - as a mere user, I have a hard time grasping how you have acquired all the skills needed to put something like this together. Personally, I was sort of impressed by myself the first time I had a LED blinking on an Arduino controlled breadboard.

Slightly off topic, but I hope it's still OK to ask away. How much more work would it take to implement support for PowerPC CPUs?

Got it - thank you for the update, and best of luck with the planning!

Hi everyone.

Being a huge Icomp fan, there are a few different products that have been either announced or hinted at that I'm looking forward to. If it's not out of the question to say a few words about them, may I please ask for a short status update about these projects?

1. The A1200 Reloaded - I've backed the new A1200.net Kickstarter, hoping to house a brand new A1200 Reloaded in it.
2. The CD32 Indivision - it has been mentioned here that a new production run is planned for.
3. The new (and Ethernet-connected?) Catweasel - the upcoming Amiga A1222 Tabor lacks PCI ports, so a new implementation for floppy, keyboard and joystick/mouse connectivity would be most welcome.

Please keep up the great, great work that you do!

Just to follow suit, I would also like to express my interest in the project. With a black case from A1200.net on its way, I would very much like to buy a A1200 Reloaded-board once pre-orders open.

Oh, and if I would attend this weekend's Amiga 34-event, please know I would wear a black t-shirt .

While it has already been established that the Catweasel 4 series won't see another production run in this forum thread, I hope it's still in order to ask a question about other possible ways of getting a card. Since all retailers are out of new cards, I've been looking for a used card the last few months. Unfortunately, the outlook isn't all that good - like many Amiga peripherals, prices are through the roof. A good example of the staggering prices can be found in this Amibay thread - the seller is asking €499 for a Catweasel 4 card (yes, you read that right - €499!), and at least one Amibay seller has expressed interest in buying it. I think it pretty much goes without saying that I'd much, much rather support Icomp and Amiga hardware development by buying brand new hardware than shelling out money for an old card that a seller wants to profit on.

All of this being said - Icomp, would you please be willing to sell Catweasel 4 Plus "DIY"-kits? I think it would be a really fun project to build/solder my own card, and it would beat every single "offer" available on Amibay, Ebay and similar marketplaces. Optionally, if you don't find it realistic to sell kits like these, would you consider selling Gerber files, a list of components and any firmware to allow users to print their own Catweasel PCBs and source the components they need?

Any solution that will cater to people who would like to use the Catweasel in their upcoming Amiga A1222 Tabor is most welcome. With Steven Jones amazing Checkmate 1500 case in mind, I would really like to have an authentic Amiga experience - and that means having a 3.5" floppy, two joystick ports and one keyboard port for my A3000 keyboard! The way I see it, that means getting a Catweasel 4 one way or another .

Quote from Jens

Once these two things are corrected, the Amiga drive will work on the Catweasel - it won't work on the Amiga any more, though.

Thank you for your thorough answer - I really appreciate it. I'll bookmark this post for future reference in case a non-Amiga floppy drive turns out to be out of the question to use.

The official Catweasel 4/4Plus manual mentions that the onboard floppy controller is compatible with a few different brands of 3.5" floppy drives meant for non-Amiga computers, like Mitsumi D359 and Samsung SFD-321B. The manual doesn't, however, specifically say whether or not original Amiga DD floppy drives (like A600/A1200 drives) are compatible .

Are they, or does the Catsweasel 4/4Plus only accept non-Amiga floppy drives? If original Amiga drives are in fact compatible - is there an Amiga specific manual for the Catweasel available from somewhere?

Quote from Tobias

The plan is to make it so the device doesnt need explicit support by the OS - because that simply requires too much effort.

As for peripherials, i think that will have to go into a different product. No details have been planned are set in stone yet however - and we'll still be busy with other things for a while.

Got it, and thank you for your reply. While it seems as if the next, "host independent" Catweasel is still quite some time away from the shelves (and it may make sense to try and source an old PCI Catweasel 4+ for temporarily use in an Amiga A1222 Tabor), I still think it's super important to show support to the Amiga software and hardware developers.

Hence, I'm crossing my fingers that the next Catweasel will fully replace version 4+, and that you will support original Amiga peripherals either through the Catweasel itself or through some kind of "companion" product.

In either case, please consider having the OS 4-users and the OS 4 hardware situation in mind, and best of luck with the planning!

Quote from Tobias

We will not make another run of the PCI Catweasel - because maintaining the drivers is way too much effort. And with the current drivers, you wont be able to use it in anything newer than XP (32bit). The next Catweasel will use USB and/or Ethernet instead - but that will still take a while.

Hoping to buy an Amiga A1222 Tabor as soon as it hits the market, I would really like to have the opportunity to use an Amiga 2000/3000/4000/CDTV keyboard, an Amiga "Tank" Mouse and - of course - being able to read and write 3.5" AmigaOS floppies. The experience wouldn't be the same without these peripherals.

All of this being said, may I please ask if you plan to officially support AmigaOS 4.x for the next Catweasel? If you do - is the plan to include support for Amiga keyboards and mice?

Quote from Jens

Downloads and the updates that come with it are tied to the personal account. What we can do is to create a cupon that's tied to purchasing a specific product, which would be P96 in this case.

Great! Thank you - I'll send you guys an e-mail!

Hi everyone.

For this Easter, I'd like to gift a copy of Picasso 96 and either put the download link or the registration code inside an Easter Egg (on a paper card). Would that be possible, or are Picasso 96 purchases tied to your own/personal Icomp account?

Quote from Jens

The new product has the working title "Indivision AGA MK3" and it will be available for A1200/A4000T, and there will be a version for A4000D/CD32 as well.

The design has just ben started, and I expect to have a prototype in summer.

Awesome! Can't wait to order one! Best of luck with the development process, and thank you for the update!