Amiga's first announcement was that of the key partnership, the foundation of Amiga's plans. UK based visionaries Tao Group are providing the core OS kernel, including their VP which provides a very important selling point: hardware-neutral binaries. The hardware now becomes an abstract commodity, with the same software running transparently on whatever hardware is provided: be it an x86 or PowerPC desktop, an ARM palmtop, a Coldfire STB, or an SH-4 console. The partnership provides technical benefits, but also opens up an important division of labour: giving Amiga a head start and cool technology, giving Tao added value and some talented developer support courtesy of the Amiga community. (That's a gross simplification, but you get the idea)
Of course, having a partner means nothing if tangible results don't start to filter out to the public, particularly developers. Amiga rectified this by releasing a software developer kit, the Amiga SDK, to provide developers with the first glimpse of the new environment, and start the third-party software development process running. Initially hosted on Linux, with a Windows version added later, the kit was a little rough, a little incomplete, but an excellent foothold into the new Amiga. Of course, as well as the software, a reference hardware platform was also announced to complement the SDK - consisting of a low cost PC compatible specification which would ensure an obtainable base level for developers to use and support. The choice of an x86 PC was controversial for some - but when you take into account the need for cost and availability followed by the fact that the VP technology makes hardware choice unimportant, the decision makes perfect sense.
In recent months Amiga have also begun to announce hardware partnerships for the real machines, the new Amigas. I've covered these in the previous two months, but for completeness the coverage so far has been of two particular markets: those of the set top box and the desktop. Amiga-powered STBs are due pretty soon, with the desktops arriving in two waves: the first wave aimed at existing Amiga users and developers, the second wave late next year in the form of actual, standalone systems. More hardware is
