The AMIGA project began as a quest to create the ultimate Video Game console, by
a talented group of engineers who had played a large part in shaping the
hardware of the video game console era of the early eighties. Jay Miner, the then CEO of
Amiga Incorporated and a notable Atari engineer, is considered the father of the
AMIGA. Originally funded in part by Atari, when Amiga Incorporated was purchased
by Commodore in the early eighties, the concept was modified to include a keyboard
and disk drive in order for it to be used as a fully fledged computer that would
be open to third party development. The AMIGA represented Commodore's move to 16-bit technology and
was the natural progression from its 8-bit range of computers which featured the
Commodore 64.
"THE Creative Computer."
The Commodore AMIGA's outstanding graphics
and sound quickly made it the most advanced and desirable home computer in
the world. Programmers, graphicians and musicians flocked to the AMIGA, creating
amazing productivity and creativity applications, as well as games, demoscene
productions and music. The computer was so ahead of its time that people were
checking under the desk for the super computer driving the display. Many still recount their first
jaw-dropping AMIGA experience. It helped define what became known as multi-media
and was well regarded in the area of video effects. Many of the every day
computing functions and modes of operating, such as multi-tasking, which we take
for granted today, were first popularized by the AMIGA in the late eighties, and it
took years for Commodore's competitors to catch up.
"THE Game Computer."
It is tempting to think of the AMIGA as Commodore’s version of the Apple Macintosh of the day,
but it was much more. The AMIGA was THE CREATIVE COMPUTER, back when the Macintosh was basically a desktop publishing device.
With its stunning ability to manipulate graphics, its rich pallette of colors
and realistic sound, the
AMIGA was also THE GAME COMPUTER back when most PC games featured 4 colours and could do little more
than beep.
Obviously things have changed since Commodore declared bankruptcy in the early
nineties, and Apple and the Windows PC have pretty much taken over the niche that the AMIGA once
filled. One must therefore ask oneself what can an AMIGA possibly come to represent in this day and age
of commodity hardware? What would a Commodore AMIGA be today? What qualities and
concepts would it espouse?
"Beautiful, High-Performance, Home Computers for Creativity and Entertainment."
At Commodore USA, our goal is to restore the AMIGA brand to its former glory.
Our mantra is to produce "Beautiful, High-Performance, Home Computers for
Creativity and Entertainment". Our reboot and re-imagining of the classic AMIGA
line-up will showcase the latest and
greatest Personal Computer Hardware and Operating System technology available today.
"No task too big or too small for an AMIGA to accomplish."
Our modern day AMIGA incarnation will feature Commodore OS, a distinctive,
attractive, advanced and stable Operating System experience, that will come
pre-loaded with dozens of the latest and greatest productivity and creativity
software the open source world has to offer. Featuring dozens of exciting 3D
games, the latest web browsing technology, a Microsoft Word compatible Office Suite, advanced graphical manipulation programs, 3D raytracing
software, advanced software development tools and languages, photo and movie editing and sound and music composition programs,
there is no task too big or too small for an AMIGA to accomplish. Commodore OS will also be classic Commodore compatible, with the ability to run classic 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit era software
via emulation. Our next
generation AMIGA also provides optimum software flexibility by providing the
option to run Windows software either from a dual boot menu at start up, or seamlessly integrated within
Commodore OS itself.
"Make it on AMIGA!"
Commodore USA, LLC is delighted to once again unite the Commodore and AMIGA
brands, and is determined to bring these much loved icons back to the
mainstream and restore their prominence in the tech industry. We will endeavor
to produce competitive and innovative products in a manner befitting the
Commodore and AMIGA heritage.
