An Interview With

TOTAL AMIGA Jens Schoenfeld Interview An Interview with... Of Individual Computers In this special preview of his interview in Total Amiga issue 25, Jens Schoenfeld of Individual Computers talks exclusively Jensto Total Amiga’s Magnus Schoenfeld Johnson about Clone-A, an Amiga chipset replacement project. For how long do you think you with the members of the Fact File will be able to dedicate your American Amiga community. time and capabilities to Amiga Name How come you’re so development? Jens Schönfeld committed to the Amiga and Location Amiga is making less than a the C-64 markets? It can’t Aachen, Germany quarter of my revenue at the really be all about the money, Web Site moment, but it’s constant now can it? business. I guess that I could http://www.ami.ga That’s right, the money is a continue infinitely, because I still E-mail secondary reason to put so have a lot of ideas that I never [email protected] much time into products that only turned into products. However, sell a few hundred units. There business is not the main reason are multiple other reasons – I that I don’t have in my portfolio why I dedicate a lot of time to the grew up with these machines, yet: A fast CPU design and the Amiga. Amiga is a philosophy and it’s fun to squeeze out ever Amiga chipset. To me, an Amiga that other computers lack, a lot more from them. It’s a challenge needs at least an OCS/ECS of concepts of the Amiga OS and to solve hardware problems with compatible chipset, otherwise it the Amiga hardware are either today’s technology. It might doesn’t really feel like an Amiga. Could you start by introducing missing, or have bad replications seem easy with the possibilities I’d have lots of peripherals to put yourself to those of our on today’s mainstream we have today, but the challenge on the board, and surely a lot of readers who may not know computers. I must admit that I do is to make it worthwhile, even ideas to add a lot of value who you are, and to those who my main work (CAD, emails and with the high production cost and without increasing the price to do and want to know more OpenOffice) with an x86 low quantities. astronomical regions. However, about you? machine, but it’s always fun to the way to such a board is long My name is Jens Schönfeld, and turn on the Amiga. The fun has Like I said earlier, it’s got to be and expensive, so I never really I’m the founder and owner of been spoiled lately by people in fun, and fun doesn’t only mean started it – until about a year “Individual Computers”. I’m the public discussion forums, so I money, but also doing it for a ago. man behind things like the took a break: I accepted contract community that appreciates the work that will keep me busy for work, and getting attention for Are you currently working on Graffiti video card, the Buddha anything new, as of yet IDE controller, the Catweasel undisclosed? And, would you floppy controller and multiple “The goal is to create a cycle-exact Amiga care to share? I promise to other expansions for the Amiga. chipset replica with today’s technology.” keep it between you, me, and a Top-sellers were the X-Surf few hundred readers. networking card and the IDE-fix another two to three months, but accomplishing things that others (and “Express”) adapter. I’m working on two flickerfixers, I’m sure that I’ll do more Amiga thought were impossible. I’ve one for the Amiga that will output For how long has Individual work after that. made a lot of friends through my a 75Hz picture for PAL screens, Computers existed, and how business over the years, and I You are scheduled as a and another for the C64, many people are involved? always enjoy going to Amiga speaker at AmiWest this year, because I keep losing 15kHz shows. The show itself is mostly When I started in 1994, there what will you be talking about C64-compatible monitors. Both work, but the party-and-going-out were no plans to expand the and demonstrating there? products will most probably not part after the shows makes up company. However, I knew that I be finished this year. When I last spoke at AmiWest in for that. That’s where I got to was really bad at software, so summer 2004, it was a very know really interesting people Since we agreed that this that had to be done externally. I technical speech. Way too that I think can only be found in interview is not published before always hired contract workers to technical for a banquet speech the Amiga community. I wouldn’t October 2006, I can also share do software, or turned to the “big where people are waiting for like to do the same in a grey PC the biggest project with you: I’m names” of the Amiga, for food! I’m preparing something market where it’s all about huge working on the Amiga chipset, example Oliver Kastl who did the entertaining with less tech-talk. quantities and anonymous sales. together with Oliver Achten, the IDE-fix and the Buddha software. There are some funny details developer of the MMC64 and Since January 2006, I have hired Being one of the most active and stories that happen during now the main developer of our two programmers to do the main hardware developers on the development and usually stay new project. He’s one of the two software work. I’m even in talks Amiga market today, with a behind the scenes. I don’t want guys that I have hired since with a third programmer, great track record and all your to reveal too much, it shall be a January of this year, and we because I have projects in the talent, have you ever surprise – also to those who can started the plans and works that require a lot of considered developing a “next only watch the AmiWest show preparations for this project in manpower. I do want to continue generation” Amiga online. I’d like to encourage late October of 2005. The goal is support for the older projects, motherboard? everyone to really attend the to create a cycle-exact Amiga such as the Catweasel, so the show, AmiWest was always big I actually did, yes, but that would chipset replica with today’s only alternative is to create more fun, I’ve always had a great time require two big developments technology. Oliver and I are jobs. Issue 25, Winter 2006 Page 1 of 3 TOTAL AMIGA Jens Schoenfeld Interview going to demonstrate the a faster blitter, a daughter card prototype at this year’s AmiWest for whatever mainboard that you Clone-A Chips show. The demonstration will be can buy today and many other something that the visitors can things. I’d also be open to a influence: I’d like to encourage cooperation with someone who people to bring their favourite wants to turn this chipset into a disks with them and try them in toy like the C64DTV. A portable our computer. Any game, demo Amiga that runs for many hours or program, just bring the disk - on a cellphone battery is the computer has 2MB chipmem definitely within reach. and a 68000 processor. Let me Could you elaborate a bit emphasise again that we are not about the different approaches selecting the kind of software between “Clone-A” and the that will be demonstrated – we Minimig? will be completely unprepared for the kind of programs people Dennis took the UAE source and bring. We just want to the description of the chipset 8372 Agnus demonstrate that if it runs on an registers to make a forward- A500, it will run on our chipset. engineered Amiga-compatible chipset. This is not necessarily a The current name of the project bad move, but like I said, our is “Clone-A”. We’re replacing approach leaves no room for each chip of an Amiga 500 bit by mistakes, while he has much bit. At this point, Denise, Gary, more freedom for a similar, but Paula and the CIAs are not exactly-the-same completely removed and implementation. Before we take replaced by small FPGA boards. the next step of implementing a It’s pretty certain that we won’t part of a chip, we do extensive “I’d like to encourage people to bring their favourite disks with them (to AmiWest) and try them in our (Clone-A) computer.” have a finished Agnus at reverse-engineering, for example AmiWest, but we already have a by writing test-programs and very good idea of what’s inside, doing measurements on the Denise because we have reverse- chips with a logic analyzer while engineered the inter-chip the programs are running. We’re communication, where large also doing really strange things parts of Agnus need to be to find out what the inner known. workings of the chips are, for example programming them in a Our approach to a re- way that you’re not supposed to. implementation of the chipset is surely one that takes the longest, How many man-hours have compared to the full gone into bringing it to its implementation “from scratch” current state, and how much that Dennis van Weeren did for more time do you expect will his Minimig.

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