AmiZilla FAQ
The AmiZilla project is taking off like a rocket! This FAQ has been setup to answer some major questions and also to point everyone in the same direction so efforts are not wasted. First please visit and join the official AmiZilla Message board if you are going to assist with the port or have advice/suggestions.
Thanks to Robin Cloutman for setting up
So the work of porting this application can be shared.
Q: How much will AmiZilla cost?
A: AmiZilla like Mozilla is 100% free open source software. The only reason we are collecting a bootie is to to give programmers an incentive to port it to Amiga OS. Without that incentive we will never get this legendary application on Amiga OS. The source code came out in 1998 and it is now 2009. Without this effort Amiga would never get Mozilla.
Q: Why spend so much of your time on this free effort when the Mozilla/Netscape web browser is free thanks to Microsoft underhanded and illegal tactics with Internet Explorer.
A: We love the Netscape browser and have for years, also it is evolving into a IDE (Integrated Development Environment) so in the coming years you will see many applications written within the Mozilla environment. The Amiga desperately needs this. Netscape like the Amiga created a whole new paradigm for computers, these two are meant for each other.
Q: What will be the requirements and the minimum spec for the Amiga version.
A: Well that will depend a lot on the programming team that tackles the port and their skillset but the spec we would like to see is Amiga OS 3.9 and above and/or WinUAE/Amiga Forever/Amithlon/AROS/MorphOS. 680x0+ CPU or PowerPC CPU, faster the better, 24 bit Graphics card, 32MB of RAM. We would also like the coders to try hard to make it work with AGA.
Q: Why @ least Amiga OS 3.1?
A: Many Amiga owners have not upgraded to 3.1 so maybe AmiZilla could stimulate sales of OS 3.9 to help Amiga Inc.
Q: Why not make AmiZilla only a native Amiga OS 4.0 and MorphOS version, why support older systems?
A: AmiZilla will run best under Amiga OS 4.0 & MorphOS, it should also be very fast under Amithlon and WinUAE. We would not do the Amiga users such a disservice by making it not work with older Amiga systems. Amiga owners have wanted a version of Netscape for years and we want them to have it. We will reject any programming effort that does not work in some way on normal Amiga systems, were not taking A500 here though.
Q: What GUI Interface kit will AmiZilla use? Many people love different ones like MUI, Reaction, ClassAct. Also Mozilla has it's own too right? Many people swear by the their favorite one and don't like the others.
A: What we would like to see happen with this issue is similar to what Holger Cruz did with the Miami TCP/IP stack. When Miami first came out it required MUI but later Hoger gave users the option of using several different GUI's, they installed their favorite one and that was it. We would very much like to see this happen with AmiZilla too, ultimately it will be up to the coding team though. In order to stay compatible with Mozilla's Themes system they may have to port Mozillas own GUI Toolset though.
Q: Why is the Amiga OS & MorphOS version equally important?
A: Teamwork is critical in such a large project as this. The community must not be divided on AmiZilla because this effort will help everyone. AROS, Amiga Forever/WinUAE, Amithlon compatibility are also very vital.
Q: What about the naysayers that say you can never port Mozilla to the Amiga, it just can't handle it.
A: This is nonsense, Amiga OS is the very best place to have something like Mozilla because of the elegance of the design of the operating system. Plus Netscape 4.x ran for years on Mac OS 9 and lower, a very primative none multitasking operating system.
Q: How can we get AmiZilla released faster?
A: Programmers must have an incentive to do all the hard work, so if you can contribute to the cause. Even if you only send $10, or $5 or even $1 every dollar makes a difference. Each and every person that ups the booty is making a statment and bringing us that much closer to the day when we have this great application.
Q: What will be so special about running Mozilla on Amiga OS, why can't everyone just use the Windows version that has been available for years.
A: We don't want to branch too much from the normal Mozilla source code but we very much would like to see special Amiga enhancements made like an AREXX port, maybe even add Rebol Scripting or make it Rebol aware. And add other features that will make it the best version of Mozilla on any operating system.
Q: What will happen after Amiga OS has AmiZilla?
A: AmiZilla can be a catalyst to many great things for Amiga. Most computer users use their machine 80% of the time for web browsing, it is the single most important application to them next to e-mail. Imagine a world where your general purpose computer user that just needs internet access would be free from the illegal practices of companies trying to control/monopolize their whole computing experience. You don't need a 3 Ghz Pentium 4 to browse the web!
Q: How come AmiZilla does not have a sexy female mascot like Spontaneous Combustion's Hottie?
A: I am in discussions with Eric Schwartz about this very issue. we should reach an agreement very soon.
Q: What will be the next project after AmiZilla is working under Amiga OS/MorphOS?
A: A JVM will be next and a website and fund raising effort will be setup to focus on that. Amiga must have Java after Mozilla/Firebird is working.
Q: What will the JVM project be called?
A: Hot CoCo
Q: How can I help?
A: If your a good Amiga programmer get on the AmiZilla Message Board and contribute, code, ideas, advice. If you are a user then please donate a little to the cause, every little bit helps. Payment to the programmer/team of the AmiZilla contest is vital to the project. Once Mozilla/Firebird is ported we can focus efforts on a JVM(Hot CoCo).
Please Keep the Dream Alive
Best regards
BP