Imagine a computer that responds to voice commands in any language, has no viruses, and offers a stable operating system with no crashes. It sounds like science fiction but according to one local businessman and visionary that system has already been here once before and will be again soon. David Mallette is known locally as a professor, consultant, and Director of Operations for the Regional Music Heritage Center. He also believes that one of the most stable computers of all time, with benefits untapped by modern computers, came to life in 1995. That computer was the Amiga 4000. In the mid-1990s arguably one of the most advanced computer systems was the Amiga from Commodore. Commodore, a long-time maker of business machines, had conquered the computer world with the best-selling computer of all time, a record it still holds, in the Commodore 64. Amiga became a brand of the Commodore line and was used to develop science fiction shows, movies, music, and videos. It was a time when other systems fell far behind the Amiga. Unfortunately, mismanagement and likely many other business-related complications forced Commodore to go into bankruptcy and close. The rights were sold, argued over, and eventually disappeared from the business world. Now, twenty-five years later, Mallette intends to bring the technology up-to-date and advance it beyond current systems with the Amiga21 Corporation. Amiga21 has already had a GoFundMe page that topped a thousand dollars in less than a day. David has been talking with technology experts in the area and around the country, and those understanding the work have stepped up with investments in the dream.
I spent some time with David yesterday to view potential sites and discuss his plans. Much of what is being planned cannot be openly discussed at this time, but it is safe to say David’s plans will include a corporate office in Texarkana, Texas, an offsite home in Arkansas, and a plant to build the Motorola 68000 series chips in Texarkana, AR. He has selected sites for all and plans to ensure they are connected from a Christian point-of-view and a business point-of-view.
David recognizes that some people are skeptical of his plans and vision to bring back a twenty-five-year-old operating system and modernize it. We traveled and looked around several sites. The area where he hopes to build his home, he has affectionately called it “Eden.” Standing by a riverside and talking with David, you could see the sparkle in his eye when he talked about his fondness for the flowing river, his vision for a home, and his desire to bring Amiga21 to life in Texarkana. He wants to provide jobs, computers, and a system that can be applied to education, business, and even gaming.
While some are skeptical, David has decided to ignore them. He has decided that the focus on his plans and vision are simply too time-consuming for him to worry about doubt. Perhaps it should be remembered that a Holocaust survivor decided to start a business machine company that would produce the best-selling computer of all time while two other guys would build a small system in their garage and transform it into a billion-dollar corporation. Those guys likely had skeptics too, but like David they ignored them. They focused on their plans and their vision and they built it. Watching David as he discussed Amiga21, I can clearly see a laser focus in his eyes, and I have no doubt he will build it.
The Amiga21 Corporation is already online at Amigacorporation.com. An online testing video can be seen on YouTube. Continue Reading →
