While the title of this post is obviously meant as humour, there's certainly a grain of truth in it. To be an Amiga user in 2008 you have to be an addict. No matter which flavour of Amiga you are using, you have to live with certain software restrictions compared to mainstream systems, and that takes quite a bit of devotion.
I got my first Amiga in about 1989. It was an A500 with Kickstart 1.2, and it changed my life forever. The rest, as they say, is history. The first few years after Commodore's demise, second hand Amigas were a dime a dozen. In this period I got my first A4000. After upgrading the processor, installing a graphics card, and putting in other gadgets, I had to sell it off in 1999 because I desperately needed the money. As you can guess I've regretted this ever since.
Since then I've had a couple of other Amigas, but I've also had periods away from the Amiga, and recently I got back.
Now, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it also brings a fresh sense of perspective. Only a few years ago I saw a frustrated Amiga community, bashing at anything and everything, even eachother. I think this is one of the reasons I took my last break.
This time, however, there's something different about the community. Despite most Amiga users being disillusioned by now, the community seems a little friendlier somehow. Sure, there is still some flaming every now and again, but this is only to be expected in any online community. Generally the Amiga boards are a lot calmer and more reflected than the other online communities I've been involved in. Just look at this board. Post a request for help with your Amiga, and you'll have a handful of answers within the hour, often less.
I guess what surprises me is this: Some would say we are fanatics, I've heard many people state as much. But for all our devotion and love for our platform, most people in this community have their feet on the ground. We don't expect our systems to do everything, and that's okay. Most of us use Windows, Mac and/or Linux for what we can't do on an Amiga, and only on occation do I see pissing contests over which OS is better. Basically, it doesn't look like fanatism to me.
I have two computers: One Windows box, and one Amiga. I'll just continue using the machine which is right for the task at hand. That basically means using the Amiga when I can, and Windows when I must. I suppose that's how most people deal with it.
So, what I really want to say is: Thanks for being such a great community. Thanks for being so willing to help eachother out. Thanks to the people devoting their time to running sites such as this. Thanks to dealers who are still willing to sell hardware and software. And last, but certainly not least, thanks to all Amiga users, for it is you who ARE the Amiga!
