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Offline T3000

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #29 from previous page: September 15, 2006, 03:08:38 PM »
Had been using various Amigas up to and through 2001 for Art and Video, when I discovered a "PC" online game called Tribes. Slowly started building an Athlon to do the things that the Amiga couldn't handle as well any more, such as Internet compatability and this adictive game called Tribes. Then came the Playstation and Grand Turismo. The eventual shift towards using the Athlon for everyday things and the Amiga as a tinker toy came around 2002. Also started working in the PrePress department at work using a MacG3 (which reminds me a lot of the Amiga). Bought a new HP Athlon, latest up-to-date home pc sporting winXP that can do all the things that the Amiga used to do (except Video Toaster stuff) and way loads more, last year. Still tinker with the Amigas...  

Offline coldfish

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #30 on: September 15, 2006, 03:14:40 PM »
Quote

TheMagicM wrote:
When you say "I would never go back" .. you mean to the Amiga?



Sorry, I meant I'd never go back to using these "retro" real machines as my main computer.  I'd hate to have to use a real C64 or A500 as a main computer nowdays, there's too much I now take for granted;  Speed, 16M colours, MP3s, Connectivity, Cheap upgrades, Software, the list goes on...

Also, I probably wouldnt use a future-Amiga as my only computer, Windows and/or Linux here to stay, for better or worse.
 

Offline mr_a500

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #31 on: September 15, 2006, 04:11:40 PM »
I use an Amiga 500 as my ONLY computer. Yes, this is a bit insane ...and similar to a Japanese WWII soldier hiding in the jungle 40 years after the war ended. Here's my story (as briefly as possible):


I was pretty obsessed with computers from 1983 to 1987 and spent long hours making my own games and "demos" - typing code as if I was possessed..or on drugs. Then, I started to see computers as an extreme waste of time (and I didn't want to become a "computer geek" - which was a bad thing in those days) so I stopped using computers.

Then I saw "Shadow of the Beast" and became obsessed with Amiga and spent long hours PLAYING games. In 1991 I put my Amiga away - mainly because of lack of software (stores in my area stopped selling Amiga stuff) and because once again I saw computers as an extreme waste of time.

In 1997, I decided to get back into computers because I now saw that computers were not only a waste of time, but big bucks. So I bought a cheap used 486 to teach myself Windows & DOS programming. At first, I had nothing against Windows or Microsoft. The more I programmed, the more I got annoyed. Then I got a programming job where I used Windows every single day (except weekends) and by 1999, annoyance changed to disgust. By 2001, disgust changed to anger and by 2002 anger changed to extreme hatred and loathing.

While browsing the internet in 2002 (...with extreme hatred and loathing), I saw to my utter amazement that Amiga Inc. was still "alive" (although this later turned out to be a cruel hoax, but anyway). I had no idea that there even was anything past Workbench 2.0 or that the A1200 existed. I had no idea that you could do email or browse the internet with an Amiga. I discovered there were lots of possible upgrades for my Amiga 500.

So I started buying upgrades and software for my A500 as if I was possessed..or on drugs. Every week I discovered more and more things that were possible on this old computer. I've used my Amiga 500 every single day for the last 4 years and I always feel happy while using it (*cough... except for a recent unexplained random crash...*cough).

(...but lately I'm starting to realize that computers are an extreme waste of time...)

Offline Waterland

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #32 on: September 15, 2006, 06:41:40 PM »
Quote

InTheSand wrote:
@Waterland: wot no Amigas??!  :-o


I just recently discovered the Amiga scene this summer.  I had heard of Amiga before but didn't know anything about it.  The first and only Amiga I've ever owned is the A2000 I found at a garage sale this summer.  I didn't even know anything about what I could do with it when I bought it, I just thought it was a cool old computer.  Then I discovered the Amiga community and all the cool upgrades I could get for my 2000.  Now I'm hooked.
 

Offline Homer

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #33 on: September 15, 2006, 07:13:53 PM »
My A1200T was my primary computer from somewhere around 1996 up until October 2000, when I went from the UK to work in South Korea for a couple of years. The old Miggy (then in a pc tower) was just too big to go with me, so it was a P3 WinME lappie !
Sad really, as the Miggy could do everything I needed in the UK. Parallel port scanner, inkjet printer, Pace Solo modem (fantastic when I was beta testing Oliver Roberts' Amiga update software), Zip and LS120 drives allowed me to connect to the outside computing world.
I've spent many long hours since pointing out to Windoze afficionados that when they had a 40Mhz Win 95 PC they could surf the web, send emails, write letters, and what can they do now, with 100 times the Cpu power ? Surf the web, send emails and write letters ! :lol:
Thats enough for now, lets all have a couple of :pint: !!  
Let X = X
{(c) Laurie Anderson}
 

Offline stopthegop

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #34 on: September 15, 2006, 09:12:40 PM »
Quote

I've spent many long hours since pointing out to Windoze afficionados that when they had a 40Mhz Win 95 PC they could surf the web, send emails, write letters, and what can they do now, with 100 times the Cpu power ? Surf the web, send emails and write letters ! :lol:
Thats enough for now, lets all have a couple of :pint: !!  



haha!  funny. :)   How true
Primary:
A4000T. Phase5 PPC604e-233mhz/060-66mhz. Mediator, Z3 Fastlane, Voodoo5, Delfina, X-Surf, AD516, Peggy Plus.

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A4000D, A1200, A500, Milan060 (Atari clone), Atari MegaSTE, Atari TT030, C64, C128, Mattel Aquarius, (2) HP Jornada....
 

Offline coldfish

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #35 on: September 16, 2006, 01:21:03 PM »
Homer wrote:
Quote

I've spent many long hours since pointing out to Windoze afficionados that when they had a 40Mhz Win 95 PC they could surf the web, send emails, write letters, and what can they do now, with 100 times the Cpu power ? Surf the web, send emails and write letters ! :lol:
Thats enough for now, lets all have a couple of :pint: !!  


Oblivion!
 

Offline Jiffy

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #36 on: September 16, 2006, 02:24:08 PM »
I've had an A500 as my primary computer from 1989 to 1993. Among the expansions I bought were a harddisk and, more important, a KCS Power PC Board. I noticed that in the period 1992-1993, most of the time, I was running MS-DOS (4dos is great!) and decided to buy a 486DX2/66 in 1993 for a hideous amount of money. I've always liked DOS and Windows, and I have used 3.1, 95, 98, NT and 2000 (never saw use for XP) up until now.

I now own quite a bunch of computers, ranging from a C64 to Amigas and pretty up-to-date Windows/Linuxmachines, and have expanded most machines as far as my bankaccount would allow, and I might eventually completely switch to Linux, but I will not 'return' to my A1200 or my A3000 as a primary computer. I like using my Amigas, but I find both Windows (2000) and Linux (Ubuntu) to be more stable and more comfortable for my everyday needs.
Life sucks. Then you die. Then they throw mud in your face. Then you get eaten by worms. Be happy it happens in that order... My Amiga 1200
 

Offline recidivist

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #37 on: September 16, 2006, 02:27:13 PM »
"I've spent many long hours since pointing out to Windoze afficionados that when they had a 40Mhz Win 95 PC they could surf the web, send emails, write letters, and what can they do now, with 100 times the Cpu power ? Surf the web, send emails and write letters ! "


 My first internet computer was a Mac IIci with 25mHz cpu (68030?) and 14.4  modem.
 Fine for  every thing but as more graphics became part of web sites was forced to get faster machines.Even eBay was o.k. except for the few sellers who insisted on large patterned backgrounds and eight  2 meg pics of a coffeee cup.

 I wish the websites did not lock you out if not using latest browsers,just let ME decide if I want/need the singing,dancing,superhires video .

 If our cars were like computers we  would all be driving Lamborghinis to work and grocery,except there would be a huge travvel trailer hooked on the back!
 

Offline Homer

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #38 on: September 16, 2006, 05:08:49 PM »
Surely if our cars were like computers we would have to keep rebooting them and having to open and close the windows to keep them running  :crazy:
Nooo, don't go off topic, have a :pint:
Let X = X
{(c) Laurie Anderson}
 

Offline Egg-Chen

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #39 on: September 16, 2006, 07:04:26 PM »
I had an Oric Atmos (my first computer), a C64, a MSX (for a while) and after that I switched to consoles and ended with an arcade cabinet in 1992 (I was totally addicted to retro arcade games) and some months later I bought my first Amiga.

I used the A1200 as primary computer until a friend built me a pc in 1998 when I was student because I needed one to work my class projects (Photoshop, Director etc.). It was a P200 I overclocked to 225 Mhz ! ;-)

My second pc was a XP1800+ in 2002, I've flashed the BIOS and I could upgrade the CPU to a XP2600+. I use it mainly to go to the web, and to calculate proteins for the FightAIDS@home project, but it's not very fast to compute the blocks, that's why I'm looking for a second hand Cray T3e. :-D

But my fav computer is the A1200. I use it quite often, mainly for drawing, playing some games, and to test some soft I grab from Aminet.
 

Offline DamageX

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #40 on: September 17, 2006, 05:39:18 AM »
Quote
Surely if our cars were like computers we would have to keep rebooting them and having to open and close the windows to keep them running

You know... when autos that are full of computerized gadgetry get old and corroded, very strange things can happen. Besides that, I have found that rebooting (or disconnecting the battery or flipping the breaker as appropriate) is standard procedure for pretty much all software-controlled things that don't feel like doing their job properly.

And I would say that computers have made more progress in two decades than cars have. Todays cheap wintel box can emulate the once impressive and pricey Sharp X68000 but todays VW Jetta (or whatever) doesn't offer much compared to an '87 BMW M3.

Back to the topic... I first used an Atari 800XL and later became an MS-DOS/Windoze user. With a dozen or more years experience, many MBs of code written in QuickBASIC/EDIT, etc. I will probably never switch. It remains to be seen whether I will "upgrade" to Windoze XP or Vista.

Never really liked any of Apple's OSs. Unix is too complicated. Opensource is a nice idea except that actually reading source code is the least fun thing I can imagine. Amiga ru1ez but is out of date and not cost effective.

Sorry for the long post but this kind of topic is irresistable for a nerd (and gearhead) like me :-D
 

Offline PPC

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #41 on: September 17, 2006, 09:16:15 AM »
Used my A1200 (040/240Mhz 603e ppc+bvision,128MB RAM)) as the main machine till 2004, before i bought my first pc running server 2003.

At the beginning of last year i had my old A4000 back for a while (sold that one in 2003 coz i needed the money)
The machine was claimed to be dead but after cleaning the dust out it worked fine again, it was a A4kD in a elbox power tower with CSPPC (060+233 604e),mediator,voodoo 3 3000 PCI,cvisionppc 128 megs of ram.

I also re-installed os3.9 and was still amazed with speed of the OS it out preformed my 2Ghz AMD(XP 2600+) by far on everything except for processor heavy tasks (rendering/3D gaming etc).

But with remote desktop my Amiga life was more fun then ever and the pc became nothing more then a terminal for browsing (firefox) and file server (FTP mount dir) :-D

When i really had to return the A4k and got back to the pc was a shock!
Got used again to the supirior multitasking,booting starting programs on the Amiga.

I really hope some affordable OS4 hardware comes quick now because i really mis a fast Amiga.

Window$ still sucks like it always did......slow,buggy, unstable and have to re-install it to much...  :madashell:  
Amiga is addictive coz it is fun to use

A1200 Elbox power tower, BPPC 040/25+603e 240 Mhz, 128 MB RAM,Bvision,Zorro IV&Zorro IV PCI busboard,X-surf,Buddha IDE
A4000 Elbox power tower,CSPPC 060/60+604e 233Mhz, 128 MB RAM,CvisonPPC, AriadneII
A600+Vampire V2,A604N+RTC,SUM USB keyboard controller,Topolino with logitech wireless keyboard&mouse
 

Offline stopthegop

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #42 on: September 17, 2006, 09:34:06 AM »


Quote

DamageX wrote:

And I would say that computers have made more progress in two decades than cars have. Todays cheap wintel box can emulate the once impressive and pricey Sharp X68000 but todays VW Jetta (or whatever) doesn't offer much compared to an '87 BMW M3.


Yes and no. I guess it kind of depends on how you look at it.  In a broad sense cars have only one real purpose; that is to haul one's **tt from point a to point b.  Since they only perform this one function, certainly a very important function, they tend to do it quite well.  PCs, on the other hand, are pitched as the tool for every job -- a digital swiss army knife.  Consequently it tends to be a mediocre tool for a lot of jobs that could be accomplished faster and with less effort than with specialized, yet more primitive tools.  My favorite example (no, LEAST favorite example) is the computer screen as a substitute for the printed manual!  A huge leap backwards!  Another is computer "photo albums".  Pleasing to the eyes maybe, but no substitute for the real thing.  Real photo albums are like living time capsules, physical witnesses to a bygone era.  They have a unique texture, even a faint musk; that charm is completely lost in digital.  Too much "duct tape" (tacked on "features") in newer machines. Computer companies have long abandoned the time-tested wisdom found in the K.I.S.S. principle.  As such I would say that computers have not necessarily advanced more than cars over the last two decades.  I say "advanced" in the purest sense of the word.      

Quote
Never really liked any of Apple's OSs.


Me either!  MacOS is like trying to work in Crayon.  



Quote
Amiga ru1ez but is out of date and not cost effective.


Yes it does. No it isn't. Perhaps.  


Dave
Primary:
A4000T. Phase5 PPC604e-233mhz/060-66mhz. Mediator, Z3 Fastlane, Voodoo5, Delfina, X-Surf, AD516, Peggy Plus.

Collection:
A4000D, A1200, A500, Milan060 (Atari clone), Atari MegaSTE, Atari TT030, C64, C128, Mattel Aquarius, (2) HP Jornada....
 

Offline maffoo

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Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #43 on: September 17, 2006, 12:10:53 PM »
Quote

stopthegop wrote:    

Quote
Never really liked any of Apple's OSs.


Me either!  MacOS is like trying to work in Crayon.  


Can't agree with that. I'm not a fan of the classic MacOS (I have an ancient Powerbook running Sysytem 7.5, it's usable but clunky.) OSX, however, feels totally different IMO. In fact, it reminds me a little of AmigaOS, simple to use but with power under the hood for people who are want to delve deeper.
 

Offline Damion

Re: "Alternative" platforms as primary computers
« Reply #44 on: September 20, 2006, 06:44:41 AM »
Let's see...

I started off with a C128 (Christmas gift from my folks waaay back in the 4th grade), had much fun as a child learning BASIC and playing my silly cartridge games. Eventually I acquired a '41 and a 300 baud modem (soon replaced with teh uber 1200 baud version)... and spent several years heavily entrenched in the local C= BBS scene, at one point was even a co-sysop -- and that was just *SO* freakin' cool, especially as a kid. ;) Call-waiting was the absolute BANE of my existence back then, LOL. I had several friends with Amigas and Atari STs, but there was no way my folks were going to spring for another computer, since the C128 still handled my schoolwork just fine. Ownership of several game consoles passed through my hands (even had a NEC TurboDuo at one point, LOL), I also acquired an early x86 box for WordPerfect and playing Wasteland.

I picked up an A500 fairly late in the game, somewhere around '92 I believe (I recall being jealous as my Amiga buds had just bought new A1200 HDs). I sold my mint, absolutely flawless comic collection to buy it (about 450 comics at the time, all selectively purchased stricly for future "collector" value), which I *really* wish I hadn't done. Anyhow, I used the 500 mostly for watching demos and gaming, and since I couldn't afford a hard drive, I played games like Dune II (5 disks IIRC) and Civ with a single floppy drive. I upgraded it a little (1 meg Agnus and some fast ram), but eventually it went into storage. By the time I *finally* had an Amiga, it was getting seriously long in the tooth... unless you had 4k to blow on upgrades, which I did not.

I had little to do with computers for about 5 or 6 years, I just got into other things and didn't have time and money for both. Sometime around '99 I picked up an Intel P3, and shortly after a 1 GHz Athlon. Around this time my interest in the  Amiga as a retro-hobby picked up, I bought a brand new A1200 (strange find at a tiny computer shop somewhere in northern Cali), learned all about it, and had a blast upgrading it in small increments. Really great watching all the AGA demos I missed out on. Amiga OS was intriguing, and it might sound masochistic but I actually ENJOYED spending hours playing with things like BlizKick, and getting the thing connected to my broadband service.

I bought a Pegasos 2, which arrived around Christmas 2003 IIRC (Genesi shipped it with free, overnight UPS, which I always thought was pretty "stand up"), enjoyed toying around with MorphOS and Linux. AmiNetRadio was probably my favorite program on that platform.

I upgraded my PC around that time, decided it was ridiculous to have a bunch of expensive hardware that I really didn't have time to enjoy (also hand an eMac laying around), so I sold my Pegasos, '060 card for the 1200 and a few other little things. I still own my first computer, also the A500 and A1200, along with a few C= monitors (not to mention all the software), and I'll probably hang on to it all for a while... their worth so little, it would be almost pointelss to sell them. I remember reading a while back about a planned PPC board for the A1200 with onboard Radeon GFX, now that would be interesting... I'm definitely not loosing any sleep over it (I'm fully aware of how things work in Amigaland), but the slight possibility of running something like AOS or MorphOS on a desktop A1200 with modern screenmodes *is* a pretty cool thought.

Anyway, my interest in Amiga these days is passing and largely for nostalgic/retro purposes, but I just might buy another Pegasos someday if I really get the itch. I've been "out of the loop" for about 2 years, so it's been interesting to check back and catch up on everything. I love PCs (just watercooled my main rig), but I still fire-up WinUAE on occasion. Truth is, with work, girlfriend, and a motorcycle to ride, there's just not much time left for my other hobbies anymore.

Nice to see amiga.org is still alive and well, it's by far the best amiga site on the net, and still one of my favorite sites to visit.