Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: 3246251196 on March 31, 2006, 03:14:47 PM
-
pcs boot into windows (there are a lot of variations, but lets use windows). from there you can mess around - transfer data etc
now, amigas boot into workbench (if you can set that from hardrive - never had one)... so, is this workbench the windows equivalent. if its on the hardrive does it boot stragith into WB?
-
I see Workbench as old Windows. Like Windows 95 and earlier. AmigaDos is running the show and Workbench sits on top of that. In the older versions of Workbench there were some things you had to do from the command prompt.
I belive I'm correct in this. Anybody want to add more? Or correct what I've written?
-
ok then
so i ask: bearing in mind i will merely have an Amiga 1200 with only floppy drives (with an 8Gb HDD)
what (will be) / is my Windows equivalent?
thanks, 324
-
Workbench would be. AmigaOS 3.1 and higher allow you to do most everything you need from Workbench. CLI is not required although once you learn the commands it's faster.
-
am i right in saying
A1200 Commodore = KStart 3.0
A1200 Gateway (NOT MINE) = KStart 3.1
-
so i ask: bearing in mind i will merely have an Amiga 1200 with only floppy drives (with an 8Gb HDD)
what (will be) / is my Windows equivalent?
thanks, 324
There is no equivalent, cause with an amigaOS you get an OS that works :-D
It really depends on what OS you have installed and what you want to do with it? OS3.5/3.9 are more user friendly over the older versions of Workench but I still miss say from WB2 :lol:
-
so i could have OS3.5 on an amiga 1200 which is either (3.0/3.1 kickstart - am i getting confused over the rom chip here? is OS3.5 simply the version of OS and have no relevance to the amiga's rom chip)?
-
pcs boot into windows
Nonsense. What you see when Windows if fully loaded is called desktop. So if you are looking for counterparts you can compare "AmigaOS" to "Windows" and "Workbench" to "desktop".
The philisophy behind the Windows desktop and the Amiga Workbench is different, though. Workbench works more like the Windows "My Computer" folder, i.e. it uses the directory structure of the file system for its drawers (although by default it only shows files with icons) while the Windows desktop is a complete abstraction layer between the user interface and the file system.
Bye,
Thomas
-
Yea the latest roms you can get is 3.1, which im sure you can buy them from http://amigakit.com, and 3.5/3.9 are versions of the OS. I know that you need the latest 3.1 roms to able able to use 3.9 but im unsure if your require them to run 3.5 maybe one of the other users can fill us both in!(yip 3.1 roms are needed for os3.5)
some info and screenies on 3.9 CLICKY CLICKY (http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/amigaos39.html)
some info and screenies on 3.5 CLICKY CLICKY (http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/os35.html)
-
The Amiga's operating always consisted of two parts: the Kicktart ROM and several files on disk, one of them being the command to load Workbench. At some time people started to call the entire disk part of the operating system Workbench. So, if you bought an early A1200 with Kickstart 3.0 and Workbench 3.0, in order to fully upgrade to 3.1, you had to buy Kickstart 3.1 and Workbench 3.1.
The term AmigaOS for the Amiga's operating system was introduced with AmigaOS 3.5. Probably because there will not be another version of the Kickstart in the future than 3.1. But objectively AmigaOS 3.5 is nothing more than Workbench 3.5, or, even more precisely, version 3.5 of the disk-based part of the Amiga's operating system.
And yes, you need Kickstart 3.1 for both OS 3.5 and OS 3.9.
Bye,
Thomas
-
drewz21 wrote:
Workbench would be. AmigaOS 3.1 and higher allow you to do most everything you need from Workbench. CLI is not required although once you learn the commands it's faster.
Speaking of counterparts, you could add CLI <-> DOS-window.
Bye,
Thomas
-
Thomas wrote:
The Amiga's operating always consisted of two parts: the Kicktart ROM and several files on disk, one of them being the command to load Workbench. At some time people started to call the entire disk part of the operating system Workbench.
Actually, I've called it Workbench since I got my A1000 in October of 85. If you booted the 1000 it asks first for the Kickstart disk and then the Workbench. I think the AmigaOS has ALWAYS been referred to as Workbench!
Bob
-
I wouldn't say Workbench is like Win95. Win95 was a huge "patch" that was build on top of MS-DOS.
Workbench is more like Windows Explorer in all Windows systems. It's just a file manager, so a program and NOT some layer between system (AmigaOS) and other programs.
-
Well, it's probably best put this way:
Windows = AmigaOS
MS-DOS = AmigaDOS (Command Prompt = CLI/Shell)
explorer = Workbench
Remember, Workbench is JUST a file manager. It is possible to run ANY amiga program without ever loading Workbench. I used to always boot into DiskMaster instead. In fact, your basic GUI (intuition) is available even if you boot without startup (or boot from a blank disk).
Also, for AmigaOS 3.5/3.9 you do need to have Kickstart 3.1 and it is acceptable to consider them to upgrade the entire OS (not just the Workbench as others have suggested), because even though there are no OS3.5/3.9 Kickstart CHIPS, the kickstart IS patched in memory.
Finally, you don't need a harddrive to boot into workbench but you WILL need a harddrive if you plan on using AmigaOS3.5/3.9 (they won't fit on a single disk).
-
_yak_ wrote:
I wouldn't say Workbench is like Win95. Win95 was a huge "patch" that was build on top of MS-DOS.
That's not true. In Win95, DOS is only used to boot the system. Once the Win95 kernel is loaded, this replaces the DOS functions with its own. So Win95 is an OS in its own right, not just an app which runs on top of DOS (like Win3.x).
--
moto
-
3246251196 wrote:
pcs boot into windows (there are a lot of variations, but lets use windows). from there you can mess around - transfer data etc
now, amigas boot into workbench (if you can set that from hardrive - never had one)... so, is this workbench the windows equivalent. if its on the hardrive does it boot stragith into WB?
It does boot straight into WB even on a old a500 when using a HD. The boot time for stock amigaos/wb is only a few seconds as well, so it is really fast. I think that Workbench/AmigaOS is superiour to even Windows9x/ME and it still have quite a few advantages over modern Win2k/XP as well. The main thing AmigaOS lacks is decent memory protection, so if a application crashes there it will take down the whole OS in many cases. The new OS4 is way better at that area, but it still is not fully implemented.
-
I see Workbench as old Windows. Like Windows 95 and earlier. AmigaDos is running the show and Workbench sits on top of that. In the older versions of Workbench there were some things you had to do from the command prompt.
I dont really agree. AmigaDOS and WB is heavily integrated into eachother and both is basicly the OS. Win9x was more of a half written OS running ontop of another outdated 16bit OS. I dunno if you can even call windows9x for a real OS.
The graphical part of AmigaOS is already loaded when you are in amigados.
-
so. do amiga 1200 have 3.1 (or 3.0) ??
-
commodore a1200 has 3.0 roms and amiga technology a1200 has 3.1 roms. if you have a 3.0 rom amiga you can change the roms to 3.1. that has meaning to do if you want to install amiga os 3,5 or 3,9.
-
grrr. that means i need to obtain a 3.1
(because i have 3.0 will WB 3.1 work?)
-
@Tomas
AmigaDOS is pretty much almost same as AmigaOS (DOS = Disk Operating System) and I think AmigaDOS was the most common name to describe the OS by name in 80s.
-
@3246251196
You do not need to buy 3.1 chips if your Amiga has an accelerator card what can flashkick a 3.1 rom image.
I did that for years with an Apollo (040) card for 3.5 & 3.9 with zero problems.
-
and yes, the workbench3,1 works ok with 3.0 roms, i use this combination for about the first 5 years with my miggy
-
This is a fully working amiga a1200 with an 8-10 gig harddrive. I have put workbench 3 on the harddrive but it needs partitioning correctly, boots into workbench fine.
It comes with power supply, mouse, copies of wb3 disks plus some other software / games cannon fodder is one
also both an RF and Scart lead for tv connection (the harddrive prefs are set to tv (pal)), scart gives better picture.
Also workbench 2 manual, much the same as 3, if you have been away from the amiga very usefull
I have also included for free for those who may want to put into base unit or tower or if you are going to fit an accellarator card:
a 2.5" to 3.5" Hard drive adaptor and cable for fitting Hard drives / cd roms ect (you will need a 2.5" male / female cable / adaptor to use, this is un buffered.
a dvd/cd rom
a PS2 keyboard
2 x 16 mb ram 72 pin 60 n/s edo fully working and tested in my amiga
if you want the dvd and keyboard you will have to add £2 on the postage cost
all that is missing are the hard drive lights as i used them in my base unit, but they are selling for 1.50 on ebay, works fine without.
Finaly all this kit was tested and worked fine, but i will not ganrantee any of it due to its age
^^^^
thats what i am getting
-
not bad... but how much?
-
35£
15£ Deliv
50£
-
Oh well, sorry then, seems that I'm not a Windows expert :D.
-
windows = amigaOS
if you have NO AmigaOS then you have no windows - are is this taking it too far. i.e. can a mere Workbench Disk do all that one needs to do IF you dont have AOS
-
The Amiga's windowing environment (called Intuition) is mostly built into the Kickstart ROM chips. If you own a working Amiga with working ROMs, you already have the bulk of the OS.
Technically, you can just use an Amiga with a Workbench disk (up to and including OS3.1) but this can be a slow and painful experience for anything other than the most basic use.
- Ali
-
@3246251196
Amazing how no one ha answered your questions
Workbench (AmigaOS) is to Amiga What Windows is to PC
Workbench and AmigaOS are exactly the same thing...in the beginning it was called Workbench (sometimes referred to as Intuition) but now is called AmigaOS...........dont listen to what anyone else tells you.....they will confuse you with technical jargon.
Workbench is complete as it is. its a Small Operating Sytem.....thast why its so cool becuase it can run off a floppy disk.............but of course Hard drive installed is way better.
Now to get it up to Par like Windows98 lets say.................there are tons of hacks and upgrades and eyecandy you can download to make it look more modern...........................like cool icons, backgrounds and just totally customize the look. Workbench 3.1 can llok better than Windows98
or you can just go straight to AmigaOS3.9 (Workbench 3.9) which was the Last OS made for Non PowerPC Amigas and it will look somewhat nice right out of the box................but essentially OS3.9 is basically Workbench3.1 with all the hacks I told you that you can download, except already prepackaged. OS3.5 and 3.9 needs the Kickstart ROM 3.1
Kickstart on Amiga = BIOS chip on PC
You can do almost anything Windows98 does on the Amiga with Workbench 3.1
You can:
Use AOL Instant Messenger (AmigAIM)
Yahoo Instant messenger (JabberWocky)
iPOD pod casting (AmiPodder)
IRC (AmIRC, BlackIRC, Wookichat)
Internet Explorer (A-Web, iBrowse, Voyager)
Outlook express or JUNO (YAM, SimpleMail)
PowerPoint (SCALA MM300, MediaPoint, AmigaVision)
Microsoft Word (Final Writer, AmigaWriter, Wordworth)
Excel (Final Data)
WinAMP (AMPlifier, Amiga AMP)
WinZIP (WizARC, X-ARC)
Adobe PhotoShop (Perfect Paint, ImageFX, FX Paint)
And Tons tons more!!!
Amiga and Workbench are still great Today
Get a 68030 50mhz with 32 MB or more if you can..better if you get a 68040 or 68060.
you can get a GFX card too but that changes things a little and things get a little weird from there.
-
leirbag28 wrote:
Workbench and AmigaOS are exactly the same thing...in the beginning it was called Workbench (sometimes referred to as Intuition) but now is called AmigaOS...........dont listen to what anyone else tells you.....they will confuse you with technical jargon.
Nope, it the beginning it was planned to be CAOS but it wasn't gonna be ready for the Amiga launch so they ported Tripos and called it AmigaDOS instead.
see AmigaForever.com (http://amigaforever.com/kb/5-108.html) for more.
or In the beginning was CAOS (http://www.thule.no/haynie/caos.html) by Andy Finkel(CBM-Amiga software manager)
in the beginning it was called Workbench (sometimes referred to as Intuition)
Workbench and Intuition are two totally different things, but I'll save you the technical jargon so save confusing you ;-)
-
leirbag28 wrote:
@3246251196
Amazing how no one ha answered your questions
Workbench (AmigaOS) is to Amiga What Windows is to PC
Wrong.
"Workbench" is to AmigaOS, what "Explorer" is to Windows.
Workbench and AmigaOS are exactly the same thing...in the beginning it was called Workbench (sometimes referred to as Intuition) but now is called AmigaOS...........dont listen to what anyone else tells you.....they will confuse you with technical jargon.
Workbench is the desktop.
AmigaOS is the collection of libraries (and releated components) and programs which are provided with the Amiga Computer.
Intuition is one of the libraries supplied with AmigaOS... it is the toolkit which the Workbench is built from.
Workbench is complete as it is. its a Small Operating Sytem.....thast why its so cool becuase it can run off a floppy disk.............but of course Hard drive installed is way better.
Workbench can run from an 880Kb floppy because the OS is on a 512K ROM.
Now to get it up to Par like Windows98 lets say.................there are tons of hacks and upgrades and eyecandy you can download to make it look more modern...........................like cool icons, backgrounds and just totally customize the look. Workbench 3.1 can llok better than Windows98
What is you thing with Windows98... that is an 8 year old operating system that hasn't been supported for 5years!!! DON'T USE IT!!!
or you can just go straight to AmigaOS3.9 (Workbench 3.9) which was the Last OS made for Non PowerPC Amigas and it will look somewhat nice right out of the box................but essentially OS3.9 is basically Workbench3.1 with all the hacks I told you that you can download, except already prepackaged. OS3.5 and 3.9 needs the Kickstart ROM 3.1
Kickstart on Amiga = BIOS chip on PC
Not really... The kickstart is a combination if a BIOS and a Boot disk... The PC BIOS also has some nonvolatile memory that the Amiga does not have.
You can do almost anything Windows98 does on the Amiga with Workbench 3.1
You can:
Use AOL Instant Messenger (AmigAIM)
Yahoo Instant messenger (JabberWocky)
iPOD pod casting (AmiPodder)
IRC (AmIRC, BlackIRC, Wookichat)
Internet Explorer (A-Web, iBrowse, Voyager)
Outlook express or JUNO (YAM, SimpleMail)
PowerPoint (SCALA MM300, MediaPoint, AmigaVision)
Microsoft Word (Final Writer, AmigaWriter, Wordworth)
Excel (Final Data)
WinAMP (AMPlifier, Amiga AMP)
WinZIP (WizARC, X-ARC)
Adobe PhotoShop (Perfect Paint, ImageFX, FX Paint)
You can't compare Photoshop with ANY Amiga image package!
You can't compare Execl with Final Data, nor can you compare Internet Explorer with ANY Amiga browser!
The Amiga has NOTHING that compares with the latest of these packages.
And neither the Amiga nor Windows has anything that compares to Logic Pro 7.2!
And Tons tons more!!!
Amiga and Workbench are still great Today
Fun to play with but not to do real work on... which was the Amiga's great strength in its day.
Get a 68030 50mhz with 32 MB or more if you can..better if you get a 68040 or 68060.
you can get a GFX card too but that changes things a little and things get a little weird from there.
Or better get WinUAE...
-
@Thomas
but Desktop is just a special directory so its not that much different from workbench
-
bloodline wrote:
The PC BIOS also has some nonvolatile memory that the Amiga does not have.
Not all PCs have NVRam, some (especially older ones) store the BIOS settings in the CMOS RAM in the RTC chip..just like the A3000 does with SCSI settings.
-
Thomas: Nonsense. What you see when Windows if fully loaded is called desktop. So if you are looking for counterparts you can compare "AmigaOS" to "Windows" and "Workbench" to "desktop".
Actually, it's Explorer (explorer.exe). You can use different 3rd party desktop managers for Windows.
The philisophy behind the Windows desktop and the Amiga Workbench is different, though. Workbench works more like the Windows "My Computer" folder, i.e. it uses the directory structure of the file system for its drawers (although by default it only shows files with icons) while the Windows desktop is a complete abstraction layer between the user interface and the file system.
Sort of. Different versions of Windows handle the visibility of files in different ways. By default, files will be shows directly on a Windows desktop unless there's a filter applied to mask certain files or show files that don't actually exist.
Workbench (much like MacOS), is more like the abstraction layer. Files exist in multiple places on the drive but show up on the desktop if you drag them there. This is why you can "put away" icons from a Workbench screen, and programs can "iconize". Windows doesn't really do things that way, though you can make it do things like that with the proper ClassID patch. I think you have to have seperate ClassIDs for each behavior, while AmigaOS is more generalized.
The "filesystems" of the Amiga ROM and RAM disk also have their own special properties, and some resources can be accessed through special assigns. The Windows filesystem and desktop aren't as clever. Don't even get me started about the Registry, which has to be one of the worst things Microsoft ever did to Windows.
mpiva: MS-DOS = AmigaDOS (Command Prompt = CLI/Shell)
The nice thing about MS-DOS, though, is that the entire shell and a bunch of critical commands are all integrated into COMMAND.COM. With AmigaDOS, the shell and commands are seperate, which is why it's frustrating to get a directory listing on an Amiga floppy disk if there's no dir command on that floppy. It would've been SO much better if those commands were included in the shell itself, like MS-DOS. Of course, almost everything else about MS-DOS sucked. ;-)
motorollin: That's not true. In Win95, DOS is only used to boot the system. Once the Win95 kernel is loaded, this replaces the DOS functions with its own.
Sort of. To maintain backwards compatibility with DOS and software that didn't run in protected mode, Win95 was a hybrid mess which ran more than one kernel (Kernel16 and Kernel32). It wasn't stable, but it was a clever piece of work to add protected mode to the OS, unlike what Apple was doing (nothing until OSX, basicly).
The NT kernel is truly DOS free, thank goodness.
Tomas: It does boot straight into WB even on a old a500 when using a HD.
If you tell it to. Without startup sequence, you have to know what you are doing. :-)
Tomas: I think that Workbench/AmigaOS is superiour to even Windows9x/ME and it still have quite a few advantages over modern Win2k/XP as well.
Application framework doesn't even come close. On OS3, technically, you had to start ARexx manually. It's also easy to give AmigaOS the thumbs up for efficiency, but remember that it only works on one basic hardware platform, and has large amounts of assembler, which is precicely why OS4 has taken forever to port. It was great in its heyday, but priorities are very different today.
Also note that Windows is a very cautious OS (really), and keeps logs of everything to weed out infinite loops on startup. AmigaOS will just crash over and over and you have to do a Ctrl-D and poke around your startup sequence to find the problem. Windows will also queue files that need to be patched on startup, while most other OSes require you to boot into a maintenance mode and poke around with the internals in rather unsafe ways (AmigaOS doesn't even have a maintenance mode!)
Windows has lots of problems, especially when it comes to reinstallation and Microsoft's paranoia about being able to boot off a removable disk, but there's a lot of design points Amiga and UNIX fans could learn about proper user interaction. For one, being able to update drivers by running an installer. I hate updating Linux drivers, and AmigaOS, as usual, requires startup-sequence splices. It's amazing how little progress has been made in this area!
InTheSand: The Amiga's windowing environment (called Intuition) is mostly built into the Kickstart ROM chips. If you own a working Amiga with working ROMs, you already have the bulk of the OS.
Correct. Shell commands exist on the disks, though, and they're not much fun if "resident" isn't available. That's also why AmigaOS is so miserly with memory. When you open a library, it's opened directly from the ROM. I wish Windows did more of this. Microsoft has a love affair with "services", which takes up the majority of resources. On a clean install of Windows, more than half of the services are definately not required; they just waste memory. It's like having 1,000 printer drivers preinstalled on your hard drive. 99% or more of them will never be used, and if you buy a printer, you'll have to install new drivers, anyway, but hey... JUST IN CASE!
leirbag28: Workbench and AmigaOS are exactly the same thing...in the beginning it was called Workbench (sometimes referred to as Intuition) but now is called AmigaOS...........dont listen to what anyone else tells you.....they will confuse you with technical jargon.
The technical jargon is confusing, but the point is that the desktop/window manager isn't really part of an OS. There's no hard line between where the OS ends and the desktop begins. AmigaOS can run just fine without Workbench. On a Linux box, Linux is a kernel, GNU is the OS, and the X Window System is the desktop (aka Graphics Server). Hell, at this point, people still can't agree if a web browser (system browser?) is part of the OS or not, because on Windows, Explorer and Intenet Explorer share the same base libraries. Microsoft just did a better job of modularizing the technology after the Mandatory Browser fiasco.
leirbag28: Kickstart on Amiga = BIOS chip on PC
I'm not sure if Kickstart refers to just the bootstrap or the booter + ROM image. On the A1000, the Kickstart disk is the actual AmigaOS "ROM", and the bootstrap is in the hardware. I guess it varies from system to system -- more blurred lines and technical nit-picking.
Bloodline: Not really... The kickstart is a combination if a BIOS and a Boot disk... The PC BIOS also has some nonvolatile memory that the Amiga does not have.
Oh yeah. The nice thing about a PC BIOS is that you can customize it and save your changes. It would be real nice if I could tell my 1200 to always boot in PAL mode. One of these days I'll look up a hardware hack.
Of course, on most PCs, if you lose the power while flashing the BIOS, or your memory timings are wrong, you're toast. Here's a tip: don't mess with memory timings on an nForce2 motherboard. The siren sound you hear sounds like an ambulance for a reason, and holding the Insert key doesn't always work. My first Athlon system was a nightmare!
Bloodline: Or better get WinUAE...
It depends how hardcore you are. I'm a softie. I just want to click a button to turn it on and have it run on a real VGA monitor. It makes it easy to restart if it crashes, too, without worrying about the "click of death" that wipes out your hard drive. Shadow of the Beast wiped out my real Amiga HD once, and boy was I mad (this was before DiskSalv, too!) :-)
-
i have WinUAE for the PC - but i would prefer an Amiga for real personally. i have used WinUAE for some years too but thats not real amiga IMO.
-
ok then guys. so as a last question (as most stuff is now clear) - with the amiga i am getting - its a used commodore (so it will probo have a 3.0 rom chip) - can i use AmigaOS3.5? or can i even go higher?
-
sorry about MULTIPLE posting:
i just done a search for the OS3.5 requirements:
Basic system requirements:
CD-ROM drive
Hard drive
68020 or higher processor
Amiga 3.1 ROMs (version 40.xx)
4 MB Fast RAM
i dont think my A1200 will have anything there OTHER than the HDD...
-
nasty wrote:
There is no equivalent, cause with an amigaOS you get an OS that works :-D
Yawn...gee I'm really growing tired of this Windows bashing...having just installed Win XP x64, one can only dream that AOS will even reach this stage, let alone better it.
-
you know in DOS you create Batch Files
can you do the equiv in AmigaShell?
-
Haha, you dudes are funny..........this is what I meant by technical Jargon, "technically" (hehe) you are right...........but to explain to someone who asks simple questions like:
Whats Amiga's OS? answer: Workbench
Does Amiga have a BIOS? answer: it has a Kickstart
You know what they are asking when they ask these kinds of questions. When someone asks what OS a PC uses, we dont get all technical and Start refering to Windows Explorer or MSDOS...we Just say Windows. :-D
-
http://forums.amd.com/index.php?showtopic=72631
is that information correct. its on my regular forum - even though i have been on this one SO MUCH MORE since i joined - its a very nice compact and pleasent forum is this A.ORG.
however, i think i have the memory spec wrong... ?
-
you know in DOS you create Batch Files
can you do the equiv in AmigaShell?
The "execute" shell command can be used to run a batch file just like it is a startup-sequence.
There is also a program called "IconX", but I'm not really sure how it differs from execute.
-
yeah its just i need something like a notepad to create the batch file first. this is all just experimentation.
-
3246251196 wrote:
yeah its just i need something like a notepad to create the batch file first. this is all just experimentation.
Use the "ed" command in the cli:
1.>ed filename
This will open a window to let you type your batch file. Then press then x then to save the file.
--
moto
-
Whats Amiga's OS? answer: Workbench
But it still isnt. AROS and MorphOS dont even have Workbench.
Does Amiga have a BIOS? answer: it has a Kickstart
No it doesnt until it is AmigaOne or Pegasos or PC. They have BIOS, real Amigas dont.
Mhhh.. wait... my C64 has BIOS too. When I turn it on I get strange command prompt where I can start loading GEOS or some other operating system. Hmm... interesting.
You know what they are asking when they ask these kinds of questions. When someone asks what OS a PC uses, we dont get all technical and Start refering to Windows Explorer or MSDOS...we Just say Windows.
Yeah, like Linux users when asked what OS they use they answer they are using Bash OS, KDE OS or Gnome OS.
-
adz wrote:
Yawn...gee I'm really growing tired of this Windows bashing...
Well thats why its your problem and not mine!
-
bloodline wrote:
leirbag28 wrote:
You can:
Use AOL Instant Messenger (AmigAIM)
Yahoo Instant messenger (JabberWocky)
iPOD pod casting (AmiPodder)
IRC (AmIRC, BlackIRC, Wookichat)
Internet Explorer (A-Web, iBrowse, Voyager)
Outlook express or JUNO (YAM, SimpleMail)
PowerPoint (SCALA MM300, MediaPoint, AmigaVision)
Microsoft Word (Final Writer, AmigaWriter, Wordworth)
Excel (Final Data)
WinAMP (AMPlifier, Amiga AMP)
WinZIP (WizARC, X-ARC)
Adobe PhotoShop (Perfect Paint, ImageFX, FX Paint)
You can't compare Photoshop with ANY Amiga image package!
You can't compare Execl with Final Data, nor can you compare Internet Explorer with ANY Amiga browser!
For the record, you REALLY can't compare Excel if FinalData as the first is a spreadsheet app and the second is a database app. Perhaps you meant FinalCalc, on this I would agree. I was never too impressed with FinalCalc but seem to be forgetting TurboCalc. I think you could compare Excel to TurboCalc. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that Excel can do that TurboCalc can't but I'd be hardpressed to find any (and I do some fairly complex Physics). And if you take into account ARexx, I'm sure you could ANYTHING Excel could do (although, admittedly it would require a lot more work)
The same goes for Word and FinalWriter. In my opinion, FinalWriter97 was WAY better than Word97. It's too bad both FinalWriter and TurboCalc have ceased development. If development on both those Apps had continued to this day I'm sure MS Office compatability would be a nonissue for the Amiga. (I'd do ANYTHING to get the source to those two apps... mind you, from what I understand, TurboCalc was 100% assembler so that wouldn't help too much)
-
this is interesting:
with me being at college we do a lot of work using MS applications.
is there a way to convert a MSWord document i created at college to lets say a version of FinalWriter so i can work on it on the amiga. or is this mere poppycock!?
-
Importing Microsoft document formats is like trying to pull teeth without pliers. Microsoft uses proprietary file formats like Word documents and PowerPoint presentations to keep you from being able to switch to a competitors product.
-
well, i am not surprised at all.
-
3246251196 wrote:
this is interesting:
with me being at college we do a lot of work using MS applications.
is there a way to convert a MSWord document i created at college to lets say a version of FinalWriter so i can work on it on the amiga. or is this mere poppycock!?
Only inderectly. From MSWord, save the file as an RTF. FinalWriter can read and write RTF files and it should preserve most of your formatting.
-
the specs needed to run 3.5 on my 1200 say i need 4mb Fast Mem - dont you just have 2mb Chip memory with a standard 1200?? this is right?
-
yes
-
Well I spent a good hour reading through this post and all I really got out of it was how Windows sucks. IMHO, that should be a given since we all still love our Miggies. I am actually running a P3 1 GHZ Dell I just bought and I also run a Macintosh Mini (first version) with MacOS X (10.4.x). My favorite Linux distro is SuSE and I do run SuSE 10 in a virtual machine on my Windows box.
Is this all important? Not Really -- My Amiga is an A1200 that I am planning to use to mainly play the games I miss from the late 1980s and early 1990s. I think the Miggie is a great machine and we AMI folk got the short end of the stick when C= went under. I think if Amiga had been in production solidly (ie Commodore had not folded and the whole chain of events that we know as history) then they too would have a "modern" OS that would be as widely used as Windows or Linux are.
I am fairly opinionated towards my PC... but I would love to run Linux full time on this platform and I do love my Macintosh (with OS X.. wasn't too fond of classic MacOS).
My point is this: I (personally) need Windows to make my living... but at the same time, if I could make as much money in Open Source software, I would do it in a heartbeat!
The Amiga community has a right to be proud (in my opinion) because they remain (in my mind) a shining example of not giving up even when the going got gone! I like to think the community is still about "Users helping Users" even as I watch eagerly what happens with OS 4. I am ready for a viable alternative to Windows and believe it not, the only reason Windows (XP) is installed on my Dell P3 is for these two applications:
1: TextPad 4 (on the Macintosh it is BBEDIT)
2: iTunes
If Linux had all functionality available, Windows would be gone from my machine!!!
Before someone says it: I know there are apps "like" these on Linux... but I guess I am looking for exact functionality in them and I can't expect programmers to want to develop for that platfrom if they can't get paid... the whole root of the issue -- Windows Development pays nicely... Open Source or non-supported OS development is a labor of love and not normally prioritized.
Anyhow... this is purely my opinion and I hope AmigaOS 4 makes a great comeback. I think it is time to have REAL alternatives to Microsoft Empire!
One last point: Regarding Word Processors -- if the software does what you need it to do (assuming you don't need to email Word formatted documents -- I do often) then once printed, it is a document and serves it purpose. Use what you like as long as it works for you!
Personally, I use Open Office 2 on my windows, Mac and Linux boxen and since it is open source, if you have the time and the knowledge... port it to AMI... I am sure that would not be trivial however.
Just really my .02 worth. Remember that this is my opinion and that I believe that all opinions are important, so if you disagree, please feel free. I like to think I am open-minded enough to listen to your Point of View.
Have a great night all ( it is night here).