Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: gdanko on December 05, 2007, 11:37:10 PM
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I see a lot of people here who apparently still use their Amiga(s) quite a bit. Some even claim to use them for MOST things. Aside from classic games, what are you doing with your Amigas? I assume that if it's an A500 or barebones A2000 it is games only. Those with RTG cards, NICs, and 040 or better may well be using them for most things.
Can you connect to shared printers?
Can you do most of your office app type work on an Amiga?
Contact management?
Wondering how feasible, say, an A4000 040 with 64m fast RAM would be in the real world.
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gdanko wrote:
Can you connect to shared printers?
Can you do most of your office app type work on an Amiga?
Contact management?
Wondering how feasible, say, an A4000 040 with 64m fast RAM would be in the real world.
Yes. HP 4050DTN via JetDirect, and an HP 882C via lpr port on SMC Barricade router.
Not any more.
Not any more.
I do, however, maintain personal emails on the Amiga, while business are on the Windows box. This should give the Feds a WTF moment when they raid my compound :-D
Up until around 2000-ish, my A4000 was my main computer. Since then the Windows machine has usurped the Amiga mostly out of necessity. I am a Windows (and Solaris) system administrator after all. And even so, I could essentially go back to using my Amiga as the only machine, what with RDesktop, samba, ssh, YAM, and IBrowse, I could get away with it for the most part.
And I'll tell you from experience that a 40MHz 4000 is useful, but not entirely practical. Now, PPC is another story. I have a CSMKIII with 128MB RAM on the 4000 now, PIV, and X-Surf -- I can get away with a LOT. I'm hoping to have at least one working Blizzard PPC soon.
[EDIT]: I meant CyberStorm PPC
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Games mostly but hope to expand that to music and general apps as soon as I get OS3.9 sorted. :-)
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I use mine for mostly music production. Octamed, Soundprobe...
I sing and play guitar straight through my megalosound sampler into my Tascam board.
I'm still amazed that an 030 can do the effects in real time.
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The 680x0 series is QUITE capable. IINM, the 030 and 040 CPUs still lie at the heart of numerous pieces of network equipment and printers. Some have gone or are going to later incarnations of the Motorola CPUs, like the PowerPC. It's neat to still find them in equipment.
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I use my Amiga for everything I do with a computer except the occasional video or website that it won't do. Also, I run CADCAM software on a peecee. Oh, and I have Sparcstations for mundane internet services, and the occasional use just because I have so many.
I used to do audio production, and some music synthesis, I do a lot of programming (this time of year), I have a Toaster setup to play with. All my financial work is done on an Amiga (more than you think!). All my email and internet browsing. Website hosting ( a little ). Oh and yes, all office type work. And, I have several network printers that my Amiga is really the only computer accessing them. I can't print from Solaris!
I even have the toner cartridges in my color laser printer loaded wrong due to a bug in TurboPrint.
Any graphic work I would do is strictly Amiga. Every once in a while I do a lot. I use Provector and ArtEffect a LOT. I still like Provector better than I liked CorelDraw, and I haven't had a copy of CorelDraw since I ran it in Windoze 3.0.
I used to have a really nice DooM editor for the Mac which I ran under emulation on my Amiga (it worked better than a real Mac) and we would play a lot of network DooM on Amigas. And my Amigas aren't even milspec, I don't think.
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>Can you connect to shared printers?
I rarely need to print at all, I could print though if I wanted to.
>Can you do most of your office app type work on an Amiga?
I don't have a use for this
>Contact management?
nor this
I use my Amiga (actually a Pegasos 2, but does that matter) for email mostly. I would use it as a main machine if I had a decent web browser.
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Peg2 is main machine, used for all computing ->web, mp3, chat, im, games, art etc.
The 4000 gets used to check out all new demo scene releases and play classic games.. Sometimes still on irc and web also :) Also play around with code and try to learn something (takes time).
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spihunter wrote:
I use mine for mostly music production. Octamed, Soundprobe...
I sing and play guitar straight through my megalosound sampler into my Tascam board.
I'm still amazed that an 030 can do the effects in real time.
And you are able to use it effectively in spite of its speed?
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I use it for email, WWW, word processing, and recording from my turntable, and games! Spreadsheets.. and IRC! :-o
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Pretty much everthing: surfing the net, e-mail, office stuff, Mp3s, shoutcast streams, Digital Universe, simpler thinking games, interface to Palm (the contact management in Spitfire works well for me).
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As my recent dilemma over whether or not to upgrade to OS4-capable hardware has shown me, I'm a "retro gamer and hardware fetishist" :-) I love the classic hardware. The way the A4000 fits together is just beautiful. Big chunky Zorro cards, bolted-down accelerator boards, everything! I also like massively expanded A1200s. The idea of daisy-chaining more and more upgrades is quite fascinating (e.g. A1200 mobo -> Zorro expansion -> X-Surf -> Subway) but at the end of the day the stability and simplicity of the A4000 wins for me.
As for the games, I love to play all my old favourites. Not like I used to, when I was a teenager and would spend literally all day playing Cannon Fodder, Worms DC or Stardust with my best mate. But a quick play of those old favourites gives a nostalgia kick which can almost bring a tear to my eye - and that's why I still love the Amiga after all these years.
I think I would be more likely to use my Amiga as a main machine if it wasn't upstairs. Most of my computing is done in the lounge or in Uni so using my Amiga just isn't as practical as using my MacBook. If OS4 were to be patched to run under emulation or natively on a Mac, then I would definitely install it on my MacBook (under emulation) or on a G4 iBook (natively) and try to use it as a primary OS.
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moto
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Using it mostly for gaming which was the reason I got an Amiga after selling my A500 in 1993
I do alot of websurfing + chatting too on it and even some bittorent downloads with beehive
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Collecting dust these days and not alot else!
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..exactly pal.. and the heretic idea crossed my mind recently - sell that thingie off!! But I don`t know.. it is like selling a soul.. :roll:
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gdanko wrote:
I see a lot of people here who apparently still use their Amiga(s) quite a bit. Some even claim to use them for MOST things. Aside from classic games, what are you doing with your Amigas? I assume that if it's an A500 or barebones A2000 it is games only. Those with RTG cards, NICs, and 040 or better may well be using them for most things.
I use my Amigas for everything. And I'm counting my Pegasos1 as an amiga too as I use exactly the same software on it than on my A1200. Except I also can watch movies with it :)
So.. I use them on all internet things (typing this with IBrowse atm), listening music, watching movies, playing games, doing admin jobs with ssh, printing, processing digital photos, coding, etc etc.
I have Pegasos1 and A1200/060/everything for "serious" things and A1200/030 for games. Those are in everyday use.. then of course have several other Amigas in not so regular use ;)
Can you connect to shared printers?
Yes, there are several ways, but I use lpr.device on three of my amigas to share Lexmark laser printer with MarkNet X2011e print server. Works fine from Pagestream, Final Writer, IBrowse, CEd, etc for example.
Printing to Windows/samba shared printers would work too tried that 10 years ago, but I don't like the idea having printer connected to some certain computer, which should be on when you want to print something from some other computer ;)
Can you do most of your office app type work on an Amiga?
Yes, I hardly ever need anything fancy, so I use text editor mainly. Or if I need graphics etc, then I use Final Writer, which has more features than I've ever needed :) Pagestream would be cool to use too, but it's bit too comprehensive for my needs :)
Contact management?
I think Vapor's ContactManager is pretty good for example, but for my contact management needs IRC and e-mail client are just enough ;)
Wondering how feasible, say, an A4000 040 with 64m fast RAM would be in the real world.
If it has original 25MHz 040, then it isn't quite enough for most things nowadays.. but if it's higher clocked 040 or 060 and it will have fast gfx-card, then it's OK for most things, but I wouldn't say it could be the only computer for most people.
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Ok Moto, I'm gonna make this simple for you :-)
You currently have no OS4 capable hardware.
You would have to spend a lot of money on a PPC to make it OS4 capable.
You have no software that specifically requires OS4.
Currently no Amiga software is able to enhance your computing environment.
The Phase5 boards are not really classic Amiga hardware, though my BlizzPPC has a great deal of sentimental value... any board you buy will be of unknown history and indeterminate life span...
Can you justify thowing a lot of money into something that really won't provide any advantage over the system you currently have. The money could be better spent on something that would provide a superior computing experience!
On the other hand if you do buy OS4 then send it my way :-) hehehehe
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What do you use your Amiga for
Lately...absolutely nothing. This really isn't by choice I might add, it's just that none of my current LCD displays will sync down to 31Hz and I am well over CRT monitors. My 3000 is still sitting there, but with nothing to display it on, I feel it too will soon be relegated to the cupboard. Oh well :shrug:
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MASACREWILL wrote:
..exactly pal.. and the heretic idea crossed my mind recently - sell that thingie off!! But I don`t know.. it is like selling a soul.. :roll:
..ehmm, it seems I am just winning the A600 (with a little damage of the casing) for 20 EUR.. why I do such things? I am addicted!! HELP !! ;-)))
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@pan1k
Do you use your Amiga for DJ-ing?
seems like your into that stuff...............sounds cool. I once threw an entire party back in like 1996 with my Amiga 600, CD32 with Video Creator.and a Commodore 64 using a SrobeLigh effect connected to a large TV as a Strobe Light. The music ran of the CD32 Audio CD's as well as Video Creator for Visuals........and I had tons of sound samples loaded into my A600 at a very good quality, that I used for DJ-ing and scratching effects as well as mixing with a Mixer between the A600 and CD32 Audio CD's
Now I just Do mostly VeeJaying with my A1200/68040 256mb RAm, DCTV, SuperGen SX and ChromaKey Plus.
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Ok Moto, I'm gonna make this simple for you
You currently have no OS4 capable hardware.
You would have to spend a lot of money on a PPC to make it OS4 capable.
You have no software that specifically requires OS4.
Currently no Amiga software is able to enhance your computing environment.
The Phase5 boards are not really classic Amiga hardware, though my BlizzPPC has a great deal of sentimental value... any board you buy will be of unknown history and indeterminate life span...
Can you justify thowing a lot of money into something that really won't provide any advantage over the system you currently have. The money could be better spent on something that would provide a superior computing experience!
On the other hand if you do buy OS4 then send it my way hehehehe
Yeah moto :-P
I dont think theres really anything wrong with 3.9 and if you dont have the hardware simply stay with 3.9! As Bloodline says what are you going to gain by using os4 over 3.9??? as for emulation you pretty well have that covered with our GP2X's. I would rather pay for games to be released for the classic amiga, so if games where released I'd buy them if I liked them, OS4 i dont need so I wont be buying it.
@MASACREWILL
..exactly pal.. and the heretic idea crossed my mind recently - sell that thingie off!! But I don`t know.. it is like selling a soul..
Ive been playing with the idea lately of selling on the PPCs but its the kind of thing that once you sell its a git to get back. There's only afew games I play that requires the PPC Q2,Heretic2,Payback,Nightlong and I have all these games for the PC bar payback which I have for the GP2X and Mac. So I really only need a basic amiga with 030. But like yourself it kinda feels wrong to get rid :crazy:
..ehmm, it seems I am just winning the A600 (with a little damage of the casing) for 20 EUR.. why I do such things? I am addicted!! HELP !! ))
Sorry there just no help for you addicts :-o
But saying that! I am playing with the idea of buying myself a desktop 1200 and fitting an internal cd drive and building a little whdload gaming machine 8-)
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- Music production and recording
- transferring old cassettes & records to CD
- CD burning
- desktop publishing (CD artwork, etc.)
- graphics manipulation
- word processing
- used to use it for faxing, still capable.
- currently reading the X-CAD manual with intent to do some CAD work on the Amiga.
I like OS4.0 but could never afford to pay the kind of money being asked for an old, used PPC card.
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@gdanko,
And you are able to use it effectively in spite of its speed?
It works but, its a bit sluggish in higher color screenmodes.
I just got an Apollo/060 in the mail today that I'm going to install when I get home. I'm hoping that speeds things up a bit.
:-D
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There's only afew games I play that requires the PPC Q2,Heretic2,Payback,Nightlong and I have all these games for the PC bar payback which I have for the GP2X and Mac. So I really only need a basic amiga with 030. But like yourself it kinda feels wrong to get rid :crazy:
Ahhh! I secretly hate (:angry:) you users that have PPCs or 060s and just play games! Then there are those of us that only use our Amigas for CPU intensive productivity apps or serious work and are left to chug away slowly with 030s and 040s, just wishing we had an 060 or PPC.
I don't really hate you, just wish I had the money to blow on such an expensive "toy". :-)