Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: mpiva on April 11, 2011, 01:28:47 AM
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I recently purchased a Sam460ex Complete System from AmigaKit and thought I'd write up an extensive review with photos for those who might be interested. You can find Part 1 on my Amiga.org blog.
Part 1 - The Order (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=313) (Posted)
Part 2.1 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=314) (Posted)
Part 2.2 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=315) (Posted)
Part 2.3 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=316) (Posted)
Part 3.1 - The Software (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=318) (Posted)
Part 3.2 - The Software (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=319) (Posted)
Part 4 - The Conclusion (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=320) (Posted)
I hope you enjoy it. I'll update this thread when the next parts to the review are added.
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Very nice. Looking forward to the rest of it
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Nice report! Look forward to the next part. :) Congrats on your new sys.
btw why in the world did you have to pay taxes if its mailorder??
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btw why in the world did you have to pay taxes if its mailorder??
we Canadians are taxed to death here! 13% on everything we buy + income tax + property tax + fresh air tax etc.;)
@ mpiva
congrats on your new Sam460ex:drink:ACube has great support for their Sam range so enjoy the future updates
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klx300r
Please DO NOT complain about your taxes. At least you have comprehensive healthcare. MANY americans have been put in 100K + debt due to medical problems/operations.. :(
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@ magnetic
complaining? merely stating facts...when you pay for 'universal healthcare' your whole life then I suppose you will understand my comment
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@mpiva
According to the first part of your review Amigakit & FedEx did a great job and even time traveled and got you your system in early Feb a good month and a 1/2 before you ordered it. I did not know time travel shipping was even offered.
:)
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the review. Amiga OS 4.1 is a nice OS.
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I read the review and it's great! :)
But i didn't realise it would cost that much. I was thinking US$700-800.
There is hope for future though. The Australian dollar has gone above parity and they think it will go as high as A$1.20 in the next few months. This means imports are going to get very very cheap! :)
Better start looking at that x1000... :rolleyes:
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klx300r
Please DO NOT complain about your taxes. At least you have comprehensive healthcare. MANY americans have been put in 100K + debt due to medical problems/operations.. :(
Proof of the superior American economy. Suckers! :hammer:
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we Canadians are taxed to death here! 13% on everything we buy + income tax + property tax + fresh air tax etc.;)
@ mpiva
congrats on your new Sam460ex:drink:ACube has great support for their Sam range so enjoy the future updates
That's horrible! 13% is such a hard number to work with. In Australia we use 10% on goods and services. It's so liberating doing other peoples tax returns using only the fingers on your hand... :rolleyes:
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Kesa
All one has to do is look at your sig and we see who the real "sucker" is..
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Kesa
All one has to do is look at your sig and we see who the real "sucker" is..
Thanks! :)
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@mpiva
According to the first part of your review Amigakit & FedEx did a great job and even time traveled and got you your system in early Feb a good month and a 1/2 before you ordered it. I did not know time travel shipping was even offered.
:rofl:
Didn't you know that North America is a good month behind the UK? :razz:
Thanks for pointing out my mistake, though. All fixed now.
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That's horrible! 13% is such a hard number to work with. In Australia we use 10% on goods and services.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Norway :rtfm:
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Part 2 is now being posted. I've had to split it up into 3 sub-part due to the 10 image limit on blog posts.
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Excellent, enjoying the review. Looking forward to more.
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Pretty good review so far. Very thorough.
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That case looks pretty cheap :-/
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nice. did you test the 4 sata ports ALL at the same time, I've seen cards with 4 ports that can only run 2 ports at the same time.
the sd card slot placement is a bit arsey. Seems more like a bullet point fixture than functional :(
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nice. did you test the 4 sata ports ALL at the same time, I've seen cards with 4 ports that can only run 2 ports at the same time.
I've tested three at the same time and it worked. I suspect all four would work at the same time as it'd be awfully strange for three to work but not four.
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Congratulations Michael.
Great review. Looking forward to more.
redfox
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Part 3 is now being posted. Again I've have to split it up into parts as there's a 10000 character limit per blog entry.
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Eagerly awaiting the conclusion
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Great review, really enjoying reading, thanks for taking the time to do this!
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Love the review. Thanks for posting.
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Oh the suspense! OS 4.1 sounds a little disappointing really. Can't wait to hear the final conclusion after these first few impressions. :)
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Thanks Micheal. Not having any personal experience with AOS4, its nice to read your comments on your new purchase.
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Great review.
Looking forward to the conclusion.
After my A1 G4 os4 hardware died, I keep looking for more info on new os4 hardware.
Enjoy your os4 hardware.
michael
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Well, after a bit of delay, I've finally got round to posting Part 4. I hope you enjoy it.
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Bravo! Well done. One of the more entertaining and informative reads here in a long time. :)
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Plus 1!
I have never used an ng Amiga before and this is the most objective and revealing review i have read about AOS4.x so far :)
I didn't realise it was this crappy! :hammer:
So what i really want to know is what do you think about the almighty Morphos? And why didn't you get Morphos instead of Workbench4.x as you would have a superior and cheaper product? :confused:
Please tell me :)
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Well, after a bit of delay, I've finally got round to posting Part 4. I hope you enjoy it.
Fantastic effort! btw...
Fri, 15 Apr 2011
UBoot 2010.06-05 for Sam460ex available
http://www.acube-systems.biz/index.php?page=news&id=84
#6
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I recently purchased a Sam460ex Complete System from AmigaKit and thought I'd write up an extensive review with photos for those who might be interested. You can find Part 1 on my Amiga.org blog.
Part 1 - The Order (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=313) (Posted)
Part 2.1 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=314) (Posted)
Part 2.2 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=315) (Posted)
Part 2.3 - The Hardware (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=316) (Posted)
Part 3.1 - The Software (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=318) (Posted)
Part 3.2 - The Software (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=319) (Posted)
Part 4 - The Conclusion (http://www.amiga.org/forums/blog.php?b=320) (Posted)
I hope you enjoy it. I'll update this thread when the next parts to the review are added.
Thank you mpiva!!
I uttery enjoyed your review, though I am curious about how long it would take to boot from the CF ;)
Anyway hope your NG investment works out.
DC
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@mpiva
Thanks for your excellent review. I think that maybe Hyperion and OS4 Team still think their users are software developers. You and I did not purchase our systems to develop new user applications.
Not sure if you have discovered this yet. Hopefully, you have an Extras Installer icon in your AmiDock which will allow you to install some software that was not installed by the installer script. The AmigaOS 4.1 Installation CD contains some extra programs and media demos that are not installed by the OS installer.
My CD contains the following extras:
AISS, AmiDVD, AmiFTP, DiskImage, DiskMaster2, DOpus4, DvPlayer, IBrowse, OWB, pFTP, SimpleMail, Tunenet and YAM.
My CD has a drawer called Media. In that drawer there are some contributions from Danny and Stephen Fellner (mpg works with DvPlayer) and Susumu Hirasawa (songs and music work with TuneNet).
All the best. I hope things work out well. I have been using OS4 for many years. Some ups and downs along the way. I went straight from an A2000HD with 68000 CPU and AmigaOS 3.1 to my MicroA1 with an early version of OS4.0. I purchased the motherboard with CD and built my own system. You learn quite a bit installing several versions of the OS as it changes. Currently running AmigaOS 4.1 Update 2.
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redfox
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I am wondering because You said there is no software included? I have only a beta of OS 4.0 an there is a "Contributon" drawer with a lot of software and also a little bit of media.
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@Borut
I am wondering because You said there is no software included? I have only a beta of OS 4.0 an there is a "Contributon" drawer with a lot of software and also a little bit of media.
You are right. The OS 4.0 CD has a "Contributions" drawer. My AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1 CD has the contributions split up into different drawers. There is a Media drawer that is quite easy to find, but the contributed software programs are located in an Extras drawer that is hidden deeper in the CD.
Not sure about the CD that comes with the Sam460. It may have AmigaOS 4.1 Update 2. Not sure where the Extras drawer is located.
With the AmigaOne version, it was assumed that users would install the extras they wanted using the Extras Installer icon in AmiDock. Not sure but this is most likely the same with the Sam460 version.
The contributions are still there, it is just a bit harder to find them on your own.
However, programs like Final Writer 97 or TVPaint or PPaint are not included on the CD. If you want to use these programs, you have to locate them elsewhere or copy over from your older systems.
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redfox
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Plus 1!
I have never used an ng Amiga before and this is the most objective and revealing review i have read about AOS4.x so far :)
I didn't realise it was this crappy! :hammer:
So what i really want to know is what do you think about the almighty Morphos? And why didn't you get Morphos instead of Workbench4.x as you would have a superior and cheaper product? :confused:
Please tell me :)
Minus 1!
I think maybe you should read the review again or just take your obviously biased opinions elsewhere as you're totally misrepresenting what I said. You obviously have no interest in AmigaOS 4 are just trying to troll.
As to why I didn't get MorphOS instead of AmigaOS... I sense that you don't actually care and are just using it as an excuse to do your evangelizing. Even if I answered you, you wouldn't actually listen to anything I say anyway so why should I bother?
Needless to say, people like you only make me less interested in your OS.
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@mpiva
My CD contains the following extras:
AISS, AmiDVD, AmiFTP, DiskImage, DiskMaster2, DOpus4, DvPlayer, IBrowse, OWB, pFTP, SimpleMail, Tunenet and YAM.
My CD has a drawer called Media. In that drawer there are some contributions from Danny and Stephen Fellner (mpg works with DvPlayer) and Susumu Hirasawa (songs and music work with TuneNet).
AmigaKit did install those programs for me but before I got internet working (and without sound) most of those aren't very useful. Even the filemanagers aren't particularly useful until you have lots of files to manage ;) Those are all good programs but there should also be a Picture viewer included, not just Multiview, but something that shows thumbnails, allows rotating and zooming, etc. Of, a handful of sample pictures should come along with it. Perhaps a picture editor should be in there as well.
As for the Media drawer... cool, I didn't know about that. I'm going to have to check it out. I wonder why AmigaKit didn't copy it onto the Hard Drive?
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Thank you for the review...
In truth it confirmed my belief that unless someone sells me a used system very very cheap, I will never own an os4 system.
For 1500$ I can build a ridiculous 3-4ghz quad core, triple booting winxp/linux and AROS rig, with catweasel pci, sblive, 1 gig video memory, 4-8 gigs ram, a couple of terrabytes of disk storage (or better yet an ssd drive) and alot more.
a 1ghz intel system can be bought for aros on ebay for 50$ add an sblive, intel pro100 network card and a supported graphics card for another 50$
I'm fairly certain a 1ghz pentium 3 is about the same computational power as this system.
Don't want to start an aros verses os4 debate but a 1400$ difference for a computer of the same capabilities is quite extreme.
If you go the morphoS route, you can get an emac with the same capabilities for 100-150$. Add morphOS registration, and your still 1100-1200$ ahead.
Os4 fanboys can argue all they want, but these are the facts.
I wish you the best of luck with your computer though, and I hope your right in that os4 will improve, but how long will they keep saying its a beta as an excuse?
Its a commerical product your selling in stores, it shouldn't be called a beta and that should not be an excuse for how many years now for lack of solid development or progress. Porting linux apps dosn't interest me.
Lack of drivers, lack of real usb support or browsing, there's just too much to not like about os4, the biggest of which is price point.
Steven
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Haywire
you are going a bit haywire my friend :) I agree with you about the os4 development progress over the years for sure. However, talking about the price being high, I dont agree. Yes its extremely high when comparing it to typical marketplace computers. These kind of boards like the Sam, X1000, A1, Peg, etc are exotic hardware. The total cost of ownership is a lot higher for the company. The market is so small that high prices are necessary.
OS 4 needed a mid high range system and now it has one! I dig the X1000 project but man talk about price. But then again the same principles I wrote above apply so... I guess the price is justified??
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Speaking of price, Amiga systems, including AmigaOnes, Pegasos, and Sams, tend to retain their value a lot longer than the equivalent price PC. In 5 years, you could probably sell your $1500 PC for $500 whereas you could probably sell your $1500 Sam460 for $1300. Therefore the relative cost difference is a lot less than it first appears.
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Minus 1!
I think maybe you should read the review again or just take your obviously biased opinions elsewhere as you're totally misrepresenting what I said. You obviously have no interest in AmigaOS 4 are just trying to troll.
As to why I didn't get MorphOS instead of AmigaOS... I sense that you don't actually care and are just using it as an excuse to do your evangelizing. Even if I answered you, you wouldn't actually listen to anything I say anyway so why should I bother?
Needless to say, people like you only make me less interested in your OS.
I'm sorry but you have misinterpreted what i was trying to say so i will try again :)
First i have no bias to Morphos. I have never used AOS4.x so i don't know anything about it except what i hear from word of mouth. So being bias to Morthos is pointless.
Second i have used Morphos only a few times on a friends Macmini so am not really familar with it enough to have an objective opinion about it. So being bias towards it would be pointless.
Third, when i said "almighty Morphos" i meant it as sarcasm. I feel in general people consider it a more polished product than AOS4.x so when i said "almighty" it was meant as sarcasm.
I meant what i said in that your statements about the limitations of AOS4.x was insightful for someone who has never used it before. All you really hear about is subjective advertising garble telling me how good it is so your comments were refreshing.
But my questions remain, why did you choose a SAM over a Morphos setup? Morphos is cheaper, faster and "apparently" a better product. If you did a review on Morphos the same as you did on AOS4.x i will be the first to read it :)
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Your findings are very, very similar to mine when I got my SAM 440, Michael. My advice - get used to it, have fun. Anyone buying one of these new Amiga's should be well aware that a modern smartphone has more capability in daily use, sadly. They will never replace a PC, the software just is not there. It's like trying to drive a stock 1955 VW Beetle on the Autobahn. I run a BBS system on my SAM, and I love it. I enjoy it regardless of the fact that 5 callers a week telnet in, regardless of the fact I paid 900 bucks for this motherboard. I run an unreg MorphOS macmini machine, nice stuff as well, but I do like OS 4 more now that I am getting into coding. SDK is very nice. You'll learn to enjoy it after the sticker shock wears off. :)
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@Kesa
I must say I also thought you were trolling when I read your post. You may have been sarcastic but it reads exactly the same as many MOS evangelists' serious posts!
Why did he buy an AmigaOS machine? I'd imagine because a) he wanted to run AmigaOS (which in my experiene - I own both - is the better) and b) because buying new hardware encourages new hardware. Buying a second hand PowerMac doesn't encourage any new hardware - quite the opposite. It's the Hyperion decision NOT to run on old hardware that's the reason the Sams and X1000s exist, so it's a decision I completely concur with.
I'm looking forward to him doing a follow-up article "one month later". :)
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Great review. It has certainly turned me off from buying a Sam460 or any other OS4.0 system. Talk about over expensive crap! I'm sorry but others are right, this is not a user friendly system, but a system that is like beta.
I'll still with my Amiga 1200 rack (with 68040 now) and for when I need the extra speed, WINUAE.
I still have a Macmini for Morphos but can't get an answer on a software compatibilty list for it!
Hopefully though prices will come down and the system will improve over time, as I always wanted Amiga to continue in some form or another!
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@Kesa
I must say I also thought you were trolling when I read your post. You may have been sarcastic but it reads exactly the same as many MOS evangelists' serious posts!
My first impression was.. oh no, Eva is back :)
@mpiva
Thanks for your review, it was a nice reading while zipping morningcoffee. What strikes me as a surprise is that you seem to have pretty much the same things bothering in OS4 as bothered me too.. but that was YEARS ago on a friends AmigaOne. Seems lots of things haven't moved much since then.
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@mpiva
Thanks for taking the time and effort on a great point of view review.
IMO your entire review and conclusion was very good.
My one suggestion is for AmigaKit...
Set up and sell the sam460 in a true kit form. Include everything needed to be compatible and easy, but no case. It would save on shipping.
A complete kit would keep the "it's not compatible" problems out. And upgraded cards could be an option for those with more cash.
Make sure that items that can be "amiga" branded are branded. (extra points)
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I'm sorry but you have misinterpreted what i was trying to say so i will try again :)
Third, when i said "almighty Morphos" i meant it as sarcasm. I feel in general people consider it a more polished product than AOS4.x so when i said "almighty" it was meant as sarcasm.
Sorry about the accusation. That's the problem with text, sarcasm doesn't come through very well. Anyway, when MorphOS comes out for PowerBooks I'll probably look into getting one and use that as my portable system. Then I'll be able to compare the two OS's better.
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@tasmanian_guy
What kind of compatibility problem do you have with your mini?
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I must admit the "no sound" part is rather much a surprise. You'd think that shipping an unsupported card wouldn't be a good decision ?
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Hi,
@mpiva,
This is exactly what I meant in several of my posts, that you can buy an OS but what good is it if you have no programs i.e. software to support that OS.
Sure these companies can build an OS and put it out to the public to buy, but look at the way Commodore did it, they came out with the magazine called Ahoy!, they developed a software branch that made programs to support their new OS's and then they went to software developers to sell the idea that they need to get on the bandwagon to support their new product line.
I have found all this out with the use of my A1200, I spent $700 for the Blizzard PPC card with the idea to purchase OS 4.0, at that time everyone was talking it up big, well Blizzard has my $700 and Hyperion has quit supporting the A1200. Today I can not find anywhere in the world a OS 4.0 that I can purchase with all the books that tells how to install it, etc. I have 2 games that work with the PPC card, Doom and Quake. WHOOPIE!
I have tried to warn other people on this site about these facts, but the Amiga fanboys and fanatics said I was a bad influence on support for the Amiga. To all these people I say Money talks, BS walks and that is what I see in a lot of these so called Amiga Developers today BS and I will keep walking away from them until I see support.
Now for your question "What do I do next?" take it from experience,
1 Scan the boards and Aminet daily, looking for software that you can use.
2 See if you can pick up a C compiler, and try to write your own programs. This can be really entertaining.
3. IGNORE all things said on the Amiga.org website by these religious fanatics so that you don't get caught up in their BS excitement, after all they are just looking for someone to buy one of these new systems, so they can see how it is. If anyone pressures you "Ask them what system they have, and are they thinking of buying one"
Enjoy your new system, I have a couple at my house that I am playing with, (Won't say which ones, since some of them where BS Amiga Vapor hardware brought about by various companies" Yes I made some of the same mistakes. Am I sorry "NO" I enjoy using them everyday, I turn them on look at the OS, click on some of the icons and then turn them off. Once in the while I get excitement by finding a program on Aminet, hope this doesn't turn out like that, hopefully Hyperion will bring out some stuff to support their OS and who knows, maybe it will be the new Amiga standard. \
smerf
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Haywire
you are going a bit haywire my friend :) I agree with you about the os4 development progress over the years for sure. However, talking about the price being high, I dont agree. Yes its extremely high when comparing it to typical marketplace computers. These kind of boards like the Sam, X1000, A1, Peg, etc are exotic hardware. The total cost of ownership is a lot higher for the company. The market is so small that high prices are necessary.
OS 4 needed a mid high range system and now it has one! I dig the X1000 project but man talk about price. But then again the same principles I wrote above apply so... I guess the price is justified??
@magnetic,
Exotic hardware, software or vaporware, does not really matter. You sound like a person that would buy a automobile with square tires just because I put the name exotic on it. The cost for an ultimate gaming system today is just about in the $3000 to $5000 range, these are the best for rich kids only systems. The systems you and I could afford are in the $500 to $1500 or at a high point $2000 range. (I am assuming that you aren't one of those spoiled filthy rich @holes that can buy things like a Rolls Royce, Maz, etc.) So most people would find it difficult to buy a $1500 machine exotic or not.
Once again it is cheering fanboys that don't look at all the facts, and probably wait for someone else to buy one.
So if the price is justified, why don't you own one, or if you do, why aren't you saying something about your purchase?
For an example: What type and make of computer do you own and use everyday for your computing needs?
If it is an Amiga, do tell please, how do you use it on the internet?
I only want facts, not theories, not exotic put on the shelf and collect dust products, facts, what can make this purchase useful in my life?
There is an old saying in Pennsyltucky, if someone brings out a car with square tires, but nobody makes square tires, What good is the car?
Please debate my saying
smerf
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I must admit the "no sound" part is rather much a surprise. You'd think that shipping an unsupported card wouldn't be a good decision ?
Really? It shouldn't have been a surprise as it's pretty clearly stated on AmigaKit's product description. Also, I'm not sure where you got the idea that they shipped an unsupported card. All the cards that came with the system are supported. The lack of sound is because of a lack of drivers for the INTEGRATED sound. Even still, those drivers just aren't out YET. I'm sure they'll come, it's just a matter of time.
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Really? It shouldn't have been a surprise as it's pretty clearly stated on AmigaKit's product description. Also, I'm not sure where you got the idea that they shipped an unsupported card. All the cards that came with the system are supported. The lack of sound is because of a lack of drivers for the INTEGRATED sound. Even still, those drivers just aren't out YET. I'm sure they'll come, it's just a matter of time.
ah okay, I misunderstood. Thanks :)
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@ mpiva
I personally enjoy setting up the hardware and workbench the way I like it and had a great time a few years back with my Samflex when i first got a OS4.x machine. Saying that I can see how a total new user to OS in general would deem the system as 'non user friendly'.
I see ACube just released a UBoot update for the 460....enjoy:) & please post a follow up review once you've had a chance to settle into it