What made Amiga "Amiga?" Was it hardware, software, OS, or something entirely different?
I think it was timing, Amiga stepped into the scene right when people (like me) wanted a bit more than what the 8bit systems had on offer.
Amiga delivered, and then some. With its custom chipset it was able to leap at least a generation and a half ahead, showing us not only what the 16bit era had to offer, but also a glimpse at what the 32bit generation might hold.
I liked that you could just slot in a floppy and the machine would boot the game, no more typing in LOAD"*",8 for a start.
To be honest, most A500 owners probably never spent much time using workbench so I dont count that as a huge factor in forming Amiga impressions, if anything WB1.X was a bit bland. Amiga was all about the eyecandy, at a time when 4bit Gfx were the norm.
For me, I doubt there will ever be that kind of perceived generational leap again. I went from the C64 to the Amiga back when I was 16, quite simply that cant happen again. I'm no longer that impressionalble young person for a start and I dont own a tardis.
