Ok, so I didn't specify in detail about Microsoft Os's. I use Windows XP professional, and will concede that it is by far the most stable of their Os's. When I say crappier and crappier, I mean bloated with more and more programs in the background that you have no clue as to their purpose, and the ever more "Easier to use than ever" thing which in reality means that people who know how to use their computers, have to dig through more and more unecessary things just to reach the same parts they did in an earlier release.
I use XP, because if I want to play games, I don't really have an alternative. Linux is getting more and more support, but this is still seldom available on a disc, and is usually in the form of patches from the internet.
Don't get me wrong though, I don't dislike my PC. For a start, with WinUAE, it is far more Amiga than my real Amiga is, because I can have 1600x1200 RTG screenmodes and an 040 CPU that is insanely fast (faster than my 200Mhz PPC Amiga board), and best of all, I can remove all these "add ons" at the click of a button instead of having to rake out the old A500, or consider a second A1200 without any mods.
WinUAE emulates every game I ever had on my Amiga without batting an eyelid, and when I tire of them, I can quit it and play UT2004 or listen to mp3s of music I created in my home studio without having to move anything but my fingers and eyes.
Btw, I had a 3DO. I for one would have bought that M2 add-on for it in favour of a ps1 if it had ever materialized. Half of 3DO's problem was bs advertising I feel. I remember seeing screenshots of "3DO" games which looked nothing like what I'd seen on my 3DO. I remember seeing "Demos" of M2 hardware, which blows away stuff that I'm doing now on my Geforce FX 5950 AMD 3200 1024Mb PC. I was obviously unable to be disappointed, as M2 didn't materialize before I "needed" a playstation, and wasn't likely to anytime soon after. I DO however remember playing an M2 hardware arcade machine, and thinking "Doesn't look a whole lot better than my PlayStation"
I don't think 3DO's problems had anything to do with people not wanting an alternative to PC or cheapie consoles. Let's not forget the first titles on 3DO. They were horrendous. I almost sent mine back. If Road Rash hadn't come out, closely followed by Need for Speed, I would certainly have tried to get my money back.
Finally, the guy who wants to make a 486. Why? If you have one, fine. If not, don't waste your money. If you don't already have a PC, build one. Use DosEMU if you REALLY have to play the older games. I use DosEMU, because I was never able to run Dungeon Master 2 on my PC, because my hardware was too advanced. Now 9 years on from that, I can play it perfectly (and this is how all my rambling is relevant to this post, Dungeon Master 2 is slightly better scenery wise on the PC than it's Amiga counterpart, but most of the monsters on the Amiga version are better than PC).
I've bored you all haven't I? You all hate me now
