What an entertaining thread this has become. Don't be so harsh with Don, much of what he wrote, I agree with, but he is afflicted with the disease of having to work on and with Windows and/or Microsoft products because they are all that is available right now to do what he needs to do. Amiga is not superior hardware or software anymore. That is why I wrote it is the people that decide to still use them that are what is superior, the devotion and continued dedication to improving something long after it has been surpassed elsewhere.
I have the luxury of enjoying the use of the Amiga and can still make money with it (I am getting to that point anyway with the creation of my video studio), but that is not its primary purpose. I could spend money for better video hardware (if I had any money), but choose to use what I enjoy and get the best from it, even if its best results are not considered close to what the best available can provide. It can still do amazing things in the right hands and I plan on those hands being mine some day.
I enjoy that the Amiga community and few developers is still alive and fairly well considering what we have all gone through. What other computers have new hardware being released 15 years after the parent company has gone bankrupt? What other computer has so many users still waiting and hoping for a new OS for their antique machines after years of development?
I like that there are still improvements being made to the 3.1-3.9 versions of the OS, the classic Amigas still keep on, keeping on, some people have created AROS, OS4 and MorphOS in the spirit of the classic Amiga OSes, inventive people create projects like the MiniMig, NatAmi and Clone-A, that make us wonder just what may come next along those directions.
The Amiga is a fantastic experience that we have been privileged to be part of. I for one have been very enriched in the process and I am grateful. I only wish that something as inspiring would come along again. Something completely new and revolutionary that would wipe all the Windows, Linux, MacOS and the rest away. A fresh start that is not crippled by the past and can take full advantage of the incredible power that is available today, but in a way that leads to future development like nothing that has ever been before. In other words, something worth getting all excited about, something that will make me sit back and say "maybe this is the way things might have been if the Amiga had won the battle and Windows had died at version 3.1".
Until that day comes, I will use my MacBook for most things, including running WindowsXP only when necessary, emulating an Amiga to escape and save my sanity, and enjoying my collection of Classic Amiga computers every chance I get.
