Amiga users, Are we the only hardcore followers?

[InTheSand]

tonyvdb wrote:
Are there other user groups like us from the 80's that still hang on to our trusty old computers (not people that are colecting them but still using them), or are there lots of others out there like us?

There are a few other groups - the Sinclairs (expecially the ZX Spectrum and the QL) still have an active and loyal following on comp.sys.sinclair, and new QL clones plus various bits of Spectrum-related hardware are available new. I'm not quite sure how many of the old 8-bit micros are still in actual use though, I'd say it was less than the Amigas, as at least you can still do something useful aside from games with an Amiga!

KThunder wrote:
linux started out with one guy linus and grew to a very respectable alternitive os it isnt very useful for home use since it is unix.

I disagree there - a recent Ubuntu Linux distribution that includes OpenOffice is more than adequate for casual computer use (e.g. emailing, web browsing, printing stuff, creation of documents and spreadsheets, etc). Things there have progressed loads since the early Linux days, and such users would have no need or requirement to use the command shell as everything can be controlled graphically.

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

mr_a500 wrote:
It's funny, the "CoCo" fans dream of what it would have been like if they released the Colour Computer 4 - similar to the AAA dreams of Amiga fans.

Hehe! And the Speccy fans dream of what it'd have been like if the ZX Spectrum Loki had been released in a similar way! This was supposed to have had Amiga-style graphics and sound (blitter plus custom chipset) and a 48K Spectrum compatible mode, all controlled via a 6MHz Z80, for under £200 in around 1986.

History note: A couple of the engineers working on the Loki project left Sinclair Research, set up a company to market a new machine and this eventually appeared as the Atari Jaguar.

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

Marco wrote:
And again with the C64/128 fans' dreams of the C65, though that at least was pretty much finished when it was canned by Gould. It's a shame really, the C65 looks like a very nice piece of hardware for an 8bit swansong...

At least the C65 got as far as the prototype stage - the nearest thing to a completed ZX Spectrum Loki was one made of chocolate and given away in a magazine competition! The design was too over-ambitious and could never have been produced in the timescales or at the projected cost.

Lando wrote:
...they seem quite ready to admit their machines are not going to have a 'comeback' but are happy to keep using them, upgrading them, and developing for them simply because they enjoy it and they like the computers / OS.

Realistically, that's the only reason I still use the Amiga - because I enjoy it! Tinkering with old hardware and software is a fun (though sometimes expensive!) hobby, for me at least!

But it's nice to have a dream of a new Amiga! The problem nowadays being that even if by some miracle, a company was to produce a world-beating computer with the word "Amiga" stuck on it, unless it was PC (or perhaps Mac) compatible, it wouldn't stand much of a chance regardless of specs or capability and would be relegated to an expensive low production run hobby item... So no world domination there!

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

@Waccoon: I agree to a point - Linux could probably do with more standardisation, and more compatibility between distros could also help...

But the point I was trying to make is that the likes of Ubuntu / Gnome / Firefox / Thunderbird / OpenOffice is more than adequate for the average Joe Windows User who is into non-demanding tasks, and to (respectfully!) disagree with the "it isn't very useful for home use" comment.

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

Hehe! My girlfriend said she's making a banana loaf at the weekend (we have loads of frozen bananas in the freezer) so any tips on making it a PC-beater?!  :-D

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

tonyvdb wrote:
Frozen bannanas work great in Bannana bread I do it often.

Yay! A fellow banana enthusiast!  :-)

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

x56h34 wrote:
As much as I like bananas, you have to be realistic and realize that there's no useful software available for it. It's fun to tinker with, but that's about it... ;-) ;-) ;-)

No software? Rubbish!  :-)

There's some accounting software at least, but you might have some issues with device driver installation...

 - Ali

[InTheSand]

@adz: seeing as broccoli is the Amiga's official vegetable, perhaps banana should be the official Amiga fruit?  :-)

I've not tried frozen banana - ours are really frozen solid and I think I'd break my teeth!!!

 - Ali