Will there every be another computer like the amiga?

[paolone]

I was wondering, with the multitude of people turning the ps3 into a full computer and many other things going on in the world of technology, gaming and entertainment...
 
Will there ever be a computer like the amiga again?

Yes, there is. It's the eeePC. Or also the Apire One. Netbooks in general.

The netbook is the nearest thing to an Amiga 500 (with the ION ones being the new A1200s) in modern computing. It's little, it's cheap, it's uderpowered (if compared to mainstream desktop PCs), but it can fullfit all the current needs of lightness, transport, communications over the air and the Internet, as like as the A500 did longa ago for games and home computing. And, since I run Icaros Desktop on my Aspire One, it's even more similar to my old Amiga.

[paolone]

No, sorry it isn't anything like it. I've used AROS and since my first try i have stayed FAR away, its so unpolished. Also, any X86 HW available is nothing close to an Amiga, nowadays, taht belongs to the SAM and G4 macs, since MOS has better compatibility than OS4 or AROS.

Sorry, but I can't agree on this. There's nothing but the processor to distinguish a SAM or a Mac motherboard from a plain PC one, and from the hardware point of view you will find the same BUS, ports and connectors on any modern machine, being it x86 or PPC based.

We can argue the X1000 will have a programmable logic on board. A-Eon is struggling to convince us that this is a real heritage of the Amiga custom chips. You don't need a degree in Hardware Specialist to understand that's not the case.

Let's be more philosophic: Amiga was great thanks to its awesome multimedia performances opposed to a cheap price. There's absolutely nothing of this in SAM or X1000s. And any comparison between used Macs and new hardware is quite unfair. A long ago, playing at the edge of bitmap graphics, color animation and sound were attractive keypoints, but today needs are changed. Now people needs communications, weareability, lightness and autonomy. Computers (and not smartphones, or MIDs) that satisfy those needs at cheap prices are netbooks, and that's why IMHO my Aspire One is the heir of my old Amiga 1200. It's cheap and fullfits my needs.

About AROS, in the end, I can only invite you to try the latest releases, since they are much more polished than, for instance, one or two years ago.

And, not for you but for the one immediately after: netbooks hardware may be crap, but they give you much more than you pay for. I don't know if you can tell the same thing about any AmigaOS-compatible PPC platform. And you should really give a try to AROS on singlecore Atoms to believe how good they can be with a light operating system.

[paolone]

The problem with aros is that it's been made completely randomly: "So we still haven't got 3.1 source compatability fully worked out? who cares! we got someone with utterly no taste to make a skin for it!"

Sometimes I can't get a clue about people's criticism. You said AROS being made "randomly" but, in the end, what does this mean from a end-user perspective? If it works, it works, no matter how this result has been accomplished. If it doesn't work, there's the bug tracker and, believe it or not, when something get posted on the bug tracker, generally will also be fixed. AmigaOS 3.1 source compatibility is almost done and, if you spot bugs, you should file them to the bug tracker, instead of spreading fud here.

[paolone]

My point is, they seem to have worked more on eye candy than the actual goal of the project. Why did they go apeshit making an ugly theme BEFORE finishing the 3.1 apis? That's stupid.

No, that`s freedom. AROS is a open source community effort where different people contribute as far as their competences and fields allow. Development of different parts of the system proceeds in parallel, so it`s normal some areas will be ready before, and some others after. Do you think creating a theme is simplier or more difficult than getting OS3.1 source compatibility, without even seeing a line of original OS3.1 source code? And do you think artists should wait for coders to end their work, to start their own? Why? Just because you are accustomed to priority lists? That`s stupid, my friend.

[paolone]

I had to intermittently backup everything and reinstall the OS to make it usable again.
I had to deal with either no anti-virus (I caught conficker because of this) or enjoy AVgs nagging to update and restart
I got tired of not being able to encode video in any of the open source encoders and still play my online games
I was frustrated with WGA, "Sorry Billy, yes I pirated this version, now be a good boy and SMB and get the Fuck off my machine!"
I hated the games for windows having OS locks (can run on xp, but won't without a crack, ie. Halo 2) and no, Apple and devs make sure that even some new apps run  in Panther.

Sorry to say that again, but you urgently need to learn how to use computers. None of your sentences is true, and any just-averagely-skilled Windows user can easily subscribe. The need to backup your datas is true for any operating system, since your hard drive may  break any time. You don't even need to backup your documents, because if you are just a little smart, you know data must be placed in a different volume than system files (even Linux admins will tell you that /home must be placed on a different partition than  /). If you are used to place your data together with your system files, then your are doing an extremely wrong thing. You don't need antiviruses, if you just set up an admin user and a regular user, and then use the first for mantainance, and the second for regolar computing. Even if I shouldn't tell you, there are NO WGA restrictions that forbid to use hacked/cracked/pirated software (you shouldn't use it anyway), and you actually can use your open source codecs to encode whatever you wish on any Windows version, Vista and 7 included. The only DRM you'll find is the one connected to the Windows Media Player when you have to deal with DHCP-protected contents, and it's exactly the same kind of DRM you'll find on ANY blu-ray disc player, since Microsoft wouldn't get permission to play those contents, if they didn't pay for their license and protect digital rights that way. In the end, a MacOS and more in general an Apple user shouldn't ever talk about restrictions of freedom to Windows users: in Italy we have a good motto for this, "sembra il bue che dà del cornuto all'asino", which basically means that you shouldn't laugh about someone else's problems, when yours are bigger in the same area.

[paolone]

Paolone,

I am a very knowledgable person on computers, and you're picking a fight in the wrong place. Hell Labs is right, I was referring to windows rot which happens because all the websites and mis managements of the OS write little files to pad the ram and leave rest for the user applications. i've seen it. In order to run windoze safely and properly, you need to: optimize the swap, get firefox (or chrome), turn off "Luna", msconfig remove all unimportant startup apps, defrag, and restart a total of four times.

Then if you're a very knowledgable person on computers, you'd may be intersted in starting to use your knowledges. Windows usually rots on dumb people's computers, while remains perfectly functional and full-speed on smart people's ones. Otherwise, I'd barely explain why I never needed to reinstall anything for this "rot" thing. Nor why I never got a virus in years and years that I haven't ever installed an Antivitus. When I reinstalled, generally, is 'cos I've upgraded the main board with a totally different one. And it's not needed anymore with 7: I have a Win7 installation on a disc I share with all the mainboards I receive for testing pourposes, and it generally works immediately after all drivers have been installed.

About optimizations: some system services are meant to run in background to speed up common operations like file searches and so. If you don't need them, you can disable them. However, if you need them, you'll be happy the system indexer is stealing a little percentage of your processor grunt at given times. Optimizing the swap file won't bring great performance gains, unless you already know exactly how much virtual memory you need, and you set this value both for minimum and maximum dimensions of the swap file, possibly allocating it on a dedicated volume. Chrome or Firefox are NOT Windows component, so anything you do with them to speed up Windows, is not a Windows' issue.

Compared to OS X Tiger: Install firefox, get your apps, remove Mail and Safari, install all updates your done. At least MacOS X by default lets you chose if you want to install all the software update, windows' automatic updates do it behind your back. :p

Yes, you definitely don't know Windows. Windows Update lets you decide what to do from the very beginning, exactly when you install the operating system. So if you don't want automatic updates, you just disable them (at least on Win7, which is Windows current release).

[paolone]

Everything you say is wrong. Be quiet.

1. That's not what he meant. He was referring to the phenomena of "windows rot" where the computer gradually slows down, and only a reinstall can fix it. This is a very real thing.

2. He was referring to the copy protection of the OS itself.

3. ...And the DRM stopping you from pirating the OS, which he was actually talking about.

4. What? Macs have NO copy protection or DRM of any kind. iTunes is DRM free now, and you can install your copy of OS X on an infinite amount of computers and make as many "backup copies" as you like. My 1999 G3 iMac has the system software from a 2004 eMac G4, on DVD-R. No problem installing.

1. I've already answered about this.

2. and 3. There's no copy protection for the OS itself. There is a license checking that prevents people from STEALING the ability to run a commercial operating system if you haven't paid for it. And IMHO you can't argue against Microsoft for protecting their IPs.

And NO, "I got tired of not being able to encode video in any of the open source encoders" is definitely NOT related to the inability to duplicate the Windows disc.

4. Yes yes, I know that iPhone (which should be an Apple product, isn't it?) is the most open, freedom-wise smartphone all over the world. iPhoners just like to "unlock" it to amuse themselves. And well, everybody knows MacOS for being the most self-exposing operating system.

[paolone]

1. Don't try to speak english if you know you can't comprehend a native speaker's terms, Hell Labs is right in saying that some of my reasons have nothing to do with disc copying, remember my post is much more broad than that.

2. And don't tell me I could've used windows better or managed it better, its an inferior design stolen from IBM OS/2 and implemented just as poorly, tell me when Bill Gates stops adding useless APIs and system locks and a fancy GUI update that makes it look new. If MS actually cared about its customers, they'd release XP for free and prior 9x releases instead of forcing you to upgrade. The Powermac G3, for example was made in 1999 and was supported until 2007 Leopard, the average 2005 PC can't run 7 without extensive stripping down of it (MS unsupported)

1. Hell lab doesn't even deserve an answer anymore, due to his poor argumenting, please don't go down deep to his level. I perfectly understood what you originally said and I rightly answered to YOU, to both the "protection of Windows itself" and "inability to use open source codecs" sentences. Then he entered the discussion and didn't add anything intersting, just tried to reverse words as he wished, like kids do on forums. But I have already answered to him once, and it's enough. I just have to apologize since I had not been enough clear about MacOS attitudes not to expose itself, but I don't understand his claiming that this discussion is on computers only, so iPhones should be off-topic. In my answer to you I've clearly said "MacOS and more in general Apple users", but maybe my poor english is not enough clear for him. Sorry for that. I will go away.

Or maybe not. Maybe I have better just ignoring his rants.

2. The fact that Windows NT has much in common with OS/2 and in your opinion represents a bad implementation of the original idea doesn't have anything in common with the poor knowledge YOU demonstrate about Windows itself. You are totally free to think Windows is a bad operating system, and you're also free to keep private your wrong ideas about it, unless you throw them into a public discussion where people can easily disagree and, best of all, clearly demonstrate that you just don't know what you're talking about.

And, in particular, don't tell me about G3s running MacOS X opposed to 2005 PCs that can't run windows 7, since I perfectly know how MacOS X runs on a G3: I REMOVED it for desperation from my G3/500 iBook since it was painfully slow, and downgraded it to MacOS classic 9.1. Yes, you can run MacOS X prior to Leopard even on ol G3 machines, but you have to expand them or just wait for ages that any silly operation will be performed. The same thing you have to do to a 2005 PC to run Windows 7 (I have a bad news for you: it works). Anyway, you don't buy Leopard or Windows 7 to run them on old hardware.

[paolone]

I'm not sure if you actually speak english, or if you're using google translate. At any rate, you don't really understand what other people are saying.

Sorry, mr Wilde.

10.3 runs fine for me. G3/400, 512mb.

It's a pity old G3 iBooks came with 128 megs only. And no, I'm not either look in junkyards for old RAM modules, nor I'll buy them new, since 1) their value is less than their price, 2) I don't need to revamp my old iBook just to run OSX on it, 3) looking what you say and how you say it, "runs fine for me" is something I frankly doubt about. Cheers