What is an Amiga?

[mikeymike]

Would you like to be a little more specific, or are you trying to start a flamefest? :-)

[mikeymike]

Ok...

The Amiga was a series of computers released in the eighties/nineties.  Many people like its hardware architecture, it was ground-breaking at the time.  Many people like the OS (previously called Workbench, now AmigaOS) because it is a low-footprint, fast, easy to configure, efficient OS.

Amigas were used primarily for gaming, but also for professional graphics work, notably TV editing, as well as standard office'y type applications stuff.

Here is a good guide to the history of the Amiga.  Here is a guide to the evolution of Workbench/AmigaOS.

Currently what is "Amiga" is a bit fragmented.  AmigaOS 4.0 is due to arrive "at some point soon", MorphOS is an OS available now that is applications-compatible with the old range of Amigas, and AROS is an x86 port of AmigaOS.

What can be done with an Amiga?  99% of the stuff you can do on a PC, though it lacks commercial support, which means that most of the applications available are freeware, and so there are little or no big projects to write Amiga applications.

[mikeymike]

your PeeCEE is a decendant !! (Throwback)

Advocacy to a minimum please :-)

[mikeymike]

@ Raziel

Well, what do you do with your PC?  Then we might be able to frame a more appropriate response.

Most of my Amiga-related opinions are on my website here, but I think it basically boils down to, for most people, that they prefer the OS [or a derivative] to others available.

For example, I use Windows 2000 primarily, I get along with it quite well because I know what I'm doing, but I enjoy using AmigaOS.  Not so with Windows.  The only way you might see what I mean here is either if you dig up your Amiga (presuming you have one), and upgrade it a little, or copy the ROM/OS disk images off it, and emulate it on Windows using WinUAE.  That's what I do for lack of physical space.

In terms of new computers available, currently there is the AmigaOne and the Pegasos.  The AmigaOne will run Amiga OS4.0 and the Pegasos currently runs MorphOS.  They have a PowerPC processor architecture, which is incompatible with Wintel/X86.

[mikeymike]

"The Amiga is potentially powerful enough to make the IBM PC look like a 4 button calculator".

Would that be Control, Alt, Delete and the power button? :-)