Classic VS NG

[matt3k]

Well after modding the hell out of my A1200, I'm thinking it might be time to sell up and purchase an NG.

Getting all the hardware/software mods to work together was and still is enjoyable, yet frustrating task.

With the slow updates on mediator drivers for both the Voodoo 5 and Radeon 9200 it's really holding AmigaOS 3.9 back. Rattes updated Radeon driver was looking like the answer but Elbox trampled that.

Also getting any information/response from Elbox is impossible. Which adds to my frustration when spending quite a bit on their products.

Reliability is another factor, with all those different hacks/patches running it feels unstable now and then. The most annoying part is getting RTG/AGA switching working with WHDLoad, which wouldn't really be a problem with an NG. I've given up on this and run in AGA most of the time, although I don't get the pretty 1920x1080 with AFA OS/Zune desktop.

I have Quake/Quake 2 running great using Warp3D/MiniGL at 640x480. However Quake2 can be flaky and I get the odd software fault and it wont load. Another frustration.

Duke Nukem is fairly smooth except for a slight pause when some sounds load, but this would be resolved with using a FastATA, however it doesn't fit with the Indivision AGA MK2 and Mediator. :-/

Browsing is very useable, Ibrowse is fantastic. Although due to it's out dated browser engine a few websites don't display correctly. NetSurf is fantastic though, can feel slower than Ibrowse though but I think this is because it loads the entire page in one hit instead of loading parts of the page.

Flash, even with the Ibrowse plugin is a no go. Java stuff seems to timeout most of the time so I turned this off.  

iGame/WHDLoad works really well (once you are running an AGA workbench) and the speed at what games load at is amazing. Forget floppy disks! :-)

99% of the demo's work great, no issues.

PPC stuff, I maybe tempted to purchase a PPC card for the A1200 but price wise I'd be better off buying an NG. The amount of money would buy me a nice setup, unless I can find someone throwing a card out (yeah right).

As a day to day machine, almost possible. The A1200 does an okay job :-)

Anyway I think I've accomplished (95% anyway) what I set out to do, I'll probably regret selling it. You always get that doubt with Amiga hardware, especially putting so much time into it. You become attached.

I'll go back to pondering it :-)

From my experience MOS on a Powerbook is a decent system.  It can't do many HD formats well, but most 720p plays just fine.  Browsing is very decent with OWB 1.23.  All the applications I used on Classic hardware works fine.  The user experience for the OS via Ambient is a great desktop.  To me it feels like what Amiga OS 3.x should have evolved into.  The authors of the OS are a great bunch who constantly update and enhance the product.  

Looking at the total cost of ownership, MOS is the best value and experience for an NG Amiga...

I sold my 1200 and I don't miss it, I never enjoyed hacking at it to get it to work.  Big box Amigas are more reliable and expandible.  I still prefer certain things on my classic amiga, mostly for nostalgia. I always have had a soft spot for the 3000 and still find reasons to use it even if it could be done in MOS...

For games MOS is fast and fun, Quake 1-3, Duke, and RTCW all work great and at very playable speeds.

[matt3k]

Nostalgia is something completely different, this is the buzz you get opening something new that you're excited about.

It's been a long time since I've had that feeling about anything, that's why I try different things looking for it.

I agree that I would love to feel the excitement over a new computer.

The Amiga came at a time in the market where a bunch of elements made it possible.  That time in the computer industry is well behind us.  Even if we found an awesome group of tech folks with vision and even backing to product something truly revolutionary computer it wouldn't take over the market or even compete.  

The industry has matured and is dominated by players that have the application base to solve problems.  The computer market isn't expanding like it was in the 80's.

I'm grateful that I was part of the Amiga in the day with an active user group and many friends enjoyed them.  When I bought my 3000D it felt very special and a great sense of pride knowing it's capabilities were beyond apple and microsoft.  

My way of feeling part of it, is to still use my classics today.  I have good fun to purchase add on's and tweak them here and there... They were such a great computer they still can be used very productively today.  It is nice to see my family use them and appreciate the applications written for it.

I do enjoy MOS greatly and it feels like where the Amiga would have evolved to in time (imho), it is the modern Amiga for my usages. It doesn't get me excited adding to the boxes, it is more of a tool...  Need to play a RTG game really fast?  Need to browse the web?  Need to manipulate pictures?  Need to connect to work? ...Use MOS...  If not then I'm on the classics.