Hi, I'm a total noob.

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Welcome to Amiga.org!

ruello wrote:
I understand that it's a classic system, I own a C64 myself, and I HAVE been doing research. By "new" computer I mean "computer thats different from the failing one that I own and will be reliable," which I hear Amigas are.

Classic Amigas are NOT more reliable than a C64 ;-) Internet access on an Amiga is difficult and frustrating compared to modern Windows PCs, Linux and Macs.

Gaming on a real Amiga is still more fun than in emulation. If you want one for mainly this reason, go for it. Just keep in mind most internet applications on the Amiga are 5+ years old and some essential software is very difficult to obtain legally.  :-(

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OS4 pre-release is not available to common folks. It was only available for a short while bundled with a $1000 PPC "AmigaOne" motherbard. It may be available one day in the future fot the A1200/A3000/A4000, but only if you have a PPC accelerator.

As for internet access on a C64 with Hyperlink, yes Amiga apps would be a step up:-)

Let me ask you this. Is this going to be a hobby system? you *DO* have access to a modern system for serious work right?

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ruello wrote:
I do have access to it, but when it all comes down to it I don't do much serious work on the computer. I realize that a 10-15 year old computer isn't going to be a complete replacement for a newer PC, but to tell you the truth I think I can get done most of the stuff I want to get done on the computer with the programs I've seen availible for Amiga. If I needed to I could always use my family's PC though.

Perfect response, just making sure you know it has limitations. By all means get yourself an Amiga and enjoy :-) Personally I would stick with a big box like A3000 or A4000. Much more expandable with Zorro 3 slots. My personal favorite is the A3000. A A1200 from Amikit wouldn't be a bad choice either, especially if they have some OEM motherboards. A1200s have their strengths and weaknesses compared to big box Amigas.

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Tomas wrote:
I kinda disagree about it being hard to get a amiga onto NET.. Just buy a pcmcia ethernet card from amigakit which comes with drivers.. The amiga already has irc, msn clients and browsers.. The problem is that the browsers are outdated. It will also not be so fast and good looking to surf internet on aga, unless you upgrade to a standard gfx card.

TCP/IP stack? Miami cannot be obtained legally and Genesis on OS3.9 never worked for me with the Prometheus/RTL8029AS. The other thing is most internet apps are commercial and keys are getting hard to find.

Hmm, someone who is an active user should make him a list of what is available and free, or at least available and registerable. Anyone have a few minutes to do that?

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@stopthegop

Good list, thanks!