the pros and cons of A1 versus PC

[Marky_D_Sahd]

No, no!  You were all supposed to talk me INTO buying the AOne!  What's the matter with you?

Actually, though, it begins to look really bleak.  I can't fork over that much dosh for a new and improved antique game machine.

I know that a few developers are still doing stuff for us, mostly Hyperion and..... Well, Hyperion!

Are there any commercial hardware (or software, at the risk of polluting this topic) developers working on wonderful things for the AOne?  Or are they waiting to start when sales reach a magic number?

No, no! You were all supposed to talk me INTO buying the AOne! What's the matter with you?

It comes down to this choice really......

Do you want a tool (PC/Mac) or do you want a "Big Boys Toy (TM) (A1/Peg)

I've already got my PC's so for me buying a Peg is a hobby choice, just something cool to play with.  Just like when I got my A500 in 1989, except now I'm paying for it myself.

[smerf]

Hi,

The pro's of the AmigaOne,

It is a new out of date slow toy that is good for a person who wants to  play.

It don't use WinBlows.

The cons of the Amiga One

Its slow compared to the newer PC's
No software
No Operating system
Uses Linux (Are you a Geek?)
Uses ancient slow techno stuff.
The Amiga is litterally dead.
Does it have any developers?
One or Two stores will sell it!
A fired Gateway person helped develope it. This explains it all.

Have a nice day

Smerf

[Paul_Gadd]

No, no! You were all supposed to talk me INTO buying the AOne!

I doubt someone can without saying "Its runs OS4 when it comes out"

Hardware wise the A1 is pathetic when it comes to comparing it with other hardware so i  only see OS4 as a reason to get one.

[alx]

These all apply to the A1 and the Peg:

Its slow compared to the newer PC's

Not that slow - and OS4 will fly on it.

No software

Look at Aminet for a start

No Operating system

It currently runs Linux and MacOS on top of that.  OS4 isn't out yet, but it will run that.

Uses Linux (Are you a Geek?)

Linux is no longer a really geeky platform - many people and companies use it.  Besides, aren't Amigans a bit geeky? :-)

Uses ancient slow techno stuff.

The components aren't slow - they're mediocre, but not slow.  Besides they're way faster than the bottlenecks of a "classic" Amiga.  And techno?

The Amiga is litterally dead.

Then why are there two new hardware systems and three new platforms coming out?  Why are there busy forums like this?

Does it have any developers?

Yes - many individuals are interested in developing, and some companies (ie Hyperion) are definites.

One or Two stores will sell it!

And...?

A fired Gateway person helped develope it. This explains it all.

The OS (the important part) is developed by a company with an Amiga background, who are committed to the future of the platform.

[SnowBord]

many valid points.

problem is the development cycle for amiga is that of a lame blind snail who is crawling through a pile of salt.

os4 needed to be out years ago. so did A1.
5 should have been out now.

people are sick and tired. kinda ironic that people are just realising this when everything is out (well, not os4.. i knew in january os4 wouldnt come out when stated).
theyre pushing their luck too far...
A2 should be out by now.

no hold on.. amiga should have been a software only company, as they promised, and brought out a x86 os4.. just like i moaned ages ago.
everyone slated me then, but now what are you all doing?!?  building PCs i see... wouldn't you all like the 'amiga experience' on the thing you are all deciding to buy instead of the long awaited A1?

i would be ordering a copy (OS4) now, but they decided not to take my cash and waste a LOT of time and cash making custom expensive mid-performance hardware instead. solid business brains on amiga's shoulders..

now noone wants to buy their silly overprised 'exclusive' hardware.. its not BAD hardware, it's just that it's not cheap (i know, economy of scale, but if you know this, DONT BLOODY CHOOSE TO MAKE IT!!)
nobody buys it, os4 will go nowhere, and hey presto, a flop.

i miss amigaOS, i miss the (friendly) community.. i even dreamt last night i was doing stuff in DPAINT5!!!

but i have gotten cosy with a modern (albeit crashy crashy) OS loaded with free features and software..
why should i pay a lot for a lot less??  ill pay for the OS not hardware, as i feel they've made a stupid move.

i am rapidly nearing the end of my computer science degree, but cant really apply any skills to aOS coz i have to spend tons of cash on a board for a market that will yield me little cash for my efforts.
on top of that, i can not use many of the skills i have learnt on it either, as there is no s/w support (SQL?? any database support?? what sort of server do they dream of making the A1??) :-?


i really do hope people buy it. i want it to get SOME sort of pathetic market share and activity, so i can consider to one day get one when i win the lottery..

either that or gimme x86 AOS. hate the cpu, but who cares. its cheap. that its a crap cpu really doesnt cut it as an argument any more. noone codes the cpu direct.


my conclusion - Amiga Inc are thick, but U gotta love em!
BUY AMIGA ONE!!  This really is 'if you were the last woman and i were the last man on earth' situation.
THERE WILL BE NO OFFSPRING IF YOU DON'T!  consider yourself a hero that is doing his bit for his (country?? no...) platform.

or maybe we should put it out of its misery and wait for amigaOS to go open source so it can be ported onto x86..?!
won't happen soon or ever, so i suggest the first option..

[Damion]

@SnowBord

What about AROS for x86? I haven't tried it
yet myself, but it seems to be looking better
and better these days. Maybe I'll pick up a
cheap PC and give it a whirl...

@Marky

Go with your gut on this one...what really
matters is how much fun and use you will
personally derive from it. If you're excited
about using OS4 then do it! You could also
wait just a bit more and see how things
materialize in the next few months...maybe
plan on a trip to AmiWest and check out
the machines in person (if that's an option)
or wait to hear some user response about OS4
shortly after it's released.

[WarPiper]

The amiga was great back in 1988 to 1992, but from there after started a great decline.  I think of it like this, proprietary mother board and cpu...,  The pc market, you can get all kinds of software, just about anything you can think of, the pc has it, if you want it for the amiga,  you have to beg developers to just consider it, then sit back and hold your breath and maybe, just maybe, you will see an amiga port.  for me the added cost of just being able to say, "Yeah I have an AmigaOne" does not do a damn thing for me when there is no real software,  I'm not really in love with the giant over head that windows has, but todays pc's can handle it without any struggle at a fraction of the cost.

REMEMBER, ITS NOT JUST THE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT MAKES A COMPUTER FUN AND PRODUCTIVE, ITS THE LEVEL AND AMOUNT OF SOFTWARE AVAILABLE

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE TO LOOK TO AMINET FOR THEIR FIRST CHOICE OF SOFTWARE FOR A NEW SYSTEM.

ALSO IF YOU DONT LIKE WINDOWS XP, THERE IS ALWAYS WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL, (TO ME THE BEST OS MS HAS COME OUT WITH, ROCK SOLID)

TO ALL THAT STATE YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH WINDOWS 2000 PRO, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER, BOX IT UP AND BRING IT BACK TO THE STORE FOR EXCHANGE WITH A FISHER PRICE SPEAK AND SPELL OR SOMETHING

[JurassicCamper]

Tickly wrote:
I'm getting an AmigaONE almost entirely because I *love* developing for AmigaOS, and don't really enjoy developing for Windows or Linux. OS4 takes the platform I love and extends and improves on it, so i can't wait....

SuperTV for OS4  :-D  :-D  :-D ?

Would be nice

[WarPiper]

heh

[Jethro_Tull]

@dammy

I agree with you about AROS.  It seems the Amiga should have followed the AROS route, and run on stock X86 hardware.  Can you imagine, you could buy a new 'Amiga' for about $300 and it would still run like a dream, since Amiga operating systems (MorphOS, AOS & AROS) have such low system requirements.

It's not technically the most elegant, compared to PowerPC, but is this detail worth the exorbitant price difference?  Even Mac motherboards don`t cost this much.  

True, there's the thorny issue of quantity.  Profit and return of investment has to be divided between far fewer customers then PC parts.  While eyetech's Alan envisaged a larger market for his mainboards, I cannot really see his point.  If electricity consumption is an issue, boards such as mini-itx offer laughable consumption (they can run off batteries!!) with 101% PC compatibility.

Having said that, I'd still buy a Pegasos or an A1 once the future is clearer.  The former seems to be beutifully engineered, and if OS4 is ever released for it, it'll be a more attractive option.  But I can't help think about the missed opportunity that was X86 - OS4.

see ya ppl