A1 v's Amiga?

[djbase]

You can still get new A1200 (NOS) these days. Weird, eh?

Debatable.

No, its not, its a fact. People have only problems that their Amiga is not sealed anymore if they bought something different than the default settings. But is a new Amiga.

[amiga1084]

Hello All,

I got genuine A4000T with CyberstormPPC (060) & CybervisionPPC,
and installed slimline HD Disk Drive from a standard A4000.
I believe I got the best of both worlds I can play AGA games
or AGA demos without any emulation and can use PPC side to
play movies and MP3 via WarpUP.Sure it cost bit more but plus
I can access AGA hardware ex genlocks which you can't do with
A1 also I am on broadband so it's nice and fast on the net
so why would I want AmigaOne.

[xaccrocheur]

To use OS4 on. And no, the A1 is not overpriced, not this mass-cost argument again please.

I for one, am really waiting for OS4 to come out finished, then buy a µA1 when it's available new again. In the meantime OS 3.1 (I mean the cherry flavor) still rocks for most of what I want it to do.

[nasty]

Well all I can say is thank you guys, You's have managed to explain the A1 to me. So now I can see the point in its creation. But one more question I have about the A1 what is the software support like? I'm guessing the A1 isnt ever gonna be a computer you will buy from your local computer shop! which is a shame, as I dont know anyone with an A1 and it would be nice to try before you buy to see what it does support.  So thank you all again for taking the time to answer my question  :-D

[uncharted]

DJBase wrote:

No, its not, its a fact.

For some odd reason  I don't trust your notion of fact.

[number6]

@nasty

Regarding current software support for the A1:
I suggest you type the name of the programs you are curious about into the search engine
at Amigaworld.net. Read the threads concerning those programs carefully. If one person
indicates success running a particular program on an A1 while another does not, please
consider that the program likely works, as much done to this point has been a direct
result of personal experimentation.
Also remember that some software will function while its associated hardware component
will not. An example here would be hardware that uses legacy parallel/serial ports.
Some work, some do not.

Best Wishes,
#6
 

[chris]

nasty wrote:
But one more question I have about the A1 what is the software support like? I'm guessing the A1 isnt ever gonna be a computer you will buy from your local computer shop! which is a shame, as I dont know anyone with an A1 and it would be nice to try before you buy to see what it does support.

IntuitionBase has software compatibility lists.

You can see new free OS4 native software at

There are a few commercial titles either released or in the pipeline.  As suggested above, searching amigaworld.net is probably the best bet to find out exactly what these are.

Chris

[number6]

@Chris

Concerning compatible software:Perhaps we could agree that research should be done then in
more than one place.
Example1:Turboprint is a valuable utility that is not currently mentioned at IntuitionBase.
Yet it is mentioned a great deal at Amigaworld.net.
Example2: Since submissions to IntuitionBase may or may -not- be updated, a potential area
for misinformation may arise. If the original information submitted referred to compatibility
under update2 of OS4 and if that compatibility -changed- under update3, what conclusion would
the reader reach from reading only the information at IntuitionBase? Therefore, I believe it
would be wise to follow up any reading elsewhere with a check on threads (by date) at Amigaworld.net,
to help keep up to date.

Best Wishes,
#6
 

[DonnyEMU]

I am having a hard time with the "classic Amiga" side of this argument.. I have a Commodore A1200HD at home that has an 030 processor, a big hard drive cdrom ethernet etc. While it was a great system for it's time, the only thing I used it for lately was as a terminal to convert my couple of hundred Amiga floppy disks to Amiga floppy images, so I could move all of my old sofware over to images for use with either my Windows Media Center PC with Amiga forever or my laptop also capable of running Amiga emulation. I also own a windows based smartphone and a PocketPC (which will also run UAE emulation).

As far as Amigas go I own both an A1200HD and an A3000D unit. I love the machines but they are just too slow for everyday useage. I love that I can still use the Amiga software through the emulator at many times the speed of an Amiga or an AmigaOne, and it runs most of the custom chip stuff.

The use of this library except for 2 favorite games has declined a lot. I used to be able to not to the image manipulation that I loved about the Amiga, but not the case anymore. In fact my whole environment for video, animation, 3d, and movies has moved to the pc.

My PC works like a TiVO and records all my TV shows and keeps my media (pictures, movies, mp3s) in a library that I can stream to other media devices in different rooms sort of like a jukebox. Now with my cheap but good DV movie camera I can create my own dvd's and video edit, better than I could on a high end toaster.

This all plays back on my 36" LCD HDTV and I run Amiga apps thru the emulator on it. Considering that the A1 doesn't support the Amiga chipset, this isn't a viable option for me, and I can use all of migh Hi-Def equipment with the Emulator. Heck, I can even run Amiga Inc apps (thru intent) on my smartphone..  With Windows Media Player 10, I can sync episodes of tv recorded to my computer to my phone (with automatic format conversion).

Doing all of this has made me decide not to buy an A1, because as a media machine it just doesn't keep up. Before anyone says it, my machine never crashes and I keep up to date with Anti-virus thru avast and Sunbelt's Counterspy software.

The whole thing works great and I still have the Amiga stuff that I want integrated. I can browse websites with their native look and feel and scripting built in and it's gosh darn fast because I have both machines running AMD 64.

That's my solution, and I have 2 tv tuners and can add up to 4. One is an HDTV tuner.

This all didn't cost me an arm and a leg, and I still have fully integrated Amiga capability. If there were sofware for A1 that didn't work on the classic that was UNIQUE and powerful then I'd consider the A1 more closely.

[redfox]

Not sure why, but I am having difficulty posting replies.

Of course this one went through!  Maybe I take too long, when I'm typing a long reply.

---
redfox

[BenShep]

As I see it, amigaone is an alternative desktop platform (with os4), classic amigas are for retro goodness.  Two very different purposes.

Personally I wouldn't touch an amigaone, as it doesn't have any sentimentality about it for me and I am not after a desktop replacement.

[AmiDude]

@BenShep

I totally agree with that one. I'll stick with
my classic Amiga's...
 :-)

[redfox]

@nasty

I own an Amiga 2000HD and a micro AmigaOne (aka µA1-C), and I like them both.

I'm running Amiga OS 4.0 Developer Pre-release update #3 on the µA1.  I am very impressed with the quality of the software, and the configurability.  With each update it just gets better.

Included are updates of Notepad, Multiview, unachiving software, prefs, system programs, tools and utilities.

Also included is a PDF file reader called AmiPDF.
I use AWeb APL Lite 3.5.07 beta OS4.0 PPC for browsing the net.
I use AmigaAMP for playing MP3 music (not sure if it is PPC or 68xxx).
I am experimenting with demo version of Dvplayer.  It can play video clips in mpg, avi, and some other formats.  Not sure if it is intended to play DVDs in north American digital video disc formats, because I can't play them.
I can also play music previously burned onto CD-R discs.
USB works, USB storage devices work, I can save files on my JumpDrive device and MP3 player.
I can also burn CD-RW discs, but I don't have software to burn CD-R discs.

All my old Amiga software is for the 68000 CPU and runs on Amiga OS 1.3 or OS 3.1.

The following 68000 software runs fine under OS4.0 (I suppose it is using the built-in emulation):
Final Writer 97, still working on printing,
AmigaVision, haven't tried all functions,
KingFisher, from the FishMarket CD (a collection of Fred Fish disks).

Personal Paint 7 (PPaint) is another 68xxx program that runs fine under OS4.0.  I did not run it on my Amiga 2000HD.

I can run the following 68000 software after launching E-UAE (I am emulating my Amiga 2000HD as closely as possible, 68000 CPU, OCS chipset, NTSC, OS 3.1):
MicroFiche Filer, haven't tried all functions,
Amiga Appetizer package (Write, Paint, Music, Tile game).  Music plays slow under OS3.1.
Shanghai runs fine,
Lore of Conquest runs fine,
MegaBall4 runs fine, but music is intermittant and choppy.

MicroRexx, a GUI helper program I use with my ARexx scripts, also runs fine under E-UAE.

I have not tried MaxiPlan 500, Amiga Basic or any of the floppy only based Amiga games.

Of course, some software runs best on a classic Amiga.
MegaBall4 runs with no choppiness in the music.
Some games can only run from Amiga floppies.

---
redfox

[SHADES]

[/quote]
I'm guessing the A1 isnt ever gonna be a computer you will buy from your local computer shop!

You Just never know ;-)

[Trezzer]

I love that I can still use the Amiga software through the emulator at many times the speed of an Amiga or an AmigaOne

I don't particularly disagree with anything else you've said (since it's a matter of personal taste), but this one thing is just way wrong.

Sure, you can probably run 68k software just as well on UAE. But the OS itself (and ppc native programs) is so much more responsive than anything you can get in WinUAE on currently available PC hardware, that it's not even funny.

As for perfect compatibility I'll allow myself a bit of doubt. Your machine is probably a fair bit higher specced than the old PC I have around here, but that old thing (AMD 2000+) has trouble running Amiga 500 demos properly (while most games etc run fine) - and AGA demos... well, don't even consider it.

I have four operating systems running here, and the one that beats them all hands down is AmigaOS 4 - just because it's the one that I enjoy using. I have no patience for microseconds with lag (let alone seconds or minutes as the case can still be with Windows on even blazing fast hardware).

In other words... if you want raw user interface speed, AmigaOS 4 has something to offer over what you get on the PC. Plus you don't have to bother with Windows which is a big plus in my book (Good thing to keep a dedicated non-critical machine around if you want to play around with Windows software. Wouldn't want to rely on a machine running it.).

[DonnyEMU]

I don't really notice the lag you are talking about, but it doesn't mean that it's not there.. I have ran several AGA demos without problem. If you can suggest few. Remember I am not running an Athlon, I have an Athlon 64 (64 bit machine two of them an hp laptop, and a gigabyte motherboard).

As far as interface speed I have to stick with intel based hardware. If I boot from Aros (even using their UAE for 68k progs) those that run give me amazing speed, and I'd like to see someone benchmark Aros/Intel and A1/OS4 sometime for the heck of it.. Also interface speed I don't think will be a problem on future versions of windows ;-) as I have this feeling that's never gonna be an issue again with the WinFX stuff.

I'd love to own an A1 if it gets a little cheaper. But I will tell you that locally getting things as old as a sound card and older radeons that are supported by A1 drivers are getting harder and harder to find in my local area. I hope someone updates these drivers soon..

I'd love to see a comparison of a 3-4 gigahertz PC running WinUAE or AROS comparing it to Amiga OS 4 and an A1 top speed machine running programs including pagestream.

I think that kind of info would give people an idea of more what they should be looking at to buy. If I suggested that on another site other than this one it would get removed as "flaming" but mirror mirror, I think we truly need to know, which is the fast Amiga type system of them all..

-Don