I'm not sure what started it, but a few weeks ago I started feeling nostalgic about Amiga computers. I started following Amigas in my 8-bit Commodore computing days, and in my collection is the first issue of Amiga World magazine, introducing the Amiga 1000 in 1985. My first Amiga was one of the very first 500s in 1987 -- actually had a Commodore key on the keyboard in place of the left Amiga key. Best keyboards ever, I think.
Got a 3000 in 1990 or so, but financial woes in those days kept me from keeping it. Don't have that 500 or the 3000 anymore, but I still have the Amiga 1000 I got next (Kwickstart II board put Kickstart 2.0 roms in it, so I don't really know the joys of a Kickstart floppy). I bought one of the very first Amiga 1200s available in the U.S. in early 1993, and I expanded it and used it as a workhorse doing animations and fun until 1999, when I bought a PowerMac G3. Somebody gave me an Amiga 2500 along the way, too.
I still have that PowerMac G3 up and running, as well as my dual 2Ghz PowerMac G5 purchased two years ago when it was the fastest desktop on the planet. Also have a PC I've built and rebuilt myself, and I use an iBook G3 still and my wife has a Dell notebook. We've got iPods, too.
Anyway, the Miggys were in the closet for a few years until I pulled them out a month ago and started playing with them. Next thing you know, I've got the Amiga bug. Now I have a new-to-me Amiga 4000 purchased off eBay. She's the machine in the photo. I've already bought her some presents -- a set of Kickstart 3.1 ROMs, AmigaOS 3.9, a Cybervision 64/3D graphics card (all from Software Hut) and a dandy of a 24-bit paint program called TVPaint (a free download of all things!).
The 4000 isn't my fastest machine by a long shot, but the OS is quick on its feet as always. I'm having fun rediscovering old software. Planned purchases include Aladdin and ImageFX while they are on sale. An IDE card is on the way from Amigakit (maybe it will recognize my big hard drive in its entirety), and I'll want an X-Surf card to get the Miggy on my network. I'd love a Picasso IV video card, of course, but I know I'm going to be after an 060 accelerator board when I get the cash set aside. Not sure I care that much about PPC, but we'll see what I can find.
Crazy to spend money on an "obsolete" platform? Maybe, but I'm having crazy fun.
In the picture you see I have dual monitors, as I need the old 1084 for the native display modes. It seems for 2-D animations I'm going to need to use Deluxe Paint and Brilliance on the native output. Same for the games I've tried. Most everything else seems to promote well to the Cybervision display. Anybody know where I can find the optional scandoubler card for the 64/3D?
On the 1084 in Dpaint is an Amiga low-resolution, stylized "self portrait" I made of me and my Amiga 1000 many years ago.
You see an internal SyQuest 105MB drive that's connected to a GVP SCSI card, and outside the box is an external Zip drive, as well as an external HD floppy drive.
The keyboard? Well that's a Frankenstein creation. It's actually an Amiga 2000 keyboard (an early one with the Commodore key that feels as great as that old 500 keybord I mentioned) that is placed inside an Amiga 3000 keyboard casing (for its stylish looks) and then adapted at the connector to fit the 4000. Best-feeling keyboard I own, and the mechanics are getting close to two decades old.
Anyway, I'm back in the Amiga community after years being away. Did I miss anything? (grin) When I left, it made my heart ache to think about the disasters that had befallen the platform (Commodore's demise, ESCOM's demise, Gateway's wasting of time), but now I don't care so much. I just want to have fun and be creative with this computer, as I do with my others.
