Back to the Future, need help to preserve unique Amiga

[guru-666]

linux has already gotten some where.  Im a 3d animator working on feature films with linux all day long. LOTs has happend since 96.  a lot more than on the amiga side.  Dpaint was nice now I use shake.. I don't know what you need to do, but im sure shake (apple) can do it.  It would not even be hard to program something simple like dpaint for lunux...could make it even better for your use. Amiga is dead, it was pretty good back in the day but thank god things have evolved.  Do your self a favor and download unbuntu.  then you will see you don't need mircosoft.

[mrbill]

guru-666 wrote:
How's is life under that rock?

I didn't say it was better than anything currently available; I'm talking about the user experience.  The Amiga was the first computer I ever really *enjoyed* and had fun using.

I'm far from living under a rock; I've run SUNHELP.ORG (for Sun/Solaris users) for ten years now, have used Macs on and off since the days of the Mac Classic (fulltime since 2001), and manage a few hundred Linux/Solaris/IRIX/Windows systems at the office.

In my opinion, modern Mac systems running OSX come closest to the "make using the computer as easy as possible" vibe I had when I used my Amiga 1000 - it got out of the way and was simply a tool, rather than something you had to struggle against to make it do what you wanted.  Various Linux distributions come in second.

[guru-666]

hmmm, I see what you mean. I just don't understand what wrong with linux.  It's great.  I mean amiga willnever catch up.  

I also started on the amiga and loved it (still do) but in hindsight its clear the commodore had no idea what the future would hold, the internet, steaming media, realtime 3d rendering... the amiga missed the boat by quite a bit quite a long time ago.  :-D

as for highend audio driver... there are lot of driver for the linux, have you check recently?  Also if you are writing software why not write a driver for your audio cards? Heck you could even relese it on open source and help the next guy,, the true amiga sprit.  BTW there are even fewer drivers avaibale on amiga

[Mallette]

Well, I am certainly open minded and have a number of peecees I don't want to pay Bill to resurrect.  When I get some time I'll piddle with Linux again to see what is new since about 2 years ago when I found it fine for hacking, but not much else.

As to Shake, is it 100.00?  That would be my first question.  And really as capable for 2D as DPaint?  You'd certainly have my ears...

Point is, I have the last gen DPaint and a machine that only needs a few cobwebs shaken out to get going.  Price is right.  

I'll do a bit of research on my own.

Dave

[guru-666]

well shake is $500 ( a deal as it use to be thousands) but it not the same as dpaint, it's a compositing package.  It alows you to paint (quick paint) and has a nice timeline.
I'm not sure you will find it very dpaint like. (but again in my mind that not a bad thing as dpaint was very limiting)

You should for sure fix up the amiga you have... why not... if I where in your area I would help you.   On the amiga I also like imageFX...

I just get a bit cross when ppl claim the amiga was/is the best computer ever, becasue it was not and is not...  

I also feel like you are selling linux a bit short as even a few years ago we where crunching out feature films with it.  Not "hacking" as you put it.
Just sounds like you could use linux for your bussiness with out to much trouble, since you don't like working for bill.  I work for a large studio and if its good enough for us it should work for you also.

best of luck!
 

[Mallette]

I could only use Linux for developing elements and rapid prototyping.  Delivery has to be via you-know-who.  Does it do TRUE multi-tasking now? My need for sound card drivers is hobby.  I use ESI Pro for surround sound recording and Card Deluxe for stereo.  I am a long way from coding now and mainly design logic flowcharts to really upset the coders who have to realize them...especially things the Amiga did so well and Windows only does with a gun to it's head.  

I also have little need for compositing.  Mainly 2D anims for process flow and such.  Frankly, it is difficult to imagine anything better than DPaint at that.  

I really have to go with those in the "no comparison" category.  

If Linux is providing true preemptive multitasking, single spec per file type, graphics and sound via dedicated processors like God intended, a REXX scripting language to tie all the stuff together, and all the other things we took for granted 15 years ago, I've definitely missed it.  If it has finally caught up, I still have to ask what wonders we'd have now if the clock had suddenly not been stilled.

JMHO.  

[guru-666]

oh yes linux has been multitasking for quite some time!  
If you have a nvidia card, yes it will use gpu ( you need to install the right drivers!)
I'll bet it even has drivers for your audio cards built in.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

go download this and give it a shot, you will be happy.  

Hey I'm not going to knock dpaint... it's nifty.  It's simple because if it LIMITED tool set.  Shake can do all that plus more, but odds are you don't need the extra.  
ther eis a lack of tools that compare... try project dog waffel

anyway with wine (windows emulation) built into your linux there is very little reason anybody "HAS TOO" use windows.  honestly.  

[Mallette]

OK, guru666, you're on.  It will be a while, but like I said, I am open minded and always looking for something, ANYTHING, that will show me at least a modicum of improvement over the crap I use daily.  

One more thing...does Linux use any virtual HDD?  To me, that is the SINGLE (of many) worst aspect of the Empire.  Insane. Archaic.  Something only an idiot or saboteur would do.

Dave

[Mallette]

As I promised, I've registered at ubuntu.  With vacation and the SimStation up first, it will be several weeks before I can plow in.  

When I found it had a good chance of running my audiophile usb, and possibly my ESI Pro audio, that did it.  

I am also hopeful for wireless g support.  

First project will be an emachines laptop whose Windows went south and I could not find the restore disks.  Nice widescreen laptop, but I find myself wretching at having to pay BG ONCE AGAIN for the privilige of running his bug-ridden POS (pitiful operating system).  

It will be my first new adventure since Commodore went south and I promised myself not to get hooked on anything not mainstream again.  I've been watching Linux (and other things) now for a long time and I think the time is now.  I am sure it will be frustrating, but so was soldering my first 6502 Sinclair Z-80.  Yer as young as yer OS...

Dave

Mallette wrote:
OK, guru666, you're on.  It will be a while, but like I said, I am open minded and always looking for something, ANYTHING, that will show me at least a modicum of improvement over the crap I use daily.  

One more thing...does Linux use any virtual HDD?  To me, that is the SINGLE (of many) worst aspect of the Empire.  Insane. Archaic.  Something only an idiot or saboteur would do.

Dave

[persia]

And it requires you to have a serial port on the PC, which no laptop has and an increasing number of desktops don't have.  Legacy ports are disappearing as manufacturers find it cheaper to leave them off.

[persia]

This is a better distro for Amiga heads:


http://www.sabayonlinux.org/

[Mallette]

persia wrote:
And it requires you to have a serial port on the PC, which no laptop has and an increasing number of desktops don't have.  Legacy ports are disappearing as manufacturers find it cheaper to leave them off.

What does this refer to?

[orange]

use dcp
its Amiga version of dd so it will make 1:1 copy, I have used it to sucessfully backup god-knows-how-old MFM harddisk on 2090a !

its inside bffs on aminet