What is the future of Amiga?

[the_leander]

So for those people who said 'the future is dead' explain how the end will come.

Amiga is Betamax.

As far as the end goes, it'll dwindle as successive computer using generations come into their own. Right now there are people who have completed highschool who weren't even born whilst C= were still a going concern.

In a few years time they will be graduates. Whole generations who, outside of a tiny handful of geeks, will never hear about, much less use an Amiga.

@Archan RE the fpga stuff: They're much smaller than the original hardware less delicate due to age and if the minimig is anything to go by, cheaper than "original" hardware of a comparative spec. As for uses for one, excluding games?

Demoscene stuff.

/me goes back to lurking

[Franko]

To all who say the Amiga is dead, then why do you hang around Amiga sites (and most likely still using an Amiga in some form) spouting your keech, do you have some kind of weird fetish for dead things, seems the only logical explanation to me...

[clusteruk]

I suppose people will know what I voted, x86 + Aros.

However, I do have an X1000 beta on order as well as my A3000 and A1000 sitting here.

[alexh]

As a big brand consumer item Amiga is dead. The people who remember the brand are now not of the age that buy computers regularly enough to warrant a revitalisation of the brand name. Not even Commodore (arguably a more widely known brand name) had any success revitalising their brand.

As a platform it is dead and the majority of clever people who used to develop for the platform have found more interesting things to do.

The reason we are here (on Amiga forums) is for one thing. Nostalgia. We like our classic Amiga's and remember the good old days.

[Franko]

As a big brand consumer item Amiga is dead. The people who remember the brand are now not of the age that buy computers regularly enough to warrant a revitalisation of the brand name. Not even Commodore (arguably a more widely known brand name) had any success revitalising their brand.

As a platform it is dead and the majority of clever people who used to develop for the platform have found more interesting things to do.

The reason we are here (on Amiga forums) is for one thing. Nostalgia. We like our classic Amiga's and remember the good old days.

Well it's obvious that as a big brand consumer item the Amiga has been a long time dead.  I don't get why you think age has anything to do with buying a computer regularly nor what it has to do with a revitalisation of the brand name. I know plenty of folk aged 50+ that constantly buy new computers or laptops (PC's)

On the subject of nostalgia, then why if it's just for the sake of nostalgia do some of the same people who voted no go on about looking forward to the continuing development  of AROS, MorphOS and different processors to run as an Amiga, thats not nostalgia thats looking forward.

I've been using classic Amiga's since the very start and still do to this very day, so as far as I'm concerned it's nothing to do with nostalgia as I always have and always will use my Amigas as my main computer system...

[vidarh]

The reason we are here (on Amiga forums) is for one thing. Nostalgia. We like our classic Amiga's and remember the good old days.

While that's part of it, it wouldn't have been enough to get me back to the community after 12 years away. I came back because I want my daily computing experience to be more Amiga-like and want to find a way to make that happen. I'm sick and tired of waiting (in vain) for other OS's to provide what I loved from the Amiga.

[bloodline]

On the subject of nostalgia, then why if it's just for the sake of nostalgia do some of the same people who voted no go on about looking forward to the continuing development of AROS, MorphOS and different processors to run as an Amiga, thats not nostalgia thats looking forward.

Not really, it's about maintaining our hobby as the original machine fail. Like putting a Mazda mx5 engine into an old Triumph Spitfire, you do it because the engines are about the same size and built for a similar purpose, except the newer Mazda engine is more efficient, cheap spare parts and it basically bulletproof... So your old Spitfire can be enjoyed for a few more years (you can tell, I'm not a purist )

[Kesa]

(you can tell, I'm not a purist )

Glad to hear it. Rumour has it the spitfires were a ba**ard to fly anyway  

[alexh]

I know plenty of folk aged 50+ that constantly buy new computers or laptops (PC's)

And who did they tell? Word of mouth sells hardware and 50+ people barely have 1-2 friends if any.

if it's just for the sake of nostalgia do some of the same people who voted no go on about looking forward to the continuing development of AROS, MorphOS and different processors to run as an Amiga, thats not nostalgia thats looking forward.

Nah, it's just curiosity. Like poking a dead animal.

I've been using classic Amiga's since the very start and still do to this very day, so as far as I'm concerned it's nothing to do with nostalgia as I always have and always will use my Amigas as my main computer system...

How the feck do you manage? The classic Amiga sucks balls when it comes to video, audio and interweb. I'd bet money you're telling porkies... that you use your Amiga a lot for recreational purposes but use a PC/Mac for day-2-day work & interweb.

[alexh]

I'm sick and tired of waiting (in vain) for other OS's to provide what I loved from the Amiga.

Heh, heh. I'm the other way around. I got sick and tired of waiting for AmigaOS to provide features which other OS's take for granted.

I wonder what the percentage of Amiga's never ever saw Workbench used ever? I bet it's in the high 90%+ range

[vidarh]

Heh, heh. I'm the other way around. I got sick and tired of waiting for AmigaOS to provide features which other OS's take for granted.

Well, lack of other things I needed was the reason I moved fully to Linux in '98/'99 and put up with all the crap that entailed.

I wonder what the percentage of Amiga's never ever saw Workbench used ever? I bet it's in the high 90%+ range

Sounds high. All of the people I knew that had Amigas while at school regularly used it for other things than games.

[dammy]

Well it's obvious that as a big brand consumer item the Amiga has been a long time dead.

At least we can all agree on that point.  

On the subject of nostalgia, then why if it's just for the sake of nostalgia do some of the same people who voted no go on about looking forward to the continuing development  of AROS, MorphOS and different processors to run as an Amiga, thats not nostalgia thats looking forward.

Never know what can spark something new and advanced Amiga-like OS.  Find good hardware that an sell and it might bring enough interest back from Devs to work on something that is truly Next Generation.

I've been using classic Amiga's since the very start and still do to this very day, so as far as I'm concerned it's nothing to do with nostalgia as I always have and always will use my Amigas as my main computer system...

Good for you.  I as well as many others find it's not capable of doing modern day web browsing.  Even the new OSs (MOS/OS4/AROS) lack hardware punch do to a lack of modern hardware or it's locked in step with 3.1 API that will not allow it to be fully use SMP hardware.  

I see the poll result is a close race between Dead hardware and AROS on x86.  Care to answer why that is Franko?

[Iggy]

And who did they tell? Word of mouth sells hardware and 50+ people barely have 1-2 friends if any.

My 73 year old mother owns a laptop and a netbook, both of which she picked out on her own (and figured out how to use on her own).
She still works part time 2 to 3 days a week as a nurse anesthetist (earning about $50K a year).

And to close, she probably interacts with more people in a day than you do in a month and undoubtedly has at least twice as much residual intellect left than you were born with.

As I approach 50, I'd ask you to keep your smug youth centric comments to yourself. Personally I see no evidence that youth has any advantage in intellect and it certainly hasn't any advantage in wisdom or common sense.

[motrucker]

Quite frankly this topic has been done to death and I am sick and tired of talking about it.
 

I tend to agree. But, I cannot believe so many here voted that the Amiga is dead. With all of the current projects there is surely hope. No matter what happens, I will at the very least use my current Amiga models until the silicon disintegrates (or I die, which ever comes first).

[freqmax]

motrucker, The original silicon will die, and the HDL files will reincarnate new silicon as needed

The hardware, brand, software etc.. is likely dead. But not the spirit?, push hardware to the max in a low budget.

[alexh]

Personally I see no evidence that youth has any advantage in intellect and it certainly hasn't any advantage in wisdom or common sense.

Since when have sales had anything to do with the intelligence of the buyer? Do you not think sales are influenced a lot by networking? And that that older people do less networking? It's a huge generalisation on my part and I'm sure you can find exceptions. Perhaps this generation will buck the trend?

That said older people have more money and tend to steal media far less (possibly cos they are incapable?) and so they still have a good market input... (just look at eBook readers!).