From: mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Amiga 4000/Atari Falcon
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:21:17 GMT
Organization: Amiga makes it possible
X-NewsSoftware: GRn 1.16f (beta) by Mike Schwartz & Michael B. Smith

In article <1992Aug20.225413.17858@ultb.isc.rit.edu> eas3714@ultb.isc.rit.edu (E.A. Story ) writes:
> In kes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) writes:
> >In mp.qdpi.oz.au> davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au (David Meiklejohn) writes:
> >>
> >> Nay, not mine.  I agree with a lot of what you say, but not the tone you've
> >> been using.  It's wearing a bit thin.
> >
> >The tone I am using?  It is more like yours, where instead of just ignorantly
                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + definition of what "yours" is
> >bashing other computers that used to be "lessor" technology, I am starting
> >to reject the ignorance.
>
> And there's the tone.. Calling people ignorant doesn't help much..
>

Sounds like you are calling ME ignorant :)

> >And flame CBM.  If you don't like me flaming CBM, tough.  That's all I can
> >say about it :)  But note:  I do not flame the Amiga - it is plenty good
> >enough at many things.  I do not flame the engineers at CBM - they are plenty
> >good enough, too (if not too few).  CBM I flame.
>
> Standard stuff...
>

Every chance I get from now on! :)

> >> That's in the past.  What is that you'd like to see happen now?
> >
> >What DO I want to see happen now?  You WON'T like it...  If I were CBM, I'd be
> >looking at a 486 box with custom chipsets and AmigaOS and DOS compatibility.
>
> AmigaOS compatibility?  Good luck, dude!  AmigaOS won't run on an Intel
> processor too fast.. ;)
>

It took a few guys a short time to port Unix to the Amiga...

> >Yes, 486.  As much as I love the 68K line, it is a niche market, at best.
>
> I wouldn't call Macintosh a niche market, myself.  The 68k line has as
> far to go as the 80k line... We still dont really have any cheap
> computers that utilize the full potential of EITHER of these processors.
>

80,000,000 Dos boxes.  I rest my case.

> >But a 486 makes it possible for Borland to port C++ to AmigaOS and for Lotus
> >to port 1-2-3.  Give it those Kludged up 16-bit ISA slots so we can use those
> >cheapo hardware addons.  And Zorro III slots, too, if you think they have any
> >value (I don't have a single Z3 board in my A3000 after ~2 years of owning it).
>
> Er, Why does either Lotus or Borland need a 486 to port(?) software?
> This is stupid.. If there was a 486 with AmigaDOS, it wouldn't be any
> easier to get these companies to bring their software over.. AmigaDOS on
> a 486 would have even less of a user base that it does now!  You'd end
> up running it in DOS compatibility mode most of the time..
>

You'd run it in DOS compatibility mode as much as you would OS/2.  Some of the
time.

> >The A600 _could_ be the same price and have a 386 in it.  Think about it...
>
> And nothing but DOS programs would be run on it... This is dumb.
>

Falcon 3.0, Ultima Underworld, Castle Wolfenstein 3D, etc., would run on it.
SMART.

> >Should people
> >buy NEW Amiga machines?
> >NO WAY.  The newspaper articles are true - and struck
> >a nerve in me.  Buy the new machines if you want to do video tape/production
> >work only.  The Amiga is a vertical market machine, as NewTek has proven.
>
> Its what you make it.. If mostly video people buy the machine, it
> becomes a video machine, if there's more diversity, it becomes more
> general purpose.  Right now, the Amiga is a capable video machine, but
> video professionals don't make up the majority of the buyers of the
> Amiga, lowend to midrange consumers do.   IF CBM wants to sell the new
> Amigas, they better be reasonably priced and reasonably featured... None
> of this 3000T/40 or A600 crap.
>

The 386 "A600" is reasonably priced and featured.  Unless CBM prices it out
of whack with the rest of the universe.

> >CBM put the ball in the 3rd party court from day one.  It has failed miserably.
> >The ball must be put in CBM's court and they better do something with it.
>
> Agreed.  The ball seems to have been forced into CBM's court recently,
> maybe they'll do something with it other than sell underfeatured systems
> at high prices.
>

HAHAHAHA.  We KNOW CBM.

> >> I can tell you what I'm going to be doing - I'm going to buy one of the new
> >> systems when they appear (assuming the price is reasonable).  I plan on using
> >> Amigas for years to come, and look forward to the introduction of new
> >> technologies, such as RTG, in the not-too-distant future.
> >
> >Sorry, but you sound like you want to chain yourself into a dead end.  FWIW,
> >OS/2 is as much of a dead end, at least for now.
>
> Well, we'll see.  You can't tell the future better than anyone else
> around here, so it's really all a guessing game on anyone's part.
> There's no sign on the Amiga or any machine saying "NO OUTLET"...
> :)
>
> I personally will wait and see what comes out.  I like the graphics
> display specs, but that's all anyone except developers around here have
> been privy to.  I wanna see how Blitter speed, Audio, and Floppy disk
> stack up...and maybe if there are some NEW features? (hehe)
> If the new amigas have just the graphics specs listed, and nothing else
> new, or if the lowest end model sells for $1200+.. I won't be buying
> one, and I expect noone else will.  We'll see.......
>

BINGO.  You described the new $1200+ Amiga.  I guess you won't be buying
one, eh?

> --
> "THAT is a DRY turtle.  That turtle is NOT moist!"
> Ezra Story, a student at RIT, and
> eas3714@ultb.isc.rit.edu, his trusty(?) mailing address.

--
Amiga programmer of: GRn, MailMinder, Budokan, Beyond Dark Castle, Dark Castle
Sega Genesis programmer of: Dick Tracy and Marble Madness.
Mike Schwartz  (ames!zorch!amiga0!mykes or mykes@amiga0.sf-bay.org)
1124 Fremont Ave.
Los Altos, CA 94024
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy