#Mac vs Amiga ?
Well Harry, since no one has yet addressed your other questions, I'll try.
For Books on C, I'd have to recommend C Primer Plus (Howard W. Sams &
company) by Waite, Prata and Martin. I'd also recommend the New C Primer
Plus (Howard Sams again) from the Waite Group.
For Compilers there are a couple of PD/Shareware issues out there, but for
your purposes, I'd recommend that you stay with a commercial release, of
which I know of 2: Manx and SAS.
One other thing to consider in all of this is the possibility of donating
your 1000 to a school, and take advantage of a small tax break (if that's a
consideration). It might indirectly help defray your costs of upgrading.
regards,
greg