#AMAX Amigas & Macs
4 messages in this thread
Your message is a bit confusing. You seem to hip-hop from some very
general remarks about how you feel the Amiga has failed you, but you
never really center on the reasons why.
I'm sure no one is really offended by your message, so don't worry
about that. You're being honest and straightforward about how you
feel the situation is, and that's quite ok.
My initial gut reaction to your message is to reply with the same
formula that the PC world lives on. It seems that in the PC world, if
you don't have a 386 or 386SX machine these days, no one will talk to
you when you complain. Most PC users take it for granted that if they
want to use the latest version of Windows, or play the best and
latest games, or use the latest productivity software effectively,
they NEED a screaming fast machine.
It would likely be naive for us to think that the Amiga environment
is totally immune to this reality. If you bought an Amiga 4-5 years
ago, unless you have been upgrading it steadily with a true 32bit
type accelerator, a fast hard drive, etc etc…then you can't really
understand what a good Amiga operating environment is TODAY.
The 3000, with 2.04, it's built in de-interlacer, fast hard disk and lots
of memory, is a serious turnabout to the 'standard' platform of five years
ago (A1000 with two floppy drives).
As such, simply adding a CLtd hard disk and accelerating your Amiga to
14Mhz can't really give you an idea of what you can really do with your
Amiga TODAY. There's no question that the Amax will perform better on a
3000 than on a 1000. I'm sure your kids like to use your Macs better at
your office than an Amax'ed 1000, simply because of the screen flicker. It
makes a big difference.
So when you say that running the 3000 and Amax would be the ticket for
sure, you're pretty much on the mark, methinks.
You are right, I have not centered on the specific reason(s) why it
has failed me. I felt I had to get it off of my chest, and now, out
of my house.
Specifically, the machine has become a non-producing asset. I needed
productivity in a very short amount of time and least $$$ invested,
which is critical to any business. Which to me meant doing it with
the least amount of time babysitting the system, searching for
hardware/software, system maintenance, compatibility with output
devices and easy/low $$$ expand/upgrade.
I looked at many of the options available to me, doing good time/$$$
analysis, availability (a big issue here) and most important-what the
system was going to be used for. In the end, it was the Mac I landed
on. This was also based on personal experience with a variety of
systems. Believing I already had a machine capable of handling the
task, I purchased the AMAX.
Blow #1 came quickly when I found out the HD I had was not supported
(AMAX) and the company no longer existed (CLtd). THAT is when the T/$
hit me hardest. By the time I could have purchased a new
drive/card-cage, more memory (4megs min.), installed it all and got
it up and running, along with purchasing appropriate software, it was
time to buy the real thing…A Mac Classic 40/4.
One last consideration is that the Amiga is still not considered a
business oriented machine, even today. I still get people telling me
that I "must be" an artist if that is the kind of machine I have.
Believe me, it was and still is a great disappointment to get such
negative responses from the clients I was after or have. They know
about the machine, sort of, but did not trust that I or the machine
were up to the task.
I would still integrate the machine into my business if there were a
low$$$/ NON-time consuming way to do it. Any suggestions are
welcomed.
Sorry, but I can offer no solution that costs low dollars and no time.
That's not a realistic goal.
The Amiga isn't meant to be a buisiness oriented machine. It is
geared towards creative peolple with real problems to solve. If you
really want to do some stale spreadsheet stuff and Lotus hopping,
there are fine products available to do that on the Amiga, but they
are only there as a courtesy to those who must convince their boss
that it really can do other things besides "artist stuff".
Any old slab of silicon will crunch numbers and let a secretary fill
in the pretty boxes so the boss can see the pretty lines go up and
down. The Amiga caters to those that need to reach for new answers
before they are asked, and to push creativity to levels not
attainable on other platforms.
Don't buy a Rolls Royce just to fill a parking space. The tasks you
need done are easily performed by run of the mill computers, you
don't really need an Amiga, buts its nice to see you at least tried,
although with outdated hardware and software.