#History of the Amiga
24 messages in this thread
Hey everybody,
Just wanted to let you know that "History of the Amiga" is finally finished
and is available.
It's a gathering of the most of the original group that created the Amiga,
Jay Miner, RJ Mical, Carl Sassenrath, Dave Needle…
Chris
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This is a book? a videotape? a party? (Well, you did say "a gathering of
most of the original group" …) More info! please.
Regards, Whap!penned…
Pat @Oxxi (310) 427-1227
Pat,
Sorry, I just read my message and it was really unclear. History of the
Amiga is a videotape. We gathered most of the original Amiga crew, took
their pictures and home video and put it all together. It's a kind of
chronology of events, reminisces, stories, and unusual pictures. It really
gives you a feel for what they did to create the machine.
Chris It's for sale through AmigaWorld if you're interested.
– via Whap!
Sounds fascinating!!
If you have any further info, I'd appreciate it … and is it going to be
made available in PAL as I'm sure a lot of people over here would be
interested?
Mike (from the UK)
Mike,
I don't know if it's going to be made available in PAL or not, if you're
interested, you should call Ken Blakeman of TechMedia Video at (603)
924-0115. He can give you more information about the availability of the
tape. As far as I know, it will be available at first in just NTSC format.
I think it's a fun tape!
Chris
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Congrats! I know you've been working very hard on that video tape.
Sooo…did you find anything in that HUGE box I sent that proved to be
useful? Hope so!
Steve
Steve,
I'm glad you contacted me! Yes, we did find a few things of interest in
there 🙂
What is your address so that I can mail it back to you? There are two
different labels on the box.
And I have to mail you a copy of the video (plus some other goodies!)
Chris
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Thanks! I'll give you a call.
Steve
Thanks, Chris — yes, I am interested, I'll give them a call.
Regards, Whap!penned…
Pat @Oxxi (310) 427-1227
Chris,
Did you wind up with any footage of the original brass-boards for the
custom chips? I have an audio tape of one of the crew discussing them, but
I missed the talk! After finally finding a Joyboard, I want that tape!
Karl
P.S. What's the running time of the tape?
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The boards were called the 'stacks'. Dale Luck still has them; they were a
centerpiece of the last Los Gatos Amiga party.
andy
(You found a joyboard ? Really ? Amazing.)
Andy,
I'm glad Dale kept the stacks; I'd hate for such things to get chucked
in a dumpster somewhere. If things had gone better, they might have been
Smithsonian material by now!!
Yes, I've been on the lookout for that piece of Amiga history, the
Joyboard, ever since hearing about them in '86 or so. I finally saw one
last fall, and then a friend of mine known for scavenging flea markets
picked one up for $0.65. He'd heard me talk about the guru-meditation
story, and wondered if that's what it was, and luckily bought it.
We're now in heated negotiations…..
Just what software was used with it, when sold? I heard about a skiing
game…were there others? I tried to drive Stunt Track Racer with it and
nearly killed myself.
A wonderful story, the Amiga.
(at least the first part…)
Karl
P.S. As long as we're discussing history, were you among those showing the
Amiga at SIGGRAPH 1985? I was exhibiting that year, and was one of the
"suits" staring in awe at the Boing ball and rotating "Amiga" in 3D before
the show even started. That it was shown by a cluster of folks decidedly
not of the suit variety made it all the more appealing.
– via Whap!
Actually, they are Smithsonian material now. But Dale would have to be
convined to donate them. I occasionally try to convince C= to donate the
first wooden PET 2001 to the Smithsonian; its just sitting in the COO's
office, not doing anything.
The joyboard never became real, so its unlikely you'll be able to find much
custom software for it. All I've ever seen of the 'Suzy Chapstick' skiing
game is a videotape.
And yes, I was one of the people showing the Amiga at Siggraph in '85. For
me, the most exciting moment was when we were demonstrating the Amiga in
the suite to Jim Blinn and he said: "Looks good. Does it have Fortran ?"
andy
Hah! FORTRAN. Hallmark of a REAL machine! Yes, I saw Blinn there that
show, but not at the Amiga booth. Still, it was nice he stopped by and
recognized the POWER! (even without FORTRAN)
By not "becoming real", do you mean that the Joyboard just didn't sell
well, or that it was never really for sale at all? I thought it was to
provide "cover" to mask the Amiga development in competitive-'84 days.
I think I need to find some game that takes 4-direction input, and try
sitting on the thing to practice "guru-meditation". Surely, that would look
good on a resume?
Karl
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The Amiga joysticks provided the cover and, at least as important, the
cashflow to run the company in the pre-C= Amiga days.
By not real, I don't think it really went for sale in any volume; a small
production run was apparently made, but that's all.
If you have a C64 around there are a number of games carts that would
probably work OK, like Jupiter Lander or even Space Invaders 🙂
andy
Jupiter Lander… Now there's another one I played all the time! Did you
do that one too, Andy? (If I remember right, I had the VIC version of that
one, but not the one for the C64…)
No; that one was done by HAL Labs, in Japan.
andy
A C64? Egad, no. The Amiga was the first computer that I bought; the others
had been assembled from kits. The graphics power was truly staggering for
its day, and I bought it as soon as I could afford to. The fact that CBM
owned it was quite galling, but at least they kept it alive. I have a piece
of tape over my "chicken lips" – they never fail to make me think of cheap
mid-70's 4-banger calculators. If CBM had any smarts, they'd changed logos
if they're worried about being taken seriously.
Hmm, this started out about Joyboards – how'd I get off on that? Geez.
Karl
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Well, you need to find games designed for digital joysticks, then. (Rather
than joystick control added as an afterthought)
andy
Yes, but what other logo can be typed on CIS?
Regards, Whap!penned…
Pat @Oxxi (310) 427-1227
Karl,
I've never seen the Joyboard but for years my favorite joystick was the
itty-bitty Amiga joysticks — they could easily fit in the palm of one
hand and be controlled. Neat little things.
-sja
Steve,
Hmm, I'd never heard of the mini-joysticks. That was an Amiga product at
about the same time as the Joyboard? You have some?
Karl
– via Whap!
Karl,
Yes, around the time of the joyboard. I used to have a couple of pair but
no longer.
The amiga joystick was the original Amiga product; the one that gave the
cashflow that kept the company going. The joyboard was a later product.
andy