#thanks/more help?
6 messages in this thread
Thanks to the folks who asked why I recommended against my friends Amiga
purchase (& who left advice for software/printers). Reasons:
1) Flicker inherent in color screen.
2. This person ought to be printing many of his outputs
with graphics to a laser printer.
3. Ease of use not as great, due to less consistent interface imple..
mentation.
4. Smaller software pool (here & now).
5. Question as to Commodore stability (minor).
6. Graphics I have seen printed from Amiga seem cruder than Mac.
Thought I owed you my reasons. While you're setting me straight, could you
tell me more about word processors/printers (why not textcraft?) and what mail
order places are good for Amigaware?
Thanks again.
Kim.
I'll only address a few of your points Kim.
1. Flicker in interlace mode is both a boon and a cross we must bear in
order to be NTSC compatible. The compatibility with NTSC is something
that will sell as many Amigas for video applications as the desktop
publishing programs have sold for the Mac.
2. Output to laser printer is here and now, though I have not heard
of any packages that use Postscript (not yet anyway. very soon though).
3. Ease of use/consistent interface… I agree that this is a problem,
though in the long run it is less of a problem than having to write
software only at the highest mouse/icon interface level. As with
NTSC compatibility, the ability to program at many levels in at least
three distinct operating syatem levels frees the programmer to do things
that other, more restrictive machines do not allow.
4. Smaller software pool, yes, and you are right to recommend against
the Amiga if the application your friend has in mind cannot be done
within the existing software pool, and if it needs to be done now.
To be fair though, the potential of tha Amiga has been, and is continuing
te be demonstrated by more and more packages becoming available.
Being only a little over a year old, I think the comparison with other
machines, if made within the same time period will favour the Amiga.
I can hardly wait until the REALLY good stuff starts arriving, though
I don't expect to see it for at leats 2 more years.
5. No comment, other than to say they are in better shape now than they
have been for a long time.
6. A function of software. The Amiga has the ability to print at any
resolution supported by the printer you have attached. It also has
the ability to have many different printers attached, and to have them
supported by a driver that is transparent to the program running.
Textcraft is flashy, slow, WYSIWYG, slow, intuitive, slow, and lacks
features. It is considered an "entry level" WP only.
Regards, Larry.
Just two more questions….(thanks for answering to my objections)…
You say Amiga can print to Laser, with graphics now….how?
Again, what's the best mail order source for Amigaware.
And thanks again.
Your MacFriend in Amigaland.
Kim,
I'm sure Larry will pop in, but a quick answer is to hook up a Laser
printer and tell the Amiga to print something. I'm not being sarcastic, but
right now, off the shelf, the Amiga supports both the HP Laser Jet and Laser
Jet Plus, you just select that particular print driver and you're all set.
Load in a picture via DPaint (or any drawing program) and select print
from the menu and you have a Laser graphic picture. Same for text.
Don
I think Don has already answered this one Kim, but basically, all you need to
do is to attach a laser printer to the Amiga (RS232 or Centronics), select the
proper printer driver and page settings in Preferences, and blast stuff at it.
There are currently one or two drivers for laser printers included, and more
are likely to show up. The one thing I am not sure of is how much of the full
capabilities of laser pronters can be used with the standard drivers. I
understand, for example, that most laser printers will not support the full
300*300 DPI over the entire page.
I haven't got much mail order, so I can't help much there.
Since you have learned a lot about the Amiga by braving the camp of the
Amigoids, perhaps you might want to hang around your friend's place for a while
and take a really close look at some of the things we have spoken of. Feel free
to come back and ask questions.
Take care,
larry.
Kim,
Thanks for the answer, and here's my reply to your concerns:
1. The flicker is inherent in ANY monitor screen when in interlace mode, if you
want to spend the money on a long persistence monitor, there is NO flicker.
Flicker is a byproduct of the way TV's work, and is NOT a fault in the Amiga.
The reason you don't see flicker in some other computers is that they can not
go into interlace mode…thus are useless for video applications. Also,
flicker can be cut down considerably by the proper selection of colors. And
finally, flicker ONLY occurs when in 620X400 mode, there is no flicker at all
in 620×200 mode as it is not interlaced. 2. The Amiga does support laser
printers directly..so where's the problem there?
3. Ease of use…I suppose that's in the eye of the beholder or what you are
used to.
4. Software base…true, but growing all the time.
5. CBM stability, good now.
6. Graphics printouts are a product of the resolution of the screen and the
printer driver, they can be as good as the Mac if properly done.
Since graphics seems to be a consideration….how do you get color
graphics from the Mac? Easy with the Amiga. Certainly you are entitled to you
opinion. And for some (and maybe even a lot at this point in time) uses, the
Mac may be a better machine due to the software base. But that will change.
Anyway, that's strictly my opinion, and computer's are very personal
devices…as long as you are happy with what you have, that's the main point.
Don