Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga.misc:1358 comp.sys.mac.misc:9118 comp.sys.mac.games:3231 comp.sys.amiga.games:4804 Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!udel!haven!uflorida!beach.cis.ufl.edu!jma From: jma@beach.cis.ufl.edu (John 'Vlad' Adams) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc,comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.mac.games,comp.sys.amiga.games Subject: Re: Mac and Amiga (Games--Macintosh vs A500) Message-ID: <27261@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> Date: 4 Mar 91 07:47:01 GMT References: <27253@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> <1991Mar3.223546.12173@rice.edu> <98707@unix.cis.pitt.edu> Sender: news@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU Reply-To: jma@beach.cis.ufl.edu (John 'Vlad' Adams) Organization: UF CIS Department Lines: 108 In article <98707@unix.cis.pitt.edu> tesst4@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Tobish E Smith) writes: >Wow. Bet you're going to get a lot of replies on this one! Anyway, my >roommate had an Amiga 2000 w/ 40 meg HD and I have a Mac II (8 meg RAM, >100 meg HD). My personal feelings after using his extensively is that >the Amgia just doesn't _feel_ right. I don't know how to quantify this. You are welcomed to this opinion. That's why we have the "BIG THREE" of the personal computers -- Apple, Commodore, and IBM. However, my personal feelings are how can someone feel comfortable with a machine that doesn't have a CLI or arrow keys? >Hardware-wise, I thought, "Wow, maybe I made a mistake," since the Amiga >cost so much less. But then I used the thing. A feeling of amateurishness >pervaded the entire system: the keyboard, the mouse, the operating system, >the speed of the hard drive. I use the "Big Three" extensively at home and at work. I don't see the "amateurishness" in any of the three you've mentioned. The keyboard is solid enough for me to maintain a sustained typing speed of 80 CPS. The mouse tracks quite well, and having two buttons (or the option of three) allows more choices in a GUI (especially X-Windows.) And I have to call you out on your insult of the OS. The Amiga is the only PC with a native real-time multitasking pre-emptive OS. There is hardly anything amateurish about it, especially with the power of the message ports within Intuition. Let's take the hardware a step further. Rather than burdening the CPU with maintaining the display, a co-processor generates the graphics. Want to do animation on a Mac? Better have an 030, else you'll have time to run to the corner store for some IBC rootbeer. :) >After using it, I realized _why_ the Mac costs so much more. Now wait a minute. The Mac series could be sold for *MUCH* less. It has simply been Apple's policy since the Apple II to charge a high profit. Come on, the Apple //e still lists for over $800, and it's a highly limited 8bit micro. For that price, one can purchase a 286 clone or an Amiga 500. (Not to mention almost puchasing a Mac Classic.) >Indeed, this seems like a >prime use for Amigas Sure, hacking is one of the uses on an Amiga. But it's not the only. It's *the* machine for desktop video, especially with the advent of the Video Toaster. It is also the most efficient system for running a multi-line BBS (due to it's native OS.) The Amiga does a pretty damn good job at running System V R4 as well. >, based on the plethora of swollen-ego, flashy-graphics >pirates' intros to crcked games ("KRACKED BY THE MUTILATOR!!!!!" in zillions >of colors flashing on the screen while some rockin' tune blasts out of the >speakers). Tich Tich. I've seen pirated cracked games on the Mac with "flashy screens" as well. >And now, I suppose, I'm finally getting to the point of the >posting, namely, should you get one for games use? I couldn't answer this, since I use my Amiga for running a BBS and developing C code at the same time. >The downsides are 1. the infuriatingly slow disk drives, This is the one point I'll grant you. The floppies are slow, although that's been alleviated under AmigaDOS 2.0 with the fast filing system on floppies. >and 2. the copy protection on _everything_. Wrongo. None of the software I run is copy protected. >It's not bad enough that Steve's >hard drive seemed scarcely faster than my floppies. Sounds like Steve didn't have his system set up correctly. I get 820 kilobytes per second transfer rates on my HD. A friend gets 1.5 MB/second on his, but then he has 700 meg HDs opposed to my 40 and 105 meggers. >We couldn't even >install most games on the hard drive due to the copy-protection! Battle >Squadron, a great game, took minutes to start a new game after you died. >Got you pretty grumpy real quick. If you want to play adventures or RPGs >(Drakken is wonderful!), and you can live with the miserable i/o speed, >sure, get an Amiga. Oh, so now you are only moaning about the *GAMES* being copy protected. Big deal. I could care less about the games. >In conclusion, I don't want to be too critical of the >Amiga itself. The hardware inside is very nice. However, almost all aspects >of the user interface (hardware and software), coupled with the slow drives, >really turned me off on the machine for now. If these things improve (and >if the _standard_ screen resolution ever evolves beyond 320X200) I think the >Amiga will be a great machine. Oh yeah. The users should start being >tres bitchy like Mac users about copy protection. The amount of CP in the >Amiga world is staggering. Perhaps you ought to try another round with someone else's Amiga. Oh, Steve might want to take his machine in. I regularly run mine in 660x540 mode. -- John M. Adams --****-- Professional Student /// Internet: jma@reef.cis.ufl.edu Genie: vlad /// Only the Amiga Sysop of The Beachside, Amiga BBS, Paragon 2.0858 \\V// Makes it Possible Fido Net 1:3612/557. 904-492-2305 (Florida) \X/