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From: ralph@mit-atrp.UUCP (Amiga-Man)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: The trouble with the Amiga
Message-ID: <545@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Sat, 6-Dec-86 14:21:45 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-amt.545
Posted: Sat Dec  6 14:21:45 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Dec-86 03:40:46 EST
References: <819@ulowell.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: ralph@ATRP.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Amiga-Man)
Organization: MIT Amiga Users Group
Lines: 65
Summary: getting decent graphics printed

In article <819@ulowell.UUCP> Rminnich@dewey.udel.EDU writes:
>The trouble with the Amiga is simple. I still, after almost a year
....
>Or a spreadsheet? Look at how long it takes DPaint just to start up. 
>And, when I am done, the output looks just plain lousy. 
>One of the major complaints on a paper I submitted was the quality
>of the illustrations, done on an Amiga. And yes, i have LoadILBM and 
>I have modified it to use the rast port dump. I have played with 
>all the parameters. It still looks bad. 

I have been using the "screendump" program provided by C. Scheppner(sp?)
of CBM, and by setting the correct parameters I get graphic dumps from
my IBM(oooo...) Proprinter(which I wrote my own driver for) which are
as good as that printer can perform and match up to any MAC output I've
seen. The trick was essentially working with 1-bit plane images (i.e.
black and white) and setting the parameters so the Amiga doesn't try
to dither the pixels, but instead prints them 1 to 1. Send me mail
if you need more information.

>Multitasking is wonderful. How many Amiga products really support it 
>well? DeluxePaint for one takes up the whole machine. TextCraft used to. 

Well, it turns out that DPaint doesn't really take up the whole machine.
If you run it in 1-bit plane, 640x400, there's enough room in the machine
to actually run the screendumper(mentioned above) at the same time.
I've even run some CLI commands. So the bottom line here is with some
amount of memory expansion (say 512K more) things would be looking up.
You have to boot the system from your normal workbench (with no fancy stuff)
and then "cd" to the DPaint disk and start it up that way.
However, I agree that thing takes WAY TOO LONG to come up. Plus....why
does EA WASTE MY TIME putting up the pretty paint can ? Just get to the action
OK. We all know it wastes time reading in that IFF file. Make it so
I can shut it off.

Long live IFF !  I hear that the standard is finding followers on other
types of PC's....
Developers take note: capatibility of files is VERY IMPORTANT !!!!
(as if anyone doubted).

I use my Amiga to do all my work now, thesis processing, numerical analysis
plotting, simple text manipulation, etc etc etc. I did have to write a few
of my own programs (like the plotting and 3-D stuff) but I'm sure glad I
have an Amiga here when every other day our Mainframe either crashes or
issues smoke. I canned the vt100 that used to be on my desk. Why use it
when I can multitask and get other work done on the Amiga while I'm waiting
for the mainframe to get stuff done (a trusty crusty PDP 11/45).
I also carry my Amiga home with me and just keep on getting
stuff done. All I need is a LCD flat screen 640x400 with a composite video
input, so then the Amiga, its keyboard and the flat screen will all fit
in a tidy suitcase. Talk about the ultimate portable..(ok...luggable).
(Make that a color LCD while you're at it...).
There's no substitute for having your own Amiga to develop tools on.
When I graduate, my future employer not only gets me, but get me with all the
analysis and graphics tools I created to make me work better. Bank on the
fact that I'll probably make them buy me an Amiga 2000 for my office.
This is the future of the engineer and scientist ! I'm psyched !

Oh Commodore...if you only seeded Amigas here at MIT like apple and ibm do,
things would really get rolling..... .    MIT sells poor unsuspecting
freshmen IBM's and Apples at special discount prices without even informing
them of the Amiga and its capability......wanna work out a deal ????
Our Amiga group here is already 90 strong, with no incentives at all.

                                        Ralph,
                                        A Gradual Student at MIT