[comp.sys.amiga] And the winner is ...

buchanan@utcsri.UUCP (01/01/70)

In article <3712@well.UUCP> ufo@well.UUCP (Ollie North) writes:
>>    If the public thinks the Amiga is better, than let me ask you this.
>>WHY IS ATARI ST'S BEATING AMIGA???  If your answer is because the public isn't
>
>	There is no way that you are going to convince me that you're computer
>is better than mine, and there is no way that I am going to convince you
>that mine in better than yours. So next time you feel like defending youre
>computer, do ya think you could do it in MAIL.

	I've been watching this war for a while so here I go.  What both sides
are saying is not My computer is better than yours, but rather 'The intelect 
that made the choice to buy my computer is higher than yours, SO THERE NYA NYA'
***
   Flame on!!

   If you want to show your intelligence Please do so with a constructive
   comment.  Share a program that makes your computer more usefull to us. But
   Don't act like a child.  We will all agree that our choice is the best, BUT
   we do not have to fight like children to show it.

   Flame off!!!

***

-- 

John W. Buchanan                  Dynamic Graphics Project
               			  Computer Systems Research Institute
(416) 978-6619			  University of Toronto

buchanan@toronto.CSNET
{allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsri!buchanan

jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (01/01/70)

     A lot has been said about the superiority of the Amiga graphics,
and it's quite true, but just lately I've been seeing demonstrations of
Spectrum 512 for the Atari-ST.  The surprise is that a Spectrum 512 file
is displayed with 512 colors at once on almost any Atari ST (some very
early machines need a slight chip update) at 320 * 200 pixels.  It's
quite spectacular.  It's still not as good as an Amiga, because you
can't have a background task (something like 80% of the processor time
is eaten by the display routine which uses interrupts to display the
various colors), so there's no way you're going to use this for fast
animated graphics like the Juggler, but it's interesting that it could
produce still pictures of this nature.

Cheers! -- Jim O.
-- 
Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880
ihnp4!utzoo!lsuc!jimomura
Byte Information eXchange: jimomura

czei@osupyr.UUCP (Michael S Czeiszperger) (01/01/70)

In article <1949@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) writes:
>In article <435@sugar.UUCP> karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:
>
>I happen to like the ST for a number of reasons, one of which is
>price.  I would probably like an Amiga for a similarly cheap price, but
>there aren't any dealers in Ithaca who even sell the Amiga, much less at a
>discount like our ST dealer.  My other major reason for liking the ST is
>that I need to use a number of different computers at work, including the

That kind of talk should be confined to comp.sys.st  :-) :-0 :-)


Michael S. Czeiszperger           | Disclaimer: "Sorry, I'm all out of pith" 
Sound Synthesis Studios           | Snail: Room 406 Baker     Phone: (614)
College of the Arts Computer Lab  |        1971 Neil Avenue            292-
The Ohio State University         |        Columbus, OH 43210           0895
UUCP : {decvax,ucbvax}!cbosgd!osupyr!czei

grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) (01/01/70)

In article <1949@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) writes:
> 
>    I'm really curious about something.  A number of people who rave about
> how wonderful the Amiga is particularly when compared to the ST also seem to
> have an ST.  This is strange enough - most people decide on one type of
> computer, buy it, and then defend it.  Yet these people are buying two
> expensive computers, using one solely and letting the other "languish in the
> closet."

Defending a computer is a strange concept.  Most people buy a computer with
the intention of using it, either as an end in itself or for some more or less
specific set of purposes.  Depending on the user's perspective they may find
either the Amiga or the ST currently unsuited to their purposes, or may conclude
that some features of the machine obstruct its utility.  The result is often a
machine set off in the corner and a blast of steam.

As for these offers of computers from disgruntled people, some are less than
completely serious, others are unsure of your sincerity.  I have a perfectly
nice TI99/4A system collecting dust in my computer room that I once made the
same kind of offer on, but when somebody tried to take me up on it, I found
that despite the fact that the thing was completely worthless, especially
next to the unix system next to it, I wasn't psychologically ready to accept
defeat and give it away.  Rationally this is silly, but anyone who drops the
money for one of these things, excpept perhaps a simple commercial transaction,
ends up making a strong, more or less irrational, emotional commitiment to
the machine, reinforced by the labor required to get the upper hand on the
thing.

As usual, this is just another request for tolerance and patience in the olde
computer wars.  You can be happy with what you choose or unhappy as pleases
you, but no need to get worked up about it.  To an outsider, it probably looks
like an Oldmobile owner and a Buick owner trying to argue that their car is
innately better than the other, with occaisional agreement that both are
probably infinitly better than the same model Chevy.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)

jack@cca.CCA.COM (Jack Orenstein) (07/13/87)

A while ago I sent the following request to the amiga and atari groups:


| - COST: How much can I expect to spend on the system, color monitor, 20 meg
|   disk and 1 meg main memory? How much for the C software and editor?
| - SPEED: What's the speed of the compiler? Relative measures (e.g. twice the
|   speed of an 8088-based PC) and absolute measures (e.g. 500 lines per
|   minute) are of interest.
| - GRAPHICS: Speed and ease-of-programming.
| - OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: What do you particularly like and dislike?

Thanks to Karl Rowley, John M. Olsen, Keith Hedger, Ali Ozer, Avery
Shealey, Jonathan Nagy, and Bryce Nesbitt for your responses.

| The second biggest lie in recorded history is "I'll post a summary to
| the net", but I really will if enough people respond.

And so I will:

Many responses were in the form "I prefer X because of Y" (e.g.  X =
"Amiga", Y = "multitasking"). The clear favorite was the Amiga.  Reasons
most often cited were more sophisticated hardware support for graphics
and multitasking (a big favorite).  The Amiga seems to be more
expandable.  According to Ali Ozer:

| If you want to expand above 1 Meg [on the Atari 1040ST],
| you need to start kludging things, and you can't go above 4 even with the
| biggest hacks. The A2000 is 68020 compatible, and you can one day easily
| plug in a 68020/68881 board for increased performance. (Such boards do
| exist; CSA makes one for the A1000, for instance.) 1040ST can't be
| upgraded to the 68020; the 24-bit address pointer is engraved in their OS.

For my purposes, I need as much memory as I can get my hands on, so I'm
happy to hear that the Amiga can support up to 9 meg.  According to a
local dealer of Ataris and Amigas, the Amiga A2000 will be available at
the end of this month while the new Ataris (with 2-4 meg) won't be
available for a while longer. I've heard that both new machines are
already available in Europe.

As far as C development goes, the preferences seem to be Mark Williams C
for the Atari, and Manx Aztec (or is the Aztec Manx?) for the Amiga.
The Amiga also has Lattice C, but based on my own experience with
Lattice for the IBM PC, I'd be reluctant to try them again. Especially
since the Amiga product seems to have so many similarities to the IBM PC
product (based on a quick reading of the documentation). Amiga's C
compiler is produced by Lattice.  I've heard various estimates of when
the Manx symbolic debugger will be available. They range from "next
release - this summer" to "next year".  I have no idea what to believe
on this topic.

Hard disks are available but the Amiga dealer here said that there was
some room for improvement in quality. According to respondents, prices
for the Amiga disks are slightly higher than for the Atari. The Amiga
prices I've heard are about $1000 for a 20 meg drive.

Several people said that the Amiga is more expensive but worth it.  The
dealer here has a trade-in plan: A1000 + $1000 = A2000. While it seems
that the A1000 will meet my requirements, it's nice to know I can move
up without losing my investment.

One person commented on documentation, saying that the Amiga did better.


So it's an Amiga for me. I'm looking at this as a machine for the next
couple of years until 68020-class machines come down in price. Given that
there are *already* some impressive 68020 boxes for the Amiga, it's possible
that I can use the machine for an even longer time.


Anyone want a used IBM PC?


Jack Orenstein

iarocci@eneevax.UUCP (John Iarocci) (07/14/87)

In article <17680@cca.CCA.COM> jack@cca.CCA.COM (Jack Orenstein) writes:
>According to Ali Ozer:
>
>| If you want to expand above 1 Meg [on the Atari 1040ST],
>| you need to start kludging things, and you can't go above 4 even with the
>| biggest hacks. The A2000 is 68020 compatible, and you can one day easily
>| plug in a 68020/68881 board for increased performance. (Such boards do
>| exist; CSA makes one for the A1000, for instance.) 1040ST can't be
>| upgraded to the 68020; the 24-bit address pointer is engraved in their OS.
>
>For my purposes, I need as much memory as I can get my hands on...

Jack, I think you've been somewhat misinformed by some obviously well-
intentioned Amiga user.  True, the existing Ataris (520ST & 1040ST) cannot
easily be expanded beyond 4 megabytes, but the new Mega STs are reportedly
expandable to 16 megabytes.  So, if you REALLY need the memory, the CLEAR
winner is ATARI.
>
>So it's an Amiga for me. I'm looking at this as a machine for the next
>couple of years until 68020-class machines come down in price. Given that
>there are *already* some impressive 68020 boxes for the Amiga, it's possible
>that I can use the machine for an even longer time.

Well, it looks like you've already made up your mind, but for the benefit of
others who may not have, let me point out that the Mega STs are expandable
(they have an expansion slot), and will supposedly have 68020 support in the
form of a 68020 box which will connect to STs through the DMA port (I think
Atari calls this the TT).  So, if you look closely at what you get for your
money, I think many people will find the decision a little less clear-cut
than it would appear from your posting.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| John Iarocci         'Imagination is more important than knowledge.'        |
|                                            - Albert Einstein                |
|     'He who has imagination without learning has wings and no feet.'        |
|                                            - Joubert                        |
| ARPA : iarocci@eneevax.umd.edu                                              |
| UUCP : [seismo,allegra,rlgvax]!umcp-cs!eneevax!iarocci                      |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ali@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Ali Ozer) (07/14/87)

In article <979@eneevax.UUCP> John Iarocci writes:
>In article <17680@cca.CCA.COM> jack@cca.CCA.COM (Jack Orenstein) writes:
>>According to Ali Ozer:
>>| If you want to expand above 1 Meg [on the Atari 1040ST],
>>| you need to start kludging things, and you can't go above 4 even with the
>>| biggest hacks.
>Jack, I think you've been somewhat misinformed by some obviously well-
>intentioned Amiga user.  True, the existing Ataris (520ST & 1040ST) cannot
>easily be expanded beyond 4 megabytes, but the new Mega STs are reportedly
>expandable to 16 megabytes.

[I don't want to start a religious war (they all say) but]

Misinformed and well-intentioned? 8-) I should put that in my finger plan...
I just said the 1040 could not be expanded beyond 4 Megs, and that's what you
seem to say. About the Mega ST --- You say "reportedly" --- You mean here's
a machine that was announced way before the A500 and A2000 and you don't
even know how much memory it can address? I even bet most people don't know
if they'll start shipping with blitters or not... 

In any case, with the 68020 additions to the Amiga (like the CSA stuff),
the maximum amount of memory attachable to the Amiga grows as well --- For
instance I just read in Amazing Computing that the CSA Turbo Amiga can 
accept upto 12 Megs of 32-bit memory internally alone. And this memory goes
above 68000's maximum address of 00ffffff. So if you're concern is Mega ST's
reported 16 Megs vs Amiga 2000's 9.5, then you should realize that the 68020
opens up a lot more possibilities. Of course the CSA Turbo Amiga
(and the various memory boards for it) are currently costly, but other
68020/68881 boards will drive prices down, way down, I'm sure. 

Ali Ozer, ali@rocky.stanford.edu

bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU (Bryce Nesbitt) (07/15/87)

[ Yes, followups should have been directed to talk.religion ]

In article <979@> iarocci@eneevax.umd.edu.UUCP (John Iarocci) writes:
>In article <17680@> jack@cca.CCA.COM (Jack Orenstein) writes:
>>
>>| If you want to expand above 1 Meg [on the Atari 1040ST],
>>| you need to start kludging things, and you can't go above 4 even with the
>>| biggest hacks. [...]
>>|
>Jack, I think you've been somewhat misinformed by some obviously well-
>intentioned Amiga user.  True, the existing Ataris (520ST & 1040ST) cannot
>easily be expanded beyond 4 megabytes, but the new Mega STs are reportedly
>								 ^^^^^^^^^^
>expandable to 16 megabytes.  So, if you REALLY need the memory, the CLEAR
>winner is ATARI.

Hold on!  Lets drop back to real facts here.  The 68000 processor brings
24 effective address lines out to the bus.  24 bits=16 Megabytes TOTAL.
From there you go DOWN to add your ROM operating system, chip registers,
etc.  You can go UP with bank switching and other techniques, but that's
NOT what we are talking about.
The memory controller chip and other factors limit the 1040ST to just 4
megabytes.  The Amiga has no arbitrary limit, but 10 Megabytes fits in
real comfortably (you can go higher).  The Mega STs will have a limit
of 16 Megabytes MINUS a bunch of other factors, just like all the other
machines.
How you can USE the memory is the only real difference.


>>So it's an Amiga for me. I'm looking at this as a machine for the next
>>couple of years until 68020-class machines come down in price. Given that
>>there are *already* some impressive 68020 boxes for the Amiga, it's possible
>>that I can use the machine for an even longer time.
>
>>| [The] 1040ST can't be
>>| upgraded to the 68020; the 24-bit address pointer is engraved in their OS.
>
>[The Mega STs] supposedly have 68020 support in the form of a 68020 box which
>will connect to STs through the DMA port [...]

There's a huge difference between having your computer BE a 68020 machine
or have it TALK to a 68020 machine.  My Atari 800 could TALK to a 68020
box via its (almost DMA) port.  The first poster is correct that a non
68020 compatible type pointer is deeply engraved into the ST's operating
system.  It's possible, but not easy, or clean, to get rid of this
restriction.

Since the ancient V1.1 of the Amiga operating system there has been a check
that will look for the presence of a 68020.  If found the system will fiddle
with the format of stack frames, enable the instruction cache (it powers on
disabled), and set a global bit for all to see.  Also starting with
V1.1 the OS was sanitized for use with the 68020.

Read comp.sys.mac to find out what scattered headaches and glitches the
68020 is bringing to Macintosh world, and Apple was far more prepared for
the change than Atari.

[ Napalm, meet your more potent brother, USENET flames... ]
-----------------------------
|\ /|  . Ack! (NAK, EOT, SOH)
{o O} . 
( " )	bryce@cogsci.berkeley.EDU -or- ucbvax!cogsci!bryce
  U	"Success leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to failure."

grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) (07/15/87)

In article <979@eneevax.UUCP> iarocci@eneevax.umd.edu.UUCP (John Iarocci) writes:
> In article <17680@cca.CCA.COM> jack@cca.CCA.COM (Jack Orenstein) writes:
> >According to Ali Ozer:
> >
> >| If you want to expand above 1 Meg [on the Atari 1040ST],
> >| you need to start kludging things, and you can't go above 4 even with the
> >| biggest hacks. The A2000 is 68020 compatible, and you can one day easily
> >| plug in a 68020/68881 board for increased performance. (Such boards do
> >| exist; CSA makes one for the A1000, for instance.) 1040ST can't be
> >| upgraded to the 68020; the 24-bit address pointer is engraved in their OS.
> >
> >For my purposes, I need as much memory as I can get my hands on...
> 
> Jack, I think you've been somewhat misinformed by some obviously well-
> intentioned Amiga user.  True, the existing Ataris (520ST & 1040ST) cannot
> easily be expanded beyond 4 megabytes, but the new Mega STs are reportedly
> expandable to 16 megabytes.  So, if you REALLY need the memory, the CLEAR
> winner is ATARI.

No, the winner is still less than clear.  Atari has said the Mega-ST has
"16 MB Address Space", they've said nothing about how much memory will
fit into this address space.  As it happens, the Amiga has *always* had
a 16 MB address space, however we long ago documented an allocation of
2MB (max) for video memory, 8MB of expansion bus auto-configured memory,
and a goodly amount of "reserved" area.  This capability has existed on
*all* models.  Now perhaps Atari will provide a way to have 16MB of
memory, but they haven't said so...

> >So it's an Amiga for me. I'm looking at this as a machine for the next
> >couple of years until 68020-class machines come down in price. Given that
> >there are *already* some impressive 68020 boxes for the Amiga, it's possible
> >that I can use the machine for an even longer time.
> 
> Well, it looks like you've already made up your mind, but for the benefit of
> others who may not have, let me point out that the Mega STs are expandable
> (they have an expansion slot), and will supposedly have 68020 support in the
> form of a 68020 box which will connect to STs through the DMA port (I think
> Atari calls this the TT).  So, if you look closely at what you get for your
> money, I think many people will find the decision a little less clear-cut
> than it would appear from your posting.

Well, maybe.  Both parties have made noises about expansion and "'020 machines",
but the fact is that the Amiga expansion market already exists, with a variety
of boxes, modules and internal upgrades available.  While an assortment of
goodies will no doubt become available for the Mega-ST "expansion slot" in the
future, current availability seems limited to a couple of hard-disk drives and
some internal memory upgrades.

There are rarely any clear winners in these feature wars.  It is up to the
potential customer to match both his feature requirements and and cost goals
with what is available and make some personal judments about machine/software
style and corporate personality and make up his own mind...
-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)

exodus@uop.UUCP (Freddy Kreuger) (07/16/87)

In article <419@rocky.STANFORD.EDU>, ali@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Ali Ozer) writes:
> instance I just read in Amazing Computing that the CSA Turbo Amiga can 
> accept upto 12 Megs of 32-bit memory internally alone. And this memory goes
> above 68000's maximum address of 00ffffff. So if you're concern is Mega ST's
> reported 16 Megs vs Amiga 2000's 9.5, then you should realize that the 68020
> opens up a lot more possibilities. Of course the CSA Turbo Amiga
> (and the various memory boards for it) are currently costly, but other
> 68020/68881 boards will drive prices down, way down, I'm sure. 
> 
> Ali Ozer, ali@rocky.stanford.edu

Did you not take the time to read about the 68020 box for the STs?  Just
plug it in and let it rip?  But then the Commodore 68020 can address more
memory than the Atari 68020, right?  Commodore must have talked Motorola
into making a Commodore version that is better and an Atari version that
is not, right?  Use your head.  If both machines have easily added on/in 
68020 boxes/cards, what is the difference except price?  As BYTE magazine
has written, the Atari 1040ST (not to mention the new MEGAs) have the best
price/performance ratio in the history of computing.  The Amiga is as
powerful and as pricey as the Mac, and no one in either the ST group or
the Amiga group wants a MAC, right?  So let's just settle on improving
technology and helping each other.  Write software on one machine then
let somone with the other machine port it and everybody has equally
powerful technology and software in their hands.  I'm sure we're all happy
that we don't have 8-bits anymore !!

Greg Onufer

dclemans@mntgfx.MENTOR.COM (Dave Clemans) (07/17/87)

The ST has an architectural limitation of 15.5 megabytes.  The other 1/2
megabyte of 68000 address space is taken up by rom's and I/O space.

Existing ST's can easily be taken to 4 megabytes by using 1 megabit ram chips.
With enough work you could take an existing system past 4 megabytes, but the
amount of work needed would almost definitely be greater than the benefits
you'd gain.

However, if the expansion bus in the Mega-ST's was done correctly, it should
be relatively simple to take one of these newer systems past 4 megabytes.

dgc

atc@bnl.UUCP (atc@bnl) (07/18/87)

Mega ST = Vaporware;


Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!:-) ;-) :-)

Never back something you can't touch....

-------

The invisible Snaf:

atc@bnl
 

ford@crash.CTS.COM (Michael Ditto) (07/20/87)

In article <411@uop.UUCP> exodus@uop.UUCP (Freddy Kreuger) flames:
>Did you not take the time to read about the 68020 box for the STs?  Just
>plug it in and let it rip?  But then the Commodore 68020 can address more
>memory than the Atari 68020, right?  Commodore must have talked Motorola
>into making a Commodore version that is better and an Atari version that
>is not, right?  Use your head.  If both machines have easily added on/in 
>68020 boxes/cards, what is the difference except price?

The difference is this:  The Amiga's operating system and application
programs can run on a 68020, the Atari's CAN NOT.  You are talking about
hooking up a second computer to the side of your first one, talking to it
through your old keyboard/monitor, having it do all it's I/O through some
bizarre (probably non-DMA) interface to the original CPU, and saying you
have a 68020 in your machine.  Either that, or you will have to dump the
Atari OS and all the software for it; if so, what's the point of buying
the ST?

>                                                         As BYTE magazine
>has written, the Atari 1040ST (not to mention the new MEGAs) have the best
>price/performance ratio in the history of computing.

First of all, "Byte Magazine" doesn't write things, it publishes articles
written by individuals.  The statement you give above, even if it is a quote,
is a subjective statement and is the opinion of the person who wrote it, even
if that person is an editor of a very respectable magazine.

My primary use of all my computers is for software development and tele-
communications.  With my Amiga, I can download files, compile programs,
and edit source files, all at once.  Let's see, an Amiga 500 with 1Meg of
ram costs $860 at a local computer store, what does it cost for three Atari
ST's?

My point is that these questions are subjective.  I MIGHT even concede that
the average person who buys an Atari ST or Amiga 500 class of computer will
get a better bargain if they go with the ST.  But **I** have more fun and am
more productive with an Amiga.
-- 

Michael "Ford" Ditto				-=] Ford [=-
P.O. Box 1721					ford@crash.CTS.COM
Bonita, CA 92002				ford%oz@prep.mit.ai.edu

bugs@pnet02.CTS.COM (Jim Biggs) (07/21/87)

Will we ever see an Amiga with a 68020 and v-mem controller with a 32 bit bus?
I mean a bus that is not a cheat like the Mac II with it's UGH! mux'd address
lines and data lines (Motorla went to the expense of not mux'ing for speed!), 
I'm talking a Amiga OUT of the BOX????

UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, ihnp4}!crash!gryphon!pnet02!bugs
INET: bugs@pnet02.CTS.COM

karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) (07/26/87)

> 				...  Write software on one machine then
> let somone with the other machine port it and everybody has equally
> powerful technology and software in their hands.  ...

Porting those cool Amiga programs to the ST will be kind of difficult, at
least any programs that make use of digital audio, 640 X 400 X 16,
320 X 200 X 32, HAM graphics or multitasking.  Sorry, the ST is not
equally powerful, except in pure 68000 CPU cycles.  Anybody want to buy
mine?  It's been languishing in the closet ever since the Amiga arrived.

engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) (08/05/87)

In article <435@sugar.UUCP> karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:

>Sorry, the ST is not
>equally powerful, except in pure 68000 CPU cycles.
Ah well, I'll suffer with such limits. :-)

>Anybody want to buy
>mine?  It's been languishing in the closet ever since the Amiga arrived.
Certainly I'd like to buy it, depending on what sort of a setup you have
(ie, mono/color, second drive, 520/1040 etc.)  It also depends on the price,
though, since I'm a poor undergrad :-).  I tried to email you personally,
but the daemon bounced my mail.  When replying (if replying), please use an
arpanet style address if you can (ie. engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu as
opposed to engst@tcgould.UUCP) because my mailer handles them better.
Thanks for the offer!
                                                   Adam Engst


engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
pv9y@cornella.bitnet

B7 Upson Hall
Cornell University
Computer Services
Ithaca, NY   14853

505 Wyckoff Ave, #1
Ithaca, NY  14850
607-257-3073

(but email preferred)

grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) (08/05/87)

In article <1025@gryphon.CTS.COM> bugs@pnet02.CTS.COM (Jim Biggs) writes:
> Will we ever see an Amiga with a 68020 and v-mem controller with a 32 bit bus?
> I mean a bus that is not a cheat like the Mac II with it's UGH! mux'd address
> lines and data lines (Motorla went to the expense of not mux'ing for speed!), 
> I'm talking a Amiga OUT of the BOX????

Well, there's still an engineering department at Commodore, and as long as
people are considerate enough to buy lots of A500's and A2000's the should
be plenty of opportunity for us to design better and more powerful systems.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)

Sheldon_Hijacker_Chang@cup.portal.com (08/06/87)

    If the public thinks the Amiga is better, than let me ask you this.
WHY IS ATARI ST'S BEATING AMIGA???  If your answer is because the public isn't
willing to try Amiga's then I'd say it's a bunch of bull, since Atari has
had a hard time where ever I have seen it, and whenever I have spoken the
name Atari, people tell me, "Oh you own one of those toys??", and when I go to
places like Federated, the salesmen, go to the Amiga(which they beefed up with
stero speakers, hard drive, and extra memory) and say, let me show you this
computer which is so much better than that ST over there, and they are
comparing it to a 520.  I have been to one of the nation's largest and best,
if not THE largest and best computer camp, Midwest Computer Camp, so why
don't they have any Amiga's???  They have ST's.  SO LET ME ASK YOU WHY???

    Of course every man has a right to their own opinion.  Every man also has
the right to defend their opinion when it's attacked.

                                                    SHELDON CHANG
                                    sun!cup.portal.com!sheldon.hijacker.chang

trudel@topaz.rutgers.edu (Jonathan D.) (08/07/87)

In article <569@cup.portal.com> Sheldon_Hijacker_Chang@cup.portal.com writes:

>    If the public thinks the Amiga is better, than let me ask you this.
>WHY IS ATARI ST'S BEATING AMIGA??? 

Even if Atari's is beatin' Amiga's, we Amiga types don't care.  We're
happy with our machines.  Aside from that, at least our company
president doesn't go around inflating sales figures to software 
manufacturers :-)

I don't think that anyone who's been on the net for any stretch of
time will tell you that they get tired of the 'which micro is best' 
flames.  You will too, in time...I hope.

						Jon
-- 
Sometimes a fish needs a bicycle...

harald@ccicpg.UUCP ( Harald Milne) (08/08/87)

	Jeez, I listen to Amiga music while reading this net. What do you
do? Wish for blitvaporware? Nonstandard multitasking? Promises of nothing
to come? And I thought I had it so bad. Was Atari at SIGGRAPH? Was IBM?
Atari ST was only produced to screw the Amiga. Nice try. Hope those yield
numbers go up for your turd blitter. Then Atari can sell the machines
promised since January. (Oh, I guess I should date this as 1987). Since
Apple and IBM will have a multitasking OS RSN, Atari will be the only
one without. Why would  you want it? GOOD QUESTION. I'll just keep
trucking along. BTW do you also own JUNK VHS!!

-- 
UUCP:	uunet!ccicpg!harald

ufo@well.UUCP (Mark James) (08/09/87)

In article <569@cup.portal.com> Sheldon_Hijacker_Chang@cup.portal.com writes:
>
>    If the public thinks the Amiga is better, than let me ask you this.
>WHY IS ATARI ST'S BEATING AMIGA???  If your answer is because the public isn't
>willing to try Amiga's then I'd say it's a bunch of bull, since Atari has
>had a hard time where ever I have seen it, and whenever I have spoken the
>name Atari, people tell me, "Oh you own one of those toys??", and when I go to
>
>    Of course every man has a right to their own opinion.  Every man also has
>the right to defend their opinion when it's attacked.


	True, every man has the right to defend their opinion when attacked,
BUT DO IT IN MAIL PLEASE!!!! Some of us are very sick and tired of these
little computer wars..

	There is no way that you are going to convince me that you're computer
is better than mine, and there is no way that I am going to convince you
that mine in better than yours. So next time you feel like defending youre
computer, do ya think you could do it in MAIL.

Oh, one other thing, I take issue with your'e statement that the ST is 
"beating" the amiga. I just talked with a guy from CSS(A big distributor of
ST's) who told me ST sales are way down..

				Please reply in mail,
						Mark

engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) (08/10/87)

In article <435@sugar.UUCP> karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:

>Porting those cool Amiga programs to the ST will be kind of difficult, at
>least any programs that make use of digital audio, 640 X 400 X 16,
>320 X 200 X 32, HAM graphics or multitasking.  Sorry, the ST is not
>equally powerful, except in pure 68000 CPU cycles.  Anybody want to buy
>mine?  It's been languishing in the closet ever since the Amiga arrived.

   I'm really curious about something.  A number of people who rave about
how wonderful the Amiga is particularly when compared to the ST also seem to
have an ST.  This is strange enough - most people decide on one type of
computer, buy it, and then defend it.  Yet these people are buying two
expensive computers, using one solely and letting the other "languish in the
closet."  Maybe they have great expense accounts and can afford to have a
perfectly usable computer gather dust in the closet but I would doubt it.
Yet whenever I read one of these postings about how awful the ST is and how
they never touch it because it's problems might be contagious to the Amiga
and how it is relegate to shimming up that short leg on the picnic table I
really wonder why they don't sell it and buy a new leg for the picnic
table.  I know they don't want to sell it because each time I write back, or
attempt to anyway and post instead, I don't get any answers.  Since Cornell
is a big place and fairly easy to get mail into, I don't believe that they
can claim mailer problems.  Admittedly, I can't offer full retail price for
their ST or extra drive or monitor, but why should they expect it when they
say that the ST isn't worth the plastic that holds its electronics in
place.  I happen to like the ST for a number of reasons, one of which is
price.  I would probably like an Amiga for a similarly cheap price, but
there aren't any dealers in Ithaca who even sell the Amiga, much less at a
discount like our ST dealer.  My other major reason for liking the ST is
that I need to use a number of different computers at work, including the
Mac, the IBM, and mainframes, and I've found that the ST is great for
terminal emulation, runs a mean IBM-emulation with pc-DITTO, and has the
Magic Sac available.  I don't trash on the Amiga because I think it is a
good machine, no better than the ST, no worse, but simply different.  It
simply wasn't right for my budget and needs, whereas the ST was and is.
That's one reason why I resent these people trashing on the ST.  The other
is that I would like to add to my ST system now but I still have to watch
my budget.  I would like a second drive or even a hard drive (the Astra
second floppy/hard drive looks nice!) and a mono monitor and a friend would
like a second CPU so between us we could purchase an Amigan's useless ST
(currently gathering dust or languishing or holding up the short leg on the
picnic table) for a reduced price (heck, we'd even throw in a brick for the
picnic table!) and give it a good home.  I'd do it for a cat, why not a
computer?


                                                            Adam Engst

If you wish to tell me that the ST was not the right computer for me to buy
and wish to do so with either threats, curses, logical reasons, flames, or
whatever, please email me and save the wars.  

If you wish to part with anything from your ST system, useless as it may be
to you or otherwise, again, please email me and give an ST a good home.

I'll bet there are others in position out there and we can start a Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Computers.  I'll be a charter member since
I just adopted a maimed VT100 with a geriatric 300 baud modem.  They're easy
to litter train and they don't take much power and they're very appreciative
of being rescued.  All they need is a little appreciation.
:-)      :-)   :-)


engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
pv9y@cornella.bitnet

B7 Upson Hall
Cornell University                                        (work)
Ithaca, NY   14853

505 Wyckoff Ave,  #1
Ithaca,  NY  14850                                        (home)
607-257-3073

schein@cbmvax.UUCP (Dan Schein MAGAZINES) (08/10/87)

In article <1778@ccicpg.UUCP> harald@ccicpg.UUCP ( Harald Milne) writes:
>
>trucking along. BTW do you also own JUNK VHS!!
				     ^^^^ ^^^
	Do I smell another "My dad can beat your dad" debate here?
	 		  Boy do I hope not!
>
>-- 
>UUCP:	uunet!ccicpg!harald


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cheung@vu-vlsi.UUCP (Wilson Cheung) (08/10/87)

> trucking along. BTW do you also own JUNK VHS!!
> 
> -- 
> UUCP:	uunet!ccicpg!harald
What does BTW stand for?
                   Wilson Cheung

rokicki@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Tomas Rokicki) (08/11/87)

BTW?  Big Thrashing Women, of course.

bpendlet@esunix.UUCP (Bob Pendleton) (08/11/87)

in article <569@cup.portal.com>, Sheldon_Hijacker_Chang@cup.portal.com says:
> Xref: esunix comp.sys.amiga:6839 comp.sys.atari.st:4452
> XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.1609
> 
>     If the public thinks the Amiga is better, than let me ask you this.
> WHY IS ATARI ST'S BEATING AMIGA??? 

> I have been to one of the nation's largest and best,
> if not THE largest and best computer camp, Midwest Computer Camp, so why
> don't they have any Amiga's???  They have ST's.  SO LET ME ASK YOU WHY???

My best guess is cost. I don't suppose I really have to explain this, 
especially to someone who has been to computer camp, but the Atari ST 
models are very inexpensive compared to the Amiga 1000. The Amiga 500 
may be inexpensive enough to overcome this handicap.

In my own case I desperately wanted an Amiga. I had tested both machines,
purchased and read some of the technical documentation for both machines,
and interviewed users and sellers of both machines. I decided I wanted
an Amiga. But, at the time, an Amiga cost just about twice what an ST 1040
cost. On that basis I decided to buy an ST. It wasn't what I wanted, but
it was as close as I could get and stay within my budget.

I was saved by the want adds. One sunday morning I was reading the want adds
at about 6 a.m. ( my two month old baby didn't understand, or care about
weekends ) and saw, not one, but two, adds for used Amiga 1000s, at a cost
of $300 and $400 more than the cost of a 1040. I called quickly, one had
already been sold, but I got the other one. I picked it up by 8 a.m. and
was playing with it by 9 a.m. That was about a year and half ago, I'm still
glad I bought an Amiga.

By the way, I still read the want adds on sunday mornings, lots of 520s and
1040s for sale, maybe once every month or so I see an Amiga for sale. Amigas
seem to be holding their value better than STs.

> 
>                                                     SHELDON CHANG
>                                     sun!cup.portal.com!sheldon.hijacker.chang

			Bob Pendleton

P.S

I didn't realize they allowed humans at computer camp :-)
-- 
Bob Pendleton @ Evans & Sutherland
UUCP Address:  {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4,allegra}!decwrl!esunix!bpendlet
Alternate:     {ihnp4,seismo}!utah-cs!utah-gr!uplherc!esunix!bpendlet
        I am solely responsible for what I say.

papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) (07/04/90)

... Peter Cherna.

Peter left the Amiga Devcon '90 with two things:  he is now the "keeper" of
Intuition, and the winner of the Third Usenet Boing! Award.  Quoting Dave
Haynie, "Peter is the first Canadian and the first software guy to win the
award". Congratulations, Peter!

-- Marco
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Xerox sues somebody for copying?" -- David Letterman
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

nsw@cbnewsm.att.com (Neil Weinstock) (07/05/90)

In article <25678@usc.edu> papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) writes:
[ ... ]
>Peter left the Amiga Devcon '90 with two things:  he is now the "keeper" of
>Intuition, and the winner of the Third Usenet Boing! Award.  Quoting Dave

Congrats to Peter... might I be so bold as to inquire what jimm will be
doing now?  (Gotta keep those gossip columns moving... ;-)

                                   - Neil

--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--
Neil Weinstock @ AT&T Bell Labs        //     What was sliced bread
att!edsel!nsw or nsw@edsel.att.com   \X/    the greatest thing since?