hgm@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Hal G. Meeks) (03/29/90)
I've followed (against better judgement) the thread of recent mac and amiga bashing with interest. I have always avoided posting articles in the heat of the moment. There are others who are much more willing to shoot from the hip. The comparisons of the latest apple versus the A2000 are for naught. The machines are in radically different price catagories, and are aimed at a different set of users. A few things to ponder: 1. Apples latest is a direct shot at the workstation market. No ifs ands or buts. Commodore does not sell a directly competing product. While it is true that you can set up an Amiga that will hold it's own well in certain areas, the new mac is a complete system (Cheap shot: not including keyboard, monitor, display card or ethernet). 2. Workstations are currently the glamour boys of computing. Apple had to have a product to fill this niche, if for no other reason than to generate free advertising. It is doubtful that they will sell enough of them to turn around their recent slide in sales. People who need a workstation will always be more inclined to go with one of the more established companies. That leaves a small percentage of users that want both a Mac and a worKstation. This does not take into account the "me-first" users, people who must always have the fastest machines, most colors, coolest looking boxes. Nevermind that the rest of the industry hasn't caught up with them yet, or that they never use more than 40% of what the machine is capable of. With them, it's not a matter of utility (the best tool for the job), it's a matter of ego. 3. The amiga has a firm hold of the low end desktop video market. This the current status; this may change. People in video are used to having proprietary boxes (dedicated CG's, etc). They see the amiga as a tool, which is what it is. 4. The amiga and Mac have very different goals, and design considerations. Trying to make a mac into an amiga is an expensive proposition; the same goes for the Amiga. It's a matter of what the user wants to use a computer for. Educating the public as the benefits and differences between the machines should be one of the tasks of Amiga users everywhere. I certainly wouldn't want to sell an Amiga to someone who really needs a Mac. I'll be guaranteed to make a new enemy. --------------- There are now 4 (soon 5) authoring systems available. I've personally seen two of them. ANIM (with it's variations) is standard animation format that has no counterpart in the Mac or PC world. Every machine with the amiga nameplate has a standard set of resolutions, which are still quite impressive for their cost. Same with sound. A multitasking operating system that is not memory intensive, standard. A large, stable base of graphics applications, none of which cost a lot of money to buy. A machine that is price competitive with the rest of the market, but can be upgraded to the current top level machine, with no motherboard swaps, and minimal sacrifice of compatability (A2000). And I firmly believe that the Amiga's future is sound. I now return to the role of listener. --hal -- hgm@ccvr1.ncsu.edu "Rebellion is like witchcraft. That's what it is, netoprhm@ncsuvm.bitnet it's like witchcraft." Missouri State Rep. Jean Dixon, on labeling "offensive music". USA Today, March 20, 1990
dksnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Dr. Mosh) (03/30/90)
Wow!! Someone with REAL perspective!!! -D. Khoe -- ============================================================================= Dr. of Moshology | | | / \ /\ |/ Any system dksnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu | |---||____|| |\ can be New Mexico Tech Computer Science | | || | \/ | \ cracked...