kurt@fluke.UUCP (Kurt Guntheroth) (08/07/85)
I am sitting at my desk and drooling. I want one of these two machines in
the worst way. BUT WHICH ONE. I am trying to think rationally about the
differences between these machines. I'd like to start a hype-free
discussion of the real differences. This is what I (think I) know about the
two systems. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
The Amiga has unquestionably got a fancier machine; more coprocessor
support, more juice in general so it will have higher performance in
applications requiring a lot of video movement/sound/etc. Still, the ST has
an 8Mhz 68000 running full speed. Its power for calculation is comparable.
Both systems have DMA disks and DMA expansion for hard disk, so they will
both load and save quickly when compared against the Macintosh. Both systems
have a bus expander slot, so they are both open from the OEM standpoint.
Both systems have an optional icon/window/mouse interface to be mac-like,
and a command line interface underneath for the old-fashioned among us. The
ST has CP/M-68K, the Amiga's is an unknown quantity but is has been compared
to MS-DOS, so it is also probably comparable to CP/M-68K. The ST has GEM,
which also runs on IBMPC. It seems to me this gives the ST an advantage
with software developers, since they can write code for the IBMPC and ST at
once. Amiga's system is proprietary. Software must be redeveloped or
ported for the Amiga. How much will this hurt Amiga software development?
Furthermore, Commodore has never had the reputation for producing particularly
understandable operating systems. How do I know they havn't come up with
another hack in the Amiga. Atari seems to be better respected in the OS
field. They bought CP/M and GEM. Are they right?
You can buy an ST right now. Amigas wont ship until September (if then).
Is this an advantage or not? Both Commodore and Atari have screwed their
dealer networks in a major way to achieve mass-market sales. The result was
devastating to Atari, and severe to Commodore. Having a dealer base is
essential to product accpetance. Who will have the better luck rebuilding
dealerships and how will I be able to keep track.
Finally there is the matter of price/performance. Sure the Amiga is
fancier, but it is also more expensive. Both machines have a multi-color
640x400 mode and can display 80-column text in color. Both machines have
substantial graphics and sound capabilities; capabilities that will make
owners of IBMPC's and Macintoshes sick with jealousy. The ST is priced
under $1000 for a system, the Amiga is twice that. The Amiga also has more
hardware and software support for its graphics and sound. The question is,
will software developers do enough more with the Amiga to make it worth
twice the up-frone investment?
Either of these machines will meet all my computational needs. Either one
is a better choice than the obsolete IBM architecture. What's a consumer to
do?
--
Kurt Guntheroth
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
{uw-beaver,decvax!microsof,ucbvax!lbl-csam,allegra,ssc-vax}!fluke!kurtnather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) (08/09/85)
> Still, the ST has > an 8Mhz 68000 running full speed. Both machines have a multi-color > 640x400 mode and can display 80-column text in color. Both machines have > substantial graphics and sound capabilities; capabilities that will make > owners of IBMPC's and Macintoshes sick with jealousy. The ST is priced > under $1000 for a system, the Amiga is twice that. > > Either of these machines will meet all my computational needs. Either one > is a better choice than the obsolete IBM architecture. What's a consumer to > do? > Kurt Guntheroth Well, if you already own an Obsolete Architecture IBM PC or (better) XT, there is a third alternative on the horizon. It's an attached processor with a 12.5 MHz 68010 running with no wait states. My XT and Hercules graphics card do substantial graphics in mono already; I can live without color, and I'm pretty sure I prefer my Sony Walkman to the Amiga for playing music. Oh -- the attached processor board is available now for an Apple II, and should be available for the IBM PC series next month. The one I covet has 2 MB of on-board memory. Price not announced for the IBM version, but close to $1200 if it follows the Apple II pricing for 2 MB, less for less. The Dtack pin is Grounded. Of course, there's the problem of software ... -- Ed Nather Astronomy Dept, U of Texas @ Austin {allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather nather%utastro.UTEXAS@ut-sally.ARPA
peter@baylor.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (08/12/85)
Don't worry too much about the Commodore connection to the Amiga. It was
originally developed by Amiga Corp in conjunction with ATARI (!), so it's
probably got little of the typical C= braindamage. The O/S is multitasking,
which makes it the only choice for me. I can walk & chew gum at the
same time, so I'm sdamned if I'm going to buy a computer that can't.
--
Peter da Silva (the mad Australian)
UUCP: ...!shell!neuro1!{hyd-ptd,baylor,datafac}!peter
MCI: PDASILVA; CIS: 70216,1076