marmar@mtk.UUCP (Mark Martino) (02/02/90)
I've been trying to find out more about the Amiga in a casual way. I haven't been to a dealer yet, but the ones I talked to on the phone didn't help much. (so what else is new?) Anyway, here's what I want to know: 1) The Amiga's ties to video are well known. Does this mean that there is no way to get square pixels on the screen via some other video board? It seems that no matter how good the resolution and addressability is, this eventually makes a difference in the quality of at least some images. 2) How much do these suckers cost anyway? Even Apple has the nerve to put their high prices in their ads. I haven't seen any prices on Amigas in any of the local newspapers and computer rags. Why do Amiga dealers do this? It's one of their biggest selling points? 3) Which model would I need to get into desktop publishing? video? CD-ROM production? animation, but not video? 4) If you're answering from the Washington/Oregon area, what's the best place to buy an Amiga or at least shop for one? 5) How reliable are Amigas compared to IBM PC's? Macs? clones? 6) What printers are available for the Amiga? Any color ink jet or color laser? Thanks for any help with any of these questions.
ckp@grebyn.com (Checkpoint Technologies) (02/04/90)
In article <945@mtk.UUCP> marmar@mtk.UUCP (Mark Martino) writes: >I've been trying to find out more about the Amiga in a casual way... >[portion deleted] > >1) The Amiga's ties to video are well known. Does this mean that there >is no way to get square pixels on the screen via some other video board? >It seems that no matter how good the resolution and addressability is, >this eventually makes a difference in the quality of at least some >images. > Pixel shape is a function of the monitor you use, not the computer that the monitor is attached to. The Amiga can be used with any standard MultiSync monitor, or with any VGA monitor in conjuction with the "FlickerFixer" board. Of course, the standard Amiga monitor is quite fine. If you can find a square-pixeled color monitor (unlikely), use it. >2) How much do these suckers cost anyway? Even Apple has the nerve to >put their high prices in their ads. I haven't seen any prices on Amigas >in any of the local newspapers and computer rags. Why do Amiga dealers >do this? It's one of their biggest selling points? An Amiga 500 can be gotten for around $500. This is for the base unit alone. A complete A500 system with 1 Meg of RAM and two floppy drives and a monitor is probably around a grand. You might have to shop around a bit. >3) Which model would I need to get into desktop publishing? video? >CD-ROM production? animation, but not video? The Amiga 500 and the Amiga 2000 are essentially the same computer. The difference is primarily in expandability. The Amiga 500 can be expanded to 9 meg RAM and whatever sized hard disk your wallet can handle. The Amiga 2000 can do the same, but it has internal Amiga slots for internal expandability. You can get more serial ports, networking cards, RAM, etc, for the Amiga slots. The 2000 also has IBM-PC XT and AT slots. With a "BridgeBoard" card, you have a complete clone-on-a-card which will run in a window of your Amiga. With the BridgeBoard, you can then make use of the XT and AT slots for any standard PC peripherals. The 2000 also has a "CPU" slot for 68020/68030/680?0 upgrade cards. The Amiga 2500/030 is basically a 2000 with a 68030 card and a bunch of RAM and a big, speedy hard disk. Finally, the 2000 also has a "Video" slot. This is use for things like the "FlickerFixer" and genlock devices for a true desktop video workstation. Either system will do for destop publishing, although you might want to get a 2000 with a FlickerFixer and a multi-sync monitor. I do desktop with the standard Amiga monitor and have no problems. Except for non-mainstream hardware expansion, the Amiga 500 can do everything the 2000 can do. >4) If you're answering from the Washington/Oregon area, what's the best >place to buy an Amiga or at least shop for one? I can tell you a good place in Washighton, D.C. :) >5) How reliable are Amigas compared to IBM PC's? Macs? clones? I've had an Amiga 1000 and now I have an Amiga 2000. I got my 1000 in October 1985. Once I blew up my power supply through my own fault. Other than that I have never had to get either one serviced. >6) What printers are available for the Amiga? Any color ink jet or >color laser? The Amiga will drive almost all dot matrix or laser printers. There is a standard "Preferences" program which tells the system what kind of printer you are using. All "normal" software will then use that printer transparently. There is even third party software to print postscript files on any Preferences printer. >Thanks for any help with any of these questions.
es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) (02/04/90)
I'll answer what I can: In article <945@mtk.UUCP> marmar@mtk.UUCP (Mark Martino) writes: >I've been trying to find out more about the Amiga in a casual way. I >haven't been to a dealer yet, but the ones I talked to on the phone >didn't help much. (so what else is new?) Anyway, here's what I want to >know: > >2) How much do these suckers cost anyway? Even Apple has the nerve to >put their high prices in their ads. I haven't seen any prices on Amigas >in any of the local newspapers and computer rags. Why do Amiga dealers >do this? It's one of their biggest selling points? There has been a lot of changes in how authorized dealers are allowed to advertise. I believe the dealers who sell mail-order are not allowed to advertise prices. Although Amiga prices are higher than clones they are significantly less than anything Macintosh offers! >3) Which model would I need to get into desktop publishing? video? >CD-ROM production? animation, but not video? Obviously the more money you have the better you can do. You can do that with an A500 if you really wanted to. I'd recommend the 2000HD as the base machine. If you can, get a 2500/30. You should be aware the animation is probably the worst memory hog and 1 MB will never do for anything serious. The 2000HD comes with 1MB and 40MB hard drive, but the 2500/20 and /30 are 3MB. >5) How reliable are Amigas compared to IBM PC's? Macs? clones? The Amigas will probably crash more than PCs, probably about as often as Macs. If you meant how sturdy they are, let me put it to you this way. I have a 2500 with several cards including two hard drives. My Amiga went sailing off a trunk which came to a sudden stop. Flying at high velocities it fell about 3-4 feet. Nothing even came loose. Just plugged it in and no problems. Some programs are worse than others. Although there are a lot of great PD programs out there, you never know how they interact with other programs and whether they'll crash you. Of course, that's not to say that you won't get screwed with commercial progs. If you have a specific piece of software in mind, ask here and I'm sure you'll get a response. >6) What printers are available for the Amiga? Any color ink jet or >color laser? What printers are available for the IBM? Amiga's not like Apple. You don't have to buy Commodore printers, not that there are any worth buying. Almost every standard printer should be fine. You set in preferences what printer you are using. DeskJet, LaserJet, ColorJet, Epson, ... -- Ethan