@Franko

"I've never understood why anyone uses a PC at home for computing"

Some people have some mandatory need of some x86 SW that is not portable.

For me, I do not need Windows at the moment, though. I have used Linux on the x86 for the past 5+ years.
(but I might need windows if I want to update my TomTom navigator device or reflash my DTV receiver etc...)

I would love to do everything on Amiga machine. Also use those mandatory windows tools on Amiga, if possible. For example via some x86 HW inside the Amigabox, if no SW emulation works.
(I might one day buy one of those new nano size intel ivy bridge based boxes to put it inside 3.5" drive bay of my SAM440 etc...)

Last edited by KimmoK on 09-May-2012 at 02:51 PM.

_________________
- KimmoK
// For freedom, for honor, for AMIGA
// "priest" is just the RED goaul in me
// The multicolor AmigaFUTURE IS NOW !!

@Franko

I use my A1/OS4.1 for everything that is possible to do with it, like e-mail, doc writing, web surfing, programming, photo management and editing, music management, editing and of course playing, video clips and editing/reencoding.

I recently got my first ever PC (€25 for an almost new but low-spec laptop with win7). I use it exclusively for banking and online shopping since that requires Java for the login and signing. I can't stand the extreme slowness of the machine. I have a quadcore Xeon 3GHz machine at work and it is so nice to get home to my fast and responsive A1-XE after being stuck with this sluggish monster for a day, although that one actually moves forward unlike the laptop at home.

Only think that is A LOT faster on PCs in general is web browsing, mostly due to the raw horse power and JavaScript JIT. But user experience with win7 is just horrible.

_________________
>Amiga Classic and OS4 developer for OnyxSoft.
>A1-XE/G4, Radeon9250, Sweex 5.1, SII680
-Don't hesitate to contact me about my programs, but please use e-mail instead of PM. E-mails are more likely to be read in time, and easier for me to keep track of.

@Franko

Use my SAM460 for:

Picture editing using Photogenics
Browsing internet via MUIOWB
Keeping an eye on my on-line banking using above
Writing letters using Final Writer
Keeping tabs on SEAL accounts etc
Use Simplemail for e-mails
Listening to my entire music collection using AmigaAMP
Studying my photographs with music playing using LoView (excellent prog)
Playing some games, Quake II, Freespace and an old favourite Soliton
MSN via SabreMSN
General tinkering and having fun with my favourite computer

Last edited by sicky on 09-May-2012 at 03:07 PM.

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SAM 460 with 2GB or RAM, 1000GB HD, 4 port SATA, DVDRW drive and Radeon HD 4650 GFX card.

I am using Amigas for internet, coding and some random stuff. Maybe play OpenTTD or some classics on DosBox or editing photos.

Since our XP laptop is currently out of order my gf is also using MorphOS on my PowerBook. Watching movies from the internet (there is some payservice I have no idea about), watching YouTube clips and chatting with Facebook friends...

What is missing for Amiga is proper word processor. My gf has got some doc/docx files she can't edit or even read on PowerBook. Online banking is also impossible but there is nothing to do about it.

_________________
Free IRC client for Amiga: www.amirc.org

@KimmoK

Quote:

KimmoK wrote: @Franko Some people have some mandatory need of some x86 SW that is not portable.

While I guess that using PC software is a necessity for some folk in business/ work (I wouldn't call it mandatory though, it's a choice after all) having never actually had to use computers for any of the work I have done (except Amigas when I ran my own business), it's more a case of not understanding why anyone would want to use a PC or Mac at home for anything other than the web...

Like I have said for all my time using computers (The VIC 20, C64 and Amiga) they have and still do serve all my computing needs except the web of course, then again I don't need the web and have only been using it for 2 years but to me the web isn't computing it's just a form of communication and can't be classed as actual computing...

It's not like over time somehow my Amiga's have become slower or worse at what they do, they perform the tasks needed just as fast and just as well as they have always done...

It may seem strange to some why someone like me who was bitten by the computer bug right at the start of what we call home computing has not interest in PC/ Macs and all the constant need for even more speed and more realistic gfx that seems to be all that most people want these days...

But the way I look at it is, I don't need things to be done a fraction of a second after I have pressed a key or clicked the mouse, or have GFX so realistic in games that I'd be as well just watching the TV if I wanted to see such "gfx", all this never ending need for speed and wanting things done before you even have a chance to blink takes away a lot of fun of home computing to me...

I'll honestly never understand what enjoyment people get from using PC's or Macs and running their bloated OS's, I have had decades of enjoyment honing my Amigas to exactly the way I like them and all that time spent doing so was educational and more importantly to me, enjoyable...

The oddest thing I find about PC's/ Macs is when I call them "bloated" and people say they are not. If the software writers actually bothered or had the skill to code in whatever the machines native Assembler language happens to be, then the need for all that extra speed by constantly requiring even faster processors to cover their sloppy programming could be done away with...

Something as simple as a GFX util on the Mac requires GHz of processing power and even with 2.5GB of memory it still requires the hard disk to be used as virtual memory to be able to even run at a half decent speed and yet I can do the very same things on an A1200 with an 060 just as fast (if not faster in some cases) with only a few MB's of memory...

The reason for that is the Amiga has one of the most efficient OS's ever created and the people who wrote the software did so knowing that they had to write highly efficient code to make it all work, unlike those who write those bloated packages for PC's & Macs who think it doesn't matter how bloated they make it as the user will just have to upgrade to a faster processor to use it, that to me is all #### to elbow and just an awful & sloppy way to do things...

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@Franko

Since this has turned into a PC bashing session, I guess I'll defend PC's a little. With Photoshop I can edit an image in 24-bit color as large as my monitor will display with no hassles. I can match palletes (somebody mentioned this). I can convert and save to any format, including IFF. Windows supports almost any hardware and can find any driver on the internet effortlessly. It's odd that the fact that Lightwave 2 is the last one available on the Amiga doesn't bother people. Lightwave 9 (which I have, I don't have any reason to upgrade at the moment) is amazing and used commercially in TV and movies. I don't like mac's. The interface is incomprehensible. I don't own any Apple product. I live with Windows' faults because I need the software for it. Deluxe Paint does things that no other graphics program can do, but development stopped over a decade ago. Things could change when the "new graphics subsystem" for Amiga is done. We wait patiently as the years go by.

Last edited by thinkchip on 09-May-2012 at 04:05 PM.

_________________
AmigaOne 500(update 6) / microA1(update 6) / Cubic IDE / Imagine
Amiga 4000/1200/500/2500/1000 / VIC20 / C64 / SX64 / C128 / C16 / C116 / Plus/4 / PET B500
Windows 7 / 3GHz AMD Phenom 8GB RAM / Lightwave / Visual C++

@thinkchip

Quote:

thinkchip wrote: @Franko Since this has turned into a PC bashing session,

Not quite...

I was just giving my honest views on why I don't understand what people see in "PC's/ Macs" in reply to a comment someone made...

It may seem as PC bashing to you but then this is an Amiga forum and I only use Amigas for the reason explained so I don't have a high regard for mainstream PC's but more than that I doubt I will never understand why people use them...

It too can edit 24bit colour images on my A1200's with the likes of ImageFX and save them as TIFFs etc.. (and match palettes)...

Reckon the main reason why Lightwave isn't used much by Amiga users anymore is twofold, not many people own Toaster hardware which it was really designed to be used with on the Amiga and they never created a PAL Toaster which I reckon if they had would have been a huge success this side of the pond...

Actually form my past 2 years experience with Macs, I'd have to say they more "Amiga like" in their use than PC's but they are still basically rubbish in my opinion...

Your comment about DeluxePaint is one of the types of things I don't understand, It can still do all it ever was designed to do (it hasn't somehow stopped working for some reason) so really what is there to develop for it when it still does (and does it well) what it always has done...

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Why do people keep saying that Amiga lightwave only goes up to v2, I have version 5.1 on my Amiga

PC's are tools to work on, Amiga's are to enjoy, and my Macbook does the rest.

But seriously, I like to find reasons to use my Amiga, right now I enjoy supporting Aros and keeping people informed of what is possible. Doing that I use a number of tools, browsers and graphics apps.

Last edited by clusteruk on 09-May-2012 at 04:42 PM.

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Amiga 1000, 3000D, Aros Nvidia PC, and an Aros powered Rasberry Pi owner and user.
http://www.imica.net

I use my two Sam440 computers with AOS4.1u4 for fun, but fun for me is not playing games. I like messing about with vintage and new applications, especially 3D rendering programs such as Imagine, LightWave and now Blender. Even old VistaPro is fun for me. Got ADPro, ImageFX, Personal Paint and TVPaint working well on my NG Amigas, and at the moment I'm trying to track down Photogenics and Perfect Paint to try those. If I need to write a letter or something longer, I'm more apt to do it with ProText or FinalWriter on Amiga than any variant of OpenOffice or Microsoft Word anywhere else. I have big plans to do some useful things with Hollywood and Hollywood Designer, and I like noodling about with HD-REC and a MIDI keyboard these days (but am a terrible musician, hah!). I seem to be rotating among all the Amiga browsers but MUIOWB is the best. I use YAM for email and lately a lot of time is being spent with WookieChat for IRC.

For work and for hobby I am also into photography and video editing, but alas my favorite tools for pushing that kind of data around are on Mac OS X (Aperture and Final Cut Pro). One day I hope to be able to do some video editing with my future AmigaOne X1000, but obviously won't be doing that from Day 1.

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Quote:

clusteruk wrote: Why do people keep saying that Amiga lightwave only goes up to v2, I have version 5.1 on my Amiga

Yep. Latest I have found and use on my Sams and on my MorphOS setup is 5.2a. Also have it on my Video Toaster-equipped A2000/060.

Quote:

PC's are tools to work on, Amiga's are to enjoy, and my Macbook does the rest.

Well said!

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@Franko

the usual daily task of email, internet, spreadsheets for work, gaming/ drawing, and most important of all...tinkering around and having fun

btw, yes I can do most of the above with my various PC's lying around the house running XP and even Linux Debian BUT the latter part just doesn't feel right unless it's on my miggy

_________________
______________________________________________________________
c64-2sids, c128, A500-A590, A1200-030@50
! My Master Miggies- Amiga 1000 & AmigaOne X1000 !
AspireOS= Amiga on my netbook!
A1- X1000- I BELIEVE

@Franko

Like ClusterUK said:
Quote:

But seriously, I like to find reasons to use my Amiga, ...

.
I'll trie to replace as much work I did on Windows with my Amiga(s). However a few things still have to be done on Windows. Here is a report in german, stating and describing how I use my SAM440 and my A1200. Basically those are the tasks:

SAM440
- image batch processing (iBatch)
- Customer Database / CRM incl. Invoice Handling (MUIBase + FinalWriter)
- letters (FinalWriter)
- CD Ripping (ADRipper)
- Tasksheets for my students in PageStream (as I am teacher)
- mail merging / letters for parents (FinalWriter/TurboCalc)
- folders, business cards etc. for my company (PageStream)
- Promotion Presentations in Hollywood for my company

A1200
- playing MP3 with MASPro
- displaying JPGs on the TV
- playing CD's
- playing RetroGames

Some links:
Hollywood company presentation + more
iBatch

Last edited by gerograph on 09-May-2012 at 07:45 PM.
Last edited by gerograph on 09-May-2012 at 07:44 PM.
Last edited by gerograph on 09-May-2012 at 07:43 PM.

_________________
Geomarketing at
www.geobiz.de
www.gebietsplanung.net
www.geomarketing-consultant.de

@Franko

I use my SAM460 for quick web browsing. While my wife's PC is booting up, I can switch on my SAM and have MUIOWB running before my wife's PC is at its login screen.

I also use my SAM for image processing. All of the images on my blog are the result of my tinkering with ImageFX4.5. If I want any fancy effect from Photoshop, I just use an FXforge equivalent. Just as was said earlier in this thread, if a program still works the way it is supposed to work without need of an upgrade, is it truly outdated?

_________________
Motherboard: SAM460ex lite @1017 MHz with 1 GB DDR2 SODIMM
PCIe: Radeon HD4850 @625 MHz with 512 MB DDR3 @993 MHz
PCI: ARC1-152-C7 riser card
Riser: sil0680 card with 40 GB HD & DVDRW
OS: 4.1 Update 6

@Franko

Quote:

You may not have noticed (which I find kinda hard to believe) but people DO talk about Classic stuff here and strangely even special sections on the site dedicated to it...

Of course I notice, plus I'm fine with classic topics, bring them on, I was just trying to point out that amigaworld, Amiga.org, and amigan generally focus on discussing news topics and if your really after classic talk then eab is your answer, plus you may not of notice but they discust a lot more than just games

_________________
AmigaNG, YouTube, Software

@itix

Quote:

itix wrote: What is missing for Amiga is proper word processor. My gf has got some doc/docx files she can't edit or even read on PowerBook. Online banking is also impossible but there is nothing to do about it.

Change your bank . I do all my bank accounting and stock trading with MorphOS (two different German banks).

_________________
www.via-altera.de
blog

@amigang

Quote:

amigang wrote: @Franko Of course I notice, plus I'm fine with classic topics, bring them on, I was just trying to point out that amigaworld, Amiga.org, and amigan generally focus on discussing news topics and if your really after classic talk then eab is your answer, plus you may not of notice but they discust a lot more than just games

Hmmm... not sure where you get this idea that "News topic" are the most discussed topics on A.org or here as there is very little "News" in Amigaland these days...

The majority of threads on A.org are about people asking software/ hardware questions. In fact the only current one on A.org actively being discussed that you could class as news is titled "Coco/ Atari OS9 New Hardware" !!!

I have to admit though there are usually more "News" topics here on AW (things like the X1000 or IRC Server down} but for the most part again it's still folk discussing hardware/ software problems not "News"...

EAB is still dominated by mainly games talk and like I said games are not my thing. I have been a member of EAB for 2 years now and made less than a dozen posts, so no matter how much you keep trying to convince me that for some strange reason it's the site for me, I have to tell you, sorry mate but it's not...

So it's kinda pointless trying to gently persuade me to move there as I'm quite happy here for the time being...

PS: I can't really comment on Amigan as I went there once but fell into a coma...

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@Franko

My 600 and 1200 generally get used for gaming these days. But I have done some light word processing on my 600 in recent times. Something about typing on the keyboard and getting the satisfying tactile response from the Amiga keys that my Microsoft gaming keyboard just doesn't give.

_________________
Writer for Commodore Is Awesome.
==========================================

@Zylesea

I already have accounts on two other banks where I can have my stock trading and other stuff done with MorphOS but moving out my loans from my primary bank (crappy Danske Bank) would cost too much.

_________________
Free IRC client for Amiga: www.amirc.org

i have luck bank account works on r-owb/mui-owb. I use Swedbank here in Sweden.

@Franko

Hi there,

I use my Amiga for:

- coding (mainly in ARexx and Hollywood);
- retro-gaming (very little, since I don't have time at the moment to properly set UAE up);
- little internet browsing (but getting better now with Timberwolf);
- very little mp3's playback using TuneNet (I don't listen to much music anyway);
- 3D modeling with Blender (barely started ...);
- software localization (iBatch and Word Me Up XXL) using SimpleCat.

I would use it much more than this, but I'm far away from my Sam a lot, so I have to stick on emulation ( Amiga Forever) or on Hollywood cross compiler under Window$ (on my Laptop).

As far as image processing/browsing is concerned, aside for iBAtch and LoView, I use Gimp a lot. I know you don't like it a bit, but I find it quite useful for all the 2D graphics I use in my projects.

Best regards
g0blin

Last edited by g0blin on 10-May-2012 at 08:53 AM.

_________________
Now running AmigaOS4.1.6 on Sam440-flex @800MHz.
also running: Linux Debian 5 and Linux Kubuntu 12.04.
AmigaForever2012 user.
"iBatch" and "Boing Attitude" translation team.
Amiga Translator's Organization.