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Dave73
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Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 26-Sep-2016 21:53:58
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| Hi folks,
I know you've seen a thousand posts like this, I have to ask for help getting back into the Amiga scene.
Much as my account here at AW says I'm a noobie, I have actually been around since... 2001? A long time. Mostly as a lurker, which is why I needed a new account. The old account was tied to a long-lost email service.
I've followed the Amiga story since my first Amiga, an A2000 that I got new, followed by a sweet A3000. As a creative filmmaker/artist, the Amiga fit like a glove. As much as I love to play with programming, I am not a coder or a comp-sci guy. I think of myself as an informed user.
I've avoided the infighting and nascent developments in the Amiga scene since the mid-90's. I watched, I waited for a solid (and reasonably priced) release of real Amiga hardware. A couple of times I thought I would buy a new OS4 machine, but that always seems to require > $1500 and is usually impossible due to hardware shortages.
While I keep hoping for a cheap PPC system to run OS4, I turn to other options. The two most realistic options currently seem to be AROS or Amiga Forever-supported emulation.
My needs/wants in an Amiga are fairly straightforward. I'm hoping for a system that is quick, reliable, and supports the few things I need my laptop to do (writing and accessing text files.)
I need: - a text editor and/or word processor, to write plain text - a web browser that will let me access and store text files on Dropbox or Google Drive - access to a USB stick to save and share text files - an occasional game (nothing demanding) - preferably, this would run on my ThinkPad R500 (which is a Core2Duo laptop.) It currently has Ubuntu but I am willing to wipe it and start fresh
I'd love your input as to how feasible these solutions are for this use:
- AROS - running natively? hosted on Ubuntu? - FS-UAE on Ubuntu, with Amiga Forever, running OS 3.x - FS-UAE on Ubuntu, with Amiga Forever, running OS 4.1 (purchased separately) - Amiga Forever KX Light image of OS 3.x, booting from a USB stick or installed to the ThinkPad harddrive - Windows 10 (purchased separately) to run full Amiga Forever utilities and set up some other UAE hosted on Windows 10.
I'd love to get your opinion!
Dave (aka Filmamigo) |
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BigD
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 26-Sep-2016 22:09:55
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Elite Member |
Joined: 11-Aug-2005 Posts: 7327
From: UK | | |
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| @Dave73
None of those options sound any fun. Buying an Amiga 600 off Ebay and a Vampire 2 FPGA accelerator board seems the thing to do at the moment _________________ "Art challenges technology. Technology inspires the art." John Lasseter, Co-Founder of Pixar Animation Studios |
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NutsAboutAmiga
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 26-Sep-2016 22:35:52
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Elite Member |
Joined: 9-Jun-2004 Posts: 12825
From: Norway | | |
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NutsAboutAmiga
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 26-Sep-2016 22:39:30
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Joined: 9-Jun-2004 Posts: 12825
From: Norway | | |
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Rob
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 26-Sep-2016 22:58:08
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Joined: 20-Mar-2003 Posts: 6359
From: S.Wales | | |
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| @Dave73
If I ran AROS I'd probably run it natively. It's free anyway so it's a no brainer to at least give it a try. I'd consider hosted as a plan B if there were any driver issues running it native.
Amiga Forever is a well put together package and it's worth purchasing for legal versions of the OS up to 3.1. OS4.1 is severely limited under emulation but €30 is a lot less than a real PPC system if you want to get a taste of it. It's probably worth trying all the options you mention and seeing which suits you best.
Don't forget MorphOS too. Old Mac PPC hardware can be had for very little outlay and MorphOS is free to try , it slows down after 2 hours use each time it's booted so there's unlimited time to evaluate and if you don't decide to register you should be able to sell it on easily enough. Morphzone is good place to ask for info and you might even find a fully setup system for sale there.
Tabor is supposed to be a lower cost system. Hopefully we'll find out the price and how well it runs at during Amiwest.
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tekmage
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 6:57:53
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Regular Member |
Joined: 23-Mar-2005 Posts: 439
From: San Francisco | | |
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| @Dave73
Welcome back! AmiWest is in a few weeks, should be some good announcements there. if you can afford the X5K it nice and fast. Otherwise I'd recommend Amiga Forever since it gives you the most complete and simplelist way to run Aros, OS3 , AmigaKit, and AmigaOS 4.
Cheers, Bill "tekmage" Borsari |
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wawa
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 7:31:12
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Elite Member |
Joined: 21-Jan-2008 Posts: 6259
From: Unknown | | |
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| simply and plain: get an amiga. it doesnt need to be a 600. then you might get a vampire accel for it or run aros on it or use uae alongside or whatever. you may get an amigaforever or something but it isnt a necessity. btw i would recommend to use winuae rather than fs-uae if this is an option.
what concerns aros, especially hosted on linux (ubuntu), you can simply try it out. no hassle. costs nothing, easy to set up. im using it all the time, but only for testing purposes as my main interest remains with genuine amiga and 68k architecture. Last edited by wawa on 27-Sep-2016 at 07:36 AM. Last edited by wawa on 27-Sep-2016 at 07:36 AM. Last edited by wawa on 27-Sep-2016 at 07:33 AM. Last edited by wawa on 27-Sep-2016 at 07:32 AM.
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SACC-dude
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 7:42:06
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Regular Member |
Joined: 16-May-2005 Posts: 295
From: Sacramento, CA | | |
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| @tekmage
Actually, AmiWest2016 is in 10 days!
Quote:
tekmage wrote: @Dave73
Welcome back! AmiWest is in a few weeks, should be some good announcements there. if you can afford the X5K it nice and fast. Otherwise I'd recommend Amiga Forever since it gives you the most complete and simplelist way to run Aros, OS3 , AmigaKit, and AmigaOS 4.
Cheers, Bill "tekmage" Borsari |
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Severin
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 13:55:11
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Elite Member |
Joined: 19-Aug-2003 Posts: 2740
From: Gloucestershire UK | | |
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| @Dave73
First, Flock off. we're a Pack, far too stubbon, independant, grumpy etc. to be in any type of herd.
Second, igonre the trolls, a classic Amiga isn't going to do what you need unless it's fully kitted out.
Third, Start with the cheapest option, try it for a few sessions, you'll soon know if it doesn't feel right.
Most of what you want is no problem, dropbox & googledrive are, simplest solution is to network to a phone (ftp) or non-amiga computer (smbfs) and send the files from those.
Personally if I wanted to get started now with limited funds I'd be looking round for a 2nd user Sam-Flex, A nice stable middle of the pack machine or as a last resort a compatable G4 / G5 mac and morphos. Before the trolls start, morphos just doesn't feel right to me, end of story. _________________ OS4 Rocks X1000 beta tester, Sam440 Flex (733)
Visit the Official OS4 Support Site for more help.
It may be that your sole purpose is to serve as a warning to others. |
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 13:59:57
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @BigD
Yep, at the moment a 600 + Vampire 2 sounds great. Then I look on the Bay and see that A600s are going for $300+ and that $300+ Vampire 2s are in short supply unless you go to eBay for $700+.
Those are disheartening prices when you think of the age of an A600, and how little they sold for originally.
There are so many other threads about this stuff, I don't want to beat a dead horse. I would pull out a credit card and buy a complete OS 4 machine if it was available and less than $1000. As that's not available, I am looking at hardware I already have (ThinkPad, Macbook Pro.) Heck I'm even considering a Raspberry Pi 3 for AROS or UAE.
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 14:06:47
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @Severin
I wasn't picturing a flock of birds or sheep...
I was thinking more of a "religious" flock... like a cult! |
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 14:07:45
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @tekmage
Awesome, I'll keep up with the news from AmiWest! |
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 14:08:21
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @Rob
Thanks. Tabor eh? More hardware for me to research, I hadn't run across that one yet. |
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 14:10:49
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @NutsAboutAmiga
I hear you. I loved hitting the power button on my Amigas, and BAM they were up and running.
I like to tinker, but hate the thought of spending three weeks trying to get layer after layer of emulation and operating system running...
Nothing beats real hardware and purpose-designed OS/software. |
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Severin
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 14:24:32
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Elite Member |
Joined: 19-Aug-2003 Posts: 2740
From: Gloucestershire UK | | |
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| @Dave73
Religious flocks are often refered to as sheep here which is the fundamental problem of most religions, sheep have to be controlled and herded (M$ & Crapple) whereas if it was based on goats they need to be lead (The eternal shoe or gourd debate)... _________________ OS4 Rocks X1000 beta tester, Sam440 Flex (733)
Visit the Official OS4 Support Site for more help.
It may be that your sole purpose is to serve as a warning to others. |
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Beans
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 16:49:18
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Regular Member |
Joined: 26-Aug-2016 Posts: 447
From: Bear Delaware USA | | |
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| @Severin
Shoe or gourd debate? That took some thinking to decipher.
And its not a herd, flock, or pack. Its factions (with an 's'). _________________ Amiga! "Our appeal has become more selective" |
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Rob
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 17:33:24
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Elite Member |
Joined: 20-Mar-2003 Posts: 6359
From: S.Wales | | |
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| @Dave73
The news release is below:
http://a-eon.biz/news/News_Release_A1222.pdf
The CPU core in the Tabor has a non standard FPU has there's currently a question over how fast it will run software but that should be answered once we see it on display. Hopefully OS4 on it will debut at Amiwest. |
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wawa
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 18:40:52
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Elite Member |
Joined: 21-Jan-2008 Posts: 6259
From: Unknown | | |
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| @Rob
Quote:
The CPU core in the Tabor has a non standard FPU has there's currently a question over how fast it will run software but that should be answered once we see it on display. Hopefully OS4 on it will debut at Amiwest. |
the question is wheter someone who has no experience with os4 should immediately be advised to get a hardware that is not yet released, os4 support not finished, its functionality with os4 questionable and its future availability and price uncertain. perhaps if he wants to try out os4 he should get the version for uae first. admittedly it would not be the best experience, especially considering the limitations it has against the original amigaos, but still it could deliver some sort of preview of what it is featurewise. |
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Dave73
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 19:48:21
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Joined: 21-Sep-2016 Posts: 43
From: Toronto, Canada | | |
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| @wawa @NutsAboutAmiga
Can someone point me to information about what the drawbacks are of running OS4 on UAE?
Folks clearly feel it's a less-than-optimal experience. I see how that is likely. But I can't find a description of what that actually means to a user.
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Zylesea
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Re: Help me rejoin the flock... Posted on 27-Sep-2016 20:07:52
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Elite Member |
Joined: 16-Mar-2004 Posts: 2263
From: Ostwestfalen, FRG | | |
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| @Dave73
Get a MorphOS machine: - cheap - powerful - very stable - very high compability
I suggest to get a Mac mini or Powerbook 5.8 or 5.6. The hardware is fully supported (WLAN, LAN, Audio, Firewire, usb, powrrful 3D gfx drivers, Blutooth is limited to HID devices though). If you want something to tinker with get an Efika (they go very cheap, are limited, but fun), if you want to spend as little money as possible get en eMac or PowerMac G4. If you want the fastest system available get a G5. If you also want to run OS4 get a Pegasos II. The hardware choice is plenty, the prices for suitable hardware starts a tenner or even less .
If you don't know about MorphOS I suggest http://via.i-networx.de/wim.htm as a starter.
MorphOS demo is free of charge, registration fee varies between 49 and 111 EUR (updates are fee). _________________ My programs: via.bckrs.de MorphOS user since V0.4 (2001) |
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