The subscription price for Amiga Future with the cover CD comes out to $17.10 per issue mailed to my house. Is this magazine and CD worth that amount of money every other month, or is it better to just continue getting my Amiga info from sites like this one, and download software either for free from Aminet and other similar sites, or purchase software in the case of commercial entity selling it (like AmiStore)?

It has been a long time since I subscribed to an Amiga magazine, and I am skeptical that there is enough news in our community to justify a "real" magazine, even if it is bi-monthly, not monthly printed.

I do prefer reading actual magazines, than information online, but only if it is worth the high price and by that, I mean well done, good writing and graphic content, as well as (mostly) unbiased toward one segment of our fractured community, at the expense of the other splinter groups.

What other Amiga magazines are available still? Is Total Amiga available via subscription, and how does it compare to Amiga Future? I doubt I would need or want to purchase both, since they would be covering all the same content, and it is unlikely that one would have exclusive coverage of anything, that would therefore be left out of the other competing magazine.

@BoingBear

Ask yourself...

How did you feel when Amiga Format and CU Amiga disappeared in '98?



I know what i felt...

A deep, black, empty hole inside, that no amount of surfing for porn could fill.


It's been asked "What defines an Amiga, the hardware or the OS?"


Likewise i would argue that Football fans wouldn't be the same if Football magazines, TV airing of games, sales of those dorky Football shirts and all the FUZZ around the actual CORE of their passion.

Being an Amiga fan, feels better when we got a Magazine to remind us that "It"s actually not ONLY me, sitting in front of this obscure, weird, different computer, putting lots of effort, getting tasks that would be mundane and taken for granted on Windows.

I had to configure the forward and back in Odyssey to work with my mouse, and i there was no Norwegian language in the utility "Preferences", so i did it myself, and i actually ENJOYED it.

But having other sources about my weird love for the computer around, sure as hell makes it more magic.

It's all about the total experience, the FEELING.


So... have you reflected on the question at the top by now?

@BoingBear
Amiga Future is the only English language Amiga magazine nowadays. Total Amiga closed in 2007. There's a swedish magazine called Amiga Forum, but I've never seen an issue so can't comment on it.

I've been buying Amiga Future on a semi-regular basis since it went colour and definitely think there's sufficient content for a bi-monthly magazine. It's not perfect by any means. The English translation can be difficult to read (though has improved recently) and the AROS coverage is lacking (they cover distributions such as Icaros Desktop, but rarely review new software that appear on http://archives.aros-exec.org/. I assume this is due to a lack of writers with AROS experience rather than a deliberate attempt to exclude certain users). However, they manage to fill 52 glossy pages with content.

Is it worth the asking price? It's difficult to say. You can keep up to date with Amiga developments without it. I tend to buy it for the company profiles and feature rather than news coverage, so feel I get some benefit. It costs around £8.70 in the UK, so I can't justify every issue. I particularly recommend issues 107, 114, 115 and 117 if you're looking for Amiga Future at its best (IMHO of course).

If you're primarily interested in Amiga homebrew developments and classic games, Retro Gamer may be a better choice. It can be bought from Barnes & Noble in the US (I've heard) and their Amiga Book is only £4.99 + postage for 180 pages at the moment.

Last edited by gareth_k on 06-Jun-2016 at 11:47 PM.
Last edited by gareth_k on 06-Jun-2016 at 11:14 PM.

@BoingBear

amiga future is expensive compared with normal magazines, certainly, but i look forward to every issue. it's terrific still having a print periodical in an age when even macworld is no longer in print. you can also get subscriptions without the CD, which are less costly.

total amiga was a tremendously good publication, but, alas, it's no longer extant. in fact its cessation was the reason for amiga future to start an english-language edition. what i did was purchase a couple of issues from a dealer to see if i liked it, and eventually got a subscription directly from APC&TCP. i've been doing this for the past 5+ years now. i think it's worth it, but only you can make that call.

as an aside, i don't know if you're physically located in the USA, but if you come out to amiwest this october, there's always at least two years worth of back-issues to read through.

-- eliyahu

Last edited by eliyahu on 06-Jun-2016 at 11:50 PM.

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"Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal."

@BoingBear

up to you decide but myself its cell worth it and look forward to each edition there's always something new I find out even though I'm on Amiga sites every day ad I'm of school and enjoy reading a real magazine in thus all digital era

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