why amiga?

[Buleste]

Because the Amiga has done for me much more than any other computer ever did (and will ever do).

Well Amiga does mean Girlfriend and i could never imagine calling a PC or Mac girlfriend.

[Stephen Coates]

Maybe Amigas can do more than 3/486s? They could also be more expandable and have more people interested in developing software for them.

I'd say that the good sounds/graphics capabilities could make it more useful than a PC.

[Sharingan]

The games from that era were simply some of the most memorable, ever. Even though next-gen games have more bells and whistles when it comes to graphics and sound, nothing offered nowadays can really rival the gameplay and concepts that we saw back then.

Yeah, I used the Amiga mainly for games, so I can't comment much on the productivity side of things.

[woody.cool]

I mean, non of us still use 386/486 pcs anymore!

So why do we still use the Amigas?

I don't know, if I had room for it I wouldn't mind having an old DOS rig set up. But as it is I don't even have space for any Amiga to be set up permanently.

I still have a 486SX set up in my bedroom, which I use to play old DOS games
The Amiga still gets lots more use though.

Maybe Amigas can do more than 3/486s? They could also be more expandable and have more people interested in developing software for them.

I'd say that the good sounds/graphics capabilities could make it more useful than a PC.

From a games perspective, the Amiga could do more than a PC. When the Amiga first came out, it was miles better than the PC, it's a shame the PC overtook it.

[Quagmire]

I still use the Amiga for Artwork, it's somehow easier to get stuff done and be more creative on when you have all your apps running at once, It just takes a day to render the final pic.

[taunusanden]

Why?
Why does some people fix up an old car?
Because that is what we want to have

I had Amiga when I was a kid, I still have my A500/600/CDTV from back then.
Now I'm just so luckey that I have a nice A4000 system, witch I could only dream of back then :-)
I use it almost every day, for internet, mail, jabberwockey & a few games. And I like it

[rossi46]

Why Amiga?

Because the Bitmap Brothers!


Gods, Chaos Engine, Speedball 2, Magic Pockets, yes - even Cadaver.

Classics.

[Harrison]

The original developers somehow managed to combine their passions and install them into the custom chipset beating inside it. This inspired the creative members of the games industry to innovate and develop most of the game genres we now see today.

While today games continue to develop in terms of technical ability. Higher quality graphics, faster realtime rendering and particle effects and surround sound, the actual core elements of all the current games are still routed in the genres and concepts developed and perfected on the Amiga.

And Amiga games just don't seem to date in the same way as recent 3D games of the past 13 years. Play an early PSX game and your memories of the game will disappoint you. However play one of the great games from the Amiga and you will get the memories flooding back and the enjoyment still there.

The Amiga was responsible for inspiring the games industry. But possibly more importantly it was also single handedly responsible for making the demo scene what we know and enjoy to this day, drawing those who began on the C64 into a larger more creative environment, and ultimately leading many from the demo scene into the games industry of today.

For me these and many others are the reasons I still use and enjoy the Amiga.

The PC didn't match the Amiga until 10 years after the Amiga was launched. And it was only due to the sudden interest in the first wave of true 3D games like Doom and Wing Commander that people suddenly saw the PC as a viable alternative to the Amiga and consoles as a true gaming platform. Games developed on the Amiga before this point just don't have the equivalents on the PC of the time.

Aside from games and demos I do have to admit that I don't really use Amiga for any productivity software any longer. I did until about 1998, using graphics and 3D packages for my college and the first part of my university work. But by 1998 PC processing power, ram and HD sizes were leaving the Amiga technology behind and the productivity softwares power with it. If Adobe suddenly released a version of Photoshop for the PPC Amiga then I would instantly switch back!