Editorial | Italian version Deutsch version |
In a science-fiction masterpiece of P.H. Dick we can see a fight between an
intrinsic regression trend of substance towards archetype forms and a
misterious regenerative power, the Ubik. In this fanciful world of
non-alives, time flows backwards: for example a modern computer is turned
at first in a calculating machine, then in an abacus.
Science fiction?? I can't say that, the same thing happened to Amiga.
The '80s Amiga was an extreme sinthesys of power and semplicity, a dream
become true which allowed things never seen before with the greatest ease.
With a deep sorrow we have seen the bad management wasting the advantage
of more than 10 years over competition: under our eyes that little and
marvellous jewel regressed at first to a good system with little software,
then to an acceptable compromise between elegance and calculation power,
and finally a victim of the same problems for which we criticised PCs.
PowerUps with expensive and not to be found Simms, Intuition with thousands
of patches that butt to each other, our good system seems to have lost the
magic of that years. Confined in a dark corner of the same information
technology we once claimed to revolutionize, nowadays we are considered the
"non-alives": the press doesn't give us enought space, it's hard to find
new software, even harder spare parts.
However, as in the novel of Dick, there is a huge force opposing this
decadence, fearlessly trying to recover the tecnological leadership: the
strength of ideas and ideals, that joins minds in a no-limits war.
It's the force of Amiga Group Italia, which is stipulating an agreement
with Pluricom (the new publisher of Byte and MC-Microcomputer) for the
release of a new Amiga-oriented magazine!
I's the force of Diff, another new web-based magazine enjoiable under
subscription, which joins again Eng. Paolo Canali and Sergio Ruocco
discussing about Amiga and alternative systems.
It's the force of AmyWorld that since eight months is offering us real-time
information, now available also in english, portuguese, serbian (NATO
permitting..) and german as well.
It's the force of working together for a project.
It's not just abstract ''idealism'', unable to change the world, considering
that also the software-giant Corel announced to be likely supporting new
Amigas...
With the same speed of a UBIK spray, what seemed dead regains
brightness and greatness. Did someone buzz about a bankruptcy of PhaseV??
So there, preceded by a hiss, the announce of new G3/G4 cards (also for
A1200). It's a implicit challenge to Met@box AG, known before as Pios
Computer AG (does this rememind you of something?): the society leaded by
Dave Haynie which a short time before announced PPC 750/333mhz for Amigas...
The freely distributable software world comes back to boil again with
portings like Netscape and with new releases by italian developers,
including Darkage Software.
And what can we say about the designation of Jim Collas from Senior Vice
President of Gateway's Product Development and Management to president of
Amiga Inc? It' s clearly a trust demonstration into Amiga, a clear proof
showing the interest for new technology (we don't know how much it'll be a
heir of actual Amigas) which, in their plans, should change the conception
of home information-technology...
A deep scepticism remains, indeed, a sad reality with few developers and
nearly no market nor certainties.
What's important is that at the present -now at least- the regression stopped, allowing us to work for a better future. There's still life in Amiga, there are still strength, ideas and dreams. And until there's life, there'll be someone that will tell about Amiga.
Traduzione di Luca Rossi
Contact: paulpetty@iname.com |