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MegaDisc 27 (1992-03)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 1 of 2)[WB].zip
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MegaDisc 27 (1992-03)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 1 of 2)[WB].adf
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Articles
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Amiga_Upgrades
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Amiga_Upgrades
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Text File
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1992-03-30
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4KB
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86 lines
Amiga Upgrade Paths
by John Knight
Ed: Has anyone got any further comments relating to this interesting and
perplexing (and possibly expensive) matter?
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John's BIO-PIC:
I am a 38 year-old Database Adminstrator (poor man's System Programmer?)
who first saw the delights of an Amiga from a friend (haven't we all?)
some 4 years ago and promptly bought one. I have an A500 with 3Meg and a
Golden Image Hand Scanner (good fun), Netcomm modem (smart alec one) ,
second floppy drive but no hard drive. DTP is my main game - I publish a
16-20 page magazine every month for work - but I also enjoy just pottering
around and playing games. Love reading Megadisc, and contributing to it!
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After reading Paul McLachlan's article (MD26) on the Amiga and The Rest
(Computers Compared), I was spurred on to write this little article on what
bugs me about the way that Commodore are handling the Amiga. I hope that
Paul's observations come true (and thanks for the article Paul) but I do
have some concerns.
My dilemma lies with the problems of upgrading. My close-to-4-years-old
A500 is starting to suffer occasional df0: problems (not too bad, yet) and
a couple of keyboard problems ("U" key and cursor-right key). Since it is
still running WB 1.2, and I'd dearly love to upgrade, but I can't afford to
spend too much (else I'd get a 3000), I am faced with the problem of which
way to go.
There are so many options to chose from. Here is a short list and, to
keep it complete, I won't talk about the pricing.
- A new A500
- Wait for the A500P
- Get an A2000
- Get a CDTV
- Get the A690(?) CDTV attachment
- Get a 3000
- Buy a second hand machine
The list might look small, but there are problems with each selection.
I'd dearly like to get a CDTV (or attachment) so I might chose the CDTV
unit itself. The trouble is, that I'd then need to go and get external
drives, a keyboard and a memory expansion module. All the A500 species
(including the CDTV) use the old 68000 processor which is showing its age.
Progressing to WB 2.0 will require a new monitor if you wish to make the
best use of the new operating system. The new A500P doesn't have 1.3
support, nor is it likely to take the Baseboard Expansion unit (RAM) that I
currently enjoy. Some software won't run on the new Operating System. The
A2000 has an unpredictable supported life and the new A3000 is just too
expensive.
Apart from this, just to add more fuel to the fire, there are rumours of
some still newer releases imminent. Does Commodore really have a
direction? I doubt it - they seem as confused as me! What I would hope
for, is a new A500 model with a 68030, WB 2.0, better graphics chips so we
can see more than 64 colours (or the 4096 available in HAM) and a further
enhanced sound system. That would make the IBM camp sit up and take
notice. As it currently stands, how can you really show your friends just
how great the Amiga is, when they can get more for their money by buying an
IBM clone, or possibly even an original IBM!
Well, my advice to anyone would be to sit back and wait. In the meantime,
Commodore will undoubtedly come up with some new models to confuse the
upgrade path even more.
What to do?
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