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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.audio
- Subject: Amiga & Sound
- Message-ID: <92310.153803M-WHIT2@UMINN1.BITNET>
- From: Michael Whitten <M-WHIT2@UMINN1.BITNET>
- Date: Thursday, 5 Nov 1992 15:38:03 CST
- Organization: University of Minnesota - Computer & Information Services
- Lines: 64
-
-
- Nobody on the nets is saying much about the new Amigas and
- sound. Probably because there really isn't much to say. Commodore
- has never done one single thing for sound on its so-called
- 'multi-media' machine. Jay Miner did. The Amiga takes sole credit for
- the existence of a new music form/format - tracker modules, and
- anyone who deals with trackers knows that the current Amigas are
- capable of astounding music. Astounding because that music never
- existed before. By handing over now-crude hardware like four 8-bit
- audio channels to the masses, I believe Jay Miner created near-life --
- something unforeseen emerged. The Amiga's millions of users ran
- with that protoplasmic ball, while the Amiga's current keepers seem
- to have dropped it.
- The Amiga has always been equally viable on all multi-media fronts.
- Now, with the AGA chipset for graphics, we shift into our next level of
- visual standard, but, by disregarding sound, Commodore becomes
- the purveyor of a 'uni-media' machine.
- We all know that Miner et al originally conceived the Amiga as a
- game machine, but, I can't help think that the idea that "Hey....let's put
- all these different possibilities in ONE PLASTIC CASE and see what
- emerges?" must have run through their minds. I mean look what
- happens when you take a bunch of selected chemicals in one place
- and wait a few million years..........YOU happen. I think the spirit of the
- Amiga is (was) in its design team's philosophy - and not much related
- to that of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. While Mac and IBM
- developers were catering to already known purposes, the Amiga team
- probably was closer to Turing's original concept of 'universal machine'
- than any of them; I don't think they were concerned with exactly
- WHAT it would be used for as much as they were about engineering
- open-ended POSSIBILITIES. I think they wanted to leave exactly what
- those possibilities were up to you - the user. I always like to think of
- the Amiga as the 'universal artist tool'.
- Now, regarding the Amiga and sound, Commodore says it will
- follow up with later 'add-on' boards or some widget to hang off some
- port. This is a mistake. The whole impact of the Amiga - from its
- inception - has been that it has universality, ie, its fundamental
- capabilities are built-in and available to all Amigas from your low-end
- home machine to your pro high-end machine; this allows
- programmers to write in a new 'language'. This is how paradigms
- shift, this is how peoples' attitudes progress. I believe the Amiga is
- the first and only computer (of all things!) to actually become a
- medium....think about what that means. Marshall McLuhan did.
- What it means to me, now, is this: other designers are 'getting it'.
- I don't know if the Atari Falcon is real or not, but I've seen the specs
- and that's enough to realize that someone, somewhere understands
- what's at stake. I love my Amiga; it has both followed me and cleared
- a path for me, and remains the only economically-feasible computer
- capable of doing so. But as you might have gathered by now, my
- allegiance is to a spirit and not a plastic box. By this spirit, the
- failure of Commodore to include eight 16-bit D/A channels, DSP, and midi
- is a disappointment. Like George Bush, CBM had many years to invent
- and develop direction and its implementation. Arrive' derci, George.
- Well, my soap-box is teetering......I don't want to sound like some
- rebel leader in Platform Wars. As I said, I love my Amiga -- despite my
- whining, its still the best, but, like any relationship, its participants
- have to grow together. And if something better comes along - some
- better Keeper of the Flame - I wouldn't hesitate jumping ship.
-
- <X>
-
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- + Michael D. Whitten M-WHIT2@VM1.SPCS.UMN.EDU M-WHIT2@UMINN1 +
- + "Psst. Hey, Guido. Its all so clear to me, now." +
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-