What “blows your mind” about using an Amiga in 2018?

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by roondar

It might sound a bit over the top, but I genuinely believe that this type of 'adversity' allowed me to 'grow up' a lot better than those amongst us who started taking it very personally.

The world is a diverse place, people might not like you, what you do or even what you look like or who or what you believe in (or not as the case may be). The important thing to learn (IMHO) is to accept this and just, well, move on with life.

Yeah I agree with your post mainly, but I think the “grow up” comment is a little unfair/callous.

From my work it’s become very obvious that people have wildly varying innate, inbuilt levels of sensitivity to things like confrontation, criticism etc etc.

You were able, with your own variables and starting point, to accept what you needed to in order to be happy. Please don’t assume that we are all coming from the same starting point.

[roondar]

Right, this is fairly off topic, apologies for that.

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

Yeah I agree with your post mainly, but I think the “grow up” comment is a little unfair/callous.

You know, I agree. I didn’t intend it to be callous at all, but yeah you could read it that way. Perhaps ‘learn to cope’ would’ve been better.

From my work it’s become very obvious that people have wildly varying innate, inbuilt levels of sensitivity to things like confrontation, criticism etc etc.

This is very true. I am actually fairly sensitive to stuff like that, but learned to cope over the years. In part due to repeated exposure as a result of being that guy with the weird computer. Strange as that might sound.

You were able, with your own variables and starting point, to accept what you needed to in order to be happy. Please don’t assume that we are all coming from the same starting point.

I sadly know quite a bit about mental health issues and a lack of happiness, don’t take my post as me saying these things are a sign of needing to have to grow up or anything like that.

That said, I sometimes wonder if the way that society at large presents certain problems might not hinder people who suffer from say minority stress. What I’m getting at is controversial perhaps, but being told by your peers that what you go through is bad/oppressive (even though it’s actually correct) might just hinder your ability to cope.

Case in point, I was taught that some people finding me weird or strange or less in some way is more or less how people are/life is - some people are nice, some are not and some things in life are ‘fair’ and others are not. And thus, I had to learn how to cope.

On the other hand, societies stand on how evil mistreatment of minorities is (while very much accurate!), might just reinforce feelings of how unjust any such treatment you* received is (Which, IMHO, may contribute to your levels of stress/depression/etc). It’s a complex issue because you’re not going to get rid of unreasonable people, so what do you do?

*) not you personally, but rather someone having these problems.

Anyway, I think I’ve cluttered up this thread enough now, so if you’d like to talk more about this, let’s either PM or make an off topic thread about it.

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by roondar

Right, this is fairly off topic, apologies for that.


You know, I agree. I didn’t intend it to be callous at all, but yeah you could read it that way. Perhaps ‘learn to cope’ would’ve been better.


This is very true. I am actually fairly sensitive to stuff like that, but learned to cope over the years. In part due to repeated exposure as a result of being that guy with the weird computer. Strange as that might sound.


I sadly know quite a bit about mental health issues and a lack of happiness, don’t take my post as me saying these things are a sign of needing to have to grow up or anything like that.

That said, I sometimes wonder if the way that society at large presents certain problems might not hinder people who suffer from say minority stress. What I’m getting at is controversial perhaps, but being told by your peers that what you go through is bad/oppressive (even though it’s actually correct) might just hinder your ability to cope.

Case in point, I was taught that some people finding me weird or strange or less in some way is more or less how people are/life is - some people are nice, some are not and some things in life are ‘fair’ and others are not. And thus, I had to learn how to cope.

On the other hand, societies stand on how evil mistreatment of minorities is (while very much accurate!), might just reinforce feelings of how unjust any such treatment you* received is (Which, IMHO, may contribute to your levels of stress/depression/etc). It’s a complex issue because you’re not going to get rid of unreasonable people, so what do you do?

*) not you personally, but rather someone having these problems.

Anyway, I think I’ve cluttered up this thread enough now, so if you’d like to talk more about this, let’s either PM or make an off topic thread about it.

Thanks for clarifying, I completely get where you are coming from.

The only thing I would say is that, in my experience (and I stress this is just the people I have worked with) aside from a small percentage of people we call the “invulnerable”, people generally don’t cope with trauma/hardship/discrimination.

Heavy scars being made are the normal thing, at least how I have seen it, and this is whether the abuse is “called out” or not.

I’m just trying to fix the resultant mess, and through that, hopefully fix myself at the same time.

Happy for you to PM me at any point

[Gordon]

For me it is still WHDload.

[Cobe]

I know many wont agree but after I try something under emulation it blows my mind when I run it on real hw and see it on CRT if I hear floppy its even better

[sean_sk]

Originally Posted by Cobe

I know many wont agree but after I try something under emulation it blows my mind when I run it on real hw and see it on CRT if I hear floppy its even better

I completely agree. I prefer playing Amiga games on a CRT and from floppy disks. For me there is great satisfaction popping in physical media and hearing all the clicks and whirrs that go along with it.

[Paulee_Bow]

I haven’t CRT’d yet.

I’m using a cheap LCD TV.

I was AMAZED that the hi-res modes don’t flicker anymore???

I would have killed for that in the early 90’s.

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

This might warrant its own thread, but yes, shame. I believe that Amiga users may have felt something called “minority stress” for a long time and as a mental health professional I have been reflecting upon my own past feelings of shame and isolation that came with being an Amiga user at a certain point in time. This point in time was about 18 years ago when I left the Amiga behind for the first time, and last, I hope.

I think you have a point there, and it probably also forms a divide amongst Amiga users between those who "jumped ship" in time — thereby having mostly joyous memories of their Amiga time — and the diehards who endured the shame.

There is an old term for this: "Amiga persecution complex"

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by idrougge

I think you have a point there, and it probably also forms a divide amongst Amiga users between those who "jumped ship" in time — thereby having mostly joyous memories of their Amiga time — and the diehards who endured the shame.

There is an old term for this: "Amiga persecution complex"

I don’t see it anymore thankfully. Amiga’s can be seen out and about as dignified museum pieces, as cool “secret weapons” in people’s music studios (I’m planning to set mine up permanently next to my C64c MSSIAH in the cave) and generally cool-looking devices, that ironic cool looking people with ironic NHS glasses and ironic hairspray hair could type on whilst looking cool.

Simple two player party games could easily draw a layman in, SWOS or what have you. No one is gonna be down on us for using Amiga’s any more

[project23]

For years i was occasionally taunted for saying 'amigas are better than PCs' during high school.

When I first said it in 94, as far as the PCs the average family owned, it was true! I remember playing Dune on a friends fathers PC and being aghast at the god awful sound. Sure, at this point the cutting edge could do a lot better, but the cutting edge just wasn't representative of what people actually owned.

The insanely rapid development of PCs and the 'a computer in every home' win 95 craze, however, meant that this claim very very quickly looked ridiculous.

[kolla]

Originally Posted by Gordon

For me it is still WHDload.

Yeah, WHDLoad is magic. I love how I can run a clean OS3.1 (or even 1.3) temporarily with WHDLoad, just booting off from a drawer - perfect for programs that for whatever reason don't run so well with thoroughly hacked&patched OS3.9

http://www.whdload.de/apps/alla.html

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by kolla

Yeah, WHDLoad is magic. I love how I can run a clean OS3.1 (or even 1.3) temporarily with WHDLoad, just booting off from a drawer - perfect for programs that for whatever reason don't run so well with thoroughly hacked&patched OS3.9

http://www.whdload.de/apps/alla.html

What blows me away is the constant development going on of WHDLOAD installs.

I got a load of preinstalled games and most of them were 2007/2013 versions, some didn’t work on my fast, full of RAM 68000 machine and I thought “crap, well that’s that.” Crashes, loading saving issues, etc.

NOAUTOVEC and the like kinda helped on some but not on all.

But, looking on the WHDLoad webpage (which looks gloriously 1997 by the way, don’t ever change the look!) there’s lots of new installs available that let us 68000 users join the party and often get quit key support too.

It feels really nice to be catered for like that.

[8bitbubsy]

What blows my mind about using an Amiga in 2018 is the fact that some people use only Amigas as their main desktop computer, saying that it fulfills all their daily tasks. I wonder how limited their daily tasks on the computer are, then... And the people that talk about all the music, video editing and modern surfing you can do on an Amiga. If you don't care about fidelity, VSTs, complex DSP effects, high resolution video, modern editing effects, modern compression, fast frame rates, modern websites which use html5 and javascript, modern gaming, modern communication programs, fast 3D graphics etc, then yes I can understand you. At least I'm open-minded enough to enjoy modern technology.

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

What blows my mind about using an Amiga in 2018 is the fact that some people use only Amigas as their main desktop computer, saying that it fulfills all their daily tasks. I wonder how limited their daily tasks on the computer are, then... And the people that talk about all the music, video editing and modern surfing you can do on an Amiga. If you don't care about fidelity, VSTs, complex DSP effects, high resolution video, modern editing effects, modern compression, fast frame rates, modern websites which use html5 and javascript, modern gaming, modern communication programs, fast 3D graphics etc, then yes I can understand you. At least I'm open-minded enough to enjoy modern technology.

In my case I use the Amiga alongside a full directory of VSTs and 30+ hardware synthesizers and it fits in fine

[8bitbubsy]

And the VSTs are running on the Amiga itself?

[Paulee_Bow]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

And the VSTs are running on the Amiga itself?

Hahaha no!

I do have every interesting software instrument and effect that can run on a 68000 though. And also use assembly code to turn on Paula’s channel AM.

My favourite is probably sonic arranger, it does crazy stuff.

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

Hahaha no!

Was not thinking about the old 680x0 Amigas here, but the new tower versions that aren't made by Commodore. If someone were to use an Amiga as their main computer, it would probably be one of these. Naturally an old 680x0 Amiga won't have the processing power to do VSTs.

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

And also use assembly code to turn on Paula’s channel AM.

Paula's AM/FM synthesis is so limited that it's not appealing to me at all. Not to mention that it needs a whole dedicated channel to operate, which is a costly sacrifice.

[Paulee_Bow]

Yeah it seems no one else cares.

I love AM, Paula sounds kinda similar to the Kawai K1.
And due to having other instruments, I don’t mind it’s use as a monophonic/duophonic sound source.

Made some cool stuff by ring modulating drum tracks with some waves, or doing AM with long ominous low bit rate pads, very sci fi sounding.

I am like a mad f***int scientist though.

[grond]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

Paula's AM/FM synthesis is so limited that it's not appealing to me at all.

Yes, just like flutes: just one voice and one sound. So incredibly limited. How could Mozart write entire concerts for flutes?

No, seriously, Paula is a musical instrument. Use it/her if you want to have the Paula sound in your music. There is no reason to use her for everything and pretend that no better synthesizer has been conceived in the past 33 years...

[8bitbubsy]

Originally Posted by grond

Yes, just like flutes: just one voice and one sound. So incredibly limited. How could Mozart write entire concerts for flutes?

No, seriously, Paula is a musical instrument. Use it/her if you want to have the Paula sound in your music. There is no reason to use her for everything and pretend that no better synthesizer has been conceived in the past 33 years...

A flute has dynamics way beyond the limited static-sounding PCM Paula. Not exactly a good comparison, and if Paula is a musical instrument, then it's a pretty soulless and limited one! But then again, people managed to make awesome music even with very limited digital synths, so yeah.

Anyways, the sample is pretty much everything in Paula-based music.