Amiga 1000 in computer history museum, ca

12 May 2006, 22:37

I called into the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, CA. Pretty much the heart of silicon valley, five miles from where the first Amigas were designed.

One of the first machines you see as you go in the door of the exhibit hall is an A1000, looking lonely and unused, in with all the old Apple, Atari and IBM hardware of the eighties and early nineties. The guys I went to the museum with joined me for beer afterwards, and we discussed stuff. I was shocked to realise none of them had *seen* an amiga before, never mind coded it. Back in Ireland, it seemed every kid my age either had one, or were wondering if they could sell a sibling's internal organs to get one.

It brought a tear to my eye, and I was wondering; what's the going rate for an A1000, or a A4000HD these days ? Are most of them long broken by now ? I'd love to get one & rekindle some memories. UAE just won't cut it.

john

Smiley · 12 May 2006, 22:44

Check out ebay for some Amigas.

A500 usually sell for around £20
A600 about £30
A1200 about £50-£70
A2000 about £35-£40
A3000 upwards of £100 i think
A4000s can cost upwards of £100 depending on hardware

Not sure if you know about the new power pc Amigas that run at 800mhz? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amigaone

DDNI · 12 May 2006, 22:56

About ye Valen! DDNI hailin from Belfast!

kriz · 12 May 2006, 23:11

Welcome back! I am posting this on my Amiga 4000

Check ebay for Amigas.. And please ask if questions!

mr_a500 · 12 May 2006, 23:51

Yeah, well I'm posting this from my A500. (so there

)

I got my A1000 with memory expansion for free!

Quote:

I was shocked to realise none of them had *seen* an amiga before, never mind coded it.

Yes, I know what you mean. Of all the people I have met, only one or two actually knows what an Amiga is. The rest just give blank looks like confused sheep and ask if it runs Windows.

Mick_AKA · 13 May 2006, 01:02

If you're after an A1000 they dont really tend to fetch a great deal on eBay.

Parsec · 13 May 2006, 01:28

That museum sounds like a cool place. Pity the americans never properly appreciated the Amiga though.

I'm not sure machines go for quite as much as the prices above. I got my AT A1200 for only 35 quid and most unexpanded machines go for that or less.

A500's don't seem to fetch much either, 10-15 quid seems to be the going rate.

Mick_AKA · 13 May 2006, 03:13

In the UK car boot sales are your best bet, the ammount of parents I se selling a sons old amiga for next to nothing, last A500 I picked up cost me 5 quid with a shed load of disks and a nice Supra Turbo attached to it

I tend to pick up A1200s (usually with acellerators or expansions) for around the 10 quid mark!

demoniac · 13 May 2006, 05:17

I have been wondering about that museum as I pass it 5 days a week. One of the Amiga designers, Ron Nicholson, is a occasional docent there. If you are still in MV area, I can probably give you an A1000. Not sure how you would ship it back home.

Mick_AKA · 13 May 2006, 13:34

yea you cant hide anything like that in a suitcase, the second it went into the x ray machine you would be hauled away, your bag blown up in a controlled explosion and bam! you're in guantanamo bay!

Althought going down in history as "The Amiga Bomber" could be pretty cool

mr_a500 · 13 May 2006, 14:14

Quote:

yea you cant hide anything like that in a suitcase, the second it went into the x ray machine you would be hauled away, your bag blown up in a controlled explosion and bam! you're in guantanamo bay!

Yeah, I went to the US with a bunch of handheld RF devices and barcode scanners in my bag (my company installed them) in 2000 and I guess in the x-ray looked suspicious. The security officer asked what was in the bag and I told him while I brought one out to show him. He freaked out and thought I was going to detonate or something then told me never to open a bag - "WE open the bags". I wonder what would have happened to me if this was AFTER 2001?

"We hope you enjoyed your flight on Guantanamo Airlines. Please notice that while the 'Fasten Seatbelts' sign is now off, you will be unable to unfasten them."

blade002 · 13 May 2006, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by valen

I was shocked to realise none of them had *seen* an amiga before, never mind coded it. Back in Ireland, it seemed every kid my age either had one, or were wondering if they could sell a sibling's internal organs to get one.

Yeah in Australia its pretty much the same thing. They all know what a Commodore 64 is, but none know what an Amiga is?

The next step for most people over here was to go to the PC after the C64 and not the Amiga which they had never heard of, but what i dont get is that the Amiga was Commodore's next big machine after the C64, and if you loved the C64 enough you would have known about the Amiga?.. but they never did???.. i dont know how it passed people by even though it was advertised on TV and that it was on display in the games section of most major outlets!.

It was even the major prize for some schools to win on kids games shows ???? How?, Why? did it not get noticed?. everyone else was forking out twice the amount for a CGA piece of crap that was the PC ????..

Very confused about that one

Jope · 14 May 2006, 09:14

Here in the nordic countries, everyone knows what an Amiga is. :-)

The C-64 and later the Amiga had incredible market penetration here back when either of them mattered for the general populace.

LocalH · 17 May 2006, 04:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by blade002

and if you loved the C64 enough you would have known about the Amiga?.. but they never did???.. i dont know how it passed people by even though it was advertised on TV and that it was on display in the games section of most major outlets!.

Commodore's marketing was horrible. Yeah, they advertised, but they didn't advertise enough. For example, the only magazine ads I saw for Amigas were in Amiga magazines, which kind of defeats the purpose. Sure, the 500 got some TV advertising, but not enough, as I don't ever remember actually seeing an Amiga commercial on TV in my area.

adolescent · 17 May 2006, 07:48

These friends of yours weren't really computer users back in the day then. Every old die-hard computer user from the 80s and early 90s I've spoken to has heard of, used, or even owned, an Amiga.

One of my old co-workers told me a story of how he drove from Orange County to San Jose to get an Amiga on the day it was released. He drove up at night (it's about a 6 hour drive), got a hotel room, and couldn't even sleep because of his level of anticipation. He got up the next morning, picked up the Amiga when the computer store opened, and drove straight back home to start using it! (BTW, he still has it and an A2000 in storage... knowing him, everything is boxed with reciepts. Might be a good thing to get pictures of some day...)

Widriksen · 17 May 2006, 19:22

I STILL have my old trusty Amiga 1000 (The first one officially released by Commodore Denmark!!!), and my Amiga 2000. Two rather large boxes with all sorts of disks...Demos, Music (Mostely Sonix), games, and other weird stuff.

One day when i get my appartment fixed up i'll unpack the 2000 again and set it up.
The one Amiga thing that is STILL in use today here, is the good old Commodore 1084 color monitor wich i use in my bedroom with my DVD player....;o)

12 May 2006, 22:37	#1
valen Posts: n/a	Amiga 1000 in computer history museum, ca I called into the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, CA. Pretty much the heart of silicon valley, five miles from where the first Amigas were designed. One of the first machines you see as you go in the door of the exhibit hall is an A1000, looking lonely and unused, in with all the old Apple, Atari and IBM hardware of the eighties and early nineties. The guys I went to the museum with joined me for beer afterwards, and we discussed stuff. I was shocked to realise none of them had seen an amiga before, never mind coded it. Back in Ireland, it seemed every kid my age either had one, or were wondering if they could sell a sibling's internal organs to get one. It brought a tear to my eye, and I was wondering; what's the going rate for an A1000, or a A4000HD these days ? Are most of them long broken by now ? I'd love to get one & rekindle some memories. UAE just won't cut it. john

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12 May 2006, 22:44	#2
Smiley Amiga-less! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,350	Check out ebay for some Amigas. A500 usually sell for around £20 A600 about £30 A1200 about £50-£70 A2000 about £35-£40 A3000 upwards of £100 i think A4000s can cost upwards of £100 depending on hardware Not sure if you know about the new power pc Amigas that run at 800mhz? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amigaone

12 May 2006, 22:56	#3
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,432	About ye Valen! DDNI hailin from Belfast!

12 May 2006, 23:11	#4
kriz Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: No(R)Way Age: 41 Posts: 3,195	Welcome back! I am posting this on my Amiga 4000 Check ebay for Amigas.. And please ask if questions!

13 May 2006, 01:02	#6
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	If you're after an A1000 they dont really tend to fetch a great deal on eBay.

13 May 2006, 01:28	#7
Parsec Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Lancashire Age: 49 Posts: 434	That museum sounds like a cool place. Pity the americans never properly appreciated the Amiga though. I'm not sure machines go for quite as much as the prices above. I got my AT A1200 for only 35 quid and most unexpanded machines go for that or less. A500's don't seem to fetch much either, 10-15 quid seems to be the going rate.

13 May 2006, 03:13	#8
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	In the UK car boot sales are your best bet, the ammount of parents I se selling a sons old amiga for next to nothing, last A500 I picked up cost me 5 quid with a shed load of disks and a nice Supra Turbo attached to it I tend to pick up A1200s (usually with acellerators or expansions) for around the 10 quid mark!

13 May 2006, 05:17	#9
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,696	I have been wondering about that museum as I pass it 5 days a week. One of the Amiga designers, Ron Nicholson, is a occasional docent there. If you are still in MV area, I can probably give you an A1000. Not sure how you would ship it back home.

13 May 2006, 13:34	#10
Mick_AKA crusader of light Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Stone, Staffordshire. Posts: 1,151	yea you cant hide anything like that in a suitcase, the second it went into the x ray machine you would be hauled away, your bag blown up in a controlled explosion and bam! you're in guantanamo bay! Althought going down in history as "The Amiga Bomber" could be pretty cool

14 May 2006, 09:14	#13
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,862	Here in the nordic countries, everyone knows what an Amiga is. :-) The C-64 and later the Amiga had incredible market penetration here back when either of them mattered for the general populace.

17 May 2006, 07:48	#15
adolescent Powered by Motorola Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Redondo Beach, CA Age: 52 Posts: 1,065	These friends of yours weren't really computer users back in the day then. Every old die-hard computer user from the 80s and early 90s I've spoken to has heard of, used, or even owned, an Amiga. One of my old co-workers told me a story of how he drove from Orange County to San Jose to get an Amiga on the day it was released. He drove up at night (it's about a 6 hour drive), got a hotel room, and couldn't even sleep because of his level of anticipation. He got up the next morning, picked up the Amiga when the computer store opened, and drove straight back home to start using it! (BTW, he still has it and an A2000 in storage... knowing him, everything is boxed with reciepts. Might be a good thing to get pictures of some day...)

17 May 2006, 19:22	#16
Widriksen Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Copenhagen / Denmark Age: 56 Posts: 14	I STILL have my old trusty Amiga 1000 (The first one officially released by Commodore Denmark!!!), and my Amiga 2000. Two rather large boxes with all sorts of disks...Demos, Music (Mostely Sonix), games, and other weird stuff. One day when i get my appartment fixed up i'll unpack the 2000 again and set it up. The one Amiga thing that is STILL in use today here, is the good old Commodore 1084 color monitor wich i use in my bedroom with my DVD player....;o)

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