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{subhead} The Amiga In Your Country{def}{p}
Article by Mark Tierno, Chris Seward & various readers
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A little while ago, several AIO readers were surveyed to see what the
Amiga scene is like in their part of the world.  Each was asked the same
set of questions and allowed to answer as freely as he or she chose.
This article is the results of that survey, and should shed some light
on how our favorite computer is doing the world over.
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First the questions. The following are the questions that each person
was asked, each numbered so as to more easily reference the answers
given by each person surveyed.
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{bold}Question 1:{nobold}{p}
In detail please explain the current situation of the Amiga in your
country, giving details of how far you have to go for an amiga
retailer and the type of support you can get in your area through
user groups or any other methods.
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{bold}Question 2:{nobold}{p}
If you have been an Amiga owner for over 5 years what was the Amiga
situation like 5 years ago in 1994, state differences from todays
Amiga market in your country.
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{bold}Question 3:{nobold}{p}
How is the Amiga generally seen in the eyes of your country's people,
is it widely known and frequently mentioned in everyday press or is
it only known to the die hard Amiga users, please give as much detail
as you can.
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As well, basic information on each one questioned was asked for, given
here at the beginning of each set of answers. Our thanks are given to
each of those who answered, in helping the rest of us to understand how
things have been going in their country.
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And now for the survey results.
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Country:  {bold}Argentina{nobold}
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Name:  {bold}Gonzalo Barbeito Becich{nobold}{p}
Age:  26{p}
Number of Amigas owned: A500/030, A1200/030, A4000/060{p}
Number of years Amiga owner: since 1990{p}
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Answer To #1:{p}
Amiga is like a 3rd world country, all want to take advantage of it and
give nothing. To get something of Amiga the best is to fly to USA buy
all I want, back and I still have money in my pocket instead of the
price the local dealer offer.
All the programs are pirated copys selling with original prices by these
"dealers". All I buy here don't have any type of support until me and a
couple of friend founded an Amiga Club of Argentina, to stop the pirate
copies, giving original programs with full manuals to the user and
import all Amiga things with full support and official guarantee. Now
we want to give some knowledge to all the amiga video editor users, that
people who don't know amiga can send emails or get access to Internet.
Those people only use the machine at their work and nothing else, even a
word processor.
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Answer To #2:{p}
Always the same, here we never have an official dealer of Amiga, only in
92-93 with A500-3000 machines and a little of A1200-4000. But still no
support, a little of repair service but nothing else, no advertising.
If the Amiga still have many users it's because of the power, the easy
use, the low price of the basic machines, AND THE USERS.
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Answer To #3:{p}
Amiga means friend (female) in spanish, my country talks spanish, and
every time you say Amiga the people thinks as a girl. But it's well-
known in the video market, if anybody knows the power of Amiga will pay
anything to get it. And this mean somebody can pay high prices for Amiga
things. All the market here is dedicated to PC with lower prices than
USA. If I want to buy something for Amiga maybe I will pay almost a
complete PC.
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Two months ago the vice-president of my Amiga Club sent a lot of emails
to a newspaper with an information section. Aafter many mails the
director give an interview, later a full page article about this guy and
how he uses the Amiga for all the work he makes in a sport cable
channel. The article was very succefully, the director receive a lot of
mails. The next week of the article appear, another small one
transcribed all the greetings. Now maybe tomorrow another article will
appear with the local dealer prices, my club prices and where the user
can find Amiga stuff. (if the article appear I will add the info).
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Country:  {bold}Brazil{nobold}
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Name:  {bold}Rogerio Biondi{nobold}{p}
Age: -{p}
Number of Amigas owned: 3- A1000, A500, A1200{p}
Number of years Amiga owner: 11
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Answer To #1:{p}
Unfortunatelly, in Brazil, there is no legal representative for Amiga.
If you want to buy hardware, you depend on buying it from Internet
sites, paying a lot of taxes for it. The contact with user groups was
made by Internet or eletronic media. There are some people in my city
(São Paulo) who have Amigas. Very many people that have Amiga Computers
are missing, because they don't communicate with each other.
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Answer To #2:{p}
Amiga was a very powerfull computer times ago. In 1987, a 32-bit
computer was not a reality for brazilian users, but Amiga had it. 4096
colors achieved by HAM modes was not a reality for us, but Amiga aways
had it. It was a fantastic machine, but the time was running and
Commodore didn't supported the awesome great quantity development for
PCs. PCs were gaining power and Amiga was stopped in time. In the
principle (1985), Amiga had more power than Macintosh (Amiga 1000 x
Macintosh II), but nowadays what a shame! It's difficult for Amiga to
face other computers, because there is not much professional software
for it. There is no Photoshop. There is no Illustrator or Freehand. There
is no Premiere, Director, Authorware. But we love Amiga, in spite of the
problems and difficulties.
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Answer To #3:{p}
Amiga in 80's was considered a superior platform. Nowadays, I chatted
with a friend and she thought that Amiga was earlier in history than the
Macintoshes. I explained to her that Amiga was released after Mac. And
she asked me: "So why Amiga hasn't gained the market?". Her question
makes me think about Amiga. In my opinion, the greatest computer of all
time. Amiga was the really ultimate home computer system. It was light
and sharp. It was powerfull and hopefull. But the marketing mistakes
destroyed it. The Batman packs or Lemmings packs in my opinion, resolved
the $ situation for a while, but in the long term, it was the worst
idea. In brazil we had advertisements on magazines and events. The home
computer of the brazilian before Amiga was the ZX Spectrum and MSX. But
PCs were on the office. Home computers need constant development and
actualization. But Amiga doesn't achieve it. We need more models. A new
model every year. Real development to flame the market. But it didn't
happened.
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Country:  {bold}Canada{nobold}
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Name: {bold}Mike McGrath{nobold}{p}
Age:  20{p}
Number of Amigas owned:  2 A500s, 1 CDTV (Does the CDTV count?){p}
Number of years Amiga owner: 7-8
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Answer To #1:{p}
Well, I sometimes use newsgroups if I have a problem or if I want to
ask for info on a certain product. I recently brought a DBK MegaChip
2000/500 from the amiga hardware NG (newsgroup) and that went very well.
(The shipping from Wisconson USA, to near Ottawa Ontario, took awhile to
and from, about one month).
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As for retail sales there is only one 'walk-in' store. Wonder Computers
Inc. ({link http://www.wonder.ca}http://www.wonder.ca{end}) and they sell not only in Ottawa but also right
across Canada. I personally find that they are ok to buy from for
software and mags, but if you get into hardware, expecially h/w designed
for todays pc's, you might get trouble. I have spoken to one other
about this, and they agreed. I also have first hand experience in this,
ask and I'll write more.
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Then there is also CineReal, basically a guy who uses Amiga's to make
professional video's and who will also order items for you on the side.
My personal experience with him is on a good note as he is a nice
understanding business man who will go out of his way to help you out if
the sales are not to your satisfication. (Again, ask and I'll write
about that experience also.)
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Both these stores are about 20 min. away from the town core of Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada. Also there are local Amiga bbs'.
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As many do feel, the internet is squishing the bbs scene out of
existance, as ppl are looking for 'bigger and better things'. But as
anyone who has been on a certain bbs for awhile, you make online
buddies. The bbs itself is using an Amiga 3000 with quite a few extras
(CD-ROM, couple of gig's of HD space, unlimited time, 5MB limited
downloads..) Pretty cool. Within the last month I brought a 1GB tape
streamer from the sysop. (A gent with 2 years on my age. (In english:
22 years old...)). There is quite the few ppl on there around my age
group, but there is also the 40ish group. You can find quite a bit of
support from all of them seeing as though it's a local Amiga BBS.
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There is also Monitor Magazine, a freely distrubuted mag. Unfortunatly
there is no hard copy of the Amiga secton (online only), but there is a
group of ppl pressing for that to happen. Currently there is 'no room'.
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There are also local group meets; Amiga.info and Amici Amiga hold a meet
about once every month. Never been to one. I have no personal means of
transportaion, thus limiting my real world involvement with the Amiga.
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Currently, the two above groups are planning a meet in Jan. to see
behind the scenes at QNX, the company assigned to making the next Amiga
OS. I am certainly not going to miss that.
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There is also Team Amiga, but I haven't been able to mail them as their
mail keeps bouncing. <shrug>  That's certainly not local, online only
sort of thing. (Tech. support, q's & a's for begginers to advanced..)
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As you can see my world of Amiga have moved online, which I have only
figured out once I got my modem (28.8) last June. My Amiga 500 has
adopted an additional 8MB 32-bit mem, a 170MB HD, and a 2.5GB HD. (in a
full height SCSI equipped tower) 2MB CHIP mem, OS 2.1.
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Answer To #2:{p}
Well, back then I knew of only one store in Ottawa. Lynks. They were
nice, didn't push sales, and always had grand eye popping displays of
Toaster setups. My home away from home. Back then, I didn't know much
about the Amiga, brought a couple of apps (DPaint...) and tried to copy
their Fred Fish collection. As many so many Amiga places went, they died.
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A lot, err, I mean everything Amiga has been moved online. The stores
seem bigger online! ;)
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Answer To #3:{p}
Die hard Amiga users only. And I feel it's them (users) who spread the
word that it's still around. To even get the word printed is a fight.
Even on local bbs's you get shot down for owning a A500 and speaking
aloud about it. With todays PII's and M$ there is little to be said,
except for the fact that it's stable! ;)
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Country:  {bold}Italy{nobold}
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Name: {bold}Giulio Ceriola{nobold}{p}
Age: 26{p}
Number of Amigas owned: -{p}
Number of years Amiga owner: 8
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Answer To 1:{p}
Over the recent years the Amiga people in Italy have became more
"selected", and the main reason of it lies in the increasing difficulty
to get Amiga computers and software.
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Currently I can purchase product related to Amiga only by mail order
from retailers in some cities of my country or abroad.
About support: user groups are very active, in my area, too; this is
the only aspect that has improved over the years ...
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Only one magazine Amiga related is still alive, and soon it will be sold
only through subscription ... nevertheless there is a lot of struggle
between the italian community related to this review and its workers.
That is due to the fact that there are very few newcomers in the italian
amiga world and the survivors had always reached a high level in knowing
amiga; and that led to two (or perhaps three) different factions about
the future of amiga. The first one agrees with the plans of Amiga Int.,
even if it means, for developing, to use intel/microsoft technlogy; on
the other side there are people that like the way followed by Phase5 and
H&P, preserving always the amiga identity and difference "from the other
world". In the last faction there are an extremist one whose first
target is the death of the Microsoft and then amiga ... and among these
sometimes there are people that migrate to other non-microsoft (BeOS,
Unix, etc.) systems.
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Speaking about production of Amiga software, we are experiencing a new
spring (as can easily be seen from the numerous new games from my
country) ... Related to that is the topic of piracy, that luckly now is
lower (especially linked to someone that still has an A500 ;D) than in
the past.
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At the end I noticed that almost 90% had bought an expansion for his
amiga (me too) and no less than 70% of people has a lot of other stuff,
as the Phase5 PowerPC boards and graphic cards.
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Answer To #2:{p}
As stated above, the retailers of amiga products now are a very low
number. The quality of service and post-selling assistance has
increased a lot (with few exceptions) and almost all product, harware
and software, are available, even if sometimes the waiting is very long.
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However, from what I could see, amiga users buy more software/hardware
than in the past ... only about the games (I mean original games) the
increase is very low.
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Answer To #3:{p}
Few people, excluding the amiga users, know amiga in my country. These
are people that work with amiga (most of them in graphic works) and
people that know very well the world of information.
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Sometimes in magazines related to graphic, amiga is mentioned (but often
its production is showed without giving the source); and in the last
issues of one of the most popular computer magazines of my country, too.
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Country:  {bold}South Africa{nobold}
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Name:  {bold}Paul Brazier{nobold}{p}
Age:   49{p}
Number of Amigas owned: 3: A2000, A1200, A500{p}
Number of years Amiga owner: Since the A500 came out.
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Answer To #1:{p}
I only know one other person personally with an Amiga and they don't use
it very often mostly for their young son for games.
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But I have two boys of my own that use the Amiga to email friends in
England and Texas.
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The support is lousy; only one place I know of that sells and that is
1000 Kilometers away. Anyway I can get anything I need cheaper and
quicker from the States or England
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Answer To #2:{p}
It was better when Tedelex where the agents for Commodore and I did see
one or two in shops; before the Amiga the 64 was quite popular.
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Answer To #3:{p}
Only a few people have heard of the Amiga and most of those are people
that deal with computers. I only know of half a dozen people with Amigas
in South Africa, which I have seen on mailing lists etc. and they are
scattered over the country which is three times the size Britain, with
half the population. I will keep my A2000 030 + graphics card even if
the market dries up but will try to get a faster processor. I don't need
aga and no games are played on my Amiga; my two sons use the A1200 050
mostly for games and using Wordworth.
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Country:  {bold}Sweden{nobold}
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Name:  {bold}Magnus Lundin{nobold}{p}
Age:   28{p}
Number of Amigas owned: One A500 and two A1200{p}
Number of years Amiga owner: 5
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Answer To #1:{p}
Man I have to go a long way to get some Amiga things. Near where I live
there's only PC stores and they who works there just looks funny at you
when you ask something about the Amiga.
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Answer To #2:{p}
Well it have changes a bit. When I bought it there was no real swedish
Amiga newspaper, but today we have Amiga-Info!
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Answer To #3:{p}
Well a lot of people know what the Amiga is, but they just think that it
is a machine to play games on. When I say that I surf and listening to
Mp3 with it, the really think that I am high or something.