| From: | Clyde Hannan |
| Date: | 26 Oct 2000 at 12:03:12 |
| Subject: | Altered History (was Re: Amiga Confusion) |
Don Cox wrote:
>
> On 25-Oct-00, Andy Hall wrote:
>
> > There is a real negative image of Amiga in the greater computing
> > community. This hardware announcement was seen by many as a desperate
> > attempt to bring 80's technology up to date.
>
> It is probably very annoying for them when a computer that had been
> airbrushed out of computer history pops up again, as bright and clever
> as ever.
>
> Open almost any general computer text book on operating systems,
> multimedia, graphics, etc and you will find no indication that the Amiga
> ever existed. Lots of people wish it hadn't ever existed.
Absolutely true!
So often I have seen magazines or books or specials on television documenting
the history and evolution of computers and nowhere, ever, is the Amiga ever
mentioned or shown.
The whole home computer side of the history is left out entirely - as though the
last home computer was the 8-bit Spectrum or C64. It's as though there has been
a very carefully and manipulated conspiracy by the larger companies to make sure
that it is forgotten by history - only to be regarded as something that sad
people who are stuck in the past ever used or acknowledged.
No-where is it ever mentioned that it was the first multi-media computer - the
first with such advanced technology for its time. No mention that it was on the
cutting edge of commercial ray-tracing and rendering software for the public to
use, that it had the first commercial morphing graphic stuff, how it
revolutionised music with its amazing sound capabilities - how so many bedroom
programmers, musicians and graphic artists found a tool, the perfect technology
for them to unleash their creative talents on the world.
I think that what would be nice, would be to continue the idea of having
something about the Amiga's history with OS3.5 - with having a very nicely
packaged CD detailing as much as possible - with adverts and videos and stuff -
bundled with the next-gen AmigaOS. In fact, it should probably be part of
Amiga's electronic press kit (a bit like the promotion for a film where the film
studio sends out a little package with brochures and tshirts and things and a
video with taped interviews with the stars and director etc) - so that all the
journalists and technology magazines and tv programmes get the cd, pop it into
their machines, and get a very nicely presented and accurate wrap-up of the
past.
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