Xref: utzoo comp.sys.atari.st:10914 comp.sys.amiga:21906 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!psuvax1!rutgers!att!whuts!whuxr!cj From: cj@whuxr.UUCP (HETMAN) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Atari vs. Amiga: what to buy? Message-ID: <57@whuxr.UUCP> Date: 18 Aug 88 03:55:57 GMT References: <2711@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <8347@smoke.ARPA> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 59 > > ATARI VS. AMIGA: WHAT TO BUY? > > * the bottom line is -- whatever you like best. * > but here are some thoughts: > I have both an Amiga 2000 and a 1 meg upgraded 520 ST. They are really more similar then most owners of either machine would like to admit. I had the ST first and got quite comfortable with it. Adapting to the Amiga took more time then I thought. Simple things on the ST Gem interface seemed awkward on the Amiga. I also have the Magic Sac on my ST which gives me a feel for that desktop. Of the Three I find the Mac to be the least user friendly, followed by the Amiga with the Atari the most friendly. Graphically, the Amiga has an edge but this edge is more noticable on paper than on the screen. I have many identical programs on both machines which when compared on the same work bench show very small differences. Defender of the Crown (A one time highly praised graphic program on the Amiga) actually has better colors and contrast on the ST then on the Amiga. I'm using a Nec Multisync monitor on the Amiga which I feel is more than capable of doing the Amiga justice. The Amiga version is a little cuter with its use of hardware sprites to wave flags, and move the characters heads in an otherwise still frame. The more impressive thing when comparing the two is in the use of digitized sound. The ST is also capable of digitized sound but not as good as the stereo sound of the Amiga. The most interesting thing about digitized sound is that it is implemented to a greater degree on the Amiga then on the ST. The reason is due to the Amiga's use of a double sided drive rather than the single sided drive of the ST. This was in my opinion the biggest error Atari made. It forced the software developers to write their programs for a minimum system of one single sided drive system (No room for all those nice digitized sound files). Programs on the ST may require 3 disks where on the Amiga can fit on one. Just think what you can do on the Amiga with three disks worth of files. Although the ST does have double sided drives available for both the 520 and standard on the 1040 and Megas, very little of the commercial software is available in the double sided format. The bottom line is you have a tough decision and you should do a hands on evaluation. Both machines have their good points and bad points. Which ever are the most important to you are what counts. Don't believe the salesman, its hard to find one who actually knows much about both systems. Matt Hetman A Happy ST and Amiga Owner > *BOTH* good computers, you probably can't go wrong what ever you > choose. To be fair, I do not own an Amiga. I own 2 Commodors (the > VIC-20 & C64) am the happy owner of 1 Atari (the ST). >