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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). 
>