Invitation
By Trevis J. Rothwell
Looking back fondly on an old friend
I had been dreaming about it, looking forward to it ... Just imagine: being able to make 3D graphics, play "Lemmings", use a mouse ... Finally, the big day came. With thanks to UPS, we received our Commodore Amiga 3000 computer. And was this thing neat.
Of course, that was back sometime around 1993. A lot has changed in 10 years. Commodore has ceased to exist. Amiga still exists, but to what extent, exactly, doesn't seem very expansive. And, as we former Amiga users might be inclined to (jokingly?) say, the Intel/Microsoft stuff has just about caught up with what the Amiga could do a decade ago. Was it really that great? Surely not; many people have never even heard of it. Had it been so great, it would have drawn more attention. It would have sold more units. It would have, in the words of Lucy van Pelt, had its picture on a bubble gum card.
But I say that it was great. It was ahead of its time, compared to what certain other personal computer manufactures were producing. It had a powerful operating system with preemptive multitasking that could do some remarkable things with only a few megabytes of memory. It could have, and perhaps should have, become the predominant desktop computer for everyone to use.
Obviously, that didn't happen. Not even close. What did happen? The Amiga filled the position where it was most needed, and that it could fill so very well; it was used for 3D graphics rendering and video production. The infamous NewTek Video Toaster turned the Amiga into a live video switcher, complete with graphics overlays. Not just for hobbyists, the Amiga was used in projects such as "Seaquest DSV" and "Mr. Bill Goes to Washington."
Why didn't it catch on for the general public? Maybe Commodore didn't advertise the Amiga enough; maybe they didn't even know what a fantastic computer they had. Or maybe, even back when the Amiga was released in 1985, people were already gravitating toward a Microsoft solution.
In any event, for me, the Amiga is usually nothing more than fond memories. Memories of working intensely on video editing projects, using editing software that didn't have as many high-tech features as today's software, and yet somehow was more enjoyable.
Memories of playing the shareware version of Deluxe Galaga for hours and hours. Memories of going to a store and actually finding a packaged piece of software that ran on the computer that I had at home (wow!). Except for such memories, has the Amiga finally faded to black?
Perhaps not completely. I was recently at a local sound production company, who also does some video work. I saw a hardshell case labeled "Video Toaster." Sure enough, inside the case was an Amiga computer. One of the employees said that they still used them for live video switchers. It may be 15 years old, but it still does well at what it was designed to do.
I'm happy to hear that. It is good to see the Amiga still in use. While I no longer use one myself, and might not ever use one again, it is probably no coincidence that "amiga" is a Spanish word for friend.
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Trevis Rothwell is a computer scientist, musician, and graduate of Cornell College.
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