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icedchai 1y ago
The Mac’s screen was flicker free. Almost nobody used any Amiga any higher than 640x200 (640x256 PAL) unless they had special hardware (“flicker fixer”.) That being said I preferred the Amiga.
- leptons 1y ago
  A "flicker fixer" cost $100. A macintosh with 2-bit lower resolution graphics cost $1000 more than the Amiga. The Amiga was a bargain. And I don't remember interlace modes being that bad, honestly.
  - icedchai 1y ago
    Early Macs weren't even 2-bits, they were 1-bit: black or white! The Amiga was a bargain in comparison, but it was not without its flaws, like all early machines. I had an A500 with a 1084 monitor, and the flicker at high res was bothersome to me. I later upgraded to an A3000 w/VGA monitor, and it was a vast improvement. I ran at 640x400 for everything at that point. I think you are underestimating the price of "flicker fixers" at the time. I looked up the price of a Microway flicker fixer in an old Amiga World from 1988: Over $500. You also had to add an a VGA monitor: another $400.
    - leptons 1y ago
      >I think you are underestimating the price of "flicker fixers" at the time. I looked up the price of a Microway flicker fixer in an old Amiga World from 1988: Over $500. You also had to add an a VGA monitor: another $400. Still way, way better than a 2-color mac at about the same price. And it wasn't even necessary, the Amiga 1000 was amazing without it.
ghusbands 1y ago
Stereo 14-bit sound didn't really happen until the 1990s and needs quite a lot of CPU time and careful hacking, as Amiga sound chips are 8-bit, 4-channel. 4096 colors via weird hold-and-modify modes was never useful outside of demos and vanishingly few games. Nobody used 640x400 because interlacing was far too flickery, and such resolutions certainly didn't support 4096 colors. The Amiga was ahead of its time in many ways, and the pre-emptive multitasking was fantastic, but claiming it was some paragon doesn't help anyone. If you wanted a fun home machine attached to a TV, it was great. Even a fun home machine attached to a monitor. If you wanted a business machine with a monitor, it wasn't the safest or best choice, if only due to a lack of software.
- leptons 1y ago
  The Amiga 1000 can do 14 bit stereo sound. What did the Mac have? Oh, single-channel 8-bit. It doesn't matter if it took all the CPU to do it, the mac simply was not capable of coming anywhere close to Amiga in terms of graphics or sound. The standard Amiga sound capabilities were 4-channel stereo 12-bit, which was still light years ahead of Apple.
  - ghusbands 1y ago
    Try to notice how you're avoiding answering the points I raised and jumping at any chance to defend the Amiga (it was only 4-channel 8-bit built in and nobody achieved 14-bit sound before 1991). The Amiga vs X wars were decades ago at this point - you could just let it go.
    - leptons 1y ago
      >4096 colors via weird hold-and-modify modes was never useful outside of demos and vanishingly few games. 16 colors is still way better for games than 2 color black-and-white. The fact that the Amiga could achieve 4096 colors in a world where 16 colors was the norm, was astonishing. The resolution did not matter. The capabilities mattered, and the Amiga was far more capable in every way than the Mac. The mac had 1-channel 8-bit sound, the Amiga had 4-channel stereo 8-bit sound, and was capable of 14-bit sound. So go nitpick some more if you want to, I don't care, but I won't be responding to you anymore.

[flagged]

The Mac’s screen was flicker free. Almost nobody used any Amiga any higher than 640x200 (640x256 PAL) unless they had special hardware (“flicker fixer”.) That being said I preferred the Amiga.

leptons 1y ago
A "flicker fixer" cost $100. A macintosh with 2-bit lower resolution graphics cost $1000 more than the Amiga. The Amiga was a bargain. And I don't remember interlace modes being that bad, honestly.
- icedchai 1y ago
  Early Macs weren't even 2-bits, they were 1-bit: black or white! The Amiga was a bargain in comparison, but it was not without its flaws, like all early machines. I had an A500 with a 1084 monitor, and the flicker at high res was bothersome to me. I later upgraded to an A3000 w/VGA monitor, and it was a vast improvement. I ran at 640x400 for everything at that point. I think you are underestimating the price of "flicker fixers" at the time. I looked up the price of a Microway flicker fixer in an old Amiga World from 1988: Over $500. You also had to add an a VGA monitor: another $400.
  - leptons 1y ago
    >I think you are underestimating the price of "flicker fixers" at the time. I looked up the price of a Microway flicker fixer in an old Amiga World from 1988: Over $500. You also had to add an a VGA monitor: another $400. Still way, way better than a 2-color mac at about the same price. And it wasn't even necessary, the Amiga 1000 was amazing without it.

ghusbands 1y ago

Stereo 14-bit sound didn't really happen until the 1990s and needs quite a lot of CPU time and careful hacking, as Amiga sound chips are 8-bit, 4-channel. 4096 colors via weird hold-and-modify modes was never useful outside of demos and vanishingly few games. Nobody used 640x400 because interlacing was far too flickery, and such resolutions certainly didn't support 4096 colors. The Amiga was ahead of its time in many ways, and the pre-emptive multitasking was fantastic, but claiming it was some paragon doesn't help anyone. If you wanted a fun home machine attached to a TV, it was great. Even a fun home machine attached to a monitor. If you wanted a business machine with a monitor, it wasn't the safest or best choice, if only due to a lack of software.

leptons 1y ago
The Amiga 1000 can do 14 bit stereo sound. What did the Mac have? Oh, single-channel 8-bit. It doesn't matter if it took all the CPU to do it, the mac simply was not capable of coming anywhere close to Amiga in terms of graphics or sound. The standard Amiga sound capabilities were 4-channel stereo 12-bit, which was still light years ahead of Apple.
- ghusbands 1y ago
  Try to notice how you're avoiding answering the points I raised and jumping at any chance to defend the Amiga (it was only 4-channel 8-bit built in and nobody achieved 14-bit sound before 1991). The Amiga vs X wars were decades ago at this point - you could just let it go.
  - leptons 1y ago
    >4096 colors via weird hold-and-modify modes was never useful outside of demos and vanishingly few games. 16 colors is still way better for games than 2 color black-and-white. The fact that the Amiga could achieve 4096 colors in a world where 16 colors was the norm, was astonishing. The resolution did not matter. The capabilities mattered, and the Amiga was far more capable in every way than the Mac. The mac had 1-channel 8-bit sound, the Amiga had 4-channel stereo 8-bit sound, and was capable of 14-bit sound. So go nitpick some more if you want to, I don't care, but I won't be responding to you anymore.