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Author Topic: The time before the magic died  (Read 1596 times)

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Offline scuzzb494Topic starter

The time before the magic died
« on: November 20, 2009, 09:49:25 PM »
Hi

I have spent a week again rebuilding a Windows machine. Monday night I was greeted with an error message on boot that there was a missing DLL file, turns out it was worse than that Jim, the whole drive had gone walkies. The boot file on C didn`t recognise the OS on D and the Recovery Console [ LOL ] didn`t give an option to interogate a Windows OS on D. So I had no choice but to reinstall the OS. The whole thing left me utterly miserable. To the point again when I sit here reflecting on just when it was that the magic for me died. I don`t think it's cus I'm getting bored of computers, it really is that I just don`t get anything like the fun I used to get in my Amiga days....

And so to a time when I really enjoyed computing...

Amiga 1200. Fires up in a second. Oodles of computer mags with loads of goodies to muck around with, without fear of internet trojans and spyware etc etc. Playing Sensible Soccer and Settlers till the small hours. Capturing stuff with my VidiAmiga and editing in DPaint. Creating and designing my own icons... Writing self booting floppy disks. Playing more Sensible Soccer and Settlers. Sitting in the dark not having known night had crept in playing Valhalla. Then doing a bit of music sampling and more animation stuff. Techno Sound Turbo and ProTracker. And then that gem of a tiny program on that green disk from AUI. ' All Done' and decrunched. And then there was ' AMOS Professional ' Truly unending fun.

I guess the Amiga was so versatile with a very friendly user interface that allowed me real access without fear of massive problems to the heart of the machine. There were endless opportunities in terms of kit and software, and shelves in the shops stacked with not just games but software. At a time when the geeks ruled the mags and the stores and we were all big kids at heart.

Thing is I am still a big kid at heart, and I would love to relive those Amiga days. Trouble is the folk at the store and in the mags and at Amiga shows have all but faded to a memory, and to make this work again I need them back. Sad very sad that it died. Cus honestly everything today just leaves me feeling empty and cold. Computing has become a great big internet based load of 'perceived' fun based around 'download central' that is about as far removed from computing as Bill Gates is from .. well a true OS.

Fortunately I still have my Amigas, and still do play on them. Just wish I could time warp backwards for a day and take a trip to Landsdown Computers and again share real computing with a group of enthusiastic geeks with a love for a true computer fun. The place is now a coffee bar... Ar hum.

scuzz
http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com
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Offline Matt_H

Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2009, 11:33:43 PM »
The site of the former Amiga dealer in my town is now a third-rate nail salon. Tragic.
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Offline save2600

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2009, 11:35:48 PM »
Great read and one that mirrors my sentiments to the 'T'. Thanks for sharing! Glad I kept all my AmigaWorlds, Amazing Computing (I think I have a near complete collection of both) and all the other misc. Commodore & Compute! mags. Truly great, useful & fun tools I wouldn't want to be without. Always find something "new" to read up on and they're the perfect companion to classic computing. Yes, modern day computing sucks in a utilitarian kind of way. Not talking about MorphOS, AROS or AOS4. Just the PeeCee/Mac world and that's exactly what the mainstream wanted and now has.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2009, 12:51:18 AM by save2600 »
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Offline zylesea

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2009, 11:54:15 PM »
@ scuzzb494

These memories from the old days are indeed nice and a wealthy treasure to have, but time has moved on. And while most ppl are annoyed by Win, others actively live the alternative. In particular by using MorphOS, AROS or OS4. These three OSes are of course all full of glitches and limitations, but they also offer a lot of fun, speed and fuctionality - and you may still feel that old good vibe, that's still kind of present.
Today for my private computer needs I am quite well off with MorphOS (the other both alteratives would probably do as well) and if the Win box sucks, I wouldn't care. In fact I have no Win box since half a year now, and don't miss too much (but maybe I will get a Win computer again, don't kow yet and doesn't have much of an impact whether I have one or not). Hence my suggestion:  stop dreaming and start acting. MorphOS, AROS or AOS4 will never be what Amiga once was, but they offer quite some fun.
AROS is for free, or get a Mac Mini and testdrive MorphOS. The trial version is free.
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Offline paolone

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2009, 12:47:39 AM »
The magic is far than dead. It's only gone to other places. But, anyway, I have my kind of magic every day nowadais, thanks to continued improvements on AROS.

Just look at here...
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Offline tone007

Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2009, 01:14:30 AM »
Quote from: Matt_H;530544
The site of the former Amiga dealer in my town is now a third-rate nail salon. Tragic.

Oughta go in there and see if they can airbrush some Amiga checkmarks on your nails for you.

..and as for "magic," I find that playing with modern machines as well, pulling apart non-working laptops and getting them going again with a cheap component replacement, and really pushing to the limit of their usefulness machines that are nearly outdated as far as modern computing goes (a few G4 Macs around for that.)
« Last Edit: November 21, 2009, 01:18:50 AM by tone007 »
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3 Commodore file cabinets, 2 Commodore USB turntables, 1 AmigaWorld beer mug
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Offline persia

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2009, 01:51:42 AM »
Closest thing I can think of is an iPhone, but only if you jailbreak it...

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What we\'re witnessing is the sad, lonely crowing of that last, doomed cock.
 

Offline Moto

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2009, 02:58:11 AM »
Life's what you make it.  While I agree that computing in general is more mainstream and seemingly less exciting as when I was younger, you have to ask yourself: Is anything as exciting as it was when you were younger?  Your first girlfriend, car, apartment?   As for those magic moments, you've just got to find that passion in something else.  You probably won't get it back in computers but maybe some other area of your life.  I work day in and day out as a programmer (for over 2 decades) so PCs and Windows and Macs aren't all that of a thrilling way to spend my spare time.  I do however play games on the Xbox360 with my better half and tinker on an old Scirocco 16v.  The Amiga (and Apple II) represent, to quote from a Rush song, a better vanished time.  The simplicity of the architecture and OS are something that you can wrap your head around.  I don't know much about the deep inner-workings of OS X and Windows and nor do I really want to (ever).  I just look at modern computers as an appliance and I get about excited as getting a new PC as a new toaster.  As long as it works and allows me to do my job and all the other things I expect from it, I'm happy.  

So I hope you find some peace... and also be grateful that communities like this still exist.  Maybe someday you will miss these people and these very days?
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Offline coldfish

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Re: The time before the magic died
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2009, 03:02:20 AM »
I have fond memories of my C64 and Amiga because they were simpler.  Switch on and play, no installs, fairly reliable hardware and if you had a problem just cycle the power switch, they were more like gaming consoles except with the extra tinkering fun of real computers.

Once you got into the more involved aspects of software and hardware tweaking, even the C64 and Amiga had their fair share of headaches.  I remember several floppy read  problems with my A500's and no end of head scratching trying to get an 030 accelerator to work reliably on my A1200.

The thing that made it different from troubleshooting a PC was that the A1200 wasn't critical, it was a hobby.  Hardware problems on a PC I needed to work weren't as much fun.

I think it's a combination of things that make computing less "magical" these days, getting older would play a big part.  I still get a lot of fun out of playing around with PC's, especially building MAME cabinets.  I like learning about the technology and watching it advance, for me the magic has become more of a science.

It's a sort of Garden of Eden - Tree of Knowledge thing, I s'pose?
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