New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

Hello guys,

Not to sure where to begin really.

I am a computer engineer working in Auckland. Have working background experience in quite a few Nix OS's and all MS OS's since 3.11. Have an avid interest in tinkering with old and new hardware. Constantly building project machines. Small form, folding@home, Prime numbering, emulating old games etc. Have recently become very interested in vintage computers, namely Archimedes and Amigas.

I was lucky enough to start playing Elite on a BBC Master Compact back in the day and am right into my EVE Online now a days on modern hardware. Am also learning the ropes of Java and Python at the moment in my spare time, when I have it.

Am going to be sorting both an Amiga and Archimedes build before the year is out (hopefully). So look forward to chatting with you all about your experiences and love of vintage computers.

Thanks! =D

Hi and welcome to the forums!

I didn't have an Amiga until I started collecting. I've now got a 500. However my brother owned an Amiga 2000 back in the day...he absolutely LOVED it. It's a model I wouldn't mind getting hold of one day...or even a 1200.

I can understand the interest in Archimedes from the ACORN/BBC connection but why the interest in Amigas particularly?

I have a huge interest in the Archimedes because of the BBC Master Compact connection. And while I realize CISC has effectly won out over RISC, RISC computing has always interested me.

And with the Amiga, its a machine all of my friends used to own but sadly I never owned one myself. Its something I really want to at least say "I have owned one and tinkered with it" etc. Not to mention, they arguably had the greatest collection of classic games in the history of personal computing.

Hey, I wouldn't say that CISC has won out in any significant way...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

Given the prevalence of ARM CPUs in small devices (and in ever-larger ones too) I'd say the balance is shifting, or has already shifted, to RISC. On the other hand, I think that the distinction is becoming ever less important as well.

I don't need to argue with you over which arc has won out over the years. There are reasons why Apple moved to the Intel platform. Some may say they sold out, others will say they had foresight. The truth is, it comes down to your own personal opinion.

RISC reminds me of the Wankel Rotary engine. Awesome idea and great on paper.

EDIT: I should add in here. The future is bright no matter how you look at it. There will be a big shift to mobile devices in the next 2-5 years (more so than we have seen to date) so obviously OS percentages online will shift towards the ARM based offerings like Windows RT etc. =D