Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    
    There is plenty of software out there for spreadsheets, including
    Superbase Personal and Superbase Professional.  However, you did
    not mention how much fast ram you would get with this system. On
    most large spreadsheets you would need more than the standard 512
    K of chip ram; meaning you may need up to two meg of fast ram in
    order to edit large spreadsheets.  Most of the software for the
    Amiga you will find is more expensive than the C-128, however, there
    is more PD or shareware coming available everyday.  There might
    even be a PD spreadsheet (check some prior notes) that would do what
    you want.  I have owned an Amiga 1000 for over two years now and
    don't regret it at all.  With the proper software it is very powerful
    in what it can do.  It does take a bit more time to learn because
    it is so powerful.  Hope this helps... others will be more
    knowledgeable on the software end.
    
    Don Carlson
    DTN 296-5406
    

    
    One way you can save a few bucks is to use C Ltd's C-View, which
    is an adaptor that converts the Amiga's RGB video to color composite.
    In this way, you can use your Commodore 1701, 1702, or 1802 monitor.
    
    I have a C-View that I use to record to videotape, and it works
    pretty well.
    
    There is really no software compatibility between the Amiga and
    64/128.  Totally different animals.  There are a few 64 Emulators
    that run pretty slowly.  There's also some hardware devices that
    allow file transfers.
    
    Ed.

    
>        I AM A CURRENT COMMODORE 128 OWNER AND HAVE BEEN SATISFIED WITH
>    WHAT IT WILL DO.  HOWEVER LATELY ITS HARD TO GET COMPUTER TIME WITH
>    TWO TEENAGERS BEATING IT UP EVERY SECOND THEY CAN.  THUS MY DILEMMA
    
    no problem - once you get an Amiga, the 128 will always be available
    for your exclusive use
    
    tom (who also has a teenager)
    

    
    Another point to consider... $495 seems like an OK price for a 512K
    Amiga 1000, but you need to add another drive to really enjoy the
    system.  Unlike the C128, the Amiga OS is largely disk based.  This
    means that you must almost always have a 'system' disk in one drive and
    a 'program/data' disk in another drive.  If you only have one drive, the
    machine will constantly be asking you to swap disks.  There ARE some
    clever ways to survive on one drive, by building RAM based system
    disks and using advanced shell interfaces. 
                                             
    Another point to consider... although the A1000 has virtually 100%
    software compatibility with the newer 500/2000/2500 models, and
    there's plenty of RAM expansion and hard disk systems available,
    there is serious doubt that the 1000 will benefit from future upgrades
    to the Amiga chipset.  These upgrades, without going into technical
    detail, would be extremely desirable.  It's possible that a clever
    hacker may be able to build and sell an adaptor, but you can't be
    sure.  The sheer numbers of new machines versus older ones make
    it impractical for Commodore to offer much support to the old 1000.
    
    My point here is that for a minimally higher investment (say, $650-700)
    you may be able to get into a 1 megabyte A500 with two drives.  This
    excludes a monitor, but a decent Thompson RGB monitor is around
    $250.  Or you could use the adaptor that I described in .2 to use
    with your composite monitor until your bank account recovers.
    
    Ed.