By Kyle Webb, Assistant Editor and Cartoonist, See staff list for e-mail address
I am "technically-challenged." The result is I, personally, do not own or operate a great deal of Amiga hardware or software. It is debatable whether my opinions can be considered valid, or even useful, regarding my "two cents" for "Best of Amiga"...BUT...gosh, when asked for my opinion, it's difficult to keep quiet :) So, for what it's worth, here is my somewhat limited-experience, kind of narrow-visual-field "Kyle's Favorite Amiga Stuff" paragraph...or three.
The first computer I ever bought for my family was an A500, way back...ask Mike, he'd know. Must've been ...1988? We do not have a "normal" household; therefore, it made perfect sense not to buy a "normal" computer. Call it a hunch; I didn't even much look at any PC's. If I'd bought a PC then, I wonder which landfill it'd be in now? I am, in fact, typing this little essay on an A500 (our second one, I think) and there...poised on the left of the integrated keyboard, blending perfectly with the A500 style, is the single best peripheral we ever installed, all things considered. The GVP A530 Turbo, purchased several years after the initial A500 acquisition, for (choke) almost $900 US, is a true Cinderella story (no relation to Cyberella :). The true potential of the Amiga was overwhelmingly realized by the merger...and truly a merger it was; a simple plug-into-the-side operation. For details, see Mike's "Best of Amiga" article. My knowledge of things computerish is quite simply, dwarfed, by his; indeed, I believe that purchase was THE turning point, the beginning of the geometrically astounding growth of Mike's computer capabilities.
As pointed out earlier, I can be described as a "casual" user of computers (although my simple store of knowledge a-MAZED the kids and faculty at the local middle school, where I spent a number of years maintaining the bank of Apple IIGS's in the Technology Department, and updating programs, protocols, and students...I guess if you don't know jack about computers, someone who can type a simple line command looks like a wizard! Fooled THEM.....) Nevertheless, I paid a modicum of attention to the expanding store of software and hardware that was accumulating in "The Computer Room" at home (egads, we even acquired a PC! The local department store was practically GIVING them away; the ad came out in the Sunday paper, and I jumped on THE last (name withheld to protect the guilty) unit they had. I figured Mike would need experience in as many platforms as possible; thus was the beginning of a long nightmarish experience with Gates technology. They say adversity is good for your character (they say I'm quite a character, too). The reason I brought this up is thus: when Mike was preparing to go forth into the world via Cornell University, we began to hatch plans as to how to keep in touch, cheap; I shuddered at the thought of phone bills. He needed all his equipment at school, including the PC...and I wasn't about to put out for another system, in spite of digs from my cohorts on staff, "But you can get a used (fill in the blank) for a couple hundred!!" Besides, I was running out of room! Mike and I decided (really, Mike; he knows what to do, but he so graciously gives me credit in reference to things like, 'our A500'....'our decision'...) to purchase ShapeShifter (stop me if you know this....a Mac emulator). After Mike's steadfast, dedicated determinations, ShapeShifter has enabled me to log onto (a certain online service that doesn't support Amiga...see 'Reader's Poll'...get your voice heard!!) and yak real-time with him, e-mail, etc....and AT THE SAME TIME (I LOVE this part) I can be on another screen, another platform (wonder which one), working on my obnoxious little cartoons on Deluxe Paint (now you know.....)...and if I hear an IM chime, why, just a simple left-Amiga-M, and a click-on screen enable, and I can respond....all on one compact, streamlined, space-saving unit! PLUS, it is a "no-brainer" to transfer a document or an .IFF file generated on Final Writer or Deluxe Paint to my Editor-in-Chief...I just dump the applicable icon into the Mac Disk on Workbench, then it's available to be an attached file for e-mail via the MacOS route to (above-named service). It's so simple, when I first did it, I figured I HAD to be doing it wrong. ShapeShifter was one of the best $50 US we ever spent on the Amiga.
And finally (thank you, thank you...)...I was at the university recently, and my attention was drawn to the A4000T...Mike was playing Doom (hey, even Engineering students need a little fun!) and for the first time EVER, when asked, "C'mon, try it!"...well, let's make it short. I was immediately hooked! What a NEAT game! We've accumulated a lot of games over the years (F/A-18 Interceptor, which was sort of fun to bail out in a parachute at 36,000 feet :), Mind Walker, a surrealistic schizo-kinda game, which DID appeal to my sense of weirdness, but still, I never was any good at it; I can't even begin to list, or remember, them all, because (True Confession Time) I am not a games-person. I am much more likely to spend all my (hah) free time reading science fiction (YES! I AM A PRINT - MEDIA JUNKIE!!!) or perusing the print computer magazines, looking for inspiration for my next Bill-bashing :). I never, EVER, spent more than 5 minutes sitting down to any computer game (go figure). But, gee, I'm thinking of driving up to Cornell next week....<g>. YOU tell me. What's so great about Doom? Why is it the first game I ever wanted to play AGAIN? What's with that goofy dancing monster that thought it was so $%^&* funny I "died", just 'cause I couldn't aim my weapon?!? I'll be ba-a-a-a-ack...