A personal computer series introduced in 1985 by Commodore. Amigas gained a reputation early on as advanced graphics and multimedia machines, and NewTek's Video Toaster application brought it to the forefront of economical, high-end video editing.
The first Amiga was the A1000 with 256KB of RAM, powered by a 7 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU. Subsequent models used numeric designations such as 500, 600, 2000, 3000 and 4000, except for the CD-ROM based CDTV and CD32 in the early 1990s. Higher-end Motorola CPUs were also used in later models.
Amiga History
In 1984, Commodore acquired Amiga Corporation, which had developed a video game chipset. Modified for personal computers, the chipset was the key to the Amiga's advanced graphics for that era. Although the Amiga had a devoted following, by 1994, Windows and Macintosh dominated the personal computer world, and Commodore went into bankruptcy.
The technology was purchased by Escom, a German PC maker that sold it to Gateway Computer three years later. Only two years passed when Gateway sold it to a private organization that became Amiga, Inc. Under license, the Eyetech Group sold the more modern PowerPC-based AmigaOne until 2005, which ran a prerelease AmigaOS 4 from developer Hyperion Entertainment. The official release of AmigaOS 4 was early 2007, and Version 4.1 debuted in 2008. Parts, accessories and software are available from Leaman Computing (www.amigakit.com). See Commodore and MUI.
The First Amiga
The A1000 was the first Amiga model, which was introduced in 1985 by Commodore. For years, Amigas were considered the best example of affordable graphics computers, providing sophisticated features available only on much higher-priced systems. (Image courtesy of Amiga, Inc.)
The first Amiga was the A1000 with 256KB of RAM, powered by a 7 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU. Subsequent models used numeric designations such as 500, 600, 2000, 3000 and 4000, except for the CD-ROM based CDTV and CD32 in the early 1990s. Higher-end Motorola CPUs were also used in later models.
Amiga History
In 1984, Commodore acquired Amiga Corporation, which had developed a video game chipset. Modified for personal computers, the chipset was the key to the Amiga's advanced graphics for that era. Although the Amiga had a devoted following, by 1994, Windows and Macintosh dominated the personal computer world, and Commodore went into bankruptcy.
The technology was purchased by Escom, a German PC maker that sold it to Gateway Computer three years later. Only two years passed when Gateway sold it to a private organization that became Amiga, Inc. Under license, the Eyetech Group sold the more modern PowerPC-based AmigaOne until 2005, which ran a prerelease AmigaOS 4 from developer Hyperion Entertainment. The official release of AmigaOS 4 was early 2007, and Version 4.1 debuted in 2008. Parts, accessories and software are available from Leaman Computing (www.amigakit.com). See Commodore and MUI.
The First Amiga
The A1000 was the first Amiga model, which was introduced in 1985 by Commodore. For years, Amigas were considered the best example of affordable graphics computers, providing sophisticated features available only on much higher-priced systems. (Image courtesy of Amiga, Inc.)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2010 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
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- SView5 is an image display, conversion and processing tool based on a rich C/C++ SDK with various capabilities, originally development on Amiga computers and later ported to Windows, Linux and Embedded Systems. The Windows frontend is both, a demonstration of the capabilities of the rich SDK and a standalone tool...
- Software downloads 2010-01-26
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- Supports more formats than I can remember. Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, 7-Zip, Rar, LhA, StuffIt, several old Amiga file and disk archives, CAB, LZX, stuff I don't even know what it is. Copies the Finder file-copying/moving/deleting interface for its interface. Uses the character set autodetection code from Mozilla to auto-detect...
- Software downloads 2010-01-11
- What impact is Google's Nexus One likely to have?
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- Discussion threads 2010-01-07
- How to build an army of brand loyalists
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- Discussion threads 2009-12-28
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- iNibby Nibble Lite is a remake of the fantastic game for Amiga Nibby Nibble.Have fun helping the caterpillar to eat all the fruits as quickly as possible, taking care, however, that can not eat himself. Back in time playing the game of your youth, or challenge the simple rules to...
- Software downloads 2009-12-28
- Amazon's Kindle for PC DRM busted
- Verses v. VersusI'm sure you meant "versus" rather than "verses" near the bottom of your column. Please send me an additional search coupon to reward my helpfulness!Happy Holidays to all!Lone hacker?Probally a heck of alot more working to break the DRM then just a lone hacker.The only reason we...
- Discussion threads 2009-12-23
- iNibby Nibble 1.1 (Mobile)
- iNibby Nibble is a remake of the fantastic game for Amiga Nibby Nibble.Have fun helping the caterpillar to eat all the fruits as quickly as possible, taking care, however, that can not eat himself. Back in time playing the game of your youth, or challenge the simple rules to pass...
- Software downloads 2009-12-23
- Speed 1.1 (Mac)
- Speed! is a port an old Amiga game. It features the original's graphics, gameplay and music. It runs on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and the Nintendo DS. It can probably be made to work on many other platforms fairly easily, too.
- Software downloads 2009-12-22
- ModBox Module Player 1.1 (Mobile)
- ModBox is a universal Tracker Format Player that plays Amiga and PC module computer music (e.g. Protracker, Fasttracker, Screamtracker) on your iPhone and iPod Touch device.Features:Direct internet access to the finest selection of modules from the Modland library with a preselection of over 5.000 freely available songs, over 250 hours...
- Software downloads 2009-12-18
- Ascendo Spanish English Dictionary & Phrasebook Free Version 4.2.1 (Mobile)
- Ascendo Spanish-to-English, English-to-Spanish Dictionary & Phrase Book FREE VERSION provides a good starting point to improve your language skills. The FREE VERSION contains complete translation definitions for 1,000 of the most commonly used words in Spanish & English. Each keyword is followed by one or more meanings, several translations, part...
- Software downloads 2009-12-17
- Spanish English Dictionary & Phrasebook 4.2.1 (Mobile)
- Ascendo Spanish-to-English, English-to-Spanish Dictionary & Phrase Book is a comprehensive and extensible product designed for the iPhone. It includes 625,501 entries with long definitions comprised of context, part of speech (nous, verb, etc) noun gender and multiple meanings for most keywords. Ascendo Dictionaries & Phrase Books incorporate compound forms, travel...
- Software downloads 2009-12-17
- Chromania Demo 1.0.1.4 (Windows)
- Chromania is the further development of Mix-Master (Amiga/1991). Place the drops and mix the colors to create single colored shapes in a 14x3 vessel matrix. As soon as a shape is filled it vanishes. Chromania has a Training world to learn the mixing of colors and to create basic color...
- Software downloads 2009-12-13
- The Escapee 1.1 (Mobile)
- Christmas Sale! $2.99 only!_________________________________________AWARD WINNING CLASSIC ACTION & ADVENTURE IS AVAILABLE NOW ON IPHONE AND IPOD TOUCH!_________________________________________... maybe they thought I was dead, and they threw me out like rag doll, in the middle of dirt, waste and litter. I was an Escapee - was I the only one?/Daniel White...
- Software downloads 2009-12-08
- PortOfCallL 1.8 (Mobile)
- PortOfCallL Ports of Call Lite The Maritime Simulation Gamethe lite version allows 30 min per gameplay ! You can purchase upgrade modules via in App Purchase.C 1986-2009,Rolf-Dieter Klein, Martin Ulrich,Munich, Bremen, GermanyPorts of Call has a long tradition the first version was releasedon the Amiga 1986 with other versionsfollowing.Now the...
- Software downloads 2009-12-06
- Do we need a 'beautiful mess' in operating systems? Yup
- To make a good soup, you've got to stir the pot...Ok, sure - it turns cloudy, short-term. Just be sure to filter it or let it settle, before serving.Whereas the classic 'design-by-committee' model so often fails, its always useful to have multiple, talented teams working on similar projects, independently. With...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- iMod 1.0 (Mobile)
- iMod is module format player for iPhone & iPod touch.Support for the following modules formats:669 (Composer 669, Unis 669), AMF DSMI Advanced Module Format, AMF (ASYLUM Music Format V1.0), APUN APlayer, DSM DSIK internal format, FAR Farandole Composer, GDM General DigiMusic, IT Impulse Tracker, IMF Imago Orpheus, MOD (15 and...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- TripleYachtZ 1.0 (Mobile)
- TripleYachtZ is a PokerDice game based on the game of Yacht, and in the same vein as Yahtzee. This is a version of a game I have released for both the Amiga and NeXT, but this version includes real dice physics for the rolls.TripleYachtZ plays like other games in the...
- Software downloads 2009-11-03
- Module Player 1.0.1 (Mobile)
- Module Player warps you back into the beginnings of the legendary demo scene. Back in the late 80s, when groups outperformed each other with the greatest audio and video presentations for home computers, such as the AMIGA, ATARI ST, and early Macintosh. One of the reasons for the great success...
- Software downloads 2009-10-30
- Module Player Lite 1.0.1 (Mobile)
- Module Player Lite warps you back into the beginnings of the legendary demo scene. Back in the late 80s, when groups outperformed each other with the greatest audio and video presentations for home computers, such as the AMIGA, ATARI ST, and early Macintosh. One of the reasons for the great...
- Software downloads 2009-10-30
- Ports Of Call 1.7 (Mobile)
- Ports Of Call The Maritime Simulation Gamenew: real map used internet required for this function - see your ships on a worldwide map -- and look at the game harbors in reality.Ports of Call has a long tradition the first version was releasedon the Amiga 1986 with other versionsfollowing.Now...
- Software downloads 2009-10-30
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