Introducing Amiga

Peripherals

Introducing Amiga

By Peter H. Lewis
The New York Times

February 24, 1987

Commodore, the Pennsylvania company that makes the C-64 and C-128 home computers, will introduce two new versions of its Amiga computer at a trade fair in Germany next month. The new Amigas will go on sale in the United States a month later.

The new models are designed to address the major identity problems that were apparent when the Amiga was introduced amid much fanfare a year and a half ago. At that time it was recognized as a technically superior computer, but one that was too expensive for the home and too limited, in software at least, for businesses. Also, although the Amiga promised compatibility with I.B.M. software, it never delivered on the promise in a convenient way.

Commodore will continue to make the original Amiga 1000 for the time being, but it is adding a low-priced model, called the 500, and an expandable version called the 2000 that the company contends can be rigged to be compatible, both in hardware and software, with the I.B.M. PC-XT. Both new Amigas are said to be able to run all the software for the original, although the connectors to some of the model 1000's peripheral devices will have to be modified before they can plug into the 2000.

Commodore has not set a price for the United States versions of the new models, but if the Amiga 500 is to gain a foothold here it will have to be competitive with the Atari 520 ST, which has become the price-performance leader in the home market. A source said Commodore intends to sell a complete color system for less than $1,000.

The basic Amiga 2000, without monitor, will probably carry a list price of less than $1,500.

Following are brief descriptions of the new Amigas.

The 2000

The Amiga 2000, which will be built in West Germany, where Commodore is second to I.B.M. as a supplier of business computers, is an improved version of the 1000. It has seven internal expansion slots: five that accept Amiga plug-ins and two that are designed to take plug-in cards for the I.B.M. PC. Two of the Amiga slots can also be adapted to take PC cards.

On the original Amiga, which uses a Motorola 68000 chip, I.B.M. compatibility was addressed clumsily through software and a ''Sidecar'' attachment. The Amiga 2000, in contrast, takes the hookup inside. It is wired with both the Amiga and I.B.M. ''buses'' - the pathways by which data move through the computer -which can be connected with an optional ''Janus'' board, named for the Roman god with two faces. The Janus board contains the same chip used in the I.B.M. PC-XT. The PC software runs under the Amiga operating system.

The 2000 comes with one built-in 3 1/2-inch disk drive, 1 megabyte (a million characters) of user memory, a keyboard and a mouse. Options include another 3 1/2-inch drive, a 5 1/4-inch drive, a hard disk and up to 8 additional megabytes of memory.

The 500

The Amiga 500 will be a one-piece, wedge-shaped machine with a 3 1/2-inch disk drive, opening on the right side. Like the other Amigas it uses the 68000 central processing unit augmented by three co-processors, one each for video, graphics and sound. As a result, the Amiga 500 can be expected to deliver colors, animation and sound effects superior to any other machine in its price range. To show off the colors best, an optional RGB (red-green-blue) color monitor will be offered, but the computer will have a built-in RF (radio-frequency) modulator that will allow it to be hooked to a color television set.

The Amiga 500 will come with 512,000 characters of memory, which can be expanded to 1 megabyte through a trap door in the bottom of the box. More memory and other disk drives will have to be attached externally. Also, the 500 depends on an external power supply, a clumsy appendage that creates clutter around an otherwise sleek machine.

If the 500 delivers the same performance as its predecessor, at a price close to that of its rival Atari 520 ST, it will have to merit serious consideration by home computer users.

Electronics Arts

One of the best ways to take advantage of the Amiga's color and graphics capabilities is with a program called Deluxe Paint II for the Amiga ($99.95, from Electronics Arts, 800-245-4525; in California, 800-562-1112). It outperforms by far any other paint program for any other personal computer.

And for baseball fans, Electronic Arts is warming up an Amiga game called Earl Weaver Baseball. The company is to throw out the first copy in April at a price that is currently in arbitration.