"I used to have an Amiga".....
With those six words you will make a complete stranger a friend for life. OK ,
maybe not for life, but you will have a nice drink at least. This is the enigma
of Operating systems ( OS). First off, for those who don't know, an 'Operating
system' is the program that runs a computer. It is the maintenance man, plumber,
carpenter and general handyman of your computer. It acts as a go-between the
user and the computer.
This all started off, by me seeing that Maya, a popular 3D animation package was
being ported to the Apple Mac. I laughed quietly to myself at all the people in
the world who would be having heated debates based over this news. Now if you
seem confused, let me explain with my own personal story.
There is a computer called the Amiga. It is generally credited with defining and
popularizing Desk Top Video (DTV). It came out in the mid eighties, and is still
used today in many production facilities. This is despite the fact that the Amiga
has been out of major production since the early nineties. I owned one from 1991,
and became a follower of the Amiga religion. At that time the PC was still not
capable of working with graphics and video in a production environment, especially
so cost effectively. And I and my fellow Amiga Zealots made sure everyone knew
that. Long debates and arguments would be had where ever people who used different
OS's met. We would even discuss how great the Amiga system was amongst ourselves.
If you met a fellow Amiga user, he automatically was seen as a special member of
a divine sect. When this Computer System started to die, the arguments became more
intense. Like scurrying rats on a sinking ship, we became more vocal about the reasons
why the Amiga should live, and that real life was unjust. It was sad the way it died.
And it made me very dispirited. The reason for the Amiga's demise was simple. It was
run terribly. The holding company went under and the Amiga system then passed from
company to company over the next 8 or so years. The fact that it still has a thriving
3rd party market attests to its power.
After that period in my life I too jumped ship to the PC, for reasons of necessity.
I didn't enjoy it at first, and still cried out the Amiga anthem. But as all things
fade and wither so did my fanaticism. It got replaced by what I think as a more reasoned
thinking. I will now gladly work on any operating system, it is not the reason for
my work, just a tool. My animation can be made on any OS's I choose. My choice is based
more on the animation packages I use. Sure the different OS's have different strengths,
but in life it is never the best that wins. It is not that simple. Why I have changed
is not so apparent. Maybe I have become more mature ( or more old fashioned as some would
say ). Maybe I just got tired of fighting for a cause that didn't really matter that
much. So you see operating systems are more than lifeless programs running your applications.
They are a way a person likes to define themselves. I still see lots of people arguing
over the merits of Linux over Windows over Mac OS over Amiga OS etc. I find it amusing and
interesting. Computer Geeks have their own social order and status symbols. A true testament
to the natural stratification humans like to instill on themselves.
I now tend to avoid OS's arguments, and animation package arguments for that matter. But I
still get a warm heart and a smile when I meet a old Amiga user. Nothing more needs to be
said, it is all understood.
Sites:
Article about Maya on the Mac at Vfxpro.com
www.amiga.com
www.linux.com
http://www.apple.com/macos/
Any questions or comments to : [email protected]
