ScuzzBlog: Diaries February 2021
Entry 15th February 2021: Post 1: Amiga Plug-in interfaces, adaptors and expansions.
Amiga Plug-in interfaces, adaptors and expansions.
For me what made the Amiga so special was the ease at which I was
able to plug in various interfaces to support any number of plug-in
tech. All started for me with the video grabber and then the sound
grabber. It just wasn't hard finding a gadget that I could easily
plug in and then install and start using. The variety was quite
mesmerising with magazines full of stuff and my local Amiga store
overloaded with clever toys for the Miggy.
If there is one thing I miss most from those days with the Amiga
it is the fun gadgets that I could plug in and explore. It wasn't
just that I had an interface , it was that the interface could use any
number of devices. So with the Techno I could use any device that
had the sound connector. With the Vidi Amiga I could use the camera,
video and even DvD. Whenever I needed something done I just flicked
through the Amiga mags and there would always be a suitable product.
The Amiga also gave the opportunity to third party suppliers to
provide stuff that even the Amiga hadn't considered. The whole copy
protection mechs were bypassed immediately it seems by clever XCOPY
style interfaces like the Action Replay series. This spawned a
whole world of copying crack trainers that exploited holes in the
protection methods used.
Whether it be music, video or just storage of data there really was
no limit to the ingenuity it seemed to those companies furnishing
the Amiga world with clever gadgets. When I look back on my time
with the Amiga the one thing that stands out more than anything
else is the love affair the platform had for fun things. The very
computer was first developed disguising itself as a joypad. The
guys designing and making the kit were a fun group and this did
spill out into all that they did. It infected all those involved
with the Amiga brand. When I ventured into my local store I felt
I was dropping down the rabbit hole into Aladdin's cave and opening
a Pandora's box of fun stuff.
To be truthfully honest I am not sure that the current community
truly appreciates what it was to be an Amigan. When they show their
Amiga desks they tend to be sterile and clinically clean. More of
an Apple environment that Steve Jobbs would have been proud of. The
Amiga world was one of fun, colour, music and games. It was littered
with disks, books, magazines and the gadgets.
Happy days I have to say. Anyhoo here are a sprinkling of those plug
and play with interfaces, adaptors, expansions for gadgets designed
for the Amiga. Each in turn seemed to piggy back onto other equally
fun toys etc. No introductions... just the goodies. And this does
not even scratch the surface of what was available. Just pick up an
Amiga magazine and you will see.
Amiga Plug-in interfaces, adaptors and expansions.
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