By Paul Somerfeldt, Contributing Editor, See staff list for e-mail address
Our esteemed editor wants us to write about the Amiga products that are our favorites. That's a tough one, as times change, and what was important to me way back in '91 is different from what is now. Well, here's a try....
Aladdin. It is a telecommunications program for use with the Genie network. Basically, it allows one to spend as little time connected to the Genie computers as possible, while getting as much information as possible. Basically, you can download files, messages, and e-mail just by a simple right-mouse-button selection. Since the computer did all the work, it minimized the time you spent on Genie, and as a result, your connect fees and phone bills.
ARexx. What needs to be said?
Transwrite. A simple, easy-to-use word processor, with one fatal flaw. It wouldn't do ARexx. It's ironic, since the program was written by Zamara & Sullivan, the same two guys who wrote the Abacus book explaining ARexx.
CygnusED Pro. A text editor that was very fast, even by today's standards. In fact Schatztruhe has acquired the rights, and has slightly reprogrammed and reissued the program. This article is being written on version 4.2. The only thing that seems to be missing is the internal multi-clipboard support.
Directory Opus. My guess is that it is the second most famous program for the Amiga. The first is the Video Toaster/Lightwave, but since I have no first-hand knowledge of that device/program, I won't include it. DOpus, or Opus as it is now called, is a wonderful program designed to make moving files from one directory to the next a breeze. Eventually it added the ability to run any kind of file you could throw at it. Well, almost. The latest incarnation allows one to use it as a Workbench replacement. I use it in this fashion without difficulty. I've had it for months, but have yet to figure it out completely. It has one flaw that I have found though. It won't work well with WShell.
WShell. For those of you who like shells, this one is a nice one. It is written by Bill Hawes, the guy who wrote ARexx. As a result, it works seamlessly with ARexx. I can't remember many of the other features, since I haven't been able to use it since I started using Opus in Workbench Replacement Mode.
Hmm. Two great tastes that don't go great together. :-/
There's a lot more software out there that I would like to name, but I can't. There really is not a decent word processor. Nor have I found a spreadsheet that is as easy-to-use as Excel. Odd that I find a Microsoft product good. :) Nor have I found a really good database program. Perhaps we can get Amiga, Inc. to contract with Softwood to create an Amiga Office type program suite that would allow for all three to work well, and work well together. No web browser that cuts the mustard yet. I haven't used Miami yet, but am unhappy with TermiteTCP. I still use TermiteTCP though, and support the programmers.
The only really unusual bit of hardware that I have is a Picasso IV. It is a wonderful piece of hardware. (Not that I will entertain any Picasso/CyberVision arguments here.) I have spent the last 3 months wondering how I ever survived without a VGA monitor. Of course, I felt that way about CD-ROM drives, too.