Amiga

( n)

   A  series  of  personal computer models originally sold by Commodore,
   based  on  680x0  processors,  custom  support chips and an operating
   system  that combined some of the best features of Macintosh and Unix
   with compatibility with neither.

   The   Amiga  was  released  just  as  the  personal  computing  world
   standardized on IBM-PC clones. This prevented it from gaining serious
   market   share,  despite  the  fact  that  the  first  Amigas  had  a
   substantial  technological  lead on the IBM XTs of the time. Instead,
   it  acquired  a  small but zealous population of enthusiastic hackers
   who  dreamt  of  one day unseating the clones (see {Amiga Persecution
   Complex}).   The   traits  of  this  culture  are  both  spoofed  and
   illuminated  in  The  BLAZE  Humor  Viewer. The strength of the Amiga
   platform  seeded  a small industry of companies building software and
   hardware   for   the  platform,  especially  in  graphics  and  video
   applications (see {video toaster}).

   Due  to  spectacular  mismanagement,  Commodore  did  hardly any R&D,
   allowing  the  competition to close Amiga's technological lead. After
   Commodore went bankrupt in 1994 the technology passed through several
   hands,  none  of  whom  did much with it. However, the Amiga is still
   being  produced  in Europe under license and has a substantial number
   of fans, which will probably extend the platform's life considerably.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {chicken head}]