The Most Popular Computer Of The 80s Is Coming Back, And We're Dusting Off Our Floppy Disks

By Matt | May 08, 2024

Computers have come a long way in the decades since they were first created, and nowadays it's hard to imagine a time when things like computer mouses, the Windows Operating System, or even affordable color monitors, didn't exist.

Those of us who grew up in the 80s remember this all too well though, because back in the day you pretty much had a DOS command prompt, some floppy discs that could hold a few kilobytes of data, and a keyboard that made so much noise it could keep your entire house awake into the night.

Back then, by far the most popular computer brand (aside from maybe Apple) was Commodore. While their Commodore 64 was revolutionary for featuring games on strange media like cassette tapes, it was the Amiga that put the company on the map. The small, relatively affordable system was a huge hit, selling over 6 million units at a time when computers were still a relatively new thing.

The Amiga is a computer that people still remember fondly, but of course, computer geeks nowadays have no real good way to go back and experience for themselves. Thankfully, it looks like they'll now get a chance: a company is producing a mini version of the classic computer that you can connect to your TV!

Electronics company DARMA Projects have announced a new device called the ‘Armiga’, a mini recreation of the popular computer that "aims to emulate both the Amiga 500 with 1MB of RAM and Amiga 1200 with 2MB of RAM as close as possible to the original ones."

The tiny unit is able to read Amiga-coded floppy disks, decode them, and allow you to play them on modern hardware, something that's otherwise only really possible using emulation. Not only that, but the unit includes an HDMI output and support for USB keyboards and thumb drives, meaning you can connect it to your modern-day TV and read your old files off a thumb drive!

The unit retails for about $235 US plus shipping, and also has a slightly cheaper version that doesn't include a floppy drive, should you just want to do everything digitally. More information can be found on their website!

Did you use an Amiga growing up? What was your favorite game for it?

Tags: computers, video games, commodore, 80s, comeback, amiga

More Throwbacks

Video Games

Universal Studios Has Apparently Started Building The Nintendo Park And We're Screaming

By Tanya 4 months ago

While it's been known since 2015 that Nintendo was teaming up with Universal to create a park that would give all of us a chance to explore our dream worlds, it's been a long time before we got any news. But now, three years later, Universal has finally started building. I know, I'm screaming too. The best thing about this park is that while the first one is getting built in Japan, they aren't stopping at one. The Nintendo theme park will be coming to both Orlando AND Hollywood. That means we don't have to take these huge international trips

Video Games

Rumors Claim N64 Classic Console To Be Announced Soon, Here's What We Know So Far

By Tanya 4 months ago

Apparently the announcement of whether or not the N64 Classic will exist isn't what we need to be worried about, it's more of a when will it be coming out. Nintendo's just had a big showcase called Nintendo Direct that highlights all of their upcoming projects, and many sources claimed that it would be the day that the official details of the N64 classic would be released.Nintendo Direct is a big deal every year for gamers, and with this year's release of the new Super Smash Bros. game, fans have good reason to celebrate. But right now, people are

90s

Your Favorite 'Mario Kart 64' Character Reveals The Truth About Your Personality

By Tanya 4 months ago

Playing Mario Kart was one of the most important things that you could do as a child. It was how you were going to develop that mental acuity needed in your day-to-day life. Sure, you could learn some things at school, but Mario Kart taught us problem solving in ways that were actually fun. You learned how to wait until someone was going over the big jump in Wario's Stadium before you used your lightning power, you learned where the glitches and cheats were, and most importantly, you developed a bond with one of the characters.Anyone who has played

Video Games

Sony Is Bringing Back The Original PlayStation Just In Time For Christmas

By Tanya 4 months ago

It can't be easy to try and create a video game platform, especially one that people will continue coming back to for years. While we know people have gone completely bonkers over the Nintendo and Super Nintendo rereleases, apparently other old gaming systems have been keen to follow up. After a few years of watching their competition dominate the market, Sony has now decided to step into the ring and bring back their very first PlayStation console. PlayStation was first released in 1994, making it 23 years old this year. Thanks to games like Driver, Spyro the Dragon, and Twisted