On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 3:53 PM, Swift Griggs <swiftgriggs at gmail.com> wrote:
This is what I struggled with, too. Why buy yet another piece of kit when
I can run UAE and other emulators with ease (and all on my main
workstation) ? For me, the reason is a bit specific to my situation. For
one, the MiST is _tiny_ it's about the size of a box of strike-anywhere
kitchen matches (I used to shoot these out of my BB gun, dunno why that
came to mind, sorry). Another reason is that I like to use a KVM on my
workstation at home. I find that if a machine isn't on my KVM, it doesn't
get much use. So, being that the MiST is HD15 VGA + USB kb & mouse, that
suited my KVM rig perfectly. I had a little 5-port USB power supply down
there, too. So, I was able to plug the MiST into that without burning
another power-socket or needing a thick cable.
The emulation is also a bit better in some cases. I can run demos on my
MiST that have significant problems with UAE (glitchy graphics display). I
also enjoy console games (heck any games for that matter, including
pinball). So, the MiST emulates some big platform names there.
Unfortunately, there is no Neo Geo or SNES support, yet. However, I have a
feeling that'll come. Folks are already discussing those. So, i see it as
kind of a "super-emulator" that has the additional benefits of working with
my KVM console rig (and my monitor), without having to burn a bunch of
space.
Still you are completely correct, you could setup all the same OS's using
pure software emulators, and use one of those USB-to-ancient-joystick
converters to get that little feature. Using the MiST is a weird
experience. To me, it's more exciting than firing up an emulator, but less
than putting hands on the real metal. YMMV, but I see your points, for
sure. I thought a lot of the same things. However, given it's size, it
won't junk up my place anymore which is my main concern. Given the cost, if
I get tired of it... well it was just $180 or so, and someone will buy it.
-Swift
Good info. I haven't talked to anyone that could compare one with the
software emulation that's available.
I have been working on improving Adamem for the Coleco ADAM for the past 10
years or so off and on. In most respects it does an excellent job of
emulating the real deal. There are a couple of areas I'm still working to
address on it (namely sound emulation).
Granted, that system is quite a bit simpler than an Amiga.