Commodore Amiga 500 - Key Features of the Amiga 500; Digitized Stereo Audio; Multitasking-Running Several Programs at the same Time; Resolution, Screen

Key Features of the Amiga 500
The Amiga 's li st of features is second to none in the mi crocomputer fi eld. Many
features are unique to the Amiga; others are advan
ce d beyo nd similar features on
other microcomputers.
Th e key features of th e Amiga 500 are summa ri zed in the
fo ll owing paragraphs.
Sophisticated Color Graphics
Th e advanced graphics capabilities of the Amiga 5 00 can produce colorf ul , hi gh
resolution scr
ee n in static or animated mode. Normal screen r eso lution is 320 x
2
00 or 320 x 400 pixels. Hi gh r eso lution is 640 x 200 or 640 x 400 pi xels.
Depending on the graphic mod
e, you can select 16 or 32 co lors fo r dis pl ay at a
time; you
ca n select from a palette of 4096 co lo·rs.
Digitized Stereo Audio
The Amiga 500 pr ovides a versatile two-channel, four-voice stereo so un d capa-
bilit
y, with the four voices be in g output as two voices per cha nn e l. Various
options (such as a MIDI interface) can be added to take advantage of
th e A mi ga
50
0's sophis ti cated digitized ster eo sound and music capabilities.
Multitasking-Running Several Programs at the Same Time
Multi ta s kin g- th e ability of a comput er to pe rf orm a number of tasks simulta-
neousl
y- is a ca pability unique to Ami ga co mputers among mi crocomputers in
or near their price range. For exa mpl e, with the A mi ga 500 you can r un an
accounting program and a word process
in g program at the same time. If th ere is
any co mp etition betw ee n the programs fo r system resources, the computer
a
ll oca tes the system r eso urces according to priorities you se t. Because multi-
tasking lets you do things like printing o ut one repo rt while you' re work in g on
another, your productivity is grea tl y e nh anced.
Introducing the Amiga
500 1 -5