N64 Anthology - Book Review

We all remember the first games console we bought with our own money. Not Christmas or birthday money, nor pocket money saved up over the months, or any combination of the above. No, what I mean is actual earned money, be it from paper rounds, part time jobs or that first wage packet you spent nine times over in your head before getting your hands on it. For me, that console was the Nintendo 64.

It was the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Seven, and I was but a young man starting at Kingston University. I found myself a part time job (£5.00 per hour (over £9 in 2020) which was bloody good for the time) and balanced working 35 hour weeks and studying in order to save what little I could from the old-style student loan that seemed like a lot of money back then - oh the innocence (and stamina) of youth. Naturally, being a gamer, I took my old Sega Megadrive with me and for the first couple of months, that was my sole gaming fix. It didn't take long to save up the money in order to give in to the temptation of an N64, where a trip to HMV in the Bentall Centre relieved me of about £150 (£275 in 2020) for the console and about £70 (£130 in 2020!!!) for Turok the Dinosaur Hunter. I was a happy man.

This became my go to console, the Megadrive being carefully packed away for the return home. It didn't take long for me to finish Turok and search out other games and, in the November of that year, I picked up Goldeneye 007. That, as they say, was that. To this day, the N64 remains one of my favourite gaming machines.

This book, N64 Anthology by Math Manent, aims to cover pretty much every single aspect of Nintendo's third home console and provide the enthusiasts and collectors among us a reference par excellence. That is not to say its appeal is limited to those niche markets - no, this tome is also for anyone with a passing interest in console gaming of the period.

So, what do we get? Well, an 8.5 by 10.5 inch hardback book, 360 pages in length on rather nice glossy paper. I can't fault the physical quality of the book at all. It's great. But what about the contents?

The anthology is divided up into several sections: a history of the origins and life of the console, interviews with two industry veterans along with some developer quotes, a hardware section, a list of all the games released for the N64, a section on the ill-fated 64DD add-on, cancelled games, collectors items and a piece on the N64 around the world. Also included is a collectors index where you can mark off items in your collection (I would never, ever mark this section!), the list of the original Kickstarter backers and a pictorial guide to N64 advertising around the globe (Collector's Edition only). Let's take each of the sections in turn.

The history of the console covers 54 pages, from it's origins to its final software release. This is as detailed a history that I have ever read on the subject and won't be a disappointment to anyone unfamiliar with the tale. There is even a section on the lesser known iQue Player, so this book is off to a cracking start. 

There are two interviews: Martin Hollis of Goldeneye 007 fame and Eric Caen, President and co-founder of Titus Interactive, a prolific supporter of the N64. Both are informative interviews, Caen's more so, as Hollis has been interviewed many a time over the past twenty years and whilst there are some new nuggets here and there, it does feel pretty familiar. Caen, on the other hand, gives a very interesting interview (aided by some very good questions). His perspective is not one usually found in gaming magazines. It was enjoyable to read and I gained a new perspective on the videogame business during the late 1990's.

The hardware section is pretty straight forward, covering the console itself, the controller, Game Pak and other accessories. 

The real meat of the book the games section. Here, every title released gets an airing, with box art, at least one screenshot and a description. Also included are release dates where region applicable, a rating, a rarity score and sales figures where known. This is why this book exists and any collector of N64 games needs this in their library. For most readers, it's one hell of a guide to the software range that the N64 hosted and dispels the belief that it didn't have much of a library. For the collector though, everything you ever needed to know about the N64's software is here. 

The 64DD, whose teased promise and then eventual disappointing release in Japan only, seems to be one of the greater what-ifs of that console generation. It's given a great description here along with the tiny software catalogue that did see a release. It's not a huge section but it's good to see it get an airing.

The cancelled games chapter is a smidge longer though each game only gets a brief paragraph - for some this is more than enough as the title may have been simply cancelled without warning or released on a different format. Rarities and collectors items are mildly interesting (to me) but could also fall under the category of marketing tat - depending on your point of view. It's still a worthwhile addition to the anthology. The final part, for the Collector's Edition of the Anthology, is focused on the advertising used for the N64 and its games around the world and is brought to life by the glossy, high quality paper. It also harks back to when magazine advertising was a big thing in console gaming - online was getting there but, back then, the printed word was king.

If you can't already tell, this is a brilliant reference book. Packed with detail, an absolutely monstrously complete software guide and with superb print quality, it's a must for any N64 fan and a highly recommended publication for any gamer. It's not exactly cheap but you are getting your money's worth. You can buy it direct here or the usual online bookstores.

Laila's donated snack box

A good friend of mine, Laila, had been reading my previous posts on the SnackSurprise snack boxes we've been getting for the last few months and kindly offered my good lady and I a personal selection of Asian snacks for us to try. Last week, the box arrived, and as you can see, it's quite a selection.

A re-purposed shoe box of wonders.

The accompanying note did say that these were snacks that she had tried and she hoped that among them, there would be some we would enjoy. We shall see.

Prawn, brings the cat to the yard.

We decided to go savoury first with the Oishi Prawn Crackers. Upon opening the packet, our nostrils were assaulted by the most overpowering prawn smell I have ever experienced. So overpowering that the cat wandered in from the next room to have a sniff. As for the taste, well, they're crunchy snacks but the flavour is actually quite delicate, which means if you wanted to, you could have quite a few of these without destroying your taste buds. Quite nice then.

SPOILER ALERT: Just. Fucking. No.

Next was a grilled seaweed snack. These are very thin slices of grilled seaweed and promised a fresh and clean taste. Bollocks, dear reader, complete and utter bollocks. The texture is weird, the saltiness reminded me straight away of those Swedish droppings from last month and the aftertaste? Gentle Jesus wept, even after spitting the remnants out and glugging some water, it didn't want to leave. Bloody awful!

Should be called Oreganoz...

Pretz pizza sticks promised a lot, with the tag line "Hello, me time". To be fair, they deliver on the crunchy stick side and if you like Oregano, then you'll love these. The herb overpowers most of the cheese and tomato flavour you might expect. A thin breadstick then and one that is ok, but their "me time" is not worth my time.

Actually bloody lovely!

Pocky next, offering a cookies and cream taste in a stick. And you know what, they deliver in spades. With the right amount of chocolate and an extremely creamy taste, these were the best so far. Simple but delivers what's on the box.

Arse biscuits?

Now, Chocolate Collon (Stop sniggering! Really, stop it! I'll not have the tone lowered just yet!). These are a small tube snack that look like a brand of dog biscuits. The hard outer shell surrounds a soft chocolate filling. The shell is crunchy and the filling is quite sweet, though a bit gritty and nutty tasting. Not exactly pleasant. If this is the true "Collon Chocolate Flavour", then it's a pass from us. (Right, get out! Absolute filth, you lot are!).

Coconut antacids.

The Boro Coconut Cookies are like little meringues with a decent hit of coconut. They're ok to begin with but are very powdery, making it feel like I had chewed an antacid tablet by mistake. A couple of these and a mouthful of water and it makes a cloying paste reminiscent of powdered toothpaste. Another no-no.

Look iffy, taste nice - also tiny.

The first of three mini-Kit-Kats now, and something that sounded quite nice: Yuzu Matcha flavour. These, as you can see, are quite green but very, very tasty. There is a lovely, fresh lemon hit that works really well. Some might think these quite sweet, but for the small portion size, they are spot on. 

Beelzebub turd sweets.

Haw Flakes now, where we have little sugar flakes (discs) that taste of absolutely nothing when you first bite into them. Oh, there's sugar, but not much else. Then you get the aftertaste. It's hawthorn. In a sugar disc form. Whoever decided to make these foul droppings from Satan's ring piece needs a stern talking to. It took a good ten minutes to clear our palettes after these. 

Surprisingly nice.

The Nin Jian Herbal Candy Super Mint set alarm bells ringing as soon as we picked up the packet. Oh, the packaging looks nice, but the description aroused suspicion. We shouldn't have been so worried. These have an initially strong mint flavour (think Foxes Glacier Mints) which gives way to a fruity taste - maybe cherry but not entirely sure. It works, and the sweet itself is quite refreshing. We were wrong to pre-judge here.

Another nice sweet - we're on a roll here...

Kopiko Cappuccino sweets are just brilliant. A mix of Werther's Original and strong coffee, they're creamy, rich and delicious. Long-lasting too, we both enjoyed these and can heartily recommend them.

The jelly roll that ended to roll of nice snacks.

Yes, this is a jelly straw. Yes, it's got a weak apple flavour, almost to the point of blandness. And yes, it jizzed all over my hand when I tried to open it. Before the jizzing, I wasn't impressed. Afterwards, even less so.

Pink and bland - like school blancmange.

Another Kit-Kat bar, this time Sakura Mochi, with very pink chocolate. The flavour is very subtle and to be honest, neither my good lady nor I could nail down what that flavour actually was. Pleasant enough, but not something to really to enthuse about, so yeah...

Fuck's Sake! Not good.

Final Kit-Kat and it's Sakura Japanese Sake flavour. Where as the previous Kit-Kat was neither "nowt nor summat", this one delivers a big, heft punch of sake that is actually quite unpleasant. It tastes like you've had one of those chocolate liqueurs that sell at Christmas time, but it's overly strong and the bar itself has a foisty smell. Not one for us.

Some say this is nice. They are wrong.

The final item is the one that really is what it says on the box: Chrysanthemum Tea. If you're not like me, then you may enjoy this. If you are like me and don't like flowery teas then this cold carton of flowery piss will not be to your taste. Foul, disgusting and just plain horrible. You are entitled to a different opinion, so I will not offend thee with the facts. :-)

So there you have it, a rather tongue in cheek walk through an Asian snack box. Thank you, Laila, for the experience, and some of those snacks were "experiences". Some good, some bad, there are a few we'll keep a look out for in future and a handful we shall definitely not. The fun, as always, is with the trying out.

Was That Film Really That Bad??? - Who Dares Wins

It's that music. 

Simple and to the point

When you start watching Who Dares Wins and that music plays, you get it. You get what they're aiming for. The film announces itself with all of the subtlety of Lily Savage and, after a brief initial credits sequence with war memorials and Parliament (that's a big hint for it's politics), continues into a peace rally (without the stirring music) and we're into the set up proper. Unlike a similar vintage film, North Sea Hijack, where the music exists to batter you into submission proclaiming it's an action movie like it's got five lights, Who Dares Wins immediately tells you what you should expect - drama, action, tension, right wing politics!

Sadly, this is its first mistake (aside from the politics). You see, this 1982 release, inspired heavily by the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege, is less of an action film and more of a slow pot-boiler with an action heavy finale. The title, using the motto of the Special Air Service, does fit the film well, though, so I'll give it that.

The world's worst Grindr profile pic?

Also known by its US title, "The Final Option", this film shows the planning and execution of a nuclear disarmament group's operation to take the US Ambassador to the UK and several high level guests hostage in order to force the launch of a nuclear missile at Holy Loch in Scotland. To prevent this from happening, an SAS officer (who resigns his commission rather than be returned to unit after a set up involving an interrogation almost gone wrong with two visiting NATO officers on an exercise) ingratiates himself with one of the leaders of the anti-proliferation group and ends up taking part in the op, becoming a key figure in ending the hostage situation. In between all this, there is a family sub-plot where the SAS dude's family are held as an insurance policy so he does what he's told, as well as a nod to the politics involved where a visiting rich Libyan dude splashes the cash on far left groups in the UK and US, as well as keeps ties with a UK politician (a not so light nod to the Labour Party at the time). With me so far? Good!

Nefarious Lefties - They've left their Marx on the wall.

So with the plot dealt with, let's get straight into the casting, where the film shows its relatively low £5m budget. Headlining is Lewis Collins as SAS Captain Peter Skellen. Coming at the end of his "Professionals" stint, this was Collins' attempt to start a movie career (and ultimately, though unsuccessfully, grab a casting session for James Bond). Describing the film as less action orientated than his first script reading led him to believe, he gives the role some welly, and he can do "serious bastard looking" rather well. True, he can come across as a bit cold at times, but then he's a killer, even with the devoted family life (despite forming the beast with two backs with Judy Davis' terrorist leader Frankie Leith and showing no remorse over it). No, this is Collins' show and he plays the part perfectly. He's looks impeccable whether out on exercise or visiting a pub and you can believe he was in the military. Which he was: a private in the Territorial 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment. He would later pass selection for the Territorial SAS but refused entry because of his fame. Would he have made a good Bond? I would like to think so. Instead we got another two Moore entries that, being realistic, he was far too old to play. Anyhoo, back to the rest of the cast.

Judy Davis is the co-leader of the People's Lobby, the terrorist group attached to CND. She's good and spars well against pretty much everyone, showing a degree of enthusiasm lacking in some of the smaller roles. Her gradual un-hinging as the siege develops demonstrates this perfectly. Indeed, she is the best member of the cast and her later career garnered her two Oscar nods as well as BAFTA, Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe wins, plus many more than there is space to mention. A truly class act. 

Playing to her favourite character type, we have Ingrid Pitt as a rather nasty piece of work. She's definitely a killer and very convincing in the role. You can certainly tell she likes playing to this type and her method of killing Skellen's contact (a perfume spray on a bus) is both chilling and camp silliness at the same time.

We do get some Hollywood dazzle with the inclusion of Richard Widmark as the US Secretary of State and Robert Webber as the head of Strategic Air Command. The former was a last minute replacement for William Holden who passed away prior to filming. Both give steady performances for the relatively brief time they are onscreen and add a bit of gravitas, especially in the politics discussion that I'll get to later.

The majority of the rest of the cast are a mix of familiar British names. Edward Woodward, Tony Doyle, John Duttine, Paul Freeman, Nick Brimble, Kenneth Griffith, Maurice Roeves, Trevor Byfield, Tony Osoba, Norman Rodway, Patrick Allen and even Oz Clarke. Yes, that Oz Clarke! All are decent to good, though shout outs go to Doyle, Roeves and Duttine. The first two play Skellen's SAS superiors, the latter is the People's Lobby co-leader. Each brings a bit more oomph to their portrayals and really get into character.

He doesn't like the look of his Pinot Grigio!

On the film's technical side, it does quite well. No, the budget wasn't massive but it does show what it needs to. They used Pinewood's main building as the embassy, there's some fairly long talky bits and it has a very grimy feel at times, though that could also just be 1982. I remember it vaguely but that was mostly the period after the steel works closed and the demolition of the cooling towers. One thing I will comment upon is the sound editing. A lot of the sound design is library stuff that often doesn't relate to what's happening onscreen. For example, they randomly use Sterling SMG gunfire for MP5 firing. It's only at the beginning of the film but having fired the latter, I know what it sounds like. For some unknown reason, they change the sound editing for the final assault. Nope, no idea either and strange as they want to go for realism elsewhere in the film. They did get SAS support and help for the production, to the point of taking up their SAS advisors offer to do the embassy assault themselves, knowing that real SAS bods would look much more realistic than stuntmen. You also get some decent Westland Scout action, though you also get to appreciate how bloody small those things actually were.

Dyb, Dyb, Dyb!

Politics is a biggie in this film and considering when it was made and who the opposing sides were, it's very much a hit job on the anti-nuclear lobby. They are seen as a front for more radical, anti-capitalist groups. They are funded by countries who are opposed to western democracy and, in a six minute long discussion at the beginning of the siege, lose a political argument to some of their hostages about the west disarming first. Not wanting to start a fight about 40 year old politics, I will say that it was a different time, with different priorities and the ever present threat of nuclear conflict. For those of you too young to remember the 1980's, check this out about how close we came to missiles flying in 1983. That said, it's a right wing film that is very pointed in its depiction of left wing supporters - the (presumably Labour) politician dealing with a foreign financier, the parody of Bruce Kent (the Roman Catholic general secretary of CND at the time portrayed by Kenneth Griffith) and the fact that the radical Leith is living a comfortable lifestyle after inheriting wealth. Balanced, it is not. Creating conflict for the sake of a film story, it does. 

I'm going to mention the music again. The majority of it is ok, but the main theme is ear worm brilliance and worth the price of admission alone. It suits the action parts of the film spectacularly well. There you go.

This bit, with that music, is cool.

Aside from the dated and questionable political views, some technical points of order and iffy sound design, is this film any good? As a time capsule from the early Eighties, yes, yes it is. It looks and feels authentic in the mundane detail of the period. From the smoky, ill-lit pubs to diabolical home furnishings and Dear God, those fashion choices (some of which you can buy today in Primark - youths wear them, Jesus wept!), it's 1982 all over. The film itself is unevenly paced, with a strong start, but then sags whenever we get to Skellen's family life. Yes, that builds up to one half of the climax but still, it's drags on the film. The film does raise tension well, but it is let down by silly, stupid character choices, such as letting Skellen use a bathroom without a guard, which handily lets him use a mirror to signal the police outside. That said, the SAS assaults on the embassy and Skellen's home are done well, and when you get Collins on-screen doing his thing, there is a pang of sadness that he didn't become Bond.

It's one way to clean the windows, I suppose.

Who Dares Wins, then, is a decent combination of political thriller and action film. It falls between the two stools and the politics half of the film is definitely the weaker of the two but the overall result is not bad. A bit like Britain at the time, it shows that the job could be done despite the lack of money. You can watch this film on YouTube at present, a quick search will see to that, or you can pick up a copy on DVD or Blu-ray from the usual places. 

RISC OS Cloverleaf - thoughts and comments

In my last post, I mentioned the Cloverleaf project (possibly a dream given form but definitely not our last, best hope for peace...) that is gaining a fair amount of attention in the RISC OS world. As a keen RISC OS user and someone who is considering a new hardware purchase, I thought I'd give you a run down of the project and my own thoughts on it.

At heart, Cloverleaf is an attempt to use crowdfunding to not only bring new hardware to the RISC OS market, but also to support development of and improvements to the OS itself. Their website states that they aim to provide an alternative to Microsoft, Apple and Google produced operating systems, and bring support for modern day functionality such as Wifi, USB3 and NVMe drives to the OS. These are noble goals. The crowdfunding isn't live as of yet but they have provided details on the hardware and prices on their website, screenshots of which are below. So let's have a look at what they are asking for.

For 99 euros (approx £90), you can become a RISC OS supporter.

Screenshot from Cloverleaf Website.

This gets you a download of the Cloverleaf Distro for RISC OS hardware and emulators, and supports development of the OS. There is also a t-shirt and a printed copy of Archive magazine. Depending on how much you want a t-shirt, this isn't a bad pledge amount. The copy of Archive is a nice touch (and also included with each computer bought as well) and I hope the t-shirt's are available in a suitable range of sizes - not all of us are as slim as we used to be!

If it's hardware you're after then the cheapest option is the Cloverleaf Kitten 64 for 299 euros (£275 approx). This includes a 100 euro (£91 approx) support pledge for further RISC OS development.

Screenshot from Cloverleaf website.

Taking the support pledge away for a moment, £184 for that spec machine is rather decent, using as it seems to the Pine ROCKPro64 board as its foundation. You get a fast multi-core processor (of which RISC OS will only support one core but hey, it's a development need), 4GB of RAM, which is more than enough for RISC OS, and a reasonable amount of storage to get you going. This does sound like a handy little machine though, from the listing, you don't get a keyboard or mouse. Then again, they're not going to break the bank to add yourself if you don't have any lying around the house. 

The step up from the Kitten is the the Cloverleaf Puma 128, costing 599 euros (£550), again with a 100 euro (£91) support pledge. 

Screenshot from Cloverleaf website.

This ups the storage to a 128GB NVMe drive, so bigger and faster. You also get a keyboard and mouse in with the package. As the main board is the same as the Kitten 64, I am wondering what else there is to justify the 300 euro (£275) price difference. I have seen pictures on the Cloverleaf Facebook Group that shows the case with a DVD drive installed but there's no reference yet as to whether it's included in this higher priced machine or if it's an extra to be added later.

On to the laptops now, and this is an area that, outside of old Acorn A4's, has lacked dedicated hardware until the release of the Armbook and re-purposing of Pi-Tops. As with the desktops, there are two models in the Cloverleaf line-up. 

Your budget option is the Cloverleaf Netbook, yours for 399 euros (£365) including a 50 euro (£45) support pledge. 

Screenshot from Cloverleaf website.

Unlike the desktop options, you have a different processor but still more than enough for the purpose of the OS. You get an 11-inch display, 2GB of RAM, a reasonable amount of SD storage and, well, that's pretty much it. From what I can tell, this is a re-badged Pinebook which is no bad thing. After all, that's also what the Armbook is. I do have a question as to whether the Netbook will have a similar set of RISC OS utilities as supplied with the Armbook to improve the RISC OS laptop user experience. That same question also applies to the high-end machine.

The Cloverleaf Notebook is 599 euros (£550) with a 100 euro (£91) support pledge. 

Screenshot from the Cloverleaf website.

This sees a return to the same Rockchip RK3399 processor as the desktop range. We have 4GB of RAM and 128GB NVMe storage of the Puma desktop along with a 14-inch display. This is a re-badged Pinebook Pro - again, no bad thing. For the sake of appearances though, I do feel they shouldn't have just copied the Puma spec for the Notebook - unless you also get a wireless keyboard and mouse with the laptop...

The last machine in the line up is the Cloverleaf All-in-one PC, yours for 899 euros (£820) with that 100 euro (£91) support pledge. 

Screenshot from the Cloverleaf website

I'm not sure about the need for an all in one design but since they're offering it... You get the same basic spec as the Puma desktop but with a different storage set up and that built-in 24-inch display. This is probably the machine I am the least excited about just because I am not a fan of all-in-one designs. I prefer to have the freedom of hooking up my own monitor, but that shouldn't take away from the intention of producing such a form factor.

So there you have it, the range of computers Cloverfield want to release. By using the already available hardware from Pine64.org, a lot of the risk any crowdfunded hardware project entails should be mitigated, as the availability of the Pinebook-based Armbook attests. That surely counts in the project's favour.

But...

(and you knew there would be a "but", right?)

But... there are a few questions I'd like to see answered by the time pledges go live. 

Question One: What is the reason for the price difference between the Kitten and the Puma (either a line from an episode of The Man from Uncle or one of the worst interview questions ever devised)? That 300 euro difference cannot just be for the NVMe drive, keyboard and mouse. Those three items can be had from Amazon for less than 80 euros (£72) so even doubling that for fitting and margin, that still leaves a hefty 140 euro difference and at heart it is the same specification board.

Question Two: Will there be a similar suite of utilities as provided with the already available Armbook to cover keyboard/mouse mapping, battery, lock screen and the like? That software is something that makes the Armbook a more attractive purchase than the Netbook/Notebook models at the moment and from a laptop users perspective, near essential.

Question Three: How exactly is the support funding going to be used? I can see from the website the project targets but some more detail on where and how the money is to be spent would be nice. After all, they're asking for £45/£90 per pledge to go into a pot that ideally requires some explanation beyond "here's what we'd like to spend it on."

I am incredibly interested in the aims of the Cloverleaf project. I've followed them via their various social media profiles from their early days and have appreciated how engaged they have been with the RISC OS community in general. I know crowdfunding has had its share of successes and failures, but I'd say I am optimistic about this one. The basic hardware is already in production for other purposes so I am intrigued to see how much their funding goals are (given the relatively small size of the RISC OS market at present). If the above questions are answered in due time (and address the points raised), then I'll happily support the initiative, leading to a dilemma: choosing which of the machines to get (apart from the all-in-one, obviously!). 

Alternative Computing, but at what cost?

You may have noticed that I have posted several pieces about using operating systems other than Windows over the last couple of years. Since then, I've had a few queries about how much it would cost to purchase hardware capable of running these alternative OS's. For your enlightenment, but possibly not your entertainment, here is my rough, ready and not entirely comprehensive guide to how much it would cost to buy into an OS that isn't Windows. Disclaimer here: this isn't a buying guide as such, with no recommendations about which OS to chose. That decision is up to you. I'm just giving you prices as of October 2020 and a personal comment on those prices where I think necessary. These comments are my own opinion, right or wrong as they may be. All prices are UK GBP unless stated and any conversion to other currencies is the value given by Google on 08/10/2020. These conversion prices do not include shipping, import duty and any other taxes, so watch out for that 20% VAT differential when comparing $ to £. Also, if I've missed something out, please let me know in the comments.

So, first up, we have the other two "mainstream" operating systems: Mac OS and Chrome OS. Neither should need much introduction so I'll just summarise the key points. 

Mac OS is restricted to Apple hardware, the cheapest of which is the Mac Mini starting at £799. You'll need a keyboard, mouse and display to use that but if you've already got those then you're set. If you don't, then you'll either need to factor in the cost of these or chose the next model up, the iMac, which starts at £1,099. Laptops start with the MacBook Air at £999, progressing to the 13-inch Macbook Pro starting at £1,299 and the 16-inch Macbook Pro, whose lowest price model will set you back £2,399. As you can see, these are not small sums of money and if Mac OS is your thing, consider these two caveats. One, Apple is transitioning their range from Intel processors to Apple Silicon (ARM-based) processors. Whilst there is no issue about legacy support (they've been good in previous transitions), there are rumours that the new machines may be slightly cheaper - but that's just a rumour. Also it will take time for Apple Silicon native software to be released, though their translation layer, Rosetta 2, seems to be good enough to run Intel native software in the mean time. The other caveat is that whilst the starting prices might not seem that high (relatively speaking), getting a spec that you want may take the price of the machine to eye-watering levels. For example, that £1,099 iMac - want a Retina 4K display instead of 1080p? £1,299. Want the 27 inch display instead of 21.5 inch? £1,799! And that's before you upgrade the memory or storage as I feel that no machine costing way north of a grand should have less than 16GB of memory these days. Oh, and if you want a Mac Pro, they start at £5,499. The wheels cost another £400 and let's not forget the monitor stand for £949. What about the monitor? Apple's Pro Display XDR will set you back ££4,599. Of course, you can easily buy second-user kit but that's not overly cheap as Apple gear holds its value very well.

Cost of entry: £799 and it only gets higher. 

Chrome OS from Google is available from a ton of manufacturers, such as Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Dell, HP and Google themselves. The issue here is that the budget machines (which can, at times, be had for well under £200, model depending) tend to suffer from budget issues (screen quality, lack of memory, small displays, poor keyboards etc) whereas the pricier machines (e.g. the Google Pixelbook Go) are, well, quite pricey - £629 for the base model. Want a faster processor and more storage? Step up the £829, £949 and £1,349 models! And therein lies the rub. Chrome OS is not that flexible an operating system. True, it does 80% or so of what you want to do but for similar prices to the Pixelbook Go, a Windows (or Mac OS) machine will give you more functionality. 

Cost of entry: Less than £200 though that can be pushed beyond the £1,000 barrier if you feel the need.

Now we get to the trio of operating systems that are less mainstream from a general consumer point of view (that's my Linux defence in place). As a reminder - this is my opinion on the cost of entry for these operating systems. I'm not taking into account what you may or may not want to use them for. Only you can do that and I already know how I do/would use each of the following operating systems.

Amiga OS

I'll be brutally honest, this is a hobbyist OS at best these days. But just like buses, when you want to talk about Amiga operating systems, there are three alternatives to consider. There is v3.1.4 (and the earlier 3.9 - it's briefly explained here) for Classic Amiga hardware, so anything running a Motorola 68k series processor as well as the Vampire boards, Amiga OS 4.1 and Morph OS. This makes things a tad complicated but from a personal point of view, OS 4.1 would be my preference if shopping for an Amiga OS computer. The problem here is that you need to have money to burn. The singular new build Amiga OS 4.1 desktop available now costs £1,799! Yes, I am aware of the Tabor/A1222 board but that's been on the cards for years now and you still can't buy the damn thing, never mind a complete desktop system. That and even though the board should be available for around four hundred euros (£365), a full system would be much more than that. For Amiga OS v3.1.4, you have older hardware that's now at frankly silly prices (and 25 plus years old) or the Vampire accelerator boards, the standalone version costing 579 euros (£530). With Morph OS, that requires either long-unsupported Amiga hardware or a G3/G4 powered Mac, and Apple finished the switch away from those processors in 2007, so good luck sourcing the hardware (or paying a reasonable price when you do find one for sale). As you can see, hobbyist OS with hobbyist pricing. It's do-able, certainly, but it'll cost you.

Cost of entry: Without existing kit, you'll face a steep second-hand market or costly, limited-run hardware. With existing kit, just the costly, limited-run hardware.

Linux

Linux and yes, before the pedants comment, I know Chrome OS is Linux-based but for the sake of this post, I am treating them separately, and that's before we get into the Google discussion. As you can see from my post here, if you have an older Win 7 machine then Zorin Lite will work really well on it. The other versions will suit more powerful hardware, as will pretty much every other Linux distro out there. The choice is yours and as long as you have the hardware, the actual OS tends to be free or very low in price. If you don't have the hardware but you don't want to buy brand new kit, check out places such as Morgan Computers and Tier1 (there are many others) for refurbished machines that can very easily handle Linux. But what if you want to buy new hardware with Linux pre-installed? Just how much would you need to spend to emulate the straight forward process of buying a Windows/Mac OS/Chrome OS device? The answer is, with a couple of exceptions, quite a bit!

The Zorin desktop.

Star Labs advertise two laptops, an 11 inch model for £399 and a 13.3 inch model for £699. For the spec of each machine, 8GB of memory and 240GB of storage for the lower price machine, 16GB and 240GB respectively for the higher price, is pretty good, and you have a choice of Linux distros too: Zorin, Manjaro, Ubuntu, elementary OS, MX Linux and Mint. The reviews seem pretty decent and if I were to buy a new build laptop with Linux pre-installed, UK-based Star Labs would be my first port of call.

Another decently priced vendor is Slimbook, where their Essential range of laptops start at 499 euros (£455). They offer numerous installs and dual-booting with Windows if you so wish. 

Juno Computers offer Linux laptops from £599 at the time of writing, which is a tad pricier but their range is much larger, as are the subsequent price tags. They only seem to offer Ubuntu as a default install though you can buy without an OS.

Prices get a bit sillier when we get to System 76. Their desktops start from $899 (£700) and the laptops from $1,099 (£850). Admittedly, this is a high-end manufacturer and even offer their own distro, Pop! OS alongside Ubuntu. Like Apple, the higher the spec, the more astronomical the price. 

The key thing to remember with Linux is that you are no further away than a free download in order to try it out. Zorin (as well as Puppy Linux, Peppermint OS, MX Linux among others) offers a boot from USB option to give you a taste, and you can always partition your main machine to offer a dual boot into Linux and Windows. 

Cost of entry: Without existing kit, not bad as starting at £400 brand new, less if buying second user hardware. With existing kit, free. Can't say fairer than that!

RISC OS

Finally, we have my favourite alternative OS, RISC OS. This OS could also be described as hobbyist. In fact, until a few years back, it was in a more unenviable position than Amiga OS, but that all changed with the release of the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. In fact, it's a Rasp Pi 3B+ that powers my RISCOSbits desktop that's been in steady use since August last year. That was just over £200 for the spec but, for now, let's start off at the lower end of the price range.

If you don't have a Rasp Pi to hand then this, gentle reader, is the cheapest way of experiencing RISC OS. This memory stick contains an emulator for RISC OS for Windows and Mac, plus the full source code for Linux users. At £14 all in, it's a neat way of having a go without spending too much money. I know this because the stick in the picture below is mine and I wanted to see how it compared to the Pi-based machine. The answer, well, not bad, though it is emulation and I prefer to use native hardware. Highly recommended though as a taster.

An entirely unexciting picture of a USB stick - the backing is colourful though.

If you want native hardware then your cheapest option is buying a Raspberry Pi 3B+ (NOT the Pi 4 as they're still porting the OS to the newer architecture though that is progressing well). You can either buy one yourself then download an image of RISC OS to an SD card or buy a ready made kit (as I did) from the likes of RISCOSbits, CJE Micros, and R-Comp. You're not just limited to the Pi, either. There's other ARM-powered boards that form the basis of RISC OS machines, but they can to cost a bit more - for example a Ti-Machine will set you back £899 which is at the top end of the market but still half the price of an Amiga X5000. 

If you want a laptop, then you're currently limited to variations of the PiTop or the Armbook, the latter of which I am slowly coming off the fence to purchase.

That's not all. There is still a healthy looking market for RISC OS machines and that is aided by the RISCOS Cloverleaf project. This is an effort to use crowd-funding to not only get new hardware out there but also fund development of the OS itself to bring it up to date. As time goes by, more information is released and they have posted the prices they'll be asking for when the crowd-funding begins for each of the five machines they want to release (two desktops, two laptops and an all-in-one design). These are 299 (£275) and 599 (£550) euros for the desktops (each figure contains 100 euros to support RISC OS development), 399 (£365) and 599 (£550) euros for the laptops (50 and 100 euros respectively for OS development) and 899 euros (£820) for the all in one (100 euros for development). Doing a straight euro to pound conversion reveals these prices to be reasonable, especially when you factor in the donation to the software side, but I'll have a dedicated post about this up in the next couple of days.

Cost of entry: Without dedicated ARM hardware, £14. With hardware, can be free. 

So there you have it, my (incomplete) price guide to some alternative operating systems to Windows. Lots of options to pretty much suit every wallet, if not every OS, but I hope you've found it informative.