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Angela Vincent

Angela Vincent (born 1942) is Emeritus professor at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.

Career and research
Angela Vincent was born in 1942, the third child of Carmen and Joseph Molony (later KCVO). After St Mary's Convent, Ascot, she studied medicine at King's College London and Westminster Hospital School of Medicine (now merged with Imperial College School of Medicine). After one year as a junior doctor at St Steven's and St Charles' hospitals in London (1966–1967), she obtained an MSc in biochemistry from University College London. In 1967 she married Philip Morse Vincent and they have four children.

After the MSc, she spent three frustrating years trying to fractionate rat brain synaptosomes, until she was taken on by Ricardo Miledi FRS in the biophysics department to work on acetylcholine receptors. During her five years with Miledi, her medical background helped to establish a collaboration on myasthenia gravis with John Newsom-Davis (later FRS); together at the Royal Free Hospital, London, they created a neuroimmunology group that subsequently moved with Newsom-Davis to Oxford when he was appointed action research professor of neurology. After his retirement in 1998, Vincent led the group until 2016. During this time she was head of the department of clinical neurology (2005–2008) at the University of Oxford, president of the International Society of Neuroimmunology (2001–2004), and an associate editor of Brain (2004–2013). Her research group was initially located in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital, working on a wide range of biological disciplines encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry, cellular immunology and intracellular neurophysiology. The group's research focused on autoimmune and genetic disorders of the neuromuscular junction, peripheral nerves and more recently the exciting field of central nervous system diseases. The principal autoimmune diseases studied were myasthenia gravis, the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome, limbic encephalitis, other types of autoimmune encephalitis and acquired neuromyotonia.

Her contributions have been on the roles of antibodies directed against acetylcholine receptors and muscle specific kinase (MuSK) in myasthenia gravis, and glycine receptors or potassium channel-associated proteins LGI1, CASPR2 and Contactin-2 in CNS diseases.

She demonstrated that transfer of antibodies across the placenta from the pregnant woman to the fetus in utero can cause both acute and longer-term neuromuscular and neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

Since 2016 she has been Emeritus Professor at Oxford University, Emeritus Fellow of Somerville College, and holds an honorary appointment at UCL; she continues to work on neuromuscular disorders and advise young researchers. Her work in Oxford on brain disorders continues under Associate Professor Sarosh Irani and Dr Patrick Waters.

She is a strong supporter of Freedom from Torture (formerly The Medical Foundation for Treatment of Torture Victims) and a Patron of British Pugwash (that brings together scientists and others concerned with international affairs and disarmament).

Awards and honours
In 2009, she presented the Leslie Oliver Oration at Queen's Hospital. In 2009, she received the medal of the Association of British Neurologists and in 2017, the World Federation of Neurology Scientific Contributions to Neurology award. In 2015, she was awarded the British Neuroscience Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience. In Cologne 2018, she was awarded with J Posner and J Dalmau, the International Prize for Translational Neuroscience of the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation (formerly the Klaus Joachim Zülch Prize), and in Washington in 2019, the America Epilepsy Society Clinical Science Research Award (with J Dalmau).Retrieved June 26, 2021, from https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/angela-vincent She received the Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award, Imperial College, London, 2020 and the Life-time Award of the German Neurological Society (DGN)in 2021. In 2002, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) and in 2011, a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

title: Angela Vincent


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Arithmetic–geometric mean

In mathematics, the arithmetic–geometric mean (AGM or agM ) of two positive real numbers $x$ and $y$ is the mutual limit of a sequence of arithmetic means and a sequence of geometric means. The arithmetic–geometric mean is used in fast algorithms for exponential, trigonometric functions, and other special functions, as well as some mathematical constants, in particular, computing $π$.

The AGM is defined as the limit of the interdependent sequences $$a_i$$ and $$g_i$$. Assuming $$ x \geq y \geq 0$$, we write:$$\begin{align} a_0 &= x,\\ g_0 &= y\\ a_{n+1} &= \tfrac12(a_n + g_n),\\ g_{n+1} &= \sqrt{a_n g_n}\,. \end{align}$$These two sequences converge to the same number, the arithmetic–geometric mean of $x$ and $y$; it is denoted by $M(x, y)$, or sometimes by $agm(x, y)$ or $AGM(x, y)$.

The arithmetic–geometric mean can be extended to complex numbers and, when the branches of the square root are allowed to be taken inconsistently, generally it is a multivalued function.

Example
To find the arithmetic–geometric mean of $a_{0} = 24$ and $g_{0} = 6$, iterate as follows:$$\begin{array}{rcccl} a_1 & = & \tfrac12(24 + 6) & = & 15\\ g_1 & = & \sqrt{24 \cdot 6} & = & 12\\ a_2 & = & \tfrac12(15 + 12) & = & 13.5\\ g_2 & = & \sqrt{15 \cdot 12} & = & 13.416\ 407\ 8649\dots\\ & & \vdots & & \end{array}$$The first five iterations give the following values:

The number of digits in which $n$ and $a_{n}$ agree (underlined) approximately doubles with each iteration. The arithmetic–geometric mean of 24 and 6 is the common limit of these two sequences, which is approximately $13.458$.

History
The first algorithm based on this sequence pair appeared in the works of Lagrange. Its properties were further analyzed by Gauss.

Properties
Both the geometric mean and arithmetic mean of two positive numbers $x$ and $y$ are between the two numbers. (They are strictly between when $g_{n}$.) The geometric mean of two positive numbers is never greater than the arithmetic mean. So the geometric means are an increasing sequence $a_{n}$; the arithmetic means are a decreasing sequence $g_{n}$; and $x ≠ y$ for any $n$. These are strict inequalities if $g0 ≤ g1 ≤ g2 ≤ ...$.

$a0 ≥ a1 ≥ a2 ≥ ...$ is thus a number between $g_{n} ≤ M(x, y) ≤ a_{n}$ and $x ≠ y$; it is also between the geometric and arithmetic mean of $M(x, y)$ and $x$.

If $y$ then $x$.

There is an integral-form expression for $y$: $$\begin{align} M(x,y) &= \frac{\pi}{2} \left( \int_0^\frac{\pi}{2}\frac{d\theta}{\sqrt{x^2\cos^2\theta+y^2\sin^2\theta}} \right)^{-1}\\ &=\pi\left(\int_0^\infty \frac{dt}{\sqrt{t(t+x^2)(t+y^2)}}\right)^{-1}\\ &= \frac{\pi}{4} \cdot \frac{x + y}{K\left( \frac{x - y}{x + y} \right)} \end{align}$$where $r ≥ 0$ is the complete elliptic integral of the first kind:$$K(k) = \int_0^\frac{\pi}{2}\frac{d\theta}{\sqrt{1 - k^2\sin^2(\theta)}} $$Since the arithmetic–geometric process converges so quickly, it provides an efficient way to compute elliptic integrals, which are used, for example, in elliptic filter design.

The arithmetic–geometric mean is connected to the Jacobi theta function $$\theta_3$$ by $$M(1,x)=\theta_3^{-2}\left(\exp \left(-\pi \frac{M(1,x)}{M\left(1,\sqrt{1-x^2}\right)}\right)\right)=\left(\sum_{n\in\mathbb{Z}}\exp \left(-n^2 \pi \frac{M(1,x)}{M\left(1,\sqrt{1-x^2}\right)}\right)\right)^{-2},$$which upon setting $$x=1/\sqrt{2}$$ gives$$M(1,1/\sqrt{2})=\left(\sum_{n\in\mathbb{Z}}e^{-n^2\pi}\right)^{-2}.$$

Related concepts
The reciprocal of the arithmetic–geometric mean of 1 and the square root of 2 is Gauss's constant.$$\frac{1}{M(1, \sqrt{2})} = G = 0.8346268\dots$$In 1799, Gauss proved that$$M(1,\sqrt{2})=\frac{\pi}{\varpi}$$where $$\varpi$$ is the lemniscate constant.

In 1941, $$M(1,\sqrt{2})$$ (and hence $$G$$) was proved transcendental by Theodor Schneider. The set $$\{\pi,M(1,1/\sqrt{2})\}$$ is algebraically independent over $$\mathbb{Q}$$, but the set $$\{\pi,M(1,1/\sqrt{2}),M'(1,1/\sqrt{2})\}$$ (where the prime denotes the derivative with respect to the second variable) is not algebraically independent over $$\mathbb{Q}$$. In fact, $$\pi=2\sqrt{2}\frac{M^3(1,1/\sqrt{2})}{M'(1,1/\sqrt{2})}.$$The geometric–harmonic mean GH can be calculated using analogous sequences of geometric and harmonic means, and in fact $M(rx, ry) = r M(x, y)$. The arithmetic–harmonic mean is equivalent to the geometric mean.

The arithmetic–geometric mean can be used to compute – among others – logarithms, complete and incomplete elliptic integrals of the first and second kind, and Jacobi elliptic functions.

Proof of existence
The inequality of arithmetic and geometric means implies that$$g_n \leq a_n$$and thus$$g_{n + 1} = \sqrt{g_n \cdot a_n} \geq \sqrt{g_n \cdot g_n} = g_n$$that is, the sequence $M(x, y)$ is nondecreasing and bounded above by the larger of $K(k)$ and $GH(x, y) = 1/M(1/x, 1/y) = xy/M(x, y)$. By the monotone convergence theorem, the sequence is convergent, so there exists a $g_{n}$ such that:$$\lim_{n\to \infty}g_n = g$$However, we can also see that:$$a_n = \frac{g_{n + 1}^2}{g_n}$$ and so: $$\lim_{n\to \infty}a_n = \lim_{n\to \infty}\frac{g_{n + 1}^2}{g_{n}} = \frac{g^2}{g} = g$$

Q.E.D.

Proof of the integral-form expression
This proof is given by Gauss. Let

$$I(x,y) = \int_0^{\pi/2}\frac{d\theta}{\sqrt{x^2\cos^2\theta+y^2\sin^2\theta}} ,$$

Changing the variable of integration to $$\theta'$$, where

$$ \sin\theta = \frac{2x\sin\theta'}{(x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta'} ,$$

$$\cos\theta = \frac{\sqrt{(x+y)^2-2(x^2+y^2)\sin^2\theta'+(x-y)^2\sin^4\theta'}}{(x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta'} ,$$

$$ \cos\theta\ d\theta =2x \frac{(x+y)-(x-y)\sin^2\theta'}{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')^2}\ \cos\theta' d\theta'\ ,$$

$$ d\theta = \frac{2x\cos\theta'((x+y)-(x-y)\sin^2\theta')}{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')\sqrt{(x+y)^2-2(x^2+y^2)\sin^2\theta'+(x-y)^2\sin^4\theta'}} d\theta'\ ,$$ $$ x^2\cos^2\theta+y^2\sin^2\theta = \frac{x^2 ((x+y)^2-2(x^2+y^2)\sin^2\theta'+(x-y)^2\sin^4\theta')+4x^2y^2\sin^2\theta'}{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')^2}= \frac{x^2 ((x+y)-(x-y)\sin^2\theta')^2}{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')^2}$$

This yields $$ \frac{d\theta}{\sqrt{x^2\cos^2\theta+y^2\sin^2\theta}} = \frac{2x\cos\theta'((x+y)-(x-y)\sin^2\theta')}{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')\sqrt{(x+y)^2-2(x^2+y^2)\sin^2\theta'+(x-y)^2\sin^4\theta'}}  \frac{((x+y)+(x-y)\sin^2\theta')}{x ((x+y)-(x-y)\sin^2\theta')}

= \frac{2\cos\theta' d\theta'}{\sqrt{(x+y)^2-2(x^2+y^2)\sin^2\theta'+(x-y)^2\sin^4\theta'}}

,$$

gives

$$ \begin{align} I(x,y) &= \int_0^{\pi/2}\frac{d\theta'}{\sqrt{\bigl(\frac12(x+y)\bigr)^2\cos^2\theta'+\bigl(\sqrt{xy}\bigr)^2\sin^2\theta'}}\\ &= I\bigl(\tfrac12(x+y),\sqrt{xy}\bigr). \end{align} $$

Thus, we have

$$ \begin{align} I(x,y) &= I(a_1, g_1) = I(a_2, g_2) = \cdots\\ &= I\bigl(M(x,y),M(x,y)\bigr) = \pi/\bigr(2M(x,y)\bigl). \end{align} $$ The last equality comes from observing that $$I(z,z) = \pi/(2z)$$.

Finally, we obtain the desired result

$$M(x,y) = \pi/\bigl(2 I(x,y) \bigr) .$$

The number π
According to the Gauss–Legendre algorithm,

$$\pi = \frac{4\,M(1,1/\sqrt{2})^2} {1 - \displaystyle\sum_{j=1}^\infty 2^{j+1} c_j^2} ,$$

where

$$c_j = \frac{1}{2}\left(a_{j-1}-g_{j-1}\right) ,$$

with $$a_0=1$$ and $$g_0=1/\sqrt{2}$$, which can be computed without loss of precision using

$$c_j = \frac{c_{j-1}^2}{4a_j} .$$

Complete elliptic integral K(sinα)
Taking $$a_0 = 1$$ and $$g_0 = \cos\alpha$$ yields the AGM

$$M(1,\cos\alpha) = \frac{\pi}{2K(\sin \alpha)} ,$$

where $x$ is a complete elliptic integral of the first kind:

$$K(k) = \int_0^{\pi/2}(1 - k^2 \sin^2\theta)^{-1/2} \, d\theta.$$

That is to say that this quarter period may be efficiently computed through the AGM, $$K(k) = \frac{\pi}{2M(1,\sqrt{1-k^2})} .$$

Other applications
Using this property of the AGM along with the ascending transformations of John Landen, Richard P. Brent suggested the first AGM algorithms for the fast evaluation of elementary transcendental functions ($y$, $g$, $K(k)$). Subsequently, many authors went on to study the use of the AGM algorithms.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Arithmetic–geometric mean


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Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama (鳥山明) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.

He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended.

His next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.

Early life
Akira Toriyama was born in the town of Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He had a younger sister. Toriyama drew pictures since a young age, mainly of the animals and vehicles that he was fond of. He related being blown away after seeing One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and said he was drawn deeper into the world of illustration by hoping to draw pictures that good. He was shocked again in elementary school when he saw the manga collection of a classmate's older brother, and again when he saw a television set for the first time at a neighbor's house. He cited Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy (1952–1968) as the original source for his interest in manga. Toriyama recalled that when he was in elementary school all of his classmates drew imitating anime and manga, as a result of not having many forms of entertainment. He believed that he began to advance above everyone else when he started drawing pictures of his friends. Despite being engrossed with manga in elementary school, Toriyama said he took a break from it in middle school, probably because he became more interested in films and TV shows. When asked if he had any formative experiences with tokusatsu entertainment, Toriyama said he enjoyed the Ultraman TV show and Gamera series of kaiju films.

Toriyama said it was a "no-brainer" that he would attend a high school focused on creative design, but admitted he was more interested in having fun with friends. Although he still did not read much manga, he would draw one himself every once in a while. Despite his parents' strong opposition, Toriyama was confident about going into the work force upon graduation instead of continuing his education. He worked at an advertising agency in Nagoya designing posters for three years. Although Toriyama said he adapted to the job quickly, he admitted that he was often late because he was not a "morning person" and got reprimanded for dressing casually. Resenting the routine, he became sick of the environment and quit.

Early work and Dr. Slump (1978–1983)
After quitting his job at the age of 23 and asking his mother for money while unemployed, Toriyama entered the manga industry by submitting a work to an amateur contest in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, which he had randomly picked up in a coffee shop. The timing did not line up for that contest, but another manga magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, accepted submissions for their Newcomer Award every month. Kazuhiko Torishima, who would become his editor, read and enjoyed Toriyama's manga, but it was not eligible to compete because it was a parody of Star Wars instead of an original work. Torishima sent the artist a telegram and encouraged him to keep drawing and sending him manga. This resulted in Wonder Island, which became Toriyama's first published work when it appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1978. It finished last place in the readers survey. Toriyama later said that he had planned to quit manga after getting paid, but because Wonder Island 2 (1978) was also a "flop", his stubbornness would not let him and he continued to draw failed stories for a year; claiming around 500 pages' worth, including the published Today's Highlight Island (1979). He said he learned a lot during this year and even had some fun. When Torishima told him to draw a female lead character, Toriyama hesitantly created 1979's Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe, which had some success. Feeling encouraged, he decided to draw another female lead and created Dr. Slump.

Dr. Slump, which was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984, was a huge success and made Toriyama a household name. It follows the adventures of a perverted professor and his small but super-strong robot Arale. In 1981, Dr. Slump earned Toriyama the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen or shōjo manga series of the year. An anime adaptation began airing that same year, during the prime time Wednesday 19:00 slot on Fuji TV. Adaptations of Toriyama's work would occupy this time slot continuously for 18 years—through Dr. Slump's original run, Dragon Ball and its two sequels, and finally a rebooted Dr. Slump concluding in 1999. By 2008, the Dr. Slump manga had sold over 35 million copies in Japan.

Although Dr. Slump was popular, Toriyama wanted to end the series within roughly six months of creating it, but publisher Shueisha would only allow him to do so if he agreed to start another serial for them shortly after. So he worked with Torishima on several one-shots for Weekly Shōnen Jump and the monthly Fresh Jump. In 1981, Toriyama was one of ten artists selected to create a 45-page work for Weekly Shōnen Jump's Reader's Choice contest. His manga Pola & Roid took first place. Toriyama was selected to participate in the contest again in 1982 and submitted Mad Matic. His one-shot Pink was published in the December issue of Fresh Jump. Selected to participate in Weekly Shōnen Jump's Reader's Choice contest for a third time, Toriyama had the bad luck of drawing the first slot and had to work over New Year's on 1983's Chobit. Angry that it was unpopular, he decided to try again and created Chobit 2 (1983).

An official Toriyama fan club, Akira Toriyama Hozonkai (鳥山明保存会), was established in 1982. Its newsletters were called Bird Land Press and were sent to members until the club closed in 1987. Toriyama founded Bird Studio in the early 1980s, which is a play on his name; "tori" (鳥) meaning "bird". He began employing an assistant, mostly to work on backgrounds.

Dragon Ball and international success (1983–1997)
Torishima suggested that, as Toriyama enjoyed kung fu films, he should create a kung fu shōnen manga. This led to the two-part Dragon Boy, published in the August and October 1983 issues of Fresh Jump. It follows a boy, adept at martial arts, who escorts a princess on a journey back to her home country. Dragon Boy was well-received and evolved to become the serial Dragon Ball in 1984. But before that, The Adventure of Tongpoo was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump's 52nd issue of 1983 and also contained elements that would be included in Dragon Ball.

Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and having sold 159.5million tankōbon copies in Japan alone, Dragon Ball is one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It began as an adventure/gag manga but later turned into a martial arts fighting series, considered by many to be the "most influential shōnen manga". Dragon Ball was one of the main reasons for the magazine's circulation hitting a record high of 6.53 million copies (1995). At the series' end, Toriyama said that he asked everyone involved to let him end the manga, so he could "take some new steps in life". During that near-11-year period, he produced 519 chapters that were collected into 42 volumes. Moreover, the success of the manga led to five anime adaptations, several animated films, numerous video games, and mega-merchandise. Aside from its popularity in Japan, Dragon Ball was successful internationally as well, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with 300–350million copies of the manga sold worldwide.

While Toriyama was serializing Dragon Ball weekly, he continued to create the occasional one-shot manga. In 1986, Mr. Ho was published in the 49th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump. The following year saw publication of Young Master Ken'nosuke, which had a Japanese jidaigeki setting. Toriyama published two Weekly Shōnen Jump one-shots in 1988; The Elder and Little Mamejiro. Karamaru and the Perfect Day followed in issue #13 of 1989.

Also during Dragon Ball's serialization, Torishima recruited him to work as character designer for the 1986 role-playing video game Dragon Quest. The artist admitted he was pulled into it without even knowing what an RPG was and that it made his already busy schedule even more hectic, but he was happy to have been a part after enjoying the finished game. Toriyama continued to work on every installment in the Dragon Quest series until his death. He also served as the character designer for the Super Famicom RPG Chrono Trigger (1995) and for the fighting games Tobal No. 1 (1996) and Tobal 2 (1997) for the PlayStation.

The September 23, 1988, festival film Kosuke & Rikimaru: The Dragon of Konpei Island marked the first time Toriyama made substantial contributions to an animation. He came up with the original story idea, co-wrote the screenplay with its director Toyoo Ashida, and designed the characters. It was screened at the Jump Anime Carnival, which was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Short stories and other projects (1996–2011)
A third anime adaptation based on Dragon Ball, entitled Dragon Ball GT, began airing in 1996, though this was not based on Toriyama's manga directly. He was involved in some overarching elements, including the name of the series and designs for the main cast. Toriyama continued drawing manga in this period, predominantly one-shots and short (100–200-page) pieces, including Cowa! (1997–1998), Kajika (1998), and Sand Land (2000). On December 6, 2002, Toriyama made his only promotional appearance in the United States at the launch of Weekly Shōnen Jump's North American counterpart, Shonen Jump, in New York City. Toriyama's Dragon Ball and Sand Land were published in the magazine in the first issue, which also included an in-depth interview with him. Toriyama also wrote a short self-parody of Dragon Ball entitled Neko Majin, in the form of eight one-shots released sporadically from 1999 to 2005. The eight chapters were collected into a single volume and published in April 2005.

On March 27, 2005, CQ Motors began selling an electric car designed by Toriyama. The one-person QVOLT is part of the company's Choro-Q series of small electric cars, with only 9 being produced. It cost 1,990,000 yen (about $19,000 US), has a top speed of 30 km/h and was available in five colors. Toriyama stated that the car took over a year to design, "but due to my genius mini-model construction skills, I finally arrived at the end of what was a very emotional journey."

He worked on a 2006 one-shot called Cross Epoch, in cooperation with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. The story is a short crossover that presents characters from both Dragon Ball and One Piece. Toriyama was the character designer and artist for the 2006 Mistwalker Xbox 360 exclusive RPG Blue Dragon, working with Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu, both of whom he had previously worked with on Chrono Trigger. At the time, Toriyama felt the 2007 Blue Dragon anime might potentially be his final work in animation.

In 2008, he collaborated with Masakazu Katsura, his good friend and creator of I"s and Zetman, for the Jump SQ one-shot Sachie-chan Good!!. It was later published in North America in the free SJ Alpha Yearbook 2013, which was mailed out to annual subscribers of the digital manga magazine Shonen Jump Alpha in December 2012. The two worked together again in 2009, for the three-chapter one-shot Jiya in Weekly Young Jump.

Toriyama was engaged by 20th Century Fox as a creative consultant on Dragonball Evolution, an American live-action film adaptation of Dragon Ball. He was also credited as an executive producer on the 2009 film, which failed both critically and financially. Toriyama later stated in 2013 that he had felt the script did not "capture the world or the characteristics" of his series and was "bland" and not interesting, so he cautioned them and gave suggestions for changes. But the Hollywood producers did not heed his advice, "And just as I thought, the result was a movie I cannot call Dragon Ball." Avex Trax commissioned Toriyama to draw a portrait of pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki, and it was printed on the CD of her 2009 single "Rule", which was used as the theme song to the film.

Toriyama drew a 2009 manga titled Delicious Island's Mr. U for Anjō's Rural Society Project, a nonprofit environmental organization that teaches the importance of agriculture and nature to young children. They originally asked him to do the illustrations for a pamphlet, but Toriyama liked the project and decided to expand it into a story. It is included in a booklet about environmental awareness that is distributed by the Anjō city government. As part of Weekly Shōnen Jump's "Top of the Super Legend" project, a series of six one-shots by famed Jump artists, Toriyama created Kintoki for its November 15, 2010, issue. He collaborated with Weekly Shōnen Jump to create a video to raise awareness and support for those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Return to Dragon Ball (2012–2024)
In 2012, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was announced to be in development, with Toriyama involved in its creation. The film marked the series' first theatrical film in 17 years, and the first time Toriyama had been involved in one as early as the screenwriting stages. The film opened on March 30, 2013. A special "dual ticket" that could be used to see both Battle of Gods and One Piece Film: Z was created with new art by both Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda.

On March 27, 2013, the "Akira Toriyama: The World of Dragon Ball" exhibit opened at the Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi, garnering 72,000 visitors in its first nineteen days. The exhibit was separated into seven areas. The first provided a look at the series' history, the second showed the 400-plus characters from the series, the third displayed Toriyama's manga manuscripts from memorable scenes, the fourth showed special color illustrations, the fifth displayed rare Dragon Ball-related materials, the sixth included design sketches and animation cels from the anime, and the seventh screened Dragon Ball-related videos. It was there until April 15, when it moved to Osaka from April 17 to 23, and ended in Toriyama's native Nagoya from July 27 to September 1.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Jump, Toriyama launched a new manga series in its July 13, 2013, issue titled Jaco the Galactic Patrolman. Viz Media began serializing it in English in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, beginning just two days later. The final chapter reveals that the story is set before the events of Dragon Ball and features some of its characters. It would become the final manga that Toriyama wrote and illustrated himself.

The follow-up film to Battle of Gods, Resurrection 'F', released on April 18, 2015, features even more contributions from Toriyama, who personally wrote its original script. Toriyama provided the basic story outline and some character designs for Dragon Ball Super, which began serialization in V Jump in June 2015 with an anime counterpart following in July. Although the anime ended in 2018, he continued to provide story ideas for the manga while Toyotarou illustrated it. Dragon Ball Super: Broly, released in theaters on December 14, 2018, and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, released on June 11, 2022, continued Toriyama's deep involvement with the films.

In January 2024, a logo Toriyama designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his hometown of Kiyosu was unveiled. Toriyama created a new story arc for the 2024 original net animation adaptation of his manga Sand Land. He also created the story and character designs for the upcoming Dragon Ball Daima anime series. Toriyama's final contribution to Dragon Ball was a page with Piccolo departing at the end of chapter 103 of Dragon Ball Super, and waving back at the reader. A short tribute was included at the bottom of the page when it was published on March 28, 2024.

Personal life
Toriyama married Yoshimi Katō (加藤由美) on May 2, 1982. She is a former manga artist from Nagoya under the pen name "Nachi Mikami" (みかみなち), and occasionally helped Toriyama and his assistant on Dr. Slump when they were short on time. They had two children: a son named Sasuke (佐助) born on March 23, 1987, and a daughter named Kikka born in October 1990. Toriyama lived in his home studio in Kiyosu. He was a well-known recluse, who avoided appearing in public or media. In an extension to his shyness, Toriyama had used an avatar called "Robotoriyama" since December 1980 to represent himself in manga and interviews.

Toriyama had a love of cars and motorcycles, something he inherited from his father who used to race motorbikes and operated an auto repair business for a brief time, although he did not understand the mechanics himself. The author was an animal lover, having kept many different species of birds, dogs, cats, fish, lizards, and bugs as pets since childhood. Some were used as models for characters he created such as Karin and Beerus. Toriyama had a lifelong passion for plastic models, and designed several for the Fine Molds brand. He also collected autographs of famous manga artists, having over 30 including Yudetamago and Hisashi Eguchi, a hobby he gave to the character Peasuke Soramame.

Death
On March 1, 2024, Toriyama died of an acute subdural hematoma, at the age of 68. A funeral was held privately with only his family in attendance. His death was announced by his production company Bird Studio one week later on March 8. According to sources close to Toriyama, he had planned to undergo surgery for a brain tumor in February 2024. The news of his death caused an outpouring of grief among admirers of his works, who took to social media to express their condolences and celebrate his legacy. On Twitter, the trending topics of Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball surpassed United States President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, which was held at the same time the news of Toriyama's death was announced. Tributes to the artist were given by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach creator Tite Kubo, My Hero Academia creator Kōhei Horikoshi, Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi, Video Girl Ai creator Masakazu Katsura, and video game designer Yuji Horii, who worked with Toriyama on Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger. In Tokyo, fans publicly mourned while visiting a life-sized statue of Dragon Ball protagonist Goku located outside the headquarters of toy manufacturer Bandai. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi credited Toriyama and his work with playing an "extremely important role in demonstrating Japan's soft power" around the world.

International response
French President Emmanuel Macron shared a photo of an autographed illustration Toriyama gave him as a gift and paid tribute to him and his fans on social media. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also paid tribute and stated not even "the [Dragon Balls] and Shenron" could revive him. The foreign ministries of China and El Salvador issued statements of condolences over Toriyama's death. Justin Chatwin, who portrayed Goku in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution, apologized for the quality of the film by posting on his Instagram story, "sorry we messed up that adaptation so badly". Several Mexican voice actors who dubbed Dragon Ball characters in Spanish for Latin America also lamented Toriyama's death via social media. A large gathering was held at the Plaza de la Constitución in Mexico City, where hundreds of fans did the Genki-dama hand motion (arms up, palm facing the zenith, pooling energy together) to honor the artist. During the 18th Seiyu Awards on March 9, a moment of silence was held for Toriyama and voice actress Tarako, who died on March 4, in recognition of their contributions to the anime industry. On March 10, in Argentina, thousands of fans gathered at the Obelisco monument to remember Toriyama. In Lima, Peru, over 40 artists led by "Peko" painted a mural tribute to Toriyama, which showcases characters from Dragon Ball as well as Toriyama himself, spanning six meters high and over 110 meters long.

Style
Toriyama admired Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembered for its high-quality animation. He was a fan of Hong Kong martial arts films, especially Bruce Lee films such as Enter the Dragon (1973) and Jackie Chan films such as Drunken Master (1978), which went on to have a large influence on his later work. He also cited the science fiction films Alien (1979) and Galaxy Quest (1999) as influences. Toriyama stated he was influenced by animator Toyoo Ashida and the anime television series adaptation of his own Dragon Ball, from which he learned that separating colors instead of blending them makes the art cleaner and coloring illustrations easier.

It was Toriyama's sound effects in Mysterious Rain Jack that caught the eye of Kazuhiko Torishima, who explained that usually they are written in katakana, but Toriyama used the Roman alphabet, which he found refreshing. Torishima has stated that Toriyama aimed to be a gag manga artist because the competitions that he submitted to early on required entries in the gag category to only be 15 pages long, compared to story manga entries which had to be 31. In his opinion, Toriyama excelled in black and white, utilizing black areas as a result of not having had the money to buy screentone when he started drawing manga. He also described Toriyama as a master of convenience and "sloppy, but in a good way." For instance, in Dragon Ball, destroying scenery in the environment and giving Super Saiyans blond hair were done in order to have less work in drawing and inking. Torishima claimed that Toriyama drew what he found interesting and was not mindful of what his readers thought, nor did he get much inspiration from other comics, as he chose not to re-read previous works or read manga made by other artists, a practice that Torishima supported. Furthermore, the book A History of Modern Manga (2023) describes Toriyama as "a perfectionist at heart" who "didn't hesitate to redraw entire panels under the worried eye of his editor at Jump".

Dr. Slump is mainly a comedy series, filled with puns, toilet humor, and sexual innuendos. But it also contained many science fiction elements: aliens, anthropomorphic characters, time travel, and parodies of works such as Godzilla, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Toriyama also included many real-life people in the series, such as his assistants, wife, and colleagues (such as Masakazu Katsura), but most notably his editor Kazuhiko Torishima as the series' main antagonist, Dr. Mashirito. A running gag in Dr. Slump that utilizes feces has been reported as an inspiration for the Pile of Poo emoji.

When Dragon Ball began, it was loosely based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Goku being Sun Wukong and Bulma as Tang Sanzang. It was also inspired by Hong Kong martial arts films, particularly those of Jackie Chan, and was set in a fictional world based on Asia, taking inspiration from several Asian cultures including Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Central Asian, Arabic, and Indonesian cultures. Toriyama continued to use his characteristic comedic style in the beginning, but over the course of serialization this slowly changed, with him turning the series into a "nearly-pure fighting manga" later on. He did not plan out in advance what would happen in the series, instead choosing to draw as he went. This, coupled with him simply forgetting things he had already drawn, caused him to find himself in situations that he had to write himself out of.

Toriyama was commissioned to illustrate the characters and monsters for the first Dragon Quest video game (1986) in order to separate it from other role-playing games of the time. He worked on every installment in the series until he died. For each game Yuji Horii first sends rough sketches of the characters with their background information to Toriyama, who then re-draws them. Lastly, Horii approves the finished work. Toriyama explained in 1995 that for video games, because the sprites are so small, as long as they have a distinguishing feature so people can tell which character it is, he can make complex designs without concern of having to reproduce it like he usually would in manga. Besides the character and monster designs, Toriyama also does the games' packaging art and, for Dragon Quest VIII, the boats and ships. In 2016, Toriyama revealed that because of the series' established time period and setting, his artistic options are limited, which makes every iteration harder to design for than the last. The series' Slime character, which has become a mascot for the franchise, is considered to be one of the most recognizable figures in gaming.

Manga critic Jason Thompson declared Toriyama's art influential, saying that his "extremely personal and recognizable style" was a reason for Dragon Ball's popularity. He points out that the popular shōnen manga of the late 1980s and early 1990s had "manly" heroes, such as City Hunter and Fist of the North Star, whereas Dragon Ball starred the cartoonish and small Goku, thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day. Toriyama himself said he went against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, designing many of the series' most powerful characters with small statures. Thompson concluded his analysis by saying that only Akira Toriyama drew like this at the time and that Dragon Ball is "an action manga drawn by a gag manga artist." James S. Yadao, author of The Rough Guide to Manga, points out that an art shift does occur in the series, as the characters gradually "lose the rounded, innocent look that [Toriyama] established in Dr. Slump and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their energy and intensity."

Legacy and accolades
Patrick St. Michel of The Japan Times compared Toriyama to animator Walt Disney and Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee, "All three of these individuals, Toriyama included, had a personal artistic style that has become the shorthand for their respective media." Speaking of Dragon Ball, David Brothers of ComicsAlliance wrote that: "Like Osamu Tezuka and Jack Kirby before him, Toriyama created a story with his own two hands that seeped deep into the hearts of his readers, creating a love for both the cast and the medium at the same time." Thompson stated in 2011 that "Dragon Ball is by far the most influential shonen manga of the last 30 years, and today, almost every Shōnen Jump artist lists it as one of their favorites and lifts from it in various ways." Patrick W. Galbraith, an associate professor at the School of International Communication at Senshu University, similarly said, "One can sense the DNA of Toriyama's work in all subsequent shōnen releases."

In a rare 2013 interview, commenting on Dragon Ball's global success, Toriyama admitted, "Frankly, I don't quite understand why it happened. While the manga was being serialized, the only thing I wanted as I kept drawing was to make Japanese boys happy." He had previously stated in 2010, "The truth is, I didn't like being a manga artist very much. It wasn't until relatively recently that I realized it's a wonderful job." Many artists have named Toriyama and Dragon Ball as influences, including One Piece author Eiichiro Oda, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, Fairy Tail and Rave author Hiro Mashima, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations illustrator Mikio Ikemoto, Venus Versus Virus author Atsushi Suzumi, Bleach creator Tite Kubo, Black Cat author Kentaro Yabuki, and Mr. Fullswing author Shinya Suzuki. German comic book artist Hans Steinbach was strongly influenced by Toriyama, and Thai cartoonist Wisut Ponnimit cited Toriyama as one of his favorite cartoonists. St. Michel wrote that the impact Toriyama and Dragon Ball had extends beyond inspiring newer artists, "he influenced the style of anime as a whole and revealed new economic potential, as the comic series mutated into an anime, video games and infinite merchandise." Ian Jones-Quartey, a producer of the American animated series Steven Universe, is a fan of both Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, and uses Toriyama's vehicle designs as reference for his own. He also stated that "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit." French director Pierre Perifel cited Toriyama and Dragon Ball as influences on his DreamWorks Animation film The Bad Guys.

In 2008, Oricon conducted a poll of people's favorite manga artists, with Toriyama coming in second, behind only Nana author Ai Yazawa. He was number one among male respondents and among those over 30 years of age. They held a poll on the Mangaka that Changed the History of Manga in 2010, mangaka being the Japanese word for a manga artist. Toriyama came in second, after only Osamu Tezuka, due to his works being highly influential and popular worldwide. Toriyama won the Special 40th Anniversary Festival Award at the 2013 Angoulême International Comics Festival, honoring his years in cartooning. He actually received the most votes for the festival's Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême award that year, though the selection committee chose Willem as the recipient. In a 2014 NTT Docomo poll for the manga artist that best represents Japan, Toriyama came in third place. That same year, entomologist Enio B. Cano named a new species of beetle, Ogyges toriyamai, after Toriyama, and another, Ogyges mutenroshii, after the Dragon Ball character Muten Roshi. Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier or "Knight" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government on May 30, 2019, for his contributions to the arts. He was also a 2019 nominee for entry into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. Toriyama was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival. Due to his video game design work, IGN named Toriyama number 74 on their list of the Top 100 Game Creators of All Time.

Works
Besides Dr. Slump (1980–1984) and Dragon Ball (1984–1995), Toriyama predominantly drew one-shot manga and short (100–200-page) pieces, including Pink (1982), Go! Go! Ackman (1993–1994), Cowa! (1997–1998), Kajika (1998), Sand Land (2000) and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman (2013). Many of his one-shots were collected in his three-volume anthology series, Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater (1983–1997). He also collaborated with other manga artists, such as Katsura and Oda, to produce one-shots and crossover shorts.

Toriyama also created many character designs for various video games such as the Dragon Quest series (1986–2023), Chrono Trigger (1995), Blue Dragon (2006), and some Dragon Ball video games. He also designed several characters and mascots for various manga magazines property of Shueisha, his career-long employer and Japan's largest publishing company.

Besides manga-related works, Toriyama also created various illustrations, album and book covers, model kits, mascots and logos. For example, he sketched several versions of the Dragon Ball Z logo, which Toei Animation then refined into a definitive design.

title: Akira Toriyama


text:
Alioth

Alioth, also called Epsilon Ursae Majoris, is a star in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. The designation is Latinised from ε Ursae Majoris and abbreviated Epsilon UMa or ε UMa. Despite being designated "ε" (epsilon), it is the brightest star in the constellation and at magnitude 1.77 is the thirty-third brightest star in the sky.

It is the star in the tail of the bear closest to its body, and thus the star in the handle of the Big Dipper (or Plough) closest to the bowl. It is also a member of the large and diffuse Ursa Major moving group. Historically, the star was frequently used in celestial navigation in the maritime trade, because it is listed as one of the 57 navigational stars.

Physical characteristics

According to Hipparcos, Epsilon Ursae Majoris is 81 ly from the Sun. Its spectral type is A1p; the "p" stands for peculiar, as its spectrum is characteristic of an α2 Canum Venaticorum variable. Epsilon Ursae Majoris, as a representative of this type, may harbor two interacting processes. First, the star's strong magnetic field separating different elements in the star's hydrogen 'fuel'. In addition, a rotation axis at an angle to the magnetic axis may be spinning different bands of magnetically sorted elements into the line of sight between Epsilon Ursae Majoris and the Earth. The intervening elements react differently at different frequencies of light as they whip in and out of view, causing Epsilon Ursae Majoris to have very strange spectral lines that fluctuate over a period of 5.1 days. The kB9 suffix to the spectral type indicates that the calcium K line is present and representative of a B9 spectral type even though the rest of the spectrum indicates A1.

Epsilon Ursae Majoris's rotational and magnetic poles are at almost 90 degrees to one another. Darker (denser) regions of chromium form a band at right angles to the equator.

It has long been suspected that Epsilon Ursae Majoris is a spectroscopic binary, possibly with more than one companion. A more recent study suggests Epsilon Ursae Majoris's 5.1-day variation may be due to a substellar object of about 14.7 Jupiter masses in an eccentric orbit (e=0.5) with an average separation of 0.055 astronomical units. It is now thought that the 5.1-day period is the rotation period of the star, and no companions have been detected using the most modern equipment. A 2023 study did not any evidence of a companion star (after observation of Alioth with the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer), altought further observations might detect (or not) a companion.

Epsilon Ursae Majoris has a relatively weak magnetic field, 15 times weaker than α Canum Venaticorum, but it is still 100 times stronger than that of the Earth.

Name and etymology
ε Ursae Majoris (Latinised to Epsilon Ursae Majoris) is the star's Bayer designation.

The traditional name Alioth comes from the Arabic alyat al-hamal ("the sheep's fat tail"). In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Alioth for this star.

This star was known to the Hindus as Añgiras, one of the Seven Rishis.

In Chinese, 北斗 (Běi Dǒu), meaning Northern Dipper, refers to an asterism equivalent to the Big Dipper. Consequently, the Chinese name for Epsilon Ursae Majoris itself is 北斗五 (Běi Dǒu wu, the Fifth Star of Northern Dipper) and 玉衡 (Yù Héng, Star of Jade Sighting-Tube).

Namesakes
The United States Navy's Crater class cargo ship USS Allioth (AK-109) was named after the star.

title: Alioth


text:
Amiga 500

The Amiga 500, also known as the A500, was the first popular version of the Amiga home computer, "redefining the home computer market and making so-called luxury features such as multitasking and colour a standard long before Microsoft or Apple sold these to the masses." It contains the same Motorola 68000 as the Amiga 1000, as well as the same graphics and sound coprocessors, but is in a smaller case similar to that of the Commodore 128.

Commodore announced the Amiga 500 at the January 1987 winter Consumer Electronics Show – at the same time as the high-end Amiga 2000. It was initially available in the Netherlands in April 1987, then the rest of Europe in May. In North America and the UK it was released in October 1987 with a US$699/£499 list price. It competed directly against models in the Atari ST line.

The Amiga 500 was sold in the same retail outlets as the Commodore 64, as opposed to the computer store-only Amiga 1000. It proved to be Commodore's best-selling model, particularly in Europe. Although popular with hobbyists, arguably its most widespread use was as a gaming machine, where its graphics and sound were of significant benefit. It was followed by a revised version of the computer, the Amiga 500 Plus, and the 500 series was discontinued in 1992.

Releases
In mid-1988, the Amiga 500 dropped its price from £499 to £399 (https://amr.abime.net/issue_535_pages page 7), and it was later bundled with the Batman Pack in the United Kingdom (from October 1989 to September 1990) which included the games Batman, F/A-18 Interceptor, The New Zealand Story and the bitmap graphics editor Deluxe Paint 2. Also included was the Amiga video connector which allows the A500 to be used with a conventional CRT television.

In November 1991, the enhanced Amiga 500 Plus replaced the 500 in some markets. It was bundled with the Cartoon Classics pack in the United Kingdom at £399, although many stores still advertised it as an 'A500'. The Amiga 500 Plus was virtually identical except for its new operating system, different 'trap-door' expansion slot and slightly different keyboard, and in mid-1992, the two were discontinued and effectively replaced by the Amiga 600. In late 1992, Commodore released the Amiga 1200, a machine closer in concept to the original Amiga 500, but with significant technical improvements. Despite this, neither the A1200 nor the A600 replicated the commercial success of its predecessor. By this time, the home market was strongly shifting to IBM PC compatibles with VGA graphics and the "low-cost" Macintosh Classic, LC, and IIsi models.

Description
Outwardly resembling the Commodore 128 and codenamed "Rock Lobster" during development, the Amiga 500's base houses a keyboard and a CPU in one shell, unlike the Amiga 1000. The keyboard for Amiga 500s sold in the United States contains 94 keys, including ten function keys, four cursor keys, and a number pad. All European versions the keyboard have an additional two keys, except for the British variety, which still uses 94 keys. It uses a Motorola 68000 microprocessor running at $7.159 MHz$ in NTSC regions and $7.094 MHz$ in PAL regions. The CPU implements a 32-bit model and has 32-bit registers, but it has a 16-bit main ALU and uses a 16-bit external data bus and a 24-bit address bus, providing a maximum of 16 MB of address space. Also built in to the base of the computer is a $3 1/2$-inch floppy disk drive. The user can also install up to three external floppy drives, either $3 1/2$- or $5 1/4$-inch, via the disk drive port. The second and third additional drives are installed by daisy-chaining them. Supported by these drives are double-sided disks with a capacity of 901,120 bytes, as well as 360- and 720-KB disks formatted for IBM PC compatibles.

The earliest Amiga 500 models use nearly the same Original Amiga chipset as the Amiga 1000. So graphics can be displayed in multiple resolutions and color depths, even on the same screen. Resolutions vary from 320×200 (up to 32 colors) to 640×400 (up to 16 colors) for NTSC (704×484 overscan) and 320×256 to 640×512 for PAL (704×576 overscan.) The system uses planar graphics, with up to five bitplanes (four in high resolution) allowing 2-, 4-, 8-, 16-, and 32-color screens, from a palette of 4096 colors. Two special graphics modes are also available: Extra HalfBrite, which uses a sixth bitplane as a mask to cut the brightness of any pixel in half (resulting in 32 arbitrary colors plus 32 more colors set at half the value of the first 32), and Hold-And-Modify (HAM) which allows all 4096 colors to be used on screen simultaneously. Later revisions of the chipset are PAL/NTSC switchable in software.

The sound chip produces four hardware-mixed channels, two to the left and two to the right, of 8-bit PCM at a sampling frequency up to $1 MB$. Each hardware channel has its own independent volume level and sampling rate, and can be designated to another channel where it can modulate both volume and frequency using its own output. With DMA disabled it's possible to output with a sampling frequency up to $28 kHz$. There is a common trick to output sound with 14-bit precision that can be combined to output 14-bit $56 kHz$ sound.

The stock system comes with AmigaOS version 1.2 or 1.3 and $56 kHz$ of chip RAM (150 ns access time), one built-in double-density standard floppy disk drive that is completely programmable and can read $512 KB$ IBM PC disks, $720 KB$ standard Amiga disks, and up to 984 KB using custom-formatting drivers.

Despite the lack of Amiga 2000-compatible internal expansion slots, there are many ports and expansion options. There are two DE9M Atari joystick ports for joysticks or mice, and stereo audio RCA connectors (1 V p-p). There is a floppy drive port for daisy-chaining up to three extra floppy disk drives via a DB23F connector. The then-standard RS-232 serial port (DB25M) and Centronics parallel port (DB25F) are also included. The power supply is ($880 KB$, $5 V$). The system displays video in analog RGB $±12 V$ PAL or $50 Hz$ NTSC through a proprietary DB23M connector and in NTSC mode the line frequency is $60 Hz$ HSync for standard video modes, which is compatible with NTSC television and CVBS/RGB video, but out of range for most VGA-compatible monitors, while a multisync monitor is required for some of the higher resolutions. This connection can also be genlocked to an external video signal. The system was bundled with an RF adapter to provide output on televisions with a coaxial RF input, while monochrome video is available via an RCA connector (also coaxial). On the left side, behind a plastic cover, there is a Zorro (Zorro I) bus expansion external edge connector with 86 pins. Peripherals such as a hard disk drive can be added via the expansion slot and are configured automatically by the Amiga's AutoConfig standard, so that multiple devices do not conflict with each other. Up to $15.75 kHz$ of so-called "fast RAM" (memory that can be accessed by the CPU only) can be added using the side expansion slot. This connector is electronically identical with the Amiga 1000's, but swapped on the other side.

The Amiga 500 has a "trap-door" slot on the underside for a RAM upgrade (typically $8 MB$). This extra RAM is classified as "fast" RAM, but is sometimes referred to as "slow" RAM: due to the design of the expansion bus, it is actually on the chipset bus. Such upgrades usually include a battery-backed real-time clock. All versions of the A500 can have the additional RAM configured as chip RAM by a simple hardware modification, which involves fitting a later model (8372A) Agnus chip. Likewise, all versions of the A500 can be upgraded to $512 KB$ chip RAM by fitting the 8372B Agnus chip and adding additional memory.

The Amiga 500 also sports an unusual feature for a budget machine, socketed chips, which allow easy replacement of defective chips. The CPU can be directly upgraded on the motherboard to a 68010; or to a 68020, 68030, or 68040 via the side expansion slot; or by removing the CPU and plugging a CPU expansion card into the CPU socket (this requires opening the computer and thus voided any remaining warranty). In fact, all the custom chips can be upgraded to the Amiga Enhanced Chip Set (ECS) versions.

The plastic case is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS. ABS degrades with time due to exposure to oxygen, causing a yellowing of the case. Other factors contributing to the degradation and yellowing include heat, shear, and ultraviolet light. The yellowing can be reversed by using an optical brightener, though without stabilizing agents or antioxidants to block oxygen, the yellowing will return.

Technical specifications

 * OCS (1.2 and 1.3 models) or ECS (1.3 and 500+ 2.04 models) chipset. ECS revisions of the chipset made PAL/NTSC mode switchable in software.
 * Sound: 4 hardware-mixed channels of 8-bit sound at up to 28 kHz. The hardware channels have independent volumes (65 levels) and sampling rates, and are mixed down to two fully left and fully right stereo outputs. A software controllable low-pass audio filter is also included.
 * 512 KB of chip RAM (150 ns access time)
 * AmigaOS 1.2 or 1.3 (upgradeable up to 3.1.4 if 2 MB of RAM are installed)
 * One 3.5" double-density floppy disk drive is built in, which is completely programmable and thus can read 720 KB IBM PC disks, 880 KB standard Amiga disks, and up to 984 KB with custom formatting (such as Klaus Deppich's diskspare.device). Uses 300 rpm (5 rotations/second) and 250 kbit/s.
 * Built-in keyboard
 * A two-button mouse is included.

Graphics

 * PAL mode: 768×580 maximum (overscan interlaced if viewed on composite monitor/TV). Typical resolutions: 320×256, 640×256 or 640×512 (all displayed with borders).
 * NTSC mode: 768×484 maximum (overscan interlaced if viewed on composite monitor/TV). Typical resolutions: 320×200, 640×200 or 640×400 (all displayed with borders).
 * Graphics can be of arbitrary dimensions, resolution and colour depth, even on the same screen. The Amiga can show multiple resolution modes at the same time, splitting the screen vertically.
 * Planar graphics are used, with up to five bitplanes (four in hires); this allowed 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 colour screens, from a palette of 4096 colours.
 * Two special graphics modes are also included:
 * Extra Half Brite (EHB), which uses a sixth bitplane as a mask that halved the brightness of any colour seen
 * Hold-And-Modify (HAM), which allows all 4096 colours on screen at once. HAM makes it possible to use 12 bpp over a 3 pixel wide span. This works by letting each pixel position use the previous RGB value and modify one of the red, green or blue values to a new 4-bit value. This will cause some negligible colour artifacts however.

Memory
Using various expansion techniques, the A500's total RAM can reach up to 138 MB – 2 MB Chip RAM, 8 MB 16-bit Fast RAM, and 128 MB 32-bit Fast RAM.

Chip RAM
The stock 512 KB Chip RAM can be complemented by 512 KB using a "trapdoor" expansion (Commodore A501 or compatible). While that expansion memory is connected to the chip bus, hardware limitations of early stock Agnus chip revisions prevent its use as Chip RAM, only the CPU can access it. Suffering from the same contention limitations as Chip RAM, that memory is known as "Slow RAM" or "Pseudo-fast RAM". Agnus revisions shipped with late A500 are ECS and allow use of trapdoor RAM as real Chip RAM for a total 1 MB.

Additionally, several third-party expansions exist with up to 2 MB on the trapdoor board. Using a Gary adapter, that memory will be mapped as either split on Chip RAM and Slow RAM or fully as Slow RAM, depending on configuration.

Furthermore, using an A3000 Agnus on an adapter board, it is possible to expand the Chip RAM to 2 MB, matching the A500+.

Fast RAM
"Fast" RAM is located on the CPU-side bus. Its access is exclusive to the CPU and not slowed by any chipset access. The side expansion port allows for up to 8 MB of Zorro-style expansion RAM. Alternatively, a CPU adapter allows for internal expansion.

Accelerator RAM
Internal or external CPU accelerators often include their own expansion memory. 16-bit CPUs are limited by the 24-bit address space but they can repurpose otherwise unused memory space for their included RAM. 32-bit CPU accelerators aren't limited by 24-bit addressing and can include up to 128 MB of Fast RAM (and potentially more).

Connectors

 * Two Atari joystick ports for joysticks or mice
 * Stereo audio RCA connectors ($2 MB$ p-p)
 * A floppy drive port (DB23F), for daisy-chaining up to 3 extra floppy disk drives via a DB23F connector
 * A standard RS-232 serial port (DB25M)
 * A parallel port (DB25F)
 * Power inlet ($1 V$, $5 V$)
 * Amiga video connector: Analogue RGB $±12 V$ PAL and $50 Hz$ NTSC video output, provided on an Amiga-specific DB23M connector. Can drive video with $60 Hz$ HSync for standard Amiga video modes. This is not compatible with most VGA monitors. A Multisync monitor is required for some higher resolutions. This connection can also be genlocked to an external video signal. An RF adapter (A520) was frequently bundled with the machine to provide output on regular televisions or on composite monitors. A digital 16 colour Red-Green-Blue-Intensity signal is available too on the same connector.
 * Monochrome video via an RCA connector
 * Zorro II bus expansion on the left side behind a plastic cover
 * Trapdoor slot under the machine, for RAM expansion and real-time clock

Expansions

 * Expansion ports are limited to a side expansion port and a trapdoor expansion on the underside of the machine. The casing can also be opened up (voiding the warranty), all larger chips are socketed rather than being TH/SMD soldered directly to the motherboard, so they can be replaced by hand.
 * The CPU can be upgraded to a Motorola 68010 directly or to a 68020, 68030 or 68040 via the side expansion slot or a CPU socket adapter board.
 * The chip RAM can be upgraded to 1 MB directly on the motherboard, provided a Fat Agnus chip is also installed to support it.
 * Likewise, all the custom chips can be upgraded to the ECS chipset.
 * The A500+ model instead allowed upgrading by 1 MB trapdoor chip RAM without clock, but there was no visible means on board to map any of this as FAST, causing incompatibility with some stubbornly coded programs.
 * There were modification instructions available for the A500 to solder or socket another 512 KB RAM on the board, then run extra address lines to the trapdoor slot to accommodate an additional 1 MB of fast or chip RAM depending on the installed chipset.
 * Up to 8 MB of "fast RAM" can be added via the side expansion slot, even more if an accelerator with a non-EC (without reduced data/address bus) processor and 32-bit RAM is used.
 * Hard drive and other peripherals can be added via the side expansion slot.
 * Several companies provided combined CPU, memory and hard drive upgrades – or provided chainable expansions that extended the bus as they were added – as there is only one side expansion slot.
 * Expansions are configured automatically by AutoConfig software, so multiple pieces of hardware did not conflict with each other.

Diagnostics
When the computer is powered on a self-diagnostic test is run that will indicates failure with a specific colour:

 * 1) Medium green means no chip RAM found or is damaged.
 * 2) Red means bad kickstart-ROM.
 * 3) Yellow means the CPU has crashed (no trap routine or trying to run bad code) or a bad Zorro expansion card.
 * 4) Blue means a custom chip problem (Denise, Paula, or Agnus).
 * 5) Light green means CIA problem.
 * 6) Light gray means that the CIA might be defective.
 * 7) Black and white stripes mean there is a ROM or CIA problem.
 * 8) Black-only (no video) means there is no video output.

The keyboard LED uses blink codes:

 Measurements
 * 1) One blink means the keyboard ROM has a checksum error.
 * 2) Two blinks means RAM failure.
 * 3) Three blinks means watchdog timer failure.

Overall (base): 6.2 cm x 47.4 cm x 33 cm; 2 7/16 in x 18 11/16 in x 13 in.

Trap-door expansion 501

A popular expansion for the Amiga 500 was the Amiga 501 circuit board that can be installed underneath the computer behind a plastic cover. The expansion contains 512 KB RAM configured by default as "Slow RAM" or "trap-door RAM" and a battery-backed real-time clock (RTC).

The 512 KB trap-door RAM and 512 KB of original chip RAM will result in 1 MB of total memory. The added memory is known as "Slow RAM", as its access is impacted by chip-bus bandwidth contention, while the chipset is not actually able to address it.

Later revisions of the motherboard provide solder-jumpers to relocate the trap-door RAM to the chip memory pool, given the Agnus chip is the newer ECS version, shipped in later A500 motherboards. Newest (rev 8) A500s would share motherboard with A500+, and configure the expansion memory as CHIP by default.

Software
Each time the Amiga 500 is booted, it executes code from the Kickstart ROM. The Amiga 500 initially came shipped with AmigaOS 1.2, but units since October 1988 had version 1.3 installed.

Reception and sales
The Amiga 500 was the best-selling model in the Amiga family of computers. The German computer magazine Chip awarded the model the annual "Home Computer of the Year" title three consecutive times. At the European Computer Trade Show 1991, it also won the Leisure Award for the similar "Home Computer of the Year" title.

Owing to the inexpensive cost of the Amiga 500 in then price-sensitive Europe, sales of the Amiga family of computers were strongest there, constituting 85 percent of Commodore's total sales in the fourth quarter of 1990. The Amiga 500 was widely perceived as a gaming machine and the Amiga 2000 a computer for artists and hobbyists.

It has been claimed  that Commodore sold as many as six million units worldwide. However, Commodore UK refuted that figure and said that the entire Amiga line sold between four and five million computers. Indeed, Ars Technica provides a year-by-year graph of the sales of all Amiga computers.

The machine is reported to have sold 1,160,500 units in Germany (including Amiga 500 Plus sales).

Amiga 500 Plus
The Amiga 500 Plus (often A500 Plus or simply A500+) is a revised version of the original Amiga 500 computer. The A500+ featured minor changes to the motherboard to make it cheaper to produce than the original A500. It was notable for introducing new versions of Kickstart and Workbench, and for some minor improvements in the custom chips, known as the Enhanced Chip Set (or ECS).

Although officially introduced in 1992, some Amiga 500 units sold in late 1991 actually featured the revised motherboard used in the A500+. Although the Amiga 500+ was an improvement to the Amiga 500, it was minor. It was discontinued and replaced by the Amiga 600 in summer 1992, making it the shortest-lived Amiga model.

Compatibility problems
Due to the new Kickstart v2.04, quite a few popular games (such as Treasure Island Dizzy, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, and SWIV) failed to work on the Amiga 500+, and some people took them back to dealers demanding an original Kickstart 1.3 Amiga 500. This problem was largely solved by third parties who produced Kickstart ROM switching boards, that could allow the Amiga 500+ to be downgraded to Kickstart 1.2 or 1.3. It also encouraged game developers to use better programming habits, which was important since Commodore already had plans for the introduction of the next-generation Amiga 1200 computer. A program, Relokick, was also released (and included with an issue of CU Amiga) which loaded a Kickstart 1.3 ROM image into memory and booted the machine into Kickstart 1.3, allowing most incompatible software to run (the software did take up 512 KB of system memory, meaning that some 1 MB only games would now fail for lack of available memory). In some cases, updated compatible versions of games were later released, such as budget versions of Lotus 1 and SWIV, and an update to Bubble Bobble. Double Dragon 2 by Binary Design received an update for ECS machines with the "Amiga phase-alternated linescan version 4.01/ECS". This solved compatibility issues with the graphics which appeared garbled on ECS machines, and it also slashed the in-game loading times from around 20 seconds to just over 6.

Technical specifications

 * Motorola 68000 CPU running at 7.09 MHz (PAL) / 7.16 MHz (NTSC), like its predecessor
 * 1 MB of Chip RAM (very early versions came with 512 KB )
 * Kickstart 2.04 (v37.175)
 * Workbench 37.67 (release 2.04)
 * Built-in battery backed RTC (Real Time Clock)
 * Full ECS chipset including new version of the Agnus chip and Denise chip

title: Amiga 500


text:
Aga

Aga or AGA may refer to:

Business

 * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970
 * AGA (automobile), Autogen Gasaccumulator AG, 1920s German car company
 * AGA AB, Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumulator, a Swedish company, the originator of the AGA Cooker
 * AGA Rangemaster Group, British manufacturer
 * AGA cooker, an oven and cooker
 * Abellio Greater Anglia, former name of Greater Anglia, a train company in the United Kingdom

People

 * Aga Khan (disambiguation)
 * Ağa (Ottoman Empire), an Ottoman Turkish military and administrative rank
 * Alejandro G. Abadilla (1906–1969), Filipino poet
 * Aga vom Hagen (1872-1949), German painter, author, and art patron
 * Aga Radwańska, Polish tennis player
 * AGA (singer), Hong Kong singer

Given name

 * Aga of Kish, Ensi of Kish and King of Sumer
 * Ağa Aşurov (1880–1936), Azerbaijani statesman
 * Aga Muhlach (born 1969), Filipino actor and producer
 * Aga Zaryan (born 1976), Polish vocalist
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian female first name Agafa
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agafangel
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agafon
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agafonik
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agap
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian female first name Agapa
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agapit
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian female first name Agapiya
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian female first name Agata (a variant of Agatha)
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agav
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian male first name Agavva
 * Aga, a diminutive of the Russian female first name Avgusta

Surname

 * Ağa, a Turkish surname
 * Alemu Aga (born 1950), Ethiopian musician
 * Anu Aga (born 1942), Indian businesswoman
 * Maria-Laura Aga (born 1994), Belgian footballer
 * Patrick Aga, Nigerian politician
 * Ragheb Aga (born 1984), Kenyan cricketer
 * Selim Aga (c. 1826–1875), Sudanese writer

Groups

 * American Gaming Association
 * American Gas Association
 * American Gastroenterological Association
 * American Go Association, organization to promote the board game of Go
 * American Grandprix Association
 * Assemblies of God in Australia, a Pentecostal denomination
 * Association of Government Accountants, government accounting professional organization that issues the Certified Government Financial Manager
 * Australian Go Association, governing body for the board game Go

Medicine

 * Androgenetic alopecia
 * Anti-gliadin antibodies
 * Aspartylglucosaminidase
 * Appropriate for gestational age, referring to prenatal growth rate

Places

 * Aga, Egypt
 * Aga, Niigata, Japan
 * Aga Point, Guam
 * Al Massira Airport, Agadir, Morocco
 * Brestovăț, Timiș County, Romania, called Aga in Hungarian
 * Monte Aga, mountain in Italy
 * Aga (river), a tributary of the Onon in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia

Other

 * Aga (bird), Chamorro language name of Corvus kubaryi, the Mariana crow
 * Aga (bug), a genus of assassin bugs in the tribe Harpactorini
 * Ága (film), a 2018 Bulgarian film
 * Aga is the word for Karuka in the Kewa language
 * Aga saga
 * Aguano language
 * Alcohol and Gaming Authority, government body in Nova Scotia, Canada
 * Alte Gesamt-Ausgabe, 19th century publication of compositions by Franz Schubert
 * Amiga Advanced Graphics Architecture, a Commodore Amiga graphics chipset
 * Art Gallery of Alberta, an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
 * AGA, a codon for the amino acid arginine
 * Attorney General of Alabama
 * Attorney General of Alaska
 * Attorney General of Alberta
 * Attorney General of Anguilla
 * Attorney General of Argentina
 * Attorney General of Arizona
 * Attorney General of Arkansas
 * Attorney-General of Australia
 * Auditor-General for Australia

title: Aga


text:
Amiga 1000

The Amiga 1000, also known as the A1000, is the first personal computer released by Commodore International in the Amiga line. It combines the 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU which was powerful by 1985 standards with one of the most advanced graphics and sound systems in its class. It runs a preemptive multitasking operating system that fits into 256 KB of read-only memory and was shipped with 256 KB of RAM. The primary memory can be expanded internally with a manufacturer-supplied 256 KB module for a total of 512 KB of RAM. Using the external slot the primary memory can be expanded up to 8.5 MB.

Design
The A1000 has a number of characteristics that distinguish it from later Amiga models: It is the only model to feature the short-lived Amiga check-mark logo on its case, the majority of the case is elevated slightly to give a storage area for the keyboard when not in use (a "keyboard garage"), and the inside of the case is engraved with the signatures of the Amiga designers (similar to the Macintosh); including Jay Miner and the paw print of his dog Mitchy. The A1000's case was designed by Howard Stolz. As Senior Industrial Designer at Commodore, Stolz was the mechanical lead and primary interface with Sanyo in Japan, the contract manufacturer for the A1000 casing.

The Amiga 1000 was manufactured in two variations: One uses the NTSC television standard and the other uses the PAL television standard. The NTSC variant was the initial model manufactured and sold in North America. The later PAL model was manufactured in Germany and sold in countries using the PAL television standard. The first NTSC systems lack the EHB video mode which is present in all later Amiga models.

Because AmigaOS was rather buggy at the time of the A1000's release, the OS was not placed in ROM then. Instead, the A1000 includes a daughterboard with 256 KB of RAM, dubbed the "writable control store" (WCS), into which the core of the operating system is loaded from floppy disk (this portion of the operating system is known as the "Kickstart"). The WCS is write-protected after loading, and system resets do not require a reload of the WCS. In Europe, the WCS was often referred to as WOM (Write Once Memory), a play on the more conventional term "ROM" (read-only memory).

Technical information
The preproduction Amiga (which was codenamed "Velvet") released to developers in early 1985 contained 128 KB of RAM with an option to expand it to 256 KB. Commodore later increased the system memory to 256 KB due to objections by the Amiga development team. The names of the custom chips were different; Denise and Paula were called Daphne and Portia respectively. The casing of the preproduction Amiga was almost identical to the production version: the main difference being an embossed Commodore logo in the top left corner. It did not have the developer signatures.

The Amiga 1000 has a Motorola 68000 CPU running at 7.15909 MHz on NTSC systems or 7.09379 MHz on PAL systems, precisely double the video color carrier frequency for NTSC or 1.6 times the color carrier frequency for PAL. The system clock timings are derived from the video frequency, which simplifies glue logic and allows the Amiga 1000 to make do with a single crystal. In keeping with its video game heritage, the chipset was designed to synchronize CPU memory access and chipset DMA so the hardware runs in real time without wait-state delays.

Though most units were sold with an analog RGB monitor, the A1000 also has a built-in composite video output which allows the computer to be connected directly to some monitors other than their standard RGB monitor. The A1000 also has a "TV MOD" output, into which an RF Modulator can be plugged, allowing connection to older televisions that did not have a composite video input.

The original 68000 CPU can be directly replaced with a Motorola 68010, which can execute instructions slightly faster than the 68000 but also introduces a small degree of software incompatibility. Third-party CPU upgrades, which mostly fit in the CPU socket, use faster 68020 or 68030 microprocessors and integrated memory, as well as provide support for a 68881 or 68882 FPU. Such upgrades often have the option to revert to 68000 mode for full compatibility. Some boards have a socket to seat the original 68000, whereas the 68030 cards typically come with an on-board 68000.

The original Amiga 1000 is the only model to have 256 KB of Amiga Chip RAM, which can be expanded to 512 KB with the addition of a daughterboard under a cover in the center front of the machine. RAM may also be upgraded via official and third-party upgrades, with a practical upper limit of about 9 MB of "fast RAM" due to the 68000's 24-bit address bus. This memory is accessible only by the CPU permitting faster code execution as DMA cycles are not shared with the chipset.

The Amiga 1000 features an 86-pin expansion port (electrically identical to the later Amiga 500 expansion port, though the A500's connector is inverted). This port is used by third-party expansions such as memory upgrades and SCSI adapters. These resources are handled by the Amiga Autoconfig standard. Other expansion options are available including a bus expander which provides two Zorro-II slots.

Retail
Introduced on July 23, 1985, during a star-studded gala featuring Andy Warhol and Debbie Harry held at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City, machines began shipping in September with a base configuration of 256 KB of RAM at the retail price of US$1,295. A 13 in analog RGB monitor was available for around US$300, bringing the price of a complete Amiga system to US$1,595. Before the release of the Amiga 500 and Amiga 2000 models in 1987, the A1000 was marketed as simply the Amiga, although the model number was there from the beginning, as the original box indicates.

In the US, the A1000 was marketed as The Amiga from Commodore, with the Commodore logo omitted from the case. The Commodore branding was retained for the international versions.

Additionally, the Amiga 1000 was sold exclusively in computer stores in the US rather than the various non computer-dedicated department and toy stores through which the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 were retailed. These measures were an effort to avoid Commodore's "toy-store" computer image created during the Tramiel era.

Along with the operating system, the machine came bundled with a version of AmigaBASIC developed by Microsoft and a speech synthesis library developed by Softvoice, Inc.

Aftermarket upgrades
Many A1000 owners remained attached to their machines long after newer models rendered the units technically obsolete, and it attracted numerous aftermarket upgrades. Many CPU upgrades that plugged into the Motorola 68000 socket functioned in the A1000. Additionally, a line of products called the Rejuvenator series allowed the use of newer chipsets in the A1000, and an Australian-designed replacement A1000 motherboard called The Phoenix utilized the same chipset as the A3000 and added an A2000-compatible video slot and on-board SCSI controller.

Reception and impact
In its product preview, Byte magazine was impressed by the computer's multitasking capabilities and the quality of its graphics and sound systems. It also praised its text-to-speech library for voice output, and predicted that the Amiga would be successful enough to influence the personal computer industry.

The Amiga 1000 was released to positive reviews. Compute! lauded it as an inexpensive, truly general-purpose computer that might break preconceptions dividing the microcomputer marketplace. In this case, it was capable of outperforming most business, as well as arcade game machines and delivering sampled sound, making it suitable for offices, gamers, and digital artists. Computer Gaming World praised the machine's versatility without any obvious hardware shortcomings and stressed that it was ideal for game designers demanding fewer system constraints. Creative Computing magazine had only minor criticisms for what they otherwise called a "dream machine." These criticisms were directed toward its case quality, the disk drives slowing during certain operations, and not finding an  command in AmigaDOS, though the marketing vice president of Commodore, Clive Smith, assured the magazine that later production units would address most of its complaints. Months after the Amiga 1000 was released, InfoWorld offered a mixed review. It praised Intuition and the customizability of Workbench, but took issue with the operating system's bugs such as memory overflow and screen flickering of single lines as a result of their being interleaved when displayed in high resolution mode. It also criticized the sparseness of the software library preventing the publication from fully realizing the computer's potential.

In 1994, as Commodore filed for bankruptcy, Byte magazine called the Amiga 1000 "the first multimedia computer... so far ahead of its time that almost nobody—including Commodore's marketing department—could fully articulate what it was all about". In 2006, PC World rated the Amiga 1000 as the 7th greatest PC of all time. In 2007, it was rated by the same magazine as the 37th best tech product of all time. Also that year, IDG Sweden ranked it the 10th best computer of all time.

Joe Pillow
"Joe Pillow" was the name given on the ticket for the extra airline seat purchased to hold the first Amiga prototype while on the way to the January 1984 Consumer Electronics Show. The airlines required a name for the airline ticket and Joe Pillow was born. The engineers (RJ Mical and Dale Luck) who flew with the Amiga prototype (codenamed Lorraine) drew a happy face on the front of the pillowcase and even added a tie.

Joe Pillow extended his fifteen minutes of fame when the Amiga went to production. All fifty-three Amiga team members who worked on the project signed the Amiga case. This included Joe Pillow and Jay Miner's dog Michy who each got to "sign" the case in their own unique way.

title: Amiga 1000