Notes from the Amiga - My Modern Sneakernet

September 30, 2022
CompactFlash card and PCMCIA card reader

After having set up the Plipbox, I wanted to then set up an easy way to get these blog posts over to my laptop for publishing. I figured I could configure an FTP server running in Docker somewhere on my local network, and then use some Amiga-based FTP client to move files around.

The FTP server was easy enough to get running. On the Amiga side, I first tried using FTPMount, but that failed hard when I used it with Workbench or Directory Opus. I downloaded AmiFTP and got that working with the server…but then I decided to stop pursuing that approach.

One of the things I enjoy about using older machines like an Amiga is the fact that things aren’t frictonless. So much software, especially SaaS software and consumer applications, is built to reduce friction as much as possible in order to maximise some aspect of usage, usually engagement.

I’ve been using a PCMCIA CompactFlash card reader as my modern floppy disk on the Amiga. Then I read the CF card on my laptop to get the posts ready for publishing. I kinda don’t mind running a sneakernet for this blogging. It makes the experience just a little more tactile, more retro, without going all the way back to slow, unreliable floppy disks.