CompuServe Messages

Don't sweat the "ridiculously aggressive [price] claims" made originally. I remember an NAB where there were flyers handed out by NewTek saying the original Toaster would be $799. It then came out at $1500 or so I think, and then the price went UP some time later to over $2000 I believe. I also have NO problems with what NewTek did as far as pre-introduction hype or raising the price later (granted I'm not a Toaster user either, just an observer). Besides having some really talented and creative hardware and software people, NewTek has done some extremely clever and creative marketing. If you play your position right, you could ride that wave with Screamer technology all the way to the bank. Here's my advice: 1) Make it scalable – (from entry level affordability for starving video artists all the way to Steve Speilberg's (sp?) SeaQuest rendering farm killer configurations.) Perhaps the entry level form connects to the Amiga/Toaster configuration and has basically just a processor, some RAM and I/O to/from the Amiga. Maybe it's even just a plug-in card that goes in an Amiga Zorro slot. 2) Allow third party add-ons – getting one or all of the third party image processing packages to run on Screamer for example would be a BIG win. 3) Get SOMETHING out SOON. The Toaster bandwagon isn't a forever thing, but the Screamer type of technology is just what is needed to allow people to see a great migration path upward in terms of performance. Commodore has (once again) presented a great opportunity by not themselves coming out with a RISC Amiga. If someone doesn't fill the void, eventually users will switch to other platforms (Mac with PowerPC, PC's with Pentiums, or maybe MIPS or Alpha based boxes). Good luck.