Commodore News
Here is the thinking that occured to me today. Maybe, as an insider yoiu
can tell me where the flaw is.
As I recall, about 5-7 years ago Sony had an entry in ght PC market
breifly. It seems they rapidly decided computers were not their thing.
Now, if they are interested in C=, it would be only for the game machines
and set-top box technolgy. e.g. only the CD32 part of C=. On investigating
they would find that a unique development platform, the Amiga computer,
was all but required to do efficient CD32 application development.
Now they focus on the Amiga track-record and see a machine that even some
old hands from IBM and Apple could not overcome market resistance to. (The
technical merits of the machine are of no consequence since marketdriods
are doing the purchase evaluation). So, in order to gain this technology,
they have to bring along the overhead of the Amiga computer, and get back
into a market they neve developed an affinity for with a product that
can't compete with Pentium, PowerPC or the lower Macintosh and 486 clones
from a market standpoint.
I think Sony is too smart and the technology of CBM too much of a
departure from thier long term plan at too high a risk for the potential
returns to make it worth Sony to buy CBM.
The HP scenario is more feasible, but I would see that as using the chip
level technolgy and a few existing Amigas for settop box development while
a tool set is developed on the HP mini and PC line to provide a develpment
environment for the CD32 chip set. AAA would not need to be developed, and
the Amiga computer line would be discarded, again as a sales volume
increase dead elephant. Cooperman and other tlented industry big shots
couldn't market it, why should HP try to duplicate their mistakes.
The only way I see for the Amiga computer line to continue would be if an
Amiga nerd bought them out, or a consortium of Amiga developers buy out
the technology, neither of which, due to fincances etc do I see as a real
possibility.
So I see the choice as dump 'em or keep them as working museum peices.
Especilly a 4000T if you cna find one. Someday it will be a collectors
item for the "Museum of computer oddities" along with those Osbornes…
wmc – via Autopilot!