CompuServe Messages

Nothing particularly new and exciting was said about the Amiga. The conferences were really just attempts to boost morale, the overall message being Amiga Is Back, or "back to the future" as Petro liked to put it. A few interesting points emerged during the press and dealer Q&A sessions. The developer one is still happening as I type this and many of the developers I spoke to before leaving the hotel (I had a previously arranged hospital appointment, worst luck, else I would have been there too) intended to vent their spleens over one issue or another; it sounded like it might be quite a volatile session 🙂 Anyway, interesting points: When asked directly if the 060 support for the A4000/060T was the Phase 5 product, AT withdrew from its former position that yes this was indeed the case. Now "it might be". My spies tell me that Phase 5 and AT have been unable to agree on a price; AT is plainly looking for an alternative product, which may well be the GVP 060 board (my guess) that is expected quite soon. However, AT's expectation that the A4000/060T will be available in November seems optimistic. Probably the most important thing that came from these conferences was that Petro made it quite clear that all future plans for the Amiga (which once again were described only in vague terms) depend entirely on how well the 100,000 A1200s they are building sell this Christmas. Privately over coffee Petro reminded me that Escom AG was a public company and that a profit will have to be turned in order to gain the continued support of the shareholders. (Of which, of course, Manfredd Schmidt is the main one (51%), with Seimens having a 10% stake I believe, although that figure could be out of date.) Petro spoke publicly and at some length of future CD-ROM support — essential now as they are pushing all Amigas on the multimedia ticket — being incorporated into the A1200 by redesigning the motherboard so that there will be a specific expansion port to plug it into. So an external optional extra still, but it can be added without taking up the PCMCIA or trapdoor. He spoke also of the desire to make an MPEG board for this CD-ROM drive. Jonathan Anderson (ATUK general manager) promised that developers would be provided with this device at least six months before it is released (should it happen, that is, which depends on how much money AT makes this Christmas…) Gilles Bourdin spoke of the existence of an alternative professional Amiga development system should SAS not want to get back on the ride. He would not name names except to say it is German and it is not Maxon C. Gilles also spoke of having proper Internet software "ported" to the Amiga and his plans for an Amiga web site. Again, this is some distance down the road and is linked also to TV set-top box plans (of which surprisingly little was said). Although John Smith (ATUK sales manager) said only that UK Escom shops are "highly likely" to be stocking Amigas, Petro later said that the UK Escom shops would "definitely" be stocking Amigas. Two other UK High Street chains — Comet and Tandy — look set to be stocking Amigas also, but John Smith shied away from giving absolute confirmation. There was much concern among the independent dealers that these chain stores would undercut them. John Smith said that if they do, he will reduce the margins so that the chain stores can't undercut them. He wanted a "very organised" market place. There were further concerns from dealers that the price would plummet after Christmas or after the next manufacturing run, leaving dealers with stock they could sell only for a loss; they wanted price protection. Both the dealers and the press expressed concerns about the 399 GBP price point. To the dealers John Smith said the price would not fall; to the press he said that it was feasible that the A1200HD model might possibly fall to the non-HD price later next year (leaving us to infer that the straight A1200 would have to fall by 100 GBP.) When all had been said, the general reaction of the dealers was that not enough details had been given, even in answer to specific questions, to bolster their confidence. A number of dealers remarked to me that they were disappointed that the AT people were not taking notes of the many concerns that they were expressing. On the whole the press were discontented to start with and the Q&A session was a little rowdy. At one point Jonathan Anderson entered into a public "oh no you didn't; oh yes I did" argument about whether a message had been left on an answering machine or not. When someone suggested that he was giving special treatment to one Amiga magazine, he accused the rest of the press of not trying hard enough to find out information. Not surprisingly the press closed ranks, and the questions thereafter became more pointed. Jonathan Anderson was visibly uncomfortable. It was left to Barry Thurston — who was really only there to run the visual presentation (which gurued in front of the dealers 🙂 — to rescue the press session with some sensible, down-to-earth comments about why the Amiga is still currently better for certain multimedia applications than anything else (despite the "really very good" PC version of Scala which is imminent 😉 The press and dealer conferences were not a total waste of time, but neither were they anywhere near a success. Probably more good than bad came from them, but ATUK in particular has an awful lot of work to do and I'm not convinced that six staff, no matter how good they may be at their jobs, is enough to do all that needs to be done. The conferences had a rushed and slightly amateurish feel to them, perhaps reflecting the enormous pressure the ATUK staff are currently under. More than anything else they need to provide press and dealers with concrete information about the future commitments. I came away from these conferences with the impression that they cannot provide this information because the future is still very much in the balance. Lastly, of the 100,000 A1200s being built this year, the UK will get 50,000 to 60,000 (John Smith wants 60,000), Germany will get 35,000, leaving as few as 5,000 for the rest of the world. Oh yes, and there is a very strong possibility of a World of Amiga happening on Nov 24-26, held at The Horticutural Hall, Westminster. (Further details from PBA Events: 01462 480024 voice, 01462 480023/481591 fax, 0831 273135 mobile.) Jeff Walker, JAM magazine jwalker@cix.compulink.co.uk