#Commodore Responds
20 messages in this thread
totally wrong and misguided depiction of the Amiga. And,
NewTek's Video Toaster is dependent on the Amiga's custom
chip technology.
* The Amiga offers the best "price/performance" for multimedia
computing solutions available today. In addition, the Amiga
provides "traditional" office computing applications and a
wide variety of entertainment packages. The Amiga also
provides options to read and write MS-DOS and MacIntosh files.
* This is the most exciting time in the history of Commodore
and Amiga computing. The company's visibility in the
microcomputer industry should increase significantly during
the next year as new programs, products, strategies and
applications mature.
Final Thoughts
We are taking specific steps to not only regarding this incident
but also to ensure that we regain more leverage and positive
coverage in the general media and reporting environment going
forward. To that end, we're planning some specific press events at
both World of Commodore and Fall Comdex. We've also begun an
intensive telephone contact campaign to strengthen our ongoing
relationships with hundreds of editors, reporters, and freelancers
who write about Commodore and the Amiga. We are committed to
increasing the flow of accurate information to these important and
influential media audiences.
In the meantime, please help us with the impressions precipitated
by the Robinson article; follow through on the recommendations
we've made in this correspondence.
Please consider faxing Mandi Griffies, in our corporate
communications department, copies of any correspondence you
generate on behalf of this effort and report subsequent media
feedback and results directly to her. Her fax number is (215)
431-9465. Thank you for your concern and partnership.
P.S. "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
— Mark Twain, 1897
Shucks, if all you say is true, then this guy deserves a medal, nay, a cash
award from every AMIGA owner. Cause CBM has yet to do diddly for AMIGA in
the Washington DC market which is the hottest PC market in the states.
Every Monday the Post business section is filled with computer related
stuff and CBM doesn't even make rumors. So fess up, all this stuff is
republican smoke and mirrors until CBM delivers.
=====Paul=====
Denny,
It just takes one negative article like this one to stir up C= into action,
or have they been planning this all along? Perhaps, unknowingly, this
reporter has done more good for us Amiga owners than he thought.
Anyway, I'd like to send this guy my feelings but I haven't read the
article, so I feel I cannot properly respond. Is there anyway to get a copy
of this?
====> Tony <====
– via Whap!
Commodore can go write their own damn letter. So it finally takes a letter
like this to wake Commodore up huh? I believed them a few years back when
they said how they were going to build the Amiga market, but they failed
miserably, I am not holding my breath with their promises now. Commodore
deserved that letter from Robinson. They say it's an exciting time for the
Amiga? Yeah right… This is the most depressed I have ever been about the
Amiga. Wake up Commodore!!
Nick
p.s. thanks for posting the CBM letter Denny.
Yes, it's shameful enough that people get physical threats from the more
fanatical fringe (I've seen this happen a lot on BBSs as well), but it's
really deeply ironic that Commodore would urge people to flood Robinson
with letters when CBM itself carefully avoids angry stockholders and
owners.
OTOH, it would be great if they carry through with their promises in their
response letter… instead of trying to direct owner anger to someone else.
I tried to avoid entering this thread… but I lost resolve. I think this
article could have been written anytime in the past five years, and it
would have met the same response, and had the same degree of accuracy.
The Amiga just won't die… whether CBM markets it or not.. whether it
overwhelms lame macs and PCs to become the consumer computer of the 90's,
or just becomes a sort of niche/ VAR machine in selected vertical markets
like kiosks, video applications, and multimedia delevery ala CDTV… most
likely, it will remain somewhere in between. Of course talking about it
being technologically outdated is absurd. That really means that the 5 year
tech lead the amiga had in graphics ability vs cost, and in preemptive
multitasking GUIed OS is now only about 2 years… try working with macs
and PCs and you'll see.
I agree, having had the misfortune of having to use a friend's mac for a
week while house-sitting. Ugh.
Arnie,
I'd have to agree with you. CBM has been trying to kill the C-64 for
years now, and last time I looked (last Saturday), the beast is still
selling well at Toys-R-Us. Talk about ancient technology! It does it's
job quite well and at a fairly nice price. Half the military seems to own
the things!
As for the Amiga community itself, most of the people I've met have
always been 'technologically obsessed' (or gadget freaks ;-). My first
computer was a TRaSh-80 model I with a whopping 16K and a tape drive. 2
Vic-20's and 2 C-64's later, I bought an A-1000 on the stregnth of the
review in Byte. This machine, although lacking any real software beyond
TextCraft, GraphiCraft, and a brain-dead compiler, actually multi-tasked.
This was something that I could only get on the mainframe on my ship, at
the time.
I have since bought an A-2000 for myself and an A-500 for my mother.
When my sister moves back in, I fully expect to be down at the computer
store buying another A500 or A600 (or whatever). We all have worked on
other machines, in my case both 'Clones' and Mac's, and I always experience
frustration at the little things, like freezes without the guru message.
So, whether C= markets the beast, or not, we'll do our part to market it
for them, as I expect the rest of the 'gadget freaks' will do. Even after
7 years, my trusty A-1000 <patting Lyza>, while not having Super-Whatever
graphics, blows the socks off of the Mac at school since I can at least
format a disk and compute at the same time.
Just my 2-cents.
Brian Bartlett
I think the "threats" came from my dealer! He told me that when Robinson
returned his call he told him in a very calm voice that if he were in the
same room he was so angry he would probably want to do him in. He in no
way meant it as a threat, but Robinson told the NEXT caller that he had
been threatened. I don't think it was a very wise rhetorical ploy on the
dealer's part; but Robinson may have over-reacted in his report of threats
just as he did in the article itself.
BTW—does anyone know what the agreement with Digitial mentioned in
Amazing Computing and confirmed in C='s reply is all about? Any details?
I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Digital's 2.8 billion dollar
loss they just posted!
– Byrt Martinez
Maybe Digital is trying anything to stay alive. I just read in the paper
the other day that DEC just took a 1.3 BILLION dollar loss, but I'm not
sure if that was for the year or what. I didn't read the article that
carefully, but it didn't sound like they were doing very well.
John – K7KB (via Whap!)
That loss was mainly from having to pay severance for all the folks they
let go. The did have a 1% drop in sales, though. Not good but don't count
them out yet—especially with the new ALPHA chips, whatever they are.
If could be worse, we could be Atari. The August 3, 1992 issue of Forbe
magazine (Forbe_s_) has an article that *slams* Atari but good. It seems
their fabled European sales have dropped from over $329 million in 1990 to
just over $200 million in 1991…while they've instituted a revolving door
policy in Sunnyvale that make Commodore look stable! (27 executives in the
last 30 months) A net loss of $14 million on $44 million in sales for 1Q92
and a second quarter that is rumored to be much worse.
At least Commodore is showing a profit.
-Chas AM-Report
Jim,
The Alpha chips threaten to change computing as we know it…check out the
latest Byte to see why the Alpha chip is so awesome. To start you off, it
is designed to run at *200Mhz*, and pop out 200 MIPS.
This chip should be driving a personal computer (or personal
workstation) retailing for less than $10,000 in '93, and running Windows
NT. Could be what we've been waiting for in Amigaland…:)
Jonathan
Someone on usenet said that Digital was taking Amiga/Toaster combos and
packaging them as a DEC "workstation" for companies wishing to make
in-house training tapes and so forth. No mention of price.
Nick:
I have to agree with you. I just laughed when I read C='s response.
They're revitalizing the market, huh? And one day all god's chilluns will
wear shoes, too. Me, I'm looking at a Quadra 950.
Loyd
Looking at a Quadra? Why don't you look at the Emplant which will have
Qudra emulation in the near future?
-Jonathan
I'm not familiar with the Emplant. Can you point me toward more info?
Loyd
The EMPLANT is a board that lets your A2000 or A3000 (I'm not sure about
other models) to emulate the MAC IIx. Other platforms are supposed to be
emulated in the futuer (MAC Quadra, Atari Mega ST, 386/486, etc.) The IIx
emulation will multitask with AmigaDOS and runs with 16 colors (more with
3rd party hardware (HAM-E, DMI, IV-24, etc.) As far as I know, it hasn't
shipped yet but should any time now. There was a mention of it in Amazing.
The board emulates at the hardware level, so it should run as fast as a
regular IIx (with approiate CPU – '030) Other than that, it is just like
the AMAX II + except that it will multitask and has color… You should
call Utilities Unlimited for more info. They make the thing… They
usually advertise in AC.
-Jonathan
Just to stick my two bits in here. I'm looking at the Quadra 970 and any
486/50 clone. Doesn't mean I'll get either. I'm loyal to a fault and
will stick with Amiga until it ain't no more. (Hopefully a long time from
now!)
Rodger