#Rumor Roundup
23 messages in this thread
On 28 June, AmigaWorld is reporting that a "half dozen" companies are
interested in all or part of Commodore's assets. These company's
identities cannot be made public, according to AmigaWorld, because of a
court order by the Bahamian Supreme Court.
It was reported that all interested parties have until 15 July 1994 to
submit written proposals _and_ cash deposits. It is not known when any
announcement will be made as to who will have acquired what, but all
parties are aware that time is of the essense and an announcement IS
expected within 7-10 days after the 15 July deadline.
To date, only one entity has submitted a written proposal and placed a
good faith cash deposit. While this group has not be identified, they
reportedly have committed to resuming production of all current Amiga
models (4000, 1200, CD32) and continued Amiga development.
————–
The above is basically what AmigaWorld is reporting. Give them a call
directly at 800-441-4403 ext 365 for their recorded message and see how
well (or not) I've paraphrased … I've been told this number also works
from Canada.
Now, according to rumor mill stuff, Channel 4000, a dealer news service
(which is ending its operation this Thursday) sponsored by Alpha, the
former marketing folks for Newtek, are reporting that ALL bidders have
dropped out except for a small consortium consisting of the US
distributor, CEI (Creative Equipment, Inc., located in Miami) and an
entity known as Electric Brain.
It is rumored that Samsung's bid, which was rejected by the court on 31
May, was for $1.2M. Samsung appears to be totally out of the picture,
having not submitted a higher bid since then.
The entity who has submitted the written proposal, cash deposit, and
commitment to the continuance of the desktop systems is said to be the CEI
consortium. Recently CEI has bankrolled the production of the 1962
monitors and are about to produce a networking card.
-sja
Way to go Steve. It's still all under the "rumor" umbrella but it would seem to
be one of the more reliable things we've seen and certainly ends a bit of a
drought. Keep your ears to the ground. BTW, I was going over some ancient Amiga
magazines and saw an article you wrote in 1987. Since I see your name on here
daily, it kind of jumped out at me. The magazine was something kind of obscure
I think, It's the only one in the collection I bought with my A1000.
Sean,
It was probably Transactor for the Amiga … most of the sysops here wrote
either columns or feature articles for them.
You're right, that's it. Most of what I can recall from the magazine made it
seem like it would take quite a bit more computer knowledge than one has to
have these days. Most of the applications were written by the computer owner!
Glad I don't have to do that. One reason I was going through the old rags was
to learn what products might have been available for my old 1000 back when they
were all the rage. I sure can't find much for it now.
I only have one copy of Transactor left BUT in that one issue there are
articles or columns from you, Don Curtis, Betty Clay, and Larry Phillips
(or is that Philips <g>)
…Steve
Cruising on Autopilot
from beautiful Coastal South Carolina
Steve,
Yes, Don, Larry, and I wrote monthly columns, Betty wrote many feature
articles, as did Bob Rakosky and John Toebes.
Are you a PI in your "off-keyboard" time or something? <g>
Now for the billion dollar question, does our consortium have the bucks to
push the machine as it should be pushed, or do we just prolong the
suffering?
Chris – Fast and Low on my '020!
Virus Scan: MS-Windows Detected. Delete (y/Y)?
I spoke to an official from the group that is the frontrunner to purchase
Commodore's assets (sorry, can't disclose the name) and asked about the
probability of new machines in the near future. This person confirmed that the
new machines was an immediate and high priority. He went on to say that the AAA
chip set would be completed and new-technology machines would be manufactured.
He mentioned that he had been in touch with Tim Jenison as well as other Amiga
developers, and he told me that an Amiga developers conference would be
scheduled immediately following a successful bid. He believed their position in
the race for Commodore assets was strong, but noted that "11th hour" deals
could always change the situation. The information I received from this
gentlemen matched other information I had heard from other sources. He
confirmed that nothing significant would be heard before July 15th. All in all,
I left this conversation feeling very optimistic about the near-term future of
the Amiga.
Jim Plant-Editor/Video Toaster User
Jim, many thanks for the feedback – might help get back some of that much
needed sleep …
DJ
Indeed, the white knight of our dear little amiga is a blast from the past
with an eye on the future…I too am now very encouraged…
Grant Boucher – Amblin Imaging
"It's hard to believe grown-ups do this for a living."
Grant,
A blast from the past, yes. Is that necessarily good? My understanding is
that the involvment here is mostly games. Obviously I'm speaking circuitously
here, but by implication I'm sure we're on the same page (for others, find out
who Electric Brain is an who is involved with them).
A couple of interesting things came to my attention today … and since I will
not attribute source, call it strictly rumor. That rumor says that Gould got
his loan to CBU paid back in inventory … a LOT of inventory. That inventory
is being sold (or has recently been purchased). There will no doubt shortly be
a flood of machines on the market … mostly PAL and mostly 1200s.
Another rumor has it that in the last couple of days Samsung has re-entered the
picture. However, with their $1.2M bid of last month you have to wonder how
serious they are. It's been told to me that no one in the bidding is even
coming close to approaching $15M … they either all think they can get what
they want at fire sale pricing (most likely true, it will go to the highest
bidder pretty much regardless of bid) or there is really little interest there.
I have always liked the Electric Brain Dude and we have a LOT of friends
in common. Straight from the horse's mouth it sounds like more than games
and there's more than him involved (read: real money).
As far as Samsung goes, nothing like another suitor to rekindle a
romance…they'll need a bigger ring…1.2 million is PATHETIC. I haven't
heard about them for a month, but there is a another group interested in
just manufacturing boxes. That may be CEI tied in with the white knight,
but you wouldn't believe the companies who privately researched buying
CBM's technology!
It's good to see we have sysops who are genuinely well connected!
I am going to buy new Amigas when they come out, whether they be Pheonix
5000s or not!
Grant Boucher – Amblin Imaging
"It's hard to believe grown-ups do this for a living."
Grant,
I hope you're right about the "real money" … it will take that overcome
the damage in the public's eye that Commodore has inflicted via Ali's
incompetence. The actual purchase of the technology rights will be cheap
compared to what it will take to resume production and continue
development.
-sja
Good news is that Ali is now OUT OF THE PICTURE!!! Forever, kaput…
Grant Boucher – Amblin Imaging
"It's hard to believe grown-ups do this for a living."
Grant,
I'd heard that Ali was out of the picture as for as being an officer of the
company but had been hired back as a consultant.
Steve –
Yeah, that way they'll know what NOT to do…
Future Owners: Mr Ali, what would YOU do in this situation?
Ali: Oh, I'd do THIS and THIS.
Future Owners, at the planning meeting later: We really shouldn't do this
– Ali recommended it, and you know where THAT will lead us…
Garry Nelson
And, on the 67th day, Amiga Shall Rise From The Grave…
>I'd heard that Ali was out of the picture as for as being an officer of the
company >but had been hired back as a consultant.
Steve, if I were in charge of hiring consultants for the Amiga there is
something that I would love to say to Ali.
"If I want your opinion I'll beat it out of you."
Not, of course, that I would do something so rash. I would simply leave Mr.
Ali wondering why I was smiling so obstinately.
-John M. Vreeland in Virginia
Thanks Jim! I always like to hear potentially good news, though I wish we
didn't have to wait so long!
Bob Comer — AmigaDOS and OS/2, the only way to compute!
Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
Sure looks good so far. . . now to hurry up and wait a bit longer! <g>
Thanks for the info…
Chris – Fast and Low on my '020!
Virus Scan: MS-Windows Detected. Delete (y/Y)?
I would take anything from channel4000 with a shaker of salt, as they have
not been known for the accuracy of their reporting.
Arnie,
I agree, that's why I prefaced it with "Now, according to rumor mill
stuff, Channel 4000 …"
-sja
Isn't that what 'markteers' are all about? ;^}
wmc – via Autopilot!
Hey, Arnie – FractalPro Image Library, Volume 1 CDROM will be out ANY DAY!