Byte's NEW AMIGA??
10 messages in this thread
Hmmmm, that's odd that he got it so darned late (unless he ignored the
oters at Byte and waited 'til Commodore specifically gave *him* one). Oh,
well, he has an awful lot of influence — it's a shame his vision of
multimedia extends only to PCs with CD-ROMs and Soundblaster cards. 🙁
-Chas
It may be he waited for C= to give him one, but some of the more, umm,
strident mail he gets whenever he writes about the Amiga puts him off
Amigas for a a while.
The announcement may have something to do with this item I picked off the
Usenet:
================================================================ Taken from
MIND LINK! on Tue Aug 11 04:34:03 1992
Mon Aug 10 15:03:54 1992 Message : #4089486 From: Brandon Lee Worrell
Address : Hytec@cup.portal.com Group : Usenet.comp.sys.amiga.misc Length
: 3398 bytes Subject : 040 based 3000T announcement Read 8 times
Msg-ID: <63775@cup.portal.com> Posted: Mon, 10 Aug 92 13:33:23 Org. : The
Portal System (TM)
After several messages, here is the actual product announcement as mailed
to me by CBM. Please forgive any typo's.
NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
Product Model Number: A3000T-040
Product Description: Amiga 3000 Tower with a Motorola 68040 processor.
The
MC68040 is running at 25 MHz and includes an on-chip
FPU. The A3000T-040 includes a 200 megabyte hard
drive
and 5 megabytes of memory. The MC68040 provides
approximately 20 CISC MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops.
The
A3000T-040 does not have either a MC68030 or a
MC68882 installed. Note: The A3000T-040 is an
addition
to the product family and does not replace the
A3000T-
25/200 which remains a current product.
Product Applications: The A3000T-040 is the perfect product for demanding
applications like complex animations, ray tracing,
and
intensive graphics. Most applications that require
intensive computing will benefit when run on this
Powerhouse processor.
Compatibility: AmigaDOS 2.0
Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price: $5998.00 US includes
1950/1960 Monitor through Sept.
[ MORE ]
[ continuation ]
30, 1992
Availability: First Reseller shipments are projected
for mid-September 1992
Promotion: Advertisement in September AmigaWorld, Byte, and
Amazing Computing Magazines. Commodore Press Release.
Note: Due to a typographical error the Advertisement in the September issue
of Amiga World incorrectly indicared that the MC68882 would be included in
the A3000T-040. This error has been corrected in future advertisement.
—————————————————————————–
NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
Product Model Number: A3640
Product Description: Motorola 68040 upgrade card for the Amiga
3000T-25/200.
The processor speed is 25MHz, and includes an
on-chip
FPU. The MC68040 provides approximately 20 CISC
MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops. This product is
intended
for use in the A3000T ONLY. Installation of the
A3640
in any other Amiga product may cause system failure.
Product Applications: (same as A3000T-040)
Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price: $1998.00 US
Availability: Initially all units will be shipped as part of an
A3000T-040 configuration. First reseller shipments
of
A3640 boards is projected for early Q2, FY93.
—————————————————————————–
Well, there are the announcements. There was also a letter that I am not
going to type in. I will let everyone know when I get first shipments on
these items, and what the "real" price will end up being. In the meantime,
A3000 prices have fallen below $2000 and the 3000T is lower also. (from me
of course, I dont know about other dealers)
Feel free to contact me if you want other information….
Brandon Worrell HyTec Computers 206-456-7656
[ MORE ]
Yes, I saw the ad in Amazing Computing last night (just got the new issue)
and it, too had the 68882 typo. Still, it looks like a nice step up
(comparable to the Mac Quadra [minus the Ethernet and graphics and the
price])
Two other ads I noticed that were of some interest are one for SAS/C v6 and
ADPro's new Morph Plus.
-CHas
Edward,
To expand on that a bit… the 68040 card from Commodore will *NOT* work in
existing A3000 desktop systems. This came also with the product
announcement. There was no mention of a 68040 board from Commodore for the
A3000 desktop owners.
-mark=
– whappity whap whap… whap whap!!
Mark:
According to the specs of the C= 68040 board, it looks like it's
functionally equivelent to the original PP&S card. No memory expansion,
running at 25mhz sync, as opposed to running async. The PP&S card is
selling for MUCH less than the advertised price of the C= card, and will
fit in ANY A3000. (I have one in my A3000UX running just fine.)
-Mike Schiller
On AutoPilot in sunny Fort Lauderdale
Kinda along the same lines, the latest issue of AVideo has a good
article on the emergence of desktop video by Ed Cornell. In it he talks
about the Toaster and the Amiga and says " Using the Commodore Amiga
platform, possibly the most underrated and misunderstood computer of all
time," blah,blah,blah……
That about says it, I think.
>>>>>Skip (SKP Graphics) <<<<<
Yeah, it is a shame Commodore doesn'thave an extra $15 – $20 million to
drop into U.S./Canada advertising…could make a *big* difference.
-Chas
We(all of us) could argue this till we're blue in the face, I suppose.
But the bottom line is that for all IBM's dominance and Apples
ummmm….smuggness, C= DID show a nice profit last year. Guess they know
what they're doing.
Maybe it can be compared to the way a lot of software companies always
fall by the wayside in new markets. Many times they are the ones that
aren't very careful with they're expenses, like advertising budgets. The
company I worked for didn't have the best products in any sense, but
because the owner was very careful about when and were he advertised, which
was very little, he's still in business. Doing well enough for him.
Anyway. I think we'll be OK. This has been going on since I got my first
Amiga way back…..
>>>>>Skip (SKP Graphics) <<<<<
Oh, I know that Commodore will do fine. Their financials look pretty good
and they have a good track record (overall) with profits. Still, the ads
to show people we're out there are sorely needed.
I don't know how many times I shown not only individuals, but entire
companies what my Amiga can do only to have them say "I wish I knew about
these before I bought ….." [Compaq was a popular one.]
General consumers, on the other hand, are idiots. I've been in a number of
stores when a prospective buyer starts asking questions. Almost invariably
it ends up …
CUST: Is it IBM compatible? SHOP: Not normally, but it can be. Still, all
your data can be used. CUST: Yeah, but with an IBM compatible I can get all
this neat stuff
from my friends and not have to pay for it…
I just sold a PC Clone (loaded 386). The cpu went one way and some parts
went another. With the person who bought the cpu it was "Oh, you actually
have the *originals* of all those disks? You should've asked…I could've
got you them for free!" With some of the peripherals I sold (and
installed) I always found loaded hard drives and *no* manuals, disks, etc.
Most often they were asking *me* on how to run something! [Step one, buy
the software and read the docs…] [The peripherals person also thought
Prodigy was the neatest thing to sliced bread! She was on there over four
hours a day, average!]
I'm not too sure I *want* the Amiga to compete with that.
-Chas