#CEI rumor
24 messages in this thread
To All… I spoke with a rep at CEI the other day, and was told that the C=
situation is unresolved, and that there is no reliable info available. No deal
has yet been struck with CEI to manufacture the current Amiga line, due to the
fact that no one owns or controlls the technology .
They went on to tell me not to get in over my head by bidding on contracts
using Amiga computors, since there is a chance that my orders could go
unfilled. ( I think that 3rd party goods are no problem) Let me add that I
think it takes courage to be so honest when this salesperson's livelyhood
depends on selling Amiga gear. We all know that a less scrupuless destributor
or salesperson would promise you the world, only to leave you hanging out to
dry if the order could noy be filled. I applaud CEI for their honesty in the
face of difficult and uncertain times. Mike Brennan, Sir Render Audio/ Video.
"PC clones and insomnia..perfect together"
/exit
CEI does run a class operation. We have been working with them for quite
awhile now and their honesty is top notch. Should they be successful in
acquiring manufacturing rights to the Amiga, we will all be in good hands.
___
/__) ,_ _ _
_/__) / /__/ /_ /_-'
PreVue Technologies
I second that! Someone else 'rumored' that CEI was retooling some PAL Amiga
1200's and CEI FIRMLY denied it – a breath of fresh air honesty! I hope CEI
does get a decent shot at Amiga rights as they would probably do a good job and
handle it in a forthright manner. I have found my dealings with them to have
gone quite smoothly.
Pardon my ignorance, but I've been following this thread on "CEI" and have no
idea who they are. Are they a retailer? Manufacturer? Could you provide their
phone number. Thanks. Marty
Creative Equipment International (not to be confused with Creative
Computers) is a distributor. They buy huge numbers of product and then
distribute it (hence the name) to dealers. They don't sell direct to
end-users, but are a critical part of how Amiga product gets to dealers in
the US.
There are other distributors, but they tend to deal more in software or
not to carry the actual computers.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
CEI does sell to end users. I've been to their shop several times, and I've
purchase everything from SCSI-II card to memory to software, but I believe
they'll do it only for their walk-ins. Catya,
I stand corrected.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
> CEI does sell to end users. I've been to their shop several times,…
Where?
. . . . JimDoc, on AutoPilot
It's in Miami. It's a pretty impressive place. They had about 25 PARs on
the shelf when I was there the last time.
So basically what you're saying is CEI knows about buying and selling but has
no experience or expertise in manufacturing or developing anything ??? They
don't sound very exciting to me….
That's not what I said.
And even if I were, it's not so bad. There are plenty of good
manufacturing outfits to farm that work out to, and there are good
engineers and engineering managers who can be hired to create a quality
development system. Expertise isn't required — it can be hired. As long
as the attitude is right about doing a quality job and paying people who
know what they are doing (and staying out of their way).
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
Dale,
your remark about having/hiring is quite interesting!
Does a system like the Amiga really need to be company owned?
See how Linux emerges. Even "The Standard" is in fact a joint effort by
many companies and competitors; that's what makes it commercially so
successful (and technically so chaotic).
That was just a couple of thoughts and is not meant as a serious concept.
Eberhard Spittler
(using AutoPilot V1.73)
>Does a system like the Amiga really need to be company owned?
>See how Linux emerges. Even "The Standard" is in fact a joint effort by
>many companies and competitors; that's what makes it commercially so
>successful (and technically so chaotic).
Linux is sofware – I would think the costs involved in the hardware side of
Amiga development would make many parties unwilling to take the risk
(especially given Commodore's / Amiga's current situation (although
ideologically, I would consider "Amiga" completely seperate from "Commodore")).
Hey, if an Amiga consortium is started though, why not get Microsoft to take
over development of AmigaDOS – then the Amiga'll be saved!!!
Not.
My 0.08 _pence_ worth (why is it _8_ cents anyway – what in particular does 8
cents buy?),
Mat SFA.
Disclaimer: I work for Microsoft – therefore I can say whatever I want and
everyone will believe me.
Legal disclaimer: Allegedly.
AHH..no microsoft! They'd call it "chicago" and we'd all have to board
the MicroSoft flagship "monopoly"! (would be better than bankruptcy,
though they'd turn the amiga chips into graphics accelerators for winslows
and give AmigaDOS cooperative multitasking <uggh>)
U work for microsloth? ANd yet u use an amiga (will wonders never cease)
Intel Overdrive…off a cliff!
Nathan Jones, via amiga autopilot. –FLAME ON!–
>U work for microsloth?
No no no!!! I resent such a vicous slur on my integrity. (Actually, I don't
work for anyone – I'm a student!)
Pleasant dreams,
Mat.
> Hey, if an Amiga consortium is started though, why not get Microsoft to
> take over development of AmigaDOS – then the Amiga'll be saved!!!
Well, in terms of sales it would be saved, but would you want to buy the
result? It would be interesting to see how they went about blocking off
all except the first 640k of memory in an Amiga.
> Not.
I'll go along with that.
Peter Wade
Autopiloting from London, England
TNX for your opinion, Michael,
but software (good professional software for many business areas) is very
capital intensive also, and one company cannot do everything (not even
MS).
But I seem to contradict myself now!
Eberhard Spittler
(using AutoPilot V1.73)
I don't entirely agree with you that a company with no experience in
manufacturing/ engineering/or product development can just "hire expertise" to
take over an operation like computer manufacturing and software development.
They will have no experience in hiring such experts, no idea how such
operations are structured, what people will be needed, where to get them, etc.
etc. Sure they could use head-hunters but they won't know the specs of the
people to ask for.
Many operations fail despite the best intentions because the people at the top
don't really know anything about the business they are getting involved with.
You hire one person with a proven track record in manufacturing to start
your manufacturing division, and you give him the resources to do things
right. You hire another person with a proven track record in engineering
and do the same.
Obviously, not all people with proven track records are created equal, but
most of them can probably create an OK department. With a little luck,
given the right encouragement about quality and forward-thinking and
resource availability, they can, starting with a clean slate, make an
excellent department.
Most manufacturing and engineering environments are burdened with the fact
that they start small and grow, and/or that they've been around for a long
time. Many of the ways they do things are either obsoleted by time or by
the fact that they've gotten bigger.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
Robert,
The problem is not "not knowing" a particular aspect of a business, but
not being aware of this lack, and not knowing about it. CEI appears to
have knowledge that Commodore could have used, did not have, and refused
to reckognize, and so ran Ami into the ground, in spite of the great
engineering on tap. Business management did not fulfill their end of the
job.
Good business sense will hire good engineering and manufacturing. It's
out there, and a fair amount can be ex-C= people. It's not a startup,
after all, and the new management will be very careful to avoid previous
errors.
DJ
There was an interesting article in the may issue of A/C Amiga about CEI.
Andrew
ICAM
ActiveMedia Development
They are a big Amiga distributor – NOT retail.
They have a retail store in Miami.
I stand corrected. Somehow I think I knew about the retail store, but I don't
think of CEI as retail since they don't mail-order and (AMAZING!) they don't
compete against their own dealers who purchase Amiga equipment from them. The
other large Amiga distributors also have mail-order outlets and sort of stab
their own dealer-customers in the back by low-balling retail mail-order prices.
CEI is the ONE distributor which gives their dealer-customers a fair break as
dealers. I have had good luck with them.