CompuServe Thread

>>…but how about a few tidbits to be going on with?<< Sure: Dave and Randell, as the top software and hardware engineers at C= know exactly what they are doing… and they are not looking for new employment. <g>

You say tidbits? Ok, other than details on the next generation machine which will have to wait for the transcript, how's this? … MarkM/MODERATOR: You have heard the doomsayers, is there anything you would like to say to the Amiga community in general? Dave Haynie: Sure. I'd just like to wax philosophic for a second or two. I think the only way to address a problem of any kind is to move directly into it. Perhaps it's too much Aikido practice, but I think any other way you're doomed. That isn't necessarily C='s business practice, but it's in my approach to Commodore. I look at the technical problems, business problems, etc. and make a decision. Do I address the technical problems or do I forget about Commodore. At this point, I choose to address the continuance of the Amiga, and I do so because I believe that it is something worth doing, and something that will yield success. If I did not believe this, I would have left the company, plain and simple. Obviously, not everything is under my control, but I know what I have to work with over the next year or so, and I judge it adequate to achieve the necessary goals. Randell Jesup: Personally, I don't listen to the doomsayers… 😉 Commodore has gone through a rough stretch recently. However, things are starting to look brighter. CD32 has done pretty well in Europe for a brand-new machine (far better than 3DO has done here). A1200 sales have picked up. Financially, Commodore is in better shape than it was. Not good shape, but better. The cost-cutting, while very painful, has given Commodore the time it needed to launch the CD32, and to continue work on next generation products. I've been here since '88. Of people in software, only one (Eric Cotton, who manages tools and releases) has been here longer (he dates back to the VIC-20 days). People may not remember, but the software group was much smaller than it is now when I got here (4 people). Also, a number of senior people who've left recently have gone to places like Scala, so I wouldn't say that's entirely negative. Also, if you follow the cable-box stuff in EETimes, etc, you'll know that we're a player in that whole thing, since we bring a lite OS and good NTSC graphics. Think of an Amiga in your information-highway set-top terminal… 😉 There may be clouds, but a lot of them are behind us. Certainly there are more hurdles ahead, but I think we can handle them. -sja