cl3a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Chee Lee) (10/19/90)
Sometimes, it's very frustrating for me to see some of my
college-mates being totally unaware of the existence of the Amiga. Yes,
the Amiga has wonderful graphics, fast blitter processing and some
really smashing demos, but what are the use of them, when people just
don't know about how great this machine is unless they have seen it in
action, or better yet, use it before? The campus computer store has
full of Macs and PS/2 displays that could never rival a properly set-up
A3000 demo system. I could even swear that I would be able to place my
humble 7.16Mhz A500 beside those 25Mhz beasts and proclaim my system a
better machine. But I would lose out eventually, because the Amiga
lacks the professional and polished image that the I*M and the Apple
possess. And more importantly, Amiga does not have the dealership
support that the PS/2s and Mac systems have on campus. Let me
illustrate my point with an example:
As a college freshman, I was bombarded with brochures and flyers
that attempted to pursade me to purchase a PC. Being satisfied with an
A500, I don't intend to get another system in the near future. But I
took up a sense of adventure to explore the possibilities I have as a
freshman at CMU. Here is what I have observed:
Mac/PS/2/Others Amiga
--------------- -----
1. Campus Computer Store:
"As you can see, we have the "I'm sorry, we don't carry the
Model 55SX, and the Model 70 Amiga. Amiga Dealer? I'm sorry,
over at the other end. And if I have no idea is there one around
you would like to have a Mac, Campus..."
we have the fx and the ci..."
2. There were big flashy brochures "Make Up Your Own Mind" brochure
freely distributable in the from an Amiga dealer 10-20 miles
Computer Store. One particular away. No, it wasn't in my mailbox.
16 pages A3-size brochure attracted
my attention: The whole brochure
stresses on the features of Mac
computers and not on a particular model:
The Road Test: Ease of Use
The Screen Test: 8,24bit color options
The Performance Test: Speed/Ram
The MultipleChoice Test: Connectivity/Options
Testing 1-2-3: MS-Dos emulation
Testimonials: People who use Macs
The Test of Time: History of Macs
:All 16-pages in full color and large fonts.
Among other colored brochures.
3. The whole campus was full of Macs and Obviously, there is no
option for interconnected via AppleTalk and even to
the Amiga.
the servers. There are outlets in the
Dorm rooms to connect to the network if
you have a Workstation/Mac/PS2.
4. Many students/friends were excited about A500?
the Low Cost Macs and intend to purchase
as soon as the LC is available.
5. Speakers from Sun/NeXT/Apple often visit Commodore, where are you?
campus to demonstrate products.
6. Shelves of software available at the I have to go to the
nearest Amiga
Campus Computer Store. MacWrite II dealer ~10-20 miles away to get
costs ~ $100 off the shelf. software. A friend of mine
dismissed the Amiga as his
possible purchase because
it
"doesn't have enough software
easily available"
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I just want to highlight that the Amiga isn't reaching to the
community no matter how superior advantages the hardware have over the
Mac or I*M PS/2s. The Amiga just doesn't seem "fit" into the academic
environment that the college admin has set up over the years. Is the
university purposefully ignoring the Amiga as a possible alternative to
the Mac and PS/2s or is Commodore not trying hard enough to push the
Amiga to the campuses, or is Amiga the "odd-one-out" among the typicals?
I'm not sure and by the look of how things are going with the new NeXTs
(Yes, the Campus Computer Store is selling the new NeXTStations!!) and
Low Cost Macs, I have increasing doubts each passing day on how the
Amiga is going to come into the real picture among all these hypes.
-William
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"Where then do you expect to find security, if apart from the will of God?"
- Lisa Elliot
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