kuan@iris.ucdavis.edu (Frank [Who me?] Kuan) (05/26/90)
I was reading the school newspaper yesterday, and I saw an ad for the Macintosh IIcx deal for about 4600$. I was thinking to myself, the sad thing is, people think they're getting a good deal from Apple. Now why doesn't Commodore post an ad like that? I turned to the next page, and I jumped out of my seat! Commodore advertised several of their computers, including the A3000!!! I thought I was dreaming so I pinched myself, but the ad was still there! I applaud Commodore for putting some effort into advertising their worthy machines finally. The ad listed a 1-800 number to call for info. I called the number, and they actually gave me numbers to dealers that were carrying A3000's! Commodore sure has come a long way. I remember a couple of years ago, I called Pensylvania long distance to find out the nearest service center to fix my A500. The Commodore rep gave me 3-5 places, and NOT A SINGLE ONE DID REPAIR WORK. IN FACT, 2 OF THOSE PLACES DIDN'T EVEN CARRY AMIGAS ANYMORE. While I'm extremely pleased to see Commodore advertise aggressively, I'm a little disappointed with the ad itself. It was a full-page ad that had half of it filled with this slogan: SO MUCH MACHINE FOR SO LITTLE GREEN It's certainly a valid claim, and Commodore backs it up with the low educational deal prices. But what about performance? The ad touts the Amiga as the Computer for the Creative mind, and goes on and on about Multimedia capability. This is fine and dandy for the average student, but how about trying to impress us Computer Engineer types? There was one very important feature of the Amiga that wasn't discussed: MULTITASKING OPERATING SYSTEM. The ad did say, "Amiga puts word processing, data management, and spreadsheet multitasking capabilities at your fingertips." What the heck is spreadsheet multitasking, and who cares? You can fake spreadsheet multitasking with an IBM or MAC. Why doesn't the ad say, "Amiga puts word processing, data management, and spreadsheet capabilities at your fingertips, and YOU CAN DO ALL THREE AT ONCE BECAUSE OUR OS MULTITASKS, which means you can have all three applications running SIMULTANEOUSLY." What about the Amiga's other Features? The Amiga can run more software than any other personal computer. With the bridgeboard, you can run IBM software. With AMAX, you can run Mac software. The converse of this is not true, since IBM's can't run Amiga software, and neither can MACs. The Amiga has custom chips, and is better suited for multimedia and animation than MACS and IBM's. Commodore, you're going to have to justify to the average Joe that it's worth it to get an Amiga. Price alone is not going to convert people. You should use that offer where you send a videotape demo'ing the Amiga's full capabilities. Better yet, you should make Amigas availabe on campuses. Every year when our school has a computer fair, Only IBM's and MACS show up. Why not participate next year and blow away the competition? I can walk down to the university book store and get a Mac or IBM at an educational deal, but I have to drive 45 mintutes to the nearest retailer outside of town to purchase the Amiga through the educational discount. I'm encouraged by what you guys have done so far, but you still have some things to learn from the competition. - Frank