SAC.509LGX@e.isi.edu (09/21/88)
Hello CATS! and CBM!. Have you all considered bidding on the Air Force Desktop III contract? They are interested in graphics video etc. (all Amiga selling points) and want Z-248 (read AT) compatability. This sounds an AWFUL lot like either a 2000 with the AT Bridgeboard or the 2500AT we have heard so much about. Please don't let a GREAT opportunity like this go by! Apple is rumored (Government Computer News) to be positioning the MacIntosh for this contract. A blow to the Amiga community. In addition please consider the Graphics Arts divisions at most Air Force bases. They are getting into Computer graphics for upwards of 100,000 dollars, and the systems (Bought by the Government) are not any where near as easy or capable as the AMIGA!. Just some ideas, Steve Brady 509th Bombardment Wing Logistics Plans Division Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire (603) 430-3359
wbralick@icc.afit.arpa (William A. Bralick Jr.) (09/22/88)
Does C-A even have a government marketing group? The intricacies (arcana) of government procurement are, uh, intricate and arcane. Desktop III is a great opportunity, productivity gains from multitasking alone (sure, my Lo*us 1-x-3 spreadsheet is recalculating while I type up this draft trip report while I download a few files for the office staff ...) could sell this machine. Gee, software vendors like A*ht*n T*t* and Bo*la*d might even like to see their products ported directly to the 680x0. Gee, we all know that software sells hardware. Gee, Commodore, are you listening? Cordially, Will
thad@cup.portal.com (09/24/88)
Re: Ashton-Tate and others porting product to 680x0 architecture: dBASE III has been released for the AT&T 3B1 (aka UNIX-PC aka 7300) for some time. Microsoft WORD has also been ported to the 3B1. The 3B1 (see June 1986 BYTE) is a 68010, 10 MHz, running a variant of AT&T System V Release 2+ with some BSD extensions. I also have Supercomp 20 and MultiPlan on the 3B1. These are all documented in the nice red AT&T slipcases, etc. Those, and other, products run native on the 68010. I have one 3B1 flanking each Amiga, and the two systems complement each other nicely. Far fewer 3B1/7300/UNIX-PC have been sold than have Amigas, yet there was NO hesitancy on the part of Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, etc. porting their product to THAT machine. Why the delay porting to the Amiga? Thad Floryan [thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad]
dca@kesmai.COM (David C. Albrecht) (09/27/88)
In article <9389@cup.portal.com>, thad@cup.portal.com writes: > dBASE III has been released for the AT&T 3B1 (aka UNIX-PC aka 7300) for > some time. > Microsoft WORD has also been ported to the 3B1. > I also have Supercomp 20 and MultiPlan on the 3B1. These are all documented > in the nice red AT&T slipcases, etc. > Far fewer 3B1/7300/UNIX-PC have been sold than have Amigas, yet there was > NO hesitancy on the part of Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, etc. porting their > product to THAT machine. Why the delay porting to the Amiga? > First off the 3b1 was a 5K plus machine, not a $800 machine. Even so, though I have no proof to back this guess up, but I would wager that AT&T paid big bucks to get those people to port their stuff to the 7300. I would be surprised to hear otherwise. Even big names will listen if you wave money in their face up front. AT&T also lost its shirt on the 7300 series for many reasons. Commodore hardly needs to emulate that performance. David Albrecht
karl@sugar.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer) (09/28/88)
In article <9389@cup.portal.com>, thad@cup.portal.com writes: > Re: Ashton-Tate and others porting product to 680x0 architecture: > Far fewer 3B1/7300/UNIX-PC have been sold than have Amigas, yet there was > NO hesitancy on the part of Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, etc. porting their > product to THAT machine. Why the delay porting to the Amiga? Because the 3B1 port would be the basis for ports to other Unix systems, such as the 386, while the Amiga port would be entirely Amiga- specific. -- -- "Insert the disk at your own risk." -- Firesign Theater -- uunet!sugar!karl, Unix BBS (713) 438-5018
wbralick@afit-ab.arpa (William A. Bralick) (10/06/88)
Hmmm... Still no answer to the musical question, "Is somebody at C= pursuing the USAF Desktop III contract?" Is this the virtual answer, "Nobody at C= is doing so." or the virtual answer, "The people at C= who are responsible for doing so don't read the net." Federal Computer Week reports [October 3, 1988]: Apple Computer Inc.'s federal systems group has opened seven offices around the United States and plans to open more in 1989, including some in Europe, the company announced last week. I guess A*p*e has determined that there is a Federal market for non-I*M machines. Gee, perhaps some other non-I*M vendors might detect a market gap here, too. I wonder what other non-I*M vendors might be able to make mass quantities of $$$$$ in the Federal market. Cordially, Will