higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) (09/28/87)
References: Distribution: I'm trying to be patient about the questions I'm receiving through electronic mail, but it seems that people don't read what I've been posting. The questions posted below are "as received" through the mail. Q: How much can we expect to pay for the upgrade? A: You give your A1000 plus $1000 to a participating dealer, and [s]he in return will give you an A2000. Some dealers are "re-wording" this in terms of the A1000 being a discount from the A2000's standard list price, and sometimes discounting that too, and sometimes offering you the chance to "buy back" the A1000 also. The "deviations" from our guidelines are NOT part of our policy, but obviously dealers are free to do whatever they like. Q: Are there dealers here in Hawaii that are providing this upgrade? A: This kind of questions amazes me. It assumes I know everyone of our dealers PERSONALLY. We mail the sales programs to the dealers. They are usually free to participate in whatever ones they choose. So in short, I don't know - call a few, starting with the one you bought your machine from if [s]he's still local. Q: I had an extra 1Mb of memory installed internally (I believe it was put on the motherboard). Will this invalidate the offer? A: This is up to the dealer. It seems as if it would make the machine more attractive to the dealer, but whether they will give you any additional discount for the additional memory will again, be up to them. Q: What is the time limit (if any) of the upgrade offer? A: I'm VERY GLAD THIS WAS ASKED. The offer currently ENDS October 31, 1987. [This next question is long and contains many parts despite the author starting with "I got a question..." :-) but I think they might be echoing some common sentiments. So I will insert MY comments in '[', ']' throughout the "question".] Q: I got a question on this transaction... First, most of us in the beginning of this amiga success paid the full $1800.00 for the A1000 because we felt that the A1000 will become a big success and wont be extinct. [I don't know that anyone paid $1800 for the A1000 ALONE. The original SUGGESTED LIST was $1295, and the monitor $495, which TOGETHER would be close to $1800, so if that's what you bought, let's get it straight... you paid ~$1300 for the A1000, and have a monitor that you can STILL USE on any new Amiga you might wish to buy.] Q (cont): Now that CBM is on its feet again.. they want to dump the A1000 and support the two newer one's A500 and A2000. [The MARKETPLACE is determining this. If all three Amigas were on the market, there would be too much overlap, and the customer would probably be confused. Even that's not the point. Most dealers don't want to carry THREE Amiga brand computers. The A500 and A2000 products are possible because of 2 years of research and development after the A1000 was launched, and therefore, if the A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed anyway. Those changes, if you think about it, would result in an A500 in an A1000 case. This would not distance it enough from the other two Amigas to make sense.] Q (cont): Most of us A1000 owners can't afford to dish out another 1G for the A2000 and also to trash the 256 expansion ($100 bucks) because it won't work for the A2000. [What more can we do? We've made a GOOD OFFER to upgrade. Did IBM make such an offer to its millions of current PC users when it launched the PS/2 line? Would you rather we didn't try to release any new products? How long do you think we'd last in such a volatile market? Last but not least, it's not as if the Amiga computer models are incompatible with eachother - the release our new Amiga models will spur on greater software development, which is good news for owners of any Amiga computer.] Q (cont) [the real question, I think]: My beef is that why all the fuss on the A500 ? So it cost under 1G. But it is so tightly fit that it is not really expandible ( get A2000, right ?). [I don't know what you mean. The A500 has a port that is similar to the A1000's expansion port, so I would weigh the expansion possibilities to be about the same. The "fuss" is that while in terms of features the A500 might not represent a technological quantum leap over the A1000, it is better suited to a wider audience. Lower price, no need for Kickstart diskettes, compact unit, keyboard similar to many other popular formats, twice as much basic memory, and trivial expansion to get to 1Mb.] Q (cont): Why not have commercials for all THREE amigas and let the comsumers decide. Not only will there be an assorted number of consumers with there own price ranges to buy an amiga, but also all three amigas can still live(especially the A1000). [For all the reasons stated above. Distribution, market overlap, pricing, competition.] Q (cont): To make a long story short???!!! [ :-) ] Q (cont): I prefer the A1000 because I and many many A1000 owners own software that only accessible to kickstart V1.1 and crashes on the V1.2. [So now we find out the real problem. You and many many others could contact the software companies who create such products and see if perhaps they could create a product you could upgrade to that will run under 1.2.] Q (cont): Although the A2000 have great adv's like a neat keyboard connected to the front!!! the expansion ports and the overall design... (nice!!) BUT I and only a handfull of us feel that the op sys should be software rather than hardware. [There are reasons, I grant you, why a soft o.s is nice, but since we wish to widen the appeal of our Amiga line, the ROM decision made sense. Plus, as we all know, there are so many ways to extend the o.s AFTER booting anyway, that ROM hasn't ended future expansion, and if major changes come, ROMs can be changed.] Regards to all, Paul Higginbottom Sales Support Manager
hah@mipon3.intel.com (Hans Hansen) (10/02/87)
In article <2398@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: >I'm trying to be patient about the questions I'm receiving >through electronic mail, but it seems that people don't read >what I've been posting. The questions posted below are "as >received" through the mail. > >Q (cont): Now that CBM is on its feet again.. they want to dump the >A1000 and support the two newer one's A500 and A2000. > >[The MARKETPLACE is determining this. Commodore Marketing NOT the market place is KILLING the A1000 ! Just so YOU get it straight ! ... > If all three Amigas were on >the market, there would be too much overlap, and the customer would >probably be confused. Don't you mean that Commodore Marketing would be confused ?! Commodore Marketing has NEVER identified the/a market for the Amiga. Instead of aggressively attacking the business $$$ world, with the best business computer for the buck in the world, you have floundered with MORONIC, STUPID, and INEPT commercials and ads ! If you had used 10% of the wasted ad monies to bring to market IBM compatable business software, READ 680x0 NATIVE CODE THAT CAN READ AND WRITE ibm FORMATTED DISKS (BOTH 3.5 AND 5.25 INCH) AND AMIGA FORMATTED DISKS, at the Amiga's debut in New York there would be over 1 million Amiga 1000s in the world today! I D O N ' T W A N T A N i b m C O M P U T E R, W H A T I D O W A N T I S T O B E A B L E T O R U N T H E S A M E P R O G R A M S I N N A T I V E A M I G A 6 8 0 X 0 T H A T I U S E I N M Y W O R K P L A C E O N i b m C L O N E S !!! I W A N T T O B E A B L E T O T A K E M Y W O R K D A T A D I S K S A N D U S E E I T H E R M Y A M I G A O R T H A T O T H E R C O M P U T E R ! T H E A M I G A H A S T H E A B I L I T Y T O D O E V E R Y T H I N G T H A T I H A V E D E S C R I B E D ... W H Y D O I S T I L L N E E D T O U S E T H E O T H E R G U Y S C O M P U T E R T O D O M Y W O R K ?? T H E A / B 2 0 0 0 I S n o t T H E A N S W E R ! C O M M O D O R E H A S W A S T E D M I L L I O N S D E V E L O P I N G A N i b m H A R D W A R E C L O N E ! W H E R E A R E l o t u s 1 2 3, d b a s e I I / I I I, s y m p h o n y, m s - w o r d, m s p r o j e c t, f r a m e w o r k I I, w o r d s t a r, r : b a s e 5 0 0 0, e t c , T H A T R U N U N D E R 'E X E C' A M I G A N A T I V E ? I W I L L N E V E R B E A B L E T O R E P L A C E T H A T O T H E R C O M P U T E R O N M Y D E S K A T W O R K W I T H A N A M I G A U N T I L T H E S E P R O G R A M S R U N N A T I V E O N T H E A M I G A ! The Amiga is not a toy, what it is is a business computer that can emulate a toy! It is a business computer that can be used for anything a creative programmer can envision. It IS a BUSINESS COMPUTER that hackers love to hack on! IT IS A BUSINESS COMPUTER without any business software !!!!! > Even that's not the point. Most dealers >don't want to carry THREE Amiga brand computers. Stores will carry anything that sells! > The >A500 and A2000 products are possible because of 2 years of research >and development after the A1000 was launched, and therefore, if the >A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed >anyway. What are you talking about?? The A1000 has a FEATURE *** YES A REAL FEATURE *** that the others don't have. Commodore Marketing has never understood the potential of the WRITEABLE CONTROL STORE ! The ability to upgrade my 'firmware' by using a different boot disk is so far superior to tearing my Amiga apart and replacing ROMs that I will never, except under extream duress, replace the WCS with ROMs! I'm not saying this because I'm not a hardware hacker or afraid to open up my box, I was one of the Engineering techs at Amiga and also finished the GenRad 2275 ATE test suite for the Zorro board. > Those changes, if you think about it, would result in an >A500 in an A1000 case. YUCK ! >Q (cont): Most of us A1000 owners can't afford to dish out >another 1G for the A2000 and also to trash the 256 expansion ($100 >bucks) because it won't work for the A2000. >[What more can we do? GLAD you asked! What you could have done is created a connector for that board that could then be configured as 'FAST RAM' or a WCS! > > We've made a GOOD OFFER to upgrade. Did IBM >make such an offer to its millions of current PC users when it >launched the PS/2 line? Would you rather we didn't try to release any >new products? > What NEW product? You have repackaged the A1000 and stripped out a very valuable piece of hardware. Oh I guess you are refering to the clock circuit (A500) or maybe you are refering to the 1000w power supply in the A2000, for surely can't be refering to the A2000 IBM clone sockets!?? I can buy 3 PC clones for the price of one A2000 ! Where is the PRICE/PERFORMANCE improvement? Neither the A500 or the A2000 offers any performance improvements. What you have done is take functionality out of both the A500 and the A2000, no WCS, no NTSC color signals. The only real improvement is the keyboard, I tried to get Amiga engineering to use the DEC VT100 keyboard layout in 1984! I have NOT seen anything worthwhile come out of Commodore sinse the bean counters let the best HW/SW design team in Silicon Valley or maybe the world, slip away. > How long do you think we'd last in such a volatile market? A better question is where could Commodore have been today if its Marketing group had had its head screwed on in 1985??? > Last but not least, it's not as if the Amiga computer models >are incompatible with eachother - The jury is still out on that issue. >[So now we find out the real problem. You and many many others could >contact the software companies who create such products and see if >perhaps they could create a product you could upgrade to that will >run under 1.2.] This is NOT a consumer issue but rather a Commodore Marketing issue! Commodore, during their regression testing, uh youse guys did do regression testing didn't you, should know which of the commercial programe failed to run under 1.2. What has Commodore Marketing done to have the broken programs upgraded to run under 1.2/1.3/2.0? Individual software buyers mostly, 90%, only talk to their retailers. The retailers have no real insentive to ask the software houses to upgrade their down level programs... no immediate sale. >[There are reasons, I grant you, why a soft o.s is nice, but since >we wish to widen the appeal of our Amiga line, the ROM decision made >sense. Not to me ! > Plus, as we all know, there are so many ways to extend >the o.s AFTER booting anyway, that ROM hasn't ended future >expansion, and if major changes come, ROMs can be changed.] Not as easily as disks. > > Regards to all, > > > Paul Higginbottom > Sales Support Manager Hans Hansen ATE Test Development Coordinator GP7SM -- one more super whizzy from the company that started it all. These be my words and no one elses. I speak for me, Intel hires firms to speak for it, I ain't a firm.
miket@masscomp.UUCP (Mike Truax) (10/05/87)
In article <2398@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: bunch of reply's to multiple questions >A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed >anyway. Those changes, if you think about it, would result in an >A500 in an A1000 case. This would not distance it enough from >the other two Amigas to make sense.] > > Regards to all, > > > Paul Higginbottom > Sales Support Manager What about that idea. An A500 in a A1000 case, or at least as as low cost option. I know the problem of stocking two different parts (A500-case, and A500->A1000 upgrade(option)case can pose , but there must be A1000 case's still around. Doesn't the 128D system now use a version of this case with a 5-1/4" drive instead. Then all you need to do is plug in a A2000(option)keyboard. Yea , Yea i like it |-) The bottom line is this: I don't own an amiga yet and would like to get one in the immidiate -> near future. From being a C64 user from years gone by i ended up not liking the idea of not having a detachable keyboard, cables running half way across your desk if you pull the keyboard out any, ect... ect... ect. (this is where the , soooo buy a A2000 comes in ) but my piggy bank is big enough or i would. Any how you mentioned it first |-). -- ................................................................................ Mike Truax: UUCP: {decvax,siesmo,inhp4,}!masscomp!miket Disclaimer: there are no disclaimers needed!!!
peter@dalcsug.UUCP (Peter Philip) (10/05/87)
In article <1102@omepd> hah@mipon3.UUCP (Hans Hansen) writes: >In article <2398@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: >>Q (cont): Now that CBM is on its feet again.. they want to dump the >>A1000 and support the two newer one's A500 and A2000. >> >>[The MARKETPLACE is determining this. > >Commodore Marketing NOT the market place is KILLING the A1000 ! Just so YOU >get it straight ! ... > Gee, from initial reactions of local dealers, the A2000 & A500 are selling great (Canada has had both of these for about 2 months) after a huge decline in A1000 sales. I wonder what this could mean? Could it be that the MARKETPLACE is casting its vote for the A2000/A500 rather than the A1000??? NAW, must be TOTALY the fault of CBM marketing, right?? >> If all three Amigas were on >>the market, there would be too much overlap, and the customer would >>probably be confused. > >Don't you mean that Commodore Marketing would be confused ?! Commodore >Marketing has NEVER identified the/a market for the Amiga. Instead of >aggressively attacking the business $$$ world, with the best business >computer for the buck in the world, you have floundered with MORONIC, >STUPID, and INEPT commercials and ads ! If you had used 10% of the >wasted ad monies to bring to market IBM compatable business software, >READ 680x0 NATIVE CODE THAT CAN READ AND WRITE ibm FORMATTED DISKS >(BOTH 3.5 AND 5.25 INCH) AND AMIGA FORMATTED DISKS, at the Amiga's debut >in New York there would be over 1 million Amiga 1000s in the world today! Hans, have you ever read anything about market segmentation - it's pretty basic stuff - NO? You really should, it might prevent some of this drivel. Instead of making unfounded insults, why don't you back up your statements - how do you know that there would be more than 1,000,000 Amigas in the world today? Done the market research, have you? >I D O N ' T W A N T A N i b m C O M P U T E R, [ .... ] >I W I L L N E V E R B E A B L E T O R E P L A C E >T H A T O T H E R C O M P U T E R O N M Y D E S K A T W O R K >W I T H A N A M I G A U N T I L T H E S E P R O G R A M S R U N >N A T I V E O N T H E A M I G A ! > I S Y O U R C A P S L O C K K E Y S T U C K H A N S ? ? ? ? Oh, so what you are saying is that you don't want an IBM computer, just a computer that will run all the IBM software. Did you ever consider that software porting/development is really not up to Commodore-Amiga? "Hey, Lotus and Microsoft - you guys better port over your programs or us guys at Amiga are gonna shut you down!!" ;-) >The Amiga is not a toy, what it is is a business computer that can emulate >a toy! It is a business computer that can be used for anything a creative >programmer can envision. It IS a BUSINESS COMPUTER that hackers love to >hack on! IT IS A BUSINESS COMPUTER without any business software !!!!! > That should suggest something to you, Hans. (maybe it is not a business computer after all) you seem to think that a computer has to be a business computer to suceed. Guess what? It dosen't. >>A500 and A2000 products are possible because of 2 years of research >>and development after the A1000 was launched, and therefore, if the >>A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed >>anyway. > [Paul bings up some good points about rebate policy and new products ] >>new products? >> > >What NEW product? You have repackaged the A1000 and stripped out a >very valuable piece of hardware. Oh I guess you are refering to the >clock circuit (A500) or maybe you are refering to the 1000w power >supply in the A2000, for surely can't be refering to the A2000 IBM >clone sockets!?? I can buy 3 PC clones for the price of one A2000 ! > How about the Amiga slots? Yea, I guess you're right, it is better to have a huge box hanging off the side of the A1000 then the neater/ cheaper/more functional card arrangement that the A2000 offers. :-) Or how about those IBM slots, as much as you would hate to admit this, MS DOS is the *STANDARD* for business applications, Commodore would be fools to compete for that same market with a non-compatible machine, with the A2000, they can offer a compatible - yet unique - solution to the "I don't like IBM" dilemma by offering the user the best of both worlds. The question is not that you can buy 3 Clones for the price of an A2000, but that you can combine two _different_ systems into one that work _together_, the result being more than the sum of its parts! >Where is the PRICE/PERFORMANCE improvement? Neither the A500 or the >A2000 offers any performance improvements. What you have done is take >functionality out of both the A500 and the A2000, no WCS, no NTSC color >signals. The only real improvement is the keyboard, I tried to get >Amiga engineering to use the DEC VT100 keyboard layout in 1984! > Boy, you sure were clever back then! If you loved the idea of the WCS so much, why didn't YOU do anything with it? When I bought my Amiga the big clamour about the WCS was that it could be used to replace the OS with UNIX or some other OS ... two years later -- not one commercial product (besides WB/KS 1.2) has been released that replaces kickstart. My point? now that C-A have blessed 1.2 with being the "official" release of the OS, why: 1) waste time booting KS. 2) raise the price of the machines [lots of other unjustified claims deleted ... ] I would just like to say that I love my A1000 just as much as the next guy (hell, I was the first one in Nova Scotia to have one!) but I can see that it has some weaknesses (in my opinion), such as inconvenient and expensive expansion, no room for extra internal devices, incompatible cables, and the WCS (I hate kickstart!!!). Those of us who have A1000's have NIL to complain about, if you like your A1000 - KEEP IT! If you don't, take advantage of Commodore's VERY GENEROUS offer and get a new computer for $1000! So, while the A2000 is not a giant leap for mankind, it is reasuringly in the right direction. > >Hans Hansen >ATE Test Development Coordinator >GP7SM -- one more super whizzy from the company that started it all. > >These be my words and no one elses. I speak for me, Intel hires firms >to speak for it, I ain't a firm. Peter Philip Dalhousie University (just a student, so don't blame them for anything I say)
pooley@hplabsb.UUCP (Chuck Pooley) (10/07/87)
In article <2342@masscomp.UUCP>, miket@masscomp.UUCP (Mike Truax) writes: > In article <2398@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: > > bunch of reply's to multiple questions > > >A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed > >anyway. Those changes, if you think about it, would result in an > >A500 in an A1000 case. This would not distance it enough from > >the other two Amigas to make sense.] > > > > Regards to all, > > > > > > Paul Higginbottom > > Sales Support Manager > > What about that idea. An A500 in a A1000 case, or at least as as low cost > option. I know the problem of stocking two different parts (A500-case, > and A500->A1000 upgrade(option)case can pose , but there must be A1000 case's > still around. Doesn't the 128D system now use a version of this case with > a 5-1/4" drive instead. Then all you need to do is plug in a > A2000(option)keyboard. Yea , Yea i like it |-) > Hmmm... interesting idea, but, I think the A500 should have been made with a detachable keyboard in the first place. > The bottom line is this: I don't own an amiga yet and would like to get one > in the immidiate -> near future. From being a C64 user from years gone by > i ended up not liking the idea of not having a detachable keyboard, cables > running half way across your desk if you pull the keyboard out any, ect... > ect... ect. (this is where the , soooo buy a A2000 comes in ) but my piggy > bank is big enough or i would. I am a C-64 owner and would like to upgrade to an A500 (can't go to the A2000 because it would bust my bank too!). I agree that the integrated keyboard approach is a BIG lose. I don't like having to keep my C-64 welded in one spot all the time just so I don't have to put too much strain on all of the cables going into it. The ability to put my keyboard in a more comfortable position (without having to move the rest of the system with it) would be GREATLY appreciated. Frankly I don't see how keeping the keyboard inside the same box as the rest of the system is an "improvement". Chuck Pooley HP Labs ***These are my own opinions.***
lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu (Gerard Lachac) (10/07/87)
In article <4328@hplabsb.UUCP> pooley@hplabsb.UUCP (Chuck Pooley) writes: > Frankly I don't see how keeping the keyboard >inside the same box as the rest of the system is an "improvement". Nobody ever claimed that the A500 all-in-one design was an "improvement". The idea behind the A500 was to produce a cost-effective ("cheap") member of the Amiga family. Way back when the Amiga was introduced, I remember reading about the "Family" concept in numerous magazines. Look at the facts. CBM wants to grab the consumer market again. The general consumer doesn't look at detachable keyboard, etc. They look at price. Detachable keybards cost more money, cable, shielding etc. I am impressed with the workmanship that went into the A500. A well thought out design. -- "Truth is false and logic lost..." - Neil Peart (who at the time didn't realize he was talking about RU) lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu <--------OR--------> {seismo|ames}!rutgers!topaz!lachac
lbrown@apctrc.UUCP (Lawrence H. Brown) (10/07/87)
In article <4328@hplabsb.UUCP> pooley@hplabsb.UUCP (Chuck Pooley) writes: >Frankly I don't see how keeping the keyboard >inside the same box as the rest of the system is an "improvement". Ahemm! The reason, I think, was purely an economic one, bundled with FCC hassles. The putting the keyboard in with everything else cuts down on FCC food, means only one box to build for the 500, costs less than having a separate keyboard. For the people that can't live without the detachable keyboard, but can't afford the 2000, I suggest you buy a used 1000, maybe from all of the users thatare upgrading from 1000 to 2000s and need to unload their old machine. -- Lawrence H. Brown USENET: ...!uunet!apctrc!cdf!zlhb0a or zlhb0a@cdf.apctrc.uucp (?) Phone: (918-660-4389) 24 hrs, voice. USmail: 7325 E. 50th, Tulsa, OK 74145 Disclaimer: I paid 25 cents to see the light. Call it cheap entertainment.
maj1@sphinx.uchicago.edu (Major Robinson jr.) (10/09/87)
In article <2342@masscomp.UUCP> miket@masscomp.UUCP (Mike Truax) writes: >In article <2398@cbmvax.UUCP> higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom SALES) writes: >>A1000 were to remain on the market, it would have to be changed >>anyway. Those changes, if you think about it, would result in an >>A500 in an A1000 case. > >What about that idea. An A500 in a A1000 case, or at least as as low cost >option. >... Yea , Yea i like it |-) Yeah, I like that idea a LOT. I've always hated that one piece gizmo. I was delighted Atari chose that route and not C-Amiga. :-) >Any how you mentioned it first |-). Yep. Sure did. Saw it with my own eyes. Major Robinson, jr. -- ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!maj1 maj1@sphinx.uchicago.edu
daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (10/12/87)
in article <1102@omepd>, hah@mipon3.intel.com (Hans Hansen) says: > What are you talking about?? The A1000 has a FEATURE *** YES A REAL > FEATURE *** that the others don't have. Commodore Marketing has > never understood the potential of the WRITEABLE CONTROL STORE ! The > ability to upgrade my 'firmware' by using a different boot disk is so > far superior to tearing my Amiga apart and replacing ROMs that I will > never, except under extream duress, replace the WCS with ROMs! I'm > not saying this because I'm not a hardware hacker or afraid to open > up my box, I was one of the Engineering techs at Amiga and also > finished the GenRad 2275 ATE test suite for the Zorro board. Perhaps I should clear up a bit of confusion here. Since 1.2, every Amiga has had the capability upgrading it's "firmware" buy using a different boot disk. If you want to replace your 1.2 libraries with something else, without replacing your ROM, a suitably configured 1.FUTURE disk on startup would replace each and every ROM library with an equivalent in RAM. Most owners of ROM machines would probably rather have this in ROM eventually, to save RAM, but there's not absolute need for it. Also, without a ROM based system it will be impossible to do some cool things (booting directly from hard disk is one that comes to mind). > Where is the PRICE/PERFORMANCE improvement? Neither the A500 or the > A2000 offers any performance improvements. ^^^^^ Obviously you aren't using an A1000 with 9 megs of RAM and two hard drives, all in one relatively compact box. And you probably aren't into advanced video applications either. Or 68020 expansion. Personally, I don't care about IBM compatibility either. > I have NOT seen anything worthwhile come out of Commodore sinse the bean > counters let the best HW/SW design team in Silicon Valley or maybe the > world, slip away. Of course the fact that the A500 is selling at several times the best rate the A1000 ever acheived certainly can't be considered worthwhile. I guess you're not a software developer, either. > Hans Hansen -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga Usenet: {ihnp4|caip|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh "The B2000 Guy" PLINK : D-DAVE H BIX : hazy "Computers are what happen when you give up sleeping" - Iggy the Cat
pooley@hplabsb.UUCP (Chuck Pooley) (10/14/87)
You are probably right that it costs a little more to do a detachable keyboard. However, the PC clones have some pretty cheap detachable keyboards available. Its too bad that can't be exploited by CBM for the A500. I am happy to say however, that I have just acquired an A500. I like the layout of the keyboard and its general feel, but, it would be nice if a separate keyboard was possible.Oh well, I guess will have to be content to dream about the A2000. Chuck Pooley HP Labs