landon@Apple.COM (Landon Dyer) (03/08/88)
Technical content: zero. If ancient history bores you, please type 'n'. I gotta flame: >In article <345@nunki.usc.edu> rjung@castor.usc.edu (Robert Jung) writes: >> We know Jack Tramiel can make things move when he really wants to; Putting >>together a prototype 68000 machine in six months is an amazing task. > >Yes, it would have been amazing, had it actually happened. When Tramiel >took over Atari, though, there were already people working on a 68000 machine, >and had been for some time. Those people were, essentially, the only >ones that Tramiel kept when he purged the company. While the final ST >design might have had significant Tramiel influence (it looks it - it's >cheap enough), it's pretty clear that the groundwork had been laid before >he ever came on the scene. In my younger years I would have sprouted bright blue actinic sparks and gone for an artery. Instead I'll just say that "I was there, and you were not." We did SO do it in six months. I'm sure it shows. (At one early point, the ST was going to be a National 16016 or something. The ST was essentially designed by Tramiel Technologies Ltd (TTL), oh, days and weeks -- maybe even a whole month -- before KUJ signed the Warner deal). When the Flying Tramiel Bros. took over the company, I was a mere (mere?) video-game writer in a management-impoverished (though manager-rich) part of the 8-bit games group. One fine, black day Leonard Tramiel and John Feagans strode into the coin-op engineering building, hatchets and hoods and clipboards in hand. While they were walking down the corridor, a voice cried out over the announcment system: "Imperial storm-troopers have entered the base! Imperial storm-troopers have entered the base!" We each had a two-minute interview to save our jobs. FTB kept fourteen out of sixty or so engineers. Very entertaining. I don't think any of us had much 68000 experience; they were looking for slaves. In some respects the people who were layed-off were the lucky ones.... -Landon [Disclaimer: Leonard Tramiel and John Feagans are perfectly nice people who are NOT storm-troopers and who would NOT do anything nasty to anyone else with a hatchet, though perhaps with a clipboard... :-)] -- I speak for me.
david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) (03/10/88)
In article <7590@apple.Apple.Com> landon@Apple.COM (Landon Dyer) writes: >We each had a two-minute interview to save our jobs. FTB kept fourteen out >of sixty or so engineers. Very entertaining. I don't think any of us had >much 68000 experience; they were looking for slaves. In some respects the >people who were layed-off were the lucky ones.... They gave you two whole minutes? What did you say to keep your job. Couldn't you think of anything that would have gotten you fired? I bet you could think of a few things now, huh? When this is all through, I think I'll write a book. I can see it now: "I was a respected computer professional, with a promising career, until I got involved with ... THEM ... (letterman screach sounds go here)" -- David Beckemeyer | "To understand ranch lingo all yuh Beckemeyer Development Tools | have to do is to know in advance what 478 Santa Clara Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 | the other feller means an' then pay UUCP: ...!ihnp4!hoptoad!bdt!david | no attention to what he says"
farren@gethen.UUCP (Michael J. Farren) (03/16/88)
In article <7590@apple.Apple.Com> landon@Apple.COM (Landon Dyer) writes: [ in response to my posting which said "they didn't do it in 6 months" ] >In my younger years I would have sprouted bright blue actinic sparks >and gone for an artery. Instead I'll just say that "I was there, and >you were not." We did SO do it in six months. I'm sure it shows. I thank you, my arteries thank you. My apologies for spreading mis- information - I was just passing on what I had been hearing from some ex-Atari employees at the time. I wasn't there, you were, so I defer to your greater knowledge. Actually, it doesn't show all that much. For only six months, you guys did a great job! -- Michael J. Farren | "INVESTIGATE your point of view, don't just {ucbvax, uunet, hoptoad}! | dogmatize it! Reflect on it and re-evaluate unisoft!gethen!farren | it. You may want to change your mind someday." gethen!farren@lll-winken.llnl.gov ----- Tom Reingold, from alt.flame