c60b-at@buddy.Berkeley.EDU (john->kawakami) (05/08/88)
That Atari Corp. is spinning off a Computers division should be very
good; as long as they get money from Corp. At last, there will be an
organization that will deal with Computers. Not games, calculators, or
suits against chipmakers. Maybe there's the slightest chance that Atari
will start acting like a real computer company.
Here is my wish list:
1. More updates to GEM. It's the ST's _OS_ for chrissakes, everyone :-)
has to use it so it better get fixed and enhanced.
2. More support for developers. Face it, Atari has no respect so it
might as well be nice to the people who can keep the machines alive.
3. Buy an IC factory (unless this has already been done). and get the
blitters out. THEN get the roms for the new GEM out. And on the latest
TOS; send it to stores to be distributed by them. Have the retailers
copy the disks for them. It would get customers for the retailers and
get the revisions out.
4. For the 8-bitters. The next batch of OS roms should have the Newell
Fastchip routines built in. Buy rights to put out the Newell code and
maybe Newell will make a profit. I see his Fastchip going for $15 every-
where. I don't see how he can be making anything, considering the size
of the 8-bit market.
5. Again, 8-bitters. Sell Flight Simulator 2 on cart, maybe someone
will buy a FSII that does no disk access! Indicate on the XEGS packs
which machines a given cart will run on. (and accurately)
6. More user support and service.
7. Give the computers better names (from now on, it's too late for the
st and xe). The computer is be an extension of the HUMAN mind. A computer
should have a short (4 syllables or less) name that has a minimum of
"whiny" sounds (ee,aye).
Here are some bad names and why I think I hate them:
ecks-ee too whiny, and it sounds like a sports car
ess-tee ditto
a-mee-ga whiny. reminds me of amoeba and Velveeta.
ps/2 says nothing, in other words, very IBM personality wise
Microsoft sheesh. not only is it small, it's soft. feminists
may protest, but a weak phallic association turns
everyone off. Note: I am not advocating "LargeHard"
as an alternative:-> Imposing names are also bad.
Generally, these names do not sound good in conversation.
These do:
Macintosh canadian/scotch sounding. not wimpy (the machine
may be though)
Dr. Halo luminescent sounding.
Dell (as in Dell computers) just good sounding
Grid one of the best Hi-teck sounding names.
etc.
And pertaining to the topic is the choice of numbers, i.e. 1040ST, Apple2.
obviously, XF551 is vastly worse than 1040 or 520. But 1040 is not as
1 or 2. I know very little about this, but I guess that the "best" numbers:
have no suffix like hundres or billion, can be said with few words as in
ten-forty or fifty-five, or have repetitive digits if they are long as in
six-two-six three-twenty-three, or are single digits. There should also
not be too may different models for one name. Imagine mega 2,4,6,8,10,11,14.
I realize that some people believe the name of a product has little to do
with it's desirability, and back when micros were bought by hobbyists this
was true, but now, we are dealing with "normal" people who don't have a
hacker's appreciation for programmability, instruction sets, and power
requirements. It's going to be a mass market, and that demands mass market
measures. Now, computer companies must hire logo, case, and graphics
designers as well as engineers. This is inevitable, even for a cost-cutting
outfit like Atari. Promotion and design are as much a part of business
as is manufaturing.
I am not advocating that Atari change the name of the ST and XE, they
already have name recognition, but they should not name the next product
the TT or EST or A?AQ (or promiseLAN, that's plain stupid). How about
names like: The Roadway, the Michael, the David (as in D&Goliath for all
the Bible nuts out there :-), the Stone (for go players), the Audrey.
--John
:the:end:is:near:get:all:your:files:onto:another:machine:fast:
John Kawakami c60b-at@buddy.berkeley.edu