ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo L. Schwab) (12/21/88)
[ Is $720 too much to pay for a music box? ]
The last couple of postings from Dale and JimM have me a wee bit
worried. They seem to be getting caustic. This makes me wonder if they're
getting fed up with all the "amateur" programmers out there, or just plain
tired of the barrage of questions hurled at them.
I like to think of myself as a good Amiga programmer. Still, each
time I speak to Dale or JimM, I am humbled by their much better-considered
opinions and techniques. I almost always learn something new from them.
(And let's not forget Kodiak.)
Based on a phone conversation I had with JimM today, I get the
impression that the AmiGuys might be getting a wee bit tired of the
attention they're getting. It might have been that I caught JimM at a bad
time, but it still may be valuable to try and think of how we can make their
lives easier. It'd be a shame for them to leave out of exasperation.
At the risk of contradicting myself, I'd like to throw out a few
suggestions on how to make the lives of AmiGuys and AmiGals more
headache-free, which they should feel free to add to, amend, contradict,
etc.
Rule #1: Don't Kill The Golden Goose. The people from Commodore-
Amiga are precisely that: people. They are not Vulcans; they have emotions.
They will get irritated if you ask them lots of silly questions. Use them
as you would use an expensive 976 phone service: sparingly.
Nefarious Tricks under 1.4: Speaking personally, I'm going to
assume that *EVERYTHING* will change under 1.4, and plan for a rev. I
hardly expect any of my screen hacks to work. It's also possible that
lots of commercial software will fall to pieces. Therefore, I would suggest
that you plan to release an update for any software you may be writing now
when 1.4 comes out. When it does finally come out, try your software out on
it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you've covered your bet by planning
for the rev, so go for it.
Rumors about the A?000: They are just that: rumors. Personally, I
wish people would keep them to themselves. Everytime I see a rumor about
how great the Amiga ?000 is going to be, I start drooling, and pretty soon I
have to wash out my keyboard. If such advanced products were under
development, I would fully expect (that's right, *expect*) someone at
Commodore to get in touch with me so that I could plan future products for
it (yup, I'm into product now). Otherwise, I'd rather not waste my time
daydreaming about what life *could* be like. I have to deal with the here
and now. Rumors are fun, but keep it to a minimum, okay?
When will ________ be released: When it's finished, and not one
microsecond sooner.
Wish Lists: Submit an official Request For Enhancement form to
CATS. Not only does this guarantee that it gets looked at, but it also
makes you look more serious about having the enhancement added. Perhaps
Carolyn can be coaxed into posting a template?
I Found A Bug: Submit an official Bug Report form to CATS. This
way, they can process it more efficiently, check to see if they've already
swatted it, and keep a copy on file to refer to at a later time (and not
have to worry about Net articles expiring).
Commodore Advertising: No one reading this group has any control
over that. While we understand your frustration, your bytes are nonetheless
wasted. (This assumes the commentary is negative, which is not always, but
often, the case.)
Anything else that bugs you AmigaPeople?
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
\_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: UUCP: pacbell > !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Work FOR? I don't work FOR anybody! I'm just having fun." -- The Doctor