lrg7030@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Loren Rittle) (01/09/91)
> AMIGA -- Yesterday's Technology, FOREVER!!!
MB, can't you at least post this crap in the right group...
-MB- -- Yesterday's Ramblings, FOREVER!!!
--
``In short, this is the absolute coolest computer device ever invented!''
-Tom Denbo speaking about The VideoToaster by NewTek
``Think about NewTek's VideoToaster! Now think about the Amiga!''
Loren J. Rittle lrg7030@uxa.cso.uiuc.edubarrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett) (01/10/91)
In article <D92C4EC47ABFE00545@ISUVAX.BITNET> TAAB5@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett) writes: >Savor these times, >because the Amiga is at it's peak today. From now on the Amiga will >do nothing but decline. Commodore will cut research and development >of Amiga hardware and software, seaking to improve short-term profits.... I hope these lines finally serve to illustrate what many people have suspected all along. The ONLY reason MB posts these things on comp.sys.amiga is to spread bad press about Commodore. Instead of wasting his time posting this crap, any normal person would have sold his Amiga and bought something else. But evidently Marc would rather complain and spread rumors than actually be productive on a computer. Perhaps someday, when Marc realizes that his potential future employers read USENET news, he will stop this public whining. Dan //////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | Dan Barrett, Department of Computer Science Johns Hopkins University | | INTERNET: barrett@cs.jhu.edu | | | COMPUSERVE: >internet:barrett@cs.jhu.edu | UUCP: barrett@jhunix.UUCP | \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////
mykes@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) (01/10/91)
A friend at work told me that he read in yesterday's Mercury News that CBM posted a major loss last quarter and had laid off hundreds of employees and engineers. Any truth to this? By the way, when Sadaam invaded Kuwait, the stock market dropped a bunch. Commodore was at about $9 and dropped to about $4. As recently as 2 weeks ago, the stock was at $10. Why would the stock go 250% up right before CBM announced a major loss and layoffs. Commodore really needs to focus on getting Business software available to the public. It is really embarassing that the machine has been around for 6 years and you still can't get a half decent WYSIWYG word processor that prints near Mac-quality documents on a laser printer from ANY manufacturer. Couldn't CBM pay Microsoft $30 Million for source to Microsoft word and port it? Couldn't they hire 3 or 4 guys who could just make the one piece of software that people will start using the machine for? It seems to me that the current products are all video oriented and even if these products are excellent, the Amiga can only be considered a machine used by a vast minority of hobbyists and video game junkies. Commodore seems to want to make a Unix machine real bad, but it looks like the Unix market is not really doing that well and is not a real good market to be going for. Sun was going to make a new public offering (stock market) before Sadaam screwed up our economy but decided against it because they couldn't get a decent price for the stock. You see, the industry analysts just don't think that Unix is booming... Commodore, you need to get your CD ROM machine out and make it cheap. You need to have a FIRE SALE on machines so you can get the price down to the point where people buying Nintendo and other game machines will start to consider buying the Amiga 500. The CD ROM machine is a brilliant piece of engineering, but it costs a huge amount of money to develop games that take up hundreds of megabytes and the only way anyone would invest the money is if they could sell a few hundred thousand at a time. If NEC can't sell a CD ROM machine at $400, can CBM sell one at $1000 and create any kind of market? NO WAY JOSE. Everyone who reads the Amiga newsgroups knows how great the Amiga is, but when Apple or IBM or many other IBM Clone manufacturers can sell more machines in a week than CBM can in a year, the industry will continue to look down their noses at the Amiga and ridicule it. The Atari 800 was the best 8-bit machine you could buy, but it went by the wayside and was defeated by the C64. The ONLY reason was price. At $199, people will buy a lot of machines. At $500, they won't, unless it is the same thing they use at work. The Amiga is the best 32-bit machine around, but it will continue to putter along and CBM will flounder as long as the Amiga does not do the things that other computers do well. This is true even though the Amiga does things the other computers can't do at all. I love the Amiga and want to see it succeed. Get your act together guys!
wolf@cbnewsh.att.com (thomas.wolf) (01/10/91)
From article <1991Jan10.034113.21163@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>, by mykes@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz): ...some good comments deleted... > > It seems to me that the current products are all video oriented and even if > these products are excellent, the Amiga can only be considered a machine used > by a vast minority of hobbyists and video game junkies. Commodore seems to > want to make a Unix machine real bad, but it looks like the Unix market is > not really doing that well and is not a real good market to be going for. > Sun was going to make a new public offering (stock market) before Sadaam > screwed up our economy but decided against it because they couldn't get a > decent price for the stock. You see, the industry analysts just don't think ^^^^^^ They couldn't get the price they wanted. Whether that was a "decent" price for the stock is subjective :-) > that Unix is booming... > Forecasting UNIX machines' future based on the performance of particular companies in the stock market is somewhat haphazard. I don't think that manufacturers of UNIX equipment have fared any worse than other computer companies. With respect to what "industry analysts" say: I've read quite the opposite - that UNIX-based machines will proliferate in the '90s...It really depends which "analyst" you ask :-) Tom -- +-------------------------------------+ "Stupid" questions are better than | Thomas Wolf | (201) 615-4789 | no questions at all. No answer is | Bell Labs, NJ | wolf@mink.att.com | better than a stupid one. +-------------------------------------+
jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz (John Bickers) (01/11/91)
Quoted from <D92C4EC47ABFE00545@ISUVAX.BITNET> by TAAB5@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett): > What does this mean for the future? It means that the Amiga will > decline in influence in the computer industry. Savor these times, Haw haw haw. > -MB- -- *** John Bickers, TAP, NZAmigaUG. jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz *** *** "Snake through the chaos with a smooth noodle map" - Devo ***
bill@dmntor.UUCP (Bill Kyle) (01/11/91)
You have made some good points but because a machine sells better this does not make it better. CBMs problem has been public perception of a V Good product and to an extent business S/W, however I have had my Amiga for 2 years and have used it extensively for W/P applications using WORDPERFECT it does quite fine. I am no GURU but when my brother (who is an IBM buff) and I get together and I power up my machine and run some stuff AND SHOW HIM WHAT I PAID he gets sick. Unfortunately his business uses IBM PCs and he has more scientific applications. However when we compare basic capabilities, my brother always resorts to the old IBM fanatics bromide Our conversations often go like this..... "Yes but I can get my IBM to do if I get this kit for $xxx.xx." "Gee brother your IBM PC has fart-like sound effects" "OH YA well if I BUY such n such it can sound just like yours" "Gee brother the monitor that came with your IBM PC has a vintage 1949 made in Albania quality puke-yellow on black picture" "OH YA well I can buy a color monitor as well!!" "and a mouse? Brother: "A what.....?"