From: davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au (David Meiklejohn)
Subject: Re: COMMODORE - HERE'S A CLUE
Organization: Qld Dept Primary Industries
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 11:51:47 GMT

In article <3hhzj6m@rpi.edu> danaf@rpi.edu writes:
>
>That's bullsh*t. It's absolutely no justification for running the greatest
>multimedia computer in the world at sub-light speeds when it could be running
>at warp factor 9!

This whole multimedia thing's getting out of hand - it's just a marketing term
invented by Apple that no one can agree what it means, exactly.  Some people
think it means being able to watch video in a window, in which case adding a
68020 to the low-end Amigas won't help them.  Others (namely Microsoft) seem
to assume that to "do" multimedia, you need a CD-ROM.  Why don't we forget the
hype and just think about what what the average home user wants to do with
his cheap A600?  Do low end users want to do what you call "multimedia", or
would they rather play games and do some word processing, and maybe some home
video titling or whatever?

If you want to run the world's greatest multimedia computer at warp 9, you
get an A4000.  They come with an '040, and they're cheap.

>How much more expensive **IS** a 68020? I'd bet the chip itself is under $100
>now, and I'd be SHOCKED if it's over $200.

Doubtless a lot cheaper than that.  However, the cost of the chip isn't that
important for cheap chips - more relevant is that going with an '020 or '030
means having a 32-bit bus.  Not only do you need more traces on the
motherboard and a more complex layout, but you have to go to 32-bit ram,
which means that you need more chips to do it.  Of course, Commodore _could_,
using the bus sizing ability of the '030, keep a 16-bit bus and save money
on the motherboard that way.  Then they could advertise that their bottom
line was 32-bit, but it would be crippled, and what sort of computer company
would come up with a design like that?  ;-)


>So, for the extra $100, we could
>have a 68020-based Amiga. It's worth it, believe me!

At the bottom end of the market, $100 is a HUGE difference.  You're talking
about a 20% markup or more.

I agree that, to round out the Amiga market, we need a mid-range model
with an '020 or 30 (I say forget the '020, myself), with AGA, selling for
under $1500 or so.  Such a machine would replace the A2000, and I believe
that Commodore will be introducing one shortly.

What I strongly disagree with you about is that the low end needs to be
raised.  Augment the range, don't contract it.  Let the market decide what
they want to buy.

>I've never had a problem with Commodore's upgrade path. I agree that it's better
>than any other computer manufacturer out there. I'D rather be satisfied in 
>terms of what Commodore is doing FOR THE FUTURE, not what they're doing FOR
>THE PAST. So far, no dice.

Umm, how long has it been since the A4000 was released?  A couple of weeks.
You were happy with the power-ups in the past, but how long was it after the
A3000 was introduced that the first power-up scheme was launched?  Months.

>How about getting CDTV ads into things like Time and NewsWeek? Magazines that
>NON-computer people read? THAT's who Commodore should be trying to sell Amigas
>and CDTVs to; not the people who already own them!

For CDTV, you may be right.  However, most people who buy computers these
days already own them.  No one has been able to figure out yet how to convince
the masses who don't yet have a computer in the home that they really do need
one.  And I suspect that most buyers of CD-I, CDTV, etc. at this point are
computer-literate techno-junkies.

>(I can't BELIEVE I just typed that... sorry! It's just that people who defend
>Commodore in everything they do really drive me crazy. Someone called you guys
>the "Anti-Barretts"... and it fits!  (Mark Barrett, not Dave...)

Get it right, will ya?  That's "Marc" and "Dan".


-- 
David Meiklejohn (also known as davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au)
 - Regional support guy for PC's, Unix, and networks thereof.
 - But I'd rather be using an AMIGA!  Wouldn't you?
Find me in Mareeba, Australia (on the pointy bit in the northeast),