From: rsrodger@wam.umd.edu (Yamanari)
Subject: Re: Advocacy? What do you want for the Amiga?
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 18:55:00 GMT

In article <C0nHrv.Grn@news.iastate.edu> barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett) writes:
>In article <1993Jan10.093729.24025@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au> davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au (David Meiklejohn) writes:
>>In article <C0K2p1.1HF@news.iastate.edu> barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett) writes:
>   That is the typical Amigoid attitude.  With "one of the best multitasking
>OSs around", you are too proud to run useful software on the computer.  But
>perfectly willing to run non-multitasking games and demos.


	Hey, if your job requires you to run demos, there's no better choice 
	than the Amiga!


>> Integrated packages on other platforms simulate the
>>ability to have several packages running together.  We don't need that.
>
>   You have the vision of a bat.  The included software in an Amiga 'works'
>package could easily be written to take advantage of all of the Amiga's
>multitasking capabilities.  The big advantage of an Amiga 'works' package 
>would be having all of the most useful software applications packaged with
>the computer, with the applications written to easily share data with each 
>other.  This would make the Amiga much more attractive to people who might
>otherwise purchase a Macintosh system with ClarisWorks.  


	And *much* less attractive to developers who would write products
	that had to compete with a set of programs that the user would get
	for free.  The Amiga is already quality-application anemic.  Why
	make the situation worse?


>Apple sells a very
>nice system for $2000 that includes an LC II, monitor, StyleWriter printer,
>and ClarisWorks.  


	Apple, on the other hand, already has a very healthy applications
	market with both high end and low end SW.  


>In terms of out-of-the-box usefulness, Commodore can't
>compete with it.  By developing an 'Amiga Works' package, they could.


	Not really.  Most people who buy the student LC II package are
	doing so because they are computer illiterate.  WB2.0 is very
	nice, and it seems even more so to someone who was around when 1.0
	and 1.1 were young--but it's user friendliness leaves a lot
	to be desired.  The only benefit that a commodore-sponsored works
	program would give is that it might start the Amiga on the road
	to interface consistency across applications, something that 
	the Amiga app market has done a woeful job at.  

	But with Commodores ap history, I wouldn't count on them being
	consistent even across programs in one package.


>   BTW, the 'Amiga Works' software I am advocating would only be sold with 
>special Amiga bundles.  ClarisWorks is not sold with all Macintoshes, either.
>If you didn't want the software, you would not be forced to buy it.


	In particular, I hope, student bundles.  But C/A has other priorities
	that I think should come first.  Their print drivers/printing method
	leaves a lot to be desired.  They need to get out RTG because the
	latest and greatest chipset is best described as "adequate".  They
	need to get costs down and quality (low budget plastic cases, cheap
	keyboards) up.  Finally, they should be really considering moving
	away from the MC68k line, because it's pretty likely that the '060,
	if it ever arrives, will be the last of the line.  There simply isn't
	going to be the demand for Motorola to make the next chip, and there
	are alternatives that blow the '040 away for cost/performance.
	(In particular, there is a WISC chip out there that can emulate a
	25mhz '040 and costs <$90 in bulk--it'snot released, but it's been
	shown a number of times).

-- 
      Blaming "society" for your problems is like blaming clouds for rain.
 ---  boycott == coercion == censorship == closed mindedness == cowardice  ---
	      "Psalms 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."  
		Shepherds are for sheep.   -----      Pain teaches.