From: jerry@cs.mcgill.ca (Gerald (Jerry) KUCH)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: A Commodore Engineer speaks out.
Keywords: Reverse Enginneering AGA - can it be done?
Date: 11 Oct 92 16:19:50 GMT
Organization: McGill University, Montreal, Canada

In article <1992Oct10.035700.16530@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> nwickham@nyx.UUCP (Neal Wickham) writes:
>
>
>In article <9775@cbmger.de.so.commodore.com>
>peterk@cbmger.de.so.commodore.com (Dr Peter Kittel Germany) writes:
>>In article <35618@cbmvax.commodore.com> grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George
>Robbins) writes:
>> >
>> >Note that Apple may be in a better position to make such a move because
>> >their volume/profit is spread over more systems and perhaps because they
>> >didn't have much choice if they wanted to have new software to perform
>> >"effectively" on all their hardware.
>>
>>Hmm, sorry, but I claim this very argument always for Commodore! We do
>>have the broadest palette of different computer worlds, with our three
>>lines of C64, Amiga, and PCs! Ok, Apple offers more Mac models than we
>>have Amiga models, but don't forget the even bigger picture.
>
>
>My roomate is a computer salesman for a large distributer and he was to a
>couple of seminars lately, one regarding the future of Apple and the other
>regarding developements at Microsoft.  He is under NDA of course so the
>info I have is rather vague.  He knows not to tell me much as he knows that
>I will post it to the net. 
>
>Apple is after the multimedia market.  It is no secret that they have
>several new CD-ROM models coming out.  One looks a little like CDTV. 

That will be interesting.  We already have the CDTV and CD-I.  In a month or
so, we'll have the Tandy VIS.  I'd be very curious as to the specs on any
Apple home TV/CD device.  So far, it looks like only the Tandy machine is 
going to get the marketing push that will be necessary to convince people
that they need/want these things.  CD-I and CDTV, at least as consumer
systems, seem to be flops.  CD-I apparently has some momentum in Europe
as an interactive training device, but other than that I haven't heard 
any big splashes.

And besides... the VIS will run "Just Grandma and Me."  Zippy app.  :-)

>He was also awed by a presentation Microsoft put on just this week.  They
>have apparently developed some very nice office networking software.  Again
>I don't have any specific information but it sounded like it was highly
>polished LAN software with extensive mail, data base, communication, etc,
>capabilities that is EEEEASY and SSSLICK to use and share. ...better than
>Mac!

Are you talking about Windows for Workgroups?  This has been talked about
in the PC rags with varying levels of detail and correctness.

>So... I'd say that the EASY and SLICK to use software advantage Apple once
>had is evaporating.  Microsoft is going to ensure that Mac does not
>penetrate the business market much more than they have now.  Apple, in turn
>is looking at special nich markets like the remote computing thing. (This
>is an in depth analysis on my part. :)  And since C= sells PCs, it will be
>good if Mac loses market share to PCs in the business market.

True... "MS is powerful Jedi..." :-)

>Anyway... I hope C= continues to go after the multimedia market.  It sounds
>like Apple is wanting it bad but does not really have the system for it. 
>Things don't look so rosy for Apple IMHO.  They are going to sink all the
>money they've made in past years in chasing a bunch of "maybe" nich
>markets.  

True... there seems to be some danger that Commodore will let the MM market
be continually redefined in their corner to be the "broadcast video needs
to flicker NTSC market."  I hope they don't end up doing that, but to avoid
it they're going to need to be fairly aggressive with pursuing applications
that are a little broader.

>I also hope C= pounds away at the home/entertainment market also.  (This
>may be a biased opinion however.)

True... but I don't want to see any cheesey game machines with the name 
Amiga on them.  In fact, I'm not even thrilled to death by the A600. With
cheapass 386 and 386SX clones all over the place with substantially sized
hard drives and reasonable amounts of memory, I am skeptical that there
even is a C64 style home computer market in North America.  The base CPU
has to be moved up and the base display has to be flicker free.

>As far as the A600 goes... what scares me is that Amiga is going to get
>even more strongly identified as a low-end kids/game machine.  It is bad

Oh... yeah... I think I just said that.  :-)

>enough as it is.  I think C= marketing ought to make a clear distiction
>between the A600 and the new AGA machines.  Call the 32-bit Amigas Amiga
>IIs or something.  A4000/040 is not enough.  A clear distinction needs to
>be communicated and then the A600 can be the little money maker they want
>and not hurt the higher end market.  DID ANYONE IN THE C= MARKETING
>DEPARTMENT HEAR THAT????  MAKE A CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE A600 AND THE
>HIGHER END MACHINES!!!!!  GIVE THE NEW MACHINES A NEW NAME!!! ...AMIGA II
>or AMIGA 32 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!!  (Geese!)

Just please no use of the word Classic... oh yeah... CBM probably couldn't
afford to buy off Coke and Apple to use it... :-)

>I played with a 4000 this week.  What struck me most was that even regular
>HAM looked better than 256 colors while in high res mode.  (And boy could
>that thing convert pictures fast!)  HAM and HAM8 are great little systems
>that have great potential in entertainment and multimedia and elswhere.

I still haven't laid eyes on a real one.  HAM8 has great potential... the
bandwidth involved in animating it will be so much lower than animating
true 24 plane graphics, and the images are likely to not be especially
distinguishable, especially given that the screens don't even have 
16 million pixels...


-- 
 Jerry Kuch (jerry@cs.mcgill.ca) ----- SOMETHING NEAT SHOULD GO HERE.
 "I was wrong to play God.  Life is precious, not a thing to be toyed with.
  Now take out that brain and flush it down the toilet."
                  --- M. Burns  "Treehouse of Horror II"