From: ph9991_imm@rivers.acc.uwrf.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: RE: Why Atari can't succeed in the United States
Date: 20 Jan 93 22:09:15 -0600
Organization: University of Wisconsin - River Falls

   <SML108@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>I can attest to that.  I sold Atari computers from 1985 to 1987.  It was
>EASY to make people like STs.  All you had to do was show it to them, flip
>on a few demos, and then tell them the amazing price.  Later, as magic-sac
>hit the market, customer's jaws would drop open when they saw this atari
>game machine doing a macintosh better than a real mac.  Now for the bad
>parts.
>
>1.  You could never get enough STs to sell.  There was an eternal shortage
>    of them no matter how hard you bugged your distributor.  My manager
>    went so far as to order direct from atari but even then it was not
>    good enough and orders would be delayed up to 6 months.
>
>2.  Quality control was left in the hands of the salespeople.  Our deal
>    was that in return for a 10% or so discount on the wholesale price,
>    we'd foot the bill for any repairs on the machines.  This did not
>    leave a good taste in one's mouth and we were occasionaly socked
>    by this practice.  Another store got really socked with a batch
>    of defective Mega STs in 1988.
>
>3.  We got an Atari ST diagnostics and repair kit.  Lots of lovely
>    peripherals and diagrams were provided with it.  Unfortunately, the
>    diagnostics cartidge didn't work and we called Atari to tell them
>    it was defective.  They told us that that was impossible and that
>    we must have broken the cartridge if it didn't work and that it
>    would be $300 to replace it.  Nice job guys, this is about when
>    my manager started considering ditching atari.
>
>4.  The whole time my manager would rant on and on about how the ST
>    was the best thing he'd ever sold yet the stupid company was killing
>    its own market.  Finally, after a 5 month stretch where he couldn't
>    get ANYTHING from Atari, he stopped selling them.
>
>Yep, if they had supported the ST, it wouldn't be in the state it's in
>now.  Realistically, the hardware in my 520ST wasn't really obsolete until
>last year.  Some minor enhancements to the Falcon would make it into
>a '486 basher and restore the "Power without the Price" reputation but
>I doubt they'll be made.  I'll wait and see though...  It's sort of a
>tortoise and the hare situation.  PCs were lousy in 1985.  Atari and
>Commodore computers were state of the art.  Unfortunately, Atari and
>Commodore mostly sat on their laurels and now the PCs have been forced
>into technological advances by MS Windows horribly slow performance...
>Meanwhile, the software industry suppored these machines all the way
>through the transition.  To be fair though, a 1985 ST is a lot less
>obsolete than a 1985 PC or mac.
>
>Still, I'll wait and see what happens...  I'm in no amphetamine-crazed
>rush to get a new computer and 1993 looks to be a very interesting year.
>Perhaps the most interesting year since 1985...
>
>Scott

	Hey Scott, you don't know how right you are!

	I was first interested in Atari computers when the studio I was
going to was charging me $20 an hour to use their MIDI equipment. They were
using a Mega 4 with the Pro-24 III MIDI recorder, and my money was quickly
leaving me.
	After walking through the yellow pages (annoyed at how many Apple and
IBM dealers there were), I finally found an Atari dealer about 30 miles away.
I placed my order for the Pro-24 III, along with a 1040ST and SM124 monitor.
The whole deal was $1200. Well, I ended up waiting for about 5 months, during
which I would get calls asking me if I would accept an upgraded 512? I told
them I would wait for the real thing, so they asked me if I would take a
1040 STe for the same price. I said yes, but afterwards when I would ask about
other applications for me, they said that they only dealed with music software
and had no other information or books or applications for me.

	Wow! A great computer, with plenty of programming features, a user
friendly interface, built in graphics operating system; and NO support. What a
let down. :(

BTW, does anyone else use versions of the Pro-24? Is it still popular/used?

Larry I.
--
larry.o.imm@uwrf.edu