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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.i-amiga
Date:         Mon, 27 Jul 1992 20:04:00 CST
From:         Lance Tagliapietra <96720919@UCS.UWPLATT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Amiga Dead...NOT!
X-To:         I-AMIGA@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu

I read that article when it was posted on comp.sys.amiga.misc (I get get bitnet
echo of that newsgroup) and found it full of half-truths then and even more
so two weeks later.  I am definetly looking forward to Commodores reply when
it gets posted.  Here are a few comments of my own.

>The Amiga appeared just as the Macintosh was failing, losing
>sales after the initial enthusiasm.  The PC was conquering
>corporate, word-processing and spreadsheeting America.  But
>the PC was laughably slow and clumsy with graphics, sounds
>and other such creative elements.  There was clearly room
>for a machine that could live at first as an entertainer
>while building its chops to tackle the more prosaic types of
>computing.  A group of refugees from companies such as Atari
>designed the Amiga, and then, needing money for marketing,
>sold it to Commodore.  Commodore needed the Amiga because
>its phenomenally popular Commodore 64 home computer was
>faltering, unable to jump to a new generation of computing
>power.

First,  he present an interesting history of the Amiga, one
that is not totally correct.  Unfortunately I can't locate
my file on the conception of the Amiga.

>
>In those early days, the Amiga had a graphic interface like
>the Macintosh'sbut backed up by a true multitasking
>operating system.

And 8 years later, it is still the only computer that can
make the boast of a true multitasking operating system.

>
>This computer was built to run more than one program at a
>time, something the Mac and PC are only now growing into.

And still have not got it right. PC Computing did a readers
survey on what commercial software have you purchased and
shelved. Windows ranked first.  OS/2 was first in the
operating systems group.

>
>The Amiga also had the high-resolution graphic display of
>the Mac but withcolor.  It offered more colors and more
>graphics programming than the PC. It had stereo sound in its
>heart, where the Mac could only produce simplesounds and the
>PC could only beep or buzz.

And without additional (non standard) hardware, the pc can
still only beep or buzz.  I have not seen a clone yet with
any d/a audio channels on the motherboard.

>
>Finally, the Amiga had video in its soul.  Those special
>chips let it naturally and easily overlap its images with
>standard TV and VCR images.  To add titles or special
>effects to a video, you could use an Amiga, or you could add
>thousands of dollars of hardware to a Mac or PC and pray.
>
>So what went wrong?
>
[stuff deleted]

>The final insult to the Amiga has been Commodore's
>consistent lack of concern, attention and contact with Amiga
>dealers, developers and owners.  It's still true today.  I
>read in a local computing magazine how the loyal Amiga
>columnist is giving up, unable to bear another year of
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I believe he is referencing a recent issue of COMPUTER
MONTHLY, a magazine that is somewhat like the early days
of computer shopper.  The columnist did not want to do
the column anymore, and his last column was not very
pro-amiga.  I wonder if the magazine cut the column
to give more space for pc support.  When I read that
column I thought of writing the editor and asking
if another person could continue it.  I haven't followed
up on that idea yet, but I challenge you to do so.

>prying information from Commodore. I walk into a store that
>specializes in Amigas and ask about the latest Commodore
>news, and the staff admits that "it's strange, we know, but"
>they never get news from Commodore.  All they know of plans
>and announcements is what they read in the magazines.  But
>they're not much better off!  The first article I read in
>the most popular Amiga magazine is about a new "A570 CDTV
>Adapter" that converts an Amiga 500 into a CDTV machine.
>This is the lead article, the one hyped on the cover, and
>the editors are humiliated by having to add this note: "Just
>as this issue was about to go to press, AmigaWorld learned
>that Commodore officials were expressing some doubts about
>the scheduled release of the A570 this summer and about its
>suggested retail price of $499.99."  I'll bet it wasn't even
>Commodore that told them!
>
>I know, too, that both times Commodore offered to send me an
>Amiga for a while to review Amiga peripherals and software,
>the promised machine never arrived.
>
>There's only one kind of life left for the Amiga: toasting.
>
>NewTek's Video Toaster is the best way to build an
>inexpensive video effects studio, and the Toaster requires
>an Amiga.  In fact, the new Toaster models for Mac and PC
>are really just a Toaster and Amiga that you connect to your
>Mac or PC.  You can see the popularity of the Toaster from
>the general computer magazines -- where it is the only Amiga
>product mentioned -- to the Amiga specialty stores -- where
>digital video and Toasters take up half the space.
>
>If you have an Amiga, don't fret about this news.  You've
>adapted to living in the dark, being fed biodegradable
>stories about new models and upgrades.  There will be some
>new games, a few new accelerator boards and fellow
>enthusiasts to club with for another five years at least.

Funny, I don't have a toaster.  I see people fighting with
Windows all day at work, where I have to suffer with a
12MHz 286 machine that is only 1/8 as useful as my 7.14
Mhz Amiga 2000 because of its multitasking OS in rom. Every
day about 30 seconds after booting my pc at work, I miss
my Amiga.

>
>If you're an Amiga owner in Europe, you have more company
>than in the United States  - Commodore always has had a
>larger presence there.  But the hardware hasn't kept up to
>date any more than in the United States.  You should
>consider buying a mailorder PC or sneaking some Mac time to
>see what you're missing.
>
>If you want to work with digital video, the Toaster is good
>enough to warrant buying an Amiga.  But don't think of it as
>your computer; consider it just a power supply for the
>Toaster.
>
>But if you're not already hooked on the Amiga or fascinated
>by video toasting, don't even think of buying one.  You'll
>be getting into a relationship full of heartache and
>promises not kept.  Maybe at least other computer companies
>will learn a lesson of caring and respect from this sad
>affair.

Funny, the more people I show my amiga too, the more awe
it brings out in them.  I don't consider the amiga to be
a pc, it is my Personal Workstation.  This writer doesn't
seem to understand that there are many parts to a computer
system, the pc's have a very fast cpu if you want to pay
for a 486/33 machine.  But it still only does one task
at a time.  A multitasking os in ROM is one specification
that the pc's will NEVER be able to beat.

> --------------------
> Phillip Robinson analyzes and writes about computers from
>Sausalito.  You can reach him at (415) 331-3973 or at
>P.O.Box 1357, Sausalito CA 94966 or on the MCI e-mail
>service as "probinson" at mailbox 327-8909.
>
>{end}

Someone feel free to forward this to him MCI address if
MCI is on the internet.


>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>disclaimer: standard
>-------------------------The University of Alabama--------------------------
>                                                                           
>  DMCGHEE1@UA1VM.BITNET   "Just another nail in the big blue's coffin..."  
>  DMCGHEE1@UA1VM.UA.EDU   "...it just freaks me out when you pull down     
>  D.MCGHEE2 on GEnie          a screen and start multitasking."            
>  DMCGHEE@SSS.CBA.UA.EDU                                                   
>--------------------------Systems Support Services--------------------------


-Lance
 ---------------- Amiga - The Wild Side of Power Computing -----------------
 Lance Tagliapietra                       Internet: 96720919@ucs.uwplatt.edu
 P.O. Box 26                                BitNet: 96720919@uwplatt
 Platteville, WI 53818
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU