From: mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Amiga 4000/Atari Falcon
Distribution: world
X-NewsSoftware: GRn 1.16f (beta) by Mike Schwartz & Michael B. Smith
Date: 20 Aug 92 02:45:01 PST
Organization: Amiga makes it possible

In article <1992Aug20.035014.22539@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au> davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au (David Meiklejohn) writes:
> In article <mykes.0cwe@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG> mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) writes:
> >
> >Great!  Put me in your killfile.  Whatever yanks your chain.
>
> Nay, not mine.  I agree with a lot of what you say, but not the tone you've
> been using.  It's wearing a bit thin.
>

The tone I am using?  It is more like yours, where instead of just ignorantly
bashing other computers that used to be "lessor" technology, I am starting
to reject the ignorance.

And flame CBM.  If you don't like me flaming CBM, tough.  That's all I can
say about it :)  But note:  I do not flame the Amiga - it is plenty good
enough at many things.  I do not flame the engineers at CBM - they are plenty
good enough, too (if not too few).  CBM I flame.

> >I still DO support the Amiga.  I still spend MORE time using the Amiga than I
> >do my PC.
>
> It's been difficult to tell that from your recent posts.

Look at the X-NewsSoftware in the header of this article :)

>
> >  After the
> >negative news article published across the US in newspapers about the
> >Amiga, any hopes of the Amiga gaining any acceptance at all in the US
> >are ZIP, NADA, ZERO, GONE, to the phantom zone/twitlight zone/forbidden
> >zone.
>
> OK - let's assume this is true - the Amiga has no hope in the US, and nothing
> Commodore can do can ever change that.  So?  What exactly are you advocating?
> You say:
>
> >That's 100% CBM's fault.
>
> But, so what?  That's in the past.  What is that you'd like to see happen now?
>

What DO I want to see happen now?  You WON'T like it...  If I were CBM, I'd be
looking at a 486 box with custom chipsets and AmigaOS and DOS compatibility.
Yes, 486.  As much as I love the 68K line, it is a niche market, at best.
But a 486 makes it possible for Borland to port C++ to AmigaOS and for Lotus
to port 1-2-3.  Give it those Kludged up 16-bit ISA slots so we can use those
cheapo hardware addons.  And Zorro III slots, too, if you think they have any
value (I don't have a single Z3 board in my A3000 after ~2 years of owning it).

The A600 _could_ be the same price and have a 386 in it.  Think about it...

> Do you think that C= should just give up all Amiga development and only sell
> clones from now on?  Should all of us who own Amigas throw them out and buy
> 486s with OS/2?
>

No, I think C= should marry their technology to what 20 or 30 times as many
people are using.  Should anyone who has an A3000 throw it away?  No.  But if
you are going to jump ship, it is the best time NOW to do it.  Should people
buy NEW Amiga machines?  NO WAY.  The newspaper articles are true - and struck
a nerve in me.  Buy the new machines if you want to do video tape/production
work only.  The Amiga is a vertical market machine, as NewTek has proven.

> It's all very well to rant and rave, do you have any solutions?  Should we all
> just give up, close down the comp.sys.amiga groups, and turn off the lights?
> If not, what should C= and us users be doing?
>

Rant and rave?  I have a lot of reason to rant and rave.  For 7+ years, I have
been an idiot and advertised C= machines for them.  I have written software and
gotten zero advertising from CBM for my software.  C= doesn't advertise.  C=
doesn't support dealers.  C= lies to publishers.  That's something that I hope
my ranting and raving can change.  Or at least it lets me vent all those years'
worth of frustration.

CBM put the ball in the 3rd party court from day one.  It has failed miserably.
The ball must be put in CBM's court and they better do something with it.

> I can tell you what I'm going to be doing - I'm going to buy one of the new
> systems when they appear (assuming the price is reasonable).  I plan on using
> Amigas for years to come, and look forward to the introduction of new
> technologies, such as RTG, in the not-too-distant future.
>
> Maybe I'm an optimist, but that's the plan.
>

Sorry, but you sound like you want to chain yourself into a dead end.  FWIW,
OS/2 is as much of a dead end, at least for now.

> >Read what I wrote:  OS/2 apps ARE AmigaOS apps.  I have seen both, know
> >both from a technical perspective, and I know they are the same.
>
> I've always supported OS/2 (since 1987, I've wanted to see it succeed).  I
> really hope it does well in the PC marketplace, and I'll continue pushing
> for it's introduction where I work.  But, that doesn't make me want to
> give up the Amiga - it simply means that PCs aren't as bad an alternative as
> they used to be.  No matter how well they perform, how much software there is,
> how good that software is, and how cheap they are, they're still kludges,
> from their Intel cpus to their 8 MHz 16-bit AT busses and conflicting localbus
> standards, and I just don't want that sort of thing as MY computer.  I want
> the best, and that's Amiga.
>

I told you you wouldn't like my solution. :)

> --
>
> David Meiklejohn                  | Internet : davidme@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au
> Computer Systems Officer, QDPI    | Fax      : +61 70 92 3593
> Mareeba, Australia                | Voice    : +61 70 92 1555

--
Amiga programmer of: GRn, MailMinder, Budokan, Beyond Dark Castle, Dark Castle
Sega Genesis programmer of: Dick Tracy and Marble Madness.
Mike Schwartz  (ames!zorch!amiga0!mykes or mykes@amiga0.sf-bay.org)
1124 Fremont Ave.
Los Altos, CA 94024

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.misc