Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!tank!gargoyle!chinet!saj From: saj@chinet.chi.il.us (Stephen Jacobs) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Atari Financial condition Summary: Obvious stuff about Atari finances Message-ID: <1990Mar21.215753.8966@chinet.chi.il.us> Date: 21 Mar 90 21:57:53 GMT References: Reply-To: saj@chinet.chi.il.us (Stephen Jacobs) Organization: Chinet - Chicago Public Access UNIX Lines: 23 Chris Mauritz has been saying scary things about Atari finances lately. I just wanted to make a few fairly obvious, but calming, observations. First: we almost lost Atari in the Federated mess. I suspect that the accounting by which there was still something left after the bills for that one were paid wouldn't stand close examination. The natural consequence of massively overstating the worth of a company at a particular time, is that the company won't seem to be doing very well in adjacent time periods. So Atari doesn't seem to be doing as well now as a fair count would show, because they borrowed from the future last year. Chris observes that the TT won't be a money maker early on. I wonder what that has to do with anything (except perhaps the urgency with which it gets shoved out the door). Near as I can make out, the possible bill-paying products for Atari this year are the Portfolio and the Lynx (I know, they aren't STs. The likely ST money maker is the 520, which the way I read things is about to become the first pleasant-to use home computer in the US below $700 ->In The Configuration Used<-. STacy may make a bit of money this year, but in the short run it's a PR item. The TT is business for the future. The Mega line looks like the developer/academic special, especially if E graphics and sound catch on. The ATW and ABC don't appear to apply to the US market at all, although I understand that profits from ABC are very welcome. Bottom line: if Atari was going to fold soon, they would have done it already. But don't put the pension fund into Atari stock. Steve J.