Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!emory!stiatl!stbimbo!jer
From: jer@stbimbo.UUCP (John Ramspott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Amiga Multimedia Show
Message-ID: <112@stbimbo.UUCP>
Date: 28 Aug 90 15:58:50 GMT
Reply-To: jer@stbimbo.UUCP (John Ramspott)
Distribution: na
Organization: Sales Technologies Inc.  Atlanta, Ga.
Lines: 70

I thought everyone would like to hear about a big presentation that Entre
Computers and Commodore did here in Atlanta at the Embassy Suites Hotel.
There was an add in the paper for a "MultiMedia Presentation' for the
Commodore Amiga, sponsored by Entre. Entre Computers, a chain of computer
dealers aimed at businesses, picked up the Amiga line about 2 months ago.
As a die-hard Amiga user since October of `85, I was thrilled to see it.

The presentation was held in a fancy room at the Embassy Suites Hotel. There
was a free wet bar (beer and mixed drinks), along with a food bar (chicken
fillets, cantaloupe, etc). Guys from Commodore and Entre running around.
On hand were Amiga 3000's and 2500's, with software like Deluxe Paint III,
Sculpt Animate 4D, and even a DigiView setup. Entre even brought a pretty
girl along to smile at the patrons. The main focus of attention was the
giant projection screen television, and huge speakers that would make a
Heavy Metal band feel right at home. Driving all this was an Amiga 2500
running AmigaVision, which was hooked up to a nice Pioneer laser disk player.

The first few minutes of the presentaion were impressive. They used 
AmigaVision to put together a presentation, and had it put on a laser
disk. What they ran at the show was a second AmigaVision application that
played back the laser disk produced with the original AV application. I
thought that was pretty slick.

The rest of the show was an introduction to the Amiga and the features we
all know in our sleep (but these folks read from slides) like 4096 colors,
overscan, multi-tasking, etc. At the end was a Q&A with a panel of Entre
and Commodore folks. This was the part that went kind of rough. I ended up
helping out here.

The audience members were mostly business types, in suits and ties. They
want to use Multimedia, and the Amiga is an impressive, low-cost system.
Some people introduced themselves to me as "Multimedia people", but clearly
didn't know very much yet. But they were asking questions and definitely
interested in what the Amiga had to offer.

This kind of event sure was a long time in coming. After five years, we
finally are getting the hyped-up presentations that business hacks adore so
much. While low on content, it was high on flash and buzzwords. My impression
of the event was that it looked very good and serious. No 500's around
running Falcon.

-----

Part II.

After the alchohol wore off, I went to Entre's store with a few associates
who are looking into getting Amigas. When I got there, I saw an Amiga 3000,
but it wasn't even plugged in. No one there knew ANYTHING about the 
machine. The sales dweeb that came out to see us could not even give us the
price list, and used the phrase "per se" at least 20 times in 2 minutes.

He said that THE Amiga guy would probably be in Wednesday, and he could find
the information and mail it to us.

While Entre and stores like it have a rep as catering to the professional,
I find NOTHING professional about this. I couldn't have bought a system there
if I had begged for it. They stock NOTHING. They know NOTHING. They order
systems for people. Great, I can do that. For less money. Can they fix Amigas?
Of course not, they don't stock parts.

Fortunately for me, we have a really good Amiga dealer in Atlanta that stocks
hardware, software, parts, magazines, accessories, has a knowledgable staff,
and does repairs (Ampex, for those near by). But I feel sorry for those 
people who first/last/only encounter is with a dealer like Entre. They may
have glitter and gloss, but no content. On the other hand, the fact they
carry the machine enhances the Amiga image somewhat.

Personally, I don't think John Foust was that far off in his .Info article.

Anybody else out there attending events like these for Amiga and Amiga only?