Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!udel!mmdf
From: WHE46@ccvax.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: A4000,Lotus,Microsoft,UNIX...
Message-ID: <32040@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 1 Oct 90 19:34:50 GMT
Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu
Lines: 47


   I have some comments about a couple of item from a message containing
excerpts from an interview with Helmut Jost of CBM Germany.

>AMIGA: How does it look with the competitor Atari?

   I wish that all Amiga users (especially those in the US) would forget
that Atari even exists, and start concentrating on Apple.  Atari and
Commodore are pursuing totally different markets (Commodore the high-end,
and Atari the super-low-end), while Commodore and Apple are almost on
a collision course with each other, with both companies pursuing almost
exactly the same markets.  I realize that things are different in Europe,
where Atari is more active, but I would still have felt better if that
question had been phrased "How does it look with the competitor Apple?"


>AMIGA: Will it be possible to upgrade the different models of the A500?
>
>Jost: The A500 has by now, by its number of machines on the market, its
>own domain. Thus it is - in our oppinion - not necessary to supply the
>A500 with a new operating system.
>...
>Don't worry, the A500 will be supported more than enough by third party
>developments if not by Commodore themselves. There have been ads for
>example in some german magazines about Kickstart2.0/1.3/1.2 switch boards
>for the A500. I guess, this would be a modified Kickstart, since some of
>the hardware it expects is not available on the A500. So expect some
>level of incompatibility. (Until some hardware hack will be released,
>"the A500 rejuvenator" maybe? :)

   This seems in direct conflict with what some of the Commodore US 
have been saying.  It has been confirmed here on CSA that OS2.0 will
definately be available as an upgrade for the A2000, while others have
said about the A500 upgrade, in effect, "Don't worry, the A500 will be
supported."  I believe that Commodore will be producing an OS2.0
upgrade package for the A500, though comments here from Helmut Jost
does seem to leave this in a bit of doubt.  

  I would like to hear more about the possibility of using the A2000 
upgrade package on a 500.  The A500 and A2000 seem to be almost identical
in terms of plugging in upgrade ROMs.  I wish someone from CBM could 
confirm this.  I would hate to think that OS2.0 could be run on an
unexpanded A2000, but couldn't run on my A500 with 4.5M of RAM and a
40M hard drive. 


                                    -MB-