Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!unixhub!shelby!agate!ucbvax!CMR001.BITNET!Dennis_Grant
From: Dennis_Grant@CMR001.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Macs etc.
Message-ID: <901016.15214734.033391@CMR.CP6>
Date: 16 Oct 90 20:20:42 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 74

(And, in his first post to c.s.a, he ventures out into the storm) :)

     I have been reading (silently) the various c.s.a groups for some time
now, and I kept hearing about this guy named -MB-. Curiousity aroused, I
kept an eye out for his posts to see just why he was one of the best-loved
people on the net. I saw a few last week, and they weren't too bad - a
little emotional perhaps, but he raised a few good points.

     Until today, that is. Once again, Mark raises a good point, but his
method of delivery is akin to that of a sledgehammer. Wow.

     So I am now in the difficult position of defending his position, while
trying to remain inoffensive. Here goes:  :)

     With the release of these new, low-cost Macs, Commodore has a problem.

     "How so?", you may ask, "as when you examine the fine print, the
same price level Amiga is almost an order of magnatude faster?"

     Because: 1) Nobody knows about the Amiga.
              2) Everybody knows about Macs.
              3) People tend to believe salesmen, and it is possible in a
                 side by side comparison test, to make the Mac look much
                 better than the Amiga.

     You see, looks count for a lot when you sell things. For example, the
Mazda Miata is really not all that different from a Chevette, mechanically
speaking. Even so, they sell very well (and at a higher price!) because
they look better.

     The Mac OS looks much better than Workbench. 256 color icons? Useless,
I agree, but damn they look cool. Even MS windows looks better (read -
more professional) than poor old WB. It is difficult to look at WB and take
it seriously.

     Mark is right about Amiga video displays. We have lost the lead in
both color and resolution, and our biggest advantage (the blitter) is now
a serious obstical in improving it. To be fair, I have not seen a A3000 yet
and the ECS will help in the resolution department, but more color will
help sell computers. And that, after all, is the name of the game.

     What we need here is a better display, at least industry standard a la
VGA, a better looking WB, and above all else, ADVERTISING. Lots of it.
Build the machine beyond what the competition has and then let the world
know that you can buy it for less. That is what is needed, or things will
only get worse.

     To the Commodore crew who may read this: You probably already know all
this, and don't need another person riding you, so I won't make this a
habit. As I understand it, work is being done right now to address this
very problem. Great. That's perfect. But unfortunately, your time is rather
short. It needs to be done quickly - and established deadlines must be met.
I told a bunch of IBM VGA dweebs that in mid September I was going to blow
them into the weeds with my new OS/chipset, and, quite frankly, they're
laughing at me now. Perhaps (and I mean this seriously, not sarcasticly)
you could let us know what is going on? Murphy strikes the best of us, and
a delay announcement would be fine, but the silence surrounding the fate
of the ECS smacks too closely of the Vapourware offered by the people who
are your biggest competitor, and is only causing harm to the Amiga's rep.

    I love my Amiga, and I don't want too see it fail.

    There. That's my $0.02 (CAN) Please feel free to reply in an
intelligent manner to either myself or the net. Mindless personal flames
please keep to yourself, and if I somehow have managed to offend someone,
I apologize in advance. (Gee, this ran rather long, didn't it?)

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| Dennis Grant DETUD595@CMR001.BITNET |   There ain't no replacement |
| Computer Science (Systems) student  |   for cubic displacement.    |
| at CMR.       (The "other" MilCol)  |                              |
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|                All standard disclaimers apply                      |
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