Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!rex!wuarchive!udel!mmdf
From: TAAB5@ccvax.iastate.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Comments about the Classic.
Message-ID: <34248@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 23 Oct 90 01:12:39 GMT
Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu
Lines: 96


   I would like to compare the recently-introduced MAC Classic to the
Amiga model that comes closest to matching it in price, the Amiga 500.

   As has been said before, the A500 blows the Classic away in terms
of color, multitasking, overall speed, and animation.  

   However, the Classic blows the A500 away in overall useability
(the Classic has a hard drive, the A500 does not), ease-of-setup,
ease-of-use, quality of the display (the Classic has a high-quality
non-interlaced display, the A500 has a display that flickers 
horribly), and quality of available software.

   Given the above facts, I have to ask: which features are more
important to a consumer: a fast computer, or a more friendly and
useable computer?  Obviously, for the average person that the
A500 and Classic are both tergeted at, the Classic is by far the
more appealing, because it is so much easier to setup and use for
anything other than games.

   Unfortunately, unless Commodore starts making plans to include
AmigaOS 2.0 will ALL Amigas, including the A500, the Classic will
I'gform its own niche right in the middle of Commodore's strongest
market, because the Classic is so much easier to setup and use,
and has a higher-quality display and a hard drive.

   Right now, by far the most damaging feature of the A500 is it's
*VERY* steep learning curve.  In order to do anything at all with it,
you have to learn how to use the CLI.  I know some people personally
who, in their first weeks with an Amiga, came very close to chucking
them out of the nearest window.  With the Classic available, and the
reputation of the Amiga as a "game machine" or "toy", many people
probably will not buy an A500 in the first place.  If the few that
do buy A500s end up selling them immediately, and buying a Classic,
then Commodore's reputation will be far worse than it is now.

   The Classic also has advantages in that it is easier to setup and
use.  This is important for the kind of people that both the Classic 
and the A500 are aimed at.  I went to a user's group meeting yesterday,
and at the end of the meeting, as some people were packing up their
systems to take them home, a couple of people mentioned how much of 
a royal pain it is to unpack their Amiga systems and get them setup
again at home.  With the Classic, you basically only have to plug
in the power cord, keyboard, and mouse, and you are done.  

   Let's compare two equally useable Classic and A500 systems.  The 
Classic seems to come with just about everything you would need,
including a hard drive, 1M of RAM, and monitor.  The price for this
system is $1000.

   Now let's put together a similar A500 system.  We can use the A500P
system as a base.  This system includes the A500, 1M of RAM, and a  
monitor, for $1189.  You still need a hard drive, so add $629 for the
A590.  The resulting system costs $1818 -- almost twice as much as the 
Classic -- and you still do not get a system with a GUI that is nearly
as easy-to-use or as powerful, and the display quality, well, sucks
compared to the display of the Classic.  Sure, the A500 system is VERY
good for games, but what else is it good for?  In order for the A500
is effectively compete against the Classic in anything but games, it
needs a hard drive and AmigaOS2.0.
                          
   The only reason that Commodore is not planning to include AmigaOS2.0 
with any of the A500 systems is that they want to keep the A500 
compatible with games.  GAMES!!!  By not planning to include AmigaOS2.0
with any of the A500s, Commodore is proving to the entire world that
their Amiga 500s are game systems!!

   Due to the inherant advantages of the Classic, if Commodore does
not do anything about it, Apple will be able to form a nice, big
market niche right in the middle of what was Commodore's strongest
market.  What can Commodore do about it?  They can do the following:

   (1) Discontinue all Amigas without hard drives, and start including
hard drives with all Amigas, including those A500s sold through the
mass-merchants.  For the A500, remove the internal floppy drive and
put a 20M hard drive in its place. 

   (2) Discontinue all Amigas with less than 1M of RAM, and start
including 1M with all Amigas, including those aimed at the mass-
merchants.  To satisfy the dealers, give them an A500 with 40M hard
drive, 880K floppy drive, AmigaOS2.0, AmigaVision, 1M of RAM,
and a detachable keyboard.

   (3) Include AmigaOS2.0 with ALL Amigas, including the A500s sold 
through the mass-merchants.  For these A500s, strip AmigaOS2.0 down a 
little, to remove those memory-cosuming features that most A500 
buyers won't use anyway.  Such features that can be removed (and
offered as an inexpensive upgrade option) include ARexx and 
AmigaVision.
 
   (4) To compete directly with the Classic, offer an A500 bundle
that consists of an A500 with 1M of RAM, 20M hard drive, AmigaOS2.0,
external floppy drive, and a monochrome multisync monitor.


                                -MB-