Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!sbcs!csserv2.ic.sunysb.edu!dsherif From: dsherif@csserv2.ic.sunysb.edu (Darin D Sheriff) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Industry Publications Ignoring the Amiga. Message-ID: <1990Dec11.041707.29818@sbcs.sunysb.edu> Date: 11 Dec 90 04:17:07 GMT References: Sender: usenet@sbcs.sunysb.edu (Usenet poster) Organization: State University of New York at Stony Brook Lines: 57 In article WHE46@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett) writes: > > It seems that I can never scan through more than a screenful of >message titles in this newsgroup without coming across at least a >couple of messages from people complaining that yet another magazine >article on multimedia ignores the Amiga. > > Whenever I read these messages (which inevitably suggest some kind >of letter-writing campaign, as if we haven't done enough for Commodore >already, and now we have to do their work for them), one question >always pops into my mind: why should these magazines mention the >Amiga? > > Remember that the Amiga is NOT a serious influence on the computer >industry, especially in the U.S. The installed base of Amigas in the >U.S. is only slightly above 500,000 units, compared to an installed >base of 3 Million Macintosh computers and over 10 Million IBM- >compatible systems. Magazine authors and editors always write for >the largest audience, and the Amiga audience is totally insignificant >compared to the audience of Mac and IBM users. > > Another thing to remember is that over 2/3 of the Amiga systems >currently being used in the U.S. are A500 systems. Most of these >systems are being used for less professional uses, such as games. >I would estimate the installed base of Amiga systems in the U.S. >that are currently actually being used for video, multimedia, and >other professional uses to be somewhere around 100,000. This >compares to the fact that nearly all Macintosh systems sold are >being used for professional purposes, and much of the installed >base of IBM-compatibles is being used for professional and >business purposes. > > In summary, the installed base of Macintosh and IBM-compatible >systems in the U.S. already outwighs the Amiga's installed base by >a factor of 6 for the MAC and 20 for the IBMs. Add to this the >fact that most Amigas are being used in homes, while most MACs >are being used in schools, universities, and corporations. >Together this all points to the conclusion that the audience of >people actually using MACs and IBMs for professional purposes >outweighs the audience of people using Amigas for professional >purposes by perhaps 100-to-one. It is no wonder that these >publications ignore the Amiga -- it is not a significant influence >on the computer industry. > >and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... > > -MB- Sigh. I could answer him and point out the flaws in his argument but I need to work on a programming assignment for class on my under-represented, misunderstood, poor doomed game machine and don't have the time. Anyone care to oblige? -- Darin Sheriff. Just a College student with an Amiga. "The Most dangerous thing in the world is to leap a chasm in two jumps." -unknown- Disclaimer: Wasn't me.