Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!bionet!agate!ucbvax!CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU!WHE46 From: WHE46@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Industry Publications Ignoring the Amiga. Message-ID: Date: 10 Dec 90 22:17:00 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Lines: 45 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. -MB-