Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.multimedia
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From: xgr39@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett)
Subject: Re: Multimedia on CNN
Message-ID: <1991Mar19.222832.23744@news.iastate.edu>
Sender: news@news.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
Reply-To: xgr39@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
References: <%YY-8#%@irie.ais.org>
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1991 22:28:32 GMT
Lines: 43

In article <%YY-8#%@irie.ais.org>, jph@ais.org (Joseph Hillenburg) writes:
>On CNN a few minutes ago was a report on multimedia. Shown were Tandy and
>other CD-ROM computers, and mentioned were the "Philips and Commodore units
>later this year." I thought the CDTV was this week at CeBIT.

   This brings up a nagging question that I've been wanting to ask for
some time.  What hasn't Commodore produced a true "CD-ROM computer"?
The CDTV is being marketed more as a fancy appliance than a computer,
so it doesn't quite fir this description.

   What I mean is that I feel Commodore should develop and market a
new Amiga model which has a built-in CD-ROM, in addition to the normal
hardware (floppy drive, keyboard, mouse, etc.).  This would basically
be a CDTV with a computer-style case (instead of a CD-player-style
case) and an attached keyboard, floppy drive and mouse.  It would 
also be minus the front cartridge-style port, as it would not be
needed.

   The reason I bring this up is that I feel that such a computer 
would actually be more successful than the CDTV itself.  The CDTV will
have lots of competition from the CD-I backers, and from other 
companies as well, while there aren't all that many computers on the
market that have built-in CD-ROM drives.
   
   BTW, while I am on this topic, where is that stand-alone CD-ROM 
drive for all Amigas?  (The one from Commodore which would allow all
Amigas to run CDTV software)  I should think that such a drive would
be MUCH easier to design an develop than a computer like the CDTV,
yet the CDTV is shipping already and the CD-ROM drive hasn't even
been made available to developers yet.  Either Commodore's marketing
people have their priorities screwed up, or Commodore's R&D department
can't work on more than one CD-ROM product at once. (I tend to believe
both of these explanations)

>
>-- 
>    // Joseph Hillenburg/Blackwinter, Secretary, Bloomington Amiga Users Group 
>  \X/    jph@valnet.UUCP       jph@irie.ais.org      jph@wookumz.ai.mit.edu
>  "Project: Desert Storm is also known as ``The Mother of All Ass-Kickings.''"


                                    -MB-