Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf.cc.utexas.edu From: drxmann@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Dustin Christmann) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: Re: CDTV- Let's clear the air... Message-ID: <46937@ut-emx.uucp> Date: 9 Apr 91 19:36:57 GMT References: <23238@know.pws.bull.com> <1991Apr8.191453.13243@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <296@atacama.cs.utexas.edu> Sender: news@ut-emx.uucp Reply-To: drxmann@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Dustin Christmann) Organization: The University of Texas at Austin Lines: 47 In article <296@atacama.cs.utexas.edu> jonabbey@cs.utexas.edu (Jonathan David Abbey) writes: >(Ethan Solomita) writes: > >> This is also a good question. I can't believe that this >>can be produced at as good a price as CDTV. And if it comes down >>to a quality/price issue, we all remember Sony/Beta. > >The reason that VHS blew the doors off of Betamax included the fact that >only Sony supported Betamax, whereas the rest of the industry were >making cheaper and better VHS machines. In this case, the Betamax lesson >points the wrong way at Commodore, unless the rumour of Commodore licensing >of the CDTV technology comes true in a serious way. Yeah, but this reminds me of the mid-80's when a whole slew of Japanese manu- facturer got together behind the so-called MSX computers, which, if you lis- ten to all the experts, were supposed to take over the home computer market. What happened? This never happened and the Commodore 64 kept chugging along as the best-selling computer in the world. The moral of the story is: Just because everybody and his brother are behind something doesn't necessarily make it an instant success. I think the large existing software base will prevail for CDTV. >Still and all though, it grieves me that CD-I should be so far in advance of >the Amiga technologically speaking.. it does make sense, though. Intel and >company are not dull-witted, they have just been locked to a lackluster >standard in the PC world. I would trust them to do a bang-up job when given >a fresh page, and CD-I has been in development for years. Who's technically superior does not matter to the market at which CDTV is aimed. What matters is that you can go down to your local retailer and get pro- grams for it. That's why the NES continues to do well against technically su- perior competition. That's why the MS-DOG computers continue to do well. Again, the existing software base will be the thing that will help CDTV prevail. >It'll be interesting to see if Commodore advertises this thing well... They will. They've got the opportunity to have a near-monopoly on a product that has never been done before. This is unlike the Amiga, which was, when you got down to the essence, still a computer. -- Thanx, Internet: drxmann@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu Dustin R. Christmann Bitnet: DRXMANN@UTXVM "Mein ganzes Leben hab ich nicht an sie geglaubt - Ausserirdische haben mein Maedchen geraubt!" -Die Aertze