Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!tellab5!chinet!saj
From: saj@chinet.chi.il.us (Stephen Jacobs)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Publishers (II)
Summary: My company should be so dead
Keywords: 100% capacity
Message-ID: <1991Jun01.162956.1057@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 1 Jun 91 16:29:56 GMT
References: <42806@cup.portal.com> <1991May31.100600.1@simvax.labmed.umn.edu> <7817@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM>
Organization: Chinet - Chicago Public Access UNIX
Lines: 29

>>In article <42806@cup.portal.com>, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes:
>>
>>> You're seeing effects of the death of the Atari marketplace in the US.

Sick != dead.  Atari US is still selling every machine they can get, with no
obvious sign that that's going to change.  I sure don't know what software all
those machines are running, but there are pretty good numbers of them.  Sick
I'll agree with readily: clearly, too sick to support a glossy magazine 
devoted only to Atari computers.  Sick implies 'might die', but it leaves open
the possibility 'might recover', too.  I'll list some hopeful signs.

1)Atari Corp. has finally cleared away the wreckage of the Federated disaster.
2)The applications which look like the next corporate fads, DTP and combining
  sound with animations (desktop multimedia) are better supported on Atari
  hardware than the old fad applications (graphic spreadsheets and professional
  wordprocessing) were.
3)The game machine segment doesn't seem to have any nasty surprises left.
4)Portfolio looks like a nice steady money generator, but its market niche has
  become cut-throat enough that Atari is unlikely to put excessive (from an
  ST fan's viewpoint) effort into follow-ons.
5)There's finally a commercial development system for the TT (Lattice).

You pays your money and acts accordingly.  I know that a little fella has to
be nuts to try to crack the PC software market today.  Mac is tough too, but
maybe possible.  ST and Amiga are still at the stage where a good idea 
(software or hardware) could be pushed with a limited budget, and have a chance
of making a profit.  The biggest successes may go on to try other markets; at
least the foundation will be in place.  
                                          Steve   saj@chinet.chi.il.us