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From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: AmigaWorld Expo cancelled (Flames ahead)
Message-ID: <3121@well.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 23-May-87 02:03:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: well.3121
Posted: Sat May 23 02:03:02 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 20:41:32 EDT
References: <6648@amdahl.amdahl.com> <306@osupyr.UUCP> <1044@pinney.munsell.UUCP>
Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 84
Keywords: self-destruct stupidity narrow-minded management marketing bean-counters

"Commodore could take marketing lessons from AT&T."
	-- Jerry Pournelle

In article <1044@pinney.munsell.UUCP> klm@pinney.UUCP (Kevin McBride) writes:
>Gee, I think I'm having flashbacks... A few months ago I made my very
>first USENET posting ever on this group asking (Leo primarily) if the
>announcement of the A2000 would mean that us folks with A1000s would 
>"have a special place reserved in Hell for us right next to the orphaned
>Osborne owners?"
>
	I must have missed that.  No, I don't think we're going to be
orphaned.  Too many hackers like the Amiga to let it die so easily.  I think
it will survive despite Commodore.  I think the 2000 is a slap in the face
to Amiga Los Gatos (as though closing them down wasn't), and don't think
much about it.

	Lest we forget that it was hackers and us computer science dweebs
that created the micro industry (never mind about Apple).  We were kind
of looked at funny when we bought computers, and were asked, "You paid *how
much* for that?"  But we stuck it out, and history has proven us right.
Don't give up the ship just yet; we haven't even begun to sink.

>Who in their right....minds would just throw away the opportunity
>to drive their machine right into the forefront of personal computers?

	Unfortunately, American industry management is at a
near-standstill.  This is not confined to just the computer industry.
It's everywhere.  The mindset that is recursively pervading American
industrial management is, "Play it safe."  Just look at the auto
indistry.  When was the last time you saw an American car that didn't
look like a box or like a Camaro?  With cheesy-looking chrome and
photographed wood?  Creativity and imagination are stifled in many of
today's industries.  That's why were being beaten to a pulp by the
Japanese.  (You'd think the Japanese competition would force American
industry to innovate.  But, nooooo.  They go to Congress to ask for
protectionist tariffs.)

	I started reading the first few pages of, "In Search of
Excellence," which describes this problem, and what distinguishes a
run-of-the-mill company to a truly excellent one.  One of these
elements was a management that didn't mind taking risks.  One of the
companies discussed was (yes!) IBM.  IBM (internally, anyway) does take
risks.  The IBM-PC, like it or not, *was* a risk for them.  Sadly, the rest
is history.

	The Amiga is a big risk for Commodore.  It's totally new, and
doesn't conform to any standards, even their own.  I'm sure that some
managers in Commodore are wondering why the machine is selling at all.
Demographically, it's totally off the graph.  Yet it continues to sell.
Must be a lot of head-scratching going on.

	Maybe we should be force-feeding "In Search of Excellence" down
Commodore's throat instead of this newsgroup.

>IBM is saying "[censored] You!" to all of us "wierdo" computer science types
>and is going back to cater to the snobbish stuffed shirt MIS market.
>Fine, if that's the market they want, they can have it!
>
	So far, there are only 150,000 of us weirdo computer science
types.  We all bought Amigas.  All the $$$$ is in America's MIS
departments.  Now, if someone could port OS-VM to the Amiga... :-)
Better still!  If someone would write a COBOL compiler for the Amiga,
there's a TON of applications waiting to be ported.

>The Atari ST is still a toy [ ... ]
>
	True, but people have gotten tired of their C-64s whose disk drives
run at 3000 baud, and have decided to upgrade their toys.  We, on the other
hand, wanted more.  We got it.  So why are you complaining?

>      Thanks Commodore for creating such a wonderful computer!
>
	Without slighting Commodore's contribution, your praise rightly goes
to the people at Amiga Los Gatos.  Open your Amiga to discover their names.

>      I got Robotroff running.  Leo, you're sick! [ ... ]
>
	Aw, shucks.....

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape	ihnp4!ptsfa -\
 \_ -_	 Bike shrunk by popular demand,	      dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o	 But it's still the only way to fly.  hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Work FOR?  I don't work FOR anybody!  I'm just having fun."  -- The Doctor