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From: spencer@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Randy Spencer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: CBM and upgrade paths
Message-ID: <5829@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sat, 7-Nov-87 22:57:43 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.5829
Posted: Sat Nov  7 22:57:43 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Nov-87 06:42:36 EST
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: spencer@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Randy Spencer)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 52

In article <5807@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer) writes:
>In article <2696@cbmvax.UUCP> andy@cbmvax.UUCP (Andy Finkel) writes:

><  Are you saying that you'd like the
><software authors shouldn't use the new features of an OS ???
><Is that really what you mean ?   I'm speechless!  You're saying
><that enhancements should never be added because someone *might use them* ?
>
>No. I'm saying that I expect an upgrade that's "optional" like 1.2 &
>the extra 256K, but can't be done on an A1000. Thus keeping A1000
>owners from using most of the software written after that date.

This is a really sore point that I think Commodore has delt with
very well so far.  With the IBM there was this version of the 
operating system that shipped with most machines (2.11) and then
the updated to v3.1 and now v3.2 and the new machines have 3.3, but
they cost almost a hundred bucks, most people don't have them, so
developers are not developing for them.  Most PC software will run
under v2.1 of the operating system.

Then comes the Mac.  There have been more upgrades to that OS than
upgrades to a Matt Dillon program.  And if you are a developer you 
are getting really stuck these days.  Not that getting a version 
of the OS that works with your product is a headache, you just develop
for one OS, and than ship the disk with it.  The problem comes in when
you try to support all Mac users.  Do people realize that there are
still people out there that have 400K floppies, do people realize that
the current release of the system runs 300K without such things as
printer drivers and the like (there are lots of support files that
would be nice to include, what with Easy Access and the like out).
Where do you put your executable that was written for this specific
OS?  On a seperate disk?  

The Amiga is doing well, the new version of the OS comes out, and
Everybody is expected to move to it.  It only costs $15 which just
about covers Commodore's costs of shipping.  So, here is the new
operating system, the old one is outdated, and as such unsupported,
and that is good.  All developers know to make their software run with
this OS because they know that Everyone will have it.  They can make
no other assumptions.  The Amiga is multitasking, you can only run one
version of the OS at a time, there is not much chance that we will be
running an old OS, especially if program disks come with the new version. 

>	<mike
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