Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!weaver
From: weaver@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Andrew Weaver)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Rumblings
Message-ID: <9277@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 31 Mar 88 04:46:42 GMT
References: <36500044@iuvax>
Organization: OSU College of Business...where the fun starts
Lines: 67

In article <36500044@iuvax> franco@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu writes:
>
>Alot of people have been critical of the ST and MEGA computers recently.
>They say these computers have no future.  The Amiga people say the Amiga
>outclasses these machines.  I must disagree with both groups.  The reasons
>are:
>

[many good reasons to like the ST]

I agree.  The ST is a great box, due to the user groups and the many
people who are gifted programmers and weren't so gifted, perhaps,
financially.  To these people we users, and incidently, Atari itself, owes
much.

However, the problem lies not with the computer but with its manufacturer,
in my opinion.  The ST doesn't appear to have much of a future in the United
States.  The ST is doing extremely well in Europe, and Atari is pumping
the bucks, and more importantly the support over there instead of here,
where IBM and Apple have the hold of the personal computer market (more or
less - you can argue about who has hold of the home market, Commodore
perhaps, but even C= doesn't have an overall command like IBM or Apple.)

Atari is, ever so quietly, edging out of the U.S. market.  As long as some
STs sell, sure Atari will keep minimum support in this country.  The
Tramiels, no matter what any of us think of them, are in it for the big
bucks.  Their business philosophy appears to be, at least from the way they
act, not one of the user (or the customer) coming first, but the profit margin.

I have enjoyed my ST, when it works.  I am not being facetious; my ST only
works when the chips feel they are sufficiently close to Mother Board.  Sure
I can send it back to Sunnyvale with $95, but if I had the $95 readily 
available I wouldn't be bitching about it.  So goes Power without the Price.

>Now, I realize that I am supposed to be joining the bandwagon to stomp on 
>Atari but there is some force from within that prevents me from doing this.
>Even after over 2 years of ownership, I still find the ST exciting both as
>an educational tool and a medium for doing useful work.  If I needed a
>small computer (not talking about a workstation) this minute I would be 
>compelled to choose the Atari ST or MEGA.
>

Well, I am tired of being dogmatic.  I encouraged many a friend to buy an
ST, many before I ever bought mine, and many of them never regretted the
decision.  They also use theirs for different reasons, and haven't had the
problems that I have had with mine.  Ever since I bought my Atari 400 in
high school, its always been "Atari, Atari, Atari!" but now I want something
that I know will be supported, and have reasonably new and exciting software
for next year.  But hey, welcome to the computer market.

>I don't know.  Maybe I'm just different.

Yes, but that is to be encouraged.  The ST was and still is a good idea. 
Maybe if Atari went under again and was bought out by someone more attuned
to the users instead of the users' money, we'd have to jump off of the
Atari bashing bandwagon.  But until then...

>franco@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu

andy at osu


-- 
Andrew Weaver 				          weaver@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
OSU College of Business				  soon:    weaver@osu-pisa.UUCP

    Remember:  Oprah spelled backwards is Harpo.  HONK!  HONK!  HONK!