Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!well!ewhac From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: commodore confirms and denies Amiga 3000 in same day! Message-ID: <5672@well.UUCP> Date: 12 Apr 88 01:19:57 GMT References: <474@sdcc15.UUCP> Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) Organization: :noitazinagrO Lines: 145 Keywords: April 5th users groups amiga 3000 Summary: This is a flame. In article <474@sdcc15.UUCP> cp50@sdcc15.UUCP (Seamans) writes: >Last night at the San DIego Amiga Users Group, representatives from >Commodore showed a prototype Amiga 3000. [ ... ] > I first thought this was a joke posting, but it was almost immediately followed by two confirming postings from seperate individuals. *** WARNING: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING A FUSION FURNACE. EXERCISE APPROPRIATE CAUTIONARY MEASURES. *** This has got to be one of the most irresponsible things anyone could ever do. I am referring not to the posting but to the showing of this machine. I can only think of three possibilities surrounding this machine: 1: It is a real C-A prototype. 2: It is a VAR-modified 2000 (could be CSA's). 3: It is a coordinated joke among members of some unknown group. I will now reduce these three possibilities to as many atoms as I can. It Is A Real C-A Prototype -------------------------- Who were the morons who showed this to the public? Who hired them? Have they been caught yet? However, a premature showing of the machine is only part of the problem. If this is real, then it indicates to me that the A3000 is closer than any of us, including me, imagined. Such a beast shouldn't even be past the breadboard stage if Commodore is going to do it right. If they've already got something running in an A2000 box, then it *IS* a rush job, and it *WILL* be a mess. By having created a prototype so quickly, C-A has not spent the *REQUIRED* time to ****DO IT RIGHT, FOR A >>CHANGE!!!!<<****. There are hundreds of fundamental changes and fixes that MUST be implemented before Commodore can even BEGIN TO CONSDIER releasing a 68030-based system. Among these is throwing out the existing DOS and replacing it with something that works, and works correctly. Tim King should be kept as far away from it as possible. (An orbit around Jupiter should be about right.) If this system is as real as described, then it is TOO SOON. If my guesstimates are correct, Commodore should spend AT LEAST 1.5 YEARS developing just the SYSTEM SOFTWARE for a 68030-based system. (Of course, now they have Wesl.... er, Bryce, so you could probably knock off a few months. :-) ) If they spend less time than this, then it *WILL* BE DONE WRONG. This is not to say that a 1.5-year development cycle will guarantee success, but spending any less time will guarantee failure, at least from my perspective. The Amiga is so close to perfect that I *DESPERATELY* don't want to see it screwed up. Releasing a 68030-based Amiga before mid-1989 will be too soon. I wouldn't worry about incompatible bus specifications; I trust Robbins and company to get this part very right. Any incompatibilities that may have been talked about are probably true of the prototype. However, based on George's postings, I trust him to get the mythical new bus right. If anyone wants to know what my personal views on what a future Amiga should be, I can mail (or post, if so requested) a large-ish document detailing my views. To CATS and Commodore Engineering: If anyone would like to lay my fears to rest and detail what the hell is going on, please send me mail. If you so request, I will maintain all correspondence in the strictest confidence. It Is A VAR-modified 2000 ------------------------- Who were the idiots who claimed that this was an official A3000? Have *they* been caught yet? I've no idea who might have been going around claiming that this was an offcial Amiga 3000 prototype, but whoever it was should be flogged. If you want to show off an Amiga with an '030 in it, fine. If you show off an Amiga 3000, go get a real one from Commodore. Just because your configuration may be similar to the proposed Amiga 3000 does NOT give you ANY right to go around calling it an Amiga 3000, especially in front of dumb users who can't verify whether or not you're telling the truth. To falsely push your stuff as the real thing is the epitome of slimy, not to mention unlawful (would you like me to get the Federal Trade Commission on your back?). Also, consider your market. If you go around showing off an "Amiga 3000" which is really a 2000 with your mods in it, what do you think is going to happen to A2000 sales, and hence, your potential market base? Do the words, "Shooting yourself in the foot," mean anything to you? Actually, if I got you in my sights, I'd aim somewhat higher.... It Is A Coordinated Joke Among Members Of Some Unknown Group ------------------------------------------------------------ Who were the twits who thought this travesty up? Have they been *shot* yet? Look, we all want to see the Amiga boldly go forward ('cause we can't find reverse :-) ), going where no computer has ever been able to go before, etc. Posting this kind of dreck is not the way to do it. Again, by making an announcement like this, you stand a good chance of killing Amiga sales, since people will now stand around and wait for the A3000. Perhaps you wanted to start Yet Another Flame-Commodore-Fest on the Net. God knows that we've had enough of these. Mistakes have been made. They are in the past. But starting flames about hardware which DOESN'T EVEN EXIST YET accomplishes little else than give C-A employees to wonder why they bother to participate in this forum at all. "Why should I bother? I get lambasted for things I haven't even done yet!!" Maybe killing Amiga sales is what you had in mind, in which case, you should go stand upside-down with your head in a bucket of Piranha fish. Epilogue -------- I want to see the Amiga succeed. To do so, future generations of the Amiga must be as well-thought out as the original 1000 was. Crufting together a '030-based system in eight months is not properly thinking things out. Pre-announcing things doesn't help, either. Third-party developers can help the Amiga immensely, provided that they are ethical (and 99% of them are). There's not a lot we can do about the Anti-Amiga conspiracy, except to persevere. History will prove that we were right all along. *** NOTICE: YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE FUSION FURNACE. *** I'm not really this violent, except for things that I feel strongly about. A good example is this brand new animation I've cooked up that's reminiscent of flying equations on _The Mechanical Universe_.... _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!pacbell -\ \_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack") "Work FOR? I don't work FOR anybody! I'm just having fun." -- The Doctor