Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: CRETIN MANOR MAIL Message-ID: <4970@cbmvax.UUCP> Date: 10 Oct 88 17:24:44 GMT References: <8810090523.AA27140@cory.Berkeley.EDU> Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 71 in article <8810090523.AA27140@cory.Berkeley.EDU>, dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon) says: > Well, it *is* a well known fact that it takes a while for Commodore > machines to get FCC certification because they usually fail the first go > around... generally, they are closer to the line than other machines. No, it's a well-known *fiction* that Commodore usually fails the first time through. Think about it, and re-read your second point. As with ANY government operation, FCC certification takes lots of time and paperwork. Therefore, you don't go for an official FCC test until you already know you're going to pass. Everyone does it this way. There are lots of independent FCC test houses that run checks on machines for manufacturers, so they can fix them before they get to FCC testing. WE have an FCC test shack right here out in back of the West Chester (though before the A500 we tested at a Commodore-owned test shack in San Jose). > It is also a well known fact that sending ANYTHING through the FCC for the > required certification takes forever anyway. That's true. Around the time of the A2000 it was especially bad, because the FCC had just started getting tough on Taiwan, Inc. And what that tough really meant was that all you had to do was even THINK "PC Compatibility" and they'd be extra-special-tough on you. The thought police did catch up with the hint of PC Compatibility in the A2000. Perhaps in the past it was easier to get through with "golden boards" or "lab queens", but as of recently, not so. The extent to which a company is certain to make sure their machine complies, and what it complies with, can be complicated. I expect Sun can apply for Class A (industrial use only) for their Sun 4 and get away with it, whereas the Amiga 500 is obviously Class B (home/consumer use). If you're caught not passing in the field (an audit), you get fines based on the number of units in stock that don't pass, on a daily basis. So obviously Commodore has more to worry about in that respect that a garage shop. And they're also a bigger target. The FTZ in Germany is, in general, equally tough, but I'm sure they pass through political phases just like in the US, so there are certainly times when it's easier to get stuff through German certification than US. It may not take as long, either. The rest of Europe is apparently pretty lax. Apparently that's what Atari found when preparing the ST, since they did launch it there first, with a lead of several months. Amiga couldn't, even if they wanted to, since there was no PAL Agnus chip at the time. Also, not every country is interested in the same things, and FCC is really just part of a general concept we used to call "safety engineering", for lack of a better term. Includes stuff like UL listing. The German A2000 was radio quiet enough for Canada, but not the US. On the other hand, Canada didn't allow the user-accessible power fuse on the C128 power supply, whereas the US did. > How Jerry related this to sales figures for the Amiga and Atari, > and how he failed to mention that *ALL* brands are effected similarily, > I cannot guess. In any case, this guy doesn't have the slightest clue as to what's going on. I was amazed when he wrote that stuff. I wonder if even he knew what he was trying to say. Maybe he does get lit before writing these columns. > :In *MY* opinion, Pournelle is totally incompetent to be writing ANYTHING > :about computers. > > In *MY* opinion too. Some of the stuff is right, but too much is > wrong. Like in a big way wrong. You got my "*MY* opinion", too. If they reclassified the column as SATIRE rather than EDITORIAL, I think I'd almost enjoy reading it. But such things loose their humor when you realize just how many folks out there don't know any better. > -Matt -- Dave Haynie "The 32 Bit Guy" Commodore-Amiga "The Crew That Never Rests" {ihnp4|uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: D-DAVE H BIX: hazy "I can't relax, 'cause I'm a Boinger!"