Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!wasatch!utah-gr!uplherc!sp7040!obie!wsccs!dharvey
From: dharvey@wsccs.UUCP (David Harvey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: I thought Amiga is Amiga and IBM is IBM (was Re: Next Amiga)
Summary: Result of Informal survey (IBM Compatibility?)
Message-ID: <722@wsccs.UUCP>
Date: 10 Oct 88 06:56:40 GMT
References: <200@amgraf.UUCP> <4922@cbmvax.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Lines: 63

In article <4922@cbmvax.UUCP>, daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) writes:
> 
> There are three good reasons for those PC-AT slots:
> 
> 	[1] Lets you check the "IBM compatible" box on you purchase requisition,
> 	    required in some companies (of course, none of us work anywhere with
> 	    such draconic rules, but such places do exist).
> 
> 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!"

Since my original posting asking what Amiga owners wanted, I have
received at least a half dozen replies.  The gist of them was:

	[1] I don't know anyone who bought the IBM bridgeboard.
	[2] IBM compatibility is a necessity these days, but
	    neither I nor my friends owns the IBM bridgeboard.
	[3] Don't care for the board, but give me IBM and Apple
	    II emulation.  It doesn't matter how fast it runs in
	    these modes (20%-30% acceptable).
	[4] I agree with you.  What I want is for the next machine
	    to run at twice the clock rate, and offer 640x400 res
	    noninterlaced.
	[5] Higher resolution please!  If possible, push it up around
	    1200x800 (workstation quality) without increasing the
	    cost too much.
	[6] Advertise the hell out of it!  There are lots of supposedly
	    knowledgeable people who don't even know the machine
	    exists.

Although this is not a truly representative sample, the message seems
to be coming through loud and clear.  Amiga owners really don't like
or want IBM PC capability except as something to tell potential
purchasers that it has it.  What I would REALLY LIKE TO HEAR is a
reponse from Commodore as to how many of there bridgeboards they have
sold.  And that is the bottom line.  If they aren't selling them, then
it was a bad business decision, period.  At a recent meeting of the
Amiga Roundtable (our local Amiga users group), one member even heckled
a representative for Word Perfect, and that is a Utah company folks!
But after working with ProWrite and Excellence I can certainly
understand the sentiment. Alt-F* my eye!  Let me hasten to add that
people who write professionally STILL like this word processor best,
but why is a mystery to me.  I bought Pro-Write in its first offering
and the enhancements that have been added have given me just as much
capability that Word Perfect has with almost no hassle, and far fewer
commands.  My life is complicated enough without adding to the problems.


Therefore, I propose the following.  Write to Commodore and tell them
whether you personally plan to ever purchase the bridgeboard (or AT
successor).  Or if you want, send a yes/no reply to me and I will post
a summary to the net and mail a response to Commodore.  Personally, I
think they would be best to target the original purchasers of the
machine and High Schools as their customers.  And from what I have
observed, the first purchasers were: (1) Artists, (2) Musicians, and
(3) knowledgeable hackers.  Making good deals with high schools, even to
the point of having a traveling representative to (of Commodore)
demonstrate the machines for them would be very useful.  If rumor has it
correct, this is Commodore already has plans under way for doing just
that.

dharvey@wsccs