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From: dlm@druwy.ATT.COM (Dan Moore)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Mac 64K ROMs for sale
Message-ID: <4030@druwy.ATT.COM>
Date: 15 May 89 15:59:17 GMT
References: <48310@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: AT&T, Denver, CO
Lines: 65

in article <48310@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>, mowgli@bat.cis.ohio-state.edu
(Mowgli Assor) says:
> Well, actually unless the company that makes Magic Sac (originally started by
> Dan Moore & Dave Small) has improved recently, it isn't very reputable in the
> ST world, at least.

	The abridged version of the Data Pacific history, only the
public info:

	Data Pacific was started by Joel Rosenblum quite a few years ago
(I believe he was still working at Vault in LA) as a computer consulting
company.  Sometime right after the ST shipped Dave mentioned to me that
it would be a great idea to make the ST run Mac software.  The problem
was that he didn't have the money to live off while he did the work. 
Dave started talking to Joel (old high school friend) about it.  Joel
agreed to supply the money via Data Pacific, Dave would become half
owner of Data Pacific in exchange for his idea and the code to make it
work.  I did some consulting work for Data Pacific during the first year
they sold Magic Sacs.  I started working for them full time after a deal
with an Amiga software company located in Florida fell through (I was
never paid for porting an Amiga spreadsheet to the ST).

	At some point Joel had a change of heart, he never signed the
papers giving Dave half ownership.  Dave finally got fed up and left the
company, I left about a month later.

> Seems they were having some problems with the FCC, & then
> Dan & Dave both took off.

	The FCC problems actually occured after we left.  We both
suspected there would be a big problem, which was a factor in our
decisions.  Basicly Joel had placed a fake FCC id number on the
Translator One.

> And, there might also have been software troubles
> with Apple (but these I am less sure of).

	There were no problems with Apple.

> I hadn't realized that the company that makes Magic Sac was working on
> an Amiga version.

	At one time (before Dave and I left) there was lots of thought
given to an Amiga version, but no decision was made.  They did start
keeping a list of interested parties with a promise to contact them
if/when they decided to release an Amiga version.

	Data Pacific currently has no programmers working for them.  So
they aren't working on an Amiga port.  It seems they plan to buy copies
of Amax and re-sell them as the "Amiga Magic Sac".  I don't know if
Readysoft is going to allow them to do this or not.  (I'm also not sure
if Readysoft can legally prevent it.)

> I don't know, Amax looks interesting, though.

	Amax is a very nice product.  The early versions I saw were
very impressive (note this was before Readysoft was involved).


 

				Dan Moore
				AT&T Bell Labs
				Denver
				dlm@druwy.ATT.COM