Passing of CUSA Founder Barry Altman

[Darrin]

@Darrin

the latest theory at the CUSA forums seems to be that barry died back in december. yikes.

-- eliyahu

Well as much as I locked horns with him in the past, I'd hate that to be true.

I often wondered whether he was trying to leave Commodore USA behind as his legacy.  I have to think that Dammy or Big Ben would have mentioned this if it had happened.

[Darrin]

Oh bugger!  It could be true:

Altman, Barry, 63, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, passed away on December 8, 2012. Beth Israel Memorial Chapel, Boynton Beach.

.Published in Sun-Sentinel on December 10, 2012

As they say, there's more than one Barry Altman in Florida, but a Google search showed that this was a Barry S Altman.

[Darrin]

FYI I doubt that salary is accurate. Unless Barry has/had a lot of money kicking around, and wanted to spend it, it's more likely Ben was receiving some kind of payment via shares, perhaps with some $ kicked in to pay the bills. The payoff would have been if the company eventually took off, became valuable, went public, etc...
 
I've been involved with a few startups and in most cases someone like Ben was in it for shares, not pure $. He probably was still working a full time job, just burning the midnight oil with C= USA hoping to strike it rich.

True.  From a personal point of view I like cash rather than stock options and if I was the only one that appeared to do any work then I'd want a chunk of cash.  

[Darrin]

dammy wouldn't be in the loop and ben would probably be trying to put company assets in his name. i should also point out that there is only one barry altman in ft. lauderdale according to the phonebook. i still hope it isn't true.

-- eliyahu

If this is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see what happens to C-USA.  I'd assume the company would pass to the next of kin who might have zero interest in it and then want to pass it on to any interested party.  Ben has invested a lot of time and effort into this project, so he would certainly be a likely candidate to take it over (if the price is right).  The question then will be whether we just have more of the same or a complete reboot.

[Darrin]

Agreed.  Good for Ben if he did get that $$$.

I hope he did too.  Wasn't he resident in Australia before this?  If I had to move to the USA and take a risk with a startup then I'd want to come out at least even if the project failed.

[Darrin]

I've just been told by "someone" that Barry was active on his Twitter account after the date of this reported "death".

https://twitter.com/CEOatCUSA

Those last Tweets seem rather strange.  Food stuff in NYC, Global Warming, new years resolutions.... they seem to be reTweets to links.  I don't use Twitter, so can you automatically set your account to reTweet stuff?


@Kremlar:  That sounds very likely.

[Darrin]

Nope, it's him:

In Celebration of a life well lived

Barry S. Altman
November 6, 1949 -
December 8, 2012


Passed Away At : Weston, Florida
Survived By : Edith Altman, Mother
                             Renee Altman, Spouse
                             Jeremy Altman, Son
                             Erika (Justin) Lane, Daughter
                             Lawrence Altman, Brother
Graveside Service : Monday December 10, 2012, 10:00AM at Eternal Light Memorial Gardens.

Erika Lane is his lawyer daughter who appears on the Corporate website.

[Darrin]

Maybe you could change the name of this thread now or move it somewhere as it is making you all look like a pack of bloody vultures ...

Vultures?  For wondering if it is true?

[Darrin]

Thread name and some of the posts could be misinterpreted earlier.

That was something entirely different.  As much as some of us disliked the man (and for good reason), I'm sure none of us would wish this on him and our thoughts are with his family.

[Darrin]

@Darrin

Misinterpreted by someone who came to see it from a search engine not by me.
I edited my post.

No problem.  Thanks.

[Darrin]

I can't be the only one finding some peoples poorly hidden "interest" in the subject slightly repulsive (especially given their posting history on closely related subjects here and on other sites), and since the message is already out now, I'd say the thread has served its purpose and should be closed.

That's why.

Ah, so you're trolling.  I guess you'll use any excuse to do that.

[Darrin]

:rolleyes:

(Should one laugh or cry at a post like that?)

What makes you think anyone cares what you do?  Take this to PM unless you're hell bent on polluting this thread with your personal agenda.

[Darrin]

i guess it depends on if CUSA continues as a going concern. i don't know how ownership for CUSA was set up, but assuming it was wholly owned by barry, and his estate wished to continue operating the business, then i assume everything remains status quo.

on the other hand if this means CUSA is to close in the near term, then presumably the agreement would have the trademark(s) return to amiga, inc., upon dissolution of CUSA. it really depends on whether CUSA stays open and what is in the license agreement between the parties. i guess no one can answer that except the family and/or leo.

-- eliyahu

Which probably explains why Leo hasn't announced anything so far.  He's probably wondering the same things and I'm sure Barry's family wan't some time to themselves before they start looking through the books to see what's what.