I don't think this is much of a surprise. Bill Mc... comes from Gateway, for goodness sake. He was much more of a company man than Collas; hence his final position at Amiga when it was owned by Gateway.
What does surprise me, though, is the beating that Bill Buck takes for all the opposite reasons. For all of his sins-- real and imagined-- he has stuck with this platform for a number of years. He pretty clearly believes in an alternative computing answer as opposed to some path toward integration into the microsoft mainstream.
Speaking strictly for myself, I think that the motivation behind alternative OS's is twofold:
1. Yesterday I had to load office xp on my daughter's computer only a couple months after she purchased it. The reason for loading, of course, is that she loaded some fax software that came with a modem and windows had a fatal problem with it. Anyway, I enjoyed the priviledge of spending a Sunday night reloading the OS and the software AND having to answer the question TWICE: "How many computers do you have this program loaded on, sir?" That, in my mind, is the number one reason for an alternative OS.
2. Secondly, the incredible challenge of fixing the registry in the event that its sensibilities have been offended is indicative of a design flaw so arrogant, deep and basic that I find it impossible to forgive.
Anyway, after that long tirade, I just want to take my hat off to Bill Buck for sticking with an alternative OS based on what most of us agree was a very fine product in AmigaOS. (MorphOS is a salute and a continuation of the ideals of that product -- as is OS4, by the way.)
If anyone thinks that Buck has mad a ton of money-- or any money yet-- on this product, the thought must come from madness. I am very greatful to him for supporting this site and ann. I am looking for the same support from AInc.
I would like to criticize him for making the product difficult to buy in this last round of selling (I think I tried a dozen times to buy on Pegasos USA without success), but he seems to have sold all the product that he could make. So I won't level that objection.
Anyway, I do agree with the first post in this thread. I wish that all of us who attend productions of any kind with our kids would leave electronic gadgets at home; and I wish that Bill M... had some more engaging idea of what is interesting about alternative computing. I think Buck deserves credit for a focus.
RLFrost
