Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: redrumloa on July 10, 2003, 01:50:52 PM
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Who started the rumor and why? So it is in the Total Amiga's rumor column, but who told the mag? Also on the moobunny people are saying it is being reported on Amigaworld.net like fact. Is that true?The editor of Total Amiga is on the secret Amiga Inc insider mailing list right? Did Amiga inc themselves start this rumor? :-?
It does bring the question up that if it was true, would it even be an improvement? Collas was a good showman, but I remember thinking(at least initially) that BillMc and Fleecy would be an improvement for the classic platform. Now I don't know if honestly any ghost from the past can save the boat from sinking :-?
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eh?
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"Buzz Word has heard that Amiga are about to get a new CEO but it won't be Garry Hare; apparently the whole Genesi/ Garry Hare story was a setup designed to produce confusion. The new CEO is a man who will bring many millions of investment dollars back into the company. The Man's name? Jim Collas."
I liked the man, but it'd be very unfortunate for him to come back after his sudden leave. He has a lot to explain. It may be pure gossip tho.
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:-D
Warface wrote:
"Buzz Word has heard that Amiga are about to get a new CEO but it won't be Garry Hare; apparently the whole Genesi/ Garry Hare story was a setup designed to produce confusion. The new CEO is a man who will bring many millions of investment dollars back into the company. The Man's name? Jim Collas."
I liked the man, but it'd be very unfortunate for him to come back after his sudden leave. He has a lot to explain. It may be pure gossip tho.
...or they could be making it up for a larf.
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I would believe it to be someone's idea of a joke. You know, the old "let's print something outrageous and see how crazy the community gets" thing...
Hopefully it sold a few more magazines.
In reference to Collas, he was probably the one man that I had the least interaction with during the Gateway period, but I remember him much differently than Bill McEwen seems to want us to believe. The one person on this site to ask would be Kent, as he used to work at Gateway fairly closely with their Amiga effort, but not directly for them.
Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
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redrumloa wrote:
Who started the rumor and why? So it is in the Total Amiga's rumor column, but who told the mag? Also on the moobunny people are saying it is being reported on Amigaworld.net like fact. Is that true?The editor of Total Amiga is on the secret Amiga Inc insider mailing list right? Did Amiga inc themselves start this rumor? :-?
If anyone is reporting this is fact, then it has better to be true. Otherwise it would be a clear case of lying the users in their face.
But I can't understand the meaning of starting a rumour like this. Who will gain anything from it, and what will they gain? More subsribers to the mag? Smokescreen from Amiga Inc's problems (but why bother about that at this point)?
It does bring the question up that if it was true, would it even be an improvement? Collas was a good showman, but I remember thinking(at least initially) that BillMc and Fleecy would be an improvement for the classic platform. Now I don't know if honestly any ghost from the past can save the boat from sinking :-?
IMHO, we have seen enough showmen in Amiga Inc. And it will take *a lot* more than a new captain of the ship to prevent it from sinking all the way to the bottom. A huge amount of resources would be a start ...
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Yeah, much better communication and marketing towards the community. However, this was the era when the "I'm excited about" type communications appeared. Despite that, I liked the man, and I still percept it as things have gone wrong despite his best efforts. I may be wrong though, but he left me with that impression.
But the sudden and complete cease of communication with the community suggests that his "excitement" and devotion towards the community was not that real as we felt.
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I'd bet a joke
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Wayne wrote:
Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
I don't know how you can come to that conclusion. Admittedly its down to the efforts of subcontractors, but things are definately moving more now than in 1999...
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Hi
If IdeaEdge want to commit suicide / bankruptcy,
perhaps they will buy the other half of Amiga Inc
shares at bargain / fire sale price.
NetVentures does not want to sell their half of
shares. I bet Francis Wilde bought it and now
sold it to some fools. :)
Collas (http://ideaedge.com/website/team/collas.htm)
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The first time I heard it was on here (can't remember which thread), then I read it on AmigaWorld.net. I don't know which was posted first though.
I doubt it's true.
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Wayne said:
but I remember him much differently than Bill McEwen seems to want us to believe.
So McBill started the rumour? Interesting theory.
Maybe it's true! Could be good news. Lets hope we get an Executive Update soon to clear things up. Come on A.Inc, it's about time we had one I think :-)
-zudo
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My opinion, and please read *opinion* carefullly:
I have no doubts that this is spin, pure and simple. First, there is no reason that either Jim Collas or IdeaEdge would invest in Amiga, Inc. Amiga owns nothign that would be of use to them. If Jim wanted the Tao technology, he would go to them directly: Amiga doesn't have an exclusive license to it.
Whether or not the Garry Hare thing was spin or not is something yet to be discovered. McEwen swore UNDER OATH in the Starte of Washington that Hare was taking over.
So now the question remains: What is the source of this information?
If it's Bill, then IMHO it's horse rubbish. If it isdn't Bill, and it isn't Collas, then it is definately horse droppings and should be treated accordingly. The only person I would believe this from is Jim Collas himself. I still have a lot of respect for him and a high opinion of him both as a person, and as a businessman.
//RC//
P.S. Did you ever get the information I sent you on the ROMs you needed?
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it says in total amiga (Buzz word section)
and i quote:
Buzz word has heard that Amiga are about to get a new CEO but it won't be Garry Hare; Apparently the whole Genesi / garry hare story was a setup designed to produce confusion.
the new CEO is a man who will bring many millions of investments dollars back into the company.
quote END.
there is alot more but i wont write it down here, as if you want to know the rest you should get the mag, as easy as that (so i dont total amiga on my nerves) , anyway the mag is exellent and gave us alot of great reading, exellent mag.
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P.S. Did you ever get the information I sent you on the ROMs you needed?
No I never heard back from you :-?
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lempkee wrote:
it says in total amiga (Buzz word section)
and i quote:
Buzz word has heard that Amiga are about to get a new CEO but it won't be Garry Hare; Apparently the whole Genesi / garry hare story was a setup designed to produce confusion.
Nobody needs to *produce* confusion when it comes to Amiga Inc. Garry Hare exists (even Fleecy admitted that after a while), he gave out business cards that said he was the CEO of Amiga Inc. We have seen scans of these.
My guess is that Garry Hare was put there by the bigger shareholder (NOT McBill&Fleecy - the one with the money) to clean up the mess/damage control. That is - a temporary CEO with a mission to find a more durable solution.
If he has succeded in that, then it's great. I wonder who it is, if it's true?
the new CEO is a man who will bring many millions of investments dollars back into the company.
quote END.
Great! Then perhaps Amiga Inc and their new investor can start paying off all their debts! :-P
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Ya know, I read this rumor and went "this doesn't help them one bit, as McEwan and Fleecy essentially ran the show with Collas there anyways, so no difference."
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Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
you mean the empty case they showed at shows .at least we now have some hardware that works and an os that might get released sometime. :-?
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I remember Jim Collas as a man who, when Gateway suddenly abandoned the community, jumped the Gateway ship. I only ever had one very brief conversation with him, but if it turns out to be true that he is taking over, I would not run for the exits because I think things would soon get exciting again (in a positive way :-) ).
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Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
What a strange reasoning. Actually, i never witnessed anything Gateway ever made? Maybe i have missed something? Quite a difference in regard to what we have seen from OS4.
Hyperion and Eyetech have done more than Gateway, Escom and all together. They have done something for real.
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I think Jim Collas actually fought for reviving Amiga. That's the way I remember it, anyway.
IF he's coming back, IF he can bring in some finances, well, that's what's missing right now. Then they could make a bigger batch of boards = lower cost per board = more boards sold = :-D :-D :-D
AmigaOne! AOS4.0: Release the potential !!!
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Jim Collas himself. I still have a lot of respect for him and a high opinion of him both as a person, and as a businessman.
http://www.merlancia.us
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Hyperion and Eyetech have done more than Gateway, Escom and all together. They have done something for real.
But escom got shops interested in reselling amiga1200,s quite a while after they had sold out and almost forgot about it. :-)
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But escom got shops interested in reselling amiga1200,s quite a while after they had sold out and almost forgot about it
The only problem with that was they were selling A1200s that were next to useless by that time - unless, of course, you spent a fortune upgrading them. The Amiga Surfer pack was great - if you liked watching web pages take 4 minutes to load on a flickery interlace screen on a very dodgy version of Voyager.
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DaveP:
Where does http://www.merlancia.us mention Jim Collas? I'd go through the site myself if it didn't remind me so much of the "people's court" kind of attitude.
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billsey: i think davep aimed below the belt with that one , merlancia now owns the MCC design , the computer that was supposed to have arrived in 98/99/2000 , jim collas worked on that thingy.
anyway what ever, i think u guys should put down your weapons and rather see the positive sides as if he can do what he is supposed to, well then hell i know there will be alot more smiling in here ...well it should anyway...
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takemehomegrandma: , ermm did u see that i QUOTED ? , sounded like you didnt anyway ...
i just wrote what total amiga issue 15 on page 8 said , to relive some of the tension in here.
also , garry hare never was ceo, he was just planned to be , i guess thats why jim is in the seat now..
but then again it might be fud all of this, but i only wrote what i did ..because i saw that in the magazine (AND quoted)
cheers
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@lempkee
Actually that is the wrong Merlancia:-P
The link he provided is for the famous 'Merlancia Slam Page', which also happens to slam Amiga Inc nowadays.
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I have the greatest respect for Jim Collas. Under difficult circumstances he managed to get Gateway interested in actually doing something with the Amiga name and technology they had acquired. He was enthusiastic and managed to get a lot of PR interest generated for the Amiga MCC. It always appeared that he was fighting Gateway to stop them turning his pet project into something else, and occasionally it would show through that Gateway got their way, as little pieces of Amiganess slowly disappeared, shortly followed by Collas himself.
Don't forget that he was responsible for OS3.5, and although it was contracted out, it was a nice gesture towards "Classic" Amiga owners and perhaps somewhat ironically ended up being the only Amiga-related product they released.
I doubt the rumours are true, but if they turn out to be, I for one will be very happy with the news. I can't see him keeping a low profile, so the truth will not take long to come out.
Chris
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lempkee wrote:
takemehomegrandma: , ermm did u see that i QUOTED ? , sounded like you didnt anyway ...
i just wrote what total amiga issue 15 on page 8 said , to relive some of the tension in here.
Yes, I know you were quoting. My answer was not directed to you in specific, but to "the quote". Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for the interesting quote! :-)
also , garry hare never was ceo, he was just planned to be , i guess thats why jim is in the seat now..
:-o :-o :-o :-o :-o
So this is confirmed now?!??
but then again it might be fud all of this, but i only wrote what i did ..because i saw that in the magazine (AND quoted)
Well, technically not FUD, since it's not directed *against* someone/something. More a like false rumour (perhaps even a deliberate lie) ...
;-)
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@ chris
BTW (off topic), what happened to AmigaOS 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8? And will there be a 4.1 before 4.2? Will there be a 4.2 at all now when the functionality originally planned for that version is allready implemented in 4.0?
:-) ;-) :-D
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Wayne: Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
I believe Wayne was talking about Amiga Inc. only. A lot of people believe Hyperion and Eyetech are doing all the work while Amiga Inc is basicly just a cardboard cutout...
...much like the MCC. ;-)
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Err no lempkee and Billsey
It is to remind Indoro, the owner of merlancia, that he is pot, kettle and black as far as questioning others trustworthyness and reputation is concerned.
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@TakeMeHomeToGrandma: Ahh... version numbers. I really wish companies would treat these more seriously. Amiga companies seem to do pretty well with this, though.
McEwen said himself he wanted to take the word "computer" out of the picture, entirely. Sure. I have a hard enough time figuring out compatibility problems with Windows products as it is. Might as well try to delude ourselves into thinking a computer is much simpler than it really is.
I for one, continue to think that computers are tools. Very fun tools, but tools nonetheless. They should always be treated as such, and that includes proper training and not hiding necessary information from users.
You're looking for version numbers? I'm trying to find out what happened to manuals! :-D
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BTW (off topic), what happened to AmigaOS 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8?
Perhaps after such a long gap between 3.1 and 3.5, it was thought nessecery to increase the version number a bit more? As for 3.9, IMO it hints that it is the last of the 3.x series - either there wouldn't be anything else, or what would come after would be very different.
Looking at the OS4 presentation slides etc, I think that there will be a 4.1 (although perhaps it will just be for beta testers? :-? )
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takemehomegrandma wrote:
@ chris
BTW (off topic), what happened to AmigaOS 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8? And will there be a 4.1 before 4.2? Will there be a 4.2 at all now when the functionality originally planned for that version is allready implemented in 4.0?
:-) ;-) :-D
AmigaOS 3.2 sits where it always has, on the motherboard of the Walker prototypes.
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downix wrote:
Ya know, I read this rumor and went "this doesn't help them one bit, as McEwan and Fleecy essentially ran the show with Collas there anyways, so no difference."
Fleecy was sacked before Collas took over. I had the impression that is was Dr. Allen and the guy from Sun were running the show technology wise. And that it was outside pressure that directed the whole linux instead of QNX debacle.
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z5 wrote:
Hyperion and Eyetech have done more than Gateway, Escom and all together.
Escom had several plans underway under the guise of Amiga International, but the parent company went under dragging the lofty plans along with it.
Damien
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The only problem with that was they were selling A1200s that were next to useless by that time - unless, of course, you spent a fortune upgrading them. The Amiga Surfer pack was great - if you liked watching web pages take 4 minutes to load on a flickery interlace screen on a very dodgy version of Voyager.
Maybe so but they sold thousands of of the things and cleared some of the large stockpile.
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I have been following this scene for quite a number of years now....and Commodore going under was enough for a lot of people to leave...and Escom going under, a 2nd exodus...and Gateways withdrawal, a 3rd....and quite frankly, at this point, everyone left isn't here cause we believe in the shell of a corporate parent holding the Amiga name anymore.
Amiga, Inc. does have a fanbase. But that fanbase is not based on corporate performance. So, imho, even their fans aren't basing their approval on any expectations which they could then be disillusioned of.
So...long story short, Amiga, Inc. isn't very relevant, that makes their CEO a bit irrelevant as well.
Pity the poor true Amiga, Inc. fan.
Here is what they have to hope for:
a product is completed.
--most projects are either cancelled or just in development now for years.
when a project does make it into production, it may be cancelled after its successful completion...re: amithlon
if the product is completed and it is not cancelled after being finished, it may not sell.
Amiga, Inc. has more than the usual difficulties and they have one other, fairly unique difficulty...even when the product, is completed, not cancelled, and sells well....they may not collect any money on it at all...like OS 3.9.
I don't think the Collas rumor is true, but the only people left here, have no expectations....one groups is a fanbase no matter what, and the other doesn't care about corporate anymore...and in a way that makes both groups the same, in that Amiga, Inc. actual CEO isn't very relevant to our opinions or course.
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I think Jim Collas actually fought for reviving Amiga. That's the way I remember it, anyway.
That's different to how I remember it... I remember they wanted to turn AmigaOS into a rebadged version of QNX, but later changed their minds, and decided it would be a Linux distro instead.
Doesn't Linux already run the AmigaOne? Imagine the scene - he could return and proclaim the 'new' 'Amiga' immediately... oh, he'd be a hero.
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With all this talk of a new CEO (and I must say, the way I remember things was Collas being really excited, the project being cancelled and him leaving Gateway immediately afterwards) I was wondering... say that Collas did take over, paid all the bills and shipped all the T-shirts. Would "the other side" still bash Amiga, Inc anyway (coming up with lots of other stuff to be righteously indignant about)?
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smithy wrote:
That's different to how I remember it... I remember they wanted to turn AmigaOS into a rebadged version of QNX, but later changed their minds, and decided it would be a Linux distro instead.
Doesn't Linux already run the AmigaOne? Imagine the scene - he could return and proclaim the 'new' 'Amiga' immediately... oh, he'd be a hero.
Nah, the new version of AmigaOS back then was to be based on the QNX micro kernel. Basically it would have been the equivalent to ExecSG for AOS4. This was then switched to using a Linux kernel for some reason (which I can't remember).
Personally I would have preferred the QNX route, but now we have ExecSG it's all rather moot.
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This was then switched to using a Linux kernel for some reason (which I can't remember).
Linux had better hardware support.
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The funniest thing about the whole Linux thing is that if we'd gone that route, the Amiga would have had (essentially) MacOS X before the Mac did...
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I am Amiga CEO.
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Argo confessed:
I am Amiga CEO.
Give us our beloved t-shirts! :-P
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Argo wrote:
I am Amiga CEO.
Show me your business card.
Doodoo Head :-D
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No, I'm Amiga CEO, and so's my wife.
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It's also a reminder that you have nothing better to do than try to screw with people that are hard working and actually still care about the future of Amiga as a computing product, and take pride in their work.
Nothing you or anyone else can say or do will have any ill effect on myself, or on the company for which I work and represent. You will all get what you deserve in the end. It's based on karma and darma. Not that hard to figure out.
People like you, who try to ruin other people emotionally will receive *exactly* what you deserve. And when karma bites you in the ass, it's going to hurt like an SOB.
The Amiga MCC product has nothing to do with the select group of narrow minds that post on this bullitin board. It is a philosophy that extends far past the 'Amiga community', where the limited userbase of today is not a viable market for a new state of the art product of any kind.
You are meaningless, and your postings in this topic have been worthless dribble that has nothign to do with the topic at hand at all. They are biased by an outside source who has severe mental issues and a smear campaign based on hate. Hate only multiplies with more hate. You are quite full of it, in all regards.
So, Thank you: Have a nice day....no..to think of it..don't.
//R//
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and now the serious thread falled appart...
just because of some pegasos owners...
life is sweet....
:)
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@Indoro
If your contribution is to do nothing more than insult the members of this board, perhaps you should hie your ass off to your dearest mother and leave normal rational people to discuss things in a civilised manner.
We don't need you, and we don't need your type in the Amiga community. Go away and bother someone who cares.
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This was then switched to using a Linux kernel for some reason (which I can't remember).
For the built in support, and everyone was jumping on the Linux bandwagon during those times. That was the big "upswing time" for Linux.
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KennyR wrote:
This was then switched to using a Linux kernel for some reason (which I can't remember).
Linux had better hardware support.
Yep. Had the lamented Umilator been released, it would have provided the perfect example of why this would have been an advantage. The network and sound drivers presented to AmigaOS were actually wrapped around Linux drivers loaded as kernel modules, meaning that any network or sound card supported in the Linux kernel would work without AmigaOS being any the wiser. It worked like a charm, and I see no technical reason why the concept could not have been applied to other drivers too, such as USB etc.
Given that Collas was promising a new OS in next to no time, choosing a kernel which already offered a broad range of supported hardware was clearly an attractive and sensible option.
Having said that, an AmigaOS based on the QNX microkernel would have been interesting.
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I'd like to see Jim Collas involved again - at least he understood that what made an Amiga was a combination of innovative software AND hardware. I've never bought that the Amiga OS was what made Amiga special - it was a contributing factor yes but many Amiga users (particularly those without a hard disk) never even saw Amiga OS let alone used it on a regular basis.
Times have changed and PC hardware components have become much more like a componentized custom architecture (CPU, GPU, sound card) but the way we use these things has not progressed much. Mac OS X is a step in the right direction and Windows Longhorn promises much but it takes an Amiga to really push the boundries :-D
We'll probably never see another bespoke Amiga system designed from the ground-up to be a multimedia powerhouse but for the short time Collas was in charge it was good to dream. I can't remember a time in recent history when I was so excited about the Amiga's future as when the MCC was announced *sigh*
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Ah It's my old mate "Dr" Ryan, the only 21 year old I know who lies about his age. :lol:
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Man o man is there a lot of junk thrown around with some half-truths. Here's some information that I hope will answer some questions about JC. I don't think he will be back, not for a long while. Except maybe to own a completed product as he was indeed fascinated by the Amiga.
Jim Collas did for the Amiga what Jeff Schindler tried and failed to accomplish. Jim was able to wrench the entire ideology of Amiga from the grips of the executive board of directors at Gateway. Jim was willing to take on CEO for Amiga but stated the executive board would have to rely completely on his decisions rather than waiting for an approval on the next release of "Schindler's List". Some of the ideas that Jim put into play were from some of the scrapped plans Schindler had come up with.
How feasible is it for JC to come back to Amiga? on a scale from 0 to 10, I'd give it a -8. He left Gateway and Amiga due to the fact that the executive board told him the direction to take instead of relying on his plans; that was the main reason for the sudden switch from QNX to Linux core. There's much more to the QNX switch though, partially thanks to Dan Dodge handing out business cards at a local Amiga meeting bragging about landing the yet to be approved contract. Yet there's more to it still. At the time Gateway was trying desperately to get into the "Digital Convergence" market that Dell seemed to be ruling with their blackberry pagers and other components. Gateway sought after making an extremely easy power on power off internet machine capable of only internet (hence the AOL/Gateway flop that came out in 1999). Gateway was also trying to leverage into the Linux market using an existing subsidary without breaking licensing agreements already written up in the latest Microsoft contract. That's when the Executive board took over, forcing Collas to sway his decisions and moving in an entirely different area he had not planned for. At that point, he handed in his resignation and was to finish out the following month. His resignation included that he was going to put Amiga in a self maintainable state if needed to be. There were about 4 people who knew about the resignation, all of them were in the main seats at Gateway, including Ted Waitte. There's so much more to this than what you'll read from me though, it was shocking to learn all about it after the bean counter from hell was ousted by Ted Waitte.
What did Collas do for the Amiga that wasn't ever seen in the light of day? The famous PDA coined "Project PEA" was to use a similar OS to AmgiaOS2.1. There were two prototypes, one of which I heard about the other I got to see for myself. One prototype was a complete touchpad system, consisting only of a DOS shell that hadn't been updated for any type of graphics. That pad had the basic bluetooth networking. The other system was very similar to what the Palm Pilot is, just no color or anything special outside of an RJ-45 phone jack and keyboard attachment (the one that I saw at least). Project PEA stood for "Portable Email Assistant" and was to replace all the possible palm systems offered by Gateway at the time, but was never finished. My opinion, I think it would have flopped if it were ever to be released, AmigaOS or not. When the concept designs came back from Pentagram Inc, those designs for the Palm type and Pad type were for the PEA systems.
What about Allen Havemose's efforts and his involvement in contracting for Gateway? I honestly can't say, all I know is that he had done quite a bit with his group while out in mid California before it was split up (about the same time "over the moon productions" was deep sixed). I do know there were some interesting developments that Gateway still holds licensing for but nothing was solid enough to patent it. The thirteen patents were given to Gateway/Amiga after the submitted 50+ ideas and if I remember correctly, some of them are still pending.
Why was Bill M sacked? As a contracted employee he walked in to work one day and was told he didn't have a job at the end of that day. Bill was an excellent point of contact for me when I was working at Gateway. When there were people writing in about offering technology to the up and coming Amiga systems, Bill was the first person I contacted. I honestly have no doubt that Bill has roughly the same book of contacts that Jim Collas kept by his side. Bill M is no PR guy, but can move and shake like the best of them squeezing blood from a rock if he had to.
What about Fleecy, he was sacked before JC got there? There's an answer to this, but I don't have it. I started talking closely with Jeff Schindler about the same time Fleecy was let go, he wasn't at liberty to discuss it since the decisions about it came from higher up. Considering Jeff Schindler answered to Ted Waitte and Mike (Ted's starting partner), that leaves me to believe his position was micro managed out. Not much more I can offer on this, sorry, you'll have to get the whole story from fleecy if you want it.
So why the rumor of Jim Collas coming back? That's simple, his 2 years of non compete are up and he can come back if he wants to. The question though, will he. He left a lot of untied ropes to be handled by the next three or four CEOs in charge but noone was ever really in charge after JC left. If JC came back tomorrow, there would be several unanswered questions and an entirely new strategy to overhaul since the last time he handled the reins of the Amiga beast. Anyone stepping into a CEO position of Amiga would have to be fully aware of what is happening now, and what happened prior to the purchase before the majority of the community would listen. The community as we know it was divided when the Linux decision was made, it was around that time MorphOS breathed its first under the Quark micro kernal not to mention the division further with the Phoenix Consortium movement and the power behind the ever evolving AROS.
Put yourself in Jim's shoes, would you want to answer those questions if you came back to handle the CEO position? I know I wouldn't.
Got any more questions, let me know, I'll try to answer them. If anyone has any corrections, please let me know so I can make the addendum to my notes I've been keeping.
:pint:
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Did you know Ted Waitt is back at Gateway ? ...
He has been reinstalled a month ago .. maybe a month and a half.
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@Kent
Thank you for providing all that detailed information into what still remains a vague period of time in the Amiga world.
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Kees wrote:
Did you know Ted Waitt is back at Gateway ? ...
He has been reinstalled a month ago .. maybe a month and a half.
Yeah, I was "downsized" for about 2 years now, I heard about Teddy stepping back into power before it happened. Also, I would just like to say that I'm really freakin happy that I sold all of my Gateway stock that I had when it was going for 82 3/4.
Three things happened to push my release from Gateway. 1: They no longer needed an Amiga liason since the doors were officially shut. 2: The new email correspondance system was in place to automate redundant questions. 3: The fastest growing department in Gateway (.com that is) was extremely over budget and I was expendable since factors 1&2 happened. I took them for everything I could though... unemployment, education reimbursement, the works.
:pint:
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@Ryan
Bill said it so well, have a nice day. No, I mean it.
Wheres that icon for laughing out loud?
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Now Collas has his own company:
IdeaEDGE (http://ideaedge.com/website/team/collas.htm)
I have been doing some research on it, and I have found it to be a well renowned and higly respected company as investor/incubator of new/interesting initiatives and companies.
Collas founded this company together with Rick LeFaivre, recruited by Amiga back in the Gateway times.
Saluditos,
Ferrán.
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Well ... its a miracle .. Bill McEwen answerd a mail from amiga-news.de about this matter ...
http://www.amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2003-07-00082-DE.html (http://www.amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2003-07-00082-DE.html)
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Kees wrote:
Well ... its a miracle .. Bill McEwen answerd a mail from amiga-news.de about this matter ...
http://www.amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2003-07-00082-DE.html (http://www.amiga-news.de/de/news/AN-2003-07-00082-DE.html)
For those who don't read German:
[quote"It is just a joke, and I agree a good one. I found it to be pretty funny. I also thought that it was funny that they stated that Garry Hare was replaced by Jim, when I have not even been replaced yet ;-)
I am still CEO, and still enjoying the ride." [/quote]
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Enjoying the ride...what he is? A sadomasochist?
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At Ferry's link I read:
"During the five years prior to joining Gateway in 1992, Collas founded and owned Anigma Inc., a successful engineering firm specializing in products for the PC industry."
AmigaOne! How odd.
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That can't be. I AM CEO of Amiga Inc.
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Hooligan_DCS wrote:
Enjoying the ride...what he is? A sadomasochist?
It's maybe a flintstones like rollercoaster, where the engine provided is two hole in the lower part of it for your feet.
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You mean this one?
Ezekiel 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with wrathful rebukes; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
Making threats in front of multiple witnesses is not a wise thing to do, Ryan. It is Ryan, isn't it?
[EDIT]
Or is it Rich?
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@Ryan
Wow, pulp fiction fan alert.
What personal attack? I merely question your ability to make such indirect criticisms of a fellow businessman.
Your followups have done little other than confirmed in my eyes that Rich Woods actually has a point in your case.
If you want to come after me with a vengeance, let me know, I'll make sure I have a photographer standing by.
Dave.
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@ Indoro
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, you too.
While you are at the biblical quotations, how about "turning the other cheek"? And that goes for a lot of others here too ...
@ Some other
Spare the rod ... nobody deserves beeing spanked forever. Let life go on! Forgive and forget!
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OT
(http://amiga.org/images/avatar/199.gif)
Is that Howard The Duck's illegitimate brother :-?
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I really dont think this rumour is true.... But anyways.. I dont Jim collas left on pure free will, more like that gateway dished the plans and did not need him anymore.
I liked him, seemed more open to the community.. though i wasnt that happy for the idea of an Linux box...
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Things under Gateway's Amiga at least SEEMED to be moving forward which is much more than can be seen or demonstrated currently.
Without Bill taking over, we would not have AmigaONE and soon a new OS... They didnt not make this hardware themself, but without them it would not be possible. If they didnt buy it, we would have NOTHING at all now. You cant do alot with the limited funding AmigaINC started out with.
And actually though you dont want this amigaone, os4 and such... there are some people who want.
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I believe Wayne was talking about Amiga Inc. only. A lot of people believe Hyperion and Eyetech are doing all the work while Amiga Inc is basicly just a cardboard cutout...
sure... But this would not be possible without AmigaINC anyways... AmigaINC did release the AmigaAnywhere player though, but personally i dont find much use in it :-P
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by Tomas on 2003/7/11 12:53:17
Without Bill taking over, we would not have AmigaONE and soon a new OS... They didnt not make this hardware themself, but without them it would not be possible. If they didnt buy it, we would have NOTHING at all now. You cant do alot with the limited funding AmigaINC started out with.
Incorrect. Teron mobos would be out there, regardless of what Bill has and has not done. MOS and AROS would still be out there as well as the Pegasus. The only thing Bill has done is bullshit a whole lot of people out of alot of money and spent it with litttle to show for it. The only thing you may not have had is Hyperion's OS4. Which may or may not be a significant OS to even worry about.
Dammy
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"Without Bill taking over, we would not have AmigaONE and soon a new OS..."
and
"I liked him, seemed more open to the community.. though i wasnt that happy for the idea of an Linux box..."
What would you call the AmigaONE as it is today? :-)
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Indoro wrote:
You want to smear me, start an anti-Merlancia smear site somewhere else. It's all gong to be taken care of through the proper legal channels in time.
Yeah , yeah whatever you say "Dr" :lol:
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@Thomas:
Without Bill taking over, we would not have AmigaONE and soon a new OS...
Actually, we would have the Pegasos with MorphOS. IIRC that project got started as a result of the decision to scrap QNX in favour of Linux, some months before McEwen et al bought the rights from Gateway and started Amiga Inc. This goes some way to explain the animosity of the Genesi/Phoenix group towards the Amiga/Eyetech/Hyperion group. The former see the latter as upstarts with an unfair advantage ("The Name" ).
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@CodeSmith
You're confusing two entities as one, namely Phoenix and Genesi. While they are cooperating and working toards a single goal, they are still seperate agents.
MorphOS began during the Escom days, before Gateway ever entered the picture.
You did describe the Phoenix situation quite well, having started after the abandonment of QNX.
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Downix, CodeSmith,
Actually you are both wrong about "the Phoenix situation" (and really are generalizing about quite a timeline).
To truly understand the situation you would have to have been involved during the formation of Phoenix. Then you would have had a front row seat for what the pre-Amino Amiga Inc guys were saying (some of this slops over into fleecy interviews later, talking about QNX, who was indeed on the Amino dancecard for platform of choice), and what the QNX guys where saying.
There is no single attitude or viewpoint however, since many companies and developers were and are represented. Some were very inside, some saw only the more obvious and semi-public bits that spilled over into forums, newsgroups, etc. Some were involved in some relationships, some were not.
And if there is any "animosity" that goes back any length of time it has little to do with Eyetech and Hyperion - OR "The Name" of The Name. At least from my perspective, it has been based on several periods of Amino and Amiga Inc being in Phoenix but basically abusing any attempts to work together, and trying to take without giving in return. Not to mention the fiascos that led to the estrangement of QNX which made it tougher and tougher for QNX to get past the threshold for a user desktop.
As I've said here before, Genesi did more of positive impact for and with Phoenix in a month than Amiga Inc did in years (and now a relationship with QNX seems to be possible again as well, one based on products and development, and much less community politics)... The practices of Amiga Inc against those not considered total and unequivocal supporters with no outside interests, I've posited, have been driven by the very same attitudes that have clobbered them financially and community-wise to this very day. (I give Ray Akey some credit for actually trying to go against the grain and keeping a foot in with some QNX interests; unfortunately that was not enough by a long shot).
I wish it could have turned out differently. Not for my sake, not for Phoenix's (things are going pretty good these days). But it would have made a lot of crap that has happened over the past few years less likely. On the other hand, other crap could have happened. So it's a lot easier to live in the present and not worry about whether the past has been accurately represented.
As for Collas: seems like some people think Jesus still walks the earth. But Collas too was a bit of a pied piper telling people what they wanted to hear - or at least saying it in the tone they wanted to be tickled by. The parts that were not speeches written by Someone Else {;} I'm sure were very nice, but did they actually represent the realities of the situation(s) at Gateway and Gatemiga?
I think that if Collas has enough money a lot of people would like him to step in and spend it to make things right for The Name. But how would that fix the underlying problems? And why would it matter?
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in that reply from Bill McEwen....Did he really say "...I haven't been replaced YET??"
Hmm. Maybe there'll be an anouncement at AmiWest??
Hypothosis or FUD?? You be the judge.
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@greenboy
As for Collas: ... But Collas too was a bit of a pied piper telling people what they wanted to hear - or at least saying it in the tone they wanted to be tickled by. The parts that were not speeches written by Someone Else {;} I'm sure were very nice, but did they actually represent the realities of the situation(s) at Gateway and Gatemiga?
This is what I thought of Collas too. I was begining to think I was too critical of the guy.
---------------
redfox
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I still remember an MP3 of one of his pep rallies. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but still:
"[Years ago], a terrible thing happened! Innovation... innovation stopped!"
Gee, then where did these little things called 3D accelerators come from? I never met the guy, but I just saw a salesman trying to push a product that had no real backing from its parent company.
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@ Some other
Spare the rod ... nobody deserves beeing spanked forever. Let life go on! Forgive and forget!
You call that rod? I call it a gentle reminder. If you want to feel distaste I suggest you check out Moobunny at the moment.
This thread will help:
http://www.flyingmice.com/cgi-bin/squidcgi/mbmessage.pl/amiga/88201.shtml
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Sheesh! thanks for reminding me why I never go to moobunny any more. It's the verbal equivalent of a shark feeding frenzy in there. WTF is wrong with those people? (anyone claiming that level of degradation is "freedom" can go to Zimbabwe and sample the "real thing")
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greenboy wrote:
At least from my perspective, it has been based on several periods of Amino and Amiga Inc being in Phoenix but basically abusing any attempts to work together, and trying to take without giving in return.
Please excuse me for reminding you but, in retrospect, you're forgetting a bit of your own brand of venom against your friend the head of Amiga's Support division.. If you're going to mention Amiga's "abuse" you should also mention your own, just to be 100% accurate. It wasn't exactly a one-sided fallout.. I'm sure you remember me arguing with you to tone down the names and comments you were using against him in quite a public IRC channel.
greenboy wrote:
I give Ray Akey some credit for actually trying to go against the grain and keeping a foot in with some QNX interests; unfortunately that was not enough by a long shot.
While I do thank you for the compliment, I cannot in good faith take credit.
I was working on QNX "Augusta" RtP applications before I started working for Amiga Inc. You may or may not also recall tha I claimed the first QSSL/QNX bounty for developing applications for RtP (with my graphical interface "NeuFTP" FTP client). I was also working towards bounty #2 with NeuIRC, which was released as an alpha, but Amiga (Gary, actually) came along with an offer I couldn't refuse. What can I say, I needed to eat. :-)
I didn't do anything, officially, within Amiga with respect to QNX. My projects for RtP were personal developments that I left behind when I joined Amiga. However, I did enjoy the QNX Kernel, OS and API and I own a hardware product that uses the QNX OS as it's underlying OS (the Audio Request ARQ (http://www.request.com) server).
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@CodeSmith
Moobunny has it's place. If it wasn't there that stuff would spread to the other boards in no time. Paradoxically, while often trawling the depths of distaste, Moobunny also sometimes comes up with the most interesting serious debates.
With Moobunny, you have to take the rough with the smooth. Or you can just ignore it and make do with the bland instead.
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Might`ve known it`d be a MOS freak who started this thread
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Akey, I could present quite the timeline of who was frustrated and why. But I left it at that, and mentioned the word "perspective" a few times, because it's pretty much a waste of time at this point, when there are plenty of real things to do.
Maybe I'll write something later about why Genesi has been a good fit - and why Amiga Inc was just a good cause to have a fit ; }
But I doubt I'll waste much time on that.
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Incorrect. Teron mobos would be out there, regardless of what Bill has and has not done. MOS and AROS would still be out there as well as the Pegasus.
I was not talking about the pegasos and morphos...
I was talking about the AmigaONE and AmigaOS4.0.
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What would you call the AmigaONE as it is today?
A computer running linux :-P I was only saying that AmigaINC has managed to do more than Gateway did.
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@bhoggett:
Sorry, but the signal to hatred ratio is just way too low for me.
When I read stuff like that marriage license debacle I wonder about the people who post such stuff... mean, nasty little people who derive pleasure from dragging others down and kicking them while they're on the floor. If an earthquake happened during an amiga convention, those would be the people I'd expect to find stealing watches from the injured. If anyone reading this feels insulted, go ahead and flame me, I don't care for the feelings of vermin.
This is not a pro-anyone rant - I have no doubts that if it were Bill Buck that had stumbled instead of Bill McEwen, he'd be getting the same tender loving care.
I have no idea if moobunny is moderated, if it is I'd really like to know what the "guidelines" are.
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@CodeSmith
I hate to say it, but Bill Buck has already got his "Care Package" from the Viscorp days. Slander, hatred, flaming things thrown out and about the threads. (I don't think anyone auctioned off a wedding licence though... That *IS* a new low....) To be honest, this kind of harsh treatment has followed many in our community.
See: QuickPak, AntiGravity, Escom, C=, Scala, Gateway, Bernie Meyer, Harold Frank, Holger Kruse, and even Petro have all seen the results from the "dark side" of our community. The list is by no means all inclusive, but you get the idea. This kind of stuff will never stop completely, even if we find another golden era.
I'm not trying to jump down on anyone, but my reply to the rant is really just, "Flaming hate posts (and associated proofs) have always happened, it is happening now, and it will happen again."
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@Targhan
I'll spare you looking at the moobunny thread - basically, Bill McEwen's marriage license was among the documents that were auctioned off, and this set off a lively debate on how legal his marriage (apparently his second) is and how exactly he could have been abusing his wife's and children's trust while running Amiga Inc. I can handle people making fun of how a company gets run, but this blatant penetration of privacy is just revolting.
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Might`ve known it`d be a MOS freak who started this thread
I'm a MOS freak? Anyhow what is that supposed to mean? The rumor was started by Total Amiga Magazine who's chief editor(or whatever his title is) is MikeC. A self proclaimed Amiga Inc fan, and a member of the Amiga Inc insider secret mailing list.
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@CodeSmith
Well, when I said "didn't auction off a marriage licence," I meant it in regards of other "notables." Obviously, McEwen's marriage licence is being (or has been) auctioned off. Thus, my piece was really geared toward the whole topic of "dirt throwing" in general. I apologize if I didn't word it well.
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Anyone reading that thread on Moobunny (Thanks for the link) could be mistaken for thinking someone was being investigated for murder ......
Or wouldn't that warrant an investigation as thorough as the one taking place against A.Inc ?
That Rich Woods appears to be a decidely unsavoury individual .... Is he related to Kevin Hisel perchance ?
:-o
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@Targhan
Don't worry about it - sorry if I sounded like I was angry at you, I'm not. What pissed me off was the moobunny thread. I consider most of the bickering and name-calling that goes on in amiga chat sites as immature but harmless, but that particular thread crossed the line. Maybe it reminded me of something disturbing I saw sometime ago and had forgotten, the case is that it really upset me.
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greenboy wrote:
Akey, I could present quite the timeline of who was frustrated and why.
greenboy, I would appreciate it if you would try to conduct yourself as the professional you claim to be and use my first name or the handle/username that I use to post. Afterall, we're not back in high school, where everyone forgot how to address people properly, are we?
Maybe I'll write something later about why Genesi has been a good fit - and why Amiga Inc was just a good cause to have a fit ; }
I know all about your version and how you didn't like that things didn't work out your way. I've heard it before. Unfortunately, for you, there are two sides to the story. I also won't be going into it as it's not my place to talk about this. That's up to Gary if he so chooses.
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That certainly was a goofy reply for a simple tag that could as easily have been Ray, or HMetal. Funny, the Canadians I'm talking with don't seem to mistake context and venue, and seem to be able to accomodate some hick from the US... This is not a business meeting. I'm wearing a grass-stained MorphOS T-Shirt and have dirt all over my legs. You can worry about your own professionalism, and I'll suffer at the hands of my own standards for dress and understanding of the medium, thank you ; }
Sheesh.
As for "unfortunately", actually I feel that in the longer run I have been extremely fortunate. I like Genesi, I like the way developers are being treated, and I like being able to see them play a part in something instead of basically being pushed off to the side. Good leadership, I'm thinking, accomodates the input and initiative of more people whenever possible. If I am to be used, I prefer to be used WELL. And hey, I'm getting back with some of the QNX people I think highly of, in a constructive context. It's good to see something like that opening up again.
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@redrumloa
Hi red. The chief editor of Total Amiga Magazine isn't Mikey_C, it is Robert Williams.
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@Bodie
Nice Avatar!
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@Targhan
hehe thanx! :-)
Don't tell anyone, but that is the main character from the amazing Xbox game Halo.
/me ducks at verbal insults :-D
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@bodie
Thanks for clearing that up on our behalf. As you say I am the editor of Total Amiga. MikeyC does our "PR" and writes for the magazine (he did a Mac emulation feature for issue 15 for example).
In the magazine we try to be as unbiased as possible. We do have opinion columns where, of course, the writers express their personal opinions. One of these is the Buzz Word column.
On the other hand I would point out that in issue 15 we have:
A two page update on AmigaOS 4
A two page feature on AROS
A four page review of the Pegasos and MorphOS 1.3
Oh, and the magazine was made on a machine running Amithlon. I hope this shows that we try to cover all aspects of the Amiga scene.
Robert Williams
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Careful Rhino ...
You might get someone accusing you of spamming the thread !! :-o
Issue 15 IS . Awesome though.
:-D
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Shouldn't this thread be in the talkabout section anyway?
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I just want to back up what Robert said in his post. In my experience, Total Amiga is a serious publication which attempts to be as unbiased in its reporting as possible.
Of course there are people contributing to TA who have their own opinions and agendas, but it's not really a problem. I mean, when you read a column by Fleecy or Alan Redhouse you know what to expect - which is to say it should be read as promotional material by the parties involved rather than unbiased reporting.
I will admit I'm not too sure about the BuzzWord section. Having a rumour section is fine, if the one compiling it has no axe to grind, but if the writer has a political agenda of his own then there is a danger that the column may be misused to further his own ends.
Having said that, I have no concerns over the future of Total Amiga as long as Robert continues to have full and total editorial control because no one should question his integrity in this matter.
Well done and keep up the good work Robert.