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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Announcements and Press Releases => Topic started by: RobertB on October 20, 2007, 03:35:05 PM

Title: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on October 20, 2007, 03:35:05 PM
Gigantic surprise!  Former CEO of Commodore Business
Machines, Jack Tramiel, will be making a rare public appearance!
Yesterday I received a message on the answering machine from
Karen Tucker, CMO/VP of Public Programs for the Computer
History Museum in Mountain View (San Jose area), California.


Here is part of what she said:


... I thought you might be happy to know that the museum is
going to have a celebration of the impact of the Commodore 64
on December 10.  It's kind of a 25th anniversary celebration,
and Jack Tramiel will speak as well as Steve Wozniak and
William C. Lowe, the father of the IBM PC, and Adam Chulaniak
(sp?) who was the Amiga guy at Commodore, and we're still
settling on the moderator.  But I thought that if you are still
part of the Fresno Commodore User Group... that you guys
might want to make the trip down to Mountain View for this
event on December 10.


All day today I've been playing phone tag with Karen in
order to get more details and received another message
saying that the exact title of that night's program is "The
Impact of the Commodore 64: A 25-Year Celebration".  More
details to come when I find out more.

The Computer History Museum is located at 1401 N.
Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, California 94043.  The
website is  http://www.computerhistory.org

I am so there for this event!
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: little on October 20, 2007, 03:56:31 PM
Maybe someone can tell him about the minimig so he puts some dollars into mass producing it. It would be the ultimate irony, two decades later the man that could not get ahold of the amiga (and had to produce the atari st instead) gets to sell them. :crazy:
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: XDelusion on October 20, 2007, 04:52:58 PM
Are we allowed to bring tomatoes?
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: redrumloa on October 20, 2007, 05:45:52 PM
Quote
Are we allowed to bring tomatoes


Tramiel didn't ruin Commodore. He was the strength of C= until he left for Atari.
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: leirbag28 on October 20, 2007, 07:35:17 PM
@Robert

All I know is that you had better Record this with some kind of High Definition Video Camera...........rent it! do whatever you have to do to get a good quality cam.  minimum 3CCD.

Try online or craigslist or whatever to see if you can borrow one.............but please record this...................heck.....bring a friend with another camera in his hand to capture another angle.

if possible get the museum to let you set up mics for good recording.

Please!  This is a rare moment!
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: Chain on October 20, 2007, 07:53:43 PM
i hope someone will record it :-o
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: AMIBY on October 20, 2007, 08:47:20 PM
Anyone want to pay a plane ticket from Florida to Cali and I will record it for you? $250
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: Skyraker on October 20, 2007, 11:00:32 PM
Tramiel didn't ruin Commodore. He was the strength of C= until he left for Atari.


Wise words mate
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: little on October 20, 2007, 11:02:09 PM
Quote
Tramiel didn't ruin Commodore. He was the strength of C= until he left for Atari.

You are damn right, if by chance he had been the CEO of Amiga Inc from the start (instead of Bill McEwen) we would have new amiga models and the operative system in the market back in 2000.
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: Akiko on October 21, 2007, 12:04:11 AM
Isn't he ancient by now?
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: MarkTime on October 21, 2007, 06:01:46 AM
Jack Tramiel didn't ruin Commodore.  He ruined Atari.

But that came later...when he first took the company from Warner Bros...he really got the company moving for a few years.  Unfortunately in later years, it was mostly a series of mistakes.

I remember reading stock holder reports that said such gloomy things as 'we cannot sell the units at any price point' and 'we fundamentally don't understand the business we are in'....talking about the jaguar...which completely failed to do 3d well, in a time when that was a requirement.

anyway...still, cannot deny he was there doing great work for a while.

No reason to believe the Tramiel family would have kept Commodore going in later years, though.
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on October 21, 2007, 08:40:55 AM
Chain wrote:

> i hope someone will record it

Unknown whether video-recording, audio-recording, or photography will be permitted.  I will try to contact Karen of CHM on Monday and find out the details.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: Einstein on October 21, 2007, 07:35:17 PM
recordedEvent = Record( event );
UploadTo( Stage6 (http://stage6.divx.com/), recordedEvent );
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: tonyyeb on October 22, 2007, 03:53:59 PM
Quote

Are we allowed to bring tomatoes?


Irving Gould has been dead a long time and so wont be there to throw tomatoes at. Jack Tramiel deserves a nice meal to be cooked for him with those tomatoes.
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on October 23, 2007, 02:06:17 AM
Today I was able to make phone contact with Karen Tucker of
the Computer History Museum and question her on the details for the event, "The Impact of the Commodore 64: A 25-Year
Celebration".  Here are the specifics:

Location: Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd,
(exit from the 101 Freeway) Mountain View, California  94043
Phone: 650 810-1010

Time and format of the event: Monday, Dec. 10
6 pm - 7 pm -- Museum member's reception with the guests.
Beer, wine, and hors' doeuvres served.
7 pm - 8:30 or 9 pm -- First words/speech by Jack Tramiel,
panel discussion, question-and-answer session
Afterwards, informal chit-chat and possible autographs

Admission -- for the reception, free to museum members ($65
membership)
for the event, free general admission ($10 donation requested)

Seating capacity -- 400

Webpage -- Karen remarks that they are "stupidly slow" at
updating the events' page at
http://www.computerhistory.org/events/  but assures that
the event "is really going to happen... definitely".

Guests to speak/appear (updated) -- Jack Tramiel (pronounced
/tra mel/, Karen tells), former CEO of Commodore Business
Machines

Steve Wozniak of Apple fame

William C. Lowe, father of the IBM PC

Adam Chowaniec, former vice-president of technology for
Amiga at Commodore Business Machines

John Markoff, moderator of the panel discussion and New
York Times reporter and author of the computer history
book, "What the Dormouse"

Leonard Tramiel, former vice-president of software
development and v.p. of advanced technology at Atari
Corporation

Jeri Ellsworth, engineer behind the CommodoreOne and the
C64 DTV

Media recording - photography (no flash), videography, and
audio-taping permitted.  Possible webcast from Liquid
Computing of Canada (Chowaniec's current company),
which is sponsoring the event.


Some items are still in flux; when I have further updates, I will
post them.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: Aegis on October 25, 2007, 01:18:28 AM
Wow, I can't believe there's people actually suggesting that Tramiel would've done a better job than Gould and Ali (although I'll warrant you that he probably couldn't have done worse) - JT pretty much single-handedly destroyed Atari through a succession of blunders and bad decisions and hung the original Amiga team out to dry before Commodore stepped in at the last minute.

Atari pre-Tramiel had the biggest selling home video games console, a line of 8 bit computers far superior to anything on the market (with a price tag to match though) and the 5200 Super System all ready to launch - they should've gone on to become the dominant force in gaming and computing in the US but Tramiel blew it and it hurts me to this day that Atari (much like the Amiga) lives on pretty much only in name.

Check out the really rather awesome AtariAge.com for more Atari history :)
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: quenthal on October 26, 2007, 05:17:38 PM
@Aegis:

Without Tramiel there would not been Commodore at all and without MOS/CSG many Atari machines as we know wouldn't exist.

Pre-Tramiel Atari was indeed the biggest, but it was going down and fast before him. Infact it was the opportunity that opened console/computer business again for retired JT, who got it running, even though only a while.
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on November 05, 2007, 11:45:13 PM
Met with Dale Luck, Amiga software engineer, yesterday at the Vintage Computer Festival 10.0.  After congratulating him and teasing
him a bit on his recent marriage, I mentioned that Jack Tramiel would be speaking at the Computer History Museum on Dec. 10.  Surprised, he remarked that he didn't know anything about it.  I described the event to him and the times.  I mentioned that Adam Chowaniec would be there, and he said that knew Adam.  Dale was interested in going to the event and would tell other Amiga engineers, too.

         Truly,
         Robert Bernardo
         Fresno Commodore User Group
         http://videocam.net.au/fcug
         The Other Group of Amigoids
         http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on November 10, 2007, 09:02:24 AM
The event, "The Impact of the Commodore 64: A 25-Year
Celebration", with Jack Tramiel is now listed at the Computer
History Museum's website at
http://www.computerhistory.org/events/

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
          The Other Group of Amigoids
          http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on November 17, 2007, 07:54:15 AM
On Nov 10, 8:17 am, Cameron Kaiser wrote:

> Robert, have you heard anything about when tickets will be available?

On Nov. 14 I spoke to Valerie, events person at CHM. She said that the event looks as if it's going to be a sell-out (capacity set at 400 with no extra space due to fire marshal restrictions). Ticket pre-registration for sponsors and invitees opens up soon. Regular registration for the general public opens up at the end of the month. Registration details will be at the website -- http://www.computerhistory.org

In another phone call with her Nov. 15, she provided clarification; if you become a Computer History Museum member for $65, you can be put on the pre-registration list for the event.

In an e-mail received last night, Bil Herd, CBM lead engineer in the development of the Commodore 128, has now confirmed that he will attend the event.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on November 20, 2007, 08:07:37 AM
Received an e-mail from Dave Haynie today. He has
offered to put my event videos up on his YouTube site. And
so, it seems that I will be mailing him DVD copies after the
show (Merry Christmas, Dave!).  

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Title: Re: Jack Tramiel at Computer History Museum - Dec. 10 !!!
Post by: RobertB on November 29, 2007, 09:31:30 PM
Registration for the general public has now opened up.  Go to
http://www.computerhistory.org/events/index.php?id=1193702785

Also notice the link at that page for watching the event live
over the Net.

         Truly,
         Robert Bernardo
         Fresno Commodore User Group
         http://videocam.net.au/fcug
         The Other Group of Amigoids
         http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/