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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: SysAdmin on January 16, 2012, 04:22:30 AM

Title: Looking back
Post by: SysAdmin on January 16, 2012, 04:22:30 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/circuits/articles/22amig.html?oref=login

Reflecting back after 12 years what was his goal? Was he just an agent of Microsoft, something more or just foolish?
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: kolla on January 16, 2012, 04:57:44 AM
His goal was to make money, and for most part, he failed.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: B00tDisk on January 16, 2012, 05:45:28 AM
Quote from: Transition;676083
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/circuits/articles/22amig.html?oref=login

Reflecting back after 12 years what was his goal? Was he just an agent of Microsoft, something more or just foolish?


"an agent of Microsoft"?  For reals, dude?
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: commodorejohn on January 16, 2012, 06:00:49 AM
Another vulture in a line of vultures, if a longer-lived vulture than most.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: ChaosLord on January 16, 2012, 06:50:45 AM
What makes you think he is not an agent of Mehdi Ali?
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: mousehouse on January 16, 2012, 07:04:11 AM
I really have no clue whatsoever who this guy is. And I'm always an optimistic & positive guy but how are you going to support a company with 20 employees by only selling an OS that is not available (if I understand correctly)? Would make more sense to me to port AmigaOS4 to x86 (debated extensively, not realistically doable) or rewrite it (AROS, already being done, free). Also, the Amiga was killed by vaporware and unrealistic announcements that never made it (underwhelming people with what actually did make it to the market) and it doesn't seem like they have something I can buy now...

I'm having a very hard time convincing myself that this will fly...
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: TheDaddy on January 16, 2012, 07:14:40 AM
Nice shoes...
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Krischan76 on January 16, 2012, 07:23:16 AM
A former truck driver who, to that point, has never owned an Amiga before. Well, well, well. (Nothing bad about truck drivers, though.)
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: haywirepc on January 16, 2012, 10:27:22 AM
Bill is the worst or all the amiga grave robbers.

At that point, there was still some hope. He squandered every opportunity to find success in favor of greed. Pure greed, period.

1) Screwing morphos - Morphos was poised to become the new amiga os, instead this dumbass decided to code an os from scratch.

2) Screwing amithlon - Here was another great option for amiga to continue.
Silly Billy Killed that.

3) Hyperion... Nice way to treat your partners you dumbass.

At these points in time, amiga still could have re-emerged as a small nich but still been somewhat relevant or competitive in the pc world. Instead, silly billy ruined every chance amiga had at succeeding.

Nice job.


Whats the latest on all the tablets people paid for that they never got?
The store at amiga inc is still closed, typical. He can't even put amiga stickers on cheap asian imported tablets and ship them right
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Jope on January 16, 2012, 10:58:58 AM
Quote from: haywirepc;676116
2) Screwing amithlon - Here was another great option for amiga to continue.
Silly Billy Killed that.


Even without Amiga Inc and the AmigaOS licensing mess, there was still Harald Frank throwing sticks through the spokes. ;-)
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: hishamk on January 16, 2012, 12:27:43 PM
You know, I'd really like to hear Bill's take on this. Maybe the writer of that original article can interview him again? Or maybe we could?

Oh well. It's all in the past. Or the present. Who cares now.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: danwood on January 16, 2012, 12:37:43 PM
Quote from: hishamk;676124
You know, I'd really like to hear Bill's take on this. Maybe the writer of that original article can interview him again? Or maybe we could?

Oh well. It's all in the past. Or the present. Who cares now.

Bill's been in hiding for many years now, I believe his last public appearance/communication with the community was around 2007, he's blanked all correspondence since, emails to amiga.com are unanswered, phone lines disconnected.

Good luck contacting or finding him, from anyone who wanted to develop, licence or sell Amiga products, emails have gone unanswered for years, except (oddly) CUSA...
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: giZmo350 on January 16, 2012, 02:48:35 PM
So that's Uncle Bill 'eh?
Always wondered what he looked like....
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: jorkany on January 16, 2012, 02:58:49 PM
Quote from: danwood;676128
Bill's been in hiding for many years now, I believe his last public appearance/communication with the community was around 2007, he's blanked all correspondence since, emails to amiga.com are unanswered, phone lines disconnected.

I've heard his mansion located in the backwoods of WA state doesn't have a phone. Here's a picture of it:

(http://campyclassics.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/draft_lens3130832module19615172photo_1236502692hillbilly_redneck-mansion.jpg)
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: persia on January 16, 2012, 03:02:31 PM
well in Hyperions's case he met his match, they screwed him before he could screw them...
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Darrin on January 16, 2012, 03:06:51 PM
12 years???!!!  :(
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: TheDaddy on January 16, 2012, 03:38:53 PM
Quote from: Darrin;676149
12 years???!!!  :(


I can't get over his white shoes (boots?) in that photo, like a pimp?! :D
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Pentad on January 16, 2012, 03:52:53 PM
Would you folks mind my 2 cents worth?

What has always flustered me is that other companies either go bankrupt or get bought out and many come out just fine.  Commodore had a decent if not cutting edge technology platform in 1994 so they should have been ripe for some well known companies to purchase them.  They could have done something very nice and moved the technology on.

How the hell did some many crappy companies end up with the remains of Commodore?

The only company that I felt had a chance was Gateway.  They had the R&D, money, and business to use the Commodore technology and evolve it.  They actually seemed to care and put some effort behind it.  Yet, poof!  They are gone.  Rumors of MS threatening Gateway about the Commodore effort swirled but I do not know it it was true.

To be blunt, other than Gateway, these other people seemed incompetent.

Now, I'm going to score some low points here but I started to see the writing on the wall in 1993-ish and sold my Amiga 400 et al while the value was still high. I was finishing college and moved to Macintosh.  I was a die hard fan but I had my career to think about.

When Commodore went bankrupt I wasn't shocked but was saddened.  Yet, I figured that somebody else would buy the technology and move it along.

The one technology that should have had a second chance never did.  What a waste.  What a shame.

That article is 12 years old but might as well be 1200 years old in terms of technology.


:-(

-P
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Darrin on January 16, 2012, 04:07:38 PM
Quote from: TheDaddy;676153
I can't get over his white shoes (boots?) in that photo, like a pimp?! :D


LOL.  I bet his car has a leopard-skin dashboard cover.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: number6 on January 16, 2012, 04:24:26 PM
Quote from: Pentad;676155
How the hell did some many crappy companies end up with the remains of Commodore?



Don't get confused by the names. For the most part it's the same fellow throughout...just changing names of the "companies".

#6
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: smerf on January 16, 2012, 04:43:58 PM
Hi,

I don't even think Microsoft would hire somebody that dumb. I mean I know Microsoft has hired some real idiots, but .........

smerf
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on January 16, 2012, 05:20:44 PM
Quote from: danwood;676128
Bill's been in hiding for many years now, I believe his last public appearance/communication with the community was around 2007, he's blanked all correspondence since, emails to amiga.com are unanswered, phone lines disconnected.

Good luck contacting or finding him, from anyone who wanted to develop, licence or sell Amiga products, emails have gone unanswered for years, except (oddly) CUSA...



I would bet that he's gone back to truck driving.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: jorkany on January 16, 2012, 05:31:48 PM
Quote from: smerf;676163
Hi,

I don't even think Microsoft would hire somebody that dumb. I mean I know Microsoft has hired some real idiots, but .........

smerf


In one interview McBill brags about how Amiga Inc. poached from Microsoft because they were "right down the street". If he WAS working for Microsoft, it was as a bleed valve to get the interminably stupid out of the Redmond facility.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Pyromania on January 16, 2012, 06:49:14 PM
Quote from: Pentad;676155
I started to see the writing on the wall in 1993-ish and sold my Amiga 400 et al while the value was still high. I was finishing college and moved to Macintosh.  I was a die hard fan but I had my career to think about.

That article is 12 years old but might as well be 1200 years old in terms of technology.


:-(

-P

Thanx for sharing your two cents. Did you have a prototype Amiga? I did not know Commodore even made a Amiga 400. Was that just a A500 with 100 less pixels or something? You are right the technology has come a long way since 2000. I'm still holding out for a Quantum Computer though.
Title: Re: Looking back
Post by: Mazze on January 16, 2012, 09:12:14 PM
I found him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_McEwan