CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers

[Darrin]

To capitalize from Nostalgia. In the interview, there is no doubt that nostalgia is running the show, but if people want nostalgia, they may as well get the old Amiga.

Exactly.  That that's the issue they face.  It should have been obvious to them.

[Darrin]

I might be tarred and feathered but here's how I'd have done it:

Develop a case that looks like either an A1200 or A1000 case (or a 2000 or whatever. Something iconic looking)

Develop a nice, high quality keyboard to go with it (no cheap boing balls here), complete with proper "amiga" keys and branding.

Develop a proper amiga mouse. I dont know if there'd be a future for a USB "tank mouse". I'd buy one but maybe I'd be the only one.

Develop a desktop environment for linux that actually feels amiga. AmiWM is not enough but it could developed more, or something could be done from scratch.


Be upfront with what it is going to be, and voila. Don't pretend to be the second coming of Commodore. You're selling a novelty case, keyboard etc, and it's a nice, consistent package.

Of course, this requires investment and money but if you were a hugely successfull business man, no problem!

See, I'd have done all of those things, added the old C64 graphics to the keys too, preloaded a bunch of old emulators and sold it as a "Commodore Retro 1000" or something.  Still no need to call it an Amiga.  

[Darrin]

So the solution is an easy one then. CUSA restarts Amithlon?

Yep, that would have worked a treat.  Amithlon, Bernielon, AmigaXL...  The major stumbling block seems to be them having to pay someone to do some work.

[Darrin]

The major stumbling block would be running headlong into the AI/Hyperion settlement agreement once again.

#6

Which leaves selling "Commodore" branded x86 boxes pre-installed with Linux and/or Windows and then selling Amithlon as additional software for their online shop for the user to install as an option.

[Darrin]

@Darrin

Don't you understand that Commodore USA "most likely" can't sell or even give it away from free WITH or WITHOUT one of our machines.
Dissemination is the issue within the settlement.

Time to stop abusing the Amiga name then and stick to selling Linux PCs.

How much of your own money have you "invested" in this?  I'd bail out now if I was you.

[Darrin]

Then you should be glad to be told you are wrong.  Tech support is given for hardware and COS.  I've been in the office when a C=USA customer calls up and is walked through a resolution of his tech problem.  Leo is online and answers many a COS or tech question from emails and on commodore-amiga.org posts.

Now will you admit your wrong?

Someone answering the phone when they happen to be in the office isn't "24 hour technical support".

The CTO should be the Tech Support guy either.  I guess it was either Leo or Barry.

Strange how you spend so much time in their office for a non-employee...

[Darrin]

No Amiga Forever included? How can the Amiga Mini even be called an Amiga if it gives no provision to run Amiga software even emulated out of the box.

That's anew isn't it?  It has always been "suggested" that the full version of Mint (sorry, I mean COS) was fully licenced and contained everything you need to legally run the emulators.  Now we discover that it is no better than downloading UAE off the internet.

Of course C-USA can state that they never promised anything different and this was their plan all along because they use "non-employees" to make "unofficial statements" which sound like "official statements" so that there is no legal comeback.

[Darrin]

It doesn't even included the Value Edition of Amiga Forever? Now that's what I call being cheap!

It must be due to their tight profit margins based on their extremely low mark-ups.  There's no spare cash.

[Darrin]

Correct, for those who buy a barebones system and install whatever CPU/Mobo/GPU/PSU they want, they are deal with the headaches.  It would not be reasonable if someone installs whatever hardware for C=USA to have to support it, as it needs to be the retailer since they are the ones who bought the hardware and have access to warranties.   As an example, let us say someone bought a new Commodore Amiga 1000X barebones model and sold it with a SAM460 installed in it.  No way C=USA is going to be able to give support, it would be the retailer who assembled it would be the one providing support.  You have a issue with this or is it just a convenient excuse to troll against C=USA?

You know perfectly well that those are not the people Vox is talking about.  Well done for avoiding the "support" issue.  Mind you, even when we do back you into a corner you'll simply give the standard "Don't know why you're asking me, I don't work for C-USA" reply as per your orders.

[Darrin]

For a new topic, how about what everyone plans on doing with their FPGA Arcade systems?

I'm anxiously waiting on the daughtercard option so I can run my BBS on it ( need ethernet), even got a case for it already, the Antec Skeleton Mini case.

Now that's different!  

[Darrin]

@Vox. As Commodore USA is still a small company it is not currently possible to make everyone's (including ours) dream come true in regard to fulfilling various things the community wants that would denote more of the Amiga's heritage. This is regrettable, but unavoidable at the moment. We have stated the clear intention to do so. Barry even did so a few times in the interview. There have been various miss-steps of course, and all sorts of things were either promised prematurely or stated as plans in the euphoria of the moment of having secured usage of the trademarks. So what? Sometimes things don't go to plan. Stuff happens. But why that should in any way cause such consternation I have no idea. No one is forcing you to buy our products and nothing in your computing life has changed really. You just have another entity with the same goals as most of you, that can't do it all right now, but hopes to.

Incidentally, that magazine(?) article is incorrect. Amiga ROMs for game emulation are under our license from Amiga Inc. Because of this, after many months of discussions, we are still on the fence as to whether it is worth our while licensing Amiga Forever.

Yeah, because paying $10 for the basic version of Amiga Forever is such a hard decision to make.  God help C-USA actually pay someone for their OS content.

[Darrin]

Funny, isn't it? They claim they'll do anything the community asks (AKA Community Challenge) and yet can't make a decision as simple as that...

Decision making isn't their strong point.

According to Dammy, they had shipped thousands of C64x units while Leo was still trying to make a decision as to whether he should include a mouse in the box.

Strange one that.  It is kind of hard to put a mouse in the box AFTER the thousands of units had been shipped to the customers, but then what do we know.  

Did they ever actually include a mouse with the C64x or was the $5 cost too much?

[Darrin]

and I do believe you have even announced a Partnership with Cloanto

Oooh!  Good catch!

Yes, the did announce such a "partnership" which is why everyone assumed that Amiga Forever was part of the package.

I wonder what happened to this deal.  Perhaps Cloanto backed out when the first cheque failed to clear (or even arrive).

[Darrin]

Funny, the Amiga online community couldn't get 500 people to agree on a specific item for C=USA to make for them but you complain about C=USA holding off on making a decision on AF?

IMO, C=USA should include AF in the installed COS systems.

Funnt how C-USA couldn't answer any questions as to WHAT they actually could deliver, thus fragmenting the possible producted into as many options as possible.  In short, C-USA had no wish or ability to provide a product the community wanted and it was just a quick mind-game to silence us while you sold PCs with Amiga names on them.

The problem with these games you play is that people see striaght through them.  iWin were better poker players than you guys.

[Darrin]

If (big if) C=USA have Kickstart included in unit/volume licensing they don't need Amiga Forever legally.

However on the other hand they need to supply digital copies of the ROMs with each computer rather than hosting the existing piratey ROMs out there for downloads or condoning Google searches for unencrypted ROM downloads. This is the quagmire of legal emulation description however and why, as I understand it, Cloanto had to encrypt ROMs they supply so they could not be used by people with no right to use them with freely available [WIN]UAE and only licensed Amiga Forever.

Obviously not having UAE installed and configured on each machine sold is Ostrich head in the sand 'solution'

Very true, although as Vox (and C-USA) have said, they did announce that agreement.  Once again it was to try and add "value" to a product that has none.  

C-USA announce a "new" OS included in the price of their machines so people think they're also buying a $100 Operating System like Windows or MacOS.  Instead they get free Linux.

C-USA announce a partnership with Cloanto so people think they're getting a $30 software package included in the price.  The package silently vanishes.

Customers think they're getting "real" tech support.  Instead they play roulette and hope somebody happens to be near the telephone when they call.

The list goes on...

[Darrin]

Asking customers to design product scope & specification without an accurate description of technical solutions C=USA has the competency to design and build is NOT a viable business plan. Asking them to pay up front is also lunacy.

It is 100% down to C=USA to define their ability to legally, technically and financially be able to potential deliver the following....

1. C64x style bespoke identical replica Amiga case + keyboard + mouse
2. Ability to license existing/build new PPC motherboards with OS4 compatibility
3. Feasibility of x86 Amithlon+OS3.9 or AROS system being developed.

All I saw was a $500,000 attempted scam.

Yep, and pity the poor bugger who volunteered to collect the cash.  Imagine trying to collect US$500 worth of Pounds, Euros, Australian Dollars, New Zealand Dollars, Pobble Beads, Chickens, Goats, etc, with fluctuating exchange rates.  Imagine then trying to refund money to people who back out or when the whole deals turns out to be bollocks.  The transaction fees alone would hurt.

It was a completely insane idea from a company who is supposed to be in business.  The fact that they suggested it meant that they either knew it wouldn't happen and/or they have no concept on how financial transactions work in a global market.

The idea of having "someone else" organise it and hold the money was a cleaver ploy to protect themselves legally.  Kind of like offloading their product assembly and technical support onto the "dealers" they're trying to recruit.