CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers

[Digiman]

I am converting it to rtf format and I came across this.

On UAE
Do you plan some sort of a help for UAE project in order to add
support for PowerPC to this application?
I am told very little would be gained from that as there is very little
PPC software that is not already available to us non-emulated.

Not sure if this is my question cut to shreds but my point was a PPC core emulation + WIN UAE = OS4 running on x86 PCs like the worthless crap they sell

edit:
my question is here....
Why are you not doing the only sensible option of funding
PowerPC 604 CPU emulation core for WinUAE option so Amiga
OS4 could be run on your generic cobbled together medium
power PC compatible?
I see you are under certain delusions and will leave it at that.

Leave it at what? You pathetic overpriced chinese bargain bucket PC with underwhelming 3d/audio performance with Amiga logo stuck on them?

The delusional one is you Mr BS extreme. As your tiny budget only allows fooling people into buying your overpriced badly built Windows PCs + Amiga sticker and AROS want nothing to do with you YOUR LAST HOPE OF EVER GAINING A TINY BIT OF RESPECT IS GONE WITH. WinUAE+PPC CORE + OS4 is the only way to add any legitimacy to your $1 website.

"While we have no immediate plans for an A500 replica, we will surely produce it one day."

And added to that gem of a reply all he wants to sell badly built ugly chinese wintel machines usingthe C=/Amiga name :roflmao:

[Digiman]

No intent on contributing to linux, no intent in aros = no intent to buy your ****e.

And his opinions conveniently steer his products to PC Windows x86 motherboards with f**k all to do with even watered down "Amiga" machines running OS4. Apart from C64x case you could badge their products as ANY retro make. And to be honest Amiga Mini is more like an Atari Mega ST shrunk in the wash design-wise :roflmao:

(Mos and AROS are just Amiga like unofficial projects)

[Digiman]

For those people who are not excited by a linux pc, will you
genuinely have something of interest for them?
Yes, it’s called Windows, you may have heard of it. We are considering
providing that as an option beside Commodore OS. Ultimately, we are
OS agnostic, and don’t care if you go and install AROS or MacOSX on
our machines (at your own peril).

Says it all really, like a smelly old politician he purposefully misinterprets the question which clearly is asking for non x86 generic b0ll0x + Amiga sticker. More BS from Mr BS Altman. :laugh1:

[Digiman]

Is Amiga x86 going to have fully licensed Amiga ROM in order
to legally emulate previous systems?
Amiga ROMs for game emulation are part of our license.

So will we get some Roms burnt on a DVD-R with hand written label by marker pen? Do deluxe models get Workbench adfs too? :lol:

btw Amiga Inc own Kickstart? Thought Gateway gave them permission not sale of ownership?

[Digiman]

Why are you putting Amiga logo on HTPC cases, where are the
Amiga look-a-like cases?
We want to go beyond pure retro for a look that can also appeal to
more to a mainstream audience. We don’t want to put all our eggs in
the replica basket. Think of the new Mustangs, Mini’s and Beetles, for
an idea of what is in our mind regarding re-styling or re-imagining of
classic models. Our new models will pay similar homage, and to do so
they need to be pizza shaped like the classics or today’s HTPC units.
We will also likely sell towers by years end, but leveraging the classic
Amiga form factors seems the most appealing and distinctive option at
the moment.

Commodore NEVER made a slim pizza box case dumbass, and a handful of towers. Amiga = 1000,500,3000,1200 and nothing else design-wise is Amiga. This rubbish is like an Atari Mega ST shrunk in the wash  :flame:

Like I said this a$$wipe wants to sell off the shelf crap from china with some Amiga stickers, nobs rejoice your overpriced "Amiga" is hear. :banana:

[Digiman]

"It must be also realised that the majority of Amiga owners were solely
games players, using their Amigas in a similar fashion to consoles, and
while they may have used the machines for some other purposes now
and then, do not have any particular allegiance to the operating
system or chips in the machine, but loved the brand just the same. "

WRONG!

1. As many home users bought Dpaint as people with PCs at home bought spreadsheet programs.

2. Even only games playing Amigans KNEW Shadow o.t. Beast was better than ST/SNES versions because of them custom chips.

[Digiman]

What percentage of markup do you apply to your off the shelf
components, it seems dreadfully high?
Really? Same as Apple. They take their raw cost of materials and
DOUBLE it. That becomes their approx. selling price.  OK, I know we
are not Apple, but the principle remains the same.

No. Apple spend billions on themed consistent case design and a writing a bespoke OS, you bought some fugly cases.AIOs from China and slop a DVD-R of Linux with 1$ of inkjet printed case/leaflet :roflmao:

[Digiman]

@Nameless

OS4 and MOS are both the equivalent of MacOS 9.  They are as far as you can go with the original operating system.  The point where there is no patching able to make the operating system modern, the cost of rewriting AmigaOS to run on top of a Linux kernel, like Apple did with a BSD kernel, is too high and the payback is too small.  A decade or two in stagnation is too much to recover from.

C=USA is not in the retro business, except as it sells machines.  Yes the handful of us who still love and appreciate AmigaOS or the original C64 may not buy their products, but somebody who had a C64 as a child and hasn't seen or used one in many years might.  I've been thinking about getting the C64x, loading Windows 8 on it and using it as a conversation piece.  A bit of kitsch...  A souvenir of the early computer days that has some use.

Then they should stop selling substandard Wintel machine with C=/Amiga stickers for Apple RRPs and f**k off if they don't like the responses.

We only asked for bespoke replica cases suitable for Micro ATX or larger motherboards AT THE VERY LEAST.

[Digiman]

Why don't you cooperate with Yoz Montana in the matter of
Amiga cases which are modern, original and have some retro
feeling?
Frankly, because we have much better and more realistic ideas. His
design looks great, but when he designed it he seemed to forget you
need room for actual hardware inside. Of course we provided him with
feedback, and he came back with another larger design, but we
weren’t so enamoured with it. It really is a balancing act between
looks and functionality.

Erm

1, you STOLE his Amiga 500 inspired design and removed his name from image.

2, Amiga Mini $30 case is smaller than all his designs.

More evasive BS from Mr BS

Rich Text Format version of answers here

[Digiman]

You dont have to buy Amiga products if you dont like it. Simple as that.

They are NOT "Amiga products".

[Digiman]

Of course they are not more Amiga than MorphOS, AROS, Pegasos, Hyperion's OS4, Natami, Minimig, AmigaOne... you name it... but even the original Commdore sold cheap PC clones under Commodore brand. I dont understand why some people go apecrap when someone is selling PC clones under Amiga brand. It is just a name for god sake.

My point is they are no more Amiga than a Dell PC running Linux+UAE/Windws+WinUAE/AROS with the circular Dell badge removed and replaced with a boing ball sticker. Can they run RTG screened/AHI audio enabled system friendly code? No. At the very least they should get Amithlon legal and then update it for i7/Phenom motherboard chipsets.

In this respect imagine if Wintel failed in 1994 and it was Microsoft and Intel who went bust not Commodore and 18 years later a regular IBM Power7 based Commodore Amiga with Amiga OS 7.0 (the defacto standard) running Wing Commander via PC Task PPC was called the Intel Windows PC rising from the ashes with an Intel inside sticker. Same thing here, all emulated virtually via software, not even a similar CPU/motherboard architecture.

It may be a legaly Amiga branded chinese Wintel PC but it will NEVER be an Amiga, that's what Mr BS doesn't understand.

[Digiman]

With CUSAs reinvention of the Amiga and Commodore, Barry is recreating the hardware and not the software. Therein lies the conundrum. Therein lies the source of anger, angst and misunderstanding. As far as business goes, he is taking care of himself while trying to be polite. Most of us are angry because, once again, someone is taking the Amiga name and promoting it without keeping the essence of most of us consider to be the spirit of the Amiga (i.e. the software).

As frustrating as it is, it's hard to fault Barry for his efforts and ideas. If I had the money I'd have gone a completely different route, but I don't and therefore can't.

You don't have $9000 spare for 300 Chinese HTPC cases with free logo etching.

He is not recreating any hardware, these are off the shelf Wintel components and a lightly [badly] skinned Linux DVD-R.

I have $9000 spare, a better skinned version of a more popular OS but I don't feel like.....

1. raping the memory of an awesome 80s computer
2. destroying 68k Amigas to house PC motherboards inside their cases*
3. selling WinUAE running Wintel box as an Amiga

*(which would be worth more than his rubbish HTPC cases)

[Digiman]

And this comes down to what each of us thinks an "Amiga" is or should be. We in the Amiga community expect an "Amiga" to provide something of the experience we think of when using our classic Amigas.

But I already gave the bare minimum for what is an Amiga. Linux+UAE/Windows+WinUAE is not an Amiga.

My point is they are no more Amiga than a Dell PC running Linux+UAE/Windws+WinUAE/AROS with the circular Dell badge removed and replaced with a boing ball sticker. Can they run RTG screened/AHI audio enabled system friendly programs natively?

Natively = without UAE except for non-RTG/AHI stuff that needs Amiga chipset. ie what OS4 does.

So the only off the shelf Windows PC on sale you can remotely call NG Amiga is ARESone because it is built for AROS and the 100% working preloaded AROS Broadway achieves that goal. Amiga Mini may/may not even be 100% compatible and is sold only as a Linux x86 box. Amithlon is another option and you still need to buy AmigaOS 3.9 CD.

[Digiman]

Thinking about the car analogy....

New Mustang- looks almost identical, has a lovely V8, handles like a wet track testing session just like the original AND YET it has all new engine/body/interior. Result is nostalgic elders and new generation love it.

What our BS expert is doing is sticking a Mustang badge on a front wheel drive 4 cylinder Ford Focus and charging 100% mark up then calling it the next generation Mustang.

It will flop, why?

1. people who don't care it isn't even an AROS computer won't buy that spec for that price. PCs in that case sell on ebay for half his price.

2. people who would pay a bit extra like us for the name know it looks nothing like any Amiga EVER sold (inc prototypes) in design and is not even running Amithlon/AROS.

C64x is different, case and keyboard were unique and therefore had a novelty appeal looks wise just as an expensive toy to use with WinVICE.

Until an actual replica Amiga case is made nobody but a handful of retards will buy this "BS Amiga"

[Digiman]

I read the whole thing and sadly only one fact is now completely apparent.He is quite literally just selling the name 'Amiga' for an exorbitant sum.Anyone could just rebadge a pc and it would be the same exact thing.I really don't see anything of note coming from this company at any point in the future which is made all the more apparent by his answers. I doubt that the name 'Amiga' stuck on a pc is enought to make any headway into the pc market either.These guys will be gone in a short few years.What are they offering over a regular pc to entice new users.So why would anyone want to buy the amiga mini or whatever it's called.Eventually another company might spring up calling themselves commodore and the cycle will continue...

I also got the impression he thinks C=USA is like Apple. Someone should tell him Apple....

1. Use a bespoke unique in-house exclusive OS.
2. Use a bespoke unique in-house designed case.
3. Offer bespoke unique in-house exclusive services to integrate iPad/iPhone/iPod
4. Were around as a company during the birth of the PET and VCS/2600.

C=USA was just some company that used to import furniture from Asia last decade.