It should been a mere pittance for a company that would had us believe their advertising budget was some millions of dollars. You are the second top poster on the CUSA forums, are you just a fan are some how affiliated to this company?
Yes I am indeed the same person, and yes I have heard that argument before.
However I am not affiliated with them. As I said time and again here on A.org and everywhere else I am just a customer of theirs who happen to appreciate what they do, who visits them from time to time (albeit a little overzealously) because I see they have a potent future to develop for the Amiga & Commodore community if they manage it right. And like all here I want to see Commodore & Amiga back as a great brand with great innovative products...eventually with their own engineering team to develop customized chipsets like the old days. To me the Intel platform for them is just a stepping stone....it's just the start. How other people see them (or me for that matter) is not my concern...
That said, on the subject of the new Mini I do find their recent pricing has been chaotic, and I understand the frustrations felt by folks like yourself that it doesn't seem good enough. And they have done good to listen to the community and knock off $500 off the top price. I know to some it may still not be enough...they are no Apple with thousands of retail stores dotted all over the world....but at least it's a start.
As it happens I do try to help everyone in my capacity as an Amiga & CUSA community member, by stating what I believe modern day users realistically want from the Amiga and Commodore brands. To be realistic to bring the brands and products into fruition we have to take into account to what has happened to the manufacturing of computers in the last 20 years in particular spare parts as there have been so many changes. Supplies Commodore used to use are no longer there ie. SID chips - so we have to be realistic in what the make-up of the new system should be. And we all believe Intel now is the way to go for there to be any future at all for the Amiga platform - as for the price and performance it is unbeatable. As an ideas person primarily, I've said to Barry and Leo what I really want from an Amiga i.e. new practical and powerful A500s/A1000s, and told them their pricing of the machines and the specs they offer have to be competitive to appeal to the market. I offer them ideas and solutions as to what they may be. Sometimes I see them veering off course, and I try to bring them back on track with what should be important (given my experience of 30+ years of computing and management experience). The Mini wasn't my suggestion of course, but I see why they decided to bring it out. It appeals to those who lives in tight spaces and is looking for a real alternative to a Mac Mini or HTPC for their needs. It may not appeal to all but I think they have a good strategy. I think having it Amiga branded is just the icing on the cake...
