The Downward Spiral of Amiga Incorporated

[Damion]

Quite an interesting article JamesR, thanks.

BTW, I just read the other day that apparently
both McEwan AND "Fleecy" were sacked by
previous management before they took over??? Is
that true? It could say alot about things ending
up the way they did, it's certainly not
a good sign anyway.

[SHADES]

I have read everything here and still, there are no real FACTS.
 I have to agree with Korodny, although things are very quiet, partners of the company are not sueing and AI has not filed for bankrupcy.

This is an opinoin only, I hope it proves wrong.

[Floid]

This'd be a little less disingenuous if it didn't appear as a front page story right when the A1Lite press has 'the public' looking, after sitting on ANN for what, at least a week?

That said, I've only skimmed it, but it's not that bad.  If something has to be 'bad,' it's running it as a boldfaced headline, implying it's a shock come out of the blue, making it look like all the recent *good* news was some sort of last gasp before the doors were shuttered.  (When, as it's played out, they were shuttered about a year ago, and somehow things have managed to still stagger on and near the point of shipping.)

This is also the first time I've seen the official-looking 'Staff Writer' heading and such, at least in quite a while; I can buy that with the launch of the magazine, but I'm sure someone's having a chuckle over it.  Just as they are with the giant AMIGA and the tiny little (.org) patch on the cover.

I'm not calling doom, gloom, or even shenanigans on anyone, but at this point, I reserve the right to sigh and chuckle when anyone wants me to take any of it seriously, especially disclaimers of bias from any side.  :-P

Hey, we're only human!

[Tigger]

I have read everything here and still, there are no real FACTS.
I have to agree with Korodny, although things are very quiet, partners of the company are not sueing and AI has not filed for bankrupcy.

 What do you think are not real facts, the cases against Amiga Inc by Matt, Bolten & others are part of the public record, Bill McEwen's deposition is part of the public record, what exactly is not a fact in your mind here??
     -Tig

[dammy]

Poster: SHADES Date: 2003/9/24 1:43:13

I have read everything here and still, there are no real FACTS.

Oh, but there are alot of FACTS in the story.  You may not like them, but that does not take away from their status of being FACTS.

I have to agree with Korodny, although things are very quiet, partners of the company are not sueing and AI has not filed for bankrupcy.

Remember, bankruptsy can be non-voluntary.  Creditors, and IIRC, or the courts, can force a company into bankruptsy regardless on what the executive officers wishes are.

Dammy

[FuZion]

I find this quite a sad read.

The Amiga name has been around for a good time & it will be sad to lose the brand.

Saying that though, I always have & will continue to wish Eyetech & Hyperion the absolute best of luck in their projects.

I have an AmigaOne & even though will never see my $50 coupon (Really though, I don't mind. If they needed it, they needed it) I would do it again if Hyperion needed it.

If Amiga doesn't survive this, you will be missed. But saying that, as always, chin up everyone & here's to the future.

FuZion.

[yssing]

I wish Hyperion and Eyetech the best of luck.
I relly hope that hey can continue with the amiga as it is now.
New HW and new OS upgrades.

Nice article >

I would not mind to give a little extra, if Hyperion needed it. The products I have bought from them so far have been great, and there have been good support on them also.

BTW. I need an A1Lite with AOS4.0

[DarkHawke]

An excellent article, James, and damn high time that someone tracked down some facts in this latest Amiga debacle.  I guess the dream is dead.  No, not the common, ordinary dream of new hardware/OS.  The hardware is out, and I guess OS 4 will see release at some point (then again, I was firmly convinced at one time that the Boxer would come out!).  I'm not even talking about the DE; that too came about, albeit in a limited fashion and not nearly as fully fledged as it was supposed to.  I am talking about the OE, the Operating Enviroment that would have run on all hardware and seamlessly networked them all, and allowed access of everything by anything else and given you the best performance a given hardware platform could offer (rather like communism, only with computers and actually workable!).  I guess it was all puffery, or may as well be at this point.  Damn.  What the hell's the point anymore? :-(

[tintin]

Nice article.  Still missing some pieces of the puzzle though.  How about this AmigaMCC or something ?
Where is that coming from ?  How is it tied in with A.Inc etc...
Basically I think the main thing is the future of Eyetech and Hyperion, if they can keep going, even if they have to call it EyetechOne and Hyperion OS4 then basically nothing is lost.  Genesi already proved that you can apeal to the Amiga mob with an Amiga-like product without the actual name.  There's even scenarios thinkable where finally OS4 ends up on the Peg.
In short, nothing is lost and we are still closer to a "new" Amiga than we have ever been, heck, some would even say it's already among us...

[Tigger]

If you're going to do such a detailed report, and you're going to mention the "2.2 million" number several times, wouldn't it also be neccessary to mention that the vast majority of that amount (1.8 million IIRC) are not real debts, but money owed to the company's executive officers (assuming that McEwen tells the truth, but obviously you are ####uming that)? Bill and Fleecy certainly won't sue themselves for outstanding salaries.

The issue is Bill is either lying about the total debt (which I think is most likely) or lying about the big 3 being owed 1.8 million.   Why???  Bill McEwen is saying that all other debts is about 400K, basically we know that number is way lower then it really is, but lets add it up for fun.

Bolten Peck     (with Interest)       80K+
Matt Fontenot  
(Interest starts tomorrow)            37K+
Management Group                         50K
Delivery Service                                15K
CAM                                                      65K
Party Pack                                          70K

Now that Total is 317K, so apparently either 83K is enough to pay back wages for 11 people for the last 15 months (plus the paychecks they missed ala Bolten & Peck) or Bill is severly underestimating the debt he currently has outstanding.   Thats right either Ray, Gary and the rest of the gang work for less then $500 a month, or Bills number is inaccurate.    Frankly the back salaries for the non big 3, virtually has to be over 1/2 a million and of course increasing weekly and could be quite a bit larger.   If they quit, McEwen would owe them double that (plus interest) according to Washington State Law, (both Matt & Bolten got that in their cases).  

You should either come up with a detailed explanation (why Amiga Inc. going bancrupt would "have the potential to change this") or you should avoid stating things like that. Asking the involved parties for a statement regarding this matter before posting it would be a good idea too.

When a US company declares (or is forced into) bankruptcy, the judge in the bankruptcy court (especially if its a liquidation) usually declares null & void all contracts made by the company.  Thus the two partners would not have their licenses with Amiga Inc.   There are lots of sites where you can read all about Corporate bankruptcy, but understand, Amiga Inc will no qualify for a reorganization (only liquidation) unless they find a white knight with a big pocket book.
     -Tig

[Red_Melons]

A more accurate title for this thread would be "Amiga.org loses it's objectivity and integrity, becomes Genesi.org, and is now not worth reading".

[DaveP]

So is this a taster of Amiga.org magazine or just a rejected article?

[DaveP]

@Tig

Now now don't be silly.

You know as well as I do that Party Pack and CAM promotions
would not be included in that figure unless a class action
was undertaken and was successful.

You know nothing of the status of the employment of the
Amiga Inc staf, how they have been paid ( salaried? options? per
profit? voluntary ).

 the judge in the bankruptcy court (especially if its a liquidation) usually declares null & void all contracts made by the company

Really upsets you that Hyperion and Eyetech may continue to
trade unnaffected doesn't it. I notice you have finally allowed that
chink of doubt to creep into your argument "usually" and you still
miss out who the contract is with - or perhaps you do not know yourself?

Still, in order for there to be fear there first has to be uncertainty
and a dose of doubt.

[Damion]

@Red_Melons and DaveP:

Ya know there's an old saying "don't shoot
the messenger(s)"

And as far as "arguments" go I think the facts
stand pretty sadly on their own accord..

[DaveP]

@-D-

Theres an old saying, before you pull the trigger on a loaded gun, first aim it.

In otherwords, where do I shoot James "messenger"?

 :-?

This has all the hallmarks of a magazine editorial article, from the "Staff Writer" to the way it is structured. Hence my first comment.

My second comment was aimed at Bill "Tigger" Evans holding forth his usual "expert" legal opinion.

[alx]

This isn't a comment on the contents of the article, but IMO this would be much better placed under an "Editorials" section on the left, like interviews, with a news item saying that it had been added.  However objective the article may be (I don't know the facts well enough so I cannot comment), it's certainly not "news" like everything else there is.