Interview with KMOS CEO Garry Hare (25 Mar 04)

[Argo]

You can find me at http://spookychick.com hanging out with the wife and a few friends, talking about horrible things.

I though that's what was happening here.  :-?

[Argo]

@bhoggett
  It's a nice change up. This addition of the Outsider character. I hope it's just not a sweeps gimick!

[Waccoon]

Reflect:  A business card doesn't constitute a legal ID card

My feelings exactly.  Hare made a mistake, passing out a prototype card saying, "hey, lookit!"  Some people just got over-excited and jumped to conclusions.  That happens a lot with Amiga.  An error, but saying it is fraud or criminal is a stretch.  Still, it doesn't make much sense of McEwen saying in court that he was NOT CEO, as T_Bone points out (I don't follow court drama, so I don't know the truth to that).  Given how Amiga, Inc. has handled things since day one, I wouldn't be surprised if McEwen was taking advantage of the situation.  I'll only care if Amiga actually releases something, and the courts are still sniffing about and Amiga people are still waiting for their "free" stuff.

Frankly, I'm just sick of the business card issue.    There's not a doubt that Hare made a mistake, and he'll have to live with it.  At least we have his side of the story, now.

I still intend to bash Amiga, Inc. about the coupons, though.  That will never cease to be fun.    At least it's amusing to know I (technically) already own OS4, even if I don't have hardware on which to run it.  ;-)

Amiga Inc, KMOS are IT companies, therefore website IS IMPORTANT.

When it's time... when it's time.

Because, you know, I thought websites were about content, not linking to other sites.

He's a Business Man, not even close to being Joe Hacker CEO.

Leave the hacking to those who can hack it.  One only hopes that a true manager steps out of the way and gives his team credit for intelligence now and then.  Seeing how Mehdi Ali is now my dad's boss (no, really), the company is in serious financial trouble, and he might well lose his job before the year is out, I'll be pleased to see *any* CEO in charge of Amiga technology that knows buisiness but lets engineers do their work in peace.

I don't know what people hate about suits, anyway.  I love to dress up when going to work!

[Kronos]

Funny how some people learnt absolutly NOTHING over the past 10 years ....

[T_Bone]

@Iondeluxe
"Impersonation huh? it is impersonation if he said he was CEO, or said nothing. But he said he was not yet CEO of AMiga Inc and is thereby not impersonating a CEO. That is the "evidence" we have.Now so many people choose to ignore this "evidence" saying its not reliable,"(snip)

it's not reliable... We have heresay saying "I wasn't CEO" and then we have sworn testimony in federal court saying "Garry Hare is CEO"

When you have a contradiction of this nature, simple word of mouth is not reliable. Frankly, with the information available, one would be a fool to be certain either way. That's a lesson that should have been learned with the business cards themselves, and Amiga Inc's attempt to discredit them.

[bloodmoney]

Glad to see the card Issue put to rest.
Good interview. :-D

[HyperionMP]

I have no problem with you venting your underresearched opinions although I disagree with most of them.

I do take issue with you presenting pure speculation as near fact.

Let's take that last example of yours, the claim that Ben Hermans would have helped with raising the funding for Amiga.

That claim is total nonsense and anybody with a grain of intelligence would understand that Hyperion would have acquired the Amiga assets in that case, not Amino.

I apologise for interjecting a note of logic here.

[HyperionMP]

You mean from incidents like the Viscorp fiasco?

Yes, indeed.

[ikir]

Very nice reading in my opinion.

[KennyR]

HyperionMP wrote:
You mean from incidents like the Viscorp fiasco?

Way to deflect, Ben. Although you did forget to criticise the poster's intelligence/knowledge that time. You're slipping.

[Kronos]

@Ben

That would just be one minor incident in the long line from the
C=-UK-buyout-fiasko to the we_will_do_OS4_in_a_few_months_fiasko  ...

And the lesson that was to be lear6ned is:
Words are cheap, so don't trust anybody who tries to tell you the
future is so bright, but refuses to actually tell you how to do it.

Especially when that someone takes >1000 word to basicly say nothing.

Allways expect the product to stay the way it is right now. You may
hhope for updates, but you should never pút yourself in
a position where you have to rely on those updates to make your
investment worthwhile.

[boing]

Hare's chronic usage of first name's is annoying.  Instead of saying "Bob" why can't he say "Bob Public, chairman of Company XYZ".  Not all of us know who is contact are.  yeesh.


As usual, the good stuff needs no comment, so I'll respond to the things that concern me.


After Amiga's first filing, I received a call from the CEO of, as far as I could tell, a Company completely unrelated to the Amiga/Thendic dispute. He was very upset that he didn't get to file a Declaration. I explained that his Company wasn't involved in this dispute. He said, "so what", and offered to pay part of the legal costs. Interesting.

  Well that's nice to tweak us and then not tell us any more.  :-(


I like Amiga's DE product and, particularly their distribution agreement with Microsoft and, I trust, others. Given my content background it is a natural interest. But I am focused on the requirements of a specific customer.

MS?  Ick.  You get too close and they Borg you.  Anyway who is thie specific customer?  i ask because he didn't say SQUAT about the ex-Amigans who want a modernized Amiga.


Really, I think it bites that there's even an issue about the PegasOS computer.  If the AmigaOS4.0 runs on it, great!  No license should be required.  This is as insane as the USPO allowing software methods to be patented by software companies (like the guy with the patent on using the XOR logic function to do reverse video for cursors, etc.).  Corporations and lawyers are making a mockery of the common sense that was supposedly once the bedrock of innovation.



 One of the features that attracted us to the Amiga OS in the first place is that, by definition, it is cross-platform. Improvement in any one market should improve the others, including the desktop. If the same application played across all platforms and devices, so much the better.

Uhhh, does this guy even know what the Amiga is, or what the Amiga OS is?  It was converted to mostly C by 1990 (with notably slowdowns) and here it is 2004 and we still don't have it ported.  C being portable or even easily ported has always been a glib claim.  Cross assemblers and transassemblers, that's the way to go.


Hey whatever happend with that Chinese Lotus Amiga?


A while back I was in China talking with one of the ministers concerned with economic development

How about asking about human rights while you're there?  Just asking.  :-)


I've never owned an Amiga Computer and, as far as I can remember, never touched an Amiga keyboard.

Freaking wonderful.  He's an unwashed heathen?  At least Fleecy had an Amiga, albeit belatedly and he was just a software guy.


Its a free country - at least mine was until a few years ago.

OK, well at least we're on board with the Bush and Ashcroft thing.


I know many of you reading this might consider buying a computer due to the operating system installed.

Some of us care most about novel hardware.  Then comes the good OS.  A good OS on merely-adequate hardware is a waste of effort.

[Trezzer]

"Sorry, I've exhausted all the "good faith" and "benefit of the doubt" when it comes to things Amiga. After more than a decade of ****, can you blame me?"

Actually, I think so. There's no reason to leave civilized behaviour behind. Even if your words are not categorically uncivilized the semantics are.

Of course you are not the only one as most have or will lose their temper at some point. That doesn't really make it acceptable though.

Some of the people who go ballistic in one way or the other seem to have lost their mind to outsiders. I guess only other Amigans will have any way of understanding them - even if they don't sympathize with them.

[IonDeluxe]

We have heresay saying "I wasn't CEO"

Its not hearsay when it comes from the source.

and then we have sworn testimony in federal court saying "Garry Hare is CEO

I have not seen this, can you provide a link?

and Amiga Inc's attempt to discredit them.

Amiga Inc never tried to confirm or deny that the credit card was legit. They only said Bill McEwen was CEO and no more.

Frankly, with the information available, one would be a fool to be certain either way

I agree, if you read my post carefully I have said we do not have enough "evidence" to prove anything.

It really amazes me that whenever anyone says anything in this community, like this interview, it is attacked, rediculed and flamed so hard and in so short a time.
Its time people started worrying about themselves thier choices and thier platform rather than trying to burn others down. Each side has plenty of its own stuff to worry about thats for sure.

It's high time we became constructive rather than destructive. Try it guys, you might even like it :-o

[bhoggett]

@Trezzer

There are people who regard anyone who dares speak their mind, or makes the suggestion that someone is not telling the truth, as uncivilised.

Whatever. If saying "I don't trust these people's motives" is uncivilised, so be it.

As for various individuals, since they show no respect, I see little reason to give them any in return. I think the debate here has stayed civilised and largely flame free.

If you want to be fawning to this new guy so that he'll like you, be my guest. As far as I'm concerned he has to earn the respect and the trust of the rest of the community, and he has to do it with actions, not past reputation.

There are many unanswered questions, and many unexplained and conflicting factors about this whole business. Despite the long interview, none of those things were answered. There are two ways to do business: transparently and covertly. Many think that being secretive and saying nothing at all is "professional". Well, it is in fact no more professional than being transparent about your dealings, and secrecy engenders far less trust than transparency does.

Is it uncilivilised to suggest that this is most likely an IP laundering exercise? No, I think it is just being realistic.

[ksk]

@Paul_Gadd

Once I gave a business card that said that I was a Senior Design Engineer while I already was a Specialist. What is the law that I broke?


btw. I think many people did not even read the interview but still they post comments.

IMO: The interview gave load of good explanations and some not that good. In the end, it seems that he might be the most sane manager of all Amiga related companies. (Nothing to be too proud, though. )