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Offline runequester

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #194 on: April 19, 2012, 06:11:54 PM »
You can pretend to be a big player along the lines of Commodore, Dell, Atari, Apple etc.

You can pretend to be a tiny cottage industry.

But you don't get to be both.
 

Offline commodorejohn

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #195 on: April 19, 2012, 06:32:17 PM »
Quote from: BigBenAussie;689521
I really have to wonder if people are reading the same interview I was reading.
Commodore USA is currently a small company, with limited resources, and with limits to Amiga IP usage. We are doing the best, with the IP we have available to us, as we possibly can.
It's all fine to sit there and say, oh, I woulda done this I woulda done that.
We have to be rational about our business right now so as to avoid potential money pits. We're in it for the long haul.
We would love to do all the various things the community want, but we quite simply can't at the moment for various reasons both legal and financial.
But be assured that it isn't because we have no interest in doing so.
If we had the kind of money that would allow us to take such risks, and tackle such projects, then of course we would.
Evidently we aren't reading the same interview you are - we're reading the interview linked at the top of the thread, wherein Barry states multiple times over that CUSA won't be supporting NG Amiga-like OSes, won't be supporting further development of Amiga emulation for Linux or any kind of integration into the OS, won't be supporting projects like NatAmi or PPC boards, and says, and I quote:
Quote
AMIGA can mean many things to many people, and not many can agree on what it is, but as long as you are convinced that AMIGA is a certain narrow set of hardware and software rather than a concept as we do, there can be no convincing you of the merits of our activities. You have to let go to take off.
He isn't interested in doing anything we're interested in (even where he isn't legally barred from doing so,) and he thinks of the Amiga as some nebulous "concept" that means basically whatever he wants it to mean, and tells anybody who disagrees to shove off. This isn't a case of "just hang with us and it'll get better," as you've kept saying. Even if CUSA had money and connections, which it doesn't, Barry would have absolutely nothing to offer us. This is what I suspected for a long time; now he's confirmed it. What is there left to say?

Quote
We had the good fortune to be able to acquire usage of the trademarks, and there's no point sitting on them and doing nothing with them just because it isn't 100% what we wanted from day one. That gets you nowhere and Rome was not built in a day.
No, and Rome wasn't built with a sign saying "Carthage" out front and charging twice as much in tax as its priciest neighbors, either.

Quote
We actually WANT to do all the cool things the community want us to do because we also believe it to be quite interesting, and in many ways align with our ultimate strategy.
As others have said, do you even talk to Barry? Because he's said quite explicitly that, as a company, you don't want that.

Quote
I quite honestly believe you should pray for our success, not our failure, because we want to be the catalyst that re-unites all facets of the Amiga IP, and ultimately create the kind of high tech computer and environment all Amiga fans would like to use and see further developed.
Pray for your success? Why? Any success in "[reuniting] all facets of the Amiga IP" you'd have, under the restrictions Barry's statements place on such a thing, would boil down to essentially what you're doing now: redefining "Amiga" to mean absolutely nothing, so that it can be applied willy-nilly to whatever overpriced, mediocre PC clones you feel like shipping out. I don't want that to succeed. I want it to fail, hard, because (and here's what Barry doesn't get, no matter how many times we explain it) "Amiga" is an actual thing, with actual properties that endear it to actual people, not just a nebulous "concept" of "so-and-so horsepower and oh, it makes nice pictures and sounds too, and probably does the Internet." I want to see new Amiga projects that embody some of the aspects that made the Amiga great. Yours do nothing of the sort. Therefore, your success in this venture is the last thing I want.

Quote
You feel a sting right now, I know, but I believe it will all work out for the best in the end.
"Just keep quiet and don't struggle, and we'll be done with you soon."
« Last Edit: April 19, 2012, 06:35:33 PM by commodorejohn »
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Offline desiv

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #196 on: April 19, 2012, 07:04:49 PM »
Quote from: commodorejohn;689624
I want it to fail, hard, because (and here's what Barry doesn't get, no matter how many times we explain it) "Amiga" is an actual thing, with actual properties that endear it to actual people, not just a nebulous "concept" of "so-and-so horsepower and oh, it makes nice pictures and sounds too, and probably does the Internet."

Ah, but that is one of the core problems....

Quote
"Amiga" is an actual thing
Is it?

Personally, I agree with you..  To me, "Amiga" is an actual thing...

To some, OS4 is Amiga.
To some AROS is Amiga.
To some, MorphOS is Amiga.
To some, Minimig, FPGA Arcade, Natami, X1000 are / will be Amiga..

Now, Barry is taking even farther than that..  But it's the same concept...

I disagree with him about it...  I won't buy his products.  
But I don't want him to fail, just because I disagree with him...

To me, "Amiga" is an actual thing...  
And nothing he (or anyone) could do, would change that..

He could sell a billion Amiga minis, which would become sentient and take over the world.  Killing billions of people, before finally being defeated by Will Smith and a group of plucky misfits...

That still wouldn't hurt the Amiga for me; because it's not an Amiga, not matter what he calls it..  Not to me..

desiv
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Offline commodorejohn

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #197 on: April 19, 2012, 07:24:58 PM »
Not at all. We each have our own opinions about what's important about the Amiga and how the various projects you mentioned compare, but all of them do have aspects in common with the original Amiga. Not everything, of course, but many things. CUSA's products have nothing whatsoever in common with the Amiga. I'll admit dissent on the question of what's important about the Amiga (hardware? Software? Both?) but I will not accept the notion that you can just slap a sticker on a Linux PC and claim that's the same thing. That's the same as saying there's nothing important about the Amiga, and if that's true, they sure as hell don't need to be exploiting it.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2012, 07:36:09 PM by commodorejohn »
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Offline Jpan1

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #198 on: April 19, 2012, 07:32:19 PM »
Quote from: commodorejohn;689624
"Amiga" is an actual thing, with actual properties that endear it to actual people, not just a nebulous "concept" of "so-and-so horsepower and oh, it makes nice pictures and sounds too, and probably does the Internet."


I like it, I like all the threads from people who regard the Amiga as some'thing' a bit more than just another computer - We all know that this product had such the following as it did because it went beyond other computers... Because of a unique experience based on a unique product...And therefore I don't see how 'revamping' the Amiga name under the guise of a high-spec end PC clone will change anything for the end user, in a time when computers are in copious demand. And that's the point, if the new Amiga offered something a bit different than modern computers, then I'm sure it would be well-received. But then Again, lots of investments and risks would have to be taken in development.
 

Offline runequester

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #199 on: April 19, 2012, 07:33:26 PM »
This is all sort of hypothetical, because even if they wanted to, CUSA has no development team of any sort.
 

Offline Darrin

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #200 on: April 19, 2012, 07:41:57 PM »
Quote from: BigBenAussie;689521
Commodore USA is currently a small company, with limited resources,


Ladies and gentlemen, finally THE TRUTH!  :D

So, no major factories in China (or Germany) so regardless of who took the famous photographs you all knew that you were lying to us.

No stacks of motherboards waiting to be shipped to your facilities in Florida for assembly.

No sales of 100,000s of units to highstreet stores.

No boxes of assembled computers, just empty boxes.

No "partnership" with Disney beyond buying advertising on a DVD.

No $30m advertising budget.

No 100,000s of orders.

No "new" Operating System.

No designers working on custom cases.

Lies, lies and more lies.

In hindsight, don't you think it would have been a lot easier to just state the truth?  Are you actually capable of stating the truth?  Considering the pack of lies (confirmed by you), should we believe any of those answers or any answers in the future?

Fancy telling us what Dammy's official position is within C-USA?  How about "Middleman"?  Home many people on the C-USA site have you asked to come here and post something positive?
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Offline Jpan1

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #201 on: April 19, 2012, 07:42:19 PM »
Quote from: runequester;689638
This is all sort of hypothetical, because even if they wanted to, CUSA has no development team of any sort.


So in that case they should have got one, or leave out the whole 'Amiga' thing and just find another name for their product.
 

Offline Darrin

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #202 on: April 19, 2012, 07:44:04 PM »
Quote from: runequester;689638
This is all sort of hypothetical, because even if they wanted to, CUSA has no development team of any sort.


It does make you wonder who produced the design for the C64x and if he actually got paid.
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Offline Darrin

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #203 on: April 19, 2012, 07:45:00 PM »
Quote from: Jpan1;689642
So in that case they should have got one, or leave out the whole 'Amiga' thing and just find another name for their product.


Why stick an "Amiga" sticker on a x86 computer running Linux?  It makes no sense now and never did.
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Offline Jpan1

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #204 on: April 19, 2012, 07:55:32 PM »
Quote from: Darrin;689646
Why stick an "Amiga" sticker on a x86 computer running Linux?  It makes no sense now and never did.


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.
 

Offline Darrin

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #205 on: April 19, 2012, 08:13:46 PM »
Quote from: Jpan1;689647
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.
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Offline runequester

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #206 on: April 19, 2012, 08:16:26 PM »
Quote from: Darrin;689646
Why stick an "Amiga" sticker on a x86 computer running Linux?  It makes no sense now and never did.

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!
« Last Edit: April 19, 2012, 08:18:41 PM by runequester »
 

Offline Darrin

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #207 on: April 19, 2012, 08:31:45 PM »
Quote from: runequester;689650
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.  :)
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Offline runequester

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #208 on: April 19, 2012, 08:38:07 PM »
Quote from: Darrin;689654
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.  :)


Right, that's the thing. Don't call it something it isn't, and don't try to pretend you are something you aren't.
 

Offline SysAdminTopic starter

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Re: CommodoreUSA CEO Interview Answers
« Reply #209 from previous page: April 19, 2012, 08:44:17 PM »
So the solution is an easy one then. CUSA restarts Amithlon?
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