A-EON Technology Acquires Amiga.org

[OlafS3]

Yep, I agree with that quote from  klx300r..

Why do you think most OS4 users prefers to hang out on AW.net and Amigans instead of hanging out here on Amiga.org?

Yes, it's because of those "aggressive and inflammatory views" from a  small minority of users just expressing their "freedom of speech",  that's why :-)

What would you think if some users would always start to throw cr*p in threads where MorphOS or AROS is mentioned?

Not very nice to see that isn't it. Why not just skip the abusive  behavior and accepts other persons' choices of "Amiga" variants (as that  is their choice), and leave it at that. At least I do (I don't  bother/mind if you are black or white, what country you come from,  what religion you believe in, or what computer OS you prefer, etc...) and many others

PS: my two cents


So, back to topic... Trevor and Matthew (AmigaKit) are not some  outsiders or any furniture dealers who just bought something "Amiga" to  earn some fast buck. No, they have been in the amigascene (also using and  supporting "Amiga") for many many years. So nothing strange with them owning A.org...

Have a good day (or night) :-)

Propably people look at the same post different when they are OS4 fans or not. His words were a little harsh, partly facts partly emotions. But when you mention other sites, perhaps it is also the opposite that non-OS4 users do not feel on these sites at home too. Perhaps there are two realities out there, not just the OS4 supporter reality.

[OlafS3]

@ OlafS3

seriously I know you to be more level headed then that.  Those 'views' are the reason many OS4.x users don't dare even bother with this site in the past.

yet another example, I love using my Amiga 1000 regularly too so now I go to a site and post a question specific to the A1000 and then some person posts his 'views' as follows:

 
                 Amiga 1000 is a big huge monstrous dud. 3k? 512Kb chip ram is a bad joke by now.
                                 
       or,
                 
Amiga 1000 is Worst option forward. Just one guys opinions.
                                 
       or                
                 Everyday use amiga systems now forming... but its aeros and aros and Morphos leading that charge now...

----------------------------------------------------------------

well do you think that Amiga 1000 user would feel welcome here and what would he say to others about such a site??

I would personally never use such words and besides I do not care what other people use their money for.

When I would say something similar I would say that in todays world any "custom designs" without offering advantages compared to standard hardware are the wrong direction, that it would be better to port something to cheaper mass hardware, "Hardware for the masses, not the classes" and that high-prized hardware without benefits will not bring new users. Would that be a "view" or already "trolling". If I wrote the same on other sites I already get harsh comments, here it was possible.

I cannot and will not judge or compare AmigaOS compared to MorphOS or AROS because I do not own it. In practise all have (more or less) the same software, the biggest difference is supported hardware. Haywire wrote it in emotion and it would be better to be more polite and base it on facts. When I write something I (mostly) try to offer facts and describe why I think something. If that would become a rule here that you can critisize but not by using harsh words but that should be the same for everyone (including OS4 supporters). As a example someone claimed that AmigaOS is the only "true Amiga successor". By that he said AROS and MorphOS user are not Amigans. That can be also seen as insulting but that was never censored. And if two have a argument and both are harsh both must be banned or none. People should treated equal.

[amigakit]

@OlafS3

I would personally never use such words and besides I do not care what other people use their money for.

This is the right way to contribute on these forums.

If I wrote the same on other sites I already get harsh comments, here it was possible.

harsh comments? if you express your view, then chances are it is going to be responded to by someone with a different view.  As long on is on topic and not repeating the same view in an emotive way designed to inflame, no one here will stop you expressing that view.   Everyone is free to have their opinion- that is what should make a forum an interesting place to contribute to and read, as long as we don't push our opinions forcibly onto someone else.

I cannot and will not judge or compare AmigaOS compared to MorphOS or AROS because I do not own it.

And of course, this thread is not about that subject at all, but you are free to open another thread discussing it if you so wish.

Lets deal with these situations as they arise in future,  I agree with your comments on basing statements in fact and respecting the views of others, but having the freedom to express your view sensibly when it is on-topic.

[Leffmann]

Amiga.org has for a long time been the main port of entry to the Amiga community, and most new and returning users come through here. It has become clear to me that Matthew Leeman of AmigaKit dislikes competition, and I think he would prefer to have a monopoly on Amiga products and services, and not see prospecting developers and new vendors entering the market. I think acquiring amiga.org is partly a business initiative to herd all these new and returning users into the AmigaKit web shop, and not let them slip away to other vendors and competing products.

[Niding]

Im not going to speak on behalf of Amigakit and what they think of competition, cause I have no idea in that regard.

But;
Yes there is a relativly limited customerbase, so being very active on the market is a good way to conduct buissniss.
As a enduser I for the most part have a few requirements to a vedor/shop;

1) Ease of use/web front
Amigakits shop/inventory list could use some tidying up. Its not very easy to find stuff, but more often than not using their search function fixes the issue. If everything fails, search for the product and add the shopname in a searchengine. But there are room for improvements.

2) Reliable delivery
After 1 or 2 orders you get a clear impression wether or not you can trust the vendor.
So far they have not dissapointed me, so I have had little reason to look elsewhere.
Customers are often quite loyal once they find a vendor they feel comfortable with, as long as the pricing isnt far off competition.

3) Being able to get in touch with vendor
So far Ive gotten replies from Amigakit within relativly short time when Ive queried.

Ive known of Amigakit for a long time because Matthew is relativly active on the forum. Visibility is important in buissniss.
The company got a good name. Its easy to find by a quick search. So that was a smart move.

I find it hard to fault a  company for wanting to maximise their turnover/buissniss thru good customer service.
I do see your point it might create a monopoly situation, but I find the streamlining of service Amigakit is developing as a needed level of professionalism that this platform desperatly need (be it NG or Classic).

Obviously I hope other vendors manage to create enough buissniss to justify their efforts on the Amiga platform.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Amiga.org has for a long time been the main port of entry to the Amiga community, and most new and returning users come through here. It has become clear to me that Matthew Leeman of AmigaKit dislikes competition, and I think he would prefer to have a monopoly on Amiga products and services, and not see prospecting developers and new vendors entering the market. I think acquiring amiga.org is partly a business initiative to herd all these new and returning users into the AmigaKit web shop, and not let them slip away to other vendors and competing products.

Well this seems like a pretty ad hominem attack.  Typical negativity from amiga.org members, thank goodness for free speech!  :rolleyes:  I'd say it's more likely that "Matthew Leeman of AmigaKit has a thick skin, and/or is a glutton for punishment", lol.  There, I fixed that for you.  

[OlafS3]

Im not going to speak on behalf of Amigakit and what they think of competition, cause I have no idea in that regard.

But;
Yes there is a relativly limited customerbase, so being very active on the market is a good way to conduct buissniss.
As a enduser I for the most part have a few requirements to a vedor/shop;

1) Ease of use/web front
Amigakits shop/inventory list could use some tidying up. Its not very easy to find stuff, but more often than not using their search function fixes the issue. If everything fails, search for the product and add the shopname in a searchengine. But there are room for improvements.

2) Reliable delivery
After 1 or 2 orders you get a clear impression wether or not you can trust the vendor.
So far they have not dissapointed me, so I have had little reason to look elsewhere.
Customers are often quite loyal once they find a vendor they feel comfortable with, as long as the pricing isnt far off competition.

3) Being able to get in touch with vendor
So far Ive gotten replies from Amigakit within relativly short time when Ive queried.

Ive known of Amigakit for a long time because Matthew is relativly active on the forum. Visibility is important in buissniss.
The company got a good name. Its easy to find by a quick search. So that was a smart move.

I find it hard to fault a  company for wanting to maximise their turnover/buissniss thru good customer service.
I do see your point it might create a monopoly situation, but I find the streamlining of service Amigakit is developing as a needed level of professionalism that this platform desperatly need (be it NG or Classic).

Obviously I hope other vendors manage to create enough buissniss to justify their efforts on the Amiga platform.

We will see in future if this will stay a neutral platform and if competing platforms like AROS (including my distribution) or MorphOS and solutions like Pascals App Store (that directly competes with the App Store from a-eon that makes Amigakit Marketing for) will be treated equal. I will judge them by their actions.

[Niding]

I hope, and expect that too OlafS3.

Personally Im quite conservative when it comes to what vendor I use.

For example, there are certain airlines I WILL not fly with out of principle because of their trackrecord with regards to how they treat their employees (I work in the industry, so I get some inside info etc).
And, within reason, I try my hardest to use local stores around where I live to atleast do my part in keeping them alive.

Same will apply to amiga.org and Amigakit. If I sense that alternative platforms are being systematically shut out, I will start to look for alternative vendors.

Leffmans point about amiga.org being the main port for returning and new users is very much true tho.
Funnily enough I do find English Amiga Board to be the most alive, informative and mature.
I guess people that have been on the "amigascene" for a while gravitate towards that forum as they become aware of it because of the friendly and helpful tone.

[Fats]

Remember: The customer is always right.

Except for the ones who think they are right ...

[amigakit]

"Matthew Leeman of AmigaKit has a thick skin, and/or is a glutton for punishment"

Maybe a bit a both  

Lets be realistic here, the Amiga market is a tiny commercial space.  The sad fact is that it cannot sustain many resellers at present because there are not enough users.  Many resellers have "real" jobs apart from selling Amiga products on the side to make extra money.  In my case, I work in the Amiga market full time and have employees to pay every month and very real overheads without fail.  Every order is vitally important to meeting the financial obligations at the end of every month.  

AmigaKit is 10 years old this month and serving the Amiga community is a privilege and over the last decade, it has had high points and low points like any job does.

The vast majority of my existing customers are from Amiga.org, so that is one reason I have a fondness for this website over others and make myself available here to customers.  Some of the users here were the first ones to place orders with me 10 years ago and still are shopping at AmigaKit so we have got to know them very well

The acquisition of Amiga.org is definately one of those high points!  Trevor and I are very excited by the opportunity to improve the site and restore some of its former glory.

[amigakit]

@Leffman

not see prospecting developers and new vendors entering the market

For the last six months, I have been working very hard to encourage developers to write new software, no easy task I can assure you   We distribute our products to other vendors, for example the more recent example is our Arcade Evolution joystick for the Amiga which can be found at a few resellers over the world.  We will be distributing the Prisma Sound card through several vendors worldwide too in the near future.

[Kesa]

Hi, there is a glitch on the home page in the stats section you should take a look at. It's showing secret moderator threads we are not supposed to see so i thought i should report it (but not before i had fun reading them). For example: amigadave is getting hammered on his birthday so he wont be around, moderation policies, amigadave is coming back because he likes the new owners, etc.

Also thanks for clearing out the spam blogs.

[TrevorDick]

I like the new owners too! ;-)

TrevorD

[Akiko]

Amiga.org has for a long time been the main port of entry to the Amiga community, and most new and returning users come through here. It has become clear to me that Matthew Leeman of AmigaKit dislikes competition, and I think he would prefer to have a monopoly on Amiga products and services, and not see prospecting developers and new vendors entering the market. I think acquiring amiga.org is partly a business initiative to herd all these new and returning users into the AmigaKit web shop, and not let them slip away to other vendors and competing products.

You know some of us have stuck around long enough to remember just how bleak things had become in the Amiga marketplace around 2003 before Amigakit landed onto the scene, hardware development was drying up fast as vendors like Eyetec, Analogic lost interest in classic platform and begun to leave in droves.

I never thought in my wildest dreams that 10 years on companies like Elbox would still be doing production runs of some of their product line, or we would ever see new hardware like  accelerators or sound cards being produced again. I think the success of Amigakit has only helped spur development of these products and been instrumental in making our hobby the small niche market it is today.

[Terminills]

Hi, there is a glitch on the home page in the stats section you should take a look at. It's showing secret moderator threads we are not supposed to see so i thought i should report it (but not before i had fun reading them). For example: amigadave is getting hammered on his birthday so he wont be around, moderation policies, amigadave is coming back because he likes the new owners, etc.

Also thanks for clearing out the spam blogs.

Amigadave is coming back?  Great they can cancel my account now.

[amigakit]

@akiko

Yes this is exactly what spurred me on to start the AmigaKit project a decade ago, resellers were closing left, right and centre so something had to be done quickly at the time.