NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/sys/amiga/misc-part1/3383

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 5.6 KB

Path: news.mcs.net!usenet
From: [e-mail] (Eric Szulczewski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: The March Amiga?
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 96 17:06:45 CST
Organization: Principle of Obscurity BBS
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: obscurity.pd.mcs.net


In a message dated 01-24-96 19-40 Gary Alan Peake writes:

GP> >Actually, Net Surfer isn`t that bad a name. The packaging had better
GP> >match the name though, nice neon dayglow colours... ;)

GP> Please tell this to Eric?  :)

He doesn't have to; I can read myself.  And I feel that the name is too
much of a cliche.

GP> >The most important factor in this equation is going to be price, not
GP> >necessarily name. 299 UK pounds and you`ll have a lot of people seriously
GP> >thinking about the Net Surfer, much more, and you`ll be in a situation
GP> >similar to AT UK at the moment (see below for more details).

GP> So, we are 'positive' that they were cut because sales didn't measure up?
GP> Or was it because C= UK was a seperate entity until being bought by Amiga
GP> Tech? And being the rebels that bid against them, AT cut them? It happens
GP> in business. Buy up the bad boys and then cut them out...

But weren't C=UK and ATUK completely different entities, with little
but not much crossing between employees of one and employees of the
other?  After all, Davey Boy Pleasance isn't employed by ATUK, is he?

GP> >That coded marketing spiel? It`s good for some discussion, but I don`t
GP> >get serious until I see it on the shelf...

GP> I understand. BUT, to hear Eric saying that 'many' people don't think
GP> Amiga Tech has a plan is ludicrous to me. Hell, there aren't 'many' people
GP> here.

"Many" is technically more than two, Gary.  Let's see, there's me,
Paul, Byron...that's more than two right there.  Therefore, "many" is
being used correctly.  Logic chip on standby...

GP> And is this not what Amiga Technologies is doing? Upgrading the initial
GP> product and keeping it aimed at the same, first time buyers?

A blind man has the inability to aim unless he's some sort of Zen
master, Gary.  And without marketing, they're pushing those 1200s
blind.

GP> T.V. ads and magazine ads and interviews don't count as marketing? I read
GP> here that Gilles was seen on tv? I saw interviews in some of the Amiga
GP> mags?

Gilles was on TV in Germany, I believe.  Paul was citing Britain, one
of the two prime Amiga markets.  Guess that AT, like certain elements
of the Tory party, don't have that "EU Mentality".  And I don't count
Amiga mags as marketing.  I call that "preaching to the converted".


GP> >OK, maybe some have bought the Magic Pack in the UK, but the majority are
GP> >people who knew they wanted an A1200 (not many these days), rather than
GP> >being attracted by non-existant advertising. Pent-up demand that has seen
GP> >people flocking to the shops and leaving sereval thousand pent-up A1200
GP> >Magic Packs in the Escom stores in their droves. The AT UK Xmas
GP> >"campaign" was a bad mistake. They cocked up on:

GP> >1) Price. Too expensive. People don`t care what hoops you had to jump
GP> >through to get it on the street, they won`t pay *more* for a machine
GP> >which "died" 1 year ago.

GP> What about inflation? Nothing costs today what it did a year ago!

The price was UKP100 higher than before.  That's a 33% increase.  Not
even in Britain does inflation run at 33% a year.  Also, as Paul said
in another post, some shops there were dumping 1200s at UKP99.

GP> >2) Bundle. The games were pathetic.

GP> Can't judge ... have only played a few in my whole lifetime (43 years).

Well, there was the Scala mess-up as well.

GP> >3) Hardware. The disk drive fiasco wasn`t good. For the few Amigans who
GP> >actually thought about getting an A1200, the disk drive problem scared
GP> >them off.

GP> Why? I like being able to buy a computer with any size hard drive I want.

Paul said that he was talking about the DD/HD floppy imbroglio.
However, we're not going to get back on to that hard drive thing again,
Gary, are we?  That's where we started on this almost six months ago,
for God's sake.

GP> >BBEEEPPP! No way are AT going to get an Internet package into the
GP> >mainstream UK market without:

GP> >1.      The right price
GP> >2.      A dedicated Amiga service provider who can help you set up.
GP> >3.      Good software + hardware.

GP> And we are soon to see if you and Eric or us 'apologists' are right.

Regrettably, the odds seem to be improving on our stance every day,
Gary.  Believe me, I don't want to see AT fail outright, but they seem
to be setting themselves up for failure.

GP> Why can't we wait till it gets here before we start bitchin'?

Because we're fed up with incompetence by the people who own our
system, and we want to broadcast warnings prior to possible movements.
Santayana, Gary...

GP> >They may do, but their Escom masters may not think that way if AT starts
GP> >to cut deeply into Escom`s profits.

GP> But, have they? I don't think so ... at least, not yet!

Not yet.  That's the point.  The problem is that AT or Escom seems
unwilling to put any money into marketing the Amiga.  Do you think that
Manfred couldn't have put out a fax to all his stores saying "Look,
this system is owned by one of our subsidiaries.  Display it properly
and push it.  If you need help with it, call the Escom HQ in your
country and they'll help you."?  That's virtually free marketing, but,
as lots of our UK bretheren said, 1200s were languishing in boxes in
Escom stores.

Eric Szulczewski
[e-mail]
New Address Very Soon


* Offline Orbit 0.75a *