<<->><<->>¢ AN EDITORIAL, from FUTURA¢ ISSUE # 10, November/December 1993¢ (This editorial was written by S.J.¢ Murray, Editor of NOSAUG, Scotland,¢ and a member of OL' HACKERS. It¢ should give us all food for thought.¢ A.P., Editor for OHAUG.)¢¢ THE YEAR IN PROSPECT¢ (A BLUEPRINT FOR SURVIVAL)¢ by Stuart J. Murray.¢¢ It's becoming a regular¢ occurrence at this time of the year¢ when we say the following year will¢ be crucial to the future survival of¢ our beloved 8 BIT system. However, I¢ have to say that 1994 will TRULY be a¢ very important year for the Atari 8-¢ bit community!¢ Why? Well, the user base has¢ steadily decreased since Atari¢ abandoned us a couple of years back. ¢ This is understandable; afterall, if¢ the parent company shows no interest¢ in the system, the run-of-the-mill¢ computer user will inevitably move on¢ to another, more popular system.¢ By now, most of us will know¢ somebody who has moved onto the ST,¢ Amiga, or PC. I know of four Atari¢ 8-bit users who have done so this¢ year alone! Our user base is not a¢ bottomless pit! Unless we are very¢ careful, we will eventually hit rock¢ bottom. I don't enjoy writing about¢ such a gloomy subject but it must be¢ said! Only by facing the problem can¢ we tackle it head on, and SURVIVE!!¢ To maintain the current size of¢ our user base I feel that the¢ following factors are vital:¢¢ (i) The wide availability of Atari 8-¢ bit hardware, especially computers,¢ drives, printer-interfaces and power-¢ packs! This can only be done by ¢ supporting the remaining sources of¢ new hardware such as CSS and BEST¢ ELECTRONICS, AMERICAN TECHNA-VISION,¢ SAN JOSE COMPUTERS, as well as¢ smaller suppliers, e.g. (in EUROPE)¢ Peter Mattock, Gralin International¢ and Derek Fern. Also, by supporting¢ ATARI CLASSIC and Page 6 we can use¢ the buy an sell column, and the¢ Contact column as hardware mini-¢ markets.¢¢ (ii) Low-cost, high-quality software!m¢ Only by offering quality software at¢ low prices will we keep our user base¢ interested in the system. Users will¢ compare their Atari 8-bit to other¢ systems. If they see the software on¢ the Atari 8-bit as being of good¢ value when compared to other systems,¢ they will stay with us! If software¢ developers and suppliers charge high¢ prices we will loose many users!¢¢ (iii) An international forum for¢ Atari 8-bit users. Publications such¢ as Page 6, Atari Classics, Zong,¢ News-Disk, Ol' Hackers Newsletter,¢ ACPC, TWAUG, Mega-Mag, and, of¢ course, Futura must be supported! We¢ need to have the ability to¢ communicate as an international user¢ base!¢¢ (iv) A local forum for Atari 8-bit¢ users. This is very important! You¢ might call this the front-line of the¢ battle! If we can keep Atari 8-bit¢ users interested on a local level,¢ they will obviously see no reason to¢ move onto another system. Whether¢ it's a user group or a collection of¢ friends, we must keep in touch with¢ each other on a local level. We need¢ to know that there are other Atari 8-¢ bitters out there!¢¢ This is where the user group¢ comes in. Most people see a user¢ group as a small group of computer¢ friends who meet every week-end to¢ discuss new happenings in the world¢ of computers. Atari 8-bit user¢ groups may have been like this in the¢ past but today they must organize¢ themselves on local, national and¢ international levels!¢ NOSAUG is a very informal user¢ group. This was always my intention¢ when I started it back in 1991. ¢ There are no elections for positions,¢ no weekly meetings, no voting¢ procedures, etc. This just wouldn't¢ work today, in my part of the world!¢ The Scottish membership is spread¢ throughout the country - east, west,¢ north and south! There are also many¢ members in England, Wales, Northern¢ Ireland, Eire, Europe, North America¢ and Australia. There are well over¢ 100 members now and the vast majority¢ are non-local! Yes, there are local¢ NOSAUG meetings but they are¢ generally informal gatherings of¢ three or four Aberdeen-based members.¢ The local Aberdeen membership numbers¢ only six people! However, whether¢ it's six or sixty, it doesn't really¢ matter because it's the enthusiasm¢ and dedication that counts!¢ Stay in touch on a local level. ¢ If you don't know anyone, advertise¢ in your local newspaper. ¢ Stay in touch on a national¢ level. Use the pen, telephone and¢ car to stay in touch with fellow¢ Atari 8-bitters in your country.¢ Stay in touch on an international¢ level. Write to users in other¢ countries to let them know that there¢ are 8-bitters all over the world¢ dedicated to the cause! Chack out¢ the ads in Page 6 Contact and Atari¢ Classics.¢ (Editor- Stu forgot to mention BBS's,¢ such as THE MACHINE (516) 764-5748,¢ and NEW NEST (516) 234-4943, L.I. USA¢ and commercial ones like INTERNET,¢ GENIE, DELPHI, etc., which are great¢ ways to STAY IN TOUCH. A.P.)¢¢ The bottom line is...¢ IF 8-BITTERS ARE UNITED,¢ WE WILL NEVER BE DIVIDED!¢¢ Stay in touch and support your¢ local, national and international¢ Atari 8-bit community!¢¢ Stu.¢ [][][][]¢
