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==  compt.sys.editor.desk                           By:  Jason Compton  ==
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"...we are signing an agreement with IBM to have them manufacture Commodore
products [for us]."

So spoke Alex Amor, President of CEI, to me when I called him this
afternoon while he was in the middle of a meeting.

Unfortunately, since he WAS in the middle of a meeting, I wasn't able to
get an explanation from him as to precisely what this means.

So far, all I can confirm it means is that CEI is announcing that their
manufacturing contractor is IBM.  (I had learned this months ago, on the
condition that I keep my mouth shut.)

It does NOT mean that CEI has purchased Commodore's assets.  In fact, based
on the rules of the liquidation, that isn't possible yet-there needs to be
a signed contract with the liquidator.

It also does NOT mean that IBM is in any way investing in this venture.
They're just contracted to build the product, in much the same way as they
build Atari Jaguars.  They're doing work for money, nothing more.

As for Commodore UK, they informed Amiga Format they would be signing a
contract...and then, apparently, didn't.  AF's Web page hasn't changed in
nearly two weeks, and the signing date given has passed.

Escom seems to be back in the picture.  According to Amor, who claims he
was close to striking a deal with them at one point, their primary interest
is the rights to the Commodore name.

Now that I've got that out of the way...

Thank you, everyone who sent in a survey.  Since there are quite a few of
them, it will take a while to compile them...but there are some changes in
store even before the results get tallied.

The Dealer Directory will now be a "Once-per-4-issue" feature.  So, if you
don't catch them this issue, you'll have to wait for AR 3.09 before they
appear again.  This is something that's been talked about for over a year,
and it's time to do something about it.

The BBS list is a different issue-they take up a good chunk of space as
well, but they're also doing AR a service.  I'll consider the next move on
that.

You might want to check out the News section this issue, we're working hard
on expanding our coverage and keeping on top of recent developments...oh,
and holding some conferences, too.

This can only last so long, you know...

Jason