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Text File | 1995-06-09 | 12KB | 196 lines

Interviews! Important ones!
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    INTERVIEWS: Bernard van Tienen of Escom, Colin Proudfoot of C= UK
               Conducted by Josh Galun and Giorgio Gomelsky
    [e-mail]                              [e-mail]
==========================================================================
(Josh Galun, editor of Amiga Link Online magazine, and Giorgio Gomelsky of
the AMUSE Amiga user group were lucky [or unlucky enough, depends on your
viewpoint] to be at the hearing today...they got two candidates for
interviews, too...-Jason)
Interview with Bernard van Tienen ESCOM.  Friday April 21, 1995
[van Tienen is a former vice-president of Commodore International.]
by Josh Galun (JG) assisted by Giorgio Gomelsky (GG)
JG: How much can you say about your plans for the Amiga?
BvT: We are setting up a group of advisors to advice us which products we
should produce and we are digging into every product solutions not only
Amigas but other products like Commodore products, TV set-top boxes, we
are considering PowerPCs with Amiga, we are considering everything at the
moment.
JG: How soon do you think you'll be able to have Amigas in production?
BvT: We haven't decided yet, but we have all the links with the factories.
Escom is a big European group at the moment, we assemble our own machines,
we have all the contacts with the manufacturers, we spoke already with
them, the only thing is which product should we produce, which quality an
then we get started.  We presume we'll have the first products, the first
Amiga products on the market within 3 months...
JG: As I understand it, ESCOM is one of the biggest computer-sellers in
Europe, I assume AMIGAS will be in all their stores, is that true?
BvT: Not only Amigas but we will also produce Commodore PCs, ja, and of
course we will use our own stores in Europe but besides that we will
distribute products into other countries and also to other dealers in
Europe...
JG: The Amiga has a very vibrant community as well as many public domain
programmers, do you plan to use them in any way or contact them and ask
them what they think...
BvT: Of course, of course, ja...
JG: With the developers as well?
BvT: Ja, ja, everybody will be involved...as many as possible to advice us
on the Commodore and Amiga products...
JG: Do you plan to attempt to hire any of the technicians who used to be
with Commodore?
BvT: Of course, we are already busy with it and already have some
contracts.  But a lot of Commodoore people are already working for ESCOM,
for instance I was vice-president of Commodore International, Peter
Tachenko...  I think there are already roughly 100 ex-Commodore people
working for ESCOM at the moment.
JG: Do you have a position on whether you would license the Amiga
technology and software to clone-makers?
BvT: Not only to clone makers but also to people who want to produce
products and need some of our licences.  We are already busy with that,
we've made some principal contacts, ja, on that.
JG: How long have you been working to try and buy what was left of
Commodore?
BvT: We started with it, let's see, eh, last year in August 1994.
JG: Had ESCOM been interested in the Amiga before the buy-out, in having
Amigas in their stores?
BvT: The point is that ESCOM.  ...must have lasted 3/4 years.  We sold
Amigas in the past in our stores...
JOSH TAKES A BREAK
GG: You are aware that the Amiga has a tremendously loyal following?
BvT: We know Commodore very well because I was vice-president of Commodore
International and I know everybody and everything about C= of course...
GG: Do you intend to use this energy that comes from the passion of the
Amiga users?
BvT: Of course, of course, the biggest asset is not only the name and the
products but also the user-groups.  There are millions of Amiga users and
even more 64 users still, ja.  We are also planning to roll out products
in China and other countries...
GG: How would you achieve this contact with the users?  Would you put up a
site on the Internet?
BvT: We haven't decided yet but everything is possible.  Also we would use
the magazines of course, there are hundreds of magazines, so ok, we
haven't got the deal yet, but as you heard in the court now it looks like
we'll get the deal in a couple of weeks, we have planned a lot but now
we'll be able to roll it out, ja?  So give us some time, ja, we'll
consider everything...
GG: Could the users be in touch with you, say over the next month or so
and communicate their concern?
BvT: Ja, we will install people everywhere, in Europe, in the States.
Call me and I will tell you who and where they are.  We are aware of the
frustrations users had under the old management...
JOSH GETS BACK
JG: Do you have any plans already in place or being discussed with CEI
about working with them on the Amiga?
BvT:  We can't disclose that at the moment.
JG: Was C= UK part of the buy-out?
BvT (pointing at Colin Proudfoot passing by): That's C= UK...  "Ok, Colin,
see you next week, ok?" It's not part of the deal at the moment, but next
week we have an apoointment with C= to see what we can do with them.  We
are talking with them...
JG: Do you have plans to work with them or to possibly buy them out?
BvT: Both are possible...
GG: My main concern is for the users, this has been a long slog...
BvT: Yes, I think it is a good thing that finally there is this sale.  We
already wanted to buy last year, but we couldn't proceed, we couldn't
hurry it up, ja, it took so long...
JG: Can I ask you a bit of a personal question?  Do you own an Amiga
yourself?  Which one"
BvT: I don't own an Amiga at the moment...
JG (smiling): But you're planning on getting one, yeah?
BvT: I,I,I..I've used Amiga in the past, ja, in my office.  I'll get a new
one that's coming out, we don't know what spec it will be, we are working
on it hard at the moment...
JG: Do you have any plans to have some online chats on the Internet?  Do
make more use of the Internet?
BvT: Of course the Internet is going around right now, it's very popular
in the States, also booming right now in Europe, so ja, something will
happen...  We will set up support groups to get to know what is going on
all over the place...
JG: Do you plan to make separate Amiga packages with software bundles,
let's say a Modem Package, a Game Package, as C= UK has done in the past?
BvT: It worked very well out in the UK, I know the figures because I was
involved and everything is possible...but we can also bring out other
products under the Amiga name, ja, we can also bring other technology into
the Amiga, if you want, ja, we haven't defined it yet but we are
considering everything and we expect a lot from Commodore and Amiga,
otherwise we wouldn't have bought it, ja?
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Friday April 21, 1995, outside US Bankruptcy Court building 4:15pm
Interview with Colin Proudfoot of C= UK
by Josh Galun
Missed first question
CP: C= UK is waiting for this thing to be over.  We then look forward to
working with ESCOM and reviewing their plans for the future of Commodore
cause they're gonna drive the technology and in effect they are quit
likely to end up the owners of the C= UK business.
JG: Do you believe ESCOM will buy C=UK as they exist right now or do you
believe they will license you as clone-makers?
CP: I don't think ESCOM will leave C=UK outside its organization, so it's
a technical question in acoounting terms whether it's expedient for them
to keep the corporate identity as it is today or create a new corporate
identity or use their existing structure and merge the C=UK within that.
I think that was is key is that they will retain a lot of the staff from
the UK organization because we have the expertise on the market place.
JG: If you were allowed to make your own plans for the UK market of the
Amiga, what would they be?  If ESCOM gave you that, how would market the
Amiga and make it viable again?
CP: I don't think that is a realistic question because if you look at the
market place as a whole you can't exclude the UK from the rest of Europe
or the rest of the world.  Computing nowadays is very much a global market
and we would have to fall in line with ESCOM.  A regards to what marketing
plans we would see, David Pleasance has outlined the plans he would have
for the market place and the products and how it would develop.  In fact
he will be talking to ESCOM about these things next week and we will see
how many of those ideas they will wish to adopt.
JG: So you're saying that there is nothing that separates the UK market
from the rest of the European market or the global market?
CP: Europe is now a common market and there are no technical bounderies
for free movement of goods and services so a product that's launched in
the UK one day we'll find in Germany the next day, or in Holland or in
Danmark.
JG: I heard that C=UK has good developers' relationships.  Have you been
talking to them about the buyout and what information have you gotten from
them that might be helpful to ESCOM?
CP: Well the UK has a very strong software community and a lot of
developers are based in there and we've been talking to them throughout
the buyout, we've been discussing ideas for eventual new products and I
think ESCOM will be very interested in the discussion that we had and the
results of those discussions.
JG: Is there any technology that C=UK has that has not been released or
that it still owns the rights to?
CP: C=UK has never owned any of the rights to the technology, it's merely
been a licensee.  All rights have always been held by CEL in the Bahamas
or Commodore-Amiga in California.  To come back to the developers, we
recognise and I think the ESCOM people recognise how important the
relationships with the development community are and on behalf of David
and myself I wish to thank the development community for their support
over the last 12 months.  It' been absolutely tremendous, we couldn't have
asked for any more support or any better encouragement from the guys all
around the world.  Hopefully we're looking forward to working with ESCOM
working with the developers' community and putting the Amiga back on top
of the market place, which is what we wanted all along.
JG: The US is a very competitive, intense and big market.  Do you think
ESCOM will want tto and are able to attack it properly?
CP: You should ask them.  I can only speculate and have a personal opinion
and I would say the following: ESCOM have been phenomenally successful as
a PC vendor in Europe and they have grown the business tremendously.
Where do they go from there?  They look to North America.  How they
penetrate the American market?  Can they do it with a "me-too" computer?
No they can't!  So therefore they need a product to differentiate
themselves from the rest of the competition and just maybe, just maybe,
the Amiga is that product.
JG: What are your personal feelings about the end of the buyout?
CP: I'm very glad it's over!
JG: Are you an Amiga user yourself?
CP: I have a CD32 at home and in the office a Commodore 486 PC.
JG: Do you have any plans of switching to the Amiga?
CP: I am not a technologist I am a businessman.  What I do is I talk to
David Pleasance and the rest of the guys in the UK to get an understanding
from them about the technology and its applications.  My job is business.

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