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.Mark> This conference transcript is Copyright 1994, Delphi Amiga Sig, all
rights reserved. Amiga Report magazine is hereby granted exclusive
non-commercial distribution rights. Commercial reprinting or
redistribution of this transcript is expressly forbidden without
permission. Write to "Burbs@Delphi.com" if you are a commercial
magazine who wishes to publish any or all of this transcript. Do
not perform any further editing on this transcript without first
obtaining written permission. We welcome you to this formal
Conference with our special guest of Creative Equipment,
International. Also joining us tonight is Jason Compton, Editor in
Chief, Amiga Report With special thanks also to him for his help in
setting up tonights conferance. Since this is a formal session, we
ask that participants wishing to ask a question, to type a "?" and
wait to be called on before typing your question.
.jcompton> Ok. First off, Alex, you can take this opportunity to give any
sort of introductory info on yourself or CEI. Secondly, I think
everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) would appreciate some sort of
brief overview of the bidding process to come.
AMIGA_ALEX> As all of you probably know CEI is on of the parties that is
interested in acquiring the Commodore technology and produce
Amigas. Currently, there appears to be two interested parties
(notice the word appears), I believe one is a Chinese venture
that is backing the UK management team and the second is
ourselves. Within the next four weeks the trustee will
negotiate contracts with the interested parties and actual
bidding will progress.
We expect a resolution sometime in late November. There is
always the possibility of another party coming to the table
before this is all done.
.jcompton> :) Is it your interpretation, then, that Escom has lost
interest in the bidding? Also: I realize it's not up to you,
but do you know why there's going to be a month lag before the
bidding begins?
AMIGA_ALEX> At this point in time I would not rule ESCOM out. Remember
there is a lot of activity behind the scenes. As far as the
time frame is concerned there are a number of legal issues
which must be resolved. Including law suits, appeals, etc.
BRIANKOK> Alex, thanks for doing this. I actually have several questions:
(most importantly, first)
You said you are interested in purchasing the amiga technology
and producing them. Does this mean you are not actually buying
out Commodore, just buying the technology?
AMIGA_ALEX> Yes, who ever ends up with the Amiga technology is simply
purchasing the assets. Not ending up with the old Commodore.
BRIANKOK> Ah, i see. i thought this was a "race" to be appointed to the
pres., co pres., etc.
AMIGA_ALEX> Our plan is to form a lean marketing/engineering firm that
designs, market, and sells Amigas.
INZANE> I was wondering if you could explain your future plans for the
Amiga if you win the bid.
AMIGA_ALEX> As you can see I am not a touch typist, but I'll try to give
you a synopsis:
1. Re introduce the current Amigas. At lower prices if
possible.
2. Move the technology forward by having engineers work on new
OS and new RISC chips.
3. Concentrate on markets which we can dominate; multimedia,
home entertainment desktop video, etc.
4. Market...Market....Market.... let people know why the Amiga
is such a good choice.
I always believed the Amiga would get wider acceptance If more
people just saw the machine. That's the basic nuts and bolts.
FERRIERM> Thanks. Three short questions. First, there have been several
bidding 'deadlines' over the last five month. And yet new
parties are still accepted? What gives?
Also, How does the Christmas season look for CD32? Is this season
not very important to the new owners? And, what are your plans
for the much larger British and European markets?
AMIGA_ALEX> First, there really haven't been an official deadline. When it
comes to C= rumors seem to gain momentum and there is not
stopping them. I remember that all the BBSs had the
information that Samsung had bought C= and an announcement was
imminent. It does not look possible that we will be able to
make the Christmas Season with any Amiga products. Our
business plans fully take this into account based on our
projections expect to see machines in late Feb 95.
As the European market we are in constant contact with all the
major European retailers and distributors. They have agreed to
assist whoever is successful with this venture. I fully
understand the importance of Europe and have been working
to overcome our distance barrier. CEI will open offices in UK
and Germany.
.jcompton> This is being passed along from a developer: Will you
re-evaluate the way developer support is handled? As he put it:
"$100/year isn't bad, but all you basically got was BIX, and
lately that hasn't been much."
AMIGA_ALEX> Oh no not Jason Again :)
Developer support is crucial to our success. We plan multiple
developers conference around the world as well as joint
marketing strategies. Bundling software, third party coupons,
real support!
ADAMGOOD> Do do you think that the amiga developers that are still around
can hold out untill feb 95
AMIGA_ALEX> Yes, once they understand the direction of the new company, the
market is strong and there is demand. Newtek, Scala, GVP
should all be there and profit.
ADAMGOOD> What about cross platform support? windows? mac?
AMIGA_ALEX> If you know anything about CEI its that we believe in support
for cross platfom support. We introduced the 4000MC which
included the Emplant (no association to McDonalds). As future
processors come into play the ability to integrate cross
platform support will become easier.
RUSTYW> In past statements from the UK group, they are (where) hoping to
get something going in time for Xmas, Since this will not happen do
you think this will the blow to out of the bidding? (I hope)
AMIGA_ALEX> No, I dont believe that. The Amiga market makes good business
sense, if you understand the market.
BRIANKOK> One of my questions was answered. (Developer support.) An
offshoot question: Will efforts to get developers to develop
again be aggressive? (e.g., MicroSoft and MSWord).
Another: Will the immediate development focus upon the hardware
or the OS?
AMIGA_ALEX> Commodore had a very closed mind... In order to garner support
from outside the Amiga community these companies have to
realize the potential. With the very competitive software
market many software developers are looking for new
opportunities. If we manage to build relationships with these
companies the likelyhood of support will increase. If there is
important software the new entity will of course do whatever
possible to get them ported including $$$$$$$$.
INZANE> Getting back to the future of the OS. I know that RTG,Networking,
and memory protection are important features, but I think we also
have to address the look and feel of the OS. I've seen pitures of
WINDOWS `95 and some of it looks very nice. Any plans on this
subject?
AMIGA_ALEX> Our OS has very strong features. We plan on upgrading and
improving system as well as porting to other processors. As
the looks are concern we have been analysing the look and feel
of other systems including Windows 95, SGI, etc. If we can
improve the look of the system while mentaining the memory
advantage as well the multitasking advantage we have the
potential for a real winner.
ADAMGOOD> I don't know anything about cei, what is the 4000mc?
AMIGA_ALEX> CEI = Creative Equipment International. Most end users have not
heard of us. Our goal was supplying the dealers and
establishing a dealer network for Commodore. We signed up over
four hundred dealers in the last year alone.
The 4000MC was a stock Amiga 4000 with the Emplant, extra ram,
large hard drive, System 7 and MacRoms fully integrated and
ready to run both AmigaDos and System 7 out of the box.
By the way we started as a Commodore PET dealer in 1977 and
only sold Commodore products for the past 17 years.
RUSTYW> When the Trustee(s) look at the bids, are they just looking for the
highest $$$ amount or the plan that will yield the highest $$$ in
the long run?
AMIGA_ALEX> The job of the trustee is to get the most money for the
creditors, NOW!
RUSTYW> If CEI wins the rights to Amiga, and is successful in marketing,
do you think other developers that have stopped or never developed
for Amiga, will be attracted to develop for Amiga?
AMIGA_ALEX> RustyW, if we do our jobs correctly with a little support from
the Amiga community I think we can get developers back and
acquire new developers. These guys are looking for the
opportunity to make a buck and the Amiga and its users provide
that opportunity.
.Wizardess> In case someone has not asked already - what was the winning
bid and are the other bids known?
AMIGA_ALEX> There is no winning bid at this time. The actual bid process
(auction) will come later in early to mid Nov.
INZANE> IS there a way people could send in our sugestions for feature we
would like to see in the future OS. I know someone on DELPHI was
keeping a list?
AMIGA_ALEX> ABSOLUTELY, our plans include a user advisory panel in the US
and Europe. This panel reports directly to the board.
ADAMGOOD> You mentioned RISC earlier? Any plans to use PowerPC? Licence
the Mac os?
AMIGA_ALEX> It's obvious that we need to move to RISC technology sooner
than later. The two RISC that have attracted the most
attention is the PA RISC and the PowerPC, but this decision
will be made by engineers, software designers, and you the
customers. Since we believe in full cross platform
compatibility the option of licensing the Mac System is not
unrealistic. Cost would be the determining factor.
.jcompton> (Yes, AGAIN, Alex. :)) Can you please explain the "contract bid"
situation to us? As you know, the report that Commodore UK has
the contract bid has been blown across the net and is being
interpreted incorrectly.
AMIGA_ALEX> Without going into great detail. The trustee has the ability to
negotiate on contracts with multiple parties simultanously.
Additionally, any bidder can bid on another parties contract.
For this reason signing a contract at this stage of the games
makes for good PR but little else. We had the option of
agreeing on a contract but turn it down for tactical reasons
I'd rather not discuss here. The bottom line is bidding for
Commodore has not commenced yet.
BRIANKOK> Alex, what are you looking at for price/performace ratios for new
machines? (Can you give us specific CPUs/prices?)
AMIGA_ALEX> NO, way too early. But, I can tell you that we understand the
market pressure when you can go out an purchase a Pentium
machine for under 2k.
Our goals are to bring the price in line and make Amiga
attractive once again.
FERRIERM> Is there still a chance that the bidding process will move to the
US? If so, what would the consequences be? Also, would a
Windows compatible machine be possible in the next year?
How about an OS/board combination for Intel or PPC based systems?
AMIGA_ALEX> Anything is possible, but at this late stage it seems
improbable that the court proceeding be moved. An Windows
compatible machine would certaintly open up a new market but
bringing in within the next year might be technologically
impossible.
The Amiga OS and chips make it very attractive as an add on
board for PCs. As we work closer with the engineers we will be
able to make better determinations.
TREYE> As a developer, I am wondering where the Amiga will fit
into the ODBC, SQL Server, OrACLE, ETC. world?
AMIGA_ALEX> Let's face it, the Amiga is strong in digital desktop video,
interactive applications, home entertainment, etc. This does
not preclude the need for strong mainstream applications
(Databases, Spreadsheets, etc.) But, we need to capitilize on
the strenght of the technology.
Since we operate CEI on 30 network Amigas, there is no one in
the world who would like to see strong business software
(read Relational Database with file locking....).
JVANHOUTEN> Are you plannning on having packages with monitor
harddrive/cdrom??
AMIGA_ALEX> YES! We have a multimedia machine, don't you think everyone
should have a CD ROM :)
.Wizardess> Once the dust settles have you any idea how long it will be
before the "kiosk" makers can get the CD-32s I hear them so
plaintively asking for? And how quickly can you ramp up general
production?
AMIGA_ALEX> Once a contract is in place and the legal matters are out of
the way expect 60 to 90 days before the entire product line is
once again available.
XIS> When do you believe I will be able to get a 4000 tower system?
AMIGA_ALEX> Same time frame (late Feb).
.jcompton> Alex: What, theoretically, happens to the few remaining
Commodore branches if you are successful? Do you ask them to
join the gang, or just let them rot and liquidate? GA
AMIGA_ALEX> Jason, our bid emcompasses the branches of Commodore which are
do not have great liability. This will be brought into the
fold of the new company.
AMIGA_ALEX> Additionally, we have contacted individuals of the former C=
who were valuable employees but were limited by their
management. We now get to chose the cream of the crop and
possibly even purchase a new floor scrubber:) he he
.jcompton> Thank you, Alex. You beat me to the gratuitous floor scrubber
comment of the night. Don't worry, I'll get one in.
TREYE> 2 more quick questions:
1) The Amiga is a perfect machine for professional Laser Shows.
Do you see this as a target for the machine?
2) What happend to those people whe have own(ed)
stock in Amiga???
AMIGA_ALEX> First, the AMiga controls a large portion of the laser
industry. I see this a another niche market which makes sense.
We personally installed a laser system in the Miami area.
The individuals who purchased Commodore stock are simply out of
luck. Add me to that list.
RUSTYW> Do you for see offering trade up deals for A500 and A2000 owners?
and is there plans to add Amiga tech to that floor scrubber? :)
AMIGA_ALEX> ABSOLUTELY! The one thing C= did well were the trade up
programs. We plan on being more agressive with our customer
base. Jason will be in charge of floor scrubber tech support;)
BRIANKOK> Last ? from me: Why should the ppl who are deciding the fate of
the Amiga choose you over CBM UK?
AMIGA_ALEX> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
BRIANKOK> heheh
XIS> Seems to me Amiga OS on a PC Card would elimanate Amiga computers...
wouldn't it be better to get the dos users to buy an Amiga/emplant
combination?
AMIGA_ALEX> NO not at all. I think its the old Trojan horse. Show what
the Amiga can do and then try to go back.
.Mark> If I can jump i here... How about a PCMCIA card with the Amiga
Chips on it.. It would solve your laptop problem!
AMIGA_ALEX> Good question. I'm afraid I dont have enough (read any)
engineering background to answer that. As far as a laptop
Amiga plans are in the works to co-engineer desktop and laptop
models.
.Del> When are we going to see ads that play up the qualities of the Amiga
line against the limitations of the MS-DOS platform? I've seen it
put this way: 'It takes more than a CD and a cute pair of speakers to
do good multimedia!'
AMIGA_ALEX> Our investors have allocated substantial funds for marketing.
Our marketing budget in the first year exceeds C='s budget in
the last 3 years.
AMIGA_ALEX> We understand and plan to be radical in our marketing programs.
RUSTYW> Does CBM UK really have that strong $$$ backing?
AMIGA_ALEX> That's a hard one to answer. Our sources say that a Red
Chinese company that clones cartridge is backing them. As time
progesses we should better understand all the parties involved
and find out the truth.
.Jeff> Will the prices of the new Amigas be cheaper or at least competitive
to the PC market? How about the Laptop model?
AMIGA_ALEX> JEFF, I think I answered those questions...yes cheaper Amigas..
yes laptops.
XIS> on the laptop just make me a lcd screen for a 1200 & I'll advertise the
Amiga free
AMIGA_ALEX> LCD screens for all Amigas are not out of the question.
JVANHOUTEN> Do you plan on having discounts for the disabled learning blind
etc, any software developes for this ?????
AMIGA_ALEX> No not at this time. We do plan on implementing an aggresive
educational campaign.
Remember, software developers are interested in making $$. If
there is a market then they will explore it. Most developers
have no idea what the users want. It's important that you let
them know what you need.
AMIGA_ALEX> I would like to wrap this up in the next ten minutes. I have
an early flight in the AM.
DRACUS> How abt pushing the Amiga 1200 in Kmart, Walmart, and Sears stores
like the C-64?
AMIGA_ALEX> We have already reached a tentative agreement to put the CD32
into 17,000 retailers across the US.
.Wizardess> Could you drop us a few words on your specific marketing
background? Which markets are you active in now and which have
you had outstanding success with?
AMIGA_ALEX> CEI has been instrumental in obtaining wide acceptance of the
Amiga into a diverse arena.
AMIGA_ALEX> They include the US Army, NOAA, Walt Disney World, foreign
governments, Medical Reaseach, the information markets.
Many of you know that CEI has been distributing the Amiga
line in Latin America. We established 20 major distributors
while Commodore pulled out of those lucritive markets.
Additionally, we are working with a PR and an advertising firm
for some very creative adverts in this market.
ECURB> Just a few minutes ago I called the AmigaWorld line. It stated that
the the decision has been delayed until Nov. 2. Why is this?
RUSTYW> Nothing would thrill me more than to see a full page ad for Amiga
in Windos Mag!!
AMIGA_ALEX> How 'bout BYTE?
.Jeff> Forgive me if this ? has already been asked- Can we expect a
PowerPC-based Amiga, or is 68060 more likely?
RUSTYW> just seeing an amiga ad would be great!!
AMIGA_ALEX> First, expect a 68060. This is logical and easier to
implement. That will be followed by a RISC processor to be
chosen soon.
.Mark> And Jason has the final question
AMIGA_ALEX> OH NO!
.jcompton> What's this we've heard about a fax from CEI asking dealers for
projected demand on Amigas and floor scrubbers? Just building
statistics?
AMIGA_ALEX> Since we are confident of the acquisition our manufacturing
partner (to be announced upon acquisition) has begun to do the
statistical analysis to be able to roll products of the
assembly line as soon as possible. This was a statistical
analysis and was not meant to encompass the entire dealer base.
Some dealers were upset that they were not included in this
survey, but we were only looking for the raw data, not actual
orders.
.Mark> Thank you all for stopping by and thanks to Alex for his time.. We
wish you the best for you bid in keeping the Amiga Alive and Well!
BRIANKOK> Thanks Alex, good luck! If you win, please switch the CTRL and ALT
keys! :)
.Wizardess> Alex, thanks a lot for coming by and answering these questions.
Good luck! And please don't forget the internet address
for jdow@bix.com. {^_-}
KEHLAND> Thanks
.Jeff> Thanks ... Take Care
INZANE> good luck
.Tom> Thanks for coming Alex. Drop by again soon.
RUSTYW> thanks is thare a email address for feedback from users?
.jcompton> Thanks, once again, for hanging around with a bunch of weirdos,
Alex.
.Ardell> Good Luck Alex!
.Wizardess> Probably best to do it through Jason.
AMIGA_ALEX> Thank you all :) Thanks for all the support!