Path: gmdzi!unido!mcsun!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!
ames!bionet!agate!ucbvax!CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU!WHE46
From: WH...@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Industry Publications Ignoring the Amiga.
Message-ID: <F03D042028BF0067CD@ISUVAX.BITNET>
Date: 10 Dec 90 22:17:00 GMT
Sender: dae...@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 45
Posted: Mon Dec 10 23:17:00 1990
It seems that I can never scan through more than a screenful of
message titles in this newsgroup without coming across at least a
couple of messages from people complaining that yet another magazine
article on multimedia ignores the Amiga.
Whenever I read these messages (which inevitably suggest some kind
of letter-writing campaign, as if we haven't done enough for Commodore
already, and now we have to do their work for them), one question
always pops into my mind: why should these magazines mention the
Amiga?
Remember that the Amiga is NOT a serious influence on the computer
industry, especially in the U.S. The installed base of Amigas in the
U.S. is only slightly above 500,000 units, compared to an installed
base of 3 Million Macintosh computers and over 10 Million IBM-
compatible systems. Magazine authors and editors always write for
the largest audience, and the Amiga audience is totally insignificant
compared to the audience of Mac and IBM users.
Another thing to remember is that over 2/3 of the Amiga systems
currently being used in the U.S. are A500 systems. Most of these
systems are being used for less professional uses, such as games.
I would estimate the installed base of Amiga systems in the U.S.
that are currently actually being used for video, multimedia, and
other professional uses to be somewhere around 100,000. This
compares to the fact that nearly all Macintosh systems sold are
being used for professional purposes, and much of the installed
base of IBM-compatibles is being used for professional and
business purposes.
In summary, the installed base of Macintosh and IBM-compatible
systems in the U.S. already outwighs the Amiga's installed base by
a factor of 6 for the MAC and 20 for the IBMs. Add to this the
fact that most Amigas are being used in homes, while most MACs
are being used in schools, universities, and corporations.
Together this all points to the conclusion that the audience of
people actually using MACs and IBMs for professional purposes
outweighs the audience of people using Amigas for professional
purposes by perhaps 100-to-one. It is no wonder that these
publications ignore the Amiga -- it is not a significant influence
on the computer industry.
-MB-
Path: gmdzi!unido!mcsun!uunet!cbmvax!cbmehq!cbmger!peterk
From: pet...@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Industry Publications Ignoring the Amiga.
Message-ID: <629@cbmger.UUCP>
Date: 11 Dec 90 09:42:57 GMT
References: <F03D042028BF0067CD@ISUVAX.BITNET>
Reply-To: pet...@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY)
Organization: Commodore Bueromaschinen GmbH, West Germany
Lines: 36
Posted: Tue Dec 11 10:42:57 1990
In article <F03D042028BF006...@ISUVAX.BITNET> WH...@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU
(Marc Barrett) writes:
> one question
>always pops into my mind: why should these magazines mention the
>Amiga?
Because there is also a competition between magazines. And one good
argument for a magazine is that it shows COMPETENCE. If the magazine
and its writers show that they know the state of the art then they
are much better at comparing and judging. And to not mention the Amiga
in articles about Multimedia simply shows the ignorance of the writer
and the editors, they plainly DON'T KNOW what they write.
THEY'RE DUMB. And you might conclude that such dumbness not only appears
regarding coverage of the Amiga. I suspect that in such magazines also
other very important topics are forgotten, because those dumb authors
don't know about what is going on in real life. They are computer
illiterate.
So one should write them and give them a hint that they should improve
their computer knowledge reasonably, because else they could be subject
to lose competition in this market.
> Remember that the Amiga is NOT a serious influence on the computer
>industry, especially in the U.S.
I guess this WILL change :-).
> Another thing to remember is that over 2/3 of the Amiga systems
>currently being used in the U.S. are A500 systems. Most of these
>systems are being used for less professional uses, such as games.
But they have all the power of an Amiga, do spread the word, and
build a reasonable basis to build on and to earn the money Commodore
needs to develop even nicer things.
--
Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions...
Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk
Path: gmdzi!unido!mcsun!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU!
WHE46
From: WH...@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Industry Publications Ignoring the Amiga.
Message-ID: <EF73892CBBBF006453@ISUVAX.BITNET>
Date: 11 Dec 90 22:20:00 GMT
Sender: dae...@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 49
Posted: Tue Dec 11 23:20:00 1990
In article <6...@cbmger.UUCP> Peter Kittel GERMANY <pet...@cbmger.UUCP> writes:
>In article <F03D042028BF006...@ISUVAX.BITNET> WH...@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU
(Marc Barrett) writes:
>> one question
>>always pops into my mind: why should these magazines mention the
>>Amiga?
>
>Because there is also a competition between magazines. And one good
>argument for a magazine is that it shows COMPETENCE. If the magazine
>and its writers show that they know the state of the art then they
>are much better at comparing and judging. And to not mention the Amiga
>in articles about Multimedia simply shows the ignorance of the writer
>and the editors, they plainly DON'T KNOW what they write.
>THEY'RE DUMB. And you might conclude that such dumbness not only appears
>regarding coverage of the Amiga. I suspect that in such magazines also
>other very important topics are forgotten, because those dumb authors
>don't know about what is going on in real life. They are computer
>illiterate.
>So one should write them and give them a hint that they should improve
>their computer knowledge reasonably, because else they could be subject
>to lose competition in this market.
I did not get my point across very well in the original message, so I
will restate it here. Magazines do not write for computers. Magazines
write for PEOPLE. The people that most computer industry publications in
the U.S. (such as InfoWorld, PC World, etc.) write for is the community
of people who use computers for professional purposes.
Unfortunaly, Amiga users make up only a tiny fraction of that
community. Until this changes, these publications will continue to not
mention the Amiga in their articles. For all of the Amiga's capabilities,
it is not of most interest to 95% of the readers of these magazines.
These magazines, therefore, do not mention anything that is not of much
interest to their readers.
All the bundled multimedia software in the world, and all the
multimedia capabilities in the world, will not make these publications
notice the Amiga. Amiga users need to become a noticeable percentage of
the community of professional computer users. Unfortunately, this has not
happened yet, and at the current rate that Commodore is selling
'professional' (non-A500) Amigas in the U.S., it likely never will.
>--
>Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions...
>Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk
-MB-