@database "ar-gateway.guide" @Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #5.04 -- April 16, 1997" =========================================================================== May 18, 1997 @{" Turn the Page " link MENU} Special Report =========================================================================== ,a c4%&; 1%%%b 9%=~ " m; mmmm; nmm mmmmm .,pmq,. m; j#6 ##6 j### ### ,#'~ ~`g, j#6 ##&; ##&; #### ### ,#f `# ##&; jP##6 ###6 jP### ### .##' " jP##6 #'$#&; #$#&; #'### ### i## #'$#&; jP l##6 #l##6 jP ### ### &## jP l##6 #' $#&; # $#&;#' ### ### &## #' $#&; j#mmmd##6 # l##6P ### ### ?## mmmw j#mmmd##6 #' $#&; # $##' ### ### ##; $#$ #' $#&; jP l##6 # l#P ### ### `#l ,&#'jP l##6 #' ###mm # $' mm###mm mm###mm `#q,.,p#' #' ###mm (R) "~^~" &&&&q, , ,P `b d' tm d' ,P d&&&P ;P .,d' ,c&&q, &&&&q, ,c&&q, q&,e&q ;P' d&&&P ;P' `& d' `b ;P' `b dP~ `P d' ;P'`&; dB&&&&P ;P ,P d' P ;P ;P d' `&; &, , d' .,d' &, .,d' d' d' , &&& &&'`&&&P' ;B&&&P' `&&&P' &&& `&P' d' ;P &&& "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!" Copyright 1997 FS Publications All Rights Reserved @endnode @node MENU "Amiga Report Main Menu" @toc MAIN =========================================================================== == Main Menu == =========================================================================== @{" Commentary " link EDITORIAL} @{" Gateway Acquisition News " link NEWS} @{" About AMIGA REPORT " link ABOUT} @{" Where to Get AR " link WHERE} ______________________________________________ // | | // ========//====| Amiga Report International Online Magazine |======//===== == \\// | Special Report May 18, 1997 | \\// == ==============| "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!" |============= |______________________________________________| @endnode @node JASON "Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== EDITOR =========================================================================== Jason Compton ============= Internet Address -------- ------- jcompton@xnet.com 1203 Alexander Ave jcompton@amigazone.com Streamwood, IL 60107-3003 USA Fax Phone --- ----- 847-741-0689 847-733-0248 @endnode @node KATIE "Assistant Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== == ASSISTANT EDITOR == =========================================================================== Katherine Nelson ================ Internet -------- kati@nwu.edu kati@amigazone.com @endnode @node KEN "Games Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== == GAMES EDITOR == =========================================================================== Ken Anderson ============ Internet Address -------- ------- kend@dhp.com 44 Scotland Drive ka@protec.demon.co.uk Dunfermline Fife KY12 7TD Scotland @endnode @node WILLIAM "Contributing Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== CONTRIBUTING EDITOR =========================================================================== William Near ============ Internet -------- wnear@epix.net @endnode @node BOHUS "Contributing Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== CONTRIBUTING EDITOR =========================================================================== Bohus Blahut - Modern Filmmaker =============================== Internet -------- bohus@xnet.com @endnode @node EDITORIAL "compt.sys.editor.desk" @toc MAIN =========================================================================== compt.sys.editor.desk By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== And so, it has come to pass. The unforseeable contingency has not popped up, the arrangements have not fallen through, the money has not fallen short. Gateway 2000, by their own announcement at the World of Amiga show this weekend in the UK, has completed their acquisition of Amiga Technologies. Their fully-owned subsidiary, Amiga International, is establishing offices in Langen, Germany, and expects to be operational in June. Petro Tyschtschenko and Gateway's Jim Taylor, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, addressed a press conference on Friday. The transcript of their speech is in the News section of the issue. So! Here we are, May 1997, awaiting the launch of a new attempt at revitalizing the Amiga. The backer is once again a large PC cloner, well-known within their home market and looking to expand their business. At the Amiga helm once again is Mr. Tyschtschenko, who stuck with the bankrupt Amiga Technologies, working with companies trying to complete an acquisition of the Amiga. And here we are, presumably still sticking with the program, waiting to see what happens next. I said it two years ago when Escom bought the Amiga, and I'll say it again: I'm just glad it's all over. While the acquisition doesn't change any of our lives overnight, it does at least put a close to the unpleasant 13 months between the first indication that Escom was looking to sell the Amiga in the now infamous April 1996 joint announcement with VIScorp and the present. There are a lot of things that need to be done. Don't think I'm going to launch into a 12-step program for What I Think Gateway Has To Do. What's more important is what YOU should be doing. You, the Amiga user. Because you have some responsibilities in this game as well. You actually have quite a bit to be happy about. No, not everything that has happened over the past year, two years, three years, four years, etc. has been good for the Amiga. Certain "bright sides" are more valid to look at than others. One somewhat popular theory is that some rather publicized departures among users and developers from the Amiga market has somehow "weeded out the chaff leaving better behind." This is only consistent thinking if you don't hope for expansion of the user and developer base, which the vast majority of people seem to actively hope and campaign for. No, there are other ways in which we've made out pretty well that don't necessarily have to involve big fights. For starters, in more ways than one, Amiga users are getting the sort of company they've wanted ever since Commodore. How many times did people complain that Commodore was cold, distant, unresponsive, and uncaring about its user base? How huge was the outcry when John DiLullo, a high-ranking Commodore official, made an offhanded remark about certain highly enthusiastic elements of the Amiga userbase being very counterproductive to the Amiga's popularity? A few years later, we have Gateway--a large company to be sure, but one with a strong reputation for reachability, customer interaction, and what I can only term as "homeyness." Today, in 1997, Petro Tyschtschenko can't say enough about how wonderful Amiga users are. Meanwhile, Gateway is a very visible company in the US (important to beleagured North American users who feel like they've been ignored for too long) with an eye towards the rest of the world and operations already underway in Europe. Users got what they wanted in that a single company picked up all of the Amiga's assets at once. There was a great fear that liquidation would see the assets parcelled off, turning hope for future development into a headache of difficult licensing issues. But Gateway holds the entire keyring and they're saying "license, license, license"--and since Amiga users typically like to see the technology proliferate, this is a good thing. Gateway has invited user input. They have invited themselves into one of the most watched Amiga user events. They've taken our phone calls and e-mail and done their best to reply. And Job #1 according to Petro is "Supporting the existing Amiga community." If this isn't an invitation for all of us to come right to their doorstep, I don't know what is. AI is opening their hands and saying "What can we do for you?" But like any invitation, this is one we all have to consider carefully. This is not Petro inviting you to call up any Gateway representative and deliver a 10-minute missive on what they should and should not do, how they can never live up to Jay Miner's legacy, and how you'd like to see Medhi Ali's head on a pole. If you want to ask about the situation of the warranty on your new Amiga 1200, don't call somebody's home at 4:00 in the morning. (Yes, this happened to me. More than once.) Consider it more like a job interview. If you're going to call, write a letter, write an e-mail, or talk with a Gateway/AI representative at an upcoming event, be conscientious. Identify what's important to you and ask about it. This is not a license to ask for the world from Gateway because you're not going to get it. But we've been given an open invitation to help AI prioritize the future of the Amiga, and it's an opportunity that is not likely to come again if we can't handle the responsibility. --- Now, it's very true that Gateway did not lay out a lot of details at WOA UK. Personally, I didn't expect them to, but some people were under the impression that there would be spec sheets handed out for the next three generations of Amiga computers. Of course, this is difficult for Gateway--all they can do is step up to the microphone and say with earnestness in their hearts "We have been very busy with the details of the acquisition" but uneasy minds like to have answers. Let me be one of the first to step forward in defense of Gateway. Give them time. Plunging ahead into ideas based on just one or another set of advisements is a sure recipe for trouble. If you're part of a project that's doing research or planning to do research into future-generation Amiga technology and you haven't had a discussion with Gateway yet, don't take it personally. And if you HAVE been in discussions with them, don't presume that yours is the only true way simply because you say it is so. --- Much as I am an opponent of honing in on one specific word in a press release and extracting its possible significance to extreme degrees, I do think something Petro mentioned is worth noting. The word "assist" shows up three times in relation to Amiga development in his address. The message is that Gateway/AI will not be undertaking 100% of the R&D and decision-making necessary to improving upon the Amiga design. They plan to work with those in the market who are set up in progress on such projects. And if THIS isn't something the market has been begging for, I don't know what is. --- In difficult times, it's tough to know who to listen to. For years, Amiga users have dealt with doomsayers in the press, in their communities, in their workplaces, and online. The temptation is great to give in to soundbite attacks on Amigas, particularly from those whose prior involvement with the Amiga lends a superficial sense of legitimacy, or those whose involvement with Amiga emulation makes them feel as though they've revealed that the Amiga emperor has no clothes, our lives are a sham and we should buy a Pentium and run his UAE port. But Amiga computing is, and remains, about you, your computer, and the people you choose to associate with and the companies you choose to buy your products from. Everything else is wasteful distraction. The Amiga is now Gateway 2000's charge. It is theirs to make a success of, and our responsibility to help them along the way. Good luck to Gateway, from all of us at Amiga Report. -Jason @endnode @node NEWS1 @toc NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AMIGA International acquisition finalized HAMMERSMITH, LONDON, UK, May 16, 1997 - AMIGA International, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gateway 2000, Inc. (Nasdaq:GATE), has finalized the acquisition of the assets of AMIGA Technologies. The announcement was made at a news conference prior to the opening of the World of Amiga conference in Hammersmith, London on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18. "We have received many communications from the Amiga user community regarding the acquisition," said Jim Taylor, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing of Gateway 2000. "It is exciting to know how much support Amiga continues to enjoy. Every Amiga customer should know that we share their belief in this product and we believe that it has a strong role in our multimedia computing world." Taylor was joined at the news conference by Petro Tyschtschenko, Managing Director of AMIGA International. "The Amiga platform is gifted by a community of talented people," said Tyschtschenko. "These strengths will be of critical importance for the success of the plans of AMIGA International." Tyschtschenko outlined areas that AMIGA International is exploring to reinvigorate the Amiga market by: - Supporting the existing Amiga community. - Leveraging the existing Amiga technology through broad licensing. - Assisting in developing new products based on open standards to the home computer and video/graphics market. AMIGA International, Inc. will operate as a separate business unit of Gateway 2000. AMIGA International currently has operations in Braunschweig, Germany for Logistics and Service activities and has opened new offices near the Frankfurt airport in Langen, Germany where Sales and Marketing are located. AMIGA International can be reached on the World Wide Web at http://www.amiga.de. About Gateway 2000 Gateway 2000, Inc., a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, is a global leader in the direct marketing of PCs. The company, headquartered in North Sioux City, South Dakota, has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Ireland and Malaysia, and employs over 10,000 people worldwide. Gateway 2000 products and services consistently win top awards from leading industry publications. In 1996, the company shipped 1.9 million systems and reported revenues of $5 billion and net income of $250 million. @endnode @node NEWS2 "AI/Gateway Address at WOA UK" @toc NEWS Amiga International, Inc. Press Conference London, May 16, 1997 Petro Tyschtschenko: "Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests. I am looking around and I see a lot of people I know. People who have long experience with our AMIGA products and people who support AMIGA. It is nice to see that the AMIGA platform is gifted by a community of competent people. These strengths are going to be of critical importance for the success of the plans of AMIGA International, which I am going to explain to you later. Anyway, I am happy to see you all and I would like to welcome you on this press event. I believe there is a bright future for AMIGA International, Inc. Let me just explain a few details of importance, so that you can have a better understanding of what has happened to AMIGA since the Commodore days. Escom AG acquired AMIGA in April 1995. During this time, an effort was made to revitalize the AMIGA market, however Escom went into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy on July 15th, 1996. During this time, an effort was made to develop products, but due to financial difficulties, there has not been any significant amount of new product development by AMIGA over the past couple of years. Since filing for bankruptcy, we have been trying to keep the marketplace alive through inventory sales by the trustee. However, it has truly been AMIGA community that has kept AMIGA alive through the development of products based on newer technology and software application developments. Now that AMIGA is owned by a successful company - Gateway 2000 - there is a bright future. - Gateway 2000 is a solid and well established company in the computer industry - Gateway 2000 has consistently been honored with awards for products and service - Gateway 2000 is the right partner to give AMIGA new life and energy for the future. AMIGA International was formed as a US based company in March, 1997 to acquire the assets of AMIGA Technologies GmbH. AMIGA International will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gateway 2000. Over the past month, we have been very busy finalizing the acquisition, performing due diligence, setting up operations in Germany and communicating with the AMIGA community. We have a new office in Langen, next to the Frankfurt airport and I am happy to report to you that we are operational again. In Langen, we will have three people handling sales, marketing and general administration. We will be running at the beginning of June. Since early April, we have four employees in Braunschweig that are taking care of logistics and warehousing, orderprocessing and customer support, Internet support as well as technical service. Finally, we are in the process of identifying an individual to manage new product development and R&D. What are we going to concentrate on? Implementing our strategy. - Supporting the existing AMIGA community - Leveraging the existing AMIGA technology through broad licensing - Assisting in developing new products based on open standards to the home computer and video/graphics market. How will we support the community that has kept AMIGA alive? Through conventions, press conferences, via the Internet, meetings and all useful initiatives coming from the AMIGA community. I have already been to conventions in Germany and in Sweden and will entertain any suggestions. Continuing to sell to the distributor network that has supported AMIGA. Working with developers through concepts such as the "Open AMIGA Initiative" that is being formed with the support of many of the prominent names in the AMIGA community. The basics of success in this project is to work together with partners and to define a common path of development. The AMIGA market can not afford a split, we must go together into one direction. For us to keep the market alive it is neccessary to assist many companies in developing products through broad licensing. Our licensing policy will be very open, broad and focus on licensing and standard O/S, Chipsets and the trademarks. Also, licensing will allow the AMIGA to be spread to many different embedded applications in field such as medical solutions, simulation applications, fitness equipment, irrigation systems and kiosk terminals. Of course, we are looking for new partners. Through licensing and focused R&D managed by AMIGA International, we plan to assist the market place in developing new products for the AMIGA. We are currently exploring many of the possible new products that have been suggested including such things as an operating system upgrade and new hardware platforms. We would like to keep the procedure as simple as possible. We need to talk with the technology companies from the AMIGA business and exchange know-how. It is also important that we explore an open AMIGA platform, use industry standard components to make it cheaper to produce, faster to develop and easier to upgrade.These things need to happen quickly, but in a very managed fashion. With this strategy and the support of the AMIGA community and Gateway 2000, we are convinced there is a bright future for the AMIGA. That, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our presentation for today. Jim Taylor and myself will be available for MEDIA interviews. We hope that all of you will visit us at our booth, at the WORLD OF AMIGA conference. Thank you very much for your attention". @endnode @node NEWS3 "Gateway 2000 Offer" @toc NEWS Gateway 2000 Acquires Assets of Amiga Technologies GmbH North Sioux City, South Dakota, March 27 1997 - Gateway 2000 Inc. today announced that the company has made an offer to aquire the assets of Amiga Technologies including all patents, trademaks and trade names. The Company is a subsidary of ESCOM AG, a German-based computer company that went into bankrupty in July of 1996. Amiga led the industry in combining computer graphics, animation, and film sequences with stereo sound known today as multimedia. The offer has been accepted by the court-appointed Administrator in Bankruptcy in Germany acting on behalf of AMIGA. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval. "This acquisition is good news for Gateway and customers of AMIGA," said Rick Snyder, president and COO of Gateway 2000. "It will strengthen our intellectual property position and invigorate a company that has been a pioneer in multimedia solutions and operating systems technology." AMIGA Technologies will be renamed AMIGA International. The company will operate as a separate business unit and will retain its current president, Petro Tyschtschenko, who will work to develop new products for the AMIGA market. "Gateway 2000 will give us new life and energy for the future," said Tyschtschenko. About Gateway 2000 Gateway 2000, Inc., a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, is a global leader in the direct marketing of PCs. The company, headquartered in North Sioux City, South Dakota, has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Ireland and Malaysia, and employs over 9,700 people worldwide. Gateway 2000 products and services consistently win top awards from leading industry publications. In 1996, the company shipped 1.9 million systems and reported revenues of $5 billion and net income of $250 million. About AMIGA Since the introduction of the AMIGA A1000 in 1985, AMIGA has represented the embodiment of the efficient use of memory and hard drive capacity, while pioneering industry developments in multimedia, 32-bit multitasking and autoconfiguration. For additional information, please e-mail Steve Johns, Director of Corporate Development for Gateway 2000 at johnsste@gw2k.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Angela Peacock, Corporate Communications, (605) 232-1686. @endnode @node MAILLIST "Amiga Report Mailing List" @toc WHERE =========================================================================== Amiga Report Mailing List =========================================================================== If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report in @{"UUENCODED" link UUENCODE} form each week as soon as the issue is released. To be put on the list, send Email to majordomo@ninemoons.com Your subject header will be ignored. In the body of the message, enter subscribe areport The system will automatically pull your e-mail address from the message header. Your account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact copy. For example, many systems have a 100K limit on incoming messages. ** IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE be certain your host can accept mail over ** ** 100K! We have had a lot of bouncebacks recently from systems with a ** ** 100K size limit for incoming mail. If we get a bounceback with your ** ** address in it, it will be removed from the list. Thanks! ** @endnode @node UUENCODE @toc MAILLIST =========================================================================== UUDecoding Amiga Report =========================================================================== If you receive Amiga Report from the direct mailing list, it will arrive in UUEncoded format. This format allows programs and archive files to be sent through mail by converting the binary into combinations of ASCII characters. In the message, it will basically look like a lot of trash surrounded by begin and end, followed by the size of the file. To UUDecode Amiga Report, you first need to get a UUDecoding program, such as UUxT by Asher Feldman. This program is available on Aminet in pub/aminet/arc/ Then you must download the message that it is contained in. Don't worry about message headers, the UUDecoding program will ignore them. There is a GUI interface for UUxT, which should be explained in the docs. However, the quickest method for UUDecoding the magazine is to type uuxt x ar.uu at the command prompt. You will then have to decompress the archive with lha, and you will then have Amiga Report in all of its AmigaGuide glory. If you have any questions, you can write to @{"Jason Compton" link JASON} @endnode @node COPYRIGHT "Copyright Information" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== Amiga Report International Online Magazine May 16, 1997 Special Report Copyright 1997 FS Publications All Rights Reserved =========================================================================== Views, Opinions and Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors and staff of Amiga Report International Online Magazine or of FS Publications. Permission to reprint articles is hereby denied, unless otherwise noted. All reprint requests should be directed to the editor. Amiga Report and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. However, translation into a language other than English is acceptible, provided the editor is notified beforehand and the original meaning is not altered. Amiga Report may be distributed on privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees to cover cost of operation are acceptable), and major online services such as (but not limited to) Delphi and Amiga Zone. Distribution on public domain disks is acceptable provided proceeds are only to cover the cost of the disk (e.g. no more than $5 US). CD-ROM compilers should contact the editor. Distribution on for-profit magazine cover disks requires written permission from the editor. Amiga Report is a not-for-profit publication. Amiga Report, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. Amiga Report, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained there from. Amiga Report is not affiliated with Amiga International. All items quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair Use Provision of the Copyright Laws of the United States Penal Code. Any Electronic Mail sent to the editors may be reprinted, in whole or in part, without any previous permission of the author, unless said electronic mail is specifically requested not to be reprinted. =========================================================================== @endnode @node NEWS "News & Press Releases" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Gateway News On Amiga Acquisition =========================================================================== @{" Acquisition Complete " link NEWS1} "Final Approval" is here. @{" AI Address at WOA UK " link NEWS2} Petro and Gateway's Taylor speak @{" Gateway 2000 Offer " link NEWS3} The note which started it all @endnode @node ABOUT "About AMIGA REPORT" @toc MENU =========================================================================== About AMIGA REPORT =========================================================================== @{" AR Staff " link STAFF} The Editors and writers @{" Copyright Information " link COPYRIGHT} The legal stuff --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node STAFF "The Staff" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== The Staff =========================================================================== Editor: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} Assistant Editor: @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE} Games Editor: @{" Ken Anderson " link KEN} Contributing Editor: @{" William Near " link WILLIAM} Contributing Editor: @{" Bohus Blahut " link BOHUS} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node WHERE "Where to Get AR" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Where to Get AR =========================================================================== @{" The AR Mailing List " link MAILLIST} For space reasons, we've just included the mailing list details in this special report. @endnode