Re: AMIGA RETURNS!

[ZCEL02@TULATCPA.amoco.com (Charles Lott)]

Of course, I wish THIS had been the response by Apple Computer!  Do
you think Apple would do us a favor and go bankrupt? :)

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>Distributors Find High Demand for Amiga Computers After Commodore's Demise
>By Dan Stets, Philadelphia Inquirer
>Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
>
>Sep. 1--Commodore International Ltd. may be on ice, but one of the
>bankrupt company's best known products - the Amiga computer - is sizzling
>hot.
>
>Distributors are scouring the earth to find Amigas, which went out of
>production when Commodore filed for bankruptcy in May.
>
>"We have had to go overseas, everywhere from Europe to Africa, to meet the
>existing demand in the States," said Alex Amor, president of Creative
>Equipment International of Miami, the largest Amiga distributor in the
>United States.
>
>The clamor is driven primarily by the computer's videotape and sound
>editing capabilities, which no other manufacturer has come close to
>matching at a comparable price.
>
>For a fraction of the cost of other editing machines, Amiga's can create
>graphic and multimedia presentations of extremely high quality when
>coupled with products from two companies; Scala, which has a research
>center in Exton, and NewTek Inc. of Topeka, Kan.
>
>The result has been like a lesson in basic economics. "We have seen Amiga
>prices increase by an average of 50 percent across the board," noted Amor,
>who is making a bid for the remains of Commodore.
>
>He said he is able to meet only 5 percent of his orders for Amigas. He
>expects no change in the situation "until we are successful with the
>acquisition."
>
>David Pleasance, managing director of Commodore's United Kingdom
>subsidiary, may disagree about who will ultimately succeed in buying the
>company, but he agrees there is a serious shortage of machines.
>
>"The demand is massive. The problem is that we have no computers at all,"
>said Pleasance, who is leading a U.K. management team which also is trying
>to buy the remains of the company.
>
>Amor said the top-of-the-line Amiga 4000 is selling for $3,500 apiece in
>the United States, a price equal to that for the best new Apple and IBM-
>compatible desktop computers. It retailed for $2,500 or less.
>
>Commodore, which had its North American headquarters in West Chester, Pa.,
>filed for bankruptcy in the Bahamas, where the company was registered.
>Court-appointed liquidators there are receiving bids for the remains of
>the company. Amor and Pleasance appear to be the top, if not the only
>bidders.
>
>If Amor is successful, he intends to manufacture Amigas in suburban
>Philadelphia and in Europe. Pleasance would manufacture in Scotland.
>Commodore made its machines in the Philippines.
>
>Paul L. Adderly, the Nassau attorney for the liquidators, said he hoped to
>have final proposals within days and that the liquidators would go before
>the Bahamian Supreme Court for approval.
>
>A sale of Commodore's assets and the technology may be approved by mid-
>September, Pleasance hopes.
>
>A delay could result, Adderly said, because Commodore's American creditors
>would like the Bahamian court to conduct an auction.
>
>While the legal and financial maneuvering goes on, users of Scala software
>and a NewTek product known as a Video Toaster have been grabbing up any of
>the 3.5 million Amigas manufactured by Commodore.
>
>The experience of Charles Hill, sales manager of Intelligent Machines
>Computer Center Inc. in Orlando, Fla., is typical of the supply problem.
>
>Hill said he had worked out an agreement with a European supplier for 400
>to 500 Amigas. But the supplier at first sent only a dozen machines, then
>40 more and finally an additional 125.
>
>When the machines arrived, Hill had to have them converted to American
>from European video standards. Despite the trouble and cost, the effort is
>worth it, Hill said.
>
>"If I had the inventory, I could have people send me certified checks for
>2,000 to 3,000 machines," he said.
>
>Some of the demand is coming from Scala itself. "We seemed to have sucked
>up whatever was left," said Jeffrey S. Porter, Scala vice president of
>engineering.
>
>The company uses the machines as a platform for multimedia displays in
>hotels and airports around the world. It also is working on interactive
>television applications for Ameritech and General Instruments.
>
>Thomas Hillman, Scala's executive vice president, said Scala had an
>inventory large enough to meet demand until spring 1995, when a version of
>Scala's software is scheduled to be ready for use on IBM-compatible
>personal computers.
>
>At NewTek, marketing director Donetta Colboch said the company had not
>stockpiled any Amigas, but that it was shipping its add-on video editing
>board to dealers at rate of about 5,000 a month, indirectly leading to
>increased Amiga demand.
>
>Coupled with the Video Toaster, an Amiga can produce 3-D graphics and
>broadcast-quality video for television and Hollywood studios.
>
>Amiga owners also are reselling their machines. Russell Williams, a
>program manager with Microsoft Corp., said he sold his machine, with a
>Video Toaster, for $6,400, about a week after posting it for sale on
>CompuServe's Amiga forum.
>
>He said he bought the machine 18 months ago because he thought it was the
>best product available at the time. He sold because he believes problems
>at Commodore are slowing technological advances.
>