Re: CMD products for GS (NTSC->RGB?, Scan Doublers, 20MHz)

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Cameron Kaiser <cdkaiser@concentric.net> wrote:

>supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) writes:
>
>>We don't mind crawling.  ;-)  I'll be the first to admit that Commodore
>>users are more sane.  You don't complain about hardware and
>>software developments and you see a market in an orphaned platform.
>
>If you call that sane (but then consider that I run a C64 software house that
>still sees a market in an orphaned platform ;-).

Did you used to write for Incider?

>>I wish I could say that yes, we are a good customer base.  Sadly, I
>>am not so sure we are anymore.  Just look at Wolf 3D.  We are
>>complaining about free software.  We complain about our only video
>
>I noticed that (I'm a silent lurker in c.s.a2, since I have a IIgs myself --
>I just don't admit it often ;-).

Lurkers should post more.  ;-)

>>card, the Second Sight.  I do believe that there is a silent majority
>>here that still actively buys hardware for the GS.  Otherwise, I can't
>>imagine Alltech, Sequential, and SHH Systems can continue to
>>make and sell hardware for us.  The market is here if you can ignore
>>the criticisms that fly from those who have moved on to other
>>computers can't see the hobby value of fueling development for a
>>classic computer.
>
>Part of the problem is the relationship of the higher end Apples to the ][s.
>Business acumen (or lack thereof) aside, the Mac is still a platform that's
>sold in stores and has if not a significant a noticible market share, so Mac
>people tend to whack on the ][ owners. Amiga owners are basically in the same
>boat as 64/128 people, viz. supportless.
>
>This is just an outside observation, honest, I'm not playing flame bait ;-)

I'm not going to flame, but I think there is another side to the coin.
The distance between a GS and the Mac is not as great as the
distance between the Commodore 128 and the Amiga.  The GS
was introduced as a response to the Amiga 1000.  It really belongs
in the same category as the Atari ST and the Amiga.  The video
modes were a match for the Atari ST (except monochrome) and
the sound chip was better than the Amiga.  It was also more stable
than the other two computers.  In contrast, the Commodore 128
is an Apple IIe or IIc class computer, but slightly better in sound
and graphics.

My observation is that, unlike the 64 and 128, the GS bites off more
than it can chew.  Because it was originally a response to ST and
Amiga, it is possible to write things like Graphicwriter III, AppleWorks
GS, Wolf 3D, Out of this World, FAX software, sequencing software,
object based animation software, TrueType font interpreters, and
Unix-like multitasking environments for it.  Because Apple never
updated it, it could never follow the Amiga where more sophisticated
software led to improved hardware models.

The result is a sad mix of a computer that tries to do '90s tasks
with '80s technology.  Some users are unwilling to let go of potential
unfulfilled, thanks to Apple.  Some users are unwilling to see the
potential that is there, treating it as an 8-bit II.  Because it has one
foot in the Amiga's boat and one foot in the Commodore 64 and
128's boat, it has no firm platform to stand on and has fallen into
the water.

We neither have the new models, like the Amiga, or the fanatical
devotion of users, like the Commodore 64 and 128.  In spite of this,
I still believe there is a market here.

>>Apple II GEOS was never as popular as the Commodore version, but
>>it was a great environment for accelerated 8-bit users.  What did
>>happen to the rights to it?  Has Willie Yeo's Treasure Chest project
>>tracked it down and reclassified it?  I had a copy long ago, but it was
>>heavily copy protected.  The hard drive install also failed to see SCSI
>>drives.  Was there ever an update?
>
>I think the rights still lie with Berkeley Softworks (now GeoWorks). A GEOS
>3.0 project for the 64 had to be renamed Wheels or MP3 (there's two of them),
>and people who want it can only get it as an upgrade to 2.0, not as a
>standalone, because GeoWorks won't cede the copyright.

Why won't GeoWorks cede the copyright?  GeoWorks for the PC is
dead.  It might be due to the GeoBook laptop that Brother is now
making.