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Pure Bollocks Issue 22_006
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F A L C O N * I N F O
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TANTRUM TRAMIEL!
Here's an article about your friend and his, Leonard Tramiel, which appeared
in Usenet newsgroup comp.sys.atari.st a while back, as part of an ongoing
why-are-Atari's-public-relations-so-bad? type of thread. I left all the
message headers on for those who like that kind of thing.
robo
----
Article #49479 (49501 is last):
Path: usenet.ins.cwru.edu%agate%pool.mu.edu%unet%ortal%up.portal.com%Bob_Bo
bR_Retelle
From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: *I* an NOT making THIS up either...
Message-ID: <72481@cup.portal.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 92 16:33:10 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
References: <1992Dec17.195300.4758@news2.cis.umn.edu>
<1h00msINNaou@life.ai.mit.edu> <1992Dec21.194623.23026@news2.cis.umn.edu>
<1h6aabINNo0a@life.ai.mit.edu> <27DEC92.05003748@meena.cc.uregina.ca>
Lines: 81
Brook (mackie@meena.cc.uregina.ca) asks:
=Please, no flames. I just don't understand.
=Why would Atari invite you to a meeting to show off something that they were
=obviously interested in, only to treat you the way you've described?
=Is it at all possible that you've misunderstood them?
Well, I don't understand either.. but just to show that David Baggett
is NOT an isolated case, here are two messages from prominent Atari
developers which recently appeared in the Atari Productivity Forum
on CompuServe. I'm assuming everyone here knows who GST Software and
CodeHead Technologies are.
And remember please.. *I* am not making this up..
#: 78078 S17/Community Square
23-Dec-92 09:01:42
Sb: #77942-#Falcon: Flies or Dies
Fm: GST Software 71351,332
To: CodeHead Software 76004,2232 (X)
Yup - classic moments at a developers conference - Leonard and I had
arrived at this thing never having met but already having managed to develop
a deep dislike of each other via fax.
Halfway through the meeting he moves onto the topic about which we had
been faxing him and says
"Unlike what some people here think, we are not idiots, I will say that
again, we are not idiots".
before I could respond another developer who had *no* idea about what was
going on behind the scenes of all this happily chips in with "But you've got
to admit you've done some bloody silly things in your time."
Cue Leonard going nuclear.
I always handle such meetings now by reminding myself that a reject dwarf
from Tolkiens Lord of the Rings isn't worth getting that hung up about.
Whereas we have nothing really but praise for Bill Rehbock.
Tony
*** There is a reply: 78108
#: 78108 S17/Community Square
23-Dec-92 13:38:53
Sb: #78078-Falcon: Flies or Dies
Fm: CodeHead Software 76004,2232
To: GST Software 71351,332 (X)
Tony,
== a reject dwarf from Tolkiens Lord of the Rings...
Thanks for the first good laugh of the day! :)
Since we're trading stories, here's a good one. One day, we got a call
from L______, who promptly started belittling us (in an extremely
condescending and obnoxious manner) for "not following the rules" in
MultiDesk. The actual issue in question was rather technical, hinging on
whether or not it was permissible to rely on register D1 to retain its value
through a Trap #2 call. When we pointed out that Atari's own documentation
does _not_ state that D1 is unsafe to rely upon, we got an immediate
blustery "Yes it does!" response. (It doesn't.) When we pointed out that
TOS itself saves and restores _all_ registers during Trap #2 calls, we got a
short silence, and then a hang-up.
About an hour later, we got a call from someone else (not L______, he'd
never admit to a mistake), acknowledging that we were correct. And yet, to
this day, FSMGDOS (and probably SpeedoGDOS too) trashes register D1 during
its Trap #2 processing.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing isn't unusual at all; it's very
routine treatment for Atari developers.
- Charles
--------------------------------------------------
Well, ST Report online give L______ a mention in this article!
- Los Angeles, CA SIG HARTMAN SPEAKS UP
---------------
Recently, STReport had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Mr. Sig
Hartman. Hartman, best known as Mr. Atari in years gone by, took a few
moments to reflect on the times. We asked Mr. Hartman a few questions
about the past and of course the future. Rather than go for the usual
question and answer array, we'll present this in an informal, conversation
type presentation. Sig was asked what he thought about the new Falcon and
its chances in the US marketplace. He began by telling us about how he
met and spoke to Jack for the first time in almost two years at Comdex.
Sig thought the Falcon was a great idea but at the same time he expressed
concerns over the lack of substantial US Developer support for the
machine. He added that the machine would seemingly have to fend for
itself until it established itself then the big developers may respond.
When asked why he hadn't spoken to Jack in so long, especially since
everyone knew they were such good friends, he responded it was because I
had left Atari with some very hard to get over feelings because of the
tough time I had with one of his sons. When asked which of the sons it
was, his answer came as no surprise. Sig replied Leonard. Back to the
Falcon, Sig continued to comment about the Falcon and the fact that it was
an impressive machine. In fact, he made it a point to wish Jack and the
company all the luck in the world with its USA release. When asked about
his involvement with Goldleaf, and the "credit card incident" he said the
bank had cleared the problem up for him and he has heard no more about
the matter.
Sig began to illustrate what he's doing "these days"... he went on to
report he is now heavily involved in Multi-Media and CD Rom production.
Additionally, he pointed out that is a "booming business" and he expects
to sell "jillions!" It was good to talk to Sig, we reminisced about the
"good old days" talked about the current state of the Atari market and of
course, we parted with the promise of more of the same. Sig made our day
letting us know he understood what STReport was all about in trying to say
it like it really was and not how certain folks would've liked it to be
told.
To take moment or two, one can't help but wonder what heights Atari
may have attained had Sig Hartman stayed on with them.. Of course, his
dynamic personality kept the peace in the Atari community and it also
provided a cohesive element we haven't seen since his departure. If
anything, Jack ought to seriously consider bringing Sig back in. It would
be a darn sight better than the rank amateurs managing the company's
public relations and sales now. There isn't a soul out there who will not
agree that Sig certainly has his act together and could easily be the
catalytic ingredient in driving Atari into holding a major marketshare and
a strong corporate recovery.
----------------------------------------------------------
But this is STR Online in classic grumpy mode!
__________________________________________________________
STR'S "BELIEVE IT? OR.. WHAT?"
<>###############################<>
"There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon
is far superior to the PC platform."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"My new office, which has a better view than my old one, is so far
quite satisfactory. And Richard Miller is in my old office. The
Forbes article was a mish-mash and misconstrued article full of half
truths. We are anxiously awaiting the release of the Atari Falcon to
bring us back to the forefront. The article has given us some laughs,
but otherwise has not affected us."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at
Duesseldorf. I will not comment on future models of the Falcon.
WE ARE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A MACHINE.....
WHICH WILL BE SHIPPING NEXT WEEK."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon
production coming off the lines. Let's hope this new offering will
make it in North America. I know that the specs are great."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"We have not yet even given the machine to the FCC. And we are only
applying for Class B approval. According to our "experts", it should
pass Class B."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"...... We are not working for Wall Street but to
make money for our shareholders and only think long term."
Sam Tramiel, 11/92
psssst.
FYI.... The Shareholder's equity is fine.... NOT!
The Stock is hovering around $1.12
CHRISTMAS '92 has COME and GONE...
FALCONS ....anyone?
By the Way.... Does the Falcon work well
with
any... of the SLM Laser Printers?? NOPE! NOT YET!
