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GEnie Dateline Atari with Bob Brodie 1994 06
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Dateline: Atari! with Bob Brodie
Friday, June 3, 1994
Host - Lou Rocha
"... all good things must come to an end..."
<[HoST] ST.LOU> This evening we gather for the final installment of
Dateline: Atari with Bob Brodie, Director of Communications for Atari
Corp. On this occasion we acknowledge Bob's service to all Atari
computer users and wish him the best in his new endeavors.
Bob Brodie was a prominent member of the H.A.C.K.S. (Hooked on Atari
Computer Knowledge Enthusiasts) user group in the southern California
area during the mid-1980's. That group included other prominent
Atarians such as RT Sysop Darlah J. Potechin and Glendale organizer
John King Tarpinian.
From such humble beginnings Bob assisted in many local events,
including the Glendale shows. Bob was a mainstay at COMDEX and many
Atari festivals during the heyday of the late 1980's and early 1990's.
User Groups across the land had the opportunity to welcome Bob to their
monthly meetings. He was initially hired by Atari Corp. as the User
Group Coordinator, eventually assuming greater responsibilities and the
role of Director of Communications in which he has spent the last few
years coordinating information among Atari, the press, the dealers and
the userbase.
These past two years Bob took the challenge of meeting the userbase on
GEnie each month. Given Atari's track record and history, this has not
been an enviable task. Nevertheless Bob courageously forged on and
refused to miss a session despite personal illness or lack of rest. On
several occasions Bob logged on from his hotel room after a full day on
the floor of a trade show or hoofing the beat to retailers.
Bob has been tremendously faithful to the users here on GEnie and has
done everything in his power to support the Atari community. He has
been prominent on local and international BBS networks. In addition to
being very knowledgable about Atari computers, Bob has rarely declined
an invitation to support users to the best of his ability, freely
giving of his time on and off the job.
Dateline: Atari was conceived during one of Bob's regular visits to the
STRT Monday Night DTP Conference. The excitement generated by those
conferences will be very hard to replace. In addition to the timely
information that Bob provided about Atari's plans, he gave the users
the opportunity to express their views. These encounters were always
handled in a courteous and professional manner for which he deserves
our appreciation and admiration.
On a personal level, I have enjoyed working with Bob at these monthly
meetings and will miss his camaraderie. I sincerely offer my best
wishes to Bob and his family on this occasion. Thanks for all the great
times. Over to you, Bob....
<BOB-BRODIE> Thank you for joining me once again, for the final time at
Dateline: Atari. For five years now, it has been my privilege to serve
Atari Corporation, and Atari owners as an employee of Atari
Corporation. With the conclusion of business today, that time came to a
close.
For me, this is a very bittersweet time. I have accepted an exciting
position as Director of Technical Support with GS Corp, a developer of
NeXT Step applications. This new position will allow me to spend much
more time with family, as well as provide me with a larger salary. On
the other hand, it is the conclusion of a job that in many ways was a
dream come true for me. I had the great pleasure of turning my hobby
into my vocation, something few people are ever permitted to do!!
As an Atarian, I am honored that I have been permitted inside the
company. I have tried always to bring an end users perspective to the
company, and make sure that we always remembered that in our plans.
During the course of being here, I have made friends with people from
all around the globe!! And of course, within Atari I have a group of
people that have labored with me side by side on our products.
I am grateful for the people that have made my time as wonderful as it
has been at Atari. There are too many to mention in detail here
tonight, so I apologize if I have overlooked anyone. But I would be
remiss if I failed to acknowledge Darlah Potechin, head sysop of the
Atari RTs on GEnie, Dorothy Brumleve, President of the IAAD, Travis Guy
of Atari Explorer Online Magazine, Nathan Potechin of DMC Publishing,
the entire staff of the ST Roundtables on GEnie both past and present,
Lou Rocha, the best conference moderator on the planet!!!, Rick
Flashman and Dan Wilga of Gribnif Software, The CodeHeads, Ron Kovacs
of Z*Net, John Nagy of AtariUser, John King Tarpinian of the Southern
California Atari Faire, Bill Scull and Terry May of AtariNet, Neil
Harris (formerly of GEnie), Augie Ligouri of Atari Corporation (the man
who hired me at Atari!!), Sam Tramiel, Leonard Tramiel, Greg Pratt
(formerly of Atari), James Grunke, Don Thomas, and many, many other
people. Thank you all for making my time here at Atari such a memorable
one!!
During my tenure at Atari, things have changed dramatically in the
world around us. When I arrived here, Video Games for the home were
almost an after thought. We were hard at work on the STE computers, and
working on the Atari Lynx, the worlds first portable color gaming
system. Now, almost five years later, we're emphasizing the Jaguar, the
first 64 bit home game machine, and our computer systems are taking a
back seat to that business.
During my time here, we have witnessed the rise and fall of many
companies in the computer business. Indeed, one of the original
designers of the ST, Shiraz Shevji, went out and started up a pen based
computer company. The company was successful in the media, but within
six months of being featured on the cover on BYTE Magazine, the doors
were closed, and the company was out of business. We've seen many PC
companies come and go, some have fallen and managed to rise again. Once
worthy competitors like Commodore have closed their doors, falling prey
to the ever increasing competition in the PC hardware market. In order
to survive, Atari has focused their efforts on the Jaguar home system.
And that strategy has been effective for Atari. The Jaguar has been
well received by the media, and consumer acceptance has been wonderful.
But, this is enough of talk about myself and my time here at Atari. I
could go on, and on, and on about my time here. There are wonderful
memories, fun stories, and a few tears that have been shed over the
last five years. Thank you for sharing those times with me.
With that, I'm sure that some of you might be interested in Atari
related things other than me leaving, so let's open up the floor to our
guests tonight, Lou. One last time, let's talk Atari!
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Thanks, Bob. Our first /raise comes from Nathan
Potechin.
<[Nathan @ DMC] POTECHIN> Between Lou and Bob's posts, I hope you all
read fast! ;-) Thanks Lou. Knowing Bob as I do, I cannot help but
visualize a large, ferocious, Grizzly type creature, hulking
possesively over a cracked and tattered, bruised and battered Atari ST.
Picture Bob roaring into the wind, defying the assembled masses, paw
swiping, hair a flying. I've had the pleasure of listening to Bob speak
at shows across North America. I've even spent some time with him at a
show in Germany. When I say that Bob has been a credit to the worldwide
Atari community, it is no less than the simple truth. He has been a
positive force in the Atari community for all the years that I've known
him and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank him for being
himself. Thank you, Bob.
Sincerely
Nathan Potechin - DMC Publishing
<BOB-BRODIE> Nathan, thank you. Among the most wonderful things that
have happened to me in my tenure here has been making wonderful
friends. I have enjoyed our relationship, and frankly...I'm not ready
for it to end!!! I fully expect to go through about a two to three
month time frame of getting settled in the new job... and then be back
on here as "one of the guys".
Thanks for all of the time that you have spent with me, both in person,
and on the phone. You're a true professional, and a credit to our
industry.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Bob, our next speaker is fellow RTC Sysop, Brian
Harvey....
<[NSACUG PREZ] BRIAN.H> Thanks Lou! First I would like to say I am
deeply sorry to see you leaving ATARI Corp. Second, THREE users in my
club have already commented that this is the last nail in Atari's
coffin since you are leaving and no one, I repeat no one, is taking
your job. Can you give us some reassurance that they will hire someone
new?
<BOB-BRODIE> Brian, at this point no plans have been made to hire a
replacement for me. I have offered my suggestions about who internally
could do the things that I do. I have hope that most of those
suggestions will be followed. That would mean that my responsiblities
would be split up among several other people. However, during a
gathering last night, one of our staff members did indicate some
interest in taking over EVERYTHING... and he would be really good at
it. So I'm hopeful that will work out. But we'll have to wait and see.
I have no control over this one.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Thanks, Brian. On to Dark Chyld.
<[DarkChyld] R.HALL49> Tos 5.0?
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Bob, can you answer this question? :-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Regarding TOS 5.0, that would be the next upgrade to TOS,
however
it has never existed.
<[Zombie] R.ANISKO> Just wanted to say "Good Luck!" Bob on your future
endeavors, have fun and enjoy them... And to keep the Atari questions
rolling, 2 quick questions: 1. Do you have any information on whether
AES 4.1 (which is rumored to solve the "sluggishness" of MultiTOS) will
be released any time soon? 2. Do have you had any exposure to the
"MiNT-Net" project that is going on in the land of internet?
<BOB-BRODIE> AES 4.1 is in MultiTOS beta version 1.08, which has been
shipped to developers. At this point, I don't have a release date for
that product. And no...I haven't even heard of MiNT-Net... wish you
would have asked that while Eric was here saying goodbye! :)
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Bob, your old buddy, John King Tarpinian would like the
microphone....
<[ByeByeBob] JOHN.KING.T> T H A N K Y O U for E V E R Y T H I N G ! ! !
! ! (That pretty much says it for me.)
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Not going to let Bob have a breather, eh? :-)
<BOB-BRODIE> John, thank you! The Glendale Shows have been a wonderful
memory and I have appreciated your friendship both online, and in
person. I know that we will continue to be friends for the rest of our
lives.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> We have Dark Chyld again.
<[DarkChyld] R.HALL49> I'm confused...How can there be AES 4.1 and NO
new upgrade for TOS? Please explain to a humble Falcon owner if I
should consign my machine to the deep, dark, tunnel of total
abandonment? Also thought that the Sigma-Jaguar partnership is a
"PowerMOVE!..Now how about Jaguar-Falcon???
<BOB-BRODIE> The AES 4.1 that currently exists is in a BETA version of
TOS. That's how all software is implemented initally. As to whether you
should consign the machine... well that depends more on you than
anything that I can tell you. My new system at my job is a powerhouse
66Mhz 486-DX2 with 32 megs of RAM, and a 525 Meg HD running Next Step.
My TT030 blows the doors off of it. I personally have NO intention of
abandonning my Atari gear. Calamus SL is, in my opinion, better than
Quark or Pagemaker. I do a lot of letter writing, and Atari Works is
great for that, and Speedo output is gorgeous. And for
telecommunications, well... I like Stalker. So I have no plans to
abandon my Atari gear. And I will be writing an article for AtariUser
Magazine entitled "Why You Should Use an Atari Computer".
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Sam Rapp is our next guest, Bob
<[:-(] SAM-RAPP> Well, Bob, I guess you realize that you are going to
be missed as GEnie's Atari mouthpiece. I can't imagine that anyone
could take your place, or that anyone else could stand up to so much
pressure. (Especially me bugging you about Jag T-Shirts!) Since this
will be my last chance I thought I would go for broke.....
You think you could smuggle an ABAQ or Jag Development system out of
there tonight? I'll email you my mailing address! ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Sam, I haven't ever seen an ABAQ to the best of my
knowlege. That product was done at Atari UK... might be one here. I'll
ask. :0 No chance for the Jaguar Dev system...they'd notice that. But I
do have a special piece of Atari history that I rescued from a junk
pile at the old warehouse.... an Atari 1450XLD. And it's mine. :)
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Bob, our favorite RT Sysop would like to add her
comments....
<DARLAH> Bob, what can I say... I will miss you but you have no excuse
not to check in. I know you types that work at home. You have tons of
time. Your kids will think you don't have a real job and even the pjs
can stay on. What a life....<wink>
<[HoST] ST.LOU> I am envious.......
<BOB-BRODIE> Darlah, I've been walking around the building telling
everyone that just because I'm leaving Atari, they haven't seen the
last of me yet. :) I'm looking forward to working at home. Maybe I'll
get a special pair of work PJs. :) :)
<[HoST] ST.LOU> OK.... let's move on to Charles Smeton of NewSTar
Technology, home of STraight FAX.
<C.S.SMETON> Bob, congrats on the new job. Can you tell us a bit about
GS Corp, its products, what exactly Next Step is, what machine it runs
on etc.?
<BOB-BRODIE> Sure Charles. GS is presently selling technical
illustration and graphic arts products into corporate marketplaces. As
well as other related products, like scanner drivers and printer
drivers. NeXT Step is an object oriented operating system that
originated on NeXT Computers. NeXT Step has been ported by NeXT to
various other platforms, and NeXT has discontinued their hardware.
Currently, NeXT Step runs on a 486, and they are working on a port to
Sun, HP Workstations, RISC machines, and others.
<C.S.SMETON> Thanks Bob, is GS Corp related in any way to Goldleaf S/W?
<BOB-BRODIE> The principal owners are the same, but Goldleaf Publishing
Corporation sold all of the rights to their Atari products. GS Corp
doesn't own any Atari products. All of their products are NeXT Step. In
fact, I'm not even sure that Goldleaf Publishing is still in business.
It might have folded.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Thanks, Charles. Next is Sir Fransis....
<[Sir Fransis] K.DRAKE> Bob, there's a lot of wierd and wonderful
rumors spinning through the nets to the effect that Atari's got some
kind of big surprise in store for CES. Since this is your last chance
to drop some juicy tidbits, (be as vague as you like) I was wondering
if you could tantalize us! May your sails ever be filled....
Sir Fransis
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Do I sense a tidbit coming up? :-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Kenneth.... well I'm really not at liberty to say too
much about CES. I can tell you that we have about 35 stations planned
for the show, and each one will have a different title on display.
We're also creating some dazzling CD ROM demos. I can also tell you
that there are about 10 titles that are pretty close (30-60 days) to
being ready. As in, they are on EPROMS for preview to mags now.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Ken Helms is next, Bob
<[Ken] K.HELMS> Bob, I just wanted to echo "Good Luck and Best Wishes"
from all of us in the MidWest. We appreciate the trips you've made to
Chicago, Detroit, and Indy (and even Gurnee). Just curious as to what
you will be doing for GS (job title?)?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Ken... hey I've LOVED my trips to the midwest. Great
people, wonderful times. I'll miss the MIST gang!! I will be Director
of Technical Support for GS Corp.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Now we have the OTHER John K!
<[JOHN] J.KANTARJIAN> Sorry to see you go :( and I hate to ask but when
will the next game for the Jaguar be ready?
<BOB-BRODIE> The next title for the Jaguar will probably be Wolfenstein
3D, and Brutal Sports Football is close behind it.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Thanks. Tony Wetmore is next.
<[Tony] WETMORE> Hiya again, Bob. First off, congrats etc. on the new
job. Hopefully it won't require you to pack up and move the family or
anything. Next, do you have any feel for how far off Checkered Flag is
these days? [:-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Tony...nope. It's just on the other side of the Golden
Gate Bridge so we won't have to move. I'm sure that we'll be showing
Checkered Flag at CES. The last time I saw it, it was much further
along. I would expect to see it in the early fall.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Now we have the BirdDog!
<[BirdDog] C.BOURGOIN1> Are the Jaguars in Toys R Us Yet? If not, when
can we expect to see them in Toys R Us?
<BOB-BRODIE> They are in Toys R Us, but not nationally. I don't have a
date as to when that will happen.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Texas Time.... here's Pat Forister!
<[Pat] P.FORISTER> Bob, good luck in your new job. Can you tell us
anything about new software titles for the Jag? Will there be a Jag
Mortal Combat??? Any other news you care to share on the Jag? Will
Atari continue these RTCs?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Pat...thanks for your warm wishes. I truly appreciate
them. There are an amazing number of new titles in development for the
Jaguar. Atari has over 160 licensees and subcontractors at this point
in time. Everyone asks about Mortal Kombat until they see Kasumi Ninja.
I think that will be a game that will make everyone forget about MK.
But, to be more factual, Williams license with Akklaim runs thru the
end of this year. So unless Akklaim wants to do MK on the Jag, it won't
happen until '95. Re the RTCs... not at this point in time.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Richard Brown is our next guest, Bob.
<R.BROWN30> I wish you good fortune. How are the new Jag games coming,
should we start to see a steady flow of games starting this summer?
What besides AvP will be system selling games? What's your favorite Jag
game in development?
<BOB-BRODIE> As I just indicated to Pat, there is a terrific number of
games in the works. I'm very excited by them. Kasumi Ninja could be a
system seller, or Wolfenstein. My favorite game in development?
Hmmmmmm.... Club Drive. It's a really unique title.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> I would love to see Club Drive myself. Next we have
STEVE-J.
<[EeEckyThump!] STEVE-J> No punches this time, I promise! <grin> What
is your opinion/impression of Atari's (i.e. the Tramiels') dedication
to computers? Obviously, Atari doesn't have the resources now to pursue
the computer side of things, but do you see the Tramiels jumping back
into computers as soon as the opportunity presents itself?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Steve. I don't see the Tramiels "jumping back into
computers" until the profitablity returns to computer hardware, or we
have a unique machine that everyone must have. I spoke with Jack about
this very subject back in January, before CES. He envisions doing a Jag
based computer at some point down the line, but as always (and like all
businesses), it must have profit potential. Look at all of the computer
companies that have fallen on hard times!
Unless a company can be profitable, they will die. Apple recently
shipped more computers in a quarter than they ever have in their
history but the profits didn't match the shipments. My personal belief
is that ALL hardware companies are in for a rough time. The competition
is cut throat.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Our next stop is the home of AtariUSER magazine and
publisher John Nagy....
<[John Nagy] ATARIUSER> The Z_Net/AtariUser/Bob Brodie connection goes
back more than six years, before Bob even imagined being the new Sig
Hartmann. He's been much more than a co-worker and colleague, he's been
a friend. We weathered many a storm together, survived STR-WARS, and
made the world a little safer for Atari owners.
I'm pleased to have had Bob offer to do a series of articles for future
AtariUser issues (!), which will trickle out in the coming months if
all goes better than it has in the last months. (We had another 3.5
quake just 48 hours ago.) Thanks for everything, Bob, and we all love
ya. As has been said, your moving on marks the end of an era for us
all.
<BOB-BRODIE> Awwwwww, geez John.
<BOB-BRODIE> We have been through an awful lot together. I will never
forget the first time you and Ron called me about writing for you. The
first of many conference calls. It's been a wonderful time...
<[HoST] ST.LOU> On to Chris Krowchuk....
<[Chris @ Comp] C.KROWCHUK1> Gee Bob, I am sure that if you wanted to
work at home 2 or 3 days a week all you had to do was give us all your
home phone number, we would have called you at home on Sat. Sun. and
Holidays. Seriously tho', Best of Luck. GS is lucky to have someone as
committed as you. I left mail for you in regards to our earlier
conversations and I have one question tonite. Who is going to replace
you?
<BOB-BRODIE> Chris, I can hear the complaints from you guys if my
daughter answered the phone! :) Which of course assumes that you would
get through the phone line with three teenagers in the house! And there
have been times that I thought I should have been committed. :)
So far, a specific replacement has not been named. They're parcelling
out various parts of my duties to a number of people. There is a
possiblity that someone will take over the whole thing, but it's not
certain.
<[Chris @ Comp] C.KROWCHUK1> Will Atari be showing computers at CES?
<BOB-BRODIE> No, we will be showing entertainment products at CES, no
computers.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> On to James Vogh.
<[James] J.VOGH> Bob, best of luck in the new job. Can you describe
Star Raiders 2000? (this question seems terribly familiar for some
reason :-) If you can't answer that, can you describe the current
status of AvP?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi James. I haven't seen Star Raiders yet. It's still in
the "code" part of the project. I would expect something along the
lines of what we did with Tempest 2000...take a very popular game, and
update it to reflect the capabilities of the Jaguar. Re AvP, we've
flown in two programmers from Rebellion to help finish it off here in
Sunnyvale, and have also pulled some of our other staff off other
projects to assist in finalizing AvP. It should be done by the end of
the month.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Our next guest is Dorothy Brumleve, President of the
Independent Association of Atari Developers. Madame President.......
<[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> Bob, I want to thank you for the friendship,
assistance and support which has made business a pleasure! Best of luck
in your new endeavor! Are you taking that much-needed vacation or
jumping right in?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Dorothy, I took that much needed three week vacation
already. That's why I missed the last Dateline. Whatta guy...take three
weeks of vacation, comes back to work and quits!!! I'm going to the new
job right away. We have two trade shows to do in the next three weeks.
They will all be in San Francisco though, so I can stay home! Thank you
for your friendship, your wisdom, and your guidance over the years. I
will never forget you showing that very special button at WAACE.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> OK, next we have Pat Hulse, without a button :-)
<[pat] P.HULSE2> VERY sorry to see you go Bob! The boys in Portland
wish you well! What will become of 319? Many of us depend on it for
direct connects to the FNET. ...and good luck!
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Pat. Well that's kinda up in the air. I'm typing on
node 319 at the moment. I have asked Atari to run the BBS for 90 days
to see how it goes. I have a very capable remote sysop in Bill Scull
who keeps it running in top notch shape. If they decide to take the BBS
down, then I will put it up. But my pockets are not as deep as Atari's.
:-( So that might be a problem for the FNET. I already left a message
in the sysops conference warning them of that.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Ken Helms has another question, Bob...
<[Ken] K.HELMS> (Pat asked my question so ...) How about the CD ROM
drive for the Jag? I love using one with my MSTe. And pricing? If 3DO
drops further, will the Jag come down?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Ken... the CD ROM development systems are now shipping,
and we will be showing it at CES. The price is approx $199. I don't
think you will see the 3D0 drop any lower. They have many custom chips
on board, and it's simply a more expensive machine to make.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Matthew J joins us next.
<[Matthew J] M.SZEWCZYK1> Bob, any idea what will be packed with the
CD, when Kasumi Ninja ships and when can we look for the next Jag cart
on the shelves?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Matthew. We're building in to the Jag CD a cool light
show product that works with regular audio CDs, and we're talking about
including a CD of Tempest music with it. But that's not firmed up.
Kasumi is still in development and we all know that software
development is a less than exact science when it comes to timing. The
next Jag cart will probably be Wolfenstein 3D.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> On to Hassen then Davey
<[Hassen] H.HAMMOUD> Hi Bob. Kick some butt in your new job! Now that
Atari has over 160 licensees and subcontractors, will Atari try to
persuade them into making games and programs for the Lynx and Falcon?
Best wishes and good luck. BTW, how about sending a Lynx and Falcon
developer's kit to registered Jag developers. It couldn't hurt. :)
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Hassen. Some of the titles are under discussion for the
Lynx to be sure. Re the Falcon, I don't think so. Although I did hear
that Atari UK has lined up some European distribution for a couple of
new Falcon games... Dino Dudes, Steel Talons, and... darn. I forget
what the third one is. Sorry.
<[Davey] D.HAUPERT> Hi Bob! Sorry to see ya go. Anyway, while we still
have ya, a lot of people have been wondering what the deal was with the
AvP intro screen. It looked great from the DHGF pics but is it an
animation, stills, does it have voices, music, etc.??? Also, when
should it be done with testing?
<BOB-BRODIE> It's a still, Davey. The sound stuff is still being
finalized. And it's not in testing yet. Atari has flown two of
Rebellion's programmers here to Sunnyvale to get the project done so it
can go to test... and we're pulling staff of other projects to help
them. We hope that get's it done.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Sir Fransis returns...
<BOB-BRODIE> And why do I keep saying we? I quit!! :)
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Is it midnight Bob?
<BOB-BRODIE> Somewhere, Lou. Somewhere!
<[Sir Fransis] K.DRAKE> Has anyone there jumped on the idea of getting
the IAJD to put out demos on CD's on, say, a quarterly basis? Kinda
like an extended support thing! :)
<BOB-BRODIE> Sounds like a neat idea, but one for the IAJD to take up
with Bill Rehbock at Atari. Maybe THEY will do it. :)
<[EeEckyThump!] STEVE-J> Can you mention any notable (i.e.
recognizable) Jaguar developers that have just signed on (and haven't
been announced yet)? By the way, my Falcon030 IS an entertaining
product! <grin> Also, to follow-up my earlier question, is Atari
computer development COMPLETELY dead, or just scaled down to the
occasional TOS/MultiTOS 'update'?
<BOB-BRODIE> Re the developers, no. Sorry. I agree that the Falcon is
an entertaining product...very cool indeed!!! Re the computer stuff,
it's not completely dead, but it's certainly not the priority it once
was. For instance, the whole reason that topic on Works bugs got
started was because Leonard Tramiel wants to fix the problems. He
promised me that if we (meaning me, you, and the rest of
the ST RT members) help find the bug, he'll see it gets fixed.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Pat Forister is back......
<[Pat] P.FORISTER> Pacific Software is saying that the CD ROM Drive
will not be out until December. Any truth in that? What is the E.T.A.
of the CD Drive - how about VR Helmet? Thanks Bob...
<BOB-BRODIE> I don't know why Pacific is saying that... I was told the
end of summer. Re the VR helmet, no eta.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Now Rene House from CA
<R.HOUSE4> Thanks Bob for all the great memories. There's a rumor on
the BB's that Atari has either already or is willing to license Falcon
technology for further development. What do you know?
<BOB-BRODIE> The Falcon is not licensed to anyone. It is an Atari
product, and we are the sole producers of it. I am not aware of any
other license arrangements at this time, but Atari is looking into the
possiblity of developing a music workstation.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Thanks, Bob. Remember Steve Elek? He's back!
<BOB-BRODIE> How could I forget Steve? He can't have my 1450XLD!
<[Steve@IMAGE] S.ELEK> Hi, Bob! 1. What's AW version up to! 2. Will you
be in South Bend for the opening of the national football hall of fame
next year?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Steve, the current version of Atari Works that is
shipping is 1.207 Re coming to South Bend...Hey, I'd love to be there.
But with this new position, I'll have to see what their schedule is.
<[Steve@IMAGE] S.ELEK> Bob, what is the future of Atari Users Groups
support by Atari Co.?
<BOB-BRODIE> Steve, at this point the user group program has been
shelved. There really isn't much activity by the groups at all. I can't
remember the last time a group called and asked for a visit.
<R.BROWN30> Has Atari considered using Jag tec to make a non-linear
video editing system like Avid or EMC?
<BOB-BRODIE> I don't believe so. Atari usually looks for their products
to appeal to mass markets.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Well Bob.... here's the last one.. Travis Guy of Atari
Explorer Online magazine.
<[*] Travis [*] AEO.MAG> Bob, there's a lot of people out there that
are going to miss your presence. Over the years, you have come to
symbolize Atari... to humanize Atari... for the average user. I know
that I will miss having you to pick on. All those phone calls to you -
"C'mon, Bob. What's really going on?"... but even more than that, I'll
miss these monthly get togethers that we all share here on GEnie. All
Good Things must come to an end, and tonight ends a Really Good Thing.
I hope I speak for everyone in wishing you and your family peace,
prosperity and happiness. We'll miss you; don't be a stranger.
Now onto the business at hand; I am honored to be the one to pose the -
final- Dateline: Atari question.... Bob, you've been there for some
five years now. So before you walk out that door and turn the lights
off one last time, could you share with everyone some of the
highlights... and lowlights of what you've seen, and maybe even pass on
a regret or two?
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Nicely done.
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Travis... wow, that's a doozie! We could be typin' a
long time on that one. The highlights include the user group shows...
Glendale would be the most consistently good show, I thought that ACE
92 in Toronto was one of the best shows that I've ever done. Of course,
I wish that our computer products had enjoyed more success. It's been a
real education to be here during the birth of products like the
Portfolio, the Lynx, the Falcon...
<BOB-BRODIE> On regrets... .we in the Atari Community seem to have a
bit of a propensity to attract users that enjoy to <ahem> debate.
Or is flame a better term? :) I wish that the online wars hadn't been
so nasty as they were. Probably my biggest disappointment was seeing a
promising publication turn into a gossip rag. And then the same gossip
rag turn into a hate rag. And the hate rag turn into a front for mail
order advertising and the mail order advertising turn into, what is
in my opinion, mail fraud. And all of that cost me what I thought was
a friend. The Atari Community had a resource turn on it, take it, use
it, and then abandon it after it was stopped... (he) should be ashamed
of himself.
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Bob, this has been a most enjoyable experience for me
to act as your host. Your timely visits were always an exciting part of
the monthly routine here in the ST RT and you know that these
transcripts were distributed to more than 10,000 BBS's around the
world :-)
You have enjoyed the respect of your peers which is all that a person
can desire in their lifetime. I congratulate you and envy you. Visit us
when you are set up. I know you will remember us all as your friends.
Keep in touch.
<BOB-BRODIE> Lou, thank you for all of your support and help on each of
these Dateline: Atari sessions. I know that it has been very late each
time that you have hosted these... and I appreciate the sacrifices that
you have made to ensure that they have been successful. These past two
weeks have gone by far too quickly to suit me.
<BOB-BRODIE> I have so many friends that I wish I would have had the
time to call and chat with personally about my departure. And the email
that has come in to me from all over the globe has been wonderful. I
want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for taking the time to
send along their good wishes. I will still be online here on GEnie,
courtesy of Darlah Potechin. My email address will remain the same. And
although I will no longer be in the employ of Atari Corp, I welcome the
opportunity wherever possible to continue to serve Atarians.
This brings to a close a wonderful chapter of my life. In a few
mintues, I'll walk out the door of Atari, and start a new one. Thank
you, one and all, for all the times that we've shared together. The
next job is going to be exciting, but I don't see how it can match
this. So for the last time, good night, from Sunnyvale! Thanks for
everything. And I'll be seeing you online here on GEnie! Goodnight!
<[HoST] ST.LOU> Take care, Bob. Goodnight.
/|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\ /|\
Real Time Conferences in the Atari ST RoundTable are held every Monday
(Desktop Publishing and Graphics) and Wednesday (Open House) night at
10:00 p.m. and a HelpDesk is available every Sunday at 9:00 p.m. On the
first and third Thursday there is a Programmer's RTC at 9:00 p.m.
If you miss a conference, transcripts are made for all formal RTC's
(where there is a special guest) and the programming RTC. You will find
these transcripts in Library 13 - Atari Archives.
Please send your questions, suggestions and comments to RTC$ via
GEmail. Thank you.
