Author: Big Al (PPPb22-ResaleSaltLakeCity2-2R1158.saturn.bbn.com)
Date: 10-31-1999 23:29
That is an exellent point for _hardware_ manufacturers to keep in mind. I think Intel, Motorola, IBM, Xerox, etc. do what you outlined (with varying degrees of success). Atari, at one point, did the same thing. However, the Atari that everyone who visits this board knows is long gone. When Hasbro bought Atari, they weren't interested in the hardware and technology- they were only interested in the software library. A fact that is best exemplified by their releasing the Jaguar to the public domain. You can argue that was a bad business decision, and you may be right. However, it is a tremendous gift to all the people who look at the old Atari's products and see technology that went terribly underused. The fact that people continue to hack hardware and convert the 16/32-bit comps. to use on Linux makes a strong statement as to the capability of the hardware. But these are things that don't affect the simple fact that Atari is dead. There are many lessons to be learned if you are running a tech company, but to try and resurrect Atari as a hardware company is folly. Take these lessons and make a better company.
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