Author: Murdoc Addams (h24-68-142-12.ed.shawcable.net)
Date: 06-16-2001 09:38
First of all I would just like to thank you, Flash, for bringing these concerns out in the open, rather than having them fester in the dark where they might eat away at our purpose here. If anyone else has any concerns, please let us know!
Second, no this isn't just aobut games. I agree with Parris here and I beleive that he pretty much said it all.
As for convincing the rest of the world to use Ataris, I think that some balance of perspective is needed here. Thinking that Atari will crush the IBM/MS/Mac world is a little far fetched. Far enough in the future, true, who knows. But for now, that shouldn't be our goal. Even if it was, it would create undue attention from those we wouldn't want paying attention to us.
By the same token, focusing on helping just ourselves is a little selfish and elitist. I'm not accusing anyone of supporting such a stance, just stating the two extremes for clarity's sake.
What -I- beleive to be the focus of this group is three-fold: 1) To support the existing Atari community in terms of helping them have access to hardware, software, each other, and other resources that are available. This is important because it appears to me that there are very many Atari users out there without access to what they want, or have misconceptions about the company, the machine, or the community.
2) To help promote Atari hardware, software, and support to those PC users out there that are already dissatisfied with IBM/MS domination, frequent crashes, neccesary upgrades, etc. We would thereby be providing an alternative to them aside from Macintosh, which suffers from some (not all) of the same problems, and Linux, which for all the work they do, is still rather hard for the majority of people to use (but for those who can I fully support it!).
3) To show those few brave companies who continue to sell, support, and even develop new Atari (or cloned) hardware and software (e.g. Milan, Medusa, many others), that there is a bigger market out there than they realize, and that by working together, both they and the Atari community at large would benefit from their continued work and development of their products.
Anyway, this is how I see it. Let me know if anyone disagrees (or even agrees!)
As for all the hardware stuff, I'll let the F.A.A.T handle that; he is far more expert than I (and most, it would seem to me).
You're right, though, that much needs to be done to update Ataris to what people want today (namely their insatiable "multi-media" appetites). Hopefully, A.I. can help bring that about.
M.I.A.
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