amiga-news.de - Amiga Inc.: Promotion Clarifications and Update (Executive Update)

01.Jul.2002
Amiga Inc. Amiga Inc.: Promotion Clarifications and Update (Executive Update)

Promotion Clarifications and Update

Bill McEwen - July 1, 2002

Greetings to one and all, and a big thank you to all of you who have participated (and to others out there who will hopefully participate) in the promotion. I have some points I need to clarify and a desire to, once again, be completely honest with all of you.

Here we go:

One question that has been asked of us a lot is "Why are you doing this promotion?"

This promotion is not about pre-selling AmigaOnes, nor pre-selling Amiga OS 4.0. We are in no way pre-selling these items. Others have taken your money in the past, with no products ever delivered to customers. We are not doing that, nor would we EVER do that. In spite of what some may think, we have learned well the lessons of history, and we do not intend repeating them. The AmigaOne board exists in every way that a motherboard can exist. It has been shown, it is in use, and is being used in software and hardware development. As a point in fact, I know that once the news is disseminated further regarding the show in France that took place last weekend, the largest majority of you will be very pleased with the progress shown in the development and deployment of the AmigaOne, and you will know that all this is very "real".

This promotion is not about the pre-selling of AmigaOS 4.0, either. You have seen the screen shots, it is in the hands of developers, and I am excited (yes I used the "e" word, AGAIN, but hey, I am EXCITED, as we all are here, and we have earned the right to be excited!) about how well this project is coming along. OS 4.0 will run on other PPC products besides the AmigaOne, like the CyberStorm and Blizzard PPC accelerator cards. That's because you, the members of The Community, with many and varied needs, wanted this support. So we delivered this legacy support in response to your expressed desires. OS 4.0 and beyond are providing us with a new future for the AmigaOS in many different traditional hardware configurations.

So for better clarification, the AmigaOne is a motherboard that will be sold to dealers. Dealers will then be able to sell the AmigaOne as is, or can build a complete system, or sell you the parts and let you the end user make it yourself. AmigaOS 4.0 is not pre-loaded on the system, but is sold with the AmigaOne.

With regards to OS 4.0, you may purchase this product separately from the AmigaOne, and it can be loaded and used on other Amiga PPC products and systems and are certified for OS 4.0.

Whew, I think that I have it correct now.

With all of that out of the way, and I trust better clarification I want to share with you the real reason behind the promotion and why it is so very important for all of us. Along with this information we are making a change that better reflects what the promotion is attempting to prove:

We are working daily with developers, 3rd party services, investors, dealers, and past dealers who are looking to return to the Amiga market. The one critical question that is asked of us every day is "How many Amiga customers can we look forward to, as a base for a return on our investment in the market?" "We are not interested in spending money developing software, only to sell a few hundred copies. " These are quite valid concerns, and we want to answer them accurately. These same sort of questions do apply to the number of AmigaOnes we will build and the number of components that are purchased to effect that construction. The dealers must have a reasonably accurate idea of how many cases, peripheral components, even shipping boxes to purchase, so they can build AmigaOne motherboards up into full desktop solutions for their customers, and we have some very large, and I mean huge electronic stores who may be interested in starting to carry Amiga products again, if.....and only if we can show that
there is a viable market for the products. This is important information we need to learn here, not only for ourselves but our network of partners as well, both our announced partners and those waiting in the wings, watching the Amiga market and the Amiga Community.

This promotion is far more than filling some nebulous coffers: it is about letting the developers and the world know that Amiga is a market, that the Amiga Community is viable and that it is one that is most certainly a market worth developing for, and a market and group of people worthy of recognition.

Now I know that many out there are in a "wait and see mode". I keep receiving messages from many of you that tell me that there are 100's of thousands of Amiga aficionado who will come forward once the new products are out, and I must say I agree. I know that there are many more out there waiting before they commit to a purchase. This I completely understand as well. The issue immediately before us is that we really need to prove that there is a market out there for Amiga today, and that there will be even more people tomorrow.

This promotion is about bringing the Amiga family back together again, reforming the ranks if you will, and preparing us all for the great successes we can create together, as we make the necessary moves towards the merging of the DE and OS technologies in AmigaOS 5.0 and beyond. We are committed to being able to show that Amiga is a force to be reckoned with in the technology realm, and to showing that there is an opportunity for developers to return to the Amiga platform and start making money again, with Amiga the platform and Amiga the company.

So yes, the promotion is designed for fun. Yes, it is designed to deliver a good value for you, the members of the Amiga Community. It is also about providing proof to the skeptics that Amiga is here to stay and that we are a market they need to recognize, for which they should develop, that this Amiga Market would be worth their investment of time, effort and money. At the end of the day, this is business, and business is about providing a return for all involved.

With all of the above stated, I am going to change this promotion somewhat, to better capture what we are determined to achieve with this promotion, the Amiga and you. We are going to do something here that will let everyone know that we are part of something great and significant. Most of you have been here far longer than I have and I appreciate the fact that most, not all of you, but most, have adopted me into your family. So in order to better accomplish this goal, this promotion is changing.

Now when you join the "I am Amiga Club" for USD 50.00, (EUR 50.00, or GBP 32.50) you will receive a shirt signifying your membership, a coupon that can be used for a USD 50.00 (EUR 50.00, or GBP 32.50) discount on an AmigaOne, or OS 4.0 (for those of you who wish to run this new OS on your existing 3rd-party PPC cards) you will also receive a newsletter, and throughout the next 12 months you will be the first to learn of new products. We will work together with Amiga-associated companies to offer significant discounts and other special promotions to the Amiga Club members.

All of the rest of the promotion still applies and all members will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes.

Here is how you may purchase the promotion:

In my very USA-focused approach (I apologize for that, it won't happen again) I did not think through the process of ordering the promotion without a credit card. And for those of you outside of the USA, where so many of you reside, you can now use Pay Pal, and certain debit cards that carry a credit card logo may also be used or you can also send a check, money order, or bank check to:

Amiga, Inc.
I am Amiga Club
P.O. Box 887
Ravensdale, WA 98051 USA

Please include Name, Address, and all of your other necessary details for us to be
able to deliver the products to you. Also, please include your E-Mail address, if you have one.

By the end of the week, you should also be able to purchase this promotion through your local Amiga dealer. This will make it much easier for all of you to participate in the promotion and order the items from your local dealer. We will still send you the certificate and the shirt directly, but this may be easier for many of you to participate.

Last Item: Extension of the deadline!

We have been asked by many of the dealers and many of you in the Community to extend the promotion deadline so that more of you may participate. Well, we agree and the promotion deadline will be extended to July 19th at Midnight Pacific Time (0900 GMT July 20th). We will update the numbers daily and we are working to get others to share the news with their friends also.

Until we meet again, I look forward to as many of you as possible joining in letting the world know that Amiga is very real and is very much a force that has yet to truly have its time in the sun.

Every membership counts. If you have been sitting on the fence wondering if this is "another money-grubbing idea," You Are Wrong... What we are really about is unifying the community of Amiga users and partners as we move forward. We are dealing with companies and vendors who would like to believe that there is a viable community willing to spend money. Amiga Inc. just has to be able to demonstrate to them, provably, that such a community and such a market exists. I hope that all of you will join the Club and be a part of that proof and history.

One more clarification: All of you who have already purchased the coupon are automatically entered into the club and will receive all listed benefits.

So to summarize:

The AmigaOne is a PPC Motherboard that will be sold to dealers where you may purchase the product.

AmigaOS 4.0 will run on the AmigaOne and other Amiga PPC certified products.

All people who have purchased the coupon will automatically be entered into the Club.

Amiga Club membership includes a Shirt, A discount coupon that can be applied to an AmigaOne, AmigaOS 4.0 or a combination of the two. It also includes a newsletter and future product discounts on other Amiga products and Amiga associated products. These will also include AmigaDE related products and those products that are Amiga Enabled (more about these in the newsletter).

Also the shirts will be produced in more than one continent, so that we can expedite their delivery to you.

All items will be delivered after the completion of the promotion, and initial sign up program.

So come on now: I know that there are more of you out there. Lets make this happen together.
(ps)

[News message: 01. Jul. 2002, 16:17] [Comments: 0]
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