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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:AMIGA NOTES
Notice:Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:HYDRA::MOORE
Created:Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5378
Total number of notes:38326

1853.0. "COMPUTE! COMSHMUTE!" by WJG::GUINEAU () Fri Nov 04 1988 08:16

Anyone read COMPUTE! ?

I still get it from my VIC-20/C64 days. It has taken on some Amiga stuff.

In fact this months issue has a pretty decent article on doing Desktop Video
with the Amiga (using DigiView, Dpaint etc...)

*However*, there is an column by Arlan Levitan - "Levitations".

(exerps reproduced without permission whatsoever)

In bold type - "I Let go of reason and impartiality to take a poke at
  every home computer"

He then procedes to beat on OS/2 the mac, atari, etc..

Then in bold type again - "Ataris are ancient, Apples are overpriced, IBMs are
boring, MACS are tiny, and Amigas are slow - who'd I forget"

Amigas are slow???  But wait - that's not all -

(after bashing em all some more he gets to Amiga) "I've owned 3 Amigas over the
course of many years. Why? Every time I got frustrated with the machines
shortcommings and sent my Amiga packing, I started getting wistfull about the
good times we'd had. The machines graphics and sound capabilities are truely
prodigious, but the sloth of AmigaDOS, it's disk operating system, is more 
ponderous than a John Scully keynote speech. If the machine had a high
resolution mode that didn't flicker like a banshee, I'd probably use it more
often than I do for word processing and telecommunications. Uh-oh, I'm running
out of room, so let's go for maximum amount of insult in the least amount
of space: You know...The Amiga is a GREAT game machine."


With this kind of publicity, it's a wonder the Amiga has gone as far as it
has in hitting a "serious" market...

John
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1853.1Compute! sucksLEDS::ACCIARDIDukakis should pluck his eyebrowsFri Nov 04 1988 08:5614
    
    Compute! is dying, an artifact of the early days of 6502 only
    computing.  They alienated the Amiga community back in 1986 by
    reprinting untrue claims by Atari zealots that the Amiga was dead;
    the ST was outselling by 12 to 1, etc.
    
    Several issues later, Compute! printed what amounted to a half-hearted
    apology.
    
    For the most information per dollar, I recommend INFO magazine.
    They've been around for years, and aren't afraid to say that sofware
    package X is pure dreck.
    
    Ed.
1853.2INFO is good!HELENA::ROBINSONFri Nov 04 1988 13:183
     I agree with .1 on INFO.  Their candor is refreshing.
     
     Dave
1853.3Somebody writing in his sleep again?RAVEN1::EVERHARTFri Nov 04 1988 13:4213
    Somebody write a letter to the editor of Caput!...errr..Compute!
    and tell them to get some REAL writers who don't draw their sentences
    out of a hat.  The misleading and often careless information contained
    in Compute! is precisely why I cancelled my subscription to it.
    If they want to even have a prayer of staying alive, they'd better
    start putting some thought into their work.
    
     - Chris
    
    * The above opinions are my own, and any similarity with the opinions
    of others is purely coincidental.  :-)
    
    
1853.4BAGELS::BRANNONDave BrannonFri Nov 04 1988 16:4217
    re: .0
    
    I subscribed to Compute! because I like to read about computers
    other than CBM.  That article you mention was not a serious article,
    in the intro he said he was getting tired of praising every computer
    so he decided to try flaming for a change.
    
    In the letters to the editor, Atari St folks are complaining that
    Compute! is biased in favor of the Amiga.
    
    Computer Shopper does a better job of covering multiple computers.
    
    Compute! is good if you are looking for Amiga Basic programs (I'm
    not) or reading about other computers without all of the ads in
    Computer Shopper.  But the technical content is less.
    
    -Dave
1853.5good thing we have two bathrooms...LEDS::ACCIARDIDukakis should pluck his eyebrowsFri Nov 04 1988 17:1113
    
    I'm almost ashamed to admit that I ADORE Computer Shopper.  Think
    of it as the J.C. Whitney of computer magazines.  I always have
    at least one issue tucked behind the reading chair with the
    big hole in it.                     
    
    They have (no exaggeration) probably 300 pages per issus of mail
    order stuff, 90% MS-Dos oriented, but it's still interesting to
    look through.
    
    Ed.
    
    
1853.6CANCELING? - CAUTION!!!!!!DWOMV2::CAMPBELLMon Nov 07 1988 11:0515
    WARNING!!
    
    If you plan to cancel your subscription to COMPUTE!, make sure you
    send them notification.  I made the assumption that just throwing
    away the numerous offers to renew my subscription would cancel it.
    NOT SO!!  They renewed my subsription without my instructions to
    do so and after three months, I recieved a letter from a collection
    agency that I owed $xxx to COMPUTE!, with the usual threats about
    affecting my credit rating.  I had to call COMPUTE! and be somewhat
    ugly over the phone to straighten them out.  I'm waiting for awhile
    to see if anything shows up on my credit report which would require
    further action.
    
    DMC
    
1853.7Life is scary.RAVEN1::EVERHARTMon Nov 07 1988 14:428
    	Good grief!  Hey, if they ever manage to ruin your credit rating
    for something like that, you'll get to have a field day if you can
    find a good lawyer.  That MIGHT even fall into the category of mail
    fraud, but I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know.
    	But seriously, I hope nothing like that ever happens to me.
    
     - Chris
    
1853.8RTPSWS::FISHERJohn Fisher @RTP | DTN 367-4451Tue Nov 29 1988 00:3310
    Yup!  In the State, if you receive anything that you did not order
    through the mail, then it is yours to keep.  ANYTHING else is mail
    fraud.  If anyone else has problems with Compute!, check with your
    local Post Master.  There are clear procedures to follow that will
    help keep Compute! off your back.
    
    It's no wonder I gave up even browsing that magazine a long time
    ago....
    
    =jbf=