#: 13160 S15/Hot Topics
    23-Nov-91  08:57:08
Sb: #13143-What's happening?
Fm: Jim Peasley 72726,1153
To: Mark Griffith 76070,41

Mark;

   After reading EVERY message about the MM/1 both here on CIS and from the
COCO LIST and OS9 LIST over the past year or more, I've seen only one or two
messages that contained 'hard' facts about the status of the MM/1.  In the past
2 months, NADA!
   It's easy for you to rail at others who are in the same boat as I am, so as
an experiment to see what we're going through, I'd recommend that you take out
your I/O board and see how usable your MM/1 is!  Other than using the editor
and compiler or running the flicker or lines demo, it's a useless machine
without the I/O board and mouse port - no sound capabilities; memory
constrained; slow; awkward; etc.

   I'll be sending you an early Christmas present on Monday... A brand new copy
of "In Search of Excellence" by Tom Peters.  Recommend you read it and pass it
on to Paul when you're done.  Excellent book!  Points out over and over that
it's the customer's PERCEPTIONS that make a difference, NOT reality, and MY
perception is that I've been led on and promised more than what was delivered.

>>When was the last time you offered to help?
   Well, lemme see.  Looking back over the past few years, I don't remember
EVER being asked by a manufacturer to help get product out the door. I guess
that I just didn't realize that I was buying a 'share-the-effort' computer. 
Mea culpa!  I also didn't realize that I would be providing a 0% interest
short-term loan!
  Seriously, if I can do something to speed up the process without creating a
conflict of interest, let me know.  As a suggestion, there's numerous small
board manufacturers in this area that do excellent short-run work and I've
mentioned this to Paul several times in the past.

   Thank you for the status update. It's too bad that tempers need to rise to
the red line before info can be pried loose from those in the know.

   ...Jim
   p.s. Mark, take up smoking again - please?