#: 3508 S15/Hot Topics
    15-May-90  10:08:20
Sb: #3496-#That Darn Computer!
Fm: Paul K. Ward 73477,2004
To: Mike Knudsen 72467,1111 (X)

Mike,

These Atari MIDI folks won't be on board too early, not until a "large enough"
(10,000 +) group of MM/1 owners have the optional MIDI port.

Looking at our stats, that might be a good 18 months. Then give 'em six to 12
months to write their stuff .. so you've got about two years before UltiMusE
will be in the Survival-Of-The-Fittest mode.

Yeah, I noticed on FHL's catalog that, once you buy the Tomcat board and a case
(cheapest one is $180 and I know for a fact you can buy it from Shopper at
$75), you then have to pay Frank $200 to put the thing together.

Now hackers will do the integration themselves, but if Frank thinks that the
hacker market is big enough to keep the CoCo ball rolling, he's got another
thing comin' ...

No, we want the MM/1 to be seen as a cool product for the software hacker, the
consumer, and LATER the hardware hacker.

I gues Frank is charging so much so that he won't get inundated with sales.
After all, he can only sell a few hundred computers before the GIME chip supply
is completely exhausted.

Not to sound down on the Tomcat. I regard Bobo Puppo highly. He is a gentleman
and a fine engineer.  I just think that the MM/1 is the right approach to keep
us together as a community.

But then again, I am prejudiced.

BTW, I am using Sterm on the MM/1 right now! Smooth, great colors on screen, a
real nice system.

Paul

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