MEMORY LANE
Category 75, Topic 11 Message 69 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:46 EDT that's alot of people ------------ Category 75, Topic 11 Message 70 Fri Aug 02, 1991 NEVIN-S at 00:19 EDT I'm in California this week and am now at GoldLeaf's offices. Lauren just asked me to post a message here saying that the Centrex is down, so if you need to reach her please call 415-381-7717. Hopefully the regular phones will be back in order in a couple of days. --Nevin ------------ Category 75, Topic 11 Message 71 Fri Aug 02, 1991 ISD [Nathan] at 17:51 EDT What's a centrex? ------------ Category 75, Topic 11 Message 72 Fri Aug 02, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:31 EDT It's a box used to screw up the phones. ------------ Category 75, Topic 11 Message 73 Sat Aug 03, 1991 N.WEINRESS [IAAD Member] at 00:08 EDT Gee, Nevin, sorry I didn't get to meet you onthis trip...you only missed us in LA by 500 miles! <grin> Nathan, Centrex is when switchboard is at the phone company...or, you are so big you need the whole exchange. When I worked for TRW, we had two whole prefixes in this area code, 532 and 533. That's 20,000 phone numbers! Our division occupied a mere 80,000 sq. ft., so they only assigned us 200 numbers, and we had to share. :) ------------ Category 75, Topic 11 Message 74 Sat Aug 03, 1991 WORDFLAIR [Lauren] at 21:03 EDT The Centrex system is back--only down a few hours. Whew! In their ads they say it is never down but this is the second time. Last week all the phones general lines and Centrex were down in Berkeley for 1-2 days. We have misc. outages in Marin. It's actually a software problem (bug) related to installing the new fiber optics into the old (copper wire...) switching stations. We had a successful reseller training. It was great fun having Nevin stay over. Looking forward to seeing Nathan, Gribnif, the CodeHeads et al at the AEGIS meeting. Lauren ------------ REPly ? ************ Topic 12 Fri Nov 23, 1990 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] (Forwarded) Sub: Derailing... Switching tracks? Training in on the PC/Mac/NeXt? Here's the place to share insights, resources, headaches. 250 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 235 Mon Jul 29, 1991 B.LUNESKI1 [DBII] at 01:25 EDT Charles, have you looked at the Think C environment with Object oriented extensions? I have heard that it's good and a great deal easier to become productive than in MPW. I am more than just curious, as I am considering expanding my Amiga development project to the Mac. Bob ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 236 Mon Jul 29, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 14:02 EDT I've used Think Pascal, it was very easy to deal with. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 237 Wed Jul 31, 1991 CHERRY.FONTS at 03:36 EDT "Think C and AppMaker is development MacHeaven." This is a quote from the talented fellow I hired to do some Mac programming for me. ..Todd ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 238 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 12:20 EDT Say, about six months ago we began a subscription to Midnight Engineering: The Journal of Personal Product Development, and I've had enough exper- ience with it now to recommend it highly. Articles cover a variety of topics of interest to developers. This month (July/August), for example, there's an article on handling patent rejections, office fires, share- ware success and failure, pricing a product, and others. A couple months back there was a fairly solid article on doing shows. The articles are sometimes very watered-down so that they are general enough for everybody, sometimes so specific that they don't really apply to my own situation, but it's still interesting to see another person's experience. All in all, highly recommended: Midnight Engineering, one year (6 issues) in the US $24, in Canada $29 (airmail), and in Europe $49 (airmail). VOICE: 303 225 1410. FAX: 303 225 1075. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 239 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 12:58 EDT I second that, it's worthwhile, as is Success magazine, lot's of good business pointers there too. The poor sucker with the patent app, there are easier ways. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 240 Thu Aug 01, 1991 ICDINC at 16:29 EDT I just let my subscription run out because I haven't had time to read it over the past year. Did they cover Trademark registration in any issue? I still have the back issues around in a box somewhere. We just received our first "registered" trademark and I would like to attempt to register the rest without the $500-$800 attorney fees for each one. I know it is a simple process. I just need the right templates to follow. Anybody seen them? - TOM - PS It took about 1.5 years for the approval. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 241 Thu Aug 01, 1991 T.GILL7 [GILLT] at 21:52 EDT It may have a nice personality and intelligent articles, but what I am really interested in is whether "Midnight Engineering" has great cartoons! sounds worth a date anyway... <grin> Tyson ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 242 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:51 EDT Just follow the directions in the Trademark pamphlet, and examine other trademarks. It is doable yourself, just need to spend time at the Chicago Public Library, main branch...Patent and Trademark area of the reference section. The Boston library has a really nice Patent area, and all the docs, rules, etc. Call the PTO and ask for an info packet. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 243 Fri Aug 02, 1991 W.BUCKHOLDT at 07:50 EDT For those of you who may have wondered why I haven't posted much lately, it's because I've been working long hours at my new job. After looking at my tax return for last year, I decided I could do better elsewhere, so I called the Motorola rep and asked him for all the local companies that use 68000's in their product. Which quickly led to a job writing firmware for a company called Distributed Processing Technology. They make an awarding winning line of hard disk caching controllers that are based on the 68000 family and since better performance is there main advantage, the openning there was a perfect match for both of us. They're a great group to work with and they have grown from 30 to about 150 employees over the last couple of years, making them the fastest growing medium sized company in central Florida. Anyway, I've enjoyed your company here the last couple years. Many of the members here have almost caused me to fall off the chair laughing with their humorous remarks. Just what someone needs, when your down and out. You will still see him around however, as Jim Allen continues to prod me on to make some additional speed enhancements. Wayne ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 244 Fri Aug 02, 1991 ICDINC at 09:01 EDT Thanks Jim. I will look into it. Great Wayne! Good luck. - TOM - ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 245 Fri Aug 02, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 09:55 EDT Congratulations on finding a comfortable and compatible job, Wayne! It sounds as though you have a lot to offer thi s company. Interesting approach to job search, too. I wouldn't have thought of calling Motorola. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 246 Fri Aug 02, 1991 ISD [Nathan] at 17:53 EDT Hmmm, Add my name to Jim's. I want faster software. :-) Glad you found work that you enjoy. Thats best of both worlds. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 247 Sat Aug 03, 1991 T.GILL7 [GILLT] at 18:18 EDT Great move Wayne! Hope you have great success in your new position. - Actually I have no doubt that you will! Tyson ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 248 Sat Aug 03, 1991 MINDOVERMIDI at 20:57 EDT Geez, what a great idea! I was looking for a job at one point there, and gave up after all the "MSDOS experience?" responses. ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 249 Sun Aug 04, 1991 CHERRY.FONTS at 06:36 EDT Best o' luck with your career, Wayne. ..Todd ------------ Category 75, Topic 12 Message 250 Tue Aug 06, 1991 C.WALTERS1 [Chet] at 07:35 EDT Good work Wayne.....!!!! ------------ REPly ? ************ Topic 15 Fri Oct 20, 1989 GORDON (Forwarded) Sub: Dealing with Distributors and Dealers Let's talk about Distributer and Dealer Policies. 427 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 384 Mon Jul 29, 1991 L.SEILER at 05:16 EDT DAVID, Thanks I will call you monday morning first thing, I will also send you a fax with my tel # which is 415-453-0271, and my FAX is 415-453-0533. and Thanks again. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 385 Mon Jul 29, 1991 ICDINC at 12:39 EDT Aren't we really talking about Jerry Lindberg here? I will second what ever Dave S. says about him. Although it sounds as if you may be too late. - TOM - ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 386 Mon Jul 29, 1991 P.COMEAU1 [Phil Comeau] at 20:46 EDT Regarding American: I received a press release from them this week announcing that their president has been nominated for Inc. magazine's entrepreneur-of- the-year award. (Did anyone else receive this, or am I special?) I found this pretty amazing, given their track record. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 387 Mon Jul 29, 1991 P.COMEAU1 [Phil Comeau] at 21:00 EDT I got another letter from ASD today (gee, nice of them to write so often...just wish they'd send cheques for old invoices...). This letter (addressed to Dear Vendor) says they want to know our "distributor co-op advertising policy." Anybody know what the hell this is? ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 388 Mon Jul 29, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:21 EDT That's how you get to be INC's entrepreneur of the year, you need to be... a schemer, just a, just a, little schemer ;-) ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 389 Tue Jul 30, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 01:08 EDT Phil, I suspect this is a scam to get you to take an ad in their catalog. They have to list your product if they want to sell it, anyway, but distributors also print ads -- and sometimes charge for them. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 390 Tue Jul 30, 1991 MINDOVERMIDI at 04:29 EDT Phil, sounds to me like they want to know if you'll "go in" on advertisement costs (ie 50/50), probably for ads in magazines. I've considered offering this sort of deal with some of my dealers, for musicician's rags in their area. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 391 Tue Jul 30, 1991 ICDINC at 09:59 EDT Phil, You ARE special! ;-) We received the letter as well. I think one of the middle managers nominated his boss. The ultimate in brown nosing! Typically larger companies offer distributors 2-5% of sales for advertising CO- OP funds. THen the distributor advertises our products, sends us a tear sheet and invoice copy for the ad, and we give them credit for it. If you look in the mail order ads in any big magazine like Amiga World or Mac User, you will notice that some companies have smalll display ads within .. the main ad. That is a common use for CO-OP funds. We had no CO-OP policy up until the last couple of years. We still do not CO- OP in the Atari market since it is too small. - TOM - ## Ralph, .... just a reminder. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 392 Tue Jul 30, 1991 ISD [Nathan] at 10:16 EDT Like Tom said Phil, you are special and I got the mailings too. Unless American is currently moving some large volume of your product, I wouldn't pay much attention to co-op. Let me give you an example; They buy $10,000.00 of your product and you have allowed them a 2% advertising allowance. They can now apply $200 towards advertising, deduct it from money they probably owe you, run an ad that costs $1,500.00 on your product (or try to) and deduct that off the money owed as well. :-) Has the paper hit the garbage yet? And this isn't about American. All major US distributors have these practices. You need a degree in economics to figure out those of Ingram/Micro D. :-) | Category 75, Topic 15 Message 393 Tue Jul 30, 1991 W.PARKS3 [Dr. Bob] at 19:03 EDT Like Tom and Nathan said, Phil, you ARE special and I DIDN'T get any mailing. American and Pacific, Both, demand 55% off (ie thay pay 45%). If they ever ask for ad co-op I'll not hesitate a bit to say that it's already included in their 55% and then bitch them out for NOT having advertised at all! Ralph: Do I have to always place a reminder in EACH of my messages? Or can I trust you to remember? Bye: Dr. Bob ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 394 Tue Jul 30, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 19:55 EDT Doc, if you could trust him to remember, couldn't you also trust him to keep his nose out of your business? Yo, Ralph -- trust THIS. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 395 Tue Jul 30, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:54 EDT No Dot...Yo Ralph...trust THIS .!.. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 396 Wed Jul 31, 1991 WUZTEK.OPI [Paul Wu] at 02:59 EDT Todd, Thanks for the address. I don't know how good are my chances about getting the refunds though. I'll write to them anyways. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 397 Wed Jul 31, 1991 CHERRY.FONTS at 03:36 EDT :-) It's about time one of your jokes was actually funny, Jim. (ducking) ..Todd ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 398 Wed Jul 31, 1991 ISD [Nathan] at 12:21 EDT Yeah Jim .. ! .. Heheheh ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 399 Thu Aug 01, 1991 W.PARKS3 [Dr. Bob] at 00:14 EDT Some say that he'd _like_ to, Jim. (practise safe trust) ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 400 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.THOMPSON66 [David @ JMG] at 00:42 EDT Ok, in the last few weeks everbody has been complaining or complimenting distributors by name or criptic reference. What I need is a name and address of distributors that developers have found good and also trustworthy over the years. So, why not post your favourite distributor and include address and contact. (Except for Pacific, everybody knows them!) But I'm trying to collate a list of all these European distributors and I've got some names but no addresses etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And I think that all developers could benefit from a world wide listing of good distributors. -djt ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 401 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 01:20 EDT Pacific Software Supply, SanLuis Obispo CA. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 402 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 01:35 EDT David, Pacific _is_ my favorite distributor. If you want Australia, try P.REEVES2 (Phil) here on GEnie. If you want New Zealand, how A.DAVIDSON3 ? When I get anybody in Europe, you'll get 'em too. ;-) In the very beginning of Cat 75, I tried to compile this kind of list. I found that many people were very protective of their distributors. Others simply didn't have the time to type 'em all up. It would be really great if someone _would_ do that, but so far no one in-the-known oops (no n) has volunteered. It would make an appropriate post for Lib 34: a list of distributors by country with contact name, FAX, phone, address, and specialties if any. Thanks to whomever spends his Saturday doing this. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 403 Thu Aug 01, 1991 DARLAH [RT~SYSOP] at 09:27 EDT I am doing a dealer list again. Anyone care to get the mailings as well? I need to know by days end. If not, I will just gather it myself and send it to anyone who wants the data. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 404 Thu Aug 01, 1991 ISD [Nathan] at 10:03 EDT Dorothy, that's not the problem. I could spend 20 minutes digging out the contact info on all my Distributors worldwide but the chances are, it would be useless for you. And this is becoming more and more a certainty as we go more CADD specific. I agree, Phil Reeves in Australia, Alex is Atarai New Zealand by the way. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 405 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 13:42 EDT It's really sad that the US Market has diminished to one favorite distributor, and one that everyone puts up with because they're the only alternative. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 406 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 14:15 EDT Josha does list some ST products in its catalog; they might be worth pursuing. I sent them promotional literature some time back, but no nibbles; I do deal with them as a customer in my VAR role. I've spoken there with Evan Price at length, but there are several who answer the phone. Anyway, it's an alternative to Pacific. Josha Distributing Company 2549 West Golf Road Suite 500 Hoffman Estates, IL 60194 VOICE:800 345 3603 / in Illinois 708 882 7416 FAX:708 882 4719 Their current ST listings cover 4 pages, and include titles from Accolade, Artworx, Atari, EA, Electronic Zoo, Mindscape, Ocean, Timeworks and the like. By the way, Chuck, they also have some 8-bit titles. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 407 Thu Aug 01, 1991 ICDINC at 16:31 EDT Must be old CSS stock. They were founded by the former CSS people. (ASD also came from there but while CSS was still alive and kicking.) - TOM - ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 408 Thu Aug 01, 1991 J.TRAUTSCHOL [jtrautschold] at 22:53 EDT Heck...Josha's right down the road from me! Didn't realize how close they were. I'll have to give them a call... (Only about 5 or 6 miles from home...) ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 409 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.THOMPSON66 [David @ JMG] at 23:06 EDT Great! Glad to hear someone is compiling a list of Atari Dealers. Atari themselves said they should have one compiled sometime in August but who knows when that will show up. Put us on the mailing list for this! Thanks again... -djt ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 410 Thu Aug 01, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 23:23 EDT Yes, I'd like to see the mail, too, Darlah. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 411 Fri Aug 02, 1991 JEFF.W [RTC Sysop] at 00:35 EDT The head of Josha Distributing is Roger Young, the man who built up Computer Software Services (aka C.S.S.), a division of Charles Levy Publishing. He left CSS about a year before Levy axed CSS. Josha is a much smaller operation than CSS was, but they seem to be doing a steady and growing business. They specialize in selling computer supplies, like paper, disks, etc. They concentrate on consumables that people have to keep buying over and over again. Additionally, they carry some MS-DOS software, they may have a PC clone in their lineup by now, and they carry Atari software and I believe they are still an authorized distributor of Atari hardware products like the Lynx, Portfolio, and ST. When I interviewed with Roger for a sales job about 6 months ago (about a week or two before I interviewed with Tom at ICD <smile>), they carried ST software that are being domestically distributed. They were not importing overseas software titles at that time...I doubt they are doing so at this time. This probably limits their ST offerings considerably compared to American, Pacific, and Horizon. Their buyer's name is Mike (unless they've moved him to something else since my interview). His last name eludes me right now. My impression is they are good people, but I don't know how they feel about the ST market and what kind of penetration they have with ST dealers. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 412 Mon Aug 05, 1991 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 19:34 EDT A few days ago, someone inquired about Jotka in Holland. Here's what my friend Max has to say about him: "The boss, a very very fat kind man, was in my house in Alphen once. He was the last president of the SAG user group [until its demise, the largest group of Atari users in the world]. And his company does _a_lot_of_advertising_! He has a very wide range of Atari mainly hardware articles like PCSpeed etc. He's mainly in it for the money and likes chocolate cookies (this is really true!). You will believe me when you see him. Anyway, he is not an amateur!" Guess Max was mostly impressed with the fellow's size. ;-) Max is not in the industry, by the way, but rather is an avid user, so you would have to take his assessment in that light. It would appear that Jotka is a firm that has the potential to do well for US products in the Netherlands. Hope this helps.--Dorothy ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 413 Wed Aug 07, 1991 NEVIN-S at 11:39 EDT Thanks, Dorothy. I've heard various reports and will take it to the next step (return fax, probably send evaluation copy, etc). Thanks! I'll make sure to include some great chocolate in the box...<grin> --Nevin ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 414 Thu Aug 08, 1991 L.SEILER at 00:56 EDT Well all the ATARI Dealers and Developers symposium was a full fledged success. I wish all of you could have been there, We were very well hosted and made some very important contacts with each other. We also got more support from ATARI than you could imagin. Nathin was there and I am sure will make a much better report than I can. The most interesting news which is of course under both our IAAD and Atari developers non disclosures is that the developers were each given 286/25 portfolio's to test and write ports to. Of course with out a color screen it's not much sue to me, so I will pass mine to one of my guies. Beyound that several more shiney new TT's went out to developers and there was a talk that even though ATARI paid the Dealers to come, the Developers were also "Helped" informally. All in all it was a very good two day meeting. Severl of us were asked to stay over an extra day and went to Lockheed to show off our stuff to the brass and engineeres there. We did a good job of this and were told that the comments were very positive, Also I met some of us IAAD people and enjoyed my whole stay. Back in a few days aftere I rest up! Lee ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 415 Thu Aug 08, 1991 WUZTEK.OPI [Paul Wu] at 02:57 EDT 286 Portflios? You aren't pulling our legs are you, Lee? Is there a price set on that yet? I am also a Portfolio developer. How come I didn't know about it...hmm.. come to think of it, how come I wasn't invited to Aegis? Sounds like a very interesting show. Seriously, how does one get invited to Aegis? Can I invite myself? :^) Paul Wu By the way, I thought Atari has given up hope on Portfolio. The other day when we called Gail Johnson about repairing our Portfolio, she replied "You mean, you actually use that thing?!?!" We do use our Porfolio on a day to day basis. If it weren't for the fact that 3 out of 5 Porfolios I touched was DOA or needed repair shortly out of the box, I would've recommend it to a lot of my business friends. ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 416 Thu Aug 08, 1991 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 12:07 EDT Junk by any other name, is still junk. How can they hope to compete against the HP palmtop, with Dos 4.0 and Lotus built in? Was anything...well...interesting shown? No names or specs mentioned here, just a yes or no about a certain "development"? ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 417 Thu Aug 08, 1991 NEVIN-S at 13:11 EDT Nothing else 'interesting' was shown in public. I am sure that a few folks had a tour of the development offices at atari, but nothing public. --Nevin ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 418 Fri Aug 09, 1991 MINDOVERMIDI at 00:04 EDT Well, I do regret not going. Couldn't be helped, though. Of course, *now* I could afford to attend, now that it's over... :? ------------ Category 75, Topic 15 Message 419 Fri Aug 09, 1991 L.SEILER at 02:43 EDT Paul, No leg pulling here. I was almost not invited my self, or was and nearily missed the boat as they say. I don't know why any particular developer was or was not invited. As for the 286 portfolios they are certinily very real. I saw three, one of which is sitting right here next to the my Key board. It is the same size length and with size but thicker. The top with the lcd screen seemes the same size as a regular portfolio but the base or keyboard half is much thicker. the are ports on the front behind a thin side ways slide, I think a seria port, paralell port and a scuzzie port. it sort of looks like it was modified using standard parts with a different keyboard part. It has the some other attachment slots on the right side, but I have no Idea what they are fore. It works just fine, but I do so little dos applications that it is of little value to me as a developer. I will send it to Paul dana my project director. I am sure he will find a use for it. If you want more infor give me a call. 415-453-0271 any time is OK. There will be more Dealer and Developer symposiums and I trust that you will be invited to the next one. I suppose that ATARI just could not get every one in one place at one time. I would not take it as a slight against you that you were not invited. I am sure that the folks that put this deal together were on new ground and did the best they could. Lee ------------

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