Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

AmiUpdate - the new Amiga InfoStation

NEWS

SOFTWARE
commercial
freeware
shareware
support

LINKS
partners
distribution
usergroups
developers
magazines

AMIGA SNACKS

SUBMISSIONS
letters
music
articles
articles
EXTRA
web board
aminet uploads
modules






Interview with Iwin Corporation

1. Many, if not all Amiga users, want to see an end to the aggressive speculation that has been going on in the press, the newsgroups and in chat forums. I would personally agree with anyone stating that the speculation has gone over the edge of reason. In what way has the current tense situation affected your company in relation to press announcements and focus in planning of development?

We didn't expect these aggressive responses. And yes, the speculations and discussions wether Iwin Corporation exists or not has gone much too far. I'm pretty sure the Amiga community as well as we, has much better things to do than discussing the existance of a firm and / or products. I guess - and this is the only real prove for us and our products - it would be the best if people wait until the final product release or our press conferences which will be held in Brussels/Belgium and in Germany (Munich, Berlin or Hannover - we are currently searching for a good place).

We wont give any announcements regarding our products anymore - before the final product release. As soon as something is available, we will announce it - but not before anymore. And how it has affected our focus in planning the development. Well, we saw that there are still a lot of people who like the so called "Classic" Amiga line and we want to provide a smart migration for those to a new generation. This is what we are currently working on and what our future products will be.

2. The silence has shaken many Amiga users. Are you now in a position where it is possible to break it? Why was it necessary to close the communication with the Amiga community? Will you channel future announcements mainly through the internet or through other mediums? Will you do a TV appearance as Amiga did or are you focusing on the print press?

The silence was neccessary for some reasons. First we have some new partners which do not want us to spread around the news already now but only with the product release. But we didn't close the communication with the community. We have some beta testers who are allowed to give the news which they receive from us to the community, and everybody is still welcome to send an email. We will answer them as soon as possible.

However, I have to apologize for the last 10 days. We had some troubles with our mail and could not answer them anymore. If people now want to send us an email, they can do this either to info@iwin-corp.com or to questions@iwin-corp.com

The main focus for commercials is the Internet. We are also currently designing and planning commercials for the print press. We are thinking about a TV spot, but it's not sure.

3. The last few months can best be described as radical. We have seen great announcements, tough misunderstandings and the demise of some great Amiga milestones. It has become clear that the whole Amiga internet community has been dried out of patience - they need something live and working on their desk. How long is it before the Amiga market can start growing again based on fresh Amiga computers with modern standards?

Well, as we said already. We have a scheduled production start at the 6th of September. This is still the plan to go. First products should be available in the end of September.

4. The new computers and AmigaOS 3.5 will not be enough to catch up with alternative platforms and their vast mass of software. What have you done, or what are you planning to do, to make software available on the Amiga as it was before the Commodore bankruptcy? Do you think that large software companies are still interested in the Amiga platform?

I don't know how many firms are still interested in the Amiga platform. However, we have two partners which will port some of their games to the Amiga platform. It will depend on the Amiga community and their response to it if they will continue the development of games.

5. I could go on and on about the current state of the Amiga community. It is a special situation, either way marking the beginning of a new phase in Amiga history. What do you think the future will bring Amiga users? Will we again see Amigas in the role as a serious and up to date work horse in general companies? Will it be possible for, say, a firm that creates geographic maps, to purchase Amigas to do the work? Will it be possible for TV companies to again use Amigas for their broadcasting presentations? Will the Amiga again be compatible with market standards?

I don't think that we should make the same mistake as Commodore did and try to make the Amiga compatible with MS-Dos - or better say Windows now. The Amiga always was something special. If the Amiga will be an up to date work horse in general companies also depends on the Amiga community. We are providing now a platform which should be the start of a migration to a completely new system and platform. The new platform of course can be a up to date work horse. If we get enough response from the community telling us what exactly they would like to see inside the new computer and how / where they want to see it, then we sure will try to produce such a computer.

6. Many see your company as either a hoax or an aggressive competitor to Amiga Inc. What is the real position of your firm. Do you understand the reactions you have met and do you have a surprise to end the uncertainty living in the Amiga community? Are you making partners with current players in the Amiga market that can eventually verify your position?

We have a good understanding of the position of people thinking negative about us - of course. However, the position of Iwin Corporation is not to create a complete new market for the Amiga - we are (currently) just a small player trying to bring live again into the classic Amiga market. And we certainly don't want to be competitors with Amiga Inc. It is very sad that Jim Collas left Amiga Inc. because we already have started talks with him. We will see what the future will bring. However, with or without Amiga Inc. we will start the production - if our computers are now called "Iwin Cxxxx", "Iwin Amiga xxxx", "Commodore xxxx" or "Commodore Amiga xxxx" - it doesn't matter very much because the most important thing is the inside qualities of the computer and how to satisfy our customers.

7. The best thing that could happen, would be to have the Amiga back in the mass market, putting it where it should have been presently if Commodore never met its unfortunate destiny. Is this what you are planning to achieve, or is it too ambitious? How would you describe your goals?

I guess it is too amitious for the near future. Too many years have passed since the last real innovation in this market. Of course there are very good and high quality exentsions (Phase 5 or Haage & Partner - products for example), but there was no new computer. So our goals for the near future are: to bring again a little life into the "Classic" market, then to provide the solution for migrating to a new generation. I know that we can do that.

8. What do you want to say to the Amiga community that can ease the tense atmosphere that has covered the events we have experienced?

There is not much to say. Maybe just repeating something what I said before: People should not spend all of their time discussing some rumours or speculating about products or the existance of Iwin itself. The only prove for most of them will be the final availability of our products.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for the possibilty to state our goals.


© 1999 .AmiUpdate


Back to main | Design by Inarts.net