🚀 go-pugleaf

An interview with Jack Tramiel by David Bright appears in the
28 Apr 86 (or do you like 860428 so you can sort it?) issue of
ComputerWorld.

Attributed to Tramiel are assertions that 200,000 ST systems have
been sold so far, about 70% outside the USA, and that Atari has gone
from losing $10**7 / month to a profit of $9*10**6 / quarter since
he took over (actually in the black before the STs started shipping.)

Some market research skepticism was expressed over the total sales
figure but if we accept it that's about $200M market value.

Compare this to the DEC (second largest computer company) MicroVax II
also introduced last May. Its 1985 sales were reported in the same
issue as 12,000 units. At a system price around $25,000 that's a
market value around $300M and it's considered a spectacular success.

Tells you something about the motivation of people who are putting
down the ST, doesn't it?

Although there has been a prototype of an ST add-on to run IBM-PC
programs, Tramiel is cited as indicating that before that would be
available Atari would have an IBM-PC card to run ST programs.

Sounds like you shouldn't hold your breath.

Larry Samuels of Atari indicated more than 300 software packages
are already available for the ST systems.

Thos Sumner     (...ucbvax!ucsfcgl!ucsfcca.UCSF!thos)