<> .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- *4@4 ESCOM GOES BUST *3]5@5 by Converse / A.F *1]1@1 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. @3 There I was, sitting at my keyboard racking my brain(s) out trying to think of something to write about for B.S.E, when it hit me..... ]5 but I hit it back though!]1 The time was 11 o'clock on a Monday (15th July) morning and I had the radio on. Needless to say, the news was on and I was still trying to think of something to write when I was treated to the sound of: @1]5 "Computer retailer, Escom, have filed for bankruptcy a week after it was forced to close 66 stores nationwide." @3]1 Well, I'd be lying if I said I was upset by this news. :-p But what about our dear Amiga? What will happen to it? Did the Amiga have anything to do with this bankruptcy? Well I don't think the Amiga caused it, because there were already rumours in the industry that Escom's sales in P.C's were lagging behind, although I would go so far to say that the Amiga may have speeded up Escom's death........ good eh? So is this good news or bad news? Let's look at the facts: Escom stocked the Amiga in most of it's stores, at the moment there's only a few left, so this isn't so good regarding sales of the machine. But on the other hand, Escom was only shifting about 100 Amiga's nationwide every 2 or 3 months, which in my opinion is disgusting sales. This isn't the Amiga's fault, rather the poor sales staff at Escom, who couldn't even sell a banana to a monkey]5 (if @2they@3 paid @2it@3).]1 In all honesty, I'd say Escom's bankruptcy is a potentially good thing. Think about it, less P.C ad's on the telly, no Escom bargains in the newspaper. All this mounts up to less P.C's being sold, which has gotta be a good thing. The only down side is, where the fuck are we gonna buy our Amigas from? Hmm... Although there are several mail order retailers selling the Amiga, the Amiga really does need to be on the high street. MSC tells me that the Amiga is starting to reappear in a catalogue company near him, I forget what the name of the catalogue company is, but Mark tells me that anything that appears in this catalogue is something decent that sells well. Before we all get excited about the prospect of a slight P.C downfall, don't forget that there are P.C WORLD stores appearing around the country, which in effect, will take over from Escom...... Bummer eh? Just when things were looking up. If the Amiga could re-enter the big stores such as Curry's, Dixons and P.C WORLD, then it would realistically be in with a chance. Couple this with some #2 DECENT@3 advertising and we're on our way back to the mainstream. Finally, what the Amiga itself really needs is to become a trendy machine once again, as is the Playstation, Saturn and P.C. At the moment, the Amiga appears to the consumer as the "Atari-Jaguar" of the bunch. This change back to being the "in" machine will need all of the aforementioned points, plus something to make it stand out, whether it be a decent price to performance ratio or capabilities which are unique. Give us a fast, relatively cheap, processor (i.e. DEC or PPC), update those ageing sound and graphic custom chips, give us expandability, give us some sort of P.C compatibility so people don't run over to the P.C when they need something professional..... Give us...... A NEW AMIGA...... (...or I'll cry!) @1 That was a party political broadcast...... ]5 It wasn't really!