Sam Tramiel Interview About The Falcon

[pacman000]

Trying to find more info on an old Jaguar 3D engine, I found this interview from the Falcon’s launch: https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/BSV7PGpb0r4?pli=1

 

Jody Lenn

11/19/92

to 

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Monday Night Real Time Conference
Host - Lou Rocha

LIVE from COMDEX
with
Sam Tramiel
President, Atari Corporation

Nov. 16, 1992

<[Lou] ST.LOU> It gives me great pleasure to welcome Sam Tramiel, 
President of Atari Corporation, to the ST Round Table Monday Night 
Real Time Conference. Many thanks to Sam for taking this time to 
join us on the very first night of COMDEX '92 as Atari proudly 
unveils its products at the largest computer trade show in North 
America.

Sam... please tell us your impressions of the first day of COMDEX. 
What were the highlights for Atari Corporation? GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> The show once again is a PC show and we are one 
of two unique offerings, the other being Apple. We really feel 
that we have some really exciting hardware and software in the 
Atari Falcon 030. The important thing is to market the machine 
properly and we are now planning the advertising for Q1 of 1993. 

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Sam. Our first question is from JCD at Mag 
Software.

<[JCD] MAG.SOFTWARE> Hi Sam. Thanks for being here tonite. Sorry I 
am missing COMDEX this year. Our 1st born baby boy came Nov. 8th. 
Being a new dealer, I'd like to know when we will get dealer 
prices on the Falcons? European dealers are already advertising 
theirs.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Mazel Tov Jeff on your baby, the dealer prices 
are now available; please call Sunnyvale on Monday next week.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Our next question is from John Cole at Lexicor

<[Lexicor] J.COLE18> Hello Sam, how do you feel a possible trade 
war between the US and the EC will affect Atari. How would a trade 
war affect US marketing plans and planned prouduction?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> our questions are very interesting but I really 
have no control of the situation. I really think that Europe will 
back off on the agricultural issues. All of Europe is against 
France on this.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Eric Goodman is next. Eric?

<[ERIC] E.GOODMAN1> There are rumors of a tower version of the 
Falcon being shown at Comdex. Are these just rumors? GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> There is no tower version at the show and 
I can't comment further.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Eric. Next we have SAM RAPP.

<[Not Sam T.] SAM-RAPP> Sam, there have been questions on whether 
the Falcon memory sits on a 32 bit bus or a 16 bit bus. Could you 
clarify? Also, any design changes in the production models?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Unfortunately, Leonard and Richard Miller are not 
here and I am not able to answer your question.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... our next question is from James French.

<[James] J.FRENCH2> When will the Falcon be available in Canada, 
same as U.S.?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> The availability in Canuck land is the same as 
for the US. ea Canada on being World Series Champions.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam.... the million dollar question... when do you 
think the dealers will see their first store models?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Some dealers will get machines very, very soon 
and we will contine to roll out shipments from now on, but real 
volumes starting in Dec/Jan.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Sam. That is good news. Next we have Keith 
and Bruce from Canada.

<[Bruce/Keith] B.KLASSEN> Hi Sam, Here is our shopping list: 1) Is 
FSM and Speedo compatible? 2) When will dealers get Multitos for 
TT's? 3) Are all TT monitors cancelled? 4) Future of the TT in a 
tower and/or 040? 5)UNIX? Thanks,

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> 1. FSM and Speedo are not compatible and I have 
been using Speedo and it is great, with lots of fonts from 
Bitstream.

2. MultiTos is just being released for the TT, i.e. very soon. 
Eric Smith, another fine Canadian, is now living in California and 
is finishing things off. 

3. No. 4. We are planning on a 040 machine and we have no plans on 
expanding our unix involvement.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... Brian Harvey from Nova Scotia, Canada is 
next.

<[Brian] B.HARVE7> Sam, what is the future of the MEGA STE? Will 
a MEGA Falcon replace it or will the MEGA STE be selling for a few 
more years? GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> The Mega/Ste is still being sold today and the 
production will depend on the demand which I think will slack off 
when the Atari Falcon 030 starts shipping in volume.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... Jason Brunken is next.

<J.BRUNKEN> Is Atari or any other company currently working on the 
'Virtual' modem/fax/phonemail system for the Falcon. If I know 
that I can get this I most certainly will get a Falcon!

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> I don't know what a "virtual".... means, but 
there is a voice mail system and a great fax/modem system.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Our next question is from Robb Albright. GA

<[Veg] R.ALBRIGHT7> Sam, can you give us a brief overview of apps 
being demoed there, and if there are any press features (TV) that 
we can keep our eyes open for.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> There are around 40 titles being shown, a lot of 
sound stuff, i.e. D2D, a beta version of "Concierge" the new name 
for Sutra, a wild game from Jeff Minter of Llamasoft, and a 
interesting sewing machine that stitches on hats and teeshirts, 
and the new Kodak Photo CD which now runs on The Atari Falcon 030 
and the TT030. The deal with Kodak was just signed on Friday last 
week. Calamus showed SL which can use Kodak Photo CD and HiSoft 
has True Colour software.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam, J.BRUNKEN is willing to clarify that 'virtual'
question...

<J.BRUNKEN> By "virtual", I was refering to using the 56001 DSP to 
emulate these devices rather than paying the big bucks to buy the 
actual hardware. Are any companies seriously exploring the use of 
the DSP at this point?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> That is being worked on and should be out by 
second quarter 93.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Ted Patterson is next, Sam.

<[Ted] J.PATTERSON3> What has been the reaction of showgoers to 
the Falcon 030 and other assorted goodies? Any new business likely?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> So far, the reaction has been very positive and 
Dealers and Distributors alike are showing interest.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... Eric Goodman has been VER patient. ;-)

<[ERIC] E.GOODMAN1> Might there be a Jaguar appearing at COMDEX? 
and if not what info can we get on a release date? GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We just finished the first two developer 
conferences, one in Sunnyvale, the other in London on the Jaguar 
system. It's going to be an awesome entertainment machine and 
delivery will be 2nd half of 93.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Rod Cobble is here.

<R.COBBLE1> Hi, I was wondering Atari's plans for distributing the 
Falcon? Dealers? any chain stores considered? Mail Order? What 
will the street prices be? I need IBM compatibility, Would love to 
do it with one machine, Any word on Emulators?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Wow, a lot of questions. :-) We are planning of 
course to have dealers and chain stores and Atari mail order. 
There is a company in Germany, Compo, that is going to show IBM 
emulation tomorrow at Comdex, they say, if not very soon. One 
megabyte machine SRP is US $799, a 4 megabyte unit is $999 and 4 
megabyte with a 65 megabyte hard drive is US $1299. 

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Folks... please use your time for only one 
question... there are ten people in the queue. Next we have Daryl 
Monge. GA

<[Daryl] D.MONGE> What customer do you see for the Falcon that is 
not already an Atari customer? (P.S. f.y.i I would like to buy a 
tower Falcon040 :-) GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We are going after the mass market home user and 
hope that with software like voice mail for the home and other 
great apps we can attract new users. The machine really is FUN to 
use. The sound effects are incredible.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks... Now it's Bill Prang.

<[bill prang] B.PRANG> Sam, I have a bunch of Atari stock that was 
worth 6000 and is now worth 600. Do you think that the new 
products in line have a chance of boosting values, and is Atari 
still buying stock on the market?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Atari has an open plan to purchase stock back 
from the market and has done so in the last quarter. I of course 
cannot predict the stock market but we have "rightsized" and 
hopefully will be going forward in a profitable manner with the 
Atari Falcon 030.

<[Jim] J.NESS> Bill Prang touched on this already, but let me 
upload it anyway... Hi. I know this is a tough one to have to 
answer, but let's mow through it anyway. The stock market has not 
shown any excitement over the Falcon intro. The quarterly 
financial results continue to be scary, for anyone banking on the 
continued existance of your company. How can you convince these 
financial pros that they are wrong about your company, and that 
they should count on some real near-term growth? This question is 
as important to your customers, who want to see you around for 
awhile, as it to your investors, who simply would like to make 
some money.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We still have close to $50 million CASH in the 
bank and are now running at a break even or small profit. We are 
not working for Wall Street but to make money for our shareholders 
and only think long term.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Sam for that very insightful answer. I hope 
it puts some of the naysayers to rest for a while. Next is Geoff 
Sloan.

<[Geoff] G.SLOAN> Sam, can you tell us any of the companies that 
will be coming back to Atari to produce for the Falcon?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> It is not a question of companies coming back but 
of companies writing new and exciting software that takes 
advantage of the features of the Atari Falcon 030. For example, we 
are getting quite a few NeXT developers who are used to working 
with 56000 DSP's and of course we are causing a lot of excitement 
in the audio area with the DSP and Atari Falcon 030 features which 
is better than CD quality with 50 kHz sound.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Mike Allen is next. Mike is one of our regulars ;-)

<[Curmudgeon] M.ALLEN14> When can we expect to see offical, 
regular Atari participation here in GEnie?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> I am going to be accessing GEnie at home and will 
be more active on a regular basis. (Nathan is getting that in 
writing!) ;-)

<[Lou] ST.LOU> SAM on GEnie?.. mind-boggling ;-) Next we have 
Bruce and Keith again. Thanks for waiting fellas.

<[Bruce/Keith] B.KLASSEN> o Sam. What is the status and 
capability of the SACK 286/386/486 card to give us that dumb DOS 
compatibility we could to use get people in the door, how soon for 
Speedo; will the wp features of Concierge have all the features of 
Wordup and will the spreadsheet be as good or better than LDW? 
P.S. We still 'love' Atari 030's!!

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... you can answer any ONE of those ;-)

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> SACK is from Compo and is being shown tomorrow as 
a 386 SX. Speedo is very soon, within, I would guess, 4-6 weeks. 
Concierge is a completely different program than WordUp but it has 
an excellent word processor and the spreadsheet is EXCEL 
compatible rather than Lotus. We also love our Atari's. ;-) ga

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Next we have Robb Albright. GA Robb....

<[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> Sam, I think you must have missed the second 
half of my first question, so let me try again.

<[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> Have there been any TV Cameras havering 
around the Atari area, and could you leak who they might be if so, 
i.e. CNN Headline, NBC, PCTV, so we can get a visual of the 
excitement we are reading about.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We have not seen in any cameras in the building 
yet. Hopefully we will have some exposure. However, CNN just 
received their review unit for technology week.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Ooops.... who's next? James Vogh!

<[James] J.VOGH> Since the Falcon is a home computer, what is the 
status of game software and what about video phone capability?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We, Atari, have contracted about a dozen games 
and they will be released over the next few months and there are a 
number of developers busy working away on some great games. I have 
seen demos in the US and in Europe, titles such as; Raiden, Road 
Riot H4WD, Cyber Assualt, Steel Talons and Eclipse has a great 
spaceship game. The special new joystick which works on the STe, 
Atari Falcon 030 and Jaguar will be shipping in February. It has 
three fire buttons and a 12 key numeric keypad.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Bill Jones from Portland ME is next. Bill GA

<[Bill Jones] B.BILLJONES2> I'm a newly registered ST developer 
who'll buy the Falcon Dev Kit. I'm concerned about the the level 
of developer support for the Falcon. Will support differ with the 
Falcon? And will the kit be more than a box of unbound papers?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Wait, re: the Video Phone question. I have not 
seen it myself yet but I have been promised that this will be 
possible.

The developer kit is much more polished that the old Atari ST kit 
and I feel that we are devoting a lot of quality time and effort 
to developer support.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Rod Martin from Network 23.... ON THE AIR!

<[Net 23] R.MARTIN22> Any signs of BIG NAME companies porting BIG 
NAME software to Atari (Microsoft Write, PageMaker, QuarkExpress). 
I think this could be one of the biggest draws to current computer 
owners not happy with the computers they have now.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> As we build up volume, I am sure that some "big 
name" companies will port onto the system. I feel that some of the 
software now available is better than those big names and much 
more price competitive. We just signed up Eastman Kodak as a
Developer. I think you'll agree that they are a pretty well known
company. 

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... here is Kent Cavanaugh from Surrey BC in 
Canada.

<[Kent] K.CAVAGHAN2> Hi Sam. Many of my customers ask about 
repairs. While I generally recommend our two local dealers, I was 
wondering what was happening with the GE service contract that was 
to be in place already? GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> I am not involved in this but will check with the 
US folks.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Sam... Robb Albright is back in the queue 
and there are no others waiting. Folks.... please /raise your hand 
now.

<[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> There have been rumours that MultiTOS is "Not 
quite ready". Give us the scoop. Will it be shipping with the 
dealer demo units, and when (approx. DATE please) might my dealer 
here in Portland, OR see his demo units.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> ou are correct that MultiTos is not quite 
shipping but as I said ealier, Eric Smith is now in-house and is 
polishing off the product and will be shipping with the Atari 
Falcon 030.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Wow..... ten hands just went up... hang on folks... 
OK... LIVE.... T. Wilson... Bruce and Keith... P.Blagay.

<[Dark.Oak.Sof] T.WILSON14> Is MultiTOS and Falcon info included 
with new delveloper kits or are they separate packages? I'm going 
to buy them soon and wanted to know.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> I believe that it is all included in one kit but 
you can verify this for certain by sending email to Bill Rehbock 
B.REHBOCK. ga

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Bruce and Keith were next in line...

<[Bruce/Keith] B.KLASSEN> Will the PTC1426 monitor work properly 
with the Falcon? What about new SLM'S SCSI 600dpi? Thanks again 
Sam GA

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> At Comdex, we are using PTC1426 on a number of 
Atari Falcon 030 workstations and we have no immediate plans for 
an Atari branded 600 dpi printer.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Paul Blagay is next Sam...

<P.BLAGA> Hi Sam, I was wondering how compatible the Falcon will 
be with pre-STE software?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We took great efforts to have the Atari Falcon 
030 be very compatible with all Atari 68000 machine software and 
we think we were quite successful.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam... I know you haven't had dinner yet, right?  
Can you handle two or three more questions?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> That is correct and we are starving. ;-)

<[Lou] ST.LOU> OK we have James French and Bill Aein.

<[James] J.FRENCH2> Good day, eh from Edmonton. Will there be any 
goodies available for dealers like promo pamphlets, etc.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> We will support Dealers with all kinds of 
marketing and merchandising materials.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Bill Aein.

<B.AEIN> Will the street price for the Falcon be the same as 
manfacturers retail?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Unlikely.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Sam, could you tell us what promo literature is 
being distributed at COMDEX? Will there be any left for user 
groups, etc.? Any news about the International Software Catalog? 

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Atari is giving away new Atari Falcon 030 
literature and many software companies have attractive new 
literature such as Hi-Soft and DMC's Calamus. It is a good idea to 
send some to our loyal user groups. I will talk to Mr. Brodie 
about this and the new International Software Catalog is available 
at, I think, $12.95 retail and I'd be happy to fill your order 
with your VISA card #. Please call Sunnyvale and speak to Don 
Thomas next week, in customer service. It is, in fact, $12.00. We 
just checked.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Just two more... please? And could you have someone 
post the address for the catalog? On GEnie... of course. ;-) Bill 
Prang then Mike Allen to close it up.

<[bill prang] B.PRANG> Will a 17 in multisync work on the Falcon, 
and what is the approximate financial investment now required to 
be a dealer? thanks for your attendance.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Atari Corp., 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA, 
94089-1302 Att: Customer Service, Don Thomas.

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> es, the size of the monitor is not a factor and 
the Dealer should be financially sound. The investment required 
depends on the sales targets and marketplace being served.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Mike Allen... take us home...

<[Curmudgeon] M.ALLEN14> I have heard the Atari purchased the 
source code to Word Up 3. I have thought that WU3 was a WP that 
had great potential that ALMOST had it right. Does Atari have any 
plans for the WU3 source code? (Will Falcon run on th Falcon?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Mike Fulton has helped a lot on the Concierge 
program and he has given a lot of his Word Up experience to it. 
There are no plans for Word Up at this time.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> No text block Sam. Just a tremendous thank you. I 
know we did not cover all the questions that were sent to you via 
GEnie but I would like to express my thanks on behalf of all 
Atarians for the time you took tonight. Best wishes. Any last 
thoughts?

<[Sam] STRAMIEL> Thanks for joining us tonight in Las Vegas. We 
all hope that we make money tonight at the tables. :-) Wish us 
luck! Goodnight.

<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks to all the folks who joined us. Don't forget 
the two upcoming RTC's here in the ST Round Table with Host Brian 
Harvey.

=================================================================

Nov. 18th... Keith Gerdes from TraceTech to discuss DATA DIET 2.0 
and DATA RESCUE.

Nov. 25th... Phil Comeau from Wintertree Software - Publisher of 
GramSlam, Grammar Expert and Spelling Sentry.

=========== The Atari ST Round Table - Join the fun! ============

Edited August 3, 2021 by pacman000

[calimero]

Thanks a lot!!!

 

some notes:

 

”One megabyte machine SRP is US $799, a 4 megabyte unit is $999 and 4 
megabyte with a 65 megabyte hard drive is US $1299”

 

Is this was real starting prices of Falcon in USA?

It was almost same as ST: Bundled with an external 360K single sided 3.5 inch floppy drive, mouse and monochrome monitor, ST costs $799.

[calimero]

This question best describe state of computer world at time:

1 hour ago, pacman000 said:

Any signs of BIG NAME companies porting BIG 
NAME software to Atari (Microsoft Write, PageMaker, QuarkExpress). 

like Sam replay: at time (1992.) Atari had much better programs for less money then this BIG NAMES but only small portion of computers users know this, or recognize this... 

[Chri O.]

30 minutes ago, calimero said:

65 megabyte hard drive is US $1299”

I personality pre-order & paid this much for 85 megabyte hard drive from the Atari dealer at that time.

Interesting 

[atarian1]

 

2 hours ago, calimero said:

Thanks a lot!!!

 

some notes:

 

”One megabyte machine SRP is US $799, a 4 megabyte unit is $999 and 4 
megabyte with a 65 megabyte hard drive is US $1299”

 

Is this was real starting prices of Falcon in USA?

It was almost same as ST: Bundled with an external 360K single sided 3.5 inch floppy drive, mouse and monochrome monitor, ST costs $799.

1 hour ago, Chri O. said:

I personality pre-order & paid this much for 85 megabyte hard drive from the Atari dealer at that time.

Interesting 

Atari replaced the 65 MB hard drive with an 85 MB hard drive when they couldn't get 65MB hard drives anymore. This happened pretty early in the Falcon's release too, so it paid to be patient not to be the first on the block to buy a Falcon. ?

 

[Chri O.]

15 hours ago, atarian1 said:

so it paid to be patient not to be the first on the block to buy a Falcon. ?

Don't think I was patient more like lucky one. ?

Here is the original 85 megabyte hard drive pic.

[Clint Thompson]

Sadly I had no idea of the Falcons existence until sometime in late 94 or early 95 thanks to Toad Computer catalogs but they were asking prices like $1,899 IIRC for a fully loaded machine then. I wish Atari would have continued pushing the Falcon and had they been smart enough to include a single page pamphlet for an Atari Falcon computer with the Jaguar and/or Lynx, especially at prices of $799 or $999, I would have figured out a way to have bought one.

 

I either had a 286 Leading Edge or 386 Zenith IBM PC at the time of getting the Jaguar for Christmas of 1993. Really wanted a higher-end 486 Multimedia PC but couldn't afford one as I think the Packard Bells were going for around $2,400 during that time.

 

Atari seemed incredibly short sighted in that regard. What were they even thinking.

[zzip]

8 hours ago, Clint Thompson said:

Sadly I had no idea of the Falcons existence until sometime in late 94 or early 95 thanks to Toad Computer catalogs but they were asking prices like $1,899 IIRC for a fully loaded machine then. I wish Atari would have continued pushing the Falcon and had they been smart enough to include a single page pamphlet for an Atari Falcon computer with the Jaguar and/or Lynx, especially at prices of $799 or $999, I would have figured out a way to have bought one.

 

I either had a 286 Leading Edge or 386 Zenith IBM PC at the time of getting the Jaguar for Christmas of 1993. Really wanted a higher-end 486 Multimedia PC but couldn't afford one as I think the Packard Bells were going for around $2,400 during that time.

 

Atari seemed incredibly short sighted in that regard. What were they even thinking.

I knew about it when it came out only because I was subscribed to Atari User,  really wanted one, but because I had just gotten an STe the year before, it was too frivolous a purchase.   Figured I'd wait, but a few years later when it time it came to upgrade, 486's came down in price and were too compelling.   The Falcon and Atari computer line were already discontinued and was a dead end.   So I never got to own one.

[Cyprian]

I heard about Falcon in the late of '92 from Polish paper magazine.

We had some Atari focused paper magazines like STfan and STeFan, and in the second one (issue 1992/3) was a great article about Falcon:

 

Edited August 6, 2021 by Cyprian

[oky2000]

I knew about it because even rubbish TV shows like Bad Influence covered it, but it also seemed to be axed pretty quickly too and all efforts going just to the Jaguar I seem to remember reading in many multiformat magazines I used to buy back then.

 

Never got to use one sadly though but I will never buy one now because, just like the Jaguar, the time to start collecting for it is long past....probably by half a decade looking at prices.