David Pleasance - You what!?

[edd_jedi]

We all know that Commodore's management was questionable at best, but I've just been reading an old issue of Amiga Format from 1993 and I can't actually believe what I'm reading. I know hindsight is invaluable, but even then people that were clued up must have read this and laughed (I certainly wasn't clued up back then!)

I have attached the interview, which is with David Pleasance (Commodore's UK MD at the time.) Now correct me if I'm wrong, but most of what he says here is not just nonsense, it's impossible! A few choice comments:

1) Next up from Commodore will be a "Risc Pentium 586 computer"
2) This new computer will be "five times faster than a Pentium"
3) The new AAA chip will be 10 times more powerful than AGA, and "you can put Mac chips on it"
4) "We have a problem with A4000s... The daughter board that controls the hard drives... something to do with condensation"
5) "We can't buy hard disks cheaper than end users"

I don't think I've ever read so much rubbish, I literally laughed out loud at some of it No wonder poor Commodore didn't survive icard

 

[-Acid-]

Surely it's well established by now Commodore was run by morons?

 

[status]

Surely it's well established by now Commodore was run by morons?

I find the term moron quite soft in that occasion

 

[Templar]

I'm surely you make a mistake here. David Pleasance was one the best employee of Commodore UK back then. I heard a rumours some years ago, that David Pleasance was to buy Commodore after the liquidation of the company, but I'm not 100% sure if that stands correct.

 

[Merlin]

Commodore did make some PCs (or at least rebranded some)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_PC_compatible_systems

Point 1 on that list isn't necessarily bovine by-products. Maybe not a 586 though.

As for Points 2 to 4, I'm lost for words...:wooha:

 

[commodorejohn]

He looks like a mistake at the John Rhys-Davies factory.

 

[portarinos]

On the other hand it should be rather unfair for him to be accused of poor performance during his CBM UK years. I always thought that Commodore UK was the only CBM branch on profit in the last years before the ship shank, so i suppose they were doing decently well also thanks to him. Anyway, you can always contact him and ask

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-pleasance/a/447/610

 

[Killerchicken]

That AAA stuff isnt a such a lie ... they nearly got it but froze it '91 for the amigas

 

[edd_jedi]

From the magazines I've read he seems like a decent guy and passionate about the platform, but I'm just amazed that somebody so senior would be allowed to talk such rubbish. It's like Bill Gates claiming the next Xbox will be 256-bit with iOS compatibility!

 

[RED IMPACT]

Thanks for the article

 

[BrooksterMax]

I thought he was one of the good guys at the time and remember his friendly face in Amiga Format (there was Kelly Sumner as well (CBM UK MD)).

CBM UK were trying to take over the CBM business at one point when it all fell apart? He led the effort right?

Clearly some comments were misguided but I think there is also some marketing spin and hype there too.

Oh the memories!

 

[Justin]

ask him, he is on facebook

 

[edd_jedi]

ask him, he is on facebook

Haha could do, I also noticed he's on LinkedIn. I wonder if he looks back on the Amiga period with fondness as Petro seems to.

 

[BrooksterMax]

ask him, he is on facebook

Haha could do, I also noticed he's on LinkedIn. I wonder if he looks back on the Amiga period with fondness as Petro seems to.

Here he is on LinkedIn (public profile)

uk.linkedin.com/pub/david-pleasance/a/447/610

"Recently returned to Europe, I am intent on securing a role, at a level commensurate with my background, and within a challenging, demanding and financially rewarding organisation, where my drive, tenacity and professionalism can make a real difference."

Looking for work - any open Moderator positions at Amibay? He likes his commas!

 

[Justin]

ask him, he is on facebook

Haha could do, I also noticed he's on LinkedIn. I wonder if he looks back on the Amiga period with fondness as Petro seems to.

i'll ask him, he is a facebook friend

"Hi Justin, Commodore and in particular the Amiga was a huge part of my life, and nothing before or since can come close. I am very upset at what little was done by all those involved since the Bankruptcy, not one person had any idea of the potential and the major opportunity that existed at that time. Not the least is the technology that the Amiga engineers in Westchester were developing. A tragic loss of chip development still miles ahead of what is out there today."

still fond of the beloved Miggy but hates everything after 2000.

 

[NinjaRabbit]

I can't help but wonder how much of that interview is *journalist-altered* nonsense, myself.

 

[BrooksterMax]

David Pleasance - You what!?

Wow justin great read direct from the man. I always thought he was one of the good guys from all the stuff he did writing in Amiga Format, I'm sure he used to have a regular column in there too.

 

[Justin]

booker, he's actually a really nice guy to talk to and he did want to make a difference, but things were not meant to be

 

[Harrison]

I remember that article, and a few others in the magazines at the time. He really was fighting hard for the Amiga and although that article has a lot of wrong information, I think if you read the comments you can untangle most of them, for example he probably meant in regard to the Mac, that it would be powerful enough to emulate one easily. It is probably the editor or article writer not understanding what he meant, or mis-quoting a lot of it.

Something worth pointing out is that under his leadership the UK part of Commodore was the only one in the black and making a profit at the end, hence the reason he was attempting a buyout. Such a shame he didn't manage it, although I doubt he could have secured enough funds to keep it going for long.

And the AAA chipset and next gen motherboard designs already complete and never uses was the greatest shame of them all. If this had been in the A4000, rather than the cost cut AGA chipset things would have been so different for the Amiga.

 

[edd_jedi]

Oh I agree with him, what happened after was even more of a shambles. How 'Amiga Technologies' thought they could sell a machine that was £299 in 1993 for £399 in 1995 with worse software bundles is beyond comprehension. Yes the Amiga had a massive potential market and loyal userbase, but they were never going to add to that userbase at that pricepoint.

If they had got it out a year quicker, included a basic HD and priced at at £249, Amiga would still be a household name now rather than a laughing stock.