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The Icon Bar: News and features: Microdigital at Expo 2003 - the truth?
 

Microdigital at Expo 2003 - the truth?

Posted by Phil Mellor on 20:01, 27/6/2003 | , , , , ,
 
There has been some confusing and controversial reporting of Microdigital's presentation at the RISC OS Expo 2003 show in Holland. You can read Drobe's take on events here. One F. Antonides was in the audience and has provided us with an account of what went on. "I think this review is as accurate as possible, because I didn't make notes and all I did is recollect from memory and write it down. So not all the words he said is literally his speech but the attitude is I think quite to the point. It is written because people who were not there cannot have fully understood the total atmosphere of the presentation."

Mr Antonides is aware of the problems the press have in publishing accurate information, and asks "to view the atmosphere I hope you will publish the whole review and not make summaries or cuts in it." We've tidied up the article slightly, but you can read the verbatim original here.

Incidentally - excuse me one moment while I doff my news hat - I spoke to David Atkins a few days ago. He confirmed that they had been and are continuing to deliver both the Omega and Alpha to individuals, and that I could get my hands on one myself by completing the payment. The network card was "in testing", and supporting the floppy drive required changes and fixes to be made to the ADFS, the source for which they have only just received. He reminded me that at Wakefield he expected the XScale to take around 12 weeks - and as I glance at the calendar I notice we're not there yet. Onwards and upwards...

Putting my news hat back on, apologies for the sparseness of our news coverage just recently. As John hints below, we've still got a couple of aces up our TIBby sleeves...

Link: Account of Microdigital's presentation
 

  Microdigital at Expo 2003 - the truth?
  (23:19 27/6/2003)
  moss (23:34 27/6/2003)
    Chris Williams (03:06 28/6/2003)
      blahsnr (05:58 28/6/2003)
        takkaria (11:00 28/6/2003)
          mavhc (12:36 28/6/2003)
            rob (17:37 28/6/2003)
              26bitKiwi (02:47 30/6/2003)
                blogo (16:19 30/6/2003)
                  Steve Scott (03:49 1/7/2003)
                    Horse (10:37 1/7/2003)
                      moss (15:20 1/7/2003)
                        davidb (18:48 1/7/2003)
 
big_boots_trev Message #92338, posted at 23:19, 27/6/2003
Unregistered user i take from the many reviews posted about this Expo 2003 that only microdigital had the balls to show up. any chance that there might be an article in the future telling us who else went - the website had a number of logos representing companies who attended, or perhaps microdigital (despite some short commings) are the only ones who deserve the free advertising ? hey, how about for those that couldn't attend, a few pictures ?
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
John Hoare Message #92339, posted by moss at 23:34, 27/6/2003, in reply to message #92338

Posts: 9348
Photos can be found at Drobe: http://www.drobe.co.uk/extra/expo2003/

Everyone's obviously concentrated on the Microdigital stuff because it's the most controversial; I agree that there probably should be more coverage of other stuff.

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Chris Williams Message #92340, posted at 03:06, 28/6/2003, in reply to message #92339
Unregistered user Believe me, we sent an editor over there and emailed all companies who exhibited - not much happened (apart from the Microdigital jazz), it was a quiet show. We can't make news up, you know.

PS: Aces, eh? Suuure. I'll pay your 8 and raise you 20.

Chris. drobe. etc.

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Message #92341, posted by blahsnr at 05:58, 28/6/2003, in reply to message #92340
Member
Posts: 11
This is taken from 'Newsshot19' to be found here at the Desk (aka Microdigital Europe) website http://www.deskvof.nl/riscos/news.html

Here is the Dutch text of a portion of Newsshot19 relating to delivery dates quoted verbatim.

"Is de Omega er voor de kerst ?

Na 4 maanden van stilzwijgen heeft MicroDigital dan eindelijk een nieuws over de Omega op hun website neergezet waar we allemaal op zaten te wachten. Volgens hun Newdesk van 26 november is de machine nu in productie gegaan met de verwachting dat de eerste machines voor Kerstmis de deur uit gaan. Wij weten echter nog niet of wij op onze beurt dan voor kerst de eerste machines klaar zullen hebben, maar wij zullen onze uiterste best doen om dit te laten gebeuren."

My translation;

Will the Omega arrive in time for Christmas ?

After 4 months of silence Microdigital has finally posted the news about the Omega we have all been waiting to hear. According to Newsdesk dated 26/11/2002 the Omega is in production the expectation that the first machines will be dispatched before christmas. We do not know if we will get some of the first machines produced but we will try our best to achieve this.

Presumably Desk is one of those members of the press who have been spreading false rumours about Omega delivery dates.

If you doubt the reliability of this information then try looking here;
http://groups.google.com/groups?
q=26+Glover+Microdigital+group:comp.sys.acorn.*
&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=comp.sys.acorn.*
&selm=BA127C22.23DA8%25mike%40IconTechnology.net&rnum=1

Another point I was assured by Frank Kraai from Desk/Microdigital Europe in a long phone call a couple of weeks ago that production Omegas will be shipped with working floppy disks. Thus as it appears that the Omega still does not have a working floppy drive (or is this mis-reporting again from the Iconbar?) then can the machines given out at Nieuwegein be regarded as production machines?
Regards

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Andrew Sidwell Message #92342, posted by takkaria at 11:00, 28/6/2003, in reply to message #92341
Member
Posts: 324
I detect no bias in this article.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Mark Scholes Message #92343, posted by mavhc at 12:36, 28/6/2003, in reply to message #92342
Member
Posts: 660
Your biasometer appears to be working correctly. Good article.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
rob Message #92344, posted at 17:37, 28/6/2003, in reply to message #92343
Unregistered user At last an article by someone without an axe to grind.
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
26bitKiwi Message #92345, posted at 02:47, 30/6/2003, in reply to message #92344
Unregistered user Excellent article. It is nice to hear a good balanced view. Congratulations and keep up the good work
  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
blogo Message #92346, posted at 16:19, 30/6/2003, in reply to message #92345
Unregistered user Yes, of course. MD would be aware of problems the press have in publishing accurate information, especially when they do things like ask the press to leave presentations, or have crap spread out by people like PFJ.

Don't forget all it takes for him to set the record straight is a b***dy email to the press stating the *facts*. He hasn't done that

And also, why remove the Omega news pages from their site? Trying to keep the press out even further? if they have nothing to hide and everything at MD is going along swimmingly, then why not tell people? Something smells.

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
Steve Scott Message #92347, posted at 03:49, 1/7/2003, in reply to message #92346
Unregistered user I'm surprised that companies still rely so much on email. Wouldn't it be better to actually issue hard-copy press releases, or better still, have an actual phone call, perhaps an over the phone interview style thing. Emails get lost, emails contain whatever junk is in that person's head, and it's just plain easy to disseminate false rumours.

I think Drobe pointed it out very well in referring to the hi-tech invention 'the phone' as a very reliable means of spreading hard facts.

From this distance, it looks like MD have created a bloody shambles from a PR standpoint, and really need to re-assess their approach, unless they want to be another broken UK business. I could wait for the dust to settle from this latest event before getting a better idea of what's going on, but at the same time, it's been more or less this way for what, three years?

My two-sen worth...

Steve

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Horse Message #92348, posted at 10:37, 1/7/2003, in reply to message #92347
Unregistered user Hard-copy press releases? Who do you send them to? Is this the 1970s? Acorn issued announcements through the newsgroups and weren't averse to using e-mail and the Web (albeit to a lesser extent) to communicate with customers. I believe that this approach, along with actually delivering pre-announced products, worked rather successfully.

With the emergence of a more "democratic" form of media on the Internet (TIB being an example), there's no need to channel information through dubious press organs whose other principal purpose is to hype weak products in reviews written by "Bob Ronaldson" and other imaginary figures.

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John Hoare Message #92349, posted by moss at 15:20, 1/7/2003, in reply to message #92348

Posts: 9348
It doesn't matter whether a press release is sent by e-mail, or hard copy - it's the content that counts.

If you send them at all, that is. If MD don't communicate with the press, it helps mistakes/lies/rumours spread. It's *not* the other way round.

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 
David Boddie Message #92350, posted by davidb at 18:48, 1/7/2003, in reply to message #92349
Member
Posts: 147
Horse wrote:
Hard-copy press releases? Who do you send them to? Is this the 1970s? Acorn issued announcements through the newsgroups and weren't averse to using e-mail and the Web (albeit to a lesser extent) to communicate with customers. I believe that this approach, along with actually delivering pre-announced products, worked rather successfully.

Except for "Phoebe", of course, but you can hardly blame Probe Launchpad for that! ;)

  ^[ Log in to reply ]
 

The Icon Bar: News and features: Microdigital at Expo 2003 - the truth?