The new state of the Amiga. MOST OF YOU have probably heard the news that there is yet another head honcho of Commodore’s U.S. operation. Having served for some two years, Harry Copperman has been moved over to a nebulous multimedia position with Commodore International, and James Dionne, former head of Commodore Canada, has taken the U.S. reins as general manager. I liked Copperman. He was bold and brash and did a good job. He was also a bit fatalistic, especially when he said that if he left he was going to turn the lights ofT. Apparently Copperman felt that he, and he alone, had the last chance to make the Amiga really happen in the US, and either his aggressive plans would work swimmingly or we'd all drown. We’ve called West Chester a few times since Dionne took over, however, and they told us that all the lights were still on. There are, however, a lot fewer employees. Just as the firm announced its new chief, it began to lay off ten to fifteen percent of its US work force. For many of these people, the employment prospects unfortunately aren’t that bright. I’d hate to see some of these folks slaving away at the West Chester Burger King, but there just are not a lot of hot computer companies down that way. Layoffs in the computer industry, especially if followed by more layoffs, often herald the obsolescence of technology and the essential demise of the firm in question. This has led some to worry about the future of the Amiga in the US. They fear that this great computer might go the way of the Osborne, the Timex Sinclair, and the Coleco Adam. But, unlike these has-beens, the Amiga does not deserve to die. There are no cheaper, better systems kicking sand in its face, and Commodore as a company has far from given up. The moves do, in my opinion, signal a major shift in Amiga strategy. For better than two years, Copperman and crew tried to do strategic battle with IBM and Apple, pushing things like the A3000, Unix, and Amiga Vision. They tried valiantly to fight these heavies on their own turf. But when you fight the big boys their way, you shouldn't be surprised when they don’t bruise. According to the people I’ve spoken with (including the man himself), Dionne’s chief strength is his ability to sell a lot of machines. Commodore, I believe, is going to do things its way, the old way, the simple way that got 11 million C-64s sold. It is going to let price and broad distribution do the job that millions in TV advertising dollars failed to do sell tons and tons of machines. I believe it will work, and that in time we will see an increasing number of new users, mainly of the A500, The only real barrier is the state of the economy and its effect on consumer spending, but everyone (except maybe liquor stores) is susceptible to that. The result of this thrust should be a healthy overall increase in inexpensive machines, which means more software going out the door, particularly games and low-end productivity stuff. It also means a long life ahead for the Amiga.