Very Computer

Antic has indeed folded, leaving lots of people angry. James Capparell
is now publishing PC Home Journal. Antic, as a company, no longer
exists. From my understanding, the SF DA's office looked into some
complaints from Antic subscribers but gave up because Capparell claims
PC Home Journal is a totaly separate company (even though Antic was
publishing that magazine at first).

What it boils down to is that lots of people got stiffed. Sad.
It even had an impact on the rest of us producing Atari publications
in the US.

      Bill Rayl/Atari Interface

Atari Corp. killed them, like they've done to so many other small
companies that were trying to make a living in the "Atari market"...

Try calling Atari and see if THEY will give you your $60 back, since
it's their fault you're screwed...

BobR

The problem with Antic and STart was the publishing company, not Atari Corp.
Their other magazines haven't done so well either.

--
   |||    Ed Krimen

  / | \   E.KRIMEN (GEnie)

Quote:Ed Krimen writes:
>Geezus Bob.  Then why has ST Informer, Current Notes, and AIM survived?
>The problem with Antic and STart was the publishing company, not Atari Corp.
>Their other magazines haven't done so well either.

Current Notes and AIM have survived because they're low-key, low-budget,
low-overhead operations. (Can't say from experience about ST Informer,
but I imagine that applies to them too).

STart, Antic, ANALOG, and ST-Log were not produced on the kitchen table
in the publishers' home...

If all that was wrong with Antic was their own doing, why hasn't ANOTHER
big-time magazine stepped into the market to take their place..?
(or Compute's ST's place, or ST-Log's place..)

Why hasn't Ziff-Davis or ABC Publications jumped at the chance to fill
the void in the lucrative Atari marketplace..?

I'll bet you already know the answers... you just don't like to admit it...

BobR

The publishers of STart magazine are solely responsible for 'killing' the
magazine.  They were in deep trouble even before the final issue was released,
and Atari had nothing to do with the actual demise of the magazine.  Poor
management combined with multiple magazine startups without sufficient capital
are more likely responsible.

David Beckemeyer has written in several places about an attempt by a law firm
to collect on already-paid bills, so there is STILL some legal entity which
represents STart magazine.

On a similar note, this is not the first example of a company promising much
and delivering little or nothing.  I'm still mad at Paul "I got money from
Apple and stiffed Atari Users" Haekel for refusing to refund monies paid for
upgrades to ZoomRacks 3.

--

"It was discovered that unity was plural and at minimum sixfold."
        -- R. Buckminster Fuller

2) The domination of the U.S. markets by IBM and Apple products.

3) The change in readership from home-computer-oriented enthusiasts to
   corporate business users.

4) The down-turn in computer sales in the late 1980s.

Need any more reasons?

--

"It was discovered that unity was plural and at minimum sixfold."
        -- R. Buckminster Fuller

No market -> No users -> No Software sales -> No Developers -> No Advertising
Revenue -> No magazine. QED.

Antic Publishing could never be called a well managed business. However,
thier exit from the nationally distributed ST glossy market is fundementally
a result of extreme weakness in the ST market.  Analog, ST Log, and
Compute's ST preceeded STart's exit from the market.  The fundemental reason
was that the publishers could gain a greater return on investment in other
markets.  Although they are very high quality publications, ST Informer,
Current Notes, and AIM are not in the same league as a nationally distributed
glossy magazine and represent the level of journalism that the current
ST market can support.

 ____                                                                    ____

\/\/\/   Oregon Research Associates            Genie: B.LUNESKI1        \/\/\/
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--

mark

This is not misinformation, or speculation... you only have to
have your eyes open and count the number of companies which have
lost everything they put into trying to make a living in the
Atari market.

So Jim Capparall turned out to be a crook... do you think he
entered the Atari marketplace in April of 1982 with the intention
of running off to the IBM market with subscribers' money in 1991?

I think not... his ANTIC magazine was a top-notch source of
information for Atari computer owners for many years.  STart
magazine, whatever your own personal opinion of it, was another
good source of information.

The failure of ANTIC to stay in the Atari marketplace can be
placed solidly at Atari Corporation's door.

Had they developed, produced, advertised, marketed, and actually
delivered computers in quantities to people who would then have
bought Atari related magazines and software, there would have
been no reason to try to siphon off ANTIC's assets and start a
new magazine in a different, more viable marketplace.

Instead, Atari killed the US market for Atari-related products,
and ANTIC, along with many other third-parties, tried to survive
by going elsewhere.

Note that I'm  *NOT*  defending the way ANTIC effectively stole
their subscribers' money.

I  *do*  place the blame squarely where it belongs, with
Atari Corporation.

BobR

  I'm sure I'm not the only net.atarian who "got your point", but I have to
flatly disagree with you. In a nutshell, your primary argument is that
Antic/Start's demise is Atari's fault, for not creating an American presence
strong enough to support a large reader base for the magazine(s).

  To be frank, that is one of the DUMBEST things I've ever heard. I have a
lot of bad things to say about the Tramiels and Atari management, but I
do not think that one of Atari's "responsibilities" is to make a market big
enough to support any magazines (or other peripheral industries) that want to
be associated with the product.

  Atari is out to sell computers and make money. Period. I don't expect too
much else from them, aside from some quality customer support. I don't
expect anything more from any other company, either; you seem to have an
unrealistic expectation of what Atari's duties and responsibilites are, and
are now bashing them for the demise of Antic/STart due to a perceived failure
ot meeting these unrealistic expectations.

  What next? Are you going to blame Atari Corp. because AtariUser magazine is
not printed on slick paper and comes 200+ pages a month? Or that it's Atari's
fault that the computers weren't promoted heavily enough for the Bush
administration to buy more STs and save enough money to lower the deficit? Or
that, if Atari sold more Lynxes, then people would buy fewer Nintendos and
Segas and then the trade imbalance with Japan will go down?

  Geez...

                                                --R.J.
                                                B-)

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Babs: "I'd be terrific! Colossal! Stupendous! Mediocre even!"
Aide: "You are applying for the position of President of the United States?"
                      --Buster's Guide to Part-Time Jobs, TINY TOON ADVENTURES

Our German friends would be better qualified to discuss these matters than me
though.

Herb
--
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