ahem. way to treat osnews.com for pointing out the bloody obvious, eh?

Quote:

Well, this was rather unexpected. As it turns out, Commodore USA's CEO Barry Altman isn't particularly pleased about the article I wrote earlier today in which I placed a considerable amount of scepticism with regards to Commodore USA and its business (and website). He (not his lawyer) sent us a threatening email demanding we take down the article, post a new correction article, the whole shebang. The entire email - as an image, you'll want the original formatting - after the break. Our reply? We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram.

very, er, 'CEO'-like, barry. maybe our friend the 'CTO' would like to comment further?

-- eliyahu


UPDATE @ 2350UTC: for those just starting to read this thread, later after posting this, i discovered that the legal threat sent to osnews.com was, like so many graphics, trademarks, and text on the 'commodore USA' site, ripped off from somewhere else. the text of barry's threat to thom was itself plagiarized. from here. the legal threat itself, guys, was copied word for word from some site barry found on google.

UPDATE @ 2/9/10: even the graphics, description text, options, and user guide itself for the phoenix, the only product for which the firm is taking orders, was lifted from cybernet, the OEM manufacturer (see here), without permission -- at least according to the employee at cybernet i spoke with this afternoon.

UPDATE @ 3/9/10: it appears more and more that perhaps barry is a little out of his depth. based on his actual track record in business, he's probably very new at something on this scale. after all, his press release indicates he's received over 270,000 emails lately wishing him and his company well -- this is probably just beyond the attention he initially imagined.

guys, if this doesn't say something to you about what we're really dealing with here, i don't know what will. this kind of behavior hints at something beyond a lack of professionalism to something much, much worse. caveat emptor.

Last edited by eliyahu on 03-Sep-2010 at 01:56 AM.
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"Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal."

@eliyahu

The man is 100% correct... the original post on osnews was based on nothing more then speculations and did portrait C=USA in a very bad light. Nothing to see here that is unusual, completely OK with me to get things straight

_________________
The shadow is cast on who you used to be,
Let me set you free.
Come now, come take my hand, then you'll understand,
We'll go to that forbidden land.

@Argosy

Quote:

The man is 100% correct... the original post on osnews was based on nothing more then speculations and did portrait C=USA in a very bad light. Nothing to see here that is unusual, completely OK with me to get things straight

i see your point, argosy. and you're correct that the article was speculative. but it expressed an opinion based on barry's conduct thus far, nothing more.

the explicit threat to sue is in keeping with that conduct.

i also think that threatening an enthusiast site might not have been the best way to handle it. perhaps his press people -- wait, he doesn't have any -- he should have contacted thom directly and offered to answer any questions he had. maybe allay the concerns which underpinned the original article?

edit: by the way, your avatar rocks!

-- eliyahu

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_________________
"Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal."

@eliyahu

It was expected. Thom doesnt know Amiga and its shady history at all.

_________________
Amiga Developer
Amiga 500, Efika, Mac Mini and PowerBook

@eliyahu

Quote:

but it expressed an opinion based on barry's conduct thus far, nothing more. the explicit threat to sue is in keeping with that conduct.

He did state his personal opinion in a article on a web portal. When you do that, you are liable to suffer the consequences of your words and actions.

Fact is that the original article had nothing in it but speculation and suspicious comments on the behalf of the author. He could have contacted either CommodoreUSA, Amiga Inc or Hyperion for comment... Instead he choose to do none of these things and go with speculations. I say he had it coming....

_________________
The shadow is cast on who you used to be,
Let me set you free.
Come now, come take my hand, then you'll understand,
We'll go to that forbidden land.

@eliyahu

"Somehow the movie "Shaun of the Dead" codes to mind. I'm looking for my shovel now."

_________________
Hate tends to make you look stupid...

I posted this on OSNews' comments (I'm the author).

"I am well within my right to call things as I see them. Dubious website, long list of product announcements that never ship, one product that's merely a Cybernet machine, unilateral press releases, images taken from others without permission, and now an announcement that has attracted the attention of Hyperion's - a legitimate business - lawyers. I'd say me being careful and thinking this is a hoax or a con until proven otherwise is perfectly validated.

I seem to recall boatloads of people saying the same - and worse - about Psystar, and nobody here gave a crap about that either.

Prove us wrong, Commodore USA. I'll be the first to apologise."

@Thom_Holwerda

The attention of Hyperion's lawyers... but there is only one and he is working at Hyperion only as a hobby. Nothing wrong with that but you seem to assume like there was real money made on this community.

I dont really trust CUSA either but you are taking Amiga community too seriously

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Last edited by itix on 01-Sep-2010 at 09:42 PM.

_________________
Amiga Developer
Amiga 500, Efika, Mac Mini and PowerBook

@Argosy

Quote:

Fact is that the original article had nothing in it but speculation and suspicious comments on the behalf of the author. He could have contacted either CommodoreUSA, Amiga Inc or Hyperion for comment... Instead he choose to do none of these things and go with speculations. I say he had it coming....

And how exactly do you get in contact with Amiga INC? Even when the web site was up they did not respond to email inquiries and phone numbers was out of service. Now even the website is gone...

@eliyahu

Quote:

From Barry. "I find it amusing, and somewhat incredulous, that the most vocal and critical of the forum members, who seem to delight in formulating opinions based on a pack mentality reflective of uneducated, uninformed, second and third party opinions, have not taken the time or effort to call me personally. Reading these posts over the past few months is reminiscent of watching children playing post office, and listening to the final convoluted and distorted version that usually ends in hilarity. Unlike these trolls and mindless critics, my identity is not hidden by an avatar, and my contact information is available to anyone who cares to reach out, and engage in a conversation, not an online anonymous soliloquy." Barry Altman, CEO, Commodore USA, LLC

source: an email I gather?

Worth repeating if this is -not- from the news articles already linked to, since you would have missed it entirely if you did not read the original posting.

#6

_________________
This posting, in its entirety, represents solely the perspective of the author.
*Secrecy has served us so well*

@Tomas

Like I said, he had a choice of contacting either of the parties involved in the "dispute", yet he choose to speculate and accuse without any facts. That's not journalism and that can even get you in prison in some countries.

_________________
The shadow is cast on who you used to be,
Let me set you free.
Come now, come take my hand, then you'll understand,
We'll go to that forbidden land.

Commodore was a looser, AI was a looser, put them together & what do you get?

_________________
Hate tends to make you look stupid...

@sundown

Two loosers equals a winner?

Like - - is a +

_________________
The shadow is cast on who you used to be,
Let me set you free.
Come now, come take my hand, then you'll understand,
We'll go to that forbidden land.

@Argosy
Kinda useless to contact commodore usa when they are not trustworthy.

@all

I love how OSNews' has included the original email by Bill. No-one has commented yet, but Bill's email address is clear for everyone to see.

bsa@commodoreusa.net

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@djrikki

way to make the community look like a bunch of aholes =]

ps. more so then normal anyways =]

Last edited by terminills on 01-Sep-2010 at 10:23 PM.

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@number6

yup. i remember reading that thread. i actually replied a few times as well, this particular reply being on point. at the time i thought 'commodore USA' was a legit operation. i'm no longer certain of that.

i will add to this discussion, as i did then, that if barry is for real, his 'company' is in desperate need of a PR professional at this point. and a web developer. and maybe someone with actual industry experience, like a design engineer or something. this isn't like 'corporate search, intl.,' after all, or some of barry's many other businesses.

-- eliyahu

Last edited by eliyahu on 01-Sep-2010 at 10:26 PM.

_________________
"Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal."

@djrikki



You know, he could be suing you now ... you seem to forget he is obviously reading these forums, more so now then ever.

_________________
The shadow is cast on who you used to be,
Let me set you free.
Come now, come take my hand, then you'll understand,
We'll go to that forbidden land.

pancakes

Last edited by djrikki on 02-Sep-2010 at 07:56 AM.
Last edited by djrikki on 01-Sep-2010 at 10:37 PM.

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