Editor's Notes

Well, my fellow members of the Amiga community, it has been just under a month since I wrote my previous opening comments in this space, and about half a month since the liquidation deadline of February 28. Needless to say, that day came and went without event. Of course, I'm sure few people were truly surprised, after so many other broken "deadlines" over the last few years.

But is it time to give up? To doubt, to fear that the Amiga may be stuck in an eternal pit of bankruptcy, liquidation, negotiation, and stagnation? Not yet. No, I urge you to hold out hope. I don't want to sound like a broken record by saying every month that "it must be almost over!", but every passing month brings us one step closer to the eventual transition, whatever that may be. I won't make any guarantees (who in his or her right mind would at this point), but I think we're going to hear something soon. Clairvoyance? Not really...just a notion. One thing is certain: this can't go on forever. Of course, neither can the Amiga sustain an infinite period of waiting, waiting, waiting...

But what a journey it has been. It's been almost three years since Commodore fell apart; could we ever, in 1994, have imagined where we'd be now? Not likely. If nothing else, those who follow the Amiga situation get to see plenty of unexpected "plot twists." There have been many.

On a more positive note, the Amiga community continues to sally forth; Phase 5 recently made a major announcement concerning its soon-to-be-introduced PowerPC boards for the Amiga (see article below for details), and significant events continue to occur, such as the Gateway Computer Show (Amiga 97) in St. Louis this past weekend. By the way, for those of you who were there, Beth Wise was representing The Amiga Monitor at the event. Some reports and rumors have already begun to circulate, probably the most potentially disturbing of which being QuikPak's last-minute decision not to attend. As of the moment I write this, no hint of a reason is public knowledge. The rumors are flying, of course, and one cannot help but notice that this coincides with the rather dragged-out proceedings in Germany. We will publish a full report on Amiga 97 in the near future, and if all goes well, we'll be able to explain some of the things about it that are still shrouded in mystery.

So are we on the verge of something important? Does resolution stand around the corner? Several things could happen; we can only be sure when we get there. Stay tuned, because we can't be all that far away.

Michael Webb
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief