Research Machines and Hybrid at BETT92

Jack Wrigley

Members might be interested in comments made in the music technology magazine 'Sound on Sound' for March 1992. Paul Gilby, reporting the BETT92 Education Technology show first mentioned the limited choice of music software for the Archimedes in comparison to the Atari ST and IBM PC computers.

Identifying IBM compatibles as Acorn's main challenge in the education market, he then questioned Research Machines' choice of the PC186 as their education computer. This has enough differences from the PC standard to make it incompatible with most of the vast choice of PC music software and hardware.

Of more relevance to AMPLINEX members, was his surprise at the non-appearance of Hybrid's 'Music Sequencer' for the PC186 (see AMPLINEX 015 and 016) at the very show for the market at which it was aimed. All of Research Machines' display concentrated on their fully IBM-compatible PC286 and PC386 computers.

At a time when the editor is reporting a reduced interest in AMPLINEX, we can only reflect on what might have been.

10 years is a long, long time in the computer world, yet the reality is that AMPLE is currently constrained by the standards of 1982 computer technology. So far, Hybrid's only (albeit non-AMPLE) response is tied to one of the weakest bits of hardware in the PC market.

For the future, I can't see many people hanging on to, or acquiring, 8-bit hardware just for AMPLE - despite the fact that it has to be the best, most flexible computer music system devised.

Today's market demands WIMP-based front ends. Just look at how well Microsoft's Windows operating environment has sold for the PC.

To attract younger people AMPLE needs to be on a machine with a reasonable games base, while we 'wrinklies' require a machine strong in areas like DTP, CAD and Multimedia. Four years on, the Arc market has developed considerable strength in all these areas.

If Hybrid are holding back for the real IBM PC market, then no one can really criticise such a commercial decision; but surely the intervening period could have been more profitably spent on developing an Archimedes version of AMPLE rather than simply a sequencer for the rather oddball PC186?