Riyan Productions would like to thank Lionel Menou of our French friends ©Obligement for their kind permission in allowing us to publish this exclusive interview with Gary Peake.
1) Please, could you introduce yourself for our readers
My name is Gary Peake and I am Director of Developer Relations for Amiga Inc. I am actually the oldest Amiga Inc. employee at 49 years old. I was born in Port Arthur, Texas along the Texas Gulf Coast and was living in Houston, Texas when I went to work for Amiga.
2) When did you start using an Amiga and what is your history with this computer?
I actually was a Commodore fan long before the Amiga. I had a Vic-20, a C-64, a C-128, then an A500, now an A3000.
3) What is your current personal Amiga configuration?
A3000 stock except for a Cybergraphics 64/3D card, full ram slots, and about 600 meg of hard drive space.
4) Are you using some Amigas at work?
Several of us have Amiga's here at work. Almost everyone has one at home as well. We have an A1000, my A3000, an A4060T, an A1200 here now working.
5) What was your job before working for Amiga Inc.?
I beta tested and taught new software usage to offices throughout the US for a company I worked for. Prior to that I beta tested software and hardware for Chrysler, Ford and GM new car automobile dealerships.
6) How and When have you been hired by Amiga Inc.?
Sometime during Christmas week 1999 Bill and I were talking about possibilities.
7) And when did you officially began to work for Amiga Inc.?
January 1-2 in 2000.
8) Can you describe your work at Amiga Inc.?
I am responsible for basic Question and Answers for general inquiries to Amiga, developer support and the support web interface, user group interaction, and bringing new developers/partners to Amiga.
9) Could you describe your typical daywork at Amiga Inc.?
Best to say that everyone here works hard, but we also enjoy what we do. I have a more public role, but many here are much more important in the knowledge and experience they bring to Amiga Inc.
10) Do you have a 12 hours day of work, as I can imagine, considering the tremendous amount of mail you send?
Since we enjoy what we do, we will sometimes put in more then 12 hours a day. I am often found at the table, eating supper, laptop grabbing email and I am answering in between bites. :) I know Bill and the others do the same thing from the email time stamps. :)
11) What will be your main tasks for the coming months?
Coordinating with channel partners in getting developer applications and games out so that developers can begin to make some money again.
12) What is your opinion on the Amiga community?
Having been a part of the community for so long, it is home to me and most others here. Like any family, we have some who set unrealistic standards for us and we know this. But the majority of the community is very knowledgeable about what it takes to do what we are doing. They are patient and willing to wait and see what Amiga brings to their table.
13) What do you think about the current Amiga situation?
First, we must get developers back and making money or having the best OS in the world won't really matter. Then we need to get revenue streams going for dealers so they can also make some money and start supporting developers and users again. Once developers and dealers are making money again, users will also come back.
14) Is the Amiga DE conform to the "Amiga spirit" and Why?
Yes, the DE is actually being built by Amiga developers, many of whom worked on the original OS or its updates and upgrades. They haven't lost their touch. :)
15) What are the main reasons an Amiga developer will chose Amiga DE for coding instead of other OS?
Binary compatibility across platforms and hosted OS's. Java is supposed to be that but there are the Microsoft-Sun wars has diluted its current potential. A game or app coded in VP for the AmigaDE can now run, today, on both Linux and Windows platforms. We are working on many devices and other OS's as well, but just what we have covers over 90% of the marketplace today with binary compatibility for developers.
16) Is the number of Amiga DE developers conform to your plan?
Currently we have over 2500 registered developers. That is significant!
17) How many apps have been developed for the AmigaDE at the present time? (even very approximately)
Last count was over 400 available from ftp.amiga.com
18) Will we see "big players" of the computer industry join the Amiga Side? (no name required , of course.. 8)
Yes.
19) Was the "Party Pack" a success?
The Party Pack was designed to give those users who wanted an early glimpse of what we are doing a look at the unfinished product.
20) I was happy to see that CodeWarrior should be developed for Amiga DE... Will we have other good news like this in the coming months?
Absolutely.
21) Could you tell us something about the current AmigaOS development and do you think you'll be in time for the planned milestone?
We always anticipate hitting our milestones. The real world isn't that kind however. But, we don't give up nor do we give less than 100% effort to all of our milestones Bill McEwen sets for us.
22) How many people are currently working for Amiga Inc.?
Including contractors, etc. almost 90.
23) Could you describe the atmosphere at Amiga Inc.?
Upbeat, fun-loving, hard working, dedicated to a purpose.
24) I'm not a coder... I will buy an AmigaOne as soon as possible... What else can I do to support Amiga Inc. ?
Wait till product is out before criticizing.
25) Do you have a question that I forgot, and that you want to answer ? (it was difficult to translate that from french...)
Nothing really. The questions are pretty good ones. :)
26) A message for our readers ?
I just want to thank all the users, developers, and dealers who still support us and who are willing to judge us on what we do not by what others before us have or have not done.
End.
