Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Sun actually approached Commodore about using Amiga technology for 680x0 workstations, while they were focusing on SPARC, but Mehdi Ali told them to go away.

He also was nasty toward (IIRC) Epson during final negotiations for a large deal for the Japanese market. Later, the deal was revived and he insulted them a second time.




The Amiga Unix licensing failure was an impressively well aimed shot to the foot.

Medhi Ali was responsible for gutting Commodore engineering and replacing with mostly cheaper PC people. Which led to the cost-cutting A600 that actually turned out more expensive to produce than the 500 it was supposed to replace. Dave Haynie had a lot to say about that era, all of it free of compliments.

Ali and Gould were drawing more than the CEO of IBM in Commodore's declining years.


From what I garnered from a few documentaries here and there long ago, Mehdi Ali was responsible for driving other companies into the ground too, and escaping those ships richer than he was when he got on them.

How does this happen and why is it allowed to?

Are these kinds of CEOs the designated cleanup people who get sent in after a company has been decided to get killed off and they're the [insert butcher analogue for stripping the leftover parts of a corpse]?


Usually board politics and the ones that manage such people in also get their bank account share, and that is all that they care about


The A600 was originally going to be called the A300. (Early models still say that on the motherboard.)

They had to "upgrade" the product name when it turned out they couldn't make it as cheaply as hoped.




Consider applying for YC's W25 batch! Applications are open till Nov 12.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: