9-28-96


 Jason Compton
 VIScorp
 111 N. Canal Street
 Suite 933
 Chicago, IL 60606

                                                             9/28/96

 Mr. Compton,

     Thankyou for your call, I can only put forth the effort to
 communicate how important it was and is to me. And hope my continuing
 communication efforts succeed. Alot is up to you here. As you have
 expressed to me, all mail is being directed thru you. To use and
 analogy: a simple 741 op-amp is of greater value when the componets
 are added to cause/allow feedback. Without it, little if any can be
 accomplished.

     As I responded, I really do understand and already knew that until
 VIScorp completely has the Amiga it would not be wise to proceed with
 energy (manpower, finances, etc.) on that which is dependant on having
 the Amiga. Please know this, that I know this. So why am I still
 communicating, rather than waiting? Because I see something else,
 something important, something that is not dependant on weither or not
 VIScorp gets the Amiga (though it can, if there, contribute alot).

     What it is I see is not a tangible asset but that which is very
 important to producing the needed tangible assets. That which can cut
 thru all that has been blocking such asset production. And what this
 is, is the attitude to ask, really listen, think and respond with
 honesty, with the objective of producing value. I also recognize the
 struggle the Amiga has gone thru, those looking back and seeing with the
 20/20 vision of hindsight, are also the ones to have reason to have this
 attitude. And it is this attitude and reason for it, that is extreamly
 important and priceless in value, a value beyond calculation simply
 because you cannot calculate the tangible value it creates until you have
 what it creates to calculate. Tangible values so many see and know could
 have existed by now via hindsight, but doesn't exist now due lack of
 having the priceless intangible value needed long ago.

     A priceless value that can be created/caused by struggle, but in this
 case it happens to be the Amiga, for so many, as the focal point of the
 struggle. An attitude/value worth keeping regardless of the focal point or
 whatever its evolutional direction becomes. At best, the focal point,
 the struggle, will succeed productively producing ever increasing
 value. And when it's time has come, it will be looked back on and
 appriciated for it's stepping stone value to even greater value production.
 As the struggle vanishes, converts to success, the priceless value, the
 attitude need not vanish.
     There are many other valid focal points to apply this attitude to,
 to shift the attitude focus to, rather than lose it altogether. Some
 focal points may, in their success, not be worth as much as others.
 Some will be worth a great deal more than the success of the Amiga.
 But it is this intangible priceless attitude that is simply to valuable
 to lose so easily.

     Jason, I could have communicated with ESCOM, but I did not. Simply
 because I did not hear or see any effort on their part of requesting
 feedback and honestly listening. Of establishing a strong and viable
 feedback loop with their end users/customers and all in between.
 Experience has proven to me that unless the ears are open, of those
 you put forth the effort to communicate with, there will be no valid
 productive feedback loop established. (i.e. Escom did not have their
 ears really open and it was only thru Tim Jensons little understanding
 of the german language that Tim was able to know and put forth the
 effort to correct an error on their part about him, obiviously and
 totally missing the fact Tim has tangible reason to love the Amiga.
 Clearly showing that ESCOM was never really intouch with tangible
 value to begin with.) I was not wrong in not trying to communicate
 with ESCOM, Mr. Jenson has alot more tangible proof than I, but it
 all comes down to asking and really listening but ESCOM never really
 asked.

     VIScorp, on the other hand, has been asking. Not once, twice but
 continues to ask. And VIScorp has those whom have been responding,
 sometimes with great effort on the part of those who need to respond
 (i.e. and in no small way, AAi+++, of which even you took part in).

 (Side-tracking, parrallel track, for a moment)
 BTW, Ray, owner of ACS here in Atlanta was called by ESCOM and asked
 what he thought about the, at the time, planned AAi banquet. His
 responce was lacking in support. The reason I'm telling you this is
 not because ESCOM didn't show, though Rays responce may have
 contributed to ESCOMs reason (really I'm mumbling "excuse"), but
 mostly for the importance of honesty and the valid feedback it allows to
 happen. Ray is a good person, but everytime I go over to ACS, I see
 or become aware of something Ray is doing without realizing it. He
 throws opportunity away. He often is given peices of a puzzle but
 throws them away before he receives the matching, value generating,
 peice. Only to realize to late what he did, but never correcting what
 he needs to correct to stop doing this.
     Jason, Ray is an Amiga Dealer, and I did take the time to write
 him about this thing he does and how to correct it. I took it to him
 a few days ago. I don't know if he read it. But as an Amiga Dealer, he
 needs to correct. You might call him, though it would be up to you
 as to what to say, but you are in a position to make a strong
 impression on him that he may make the correction he needs. Perhaps
 something along the lines of not throwing puzzle peices away so
 quickly. ACS (770) 263-7852.


 (Back on the main track)
     VIScorp, so far, appears to really have it's ears open. And in so
 many ways I recognize this as the best I've seen anyone, and I do
 anyone as in individual and/or company, having their ears really open.
 And I, no, alot of people, need this, right now, in a very very big way!

     I don't know what will become of the Amiga, I really do want to
 see it happen and in a very big way. But what I'm counting on here, is the
 open ears to hear, think, understand and know I am not on a pedistal but
 in a ditch being dug by those whom don't have their eyes open. And
 I want so much for their eyes to open and see, so to stop digging this
 ditch deeper and deeper but to help all of us out of it and even fill
 it in while filling in alot of other ditches. A ditch that is quickly
 becoming a canyon.

     Please Mr. Compton, hear what I'm saying. I looked thru my Amiga
 programming related books last night, Rom kernal manuals, Lattice C
 manuals, other Amiga programming books, as well as books on OS
 development, Complier and Interpreter writting. I also looked at the
 dictionary and thesaurus, the way they are layed out. I see the
 structure, logic, and representation of processes, I see what is
 common with all of these, I see what is constant. I thought about
 programming, problem solving, but most of all I see an answer to
 many problems, a single problem solved that can easily cause such a
 level of positive productive impact that I'm very concerned that you
 might turn away in disbelief. I'm concerned that your ears may close,
 that you'll be blind to something so simple, something there is no
 valid reason not to do. Concerned that if I tell you even some of what
 the impact WILL be, you'll think to yourself, nobody can tell the
 future and you'll be both right and wrong, but you'll still miss it.
 You'll be right, nobody can tell the future. You'll be wrong in that
 those whom are creating the furture are calculating it, have the
 vision to see what the future is going to be. And in their
 calculation, if they are wise, they know how to adjust so to keep on
 the track of positive productivity, value generation.

     What is in this for me? At best, the opportunity to earn a very
 good living while doing what I'm good at and enjoy. A very small
 reward, in comparison to the overall value the impact it will have.
 What is in this for VIScorp, credit for being the company that
 listened and did and does, and the opportunity to receive plenty of
 value for continuing to do. What is in this for everyone else? The
 removal of very costly/non-productive problems. The reduction of time,
 frustration and distraction caused by these non-productive problems.
 The availability of finances otherwise spent on dealing with these
 non-productive problems. Finances that can be better invested in
 positive productive efforts. And there is alot more to gain but this
 alone, it's impact as you'll see, is quite large.

     Although there is a great deal more to do than anyone individual
 or company (regardless of size) can do, it all starts with something
 very simple. In example of why all there is to do, is more than even
 the company microsoft can handle, take a good look at the AAi X-10
 video, a team-work effort of the whole spectrum, from successful
 companies like NewTek, Motorolla, as well as the Media, politics,
 developers, some whom know nothing about the Amiga, and most of all
 user groups - the users. THE USERS! Who else could have done this with
 such a level of open and inherent honesty, than the users. That it is
 honestly the user in all of us, whom spoke up. Not the Business owner,
 Not the Media person, Not the - well maybe the politian, but it was
 the user whom spoke up. I do believe you see, know and understand this,
 Mr. Compton.

     Although I was not involved in the video or any part of the
 material used, I know it took time and effort on the part of many to
 create it. And it will take a little time before it spreads far and
 wide, but I know that it will. How? For the same reason someone saw
 and communicated the Question "Will Commodore survive?" Only here
 the message is good and positive.

     Likewise, I know success won't happen in a day, but I also know
 that no matter how hard and long one might try, No company, No media,
 No one with inherent direct personal gain, could ever cause, or would
 even likley know to allow, such a work and message to be communicated as
 the X-10 video, without something to bring them together, without the
 users genuine involvement.

     This letter is not about the X-10 video, but I am presenting you
 peices, very important peices, of an important puzzle to solve. A
 puzzle that has a solution, a simple solution. And I feel it
 important, that you see the peices before I identify some of the
 results of the problem and identify the missing peice.

     A problem-

     In the U.S. alone:

     31% of software development is cancelled = $81 billion
     53% of software development is challenged - late, cost overruns
                                              = $59 billion
     16% of software development success.

     Dollar for dollar, most of the money is spent on maintaince and
     repair.

     These non-productive investments are not a complete loss, the
 money does go into circulation. But there is no value being generated in
 it transfer for non-productivity. And this is only the part that was
 calculated. What is not calculated is the non-productive expence of the
 end-user time, frustration and distraction in dealing with failure, the
 loss of company finances in both paying the user for their non-productive
 time and the resulting inability to invest this money in productive
 efforts. Not to go into the overall impact of this in industry in general.

     With just the above figures, that's over $140 billion in the U.S.
 alone. This is annually and it's a growing canyon, made from many small
 ditches.

     If the missing piece only corrects 1% that's $1.4 billion. But the
 missing peice is alot more than just a small fix. It is a key peice in
 bringing many together and in many ways.

     Jason, I told you I am not a programmer, but I realize you may find
 this a bit puzzling with what I have communicated to you. The fact is I
 did specifically go to College to take a few programming classes (Intro to
 programming, basic, C and advanced C programming) receiving a straight 4.0
 GPA. I have as well and amoung other interest, studied on my own. Also
 having a background in electronics study, with 4.0 marks. But what I have
 done for a living has been building things, often where I'm allowed to
 apply my creative talents to solve problems. And although I'm above average
 in all of this, what I'm really good at is finding simple solutions or
 things that can be done to inherently improve productivity, lower cost,
 while maintaining quality and increasing value. And it does not seem to
 matter what I focus on, given enough time I'll make inherent, certain to
 succeed, progress. Often without the recognition I honestly am owed. The
 side effect of seeing and doing simple things that are often not so easy
 for others to see, and why they don't see and do it themselves. It is
 not unusual for others to find mystery in me, think I have a second
 life, to play head games in order to "figure me out", etc.. But I know
 telling you this is important to help clear up questions you may have
 about me, perhaps even help give support to the fact the peice of the
 puzzle I see is not theory, not ego based, but more than just an
 simple application, but an application that will take hold and with
 certainty.

     So why have I not created this peice, if it is so simple?
 Distractions and the need to earn an income. I did try to get a job
 as a C programmer but it was at a time when things were slow,
 employers had choice pick and I didn't and don't have a degree. Fact
 is, if this peice existed 8-9 years ago, I'd been able to create it
 with ease, but then I'd not needed to create it, however, I would have
 made use of it and earned a good income from making use of it. And
 things would be much different today, not so much because I would be
 using it, but that many would be using it. And alot of little things
 add up and cause team-work, alot of little things working together to
 create additional benefits otherwise not possible from not working
 together.

     Actually, for me alone, creating this peice, seeing it being
 applied, defining it in terms of the inherent constraints of computers,
 and communicating it is no simple task. It takes alot in the way of
 concentration in depth and width and on many subjects, focus to see
 and consider alot at the same time, the ability and effort to not become
 subjective and to know when I am becomming subjective or biased and to step
 back so to regain proper focus. I saw this peice and sat down at my
 A1000 some 8-9 years ago, thinking that with all I saw and knew about
 computers, electronics and programming, it wouldn't take much time to
 do this. But what I found was what hasn't been done, something basicly
 simple. Something an experienced programmer could do with a little
 time. Problems been, I'm not an experienced programmer (if I was I would
 probably be to subjective and biased). And distraction and the need to
 earn an income have kept me from the energy and time I need to define
 it in such a manner that a programmer(s) will understand enough to
 create it, even though they may be to subjective or biased to really
 fully understand its functionality (but will certainly and quickly see it
 or some facet/application of it and begin using it, once they have it to
 use). And this is important to note, so many will see only some facet
 of it they can use to increase their productivity.

     But it is simple, especially in comparison to the problems it can
 and will inherently solve.

     Jason, you may have already guessed, I'm talking about the V.I.C.
 and please, please, please do not be distracted or become blind due
 terms I have used, such as Virtual Interaction Core, Knowledge
 calculator, imagination, etc.. Perhaps I shouldn't have used such
 terms, but they are correct terms, only they are terms which will
 become accepted as it's use evolves. Instead of seeing these terms,
 look at the functionality of AI and PK as I have defined them in
 some detail (see disk w/VISION directory). And realize what I have
 defined can easily be done/programmed. Understand the rest of it,
 what I haven't yet defined/written, can, as well, be easily
 done/programmed. And once level one is done, the hardest part is
 over with. To use a metophore, the engine cranked and running, all
 that is needed is for people, developers and users to get in and go.
 And this will happen, perhaps slow at first but as people begin to
 realize they can easily combine parts they produce with part others
 produce (not just texual scripts, definitions and processes, but
 programs complied and intrepreted, as well as compilers and
 intrepreter). They will see and understand more and more, inherently,
 easily.
     A great deal of energy and expence went into producing the ROM
 Kernal manuals and other books on Amiga programming. Now I seem to
 believe the ROM kernal manuals had/has some kind of online aid
 version. I don't know enough about it to say more, but I do see such
 information being applied via the V.I.C. to write code. I see the
 information in the Lattice C manuals also being used as well as the
 compiler being set in motion, all via the V.I.C. I see the lists of
 Do's and Don'ts listed in the ROM Kernal manual being automically
 handeled/adheared to via the V.I.C.. I see these parts having been
 created separately by different companies, using whatever text format
 each saw fit to use for themselves. But thru the V.I.C. they can all
 work together to give the programmer ease and greater certainty of
 success and very low bug count. Actually this is rather easy for me to
 see, but I also see where natural language processing is then added to
 give the end user ability to produce programs (with the web languages
 and authoring packages, already many have access to programming without
 knowing much about programming but the ability to logically organize
 their thoughts and do with the given tools, but even here many that can
 don't because they don't have the time). I see many contributing to
 creating, refining, sharing improvements. I see users doing this.

     And this is only the subject of programming. There is alot more!

     Mr. Compton, I know/suspect that right now much is being sent thru
 you in the form of user feedback, from around the world. It has taken
 me these past two weeks of not working, to deal with distractions,
 including the physical pain of a pinched nerve in my neck, to find and
 apply my focus back in the V.I.C.. Only to know after I write this
 letter to you I'll make a few notes before I go back to work tomarrow,
 sunday. To work at an exhibit house and a forman I have never meet. They
 called me today, they are in a pinch and need me for around eight days with
 long hours. I need the money but I know this type of work is not good
 for my neck.

             Jason, help me to help many, please.


                             Tim Rue


                             timrue@mindspring.com

     P.S. don't forget about Ray at ACS, thanks.
Email: timrue@mindspring.com