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           | I · N · T · E · R · V · I · E · W |
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       | Company:      Zeoneo Limited              |
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       | Software:     Candy Factory 2             |
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       | Homepage:     www.zeoneo.com              |
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       | Email:        contact@zeoneo.com          |
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  *Hello, would you please introduce yourselves
   and tell a bit of your Amiga line of business?*

   Zeoneo is a company dedicated to developing the highest standard software products.
   All members of development team, both those who are full time,
   and those who are contracted on shorter terms,
   have backgrounds in development on various platforms,
   including the Amiga.


  *In 2001 you have incorporated under the name of "Zeoneo Limited",
   how did this come about and what made you do it?*

   The company Zeoneo was founded by Matthew Kille
   as a stage from which to showcase new products
   that were in development for the AmigaDE platform.


  *Most Amiga users should know your name through products for the AmigaDE,
   though only few Amiga users own this,
   why of all things did you opt for AmigaDE?*

   AmigaDE and the underlying Intent environment is a very powerful
   and unique development environment.
   The opportunities this platform provides are great;
   though little of this is publicly evident at the moment.
   Not surprisingly, many people misunderstand its significance,
   sadly some dismissing it through ignorance rather than real evaluation.
   In short, for us and Amiga it is the key to a new way of thinking
   both in terms of software design and computer use in general.
   (You will have to take our word for that for the time being though.)


  *Do you continue to see a market for AmigaDE products?*

   Absolutely.
   We are still only scratching the surface of what is possible so far.
   Even though it is still only in its earliest stages,
   it is already a much larger market than the current AmigaOS market.


  *Let's go on to your most current press release, you will release
   Candy Factory 2 for AmigaOS 4.0, what was your reason to also develop for
   the future AmigaOS?*

   It is important to support AmigaOS during its path towards convergence with AmigaDE.
   Only in a thoroughly updated form does AmigaOS stand
   a chance of gaining a stable position in the future.
   Simply creating yet another operating system is not a solution.
   To this end Candy Factory is the logical first step for us,
   not least because we have the original/sole author
   on staff to guide the development.


  *For all of those who don't know what Candy Factory is about,
   could you please introduce Candy Factory?*

   Candy Factory is an application that provides the user the ability
   to effortlessly generate endless different styles
   of high quality professional looking graphics,
   such as buttons, logos, banners, etc.,
   using little more than a black and white outline of the required shape,
   or just text entered directly into the program.


  *Which special features of Candy Factory would you highlight?*

   One of the strongest features of Candy Factory
   is the ability to adjust the visual settings of the project
   the user is working on in real-time.
   The results are just as good as you would expect
   from a ray-tracing/rendering package,
   but in this case there is no need to wait.


  *In what way does Candy Factory distinguish itself
   from other graphics programs?*

   Unlike most graphics programs,
   with Candy Factory you do not need to have artistic talent
   to be able to produce great work.
   Since you can 'play' with the settings
   and instantly see the results in real-time,
   as long as you know when you like something,
   then you will be able to use Candy Factory.


  *How did you establish contact with the original developer Milan Pollé and
   carry on development after Milan Pollé had released
   the last beta version late in the 90s?*


   Milan was known as an AmigaDE developer
   and of course recognised for his work with Candy Factory.
   At that time he was employed by MotionStudios,
   and even developed an AmigaDE game for them.
   When it came to our notice that they were unable to keep up his employment,
   we agreed to step in and give him a full time position with Zeoneo.
   Since it is difficult to find AmigaOS/DE developers,
   particularly those like Milan who have many years experience working
   at other professional game development companies, we were quick to snap him up.
   Later when we discovered that he still held the ownership
   and rights to the product Candy Factory,
   and was at the time the sole holder of the source code,
   we started negotiating a contract for its release.
   We considered this investment as an investment
   not just in an AmigaOS product, but in the wider Amiga future.


  *Could you tell us something about the development of Candy Factory*?

   It is in progress.
   We wont say more until it is near completion.


  *Is there a collaboration or contact with MotionStudios which published
   Candy Factory Pro and which used to be distributed by Titan Computer?*

   We have no association with the named companies.


  *On which system is Candy Factory currently being developed?*

   The first release of Candy Factory 2 will be for AmigaOS 4.0.
   We have not yet made any final decisions about other systems/platforms.


  *Should Candy Factory prove to be a sales success,
   can we count on further programs for AmigaOS 4.0?*

   We understand the Amiga market well
   and we are realistic about the likely sales.
   Candy Factory is considered a long term investment:
   although good sales figures for the product would be encouraging,
   the likelihood of further products beyond Candy Factory 2
   is not dependent on these early results.
   As we come across new opportunities,
   we evaluate them on their relative merit and future potential.


  *How do you see the future of AmigaOS 4.0 and AmigaDE?
   What do you wish for the future of the AmigaOS
   resp. the Amiga  sector/market?*

  There is still a long way to go,but the future looks positive.
  It is obvious that Amiga is not
  going to become a mainstream computer platform again overnight.
  But with sights focused on the future, and with steady progress,
  that could change.
  And in the mean time,
  we will be happy enough to continue using an updated AmigaOS,
  on some new hardware, and watch the integration of AmigaDE and more.

  http://www.zeoneo.com



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