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Amiga Update (1996-08-21)
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AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga Technolgies, GmbH
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960821
V I S C O R P D E L A Y S P U R C H A S E O F A M I G A
E L E C T R I C S V 1 . 1 A N N O U N C E D
A M I G A I N T E R F A C E F O R Q U I C K C A M
Editor's thoughts:
Nothing comes easily in the Amiga universe! VIScorp has just announced a
delay in their purchase of the Amiga from the Escom bankruptcy trustee.
It looks to be a minor paperwork matter, nothing to be concerned about.
I think we long suffering Amigans can be forgiven for worrying, however.
The market needs some positive news on this front, and needs it soon!
More cheeful news reaches us from from Amiga software developer Chris
Sterne. His announcement of an upgrade to the "Electrics" circuit simulator
is below. As one who has actually done professional circuit board layout on
the Amiga, I find this product very interesting.
We have a long article from the folks at Omnilink Corporation about a new
product Amiga video and animation makers should find interesting. Actually,
we have their press release and some additional information culled from
their WWW home page. You won't be making any wide screen productions with
this product but for less ambitious uses it's well worth a look.
Hope you enjoy this issue!
Brad
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A M I G A P U R C H A S E D E L A Y E D
VIScorp News: August 20, 1996
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chicago, IL
August 20, 1996
Permission Granted to Distribute without Alteration
30 More Days:
VIScorp Announces Extension on Amiga Sale
On August 20, 1996, the trustee for the bankruptcy of ESCOM AG and AMIGA
Technologies GmbH, Bernhard Hembach, extended the closing date for
VIScorp's purchase of AMIGA for 30 days with the support of ESCOM
creditors.
While the agreement is firm, one of the financial institutions supporting
VIScorp in the transaction required more documentation to authorize their
portion of the funding. Satisfied that VIScorp would meet these
requirements, the closing date was extended.
The closing will not be extended past this date.
Contact: Jason Compton, Communications Manager, VIScorp
111 N. Canal St.
Suite 933
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 655-0903 voice
(312) 655-0910 fax
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N E W V E R S I O N C I R C U I T S I M U L A T O R
Electrics (V1.1) Digital Designer is a group of programs for designing and
simulating digital electronic circuits on the Amiga computer. The circuit
to be tested is drawn using simple (NAND, XOR) and complex (74193, 74245)
gates, and may span multiple sheets. Several signal levels (0, 1, X, Z)
and drive strengths permit realistic circuit behavior during simulation.
ARexx is supported for complex simulation scripts.
The price is US$30.00 + US$2.00 (P&P).
Contact: Chris Sterne
1111 west 7th avenue.
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 1B5
Canada
PHONE: (604) 733-6972
EMAIL: chris_sterne@panam.wimsey.com
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A N I M A T O R S / V I D E O G R A P H E R S T A K E N O T E !
AQCVid: Omnilink Corp.'s NEW Amiga interface for use with the QuickCam
August 17, 1996.
Welcome to a whole new ballgame!
Omnilink Corporation is pleased and proud to announce their first foray
into Amiga(TM) hardware development with the AQCVid(TM). A unique hardware
and software solution which allows Amiga users to enjoy the benefits of the
popular PC/Mac QuickCam(TM).
For those of you who are not familiar with the hardware specifications of
the QuickCam, here are a few:
* Up to 320x240 pixel capture.
* 4-bit grey scale (16 shades of grey) for movies. 6-bit grey scale (64 shades
of grey) for still graphics.
* Frame rates up to 24 fps.
* Draws less than 350 milliwatts of current.
* Field of view is approximately 65 degrees (equivalent to a 38mm lens on a
35mm camera).
* Focus is fixed from 18 inches to infinity.
* Lens is f1.9.
A more recent QuickCam model has been introduced, which has 640x480 as one
of its resolutions, with 24bit colour. AQCVid support is tentatively
planned for this model, adding an even greater quality to an already
impressive roster of applications.
AQCVid is currently supporting the PC/Windows version of the greyscale
QuickCam, with a Mac version also tentatively planned for the near
future.This will allow Amiga users greater flexibility in their hardware
configurations.
It is important to note that the AQCVid software allows both 4 and 6 bit
(16 and 64 colour greyscale) in the animations, unlike the 4-bit-only for
PC animations.
This development will allow all Amiga users a new field of applications for
both amateur and professional use.
Here are some of the possible applications:
* Photography in several file formats (JPEG, IFF, Datatypes, etc.) for
desktop publishing, games, multi-media, Internet(homepages, etc.), image
processing, family digital picture albums, conferencing, etc.
* ANIM and CDXL format animations (from live action) for use in games,
multi-media, Internet(homepages(AVI, MPEG), etc.), video (image
processing), family digital video albums, conferencing, etc.
* Whatever else Omnilink, 3rd party developers and Amiga users can dream up.
The AQCVid is designed to work with all ECS/AGA Amigas, and includes
CyberGraphX support. File formats currently include IFF, ANIM5, and
ANIM7.CDXL (animation w/sound) is tentatively planned for a future release.
Users also have the option of time lapse with exposure control. Internet
users have an overwrite previous file function, useful for realtime 'net
video updates.
An ARexx Commodity is also supplied to allow for control of the QuickCam by
other external applications.
16bit audio sampling/playback support is also tentatively planned for 16
bit Amiga audio expansion cards.
As new Amiga models come into being, Omnilink is committed to maintain
AQCVid compatibility with these hardware advancements.
We hope this will show the Amiga community and the personal computing
community of the world, Omnilink Corporation's dedication to the best
personal computer on the planet, the AMIGA.
Developers who would be interested in supporting the AQCVid for their
software and hardware Amiga applications, as well as interested Amiga
users, may contact us through our Omnilink homepage at
[http://www.portal.com/~omnilink/omnilink.html]>[http://www.portal.com/~omn
ilink/omnilink.html] . Our homepage may also be reached through the Amiga
Web Directory at [http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html] and The Viking's Home
Page at
[http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/~viking/]>[http://www.freenet.edmonton.a
b.ca/~viking/] .
More information about the QuickCam and other Connectix products, can be
found in the Connectix home page at
http://www.connectix.com
NOTE:
QuickCam is a registered trademark of Connectix.
AQCVid is a registered trademark of Omnilink Corporation.
Amiga is a registered trademark of VIScorp.
{Following is some of the information from their home page. Brad}
AQCVid Information
Release date: October 1996
Price: $59.99 Introductory offer upon release
Page updated: August 20, 1996
The AQCVid is a hardware/software interface for Connectix Corporation's
QuickCam digital camera. It allows the PC (parallel) version of the
QuickCam to be connected to any Amiga. Listed below are the current
specifications and requierments. we hope to add support for other
QuickCams as well as more save formats such as CDXL and JPEG. Also
included is an ARexx host commodity which allows the use of the QuickCam
within an ARexx script.
Minimum Requierments:
Amiga 500/600/1200/2000/3000(T)/4000(T)
Harddrive
Processor: 68000
Ram: 1 Meg Chip
Chipset: ECS
O.S.: 3.1
Connectix Gray Scale QuickCam, IBM-PC version
Recommended:
Processor: 68020 or better
Ram: 2 Meg Chip 4 Meg Fast
Chipset: AGA or emulation
Software capabilities:
Colors:
16 - ECS/AGA or emulation
64 - AGA or emulation
Maximum Resolutions:
Stills:
323 x 200
161 x 122
80 x 61
Animations:
Anim Op 5 and Anim Op 7W compression:
312 x 200
160 x 122
80 x 61
Anim Op 7L compression:
256 x 200
160 x 122
64 x 61
Image exposure time:
QuickCam timing: 1/10000 seconds to 2 seconds
Software timing: 1/60 seconds to infinity
Save Formats:
IFF-ILBM
IFF-ANIM Op5 Byte
IFF-ANIM Op7 Word
IFF_ANIM Op7 Long
For More information please send EMail to:
omnilink@shell.portal.com
QuickCam is a trademark of Connectix Corp.Amiga is a trademark of VisCorp
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Copyright 1996 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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