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Amiga Update (1997-04-04)
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_ __ _ <>_ __ _ ||
/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || A M I G A U P D A T E
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || -News and Rumors-
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_|| (An Occasional Newsletter)
BACK FOR THE FUTURE ||
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AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga Technologies, GmbH
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970404
M O R E O N W O R L D O F A M I G A
C R O N U S A N D P R O D A D A N N O U N C E M E N T
Q U I C K P A K O N G A T E W A Y
P H A S E 5 W E L C O M E S G A T E W A Y
P H A S E 5 M I N O R D E L A Y
A S I M C D F S 3 . 8 A V A I L A B L E
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
First, some comments on our 970401 or April First issue. Just in case
anyone still has any doubts, yes, the entire issue was an April Fools'
Day hoax. We very much hope we caused a few chuckles - and maybe an
embarrassed blush or two once someone realized they'd been
"hoodwinked". The Amiga community could use a little lightheartedness
now and then - we've certainly had enough of the other kind of
feelings. Everything in this issue is real, even though one or two
items have a newsdate of April 1 and the term "Geek Gadgets" may make
some readers suspicious.
We have a long posting to update readers about the upcoming World of
Amiga show in London. It sounds like a good one. We are especially
interested in the new Amiga to be shown - not an AT/QuickPak product,
apparently?? If any of our British readers who attend would like to
share their impressions of the show with us, we'd appreciate it.
ProDAD and Cronus announce a development package that will allow
software to run under both pOS and Amiga OS. That should be of
interest to programmers in the audience.
Both QuickPak and phase 5 have made statements of welcome to the new
owners of the Amiga. We were very pleased to see this, as it shows a
coming together of important players in the Amiga market after what
had been a long and sometimes bitter bidding session. It seems
business sense is prevailing, and that's very good.
We thought we'd run phase 5's announcement of a slight delay in
mailings in case any of our readers are waiting on them.
Finally, there's an announcement of an upgrade to one of the Amiga's
top CD file systems. All in all a quiet set of stories compared to
some of the excitement of recent days. Maybe we're getting back to a
semblance of normalcy? We can only hope.
We hope you enjoy this non-April Fools issue.
Brad Webb,
Editor
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E-MAIL TO THE E-DITOR
Dear Brad,
A good April fool edition. It sucked me in right to the end. I
thought, the Trammiel, Ali and Gould Alliance sounded a bit bizarre
though. The Cheese ball logo, is just the thing some market drone
would dream up. I suspect Dale Larson may not be amused by all the
calls and email he will get by those who did not read the last
paragraph. A pity we cannot get 8 meg CHIP RAM upgrades from Dale, it
would be poetic justice.
Dale Roethig
The Editor responds:
I'm glad you enjoyed it. When I was writing the Cheese Ball story, I
realized it was almost too believable. There's a comment there on
modern advertising, I suppose. There were clues in each story, and of
course the disclaimer at the end of the newsletter. Some folks got so
excited, they never got that far.
I was assured by Colin Thompson, author of the 8 Meg Chip RAM story,
that Dale Larson was in on the hoax. If Colin was kidding me, I just
want to say that, Mr. Larson, SIR, Colin made me do it! (Any chance
he'll believe me?)
Brad
---
I just wanted to send you a quick note to tell you how much I
appreciate the Amiga Update. I have been a regular reader and will
continue to be. You are doing a GREAT service to the Amiga computer.
Thank you again!
Sincerely,
Joe Tracy, Editor in Chief
NewTekniques
The Editor responds:
It's very rewarding when a respected professional in the field
appreciates what you're doing. We don't claim greatness, but "Amiga
Update" is a chance to give something back to an Amiga community which
has been very good to us. We trust the readers will help keep us on
track. Thanks for your comments.
Brad
---
I got really excited about the secret stash of chips. WOW! I just
slid over the name of the law firm and really didn't connect anything
until I got to Erin Blarney. That slowed me down, I backed up and then
realized the whole thing was a magnificent hoax.
You rat!
Dorothy
The Editor responds:
Just to keep the old ego in line, we have this appraisal of your
editor. It's probably more accurate than any other you've read here.
But we did have a lot of fun! (I've known Dorothy for some years and
I'm sure she meant "rat" in the nicest way possible. Hmmm.)
Brad
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M O R E O N W O R L D O F A M I G A
The World Of Amiga Show Is Back Again
PRESS RELEASE
Following its spectacular success last year, The World Of Amiga
exhibition is coming back.
The two-day show will be held at the Novotel Exhibition Centre in
Hammersmith, London, on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May.
All the latest developments in Amiga technology will be on display,
with major hardware and software launches anticipated from the leading
UK and German developers and manufacturers.
Admission prices are £8 for adults and £6 for children.
"After last year's smashing success which saw the re-birth of
confidence in the future of Amiga technology, The World Of Amiga 1997
is set to further enhance the machines' resurgence," said Peter
Brameld, head of show organiser PBA Events.
"With even more hardware and software developments this year than
last, there are lots more reasons for Amiga users to come along to
this unique showcase."
The Big Names Sign Up For The Big Show
The top guns in Amiga computing are lining up to take part in The
World Of Amiga - promising to make the show the biggest and best event
of its kind for years.
The exhibition line-up already includes:
Active Software Blittersoft
Digita International Epic Marketing
Golden Image Guildhall Leisure Services
Hi Soft Systems HiQ Ltd
ICPUG Nova Design - USA
PD Soft Power Computing
Sadness Software Scala UK
Siren Software SNAP Computer Supplies
Wizard Developments
"The impressive commitment to this year's show from Amiga hardware
and software producers is very gratifying - although it was not
entirely unexpected, given the tremendous success of The World of
Amiga 1996," said Peter Brameld, head of show organiser PBA Events.
"Companies that didn't exhibit at last year's show were kicking
themselves afterwards for missing a golden opportunity. They're
obviously determined not to make the same mistake twice!"
The Yanks Are Coming! The Yanks Are Coming!
Renowned producers of image processing software for the Amiga, Nova
Design have announced they will be attending The World Of Amiga show
in May.
The Americans will be bringing along the latest version of their top
rated image processing and special effects software ImageFX. They will
also be showing their exciting video demo reel that demonstrates the
use of ImageFX from broadcast video and film sequences and custom
sequences, including many using Nova's forthcoming Aladdin 4D package.
"Nova Design remains excited about the future possibilities of the
Amiga market," said spokesman Kermit Woodall. "While some companies
have chosen to abandon the format, we continue to provide new and
innovative software to Amiga users worldwide."
Closer to home, ICPUG, Epic Multimedia, Digita International, and
Guildhall Leisure have been talking about their participation in The
World Of Amiga.
The familiar faces from ICPUG will again be running their free
technical advice centre at the show. "We'll have a number of Amigas on
the stand and out team of experts will be ready to help visitors with
their technical queries," says ICPUG's Janet Bickerstaff. "Dave
Pocock, formerly technical support manager at Commodore's Maidenhead
office, hopes to be giving the benefit of his experience on our stand
for one day of the show. Back issues of the ICPUG Journal will be
available and we will also be accepting part year memberships."
An exciting new addition to the Epic Multimedia stable which will be
revealed at the show is the Epic Interactive Encyclopedia of the
Paranormal - featuring hundreds of detailed articles with film clips,
samples, animation and still photos covering everything from UFOs to
sea creatures, spoon-bending, ghosts, aliens and much more that is
weird and exotic.
There'll also be an opportunity to view the Epic Interactive
Encyclopedia 97. This latest version has new features including
enhanced speech, Inter-ACT, zoom into text, zoom into pictures and
animations, national anthems, Euro-pedia. There are over 16,000
subjects, 4,000 colour and mono images, 200 sound clips, 200 film
clips, three search engines and over a million words - plus the
ability to create your own articles, and export any text or images.
Digita International are offering all their products at special show
prices, with even more discount for existing users who bring along
proof of purchase. Award-winning new versions of Digita software on
offer - with a choice of CDRom or floppy disk - are Wordworth 6,
Wordworth 6 Office, Personal Paint 7, and Turbo-Calc 4. ClipartCombo,
a special bundle containing all of Digita's popular clip range, will
also be on sale.
"We love these shows and meeting Amiga users," says Guildhall
Leisure's George Bray. "Plus we feel a very strong sense of affinity
with The World Of Amiga show - it's a great chance for the Amiga
community to get together and portray our unity to the computing
world.
"At Guildhall Leisure we've always had the Amiga at heart. We have
continued to support the machine to the hilt and recently have
increased our commitment by acquiring the Microprose and Electronic
Arts back catalogues."
Products which Guildhall will be bringing to The World Of Amiga
include:
Microprose's Grand Prix, UFO: Enemy Unknown, Fields of Glory,
Starlord, F117A, Dog Fight, Impossible Mission, B17, F19, Railroad
Tycoon, F15II, Colonization, Theme Park, Road Rash, Desert Strike, PGA
Golf, Fifa Soccer and Wing Commander.
There will also be a batch of new Guildhall releases including
Minskies:The Abduction, Euroleague Manager, Basket Island, World of
Golf, and Gun Fury. Plus a catalogue of more than 100 games,
educational and business software titles.
New Amiga Set For Unveiling At Show
A brand new Amiga - the first for several years - will make its debut
at The World Of Amiga show in May.
Called the Power Amiga 7000, it is being launched not by a hardware
developer as you might expect but by Direct Software.
"This is something the whole Amiga world has been waiting for," says
Direct Software's Shaun Flowers. "Everyone who comes to the show will
want to see it in action.
"Not only is this a new Amiga, it's the most powerful ever - with 22
Megabytes of RAM - and it will outblast any PC under £3,000.
"When VIScorp took over they promised they would bring out a new
Amiga, but it never happened - now we've actually gone and done it.
"The machine is up and running right now. We'll be demonstrating it
at the show and we'll be taking orders for it at that time."
As well as the new machine, Direct Software will be bringing with
them more than 400 Amiga software titles.
Gasteiner Throws Its Weight Behind The World Of Amiga
Putting an end to confusion about the number of Amiga shows planned
for this year, it has been officially announced that there is to be
only one - The World Of Amiga - and not two, as some reports had
suggested.
Gasteiner boss Vas Shah has confirmed that he will not be staging an
Amiga event in March - instead he is giving his total support to The
World Of Amiga in May.
In a joint statement, Peter Brameld, head of show organisers PBA
Events, and Vas Shah said: "The World Of Amiga will be considerably
strengthened as a result of the decision to combine the expertise of
our two organisations. "We'll be working together very closely to
ensure that the show is an even greater success.
"Gasteiner bring with them not only their commitment to Amiga
technology but also their experience in the exhibitions field. Added
to the proven skills of those at PBA Events, it means that this year's
The World Of Amiga becomes even more of an event not to be missed."
More New Products On The Way For The Big Amiga Showcase
Power Computing will be launching their impressive new game The Big
Red Adventure - a stunning graphical adventure game for the
A1200/A4000 which comes in CD format. Power Computing's new 12-speed
SCSI CD ROM player will also be available at the show, along with a
full range of accelerators, Ram expansions, floppy and hard disk
drives, mono and colour scanners, and CD ROMs. Plus the GVP range of
products including IO extenders, DSS8 sound sampler, Genlock, GVP Ram
and hard cards. The 68060 board for the A4000 desktop will also be
available. Anyone who spends £50 or more on the Power Computing stand
will get 50% of their ticket price refunded, and anyone spending over
£100 will get a full ticket refund!
SAdENESS Software are promoting their new Amiga CD ROM titles -
Hidden Truth, AGA Experience Vol 3 and an upgrade to Women of the Web.
Plus other Amiga software such as Capital Punishment and
Worms:Directors Cut, and productivity software like Art Effect, Secal,
Ibrowse and AWeb. All this including special offers on both days.
From Gasteiner Technologies will come "the cheapest in the world" fax
modems, hard drives, memory and CD ROMs - and for nostalgia lovers,
genuine Commodore mouse mats!
The name PIOS will be familiar to ardent Amiga fans who have been
eagerly following the new computer manufacturer's progress in the
development stages. Now PIOS has become the latest addition to the
growing list of exhibitors at The World Of Amiga - and they're ready
to unveil their impressive new hardware.
Making its first public appearance in the UK is the transAm,
described by PIOS as "the home computer of the future, the Amiga of
the next generation, faster than the Amiga world knew before".
The machine runs under more than one operating system. It offers BeOS
and Linux with real multitasking, multithreading and object
orientation.
And there's more! After transAm comes Maxxtrem - a fast PowerPC
designed again around the modular concept which offers, as well as
BeOS and Linux, MacOS included.
The common denominator is the CHRP (Common Hardware Reference
Platform) compliant board designed by ex-Amiga hardware guru Dave
Haynie.
Learn more about this exciting new hardware at The World Of Amiga by
talking to the PIOS team which includes John Smith and Dr Peter
Kittel.
The World Of Amiga takes place at the Novotel Exhibition Centre,
Hammersmith, London, on Saturday 17th May 10am-5pm and Sunday 18th May
10am-4pm. Adults £8, children £6. Advance booking credit card Hotline
01369 707766.
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C R O N U S A N D P R O D A D A N N O U N C E M E N T
Cronus and proDAD Software provide complete p.OS development
environment.
Tempe, Arizona (March 26, 1997) - Cronus, a software development and
distribution company, and proDAD Software, creator of the p.OS
operating system, announced today that they have reached an agreement
to distribute a complete set of software tools and a developer version
of p.OS that will allow developers to begin porting their software to
the new p.OS operating system. The upcoming Geek Gadgets Version 2
CD-ROM (Amiga Developers Environment) from Cronus, due for release in
April 1997, will contain a developers release of p.OS and all
necessary tools for p.OS development.
Using these tools, it is possible to write programs that run on both
p.OS and AmigaOS using the same binary file. A shared library that
runs on both operating systems provides applications with all
necessary ANSI C and POSIX support, while special startup code allows
programs to determine at startup whether they are running on p.OS or
AmigaOS and make the appropriate system calls. Using this technique,
the development tools themselves run on either operating system with
negligible overhead or increased binary size.
The p.OS developer release requires an m68020 (or higher) processor,
a hard drive, and a minimum of 2 MB of RAM. Applications developed for
this portable operating system are source code compatible with p.OS
ports to other architectures such as the PowerPC. With a simple
recompile, developers of p.OS applications can reach the entire
installed base of p.OS users, regardless of the underlying hardware.
By porting to p.OS now, developers will be able to take advantage of
easy migration to future p.OS releases on other architectures and
enjoy the benefits of hardware independence (and a brighter market).
Geek Gadgets and the Geek Gadgets logo are trademarks of Cronus. p.OS
and the p.OS logo are trademarks of proDAD Software.
ABOUT CRONUS
Cronus
1840 East Warner Road
Suite 105-265
Tempe, AZ 85284
USA
Phone: 602-491-0442
FAX: 602-491-0048
Email: info@ninemoons.com
WWW: http://www.ninemoons.com
ftp: ftp://ftp.ninemoons.com
Cronus was founded by Fred Fish, author of the famous "Fish Disks"
for Amiga, the "Fish" series of CD-ROMs, the "Amiga Developers
Environment", and other Amiga software products. Fred Fish has been
involved in the distribution of software for the Amiga since 1985.
ABOUT PRODAD
proDAD Software
Feldelestr. 24
D-78194 Immendingen
Germany
Phone: ++49-7462/91134
FAX: ++49-7462/7435
Email: adver@prodad.de
WWW: http://www.prodad.de
proDAD Software was founded 1990 and is the leading producer of video
software for the Amiga. The p.OS project was started in 1995 to
produce a portable operating system for proDAD Software and other
innovative Amiga developers, while providing an easy migration path
from AmigaOS and retaining all the expected features and advantages
such as full preemptive multitasking and responsive user interfaces.
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Q U I C K P A K O N G A T E W A Y
QuikPak Welcomes Gateway 2000 to the Amiga Community
Once again it seems that the Amiga Community is subjected to another
sharp turn on the rollercoaster that is the future of the Amiga. The
recent announcement by Gateway 2000 that its bid to purchase the
assets of Amiga Technologies has been successful is truly a surprise.
Yet, it is a surprise that holds much promise.
Gateway 2000 is a tremendous success story - continually scoring top
marks in customer satisfaction surveys based on service, support, and
product reliability. Gateway 2000 is a leader in its market, and
brings to the Amiga Community a wealth of resources and knowledge.
While we are understandably dissappointed that our own bid was
unsuccessful, we at QuikPak remain as committed as ever to the future
of the Amiga. We have devoted a large portion of our energies to
developing the Amiga market and supporting the community, and we have
no intention of abandoning our position now. The Gateway 2000 purchase
may represent an excellent opportunity to breathe new life into the
Amiga platform. We've maintained all along that we believe in the
future of the Amiga, and stand by our statements.
Thank you once again for your continuing support, and we look forward
to bringing you new information as it becomes available. We look
forward to working with you, the user, and all our other partners in
making the Amiga's future as bright as possible. And, we look forward
to the opportunity of working with the newest player in the Amiga
field, Gateway 2000.
Sincerely,
Dan Robinson
Director of Business Development
QuikPak
Dave Ziembicki
C.E.O.
QuikPak
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P H A S E 5 W E L C O M E S G A T E W A Y
A statement about Gateway 2000 as the new owner of Amiga Technologies
Oberursel, April 3, 1997:
phase 5 digital products, a leading vendor of CPU Acceleration and
Graphic Expansion products for Amiga computers, today welcomes Gateway
2000 as the new owner of Amiga Technologies.
"We appreciate the fact that with Gateway 2000 a new owner is going
to take over Amiga Technologies, who can provide a strong base for a
future development of the Amiga and the Amiga market" says Wolf
Dietrich, General Manager of phase 5. "We hope that Gateway 2000 will
be interested in the future of the Amiga itself as an alternative
computer system. With their economical strength and market position,
Gateway 2000 can start the creation of new products with a vision for
the future, not being limited by short-term economical constraints.
Insofar, we believe that there are big chances for the Amiga future if
Gateway 2000 understands the heart and soul of the Amiga and it's
users."
With it's leading position in development and integration of next
generation, PowerPC-based processor cards into existing Amiga systems
phase 5 digital products since end of 1995 has undertaken pioneering
steps, the results of which the company is ready to share with Gateway
2000 and Amiga International. "Once again, we are open for a
technological cooperation which could result in nearly immediate
availability of powerful and inexpensive new technology for the Amiga"
comments Wolf Dietrich. "A year ago, we had already started such a
cooperation, before Amiga Technologies cancelled all development on
their side. We have continued with the project that we had initiated,
and today we are just weeks ago from the release of a new, sensational
product generation. We will contact Amiga International in the near
future, to discuss the opportunities for technological exchange, and
if it is wanted, we are ready for an extensive cooperation both on the
hardware and the software sector."
phase 5 digital products is a technologically leading vendor of CPU
Acceleration and Graphic Expansion products for the Amiga computers.
Since end of 1995, the company has sold some 60,000 add-on products in
a value of some DM 25 million to Amiga users all over the world. With
it's continuing development efforts phase 5 digital products is
pioneering innovative projects such as the PowerPC-based PowerUp
Processor Cards for Amiga systems (see the Cyberstorm PPC and the
Blizzard 603e Power Board press release) and the development of the
custom-chip based A\BOX Computer System, which is following the Amiga
vision on a technological level that is prepared for the next decade.
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P H A S E 5 M I N O R D E L A Y
Information about the short delay of the PowerUp upgrade mailing
Oberursel, April 3, 1997:
Due to Easter vacation, the PowerUp upgrade mailing to owners of a
phase 5 digital products 68040 or 68060 accelerator is slightly
delayed, as the information and ordering material still must be
translated to English and be printed. The mailing will now follow in
the second week of April. We apologize for this delay and kindly ask
all our customers, who are waiting for this information, for their
understanding.
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A S I M C D F S 3 . 8 A V A I L A B L E
TITLE
AsimCDFS
VERSION
v3.8
COMPANY
Asimware Innovations Inc.
600 Upper Wellington St., Unit D
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada L9A 3P9
Phone: (905)578-4916
Fax: (905)578-3966
EMail: info@asimware.com
WWW: http://www.asimware.com
ftp: ftp://ftp.asimware.com
AsimCDFS v3.8 Maintenance Release
---------------------------------
We would like to announce the availability of AsimCDFS v3.8, which
was released as of April 1st, 1997. This is a maintenance update for
the AsimCDFS v3 package.
The update highlights include:
- support for new CD-ROM drives, including the Pioneer 12x,
Nakamichi 4.8, Toshiba XM-3801, Toshiba XM-5701 and the
Philips CDD2600.
- support for the Corel Stock Photo Library #3
- updated language catalogs;
- German localization of the installation procedure.
Registered users can obtain this release via our BBS, WWW or ftp site.
- ftp: ftp://ftp.asimware.com
- WWW: http://www.asimware.com
- BBS: (905)332-9207
You will need your AsimCDFS serial number to obtain access.
About AsimCDFS v3...
--------------------
The AsimCDFS software package is a CD-ROM control system which allows
the user to read most CD-ROM discs with an Amiga computer and a
suitable SCSI or ATAPI CD-ROM drive.
AsimCDFS is equipped with the following advanced features:
- access to ISO 9660, High Sierra, Rock Ridge and Macintosh HFS
CD-ROM formats;
- FishMarket, a CD-ROM disc containing the public domain Fred Fish
collection;
- AsimTunes, an audio librarian/controller providing advanced
librarian and playback features;
- support for direct digitizing from standard audio CDs and playing
audio via the Amiga hardware;
- CDTV and CD32 emulation modules, complete with autobooting from
CD-ROM discs;
- integrated support for Kodak and Corel PhotoCD discs. Colour
WorkBench icons are created for easy identification. Support for
resolutions from 192x128 up to 3072x2048;
- support for both SCSI and ATAPI CD-ROM drives;
- preferences editor for all AsimCDFS settings; and,
- full ARexx command set available for all programs.
Asimware Innovations Inc. is an Amiga software development house
specializing in CD-ROM and CD-Recordable technologies. Our current
product line includes AsimCDFS, MasterISO, Texture Heaven 1 & 2,
Audio Thunder and PhotoCD Manager.
Asimware Innovations Inc.
April 1st, 1997
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Amiga Update on the net: some issues available at:
http://www.sharbor.com/amiga/news/ (in html format)
http://www.amigacom.com (in ASCII text)
Australian Mirror Site: http://www.comcen.com.au/~paulm/index.html
All back issues available (in ASCII text) at:
http://www.globaldialog.com/AdventureCentral/AU.html
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Copyright 1997 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || Brad Webb/AmigaUpdate
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || bandr@globaldialog.com
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