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Amiga Update (1998-02-27)
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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 Gateway 2000, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
980227
D E V E L O P E R S T E A M F O R P P C
I C O A A C C E P T I N G M E M B E R S
T H E L A T E S T A B O U T A M I G A 9 8
A M I G A P A R T Y I N I T A L Y
A M I W E S T C O M I N G T O C A L I F O R N I A
D I G I T A L U N I V E R S E - M A Y B E
A M I G A D E A L E R L I S T I N G
M I A M I 3 . 0 I S O U T
A M O S B E I N G R E V I V E D
X - D V E V 3 . 0 F R O M H & P
F R E E E M U L A T O R S - A P P L E A N D A T A R I
A U R A L I L L U S I O N A N D S Y N T H E T I C A
N E W S F R O M N E W H O M E G R O W N S O F T W A R E
R U M O R ! ! T H O U G H T S O F P E T R O T .
R U M O R ! ! A M I G A C L O N E L A P T O P ?
F E A T U R E ! - T H E A M I G A I N F O R M E R A N N E X
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
February has been a quiet month in some ways. There's been news, but
no "earth shaking" stories to bring your way. We suspect any real eye
opening stories will wait until after the Amiga 98 show in St. Louis
in March. (Where we hope to meet and talk to some of you!) In the
meantime, there's still a great amount of activity in the Amiga
community, as this issue demonstrates. We have organization news, show
news, product news and a couple of interesting stories grabbed from
Amiga Usenet newsgroup postings. We present these last as rumors, as
we have no confirmation of them beyond the postings. Finally, we have
another installment in our "Amiga Informer Annex" series.
All in all, much activity to think about as we make the transition
from winter to spring here in the north. With the warmer weather in
the northern hemisphere, will Amiga development heat up even more?
Time will tell.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
Brad Webb,
Editor
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-MAIL TO THE E-DITOR
07 Feb 1998
Hi Brad,
The URL you listed for DrawStudio {issue 980206, "The Amiga Informer
Annex Section"} was incorrect. Here is a good one:
http://www.ajdean.demon.co.uk/studio/ds.html
I know the article was an old one. They obviously changed the URL
since then.
--
Colin Thompson LAPCO Paintball http://www.lapcopaintball.com
619-693-0068
------
We appreciate Colin updating the URL for us, and hope no one was
confused bye the older URL used in the article. Thanks, Colin!
Brad
----------------------------------------------------------------------
D E V E L O P E R S T E A M F O R P P C
Index Information Ltd, Blittersoft and Phase 5 Digital Products
Announce Cooperation On PowerPC Technology for the Amiga
February 09, 1998: Index Information Ltd., a UK developer and
manufacturer of Amiga-based computer products, Blittersoft, a UK based
Amiga distributor, and phase 5 digital products, a German developer
and manufacturer of Amiga upgrade products, are pleased to announce
their co-operation on PowerPC technologies for the upcoming
Amiga-compatible BoXeR system by Index Information Ltd/Blittersoft
As a result of this co-operation, the BoXeR system will be shipping
with a PowerPC expansion slot, on which a PowerPC-based accelerator
can be installed, which will be fully software compatible to the
PowerUP accelerators from phase 5 digital products. "We are pleased
that our co-operation will further support the migration of the Amiga
towards the PowerPC, and that we can provide a unified interface for
software developers and for the users. By use of a compatible API
(Application Programmers Interface) it ensures that software developed
for PowerUP will work on the PowerPC accelerators for the BoXeR,
making it even more attractive for Amiga software vendors to support
this standard. This co-operation helps strengthen an emerging standard
which will allow a wide range of breathtaking new products." says Wolf
Dietrich of phase 5 digital products. He points out that the PowerUP
technology which will be used in the PowerPC accelerators for the
BoXeR is the base for a new generation of high-tech products, such as
CPU cards with multiple PowerPC processor and full multiprocessing
software support, which will be appearing later in 1998.
Additionally, the BoXeR will also incorporate a graphics card
expansion slot which is compatible with the one that is available on
phase 5's CyberstormPPC and MkIII accelerators. This will allow the
availability of powerful and inexpensive high-resolution 3D graphics
card for the BoXeR, too. "By jointly choosing a common performance
level for the next generation of GFX cards, together we can set a
unified minimum standard which software developers can rely on" adds
Wolf Dietrich. "This will quickly increase the number of applications
using highest resolution and the hardware 3D acceleration, including
quite a number of fascinating new games."
Also closely involved in the co-operation is Blittersoft, the
worldwide distributor of the BoXeR system. "Whilst the BoXeR is very
much a product to provide a diverse range of Amiga systems, we feel it
is important to maintain compatibility with the leading edge
peripherals. phase 5 products are very much in that category, and we
hope this co-operation will be the first of many, to allow the Amiga
community to receive the BoXeR design with even more confidence" says
Paul Lesurf of Blittersoft.
"We are very pleased to announce the ongoing work to increase the
flexibility of the BoXeR and the work with phase 5 will allow us to
deliver a wider range of performance options to the customer", said
Mick Tinker of Index. "BoXeR systems will be available with
performance starting at the 68040 25MHz, through all the speed options
up to the 68060 66MHz and on to single and multiprocessor PowerPC
systems with enormous performance levels. All this will be available
at time of purchase or as user upgrades. The modern design of the
BoXeR motherboard will allow the full benefit of the PowerPC to be
utilised by providing a 64-bit path to onboard memory."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I C O A A C C E P T I N G M E M B E R S
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 February 1998
The Transitional Steering Committee (TSC) of the ICOA is pleased to
announce that it is finally open to accepting membership applications
from those who feel that they can help advance the technical future of
the Amiga, whether commercial, individual, Public Domain, Shareware or
Academic.
Please peruse the ICOA temporary website, read the by-laws and
membership sections and then move to the resources section if an
application is to be made.
Please note at this time that affiliate membership applications are
not being taken. This will be developed and put into effect once a new
Steering Committee has been elected.
We are hoping to turn around membership applications within seven
days.
At the same time, we also wish to announce that the ICOA publicly
available developer and product database is also available. We invite
all developers to register both themselves and their products on the
database. We hope that this register will become a central point of
information for users seeking information about products and their
status.
Those registering are under no obligation to join the ICOA.
There will be a an annual membership fee for joining the ICOA but
this will not be charged until the financial system is in place. Once
this is done, the Steering Committee will announce a cutoff date for
subscriptions to be paid. At this time, any who do not wish to pay the
subscription will be free to rescind their membership and will be
under no further obligation. We estimate that this system will not be
available for 2-3 months.
Once we have 100 members, the election procedure for the new Steering
Committee will be put into operation.
We wish to thank all those who have supported and stuck with the ICOA
and who have allowed it to get to this point. For those who have
doubted or merely watched, we invite them to come and join.
The ICOA is a co-operative body of developers run by developers for
the benefit of developers, all developers, to enable them to further
the Amiga platform for the benefit of the whole community, developers,
owners and users.
All for the Amiga and the Amiga for all!
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T H E L A T E S T A B O U T A M I G A 9 8
{This item consists of several press releases about the upcoming Amiga
98 show in St. Louis, MO, USA. This is shaping up as a first rate
event. We'll be there - hope to talk to some of our readers during the
show! Brad}
Guest Speaker Line Up for the Gateway Computer Show-Amiga98
The Gateway Computer Show-Amiga98 is proud to announce our guest
speakers for the Saturday evening banquet at this major Amiga Computer
Event.
Mr. Jim Singler, a noted computer spokesperson on KTRS radio of St.
Louis, will M.C. the banquet.
Mr. Petro Tyschtschenko, Managing Director of Amiga International,
Inc., wholly owned by Gateway 2000, will fly in from Germany to speak
on The Marketing of Amiga Computers.
Mr. James Love, Director of CPT, Consumer Project on Technology, a
part of Ralph Nader's office in Washington D.C., will fly in to speak
on Antitrust Issues in the Computer and Software Industry.
Mr. Jeff Schindler, General Manager of Amiga, Inc., wholly owned by
Gateway 2000, will fly in from North Sioux City, SD, to talk about the
Future Direction and Development of the Amgia Computer.
This is certainly an exciting lineup of guest speakers. Certain to
wet the appetites of many a computer enthusiast.
Note: The Banquet Is Sold Out!
New Vendors Added February, 24th
5 and 10 Budget Software
WeemsWare Y/C PLUS, INC
E.S. Productions / Weingarten Gallery
GamaSoft SSC
Anti Gravity Digital Quill Graphics
NewTek Inc. Nordic Global Inc.
Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group
National Capital Amiga Users Group
Tickets for the March 13 - 15 two days of floor exhibits, March 14
and 15, may be ordered in advance from:
Amigan-St. Louis
P.O. Box 672
Bridgeton, MO 63044
------
Amiga A4000T and Video Toaster Among the Door Prizes to be Awarded at
Amiga98 Show
Press Release
Gateway Computer Show-Amiga98
February 26, 1998
Have you seen the new door prizes? The Gateway Computer Show -
Amiga98web site has been updated with the latest info and some
features to allow you to find information about the show easier and
faster. Check out the web page for the show at
http://www.amiga-stl.com and go to the Amiga98 page.
* NewTek has promised a Video Toaster Board with software.
* Amiga International Inc. has promised an Amiga 4000T.
* Many other great prizes are listed.
Come to the Gateway Computer Show-Amiga98
Friday March 13 - Sunday March 15
Classes & Seminars Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Exhibit hall open Saturday & Sunday
Don't miss the best Amiga show yet!
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A M I G A P A R T Y I N I T A L Y
20 Feb 98
- SPOLETIUM 1998 -
the Amiga scene party
14-15 March 1998 - Spoleto (PG) - Italy
officially supported by the Comune di Spoleto
INTRODUCTION.
After coding hundreds of productions in a short time, after releasing
the official Scene chart, after trying always to improve themselves,
DARKAGE is proud to announce you a new party, for Amiga only: the
SPOLETIUM 1998! Only Amiga and C64 users are welcome! And, most
important, the entrance is FREE! BUT, we understand it can be hard for
you to reach the partyplace, so you can compete also if you send your
contributions by email! You'll get your prize by post. Otherwise, if
you want to came here, we have provided for you 10 FREE rooms in a
beautiful small hotel near the partyplace, from 15th to 16th March. So
you can sleep before travelling back to your home in a soft hot bed.
;)
WHEN and WHERE.
The party'll be in Spoleto, a beautiful town in the middle Italy,
easy to reach by car, train and airplane. The party will start in 14th
March and it'll end the 15th morning. Partyplace is in the "Villa
Redenta", in the very center of Spoleto. Just ask some inhabitants for
it!
RULES.
Max one contributor for any compo; If you came to the party, please
respect the italian laws: drugs and alchools *should* be forbidden, if
party organizers will find them :) Piracy is also prohibited but this
is REALLY not welcome, since the party organizers are Amiga developers
too! If we'll find some pirated software we'll destroy it immediatly
and keep you to the local police. We expect people to have respect for
the environment and for other people at the party. Only unpublished
material will be accepted to the compos.
COMPOS.
AMIGA DEMO
5 Mb Unpacked - no disk write or hack allowed
max duration is 10 minutes
AMIGA 64Kb INTRO
65536 Bytes Unpacked - no disk write or hack allowed
max duration is 5 minutes
AMIGA 4Kb INTRO
4096 Bytes Unpacked - no disk write or hack allowed
max duration is 5 minutes
GRAPHICS
Max 1280 x 512 up to 24 bit. IFF, GIF, JPG will be accepted.
You can include your signature or logo in the picture.
4CHANNEL COMPO
1Mb size
Max duration playing is 5 minutes
The compo machine is an Amiga 1200 with 68060/50Mhz and 16Mb ram, BUT
the demo/intro must run on a 68030/50Mhz and 8Mb ram. Modules will be
played with Hippoplayer and Pics will be showed with ViewTek. One
competition for both handdrawed and raytracing pictures.
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE.
Send your contribution directly to the party organizers at partyplace
or send them by email: granata@mail.caribusiness.it Deadline for email
contributions is 13th March. Prepare a blank disk and include your
production inside.
PROGRAM.
- 14 March 1998 -
10:00 OPENING DOORS
20:00 DEADLINE Graphics, 4Channel
21.00 DEADLINE Amiga Demo, Amiga 64kb, Amiga 4kb
22.00 COMPO 4Channel
23.00 COMPO Graphics
- 15 March 1998 -
00.00 COMPO Amiga 4k Intro
01.00 COMPO Amiga 64k Intro
02.00 COMPO Amiga Demo
03.00 DEADLINE voting
11:00 Prize-giving and Closing Cerimony
12.00 Closing Doors.
MORE INFORMATIONS.
You can contact one of the organizers here:
PAOLO "MOD3M" D'URSO
Via Cacciatori delle Alpi 45
06049 Spoleto (PG) Italy
0743/49903
granata@mail.caribusiness.it
FABRIZIO "LANCH" BARTOLONI
Via Dell'Artigiano 12
06040 Baiano di Spoleto (PG) Italy
0743/539254
lanch@mail.caribusiness.it
Ok, it seems to be all... enjoy the party and SUPPORT IT AS MUCH YOU
CAN, because the sponsor are real Amiga demo fans, so if we'll have
good productions released here, we'll have more Amiga-only parties!
Remember you'll get your prize also if you don't came to partyplace!
Catch your breath! Came to this REAL AMIGA PARTY!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I W E S T C O M I N G T O C A L I F O R N I A
26 February, 1998
We are proud to announce an Amiga show for the West Coast, AmiWest
'98 to be held at the Ramada Inn in Sacramento, California on July
11th and 12th, 1998. This show is being jointly sponsored by the
Sacramento Amiga Computer Club, the Redwood Empire Amiga Users Group,
and other West Coast user groups and has official sanction from Amiga,
Inc. and the Industry Council Open Amiga (ICOA).
AmiWest '98 is the first Amiga show to be produced on the West Coast
in over four years. We expect attendance from all over the Western
United States with special guests from thoughout the world. Along with
two days of show exhibits from major Amiga companies, ICOA will also
be hosting a four day Developer's Conference. The show itself will be
held on July 11th and 12th with seminars and developer sessions
spaning the four days between Friday, July 10th and Monday, July 13th.
Space is available for rent to companies, clubs, organizations, and
individuals producing Amiga related products and services. This four
day weekend event will showcase the progress that the Amiga Community
is making as well as having exhibitors demonstrating their newest
products.
Booth pricing is available on our web page:
http://www.sacc.org/amiwest/
For more information contact either Alan Crandall at
alanwall@sonic.net or John Zacharias at jzachar@calweb.com or write to
us at:
AmiWest '98
c/o Sacramento Amiga Computer Club
P.O. Box 19784
Sacramento, CA 95819-0784
Come visit us at our web site!
Alan Crandall
alanwall@sonic.net
John Zacharias
jzachar@calweb.com
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D I G I T A L U N I V E R S E - M A Y B E
15 February, 1998
Since the introduction of V1.0 of "The Digital Universe", Syzygy
Research & Technology Ltd. has quickly established our software as the
premiere astronomical simulation product available for the Amiga
computer. In fact, it has become so popular that we have received
countless requests from owners of other computer platforms and we are
consequently working on Windows 3.1/95 and Macintosh versions of the
package.
Naturally, as we develop these ports, we are adding features along
the way.The versions of our software under development are much more
powerful than the currently shipping V1.03 is. As a result, we would
very much like to improve the Amiga version of the software to provide
the same enhanced functionality as will be enjoyed by Windows and
Macintosh owners.
However, realistically the Amiga market has undergone some serious
setbacks in recent years. As the uncertainty of the Amiga's future
continues, more and more Amiga owners are migrating to other systems,
or at the very least being rather reluctant to continue upgrading
their Amiga hardware and/or software until the dust settles. As a
result, many software developers, distributors, magazines, etc. have
closed their doors, not being able to afford waiting for Amiga sales
any longer.
At Syzygy, we have noticed the reluctance in the marketplace
firsthand. When "The Digital Universe" was first released, we could
barely keep up with the orders that were coming in. As the first
reviews of our package appeared in Amiga magazines, we received an
overwhelming response. But some recent reviews, every bit as
encouraging, have failed to generate a single additional sale.
As a business, we have to ensure that we will be able to sell what we
spend time and money developing, and as such we are forced into taking
a hard look at whether or not we should be continuing Amiga
development. We are therefore hoping that you will find the time to
take a brief survey on the web at:
http://www.syz.com/DU/amiga2.html
The information you provide on that site will help us make a decision
on whether we should be spending our time and money in continuing to
develop "The Digital Universe" for the Amiga platform.
It is important for you to realize that we plan on continuing to sell
and support V1.03 of our software indefinitely - this survey is only
to give us an idea of whether we should release a V2.0.
Thanks for your assistance - we hope for your continued support!
Dan Charrois
President, Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A D E A L E R L I S T I N G
Amibench Web Site Adds Amiga Dealer Listing
Press Release
980225
AmiBench is pleased to let the Amiga Press World know that We've
opened up AmiBench even more this month with a new service.
AmiBench has for sometime been gathering data to compile an 'online'
Amiga Dealer Database.With the help of many places like
[http://www.cu-amiga.co.uk/index.html] Cu-Amiga and the Amiga Web
Directory, this has now finished and is now live.
Please look at http://thunderstorms.org/AmiBench/ - for all the
information you'll need.
This service has been provided with the help of Sadeness Software
Ltd.
We are also still looking for Dealers to add to the service, so if
your a dealer who's not on please fill out the forms.
On and behalf of The AmiBench Group,
Mark Wilson : Public Relations
Web: http://thunderstorms.org/AmiBench/
Email: AmiBench@tecnobab.stayfree.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M I A M I 3 . 0 I S O U T
Version 3.0 of the Popular Amiga TCP/IP Stack Now Available
For Immediate Release
02/25/98
Nordic Global Inc. has just released the new version 3.0 of our
popular TCP/IP protocol stack
Enhancements since version 2.x include:
* separate user interface modules for MUI and GTLayout, making it
possible to unload the user interface code at runtime, and to use
Miami without MUI, for users who prefer that
* support for SOCKSV4/V5 proxy servers
* support for DHCP, used by cable modems and ADSL
* completely new configuration tool "MiamiInit", now with support for
K56Flex/X2 modems, ISDN TAs, ISDN boards, and local networks.
For more information on availability and upgrades please visit our
web site: http://www.nordicglobal.com/
--
Holger Kruse
c/o Nordic Global Inc.
PO Box 780248
USA
Email: kruse@nordicglobal.com
Phone/Fax: +1-407-249-5988
http://www.nordicglobal.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M O S B E I N G R E V I V E D
23 February, 1998
The source for AMOS + AMOSPro (including the compiler) have now been
released to a small team of developers, who wish to put this once
ever-popular language back on top of them all, by giving it a major
overhaul.
The major changes which will be added, will be AGA and graphics card
support for all AMOS modes, including its editor, yet still be able to
provide the programmer with complete control over its graphics system.
Over the past couple of months, I have had a developers form on my
webpages (http://www.mushy-pd.demon.co.uk) asking existing users/old
users what they would like to see in a new version, and how they
compared AMOS to other languages and why. Some of the responses have
been very interesting, and have been placed on the list to be included
in the near future.
Some of the other features placed on the list include full AHI
soundcard support, GIF, JPG, PNG and other datatype access/creating,
structured variables, multiple-code platform (will allow to compile
for a specific machine format, including PPC), PPC support, the list
is endless.
If you are not on the AMOS mailinglist, you can follow what is going
on in alt.religion.amos and add your comments to all the others. With
a bit of work, this language can be back on top again! Thanks for
reading.
Andrew "Mushroom" Kellett
----------------------------------------------------------------------
X - D V E V 3 . 0 F R O M H & P
HAAGE & PARTNER announces latest version of X-DVE V3.0 - the
All-In-One Video Effects Generator & FontMachine V3.0 - the superb
ColorFont Editor
X-DVE V3.0 - the All-In-One Video Effects Generator
Explosions, Rotations, Perspective, Wind, Zoom and other exciting
video effects are waiting for you. It never has been so easy to use
such amazing effects in your video production.
X-DVE is one of the most powerful, productive and easy-to-use tools
for desktop video (DTV), animation and titling. It unites a variety of
functions that are normally found in many different programs. This
outstanding video package is now being offered at an unbeatable price.
X-DVE got a lot of good ratings in the international press:
* X-DVE 3.0 was rated "Very Good" by German Amiga Magazin 2/98.
Especially the tester liked the following items: "impressive effects -
flexible control of the program flow - one will get results very fast
- preview available on any time."
* X-DVE 3.0 was rated 91% by German Amiga Plus 2/98. They liked the
following items: "a lot of effects; support for graphics boards and
Draco computers; datatype support; logical handling of the program".
* X-DVE took Amiga Format "GOLD" and Amiga Shopper "Best Buy" awards.
* X-DVE got "Excellent" from Italian Amiga Magazine 12/96 and Italian
EnigmA Amiga 12/96.
* X-DVE 2.5: "Very good effects, easy handling; very clear scripting;
a lot of effects." Rating: "Very Good" Amiga Special 12/96
FontMachine 3 - Animated ColorFont Fantasies
FontMachine was created in collaboration with several leading video
professionals who were looking for the ultimate solution in custom
titling software. Videographers, today, realize that titling is an
important aspect of quality film making. FontMachine offers the video
enthusiast the ability to create dazzling color fonts for use in their
productions. It is also an excellent tool for adding panache to HTML
documents as well as for creating eye catching print copy. Desk Top
Publishers, with the aid of Font Machine, can add polish to all their
work including; advertisements, magazine layouts and brochures.
Press Opinions
FontMachine v3.0 got a rating of 92% from German Amiga Plus 3/98 and
"Very Good" from German Amiga Magazine 3/98. It also got the following
ratings from Italian press: "Excellent" Amiga Magazine, "Very Good"
MicroComputer and "Excellent" EnigmA Amiga 7/97.
Producer/Distributor
X-DVE & FontMachine are products of Italian video specialist ClassX.
They are distributed world-wide by HAAGE&PARTNER.
To get more information or a demo of X-DVE and FontMachine, please
visit our homepage: www.haage-partner.com
To buy the product, please contact your local dealer (see
dealers list on our homepage) or visit our
[http://www.haage-partner.com/order_e.htm] order page.
HAAGE & PARTNER is the leading manufacturer of Development Systems
and Applications for the Amiga family of computers. The Storm series
(StormC, StormWizard, StormPowerASM) for 68K AmigaOS, PowerPC
(PowerUP) and p.OS provide a powerful suite of programming tools. Our
latest project is MERAPI, which will bring the power of JAVA to the
Amiga. HAAGE & PARTNER is also the developer and/or distributor of
several cutting edge applications including: ArtEffect, PowerEffects,
EasyWriter, DrawStudio, Tornado3D, NetConnect and ClassX products. Our
mission is to provide the Amiga market with the most effective tools
and applications possible. It's not enough to just ask: "Where do you
want to go?" At Haage & Partner weare harnessing the power of the
Amiga to actually help get you there!
HAAGE & PARTNER Computer GmbH, PO Box 80, 61191 Rosbach, Germany
Phone: +49 - 6007 - 930050, Fax: +49 - 6007 - 7543
Email: info@haage-partner.com Intenet:
http://www.haage-partner.com
We develop to WarpUP the Amiga!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
F R E E E M U L A T O R S - A P P L E A N D A T A R I
16 Feb 1998
I just wanted everyone to know that we have decided to release our 8
bit Atari 400/800/XL/XE and Apple II emulations to the public at no
cost. You can download the emulations from our web site. Look in the
AMIGA section under ACE (Atari Console Emulator) and AII (Apple II
Plus emulator):
http://www.ctaz.com/~msdei
These emulations were to be part of the software included with
EMPLANT years ago, but never were.
These emulations are great, and I know that many of you will get a
kick out of being able to play the old classics.
When you visit our web site, you will also notice that we now have
MACINTOSH and PC areas. In the MACINTOSH area we have 'WACKE', which
is a PowerMAC only version of the Atari 400/800/XL/XE emulator. In the
PC area, you will see an announcement and preliminary specs for
FUSION... yes, a MAC emulation for the Intel boxes.
Nobody panic, we are just expanding our product line, not jumping ship.
:-)
Enjoy!
Jim Drew, Microcode Solutions
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A U R A L I L L U S I O N A N D S Y N T H E T I C A
22 Feb 1998
Blachford Technology is proud to announce an immediate price cut
allowing users to get both Aural illusion v2.0 and Aural Synthetica
v1.1 for 21 UK Pounds including postage & packing. Previously the
programs were 21 UK Pounds each.
About Aural illusion:
Aural illusion v2.0 is a Sample Creator, Editor and Mutator which
features:
30 User controllable Sample Effects including
Reverb, Echo, Delay, Flanger, Chorus
7 Band Graphic Equalizer, Distortion, Enhancement,
Noise Gate, Time Stretch and Stereo Processing.
55 Sample Manipulations including:
Invert, Half & Full Wave Rectify, Flip, Centre,
Reverse, Clean, Thicken, Arithmetic functions,
Logic functions, 8 Filters and 8 Tuning options.
Morphing Wave Digital Synthesizer with:
Wave Morphing between 4 waves.
Fully variable Waves.
Wave Grabbing from Samples.
Fully variable Envelope.
Built in Phasing for richer sounds.
Any Length.
11 Sample Formats including:
IFF, AIFF, WAV, VOC, RAW (4 types).
Miscellaneous Functions:
Swap Samples, Swap Byte Order, ReScale,
Loudness, UnLoudness and Get Frequency.
About Aural Synthetica:
Aural Synthetica is a software sound creation program based around
the modular synthesizers popular in the 1960's. A modular
synthesizer works in any way you want it to, it is limited only by
your imagination.
Aural Synthetica being based in software brings the benefits of
digital technology without losing the analogue functions you would
expect. You can create your own waveforms and morph between them if
you wish, you can also make use of logic functions and bandwidth
controls. Best of all Aural Synthetica does not go out of tune -
unless that is you want it to. Aural Synthetica can do one thing that
was impossible on modular systems - you can save your setup and
reload it at any time.
Aural Synthetica is a very complex program but to make life easier
there are preset "Basic Synthesizer" setups built into the program,
these are comprised of a number of pre-connected modules and you are
free to change the settings as much as you wish.
Aural Synthetica renders samples at CD quality and these can then be
saved in the following formats:
IFF, AIFF, WAV, MAUD and SAFF.
For more details & details on how to order visit us on the Web at:
http://www.hearit.demon.co.uk/blachtech/
Nicholas Blachford (Proprietor)
Blachford Technology
minator@hearit.demon.co.uk
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N E W S F R O M N E W H O M E G R O W N S O F T W A R E
26 Feb 1998
New Software Developer Announces First Game Release
Homegrown Software, an independent Amiga games developer, is pleased
to announce it's first game title, Moonbases. Moonbases is a real-time
strategy game, influenced by Dune II, Command & Conquer and Warcraft
II.
The game is currently very near completion, and is undergoing final
testing, as well as evaluation by a potential publisher. The game will
include the following features:
* Modest system requirements (AGA Amiga, 1MB FAST RAM,
5MB hard disk space)
* Low (320 x 256) and high (640 x 256) resolution screen modes
* Ray-traced in game graphics
* Music and sound effects including in-game speech
* 2 player link-up support via serial cable or modem
* 1 player mission based game
* Flexible game interface for controlling your forces
* Challenging Artificial Intelligence player to compete against
Screen shots and details are available from the Homegrown Software
web-site: http://www.eclipse.co.uk/homegrown/
--
Homegrown Software Searching for New Team Members
Homegrown Software is looking for talented new individuals to work on
our forthcoming Amiga titles.
People with the following skills are required:
* 3D graphics artist (3D modelling and ray-tracing skills).
* 2D graphics artist (for general icon/logo design, etc.).
* C Programmer(s) (should have experience of RTG, AHI, and OS
friendly coding).
* Miscellaneous - if you have skills you feel could be of use,
contact us.
All work will be Internet based. Payment will be in the form of
royalties from game distribution.
Interested parties should make contact via email at
homegrown@eclipse.co.uk
or look at the Homegrown Software web-site:
http://www.eclipse.co.uk/homegrown
--
Homegrown Software - Independent Amiga Games Developers
Web - http://www.eclipse.co.uk/homegrown
email - homegrown@eclipse.co.uk
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R U M O R ! ! T H O U G H T S O F P E T R O T .
14 Feb 98
On www.amigaplus.de/news.htm, there is an interview dated 12/02/98
with Petro T. Here's my rough English translation:
-----
In an interview with Amiga Plus, Petro Tyschtschenko, CEO of Amiga
International replies to some recent doubts of Amiga users. He says
there should be no more doubts: the decision for the 680x0/PowerPC
variant is definitive.
Meanwhile, he adds that some points (statements) still need to be
clarified.
Petro thinks that AI and Amiga Inc. should not just do development,
rather his personal opinion is that they should produce future Amigas,
since they will also develop future Amiga hardware.
He can imagine that they could produce and sell Amigas.
Tyschtschenko and Jeff Schindler will meet at the Amiga'98 in
St.Louis. The next official statements about future plans will be
released there.
--
Christian Kemp
{This interesting post was found recently in the Amiga newsgroups on
the net. We thought we'd share it with you. We suggest you regard this
as a rumor until more clarification is available. Thanks to the
poster, Christian Kemp, for putting this on the net. Brad}
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R U M O R ! ! A M I G A C L O N E L A P T O P ?
27 Feb 98
Hi
In a recent interview with Thomas Dellert, the French AMIGA mag
"AMIGA NEWS" states that DCE is studying the possibility to do a cheap
AMIGA laptop.
68060 / 50 MHz cpu
LCD VGA screen
very small black PC keyboard
mouse
(keyboard and mouse linked by infrared to computer box)
very small black computer case
very fast data transfer from RAM to CPU (125 MB/sec)
In the interview Thomas Dellert says that they were looking for a
nice case to put everything into but this AMIGA was too expensive (US$
1500). Then DCE decided to develop the system mentionned above! So it
should be cheaper than $1500!
So who knows something about this system? I already emailed DCE but
haven't got a reply yet!
BTW DCE is the German manufacturer who did and still does AMIGA
repairs since the last 10 years. Now they have done offical successors
of the A4000: the A5000 and A6000. And they did develop this famous
Chinese Wonder TV A6000. BTW the infrared part of this wonder is the
same as in th above mentioned system!
-- Bye Manou BILLA
{Thanks to Manou Billa for posting this to the Usenet newsgroups,
where we found it. Like the story above it, we suggest you regard this
as a rumor until there's more information. Sure sounds good to us,
though. Brad}
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_ __ _ __ _ ____ _ _
The AMIGA /\\ |\ || |\ || || \\ /
I N F O R M E R /__\\ | \ || | \ || ||-- \\
/ \\__| \||_ | \||_ ||___ _/\\_ Section
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Imagine 5.0 Review
==================
Originally appearing in issue 7 of The Informer, Apr/May 1997
©Eldritch Enterprises
Imagine is a full featured 3-D graphics design and rendering engine.
Version 5 of Imagine sports a new ARexx interface and is said to work
with DCTV and the standard CybergraphX library interface. Imagine has
always supported the Firecracker 24 graphics card. However, graphics
card features were not tested in this review. ARexx, which is included
with Amiga OS 2.04 and above, is required for use of the ARexx
interface.
The program requires a standard Amiga and at least 1 Mb of RAM to
operate. More RAM is recommended, and will be necessary for most
rendering projects. Imagine runs on a standard Amiga with 68000 CPU
and no FPU, but operates much better with an accelerator and FPU.
Imagine installs to hard drive, and requires neither dongle nor
original bootdisk to run. The program installs easily with the
provided installer script.
The program was installed and tested on an Amiga 1200 a with GVP 1230
accelerator, 2 Mb chip RAM, 20 Mb fast RAM, and OS 3.0. It was also
confirmed to run by Parnet from the A1200 to an A2000 with MMR 68030
33MHz with FPU, 1 Mb chip RAM, 6 Mb fast RAM, 122 Mb SCSI hard drive
running Amiga OS 2.04.
The evaluation copy of Imagine 5.0 included the Imagine ARexx manual.
The full distribution is reported by Impulse Inc. to include a program
manual and some example files. The ARexx manual is written at the
level of an experienced ARexx programmer. This appears appropriate
because this level of expertise would be necessary to use these
features. The prior Imagine and TurboSilver manuals from Impulse left
something to be desired. They tended to be written for someone already
familiar with the software, often confusing beginners. The last manual
that I've seen (that for 3.0) had improved significantly, but still
remained difficult read, owing to organizational difficulties.
Luckily, it was written in more of a tutorial style, so that by
working through the book one could learn the program's features.
However, this made it quite difficult to find specific information
quickly, especially with the unintuitive names given to some of the
program functions.
Imagine is an excellent and versatile 3-D design and rendering
program. It is geared to the intense user of graphics software, and
has a steep learning curve, but the overall approach is flexible. As a
beginning user, the tutorial allows you to make renders easily, but
the vast array of advanced features allows for remarkable image
manipulations. The optional use of algorithmic textures or image maps
is a great plus. The speed of rendering is in keeping with similar
programs on the market, and the renders are of good to excellent
quality.
My main complaint with Imagine 5.0 is the arrangement of the
interface with the more complex functions in the 3-D object creation.
This part of the program is used to build objects for rendering. The
menus for the complex functions are several layers deep, and these
pull up more levels of option windows. Trying to remember the path to
a desired function can be very frustrating. For example, trying to
remember the name of a function, let alone what menu it can be found
in, leaves me frazzled. To counter this, Imagine allows common
commands to be accessed by user menus that send ARexx commands, as
well as by a user configurable button bar at the bottom of each
screen. Still, these require some expertise to arrange.
I experienced several system crashes with this version of Imagine,
but I assume this was due to incompatibility with my background tasks.
Since the crashes were not consistant or reproducible, I have not
attempted to locate the program at fault.
In the past, support from Impulse was variable, with their tech staff
not seeming very familiar with the program. This has improved, but
with the arrival of the IBM compatible version of Imagine, the Amiga
support is threatening to disappear.
In conclusion, Imagine is an excellent program, but the learning
curve is steep and the layout of the tools is difficult to master. The
addition of ARexx will help those wishing to automate and integrate
their rendering systems, but adds little for the casual user. The
cybergraphX inclusion will mean a lot to anyone using a graphics card,
and probably adds more in the long run to the programs usability.
Impulse was a long time Amiga only software company, and deserves our
continued support for their efforts to offer state of the art Amiga
graphics tools. Imagine rates a "B-" on the Informer's rating scale.
Imagine Version 5 is available directly from Impulse for US $100. A
demo version of Imagine 4.0 is available at the Impulse web site.
Impulse Inc., 8416 Xerxes Ave. N, Brooklynn Park, MN 55444. Phone:
800-328-0184; Email: sales@coolfun.com; URL: http://www.coolfun.com
Rating: B-
By Davis Sprague
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Amiga Update on the net: some issues available at:
http://www.sharbor.com/amiga/news/ (in html format)
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/index.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1998 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || Brad Webb/AmigaUpdate
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || bandr@globaldialog.com
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_ ||
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