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Amiga Update (1998-03-22)
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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 ||
======================================================================
AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Gateway 2000, Inc.
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980322
H & P , P H A S E 5 D O I N G A M I G A O S 3 . 5 ?
I M A G E F X 3 . 0 N O W S H I P P I N G
N E W M A N U A L F O R I B R O W S E - O F F E R
V O Y A G E R N G 2 . 9 5 F R O M V A P O R W A R E
R E B O L T E C H N O L O G I E S F O U N D E D
W O R L D O F A M I G A 1 9 9 8 I N L O N D O N
G E N E T I C S P E C I E S R E P O R T - V U L C A N
A M I N E T S E T 6
S A K U 9 8 I N F I N L A N D
" A M I G A U N I V E R S I T Y " N E W S
C A N D I D A T E S F O R U S E R R E P , I C O A
R E T I N A Z 2 S U P P O R T G R O U P
T H E A M I G A I N F O R M E R A N N E X S E C T I O N !
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
We don't often start the newsletter with a rumor, but we are this
time. That's because it pertains to the upcoming next release of the
Amiga's operating system, something that's very important to the
computer's future. We suspect strongly this rumor is true, but we
treat it as a rumor until we can confirm it from more than one source.
AMIGA 98 A SUCCESS!
Some details about OS 3.5 were revealed at last weekend's very
successful Amiga 98 show in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Three priorities
for the next release will be full Internet solutions; an enhanced user
interface; and support for more industry standards.
The show this year attracted 1000 plus paying attendees, up 11% from
last year. Actually, that number doesn't include all the folks who
showed up on Friday when the show floor wasn't operating. There were a
couple of hundred people there that day by my estimate, for classes
and seminars.
The mood was very positive, with a vibrant show floor doing a lot of
business on Saturday and Sunday. The classes and seminars were all
well attended. Both Petro Tyschtschenko, General Manager of Amiga
International, and Jeff Schindler, General Manager of Amiga
Incorporated attended and spoke. We'd have liked more concrete details
on the future than we actually got. However, we did learn from
Schindler that there is a plan in place for the Amiga's future, and it
runs beyond the year 2000. According to Schindler, the plan exceeds
even his expectations. We'll have to wait to find out the details.
For us, the most fun at the show was meeting and talking to a number
of our readers. Thanks to everyone who took the time to chat.
Interesting items for you this issue. Nothing earthshaking, but many
good things.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
Brad Webb,
Editor
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H & P , P H A S E 5 D O I N G A M I G A O S 3 . 5 ?
{The following item was found posted to the usenet this weekend. We
have had a very rough English translation of the original German made
and included. We consider this a rumor until further confirmation can
be obtained from one of the Amiga companies. Our thanks to Heiko
Kuschel for posting this to the net.
Brad}
20 Mar 1998 From: Heiko Kuschel
Haage & Partner und Phase 5 arbeiten am AMIGA OS 3.5
-
Petro Tyschtschenko, Praesident von AMIGA International, Inc.,
bestaetigte soeben gegenueber AMIGA aktuell Geruechte, nach denen der
Softwarehersteller Haage & Partner und der Hardwareproduzent Phase 5
digital products an der Entwicklung des AMIGA OS 3.5 beteiligt sind.
Ausserdem arbeiten Olaf Barthel und Fleecy Moss (Mitglied beim
Industry Council for Open AMIGA) mit. Die Regie bei der
Weiterentwicklung des AMIGA-Betriebssystems hat Jeff Schindler, Chef
der AMIGA-Entwicklungsabteilung AMIGA, Inc., USA.
This means: H&P, P5 are involved in the development of OS 3.5.
Additinally, O. Barthel and Fleecy Moss. Project coordinator is Jeff
Schindler.
Greetings
Heiko
{Rough English translation follows:}
Haage & Partner and Phase 5 operate on the AMIGA OS 3,5
-
Petro Tyschtschenko, president of AMIGA international, Inc.,
acknowledged just opposite AMIGA up-to-date rumors, after which the
software producer Haage & partners and the hardware producer phase 5
are digitally products in the development of the AMIGA OS 3,5
involved. Additionally Olaf Barthel and Fleecy Moss (member in the
Industry Council for open AMIGA) cooperate. The direction with the
advancement of the AMIGA operating system has Jeff Schindler, boss of
the AMIGA development department AMIGA, Inc., the USA.
This means: H&P, P5 of AR involved into the development OF OS 3.5.
Additionally, O. Barthel and Fleecy Moss. Project coordinator is Jeff
Schindler.
Greetings
Heiko
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I M A G E F X 3 . 0 N O W S H I P P I N G
For Immediate Release
Nova Design, Inc., producers of the award winning ImageFX package and
the highly received Aladdin 4D package, are proud to announce that the
exciting version 3.0 upgrade to ImageFX is now shipping! ImageFX has
been the required graphics application for all Amiga owners and has
been a part of Video Toaster/Flyer owner's toolkits for years.
Combining painting, image file format conversion, image processing,
and special effects, ImageFX is the undisputed leader in graphics
manipulation on the Amiga.
"ImageFX 3.0 can be called the 'Users Request' upgrade as it is built
upon the input of our users.", says Bob Fisher, Vice-President in
charge of sales at Nova Design, Inc. "We've made wonderful changes to
the interface, adding instant asynchronous redrawing of your images,
larger previews that can be magnified, multiple image windows, real
image layers, and many more special effects!"
Highlights of ImageFX 3.0
The interface still follows professional standards for the Amiga and
the video and film industry with its paintbox style approach. This has
been built on in ImageFX 3.0 to allow child menus to remain open for
quick access to frequently used functions, larger effects previews
that you can zoom in and out of and move around in, font sensitivity,
multiple image windows including the ability to open multiple windows
for the same image, real image layers that allow you to compose
complex composited images that can be modified over and over with
ease, and many other improvements throughout.
Cross platform connectivity has been a top concern with ImageFX, from
its Video Toaster/Flyer support, to its wide range of image file
format support for all computer platform image formats. With this new
release ImageFX improves its Flyer support and also now gains support
for the Photoshop native file format so that layered images can be
shared from Photoshop to ImageFX. ImageFX also now directly supports
loading, and preserving, color-mapped (CMAP) image data for quick,
accurate, conversion of these formats.
Optimizations are also included now for all processor types including
the 68040 and 68060 chipsets.
Special effects have always been one of the touchstones of the power
of ImageFX.
From the earliest days ImageFX pioneered bringing high-end
"Hollywood-style" special effects to the desktop with it's morphing
and warping, wire removal, lightning and fire effects. The effects in
this release extend this even further!
The all-new Clouds module allows you to generate true fractal clouds
that can animate their movement and evolve over time, via batch
processing, from one form to another. The clouds can be layered to
create three-dimensional effects and combine with custom, or supplied,
palettes to create wild plasma designs as well.
Scatter is an amazing new effect that can shatter an image into
pieces as small as a single pixel and blast them apart in many
different patterns. This can be used for artistic designs or for
dramatic transitions.
Also new in ImageFX 3.0 is Splash. Splash uses ray tracing and bump
mapping to create liquid simulations of rain, water ski surf,
gelatinous wiggles and more. The effect can be batched to animate
puddles of rainwater and create highly organic transitions.
A classic effect from other computer platforms, Pagecurler, has been
added as well. This can add a cool curled page effect to the edge of
an image or make letters appear to peel off of the page!
The true gem in the new effects is called FXForge. FXForge uses
simple mathematical expressions that, when applied against each pixel
in the image, can create hundreds upon hundreds of new effects. It
uses a superset of the same technology used in Adobeä Photoshopä' s
Filter Factoryä plug-in and is completely compatible to formulas for
effects created for that package. Due to the overwhelming popularity
of these formulas, you can find hundreds, if not thousands, of them
available on the Internet. Experienced users can create these as well
to extend their toolkit of special effects on their own! Unique to
ImageFX's FXForge is the ability to animate the parameters and access
ImageFX's swap buffer for transitional effects as well!
Ordering the Upgrade
The upgrade from the ImageFX 2.0 through 2.6 release is only $79.95
plus shipping. ($5 in the US, $10 elsewhere) Versions of ImageFX prior
to 2.0 can be upgraded for only $124.95. You can order via
1-800-IMAGE-69 in the US and Canada or call (804) 282-1157 elsewhere.
Orders can also be faxed to (804) 282-3768 or mailed to our address.
Anyone purchasing ImageFX 2.6 after January 15th, 1998 can upgrade for
free with proof of purchase.
ImageFX is also available, new, through your local Amiga dealer or
via mail order at a suggested retail price of $349.95.
Nova Design, Inc., 1910 Byrd Avenue, Suite 204, Richmond, VA 23230.
For customer support or information call (804) 282-6528, or fax us at;
(804) 282-3768.
ImageFX, and Aladdin 4D are trademarks of Nova Design, Inc. Video
Toaster and Toaster are trademarks of Newtek, Inc. All other
trademarks are held by their respective owners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W M A N U A L F O R I B R O W S E - O F F E R
18 Mar 1998
iBrowse has changed a great deal since its original release, so much
so that version 1.2 bears little resemblence to the program described
in the current iBrowse manual, which was written for version 1.0. Many
changes have been made, many new features have been added. So we are
putting together a new iBrowse 1.2 manual, which is currently in the
final stages of production (off to the printers any day now).
If you are a registered iBrowse 1.2 user we are delighted to be able
to offer you the new manual at a very special reduced price. Order the
new manual pre-publication and you can save over 50% - until May 1 the
price to you is just £5.95 plus shipping (on publication day that
rises to £11.95).
Shipping costs: UK £1.25, Europe £2, Rest of world £4 (airmail)
To buy your iBrowse 1.2 manual at the special offer pre-publication
price of £5.95 plus shipping, simply call us on freecall 0500 223 660
(Intl. 00 44 1525 718 181) or fax us on 01525 713 716 (Intl. 00 44
1525 713 716), or email your order to:
ibrowse-sales@hisoft.co.uk
When ordering we need your name, address and daytime phone number,
your credit/debit card details and your iBrowse serial number. Our
sales and despatch staff have been given very strict instructions - no
serial number, no manual, no exceptions! (So please don't give them a
hard time about it!)
If you would prefer to pay by cheque or money order, that's fine.
Simply make your cheque or money order payable to HiSOFT SYSTEMS and
post your order to:
HiSOFT SYSTEMS
iBrowse 1.2 Manual
The Old School
Greenfield
Bedford MK45 5DE
England
Remember, to buy your iBrowse 1.2 manual at the exclusive special
offer price of £5.95 plus shipping (saving over 50% on the published
price), we must have your order before May 1.
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V O Y A G E R N G 2 . 9 5 F R O M V A P O R W A R E
__ __ _ _ ___ ___ ___ ___
\ \ / /__ _ _ __ _ __ _ ___ _ _| \| |/ __| |_ )/ _ \ __|
\ V / _ \ || / _` / _` / -_) '_| .` | (_ | / / \_, /__ \
\_/\___/\_, \__,_\__, \___|_| |_|\_|\___| /___(_)_/|___/
|__/ |___/ http://www.vapor.com/voyager/
Welcome to VoyagerNG 2.95.
Voyager is a web browser for Amiga computers. It has been programmed
over the last two years by Oliver Wagner owagner@vapor.com, and is a
part of the VaporWare suite of Internet applications. For more
information on VoyagerNG or any of the other VaporWare products,
please visit the VaporWare website http://www.vapor.com/.
This is the first public release of VoyagerNG since version 2.88. In
the past months, many parts of VoyagerNG's internal workings have been
rewritten from scratch. A direct result of this is the implementation
of HTTP/1.1 which allows VoyagerNG to use persistent connections to
websites in order to decrease load times, the only Amiga web browser
capable of this.
This version of VoyagerNG has undergone thorough internal beta
testing over the last few months. Despite this, some bugs have surely
remained.If you do encounter a bug, please submit a bug report to our
online BugTrack database, at http://www.vapor.com/bugtrack/ ...thanks!
Please subscribe to the VoyagerNG Mailing List if you would like to
discuss the program. Details of all VaporWare Mailing Lists are on the
website, http://www.vapor.com.
VoyagerNG is *SHAREWARE*. You can register it easily with the
included registration utility at any of our registration sites around
the world.These include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden,
Poland, the United Kingdom, and the USA.
To use your Credit Card or First Virtual account to register online,
just point your browser at http://order.vapor.com/cgi-bin/regform.
This is a secure site. All Credit Card orders are processed through
the UK registration site, at current UK prices. All First Virtual
orders are processed through the USA registration site, at current USA
prices.
The executable comes in two versions: One, called "V", is compiled
for 68000/020/EC030/EC040 CPUs, the other, "V030" is compiled for
68030 CPUs (and up) equipped with an FPU (68881/68882, 040 and 060).
The install program should select the right executable for your CPU.
(For a full list of changes since version 2.88, please see below).
VoyagerNG 2.95's new features include:
* Rewritten networking code supporting the HTTP/1.1 standard. This
allows Voyager to "park" connections to HTTP/1.1-capable websites in
order to use them again as needed. Parked HTTP/1.1 connections show up
as grey LEDs. This majorly improves speed when browsing around a web
site by eliminating any TCP layer overhead for connection
establishment.
* Persistant FTP implementation. This allows Voyager to maintain
connections to FTP sites instead of reconnecting every time the user
does something. This allows for fast access to FTP sites and better
FTP browsing.
* Voyager is now capable of blitting images to and from Fast RAM on
ECS/AGA systems. This totally eliminates the 1/2 MB Chip mem barrier
and any problems related to that.
* Voyager will now complete a URL you type in as best it can. For
example, entering www.yah will have V complete it with "oo.com" if you
have recently visited Yahoo.
* The print feature has been greatly optimised with options to print
graphics, graphics with background, or text only. Voyager also
supports Turboprint for printing from 16/24 bit screens.
* Searching for text within documents is now possible.
* Cache handling has been improved and optimised, including a new
Cache browser.
* SSL certificate management is included in Voyager's settings area.
Note that this feature is only activated when using Voyager's own SSL
plugin, not MiamiSSL.
* Image decoder now supports the XBM format.
* Voyager can now view and save files using MimePrefs.
* SSL sessions may now be cached.
* Overall layout speed has been heavily improved.
* Voyager's context menus now include a WebTV interface.
* Voyager has a direct interface to Microdot II for news/mail.
Voyager 2.95 is now available:
via FTP:
ftp.vapor.com, /pub/voyager/
ftp.us.vapor.com, /pub/voyager/
ftp.fr.vapor.com, /pub/voyager/
ftp.de.vapor.com, /pub/voyager/
via HTTP
http://www.vapor.com/ (main web site)
http://vapor.comukonline.co.uk/ (UK file only mirror)
via E-Mail:
mail to fileserv@vapor.com>, put "SEND REGTOOL" into the mail body.
The file will be returned uuencoded.
vng_295.lha 966261
vng_295.lzx 890655
----------------------------------------------------------------------
R E B O L T E C H N O L O G I E S F O U N D E D
20-Mar-1998
Ukiah, California: Carl Sassenrath announced today the formation of
REBOL Technologies, a system software company which will focus on the
research, development, and marketing of a ground-breaking new computer
scripting and messaging language. Called REBOL (pronounced "reh-bul"),
this technology signals a fundamental new approach to distributed
personal computing.
REBOL will offer a means of putting computing power back into the
hands of users and application developers. "Personal computing should
be about opening up greater options for what people can accomplish
with their computers, not holding users hostage to the tools,
features, and 'upgrade-and-wait' cycles of the software
mega-corporations. REBOL combats this dependency by enabling
individuals to create and customize network-ready software in a form
that's simple, flexible, and easy to maintain" says Sassenrath, who is
best known for his Amiga multitasking OS architecture. "It is about us
being the masters of our computers, not the reverse."
REBOL, which stands for Relative Expression-Based Object Language,
provides a standard method for the exchange and sharing of information
and programs between people, applications, and computers. REBOL
programs can function independently or in conjunction with other
applications and are designed to directly access the primary Internet
protocols such as email, web, FTP, and others. In fact, REBOL itself
is designed for Internet distribution; the language core is
streamlined to download from the Web in the amount of time it takes to
load the main page of a typical commercial web site.
"I'm awestruck that nobody created something like it sooner,"
commented Ted Wallingford, production director for Pantheon Systems.
"I believe that REBOL could be marketed not only for its ease of use,
but also on its sheer power."
REBOL Technologies will be releasing its first product, REBOL/Share,
by late summer and REBOL/Core by early fall. The software is expected
to run on a wide variety of platforms and operating systems from the
Amiga to Unix and everything in-between. The products will be
distributed as freeware, shareware, and commercial releases over the
Internet and directly from the company.
REBOL Technologies is headquartered in the scenic coastal mountains
of Ukiah (110 miles North of San Francisco). The company is busy
recruiting software and system engineers as well as other "true
renegades" to join the company in Ukiah. "This is a chance to get in
on the ground floor of the next major revolution in distributed
personal computing."
REBOL Technologies can be found on the web at http://www.rebol.com/.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
W O R L D O F A M I G A 1 9 9 8 I N L O N D O N
Hammersmith, London, UK
10 March, 1998
CU-Amiga Magazine Announce WOA 98 will happen, read the article
direct from their web-site.
The Place; Hammersmith Novotel, London, The Time; 15th - 17th May
1998, The Reason; World Of Amiga 1998. After last years successful
show, where we where treated to such delights as TFX for Amiga, the
launch of DOpus Magellan and Phase5 showing off their PPC boards, WOA
98 will most definitely be an event to be seen at.
Pricing...
At this present moment in time I have no information on prices for
exhibiting at WOA98. I do have prices for attending.
Adult Tickets - £7.50
Child Tickets - £5.50
Order your tickets via the Ticket Hotline on (+44) 01369 708029
What do we have to look forward too?
I have it on good grounds that both the leading UK Amiga Magazines CU
Amiga and Amiga Format, will be attending
Power Computing are hoping to exhibit their A5000 Tower Amiga, with
68040 or 060 with PPC.
They should also have availble Blizzard PPC cards (w/o SCSI),
CatWeasel Mk2 and their A1200 Keyboard adaptors.
GoldenImage will be stocking their usual range of Amiga products.
Dr Greg Perry of GPSoft is considering attending to answer any
queries about Directory Opus 5.5 and GPFax. Hopefully an update to
DOpus5 will be available.
Michael C. Battilana of Cloanto will be visiting although he says
that Cloanto will be represented by others.
From Vulcan Software, Paul Carrington and Lisa are launching Genetic
Species.
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G E N E T I C S P E C I E S R E P O R T - V U L C A N
11 Mar 1998
Development on Geneitic Species is in full steam and around the
clock, even though we have experienced some delays in it`s release
date we are confident that this awesome 3 year project will be ready
towards the end of April 98 with a full promotional release at the
World of Amiga (London) in May 98.
Pre-orders are recommended and further details can be found at the
Vulcan website www.vulcan.co.uk with on-line ordering facilities and
our world wide stockists list.
To fuel the excitiement and build up of this title we have released
the following extensive information pack to clarify exactly what
Genetic Species Offers. Enjoy! {This is an edited version of the
information pack - the full press release is as long as a typical
"Amiga Update" issue. Brad}
Genetic Species offers furiously invigorating and thrilling 3D action
with texture mapping speeds never before seen on any Amiga
entertainment title!
With Atmosphere, Gameplay, Addictiveness and Presentation as its
highest priorities you will experience the ultimate escapism in a
violent and puzzling 3D world coupled with the most awesome
environmental effects and imagery which are all proudly displayed in
256 colours at an incredible (1x1) Pixel Resolution using the most
sophisticated Texture Mapping Engine to date.
In its simplest form Genetic Species requires an AGA Amiga with an
020 CPU, a minimum of 2mb Chip and 8Mb Fast Memory, a Hard Drive and a
2 x Speed CDRom Drive. With more Fast Memory and a Faster CPU you will
soon discover that Genetic Species excels in visual presentation and
by choosing the appropriate window size, you will be spoiled by
blindingly fast action. Pushing the quality further, if you have a
CyberGfx or Picasso96 Graphics Card then you will soon realise what
the Amiga was made for! Graphics card users require only 0.5Mb of Chip
Memory and a minimum of 8mb Fast Memory.
The first thing you will see is an awesome 200Mb 3D rendered intro
animation that sets the scene and atmosphere for the experience that
follows, in order to get the best out of the intro animation a 4 x
Speed CDRom is recommended.
Once into the game you are bombarded with a Visual & Audio splendour
that is matched only by the speed, response time and gameplay. Genetic
Species has been written in 100% assembly and for the last 3 years has
seen many talented individuals eat, sweat and sleep nothing else to
bring you the ultimate 3D experience, so venture forth over the many
Huge Levels and frightening locations, all of which Demand a High
Element of Genetic Warfare and Logic Plot Based Puzzle Solving.
Not only will you have a horrific weapon array (for mass murder) at
your disposal but you will also be equipped with the latest `In-Built
Portable Probe Device` were you will be able to `Psyche` Travel
through your Environment and even engage in `Body Transfers` to Assume
the Identity of other Entities. For navigation purposes your Portable
On- Screen `Alpha Map Display` with Size and Luminance Controls comes
in very handy.
The Many Enemies encountered are superbly rendered and all have their
own unique `high level` artificial intelligence routines, each
animated in true to life multiple positions and each as deadly as the
next.
And finally, Genetic Species is brought to life with a massive
selection of High Quality Digital Sounds & Effects with Stereo
Surround and an incredible 30 Minutes of High Quality (in game) CD
music.
LOOK OUT FOR THE GENETIC SPECIES LEVEL CREATOR CDRom COMING SOON
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I N E T S E T 6
20 Mar 1998
Aminet Set 6 is available!
Suggested Retail Price DM 59.00
DM 59.00 convert to US$32.00 given current exchange rates!
*****
Ordering information:
The most convenient method of placing an order is to use our
electronic order form located at http://www.schatztruhe.de/order.html.
You can also send an E-Mail to stefano@schatztruhe.de including your
address and the products you wish to order.
*****
AMINET® SET 6 offers you everything that was added to the archive
since AMINET® SET 5 was made, plus full versions of Wordworth 5 SE,
TurboCalc 3.5, PPaint 6.4 & Wildfire 3.38.
AMINET® SET 6, dated March 1998, consists of approximately 4
gigabytes of software in 7.500 archives. Since the release of Aminet
23 more than 440 MB of new software have appeared.
Contents of Aminet Set 6
Directory Size Files Contents
biz 88 MB 259 Business software
comm 113 MB 678 Communications
demo 406 MB 379 Graphics & sound demo
dev 115 MB 351 Development software
disk 16 MB 81 Disk & HD tools
docs 181 MB 341 Documents
game 441 MB 756 Games
gfx 158 MB 338 Graphics software
hard 7 MB 60 Hardware related
misc 93 MB 189 Miscellaneous
mods 1017 MB 1994 Music modules
mus 46 MB 159 Music software
pix 878 MB 975 Pictures
text 34 MB 119 Text software
util 118 MB 826 Utilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
S A K U 9 8 I N F I N L A N D
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 1998 - Saku 98, organized by the Finnish Amiga Users Group,
promises to be the biggest Amiga only event in Finland in years. The
exhibition will be attended by the leading Finnish Amiga retailers
Amigator, Broadline Oy, Gentle Eye Ky and Tsunami Trading, as well as
the hardware manufacturer Petsoff Limited Partnership (of Delfina
fame). As a guest of honour, Amiga International's Petro Tyschtschenko
will also be present at the event. Saku 98 is the second annual Amiga
event organized by the Finnish Amiga Users Group. It will be held on
Saturday March 28th at the Science Centre Heureka in Vantaa, 15
kilometers from the city of Helsinki. The exhibition opens at 11:00
and ends at 17:00. Mr. Tyschtschenko will give a speech, which has
been scheduled to start at 12 o'clock. Admission will be free of
charge. For those who can't attend, Finnish Amiga Users Group hopes to
provide an IRC channel (#saku98 at IRCnet) with live comments from the
exhibition place. Foreign people who wish to join the conversation
should note the Finnish timezone (EET, GMT+2). For further
information, visit Finnish Amiga Users Group's Web Site at
http://batman.jytol.fi/~saku/ or http://tzimmola.tky.hut.fi/saku/.
E-mail inquiries may be sent to Janne Siren (siren@mikrobitti.fi).
About Finnish Amiga Users Group
Finnish Amiga Users Group is a non-profit organization for promoting
Amiga computing and helping Amiga users in Finland. Also known as
Saku, after it's disk magazine, the group is trying to accomplish it's
goals by organizing meetings and by publishing a disk magazine. Since
1993 the Finnish Amiga Users Group and it's predecessors have released
24 issues of the disk magazine and held four gatherings.
--
Janne Siren siren@mikrobitti.fi, http://www.mikrobitti.fi/~siren/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
" A M I G A U N I V E R S I T Y " N E W S
March 17, 1998
Just a few months ago, four lucky Amiga-users won fantastic prizes
playing the Amiga University trivia game at
www.amigainformer.com/amigau.
Now's YOUR chance to win one of the following prizes:
- GRAND PRIZE : A1200 Magic Pack computer system
- FIRST PRIZE : An assortment of Vulcan Software games, including:
o Valhalla 1, 2, and 3
o Uropa 2 CD
o Final Odyssey CD
o The Strangers AGA CD
o JETPilot
o Burnout AGA
o Tiny Troops
o Hillsea Lido
o Bograts AGA
o Time Keepers
o Time Expansion
o PC-to-Amiga analog joystick adapter
- SECOND PRIZE : Aladdin 4D 5.0 modeling and rendering software
- (2) THIRD PRIZES : Aweb-II 3.1/AirMail Pro Bundle
- (4) FOURTH PRIZES : A selection of Turtle Lightning CD-ROM software
- (4) FIFTH PRIZES : Golden Image Pen-mouse
All told, there's almost two thousand dollars worth of prizes. You
can make yourself eligible to win prizes by attempting our challenging
Amiga-oriented trivia questions. The more answers you get correct, the
better chance you have of winning! New questions will be posted every
two weeks for two months.
Don't delay, play the Informer's Amiga University Online Sweepstakes
game right now!
The Amiga University is sponsored by The Amiga Informer magazine,
Pantheon Systems Company, Amiga International, Turtle Lightning
Software, Nova Design, Amitrix Development, and Toysoft Development.
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C A N D I D A T E S F O R U S E R R E P , I C O A
17th March 1998
Candidates announced for User Representative election
The Jay Miner Society (JMS) today released the official list of
candidates for the forthcoming election of a User Representative to
the Steering Committee of the Industry Council of the Open Amiga
(ICOA). Voting will begin on 23rd March.
The User Representative will have a full voting seat on the Steering
Committee for a period of one year, alongside the four seats for those
elected by ICOA members and a permanent non-voting veto seat occupied
by an Amiga Inc representative. This position has been created to
ensure that the ICOA makes decisions that not only satisfy programmers
and manufacturers, but benefit Amiga users in general. It combines the
roles of consumer advocate, opinion-gatherer, strategist and community
liaison. The JMS and other user organizations will provide support for
this demanding job.
The candidates are:
Bill Borsari <tekmage@wam.umd.edu>
Craig Delahoy <craigd@ansonic.com.au>
Paul Haggins <graphixd@wonder.ca>
Timothy Vincent Rue <timrue@mindspring.com>
Voters can submit their votes from 23rd March onwards at the JMS
election web site <URL:http://www.jms.org/election/> or by e-mail.
Forms for voting by e-mail can be obtained by writing to
<jms@cnct.com> with the Subject line "send english voting-form".
For further information about the election, please contact Ben
Hutchings <worc0223@sable.ox.ac.uk> of the Jay Miner Society, or
Fleecy Moss <fleecy@netreach.net> of the Industry Council of the Open
Amiga.
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R E T I N A Z 2 S U P P O R T G R O U P
3 Mar 98
Hi to all you Retina Z2 owners, Are you feeling neglected? Feel like
nobody cares about you or your card anymore? I know I do, so I have
decided to set up a Retina Z2 support group so that we can all have
somewhere to go to for help and information about the Retina Z2 and
the programs which do/not support this great card.
If you are interested in joining then write *to me personally*, Send
me a list of the programs you have got/not got to work with the
Retina, and I will set up a database of these programs. If these
programs were found anywhere other than on Aminet, you might send me
the locations so that I can include that in the database as well. Also
give me some idea of your setup, and any special talents you might
have which could help the group in general (programming ability, web
page design, whatever), and finally, any problems that you are having
with the Retina and maybe we can help solve them. Don't worry if
English is not your native language, so long as you can make yourself
understood. Your English is bound to be better than my attempts at
your language, so don't be embarrassed about writing in broken
English, we still want to hear from you!
If I get enough replies, I will consider setting up a mailing list,
otherwise I will simply handle the enquiries myself. Also if I get
enough replies I will approach the developers of Picasso96 and
CyberGraphix and try to persuade them to support the Retina Z2 with
their software, but we will need some large numbers to make them
change their minds. So it is all up to you now. You can go on crying
about the fact that no-one supports the Retina Z2 any more, or you can
do something about it! Hope to hear from you soon!
Kind regards,
Terry
--
terryc@white.aljan.com.au ___
=========================== ////
Amiga 2000/030/25,9mb,Retina Australian Amigas do it umoq eqisbn
970mb HDD,CD-Rom,Zip,VFC Modem ___ ////
Miami,MultiYAM,V-NG,MD-2,AmFTP \\\\////
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DataFlyer CD-XDS v1.1 Review
============================
Originally appearing in issue 6 of The Informer, Feb/Mar 1997
©Eldritch Enterprises
More and more Amigans want to access CD-ROMs. SCSI modules are one
way to attach a CD-ROM drive to your system but IDE devices are still
cheaper than their SCSI counterparts, making them appealing. The A1200
and A600 come with a built-in IDE controller that will control up to
two devices. Since most users are running only one IDE device (a hard
dreve), it make sence to utilize the unused IDE address.
Recognizing this Expansion Systems released the CD-XDS as a way to
add an IDE CD-ROM to a system.
The CD-XDS package includes a two piece aluninium chassis, a IDE
power/data cable and a small but detailed manual. Optionally, you can
order a 5-pin DIN power cable for connecting to an external power
supply. You may also wish to purchase the CD-XDS bundled with
Asimwares APATI compatible file system. This is only the APATI file
system found on Asimwares CDFS software. No other part of the CDFS
software is included. In all cases, an APATI file system is nessassary
to read the information on a CD-ROM.
We tested the CD-XDS on an A1200 that included an Apollo 1240 40 Mhz
accelerator, 32 Mb fast RAM, and a Squirrel SCSI controller with 2
devices attached. This system also had an external hard drive housed
in a DataFlyer XDS chassis.
A Mitsui FX400 Quad speed CD-ROM Drive was mounted into the CD-XDS
chassis. This standard 5 1/4 drive screwed easily onto the CD-XDS
chassis. Connectiong the power supply plug, the IDE cable, and setting
the power jumpers was straight forward and easy. After sliding on the
chassis housing, it was ready to connect to the 1200.
It is nessessary to open your computer to connect the Data/Power
cable to the IDE header. By following the well diagramed manual,
making the connections inside the computer was a snap, and within 10
minutes, we had the CD-XDS running.
We also connected the CD-XDS to our external DataFlyer hard drive.
This required a bit more thinking, because the manual failed to detail
this procedure. After a brief call to tech support, we were on track
and installation proceeded without a hitch. It is worth noting
however, that if you are attaching your CD-XDS chassis to a DataFlyer
external hard drive, it is nessessary to power the CD-XDS with a
separate power supply. We where not able to power the CD-XDS through
the computer.
Once installed the CD-XDS worked flawlessly. I have only two minor
complains about this piece of hardware. I found the chassis cover was
difficult to slid over the CD-ROM drive. This was caused by the
mounting screw not setting fully. However, after a little lubrication
it slid on securly if not easily. The other minor complaint was the
lack of documentation on installing the CD-XDS to an external
DataFlyer hard drive. I was assured that this documentation would be
posted to their web site to remedy the oversight.
This is an excellent and well made product that installs easily, and
does what it says. Expansion Systems has been with the Amiga for many
years and with the CD-XDS, they continue their well deserved good
reputation. The CD-XDS rates an A.
List Prisce for the CD-XDS is US $109.00 or $149.00 with ASIMwares
ATAPI software.The CD-XDS has a full one year limited warrenty.
Expansioin Systems, 44862 Osgood Rd. Freemont CA 94536. Voice:
510-656-2890; FAX: 510-656-5131 URL: http://www.sns.com/~expsys;
Email: expsys@sns.com
Rating: A
By Fletcher Haug
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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
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Copyright 1998 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || bandr@globaldialog.com
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