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Amiga Update (1999-07-16)
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_ __ _ <>_ __ _ ||
/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || A M I G A U P D A T E
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || -News and Rumors-
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_|| (An Occasional e-mail
KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING || Newsmagazine)
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AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc.
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990716
P R E S . C O L L A S I N T R O T O T E C H B R I E F
A M I G A T E C H N O L O G Y B R I E F
M O R E O N 3 . 5 L A U N C H
T R O J A N S F O U N D
A M I G A F E S T 9 9 U P D A T E
A M I G A S P E C I F I C I S P
F X P A I N T A N N O U N C E D
P H A S E 5 G 3 B O A R D U P D A T E
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
As of today the cards are on the table! Below is the Amiga Technology
Brief we've been waiting for - some eagerly, some with fear- and a
good introduction from Jim Collas as well. Read it carefully - it's
the map to the future for Amiga. It's the first map to the future the
Amiga's had since, well, long before Commodore died. We've been
waiting for someone to lead the way since 1994 at least. Now we have a
roadmap. Some will probably not like it and leave the Amiga behind.
Others, the ones with vision I believe, will get behind this and push.
You'll find me there with you. As I re-read my words, I realize they
don't crackle with excitement. I think the controversy surrounding the
Linux/QNX kernel has drained some of the emotions from me and probably
the community as well. Maybe that's good - we can take a cooler and
more analytical look at what Amiga's doing. I expect the excitement to
grow over time, and only to really take off when there's actually a
product to look at.
There's good news on that front too - by all indications, the
hardware design for the new models is proceding well and is nearing
completion.
We look forward to what's bound to be a lively discussion of the
plan now being laid out. We've noticed in recent days more and more
of the Community taking a more careful consideration of the Linux
kernel decision. We hope the same sort of thoughtfulness will be used
in analyzing the Brief.
Unfortunately, not everyone who can use a computer can also think,
even a little. Someone who insults Amigans by calling him or herself
one of us recently uploaded three trojan laced files - maybe more - to
Aminet. These files were designed to send obnoxious messages to Amiga,
apparently to President Jim Collas once activated in any Amiga where
they were installed. There's information below to help you avoid these
files. We're not sure what sort of creature would lower him/herself so
far, but whoever is involved has only one way to make a contribution
and that's by disappearing.
Meanwhile, real Amigans can take a look at the information below and
start making intelligent decisions about the Amiga and the future.
Best regards,
Brad
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E-mail to the E-ditor:
3 Jul 1999
HI brad a quick question maybe you know the answer.
Can we use parallel port stuff on our 2000 ?? with a parallel card
maybe ? I am speaking about things like SparQ disks or zip drives ,
DO you think they might be avail for the NEW AMIGA coming down the
road??? Thanks I appreciate all the work you do and am also a
religious fanatic for the Amiga Unfortunately my 2000 has HD itis
right now and I am using the work laptop for this . sigh oh well soon
I hope it is fixed
Dan
Dan,
I really don't know how well the parallel items work with Amiga. I
use scsi for just about everything. Any experts in the reader
community who can give Dan some guidance?
Brad
======
IS THERE ANY REASON WHY GATEWAY-AMIGA WIL NOT ADVERTISE ON TV? OR DID
GATEWAY BUY AMIGA OUT TO MONITOR AND CONTROL AMIGA'S POPULARITY.ARE
THEY AFRAID AMIGA MIGHT OUTSELL GATEWAY? DIE-HARD AMIGA FAN.
GOOD LUCK AND GOOD HEALTH-JIM
Jim,
Nothing to advertise yet. However, read the items in this issue for a
sense of what can be advertised in the future. Also, there are many
indications in comments made on the Net that the hardware design for
the next generation models is just about done. Hang in there,
Brad
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P R E S . C O L L A S I N T R O T O T E C H B R I E F
· · OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY
---------------------------------
July 16, 1999
Dear Amigans,
The next computer revolution is on the horizon. It is a revolution
that will unleash the full power of computers to the masses and
finally fulfill the promises of the information age. It will create a
new class of computing devices that combine power and simplicity to
make computers and the Internet a natural part of everyday life. They
will be exciting enough for the enthusiast and yet simple enough for
the common person. They will work seamlessly together in a highly
integrated operating environment encompassing the home, business, and
the world through the Internet. This is the future of computing and
the reason why we can't only develop an alternative computer platform.
Faster CPUs and faster graphics alone will not drive a revolutionary
new computer platform. They are important but not revolutionary.
Revolutionary thinking requires us to let go of past preferences and
envision a future that doesn't currently exist. It requires us to
develop technology and functions that enable this future vision. This
is the spirit of revolutionary innovation. The same spirit that drove
the original Amiga development team.
We need the support of the Amiga community to drive this revolution.
The Amiga community is one of the most heroic, passionate, and
innovative communities left in the computer industry. We need these
attributes to succeed because we have charted a bold course. Like
heroic explorers in the past, we can't discover a new continent
without losing sight of the old one for a long period of time. This
makes some people very uncomfortable and anxious but it is a
prerequisite of discovery and innovation. Some of you will feel
compelled to jump ship and swim for familiar shores before we sail out
of site. Most of you will stay for the excitement of the journey and
the reward of discovery. For those of you who are staying with the
ship, tie down the hatches and get ready for the future.
Before you read the technology brief there are a few concepts that
will help you put it in perspective. One is a high-level view of the
Amiga Operating Environment (OE). Instead of thinking of a single
computer with hardware and an operating system, I would like you to
start thinking about multiple computing devices integrated together
into a single large "virtual'' computer and an "operating
environment'' or OE to run this "virtual'' computer. The OE seamlessly
integrates multiple computing devices into a single, integrated, and
seamless operating environment. Like the OS for a large "virtual''
computer. The OE includes the OS for single computing devices but it
also runs the overall "virtual'' computer consisting of multiple
computing devices networked together. Every connected computing device
is both a building block and a window into this computing environment.
The other concept to understand is AmigaObjectTM. The AmigaObject is
a powerful software structure used to access computing functions and
capabilities. AmigaObjects are the main structures used to implement
the Amiga OE. They enable easy integration of technology, distributed
computing, high-speed network transactions, and communication between
applications in the OE. They are powerful software building blocks
that will allow people to build impressive applications quickly.
AmigaObjects are portable and transferable across platforms allowing
AmigaObjects to proliferate throughout the network and the Internet.
Since AmigaObjects are transferable and accessible over the Internet,
you can easily extend the Amiga OE through the Internet. This will
become critical as broadband Internet access becomes more and more
prevalent in the future. AmigaObjects are implemented using Java and
Jini technology but are specifically optimized to implement the Amiga
OE. AmigaObjects will allow us to build our revolutionary computer
platform.
The attached technology brief gives you some more detail on the next
generation Amiga. Before you read it, I have to strongly emphasize
that we have not released some of the most strategic parts of our
vision and technology. The vision of how our technology unleashes the
power of computing in the future is compelling. Unfortunately,
communicating the complete vision at this time would jeopardize our
competitive advantage and business success, especially if we released
this information on our web site. I hope you can understand how
important it is for us to keep certain strategic information from our
competitors. I can only say that all of the few people who have seen
our full vision have been extremely impressed. It is compelling and
will drive the future of computing. I look forward to sharing more
strategic details on the vision in the months to come starting at WoA
and AmiWest.
Sincerely,
Jim Collas
President, Amiga
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A T E C H N O L O G Y B R I E F
Amiga Product/Technology Brief
July 16, 1999
Introduction
The vision and mission of Amiga is to make computers and the Internet
a natural part of everyday life, by creating an industry-standard
operating environment for current and future consumer computing
devices that enables a wide range of innovative Internet services. We
use the term "operating environment" purposely, as this software
infrastructure extends the traditional operating system to provide a
host environment for a new class of portable applications -
applications that exist in a pervasive networked computing
environment, and provide transparent access to Internet content and
services. In essence, we are defining a new distributed home computing
environment that enables a user experience that is much more
accessible than today's personal computer experience. This environment
will tie together personal computers, information appliances, set-top
boxes, next-generation multimedia convergence computers and game
machines, and a host of other computing devices to define the next
phase in the evolution (revolution!) of computing.
The products under development at Amiga include:
o Amiga Operating Environment (Amiga OE) - a distributed software
architecture that extends traditional operating systems to provide a
rich user experience, support for pervasive networking, and a
framework for portable applications that transparently access Internet
content and services. A subset of the Amiga OE - the Amiga Information
Appliance Environment - is portable to a wide range of computing
devices and information appliances.
o Amiga Multimedia Convergence Computer (Amiga MCC) - a
hardware/software platform specifically designed to meld outstanding
multimedia performance, a new level of ease of use, transparent access
to the Internet and, through home networking, access to a growing
family of Amiga-compatible devices around the home. The Amiga MCC will
be distributed in two formats: an integrated multimedia convergence
computer, and a standard ATX motherboard. Both include the Amiga OE,
an underlying OS, and support for digital video/DVD, 3D graphics,
surround sound, and emerging broadband and home networking standards.
TheAmiga MCC is intended to serve as both a great platform for
multimedia applications such as 3D gaming and digital video
integration, and as the hub for a next-generation distributed home
computing environment.
Technology Philosophy and Overview
Amiga's long-term business success calls for a combination of
technology innovation, and technology integration. We are integrating
underlying technology components such as next-generation CPU's,
micro-kernel operating systems, graphics and GUI libraries and
frameworks, graphics/video/communications chipsets, wired and wireless
home networking subsystems, and object-based development environments,
in order to focus our resources on technologies that add unique value
to the Amiga Operating Environment. These value-added technologies
include: user interaction paradigms that are far simpler, and much
more intelligent, than today's personal computer paradigms; a "virtual
appliance" model that allows software applications to easily migrate
to multiple hardware configurations; support for pervasive and
transparent networking and Internet connectivity; and the underlying
AmigaObject architecture that implements and exposes all of the above.
This short technology brief is intended to provide a very high-level
overview of the development direction and technology choices being
made by Amiga, and will be supported by more in-depth whitepapers and
product documentation as the new Amiga products are introduced in the
marketplace. In this document, we overview:
o AmigaObjects and the Amiga Operating Environment
o Amiga MCC Operating System
o Graphics, Multimedia and GUI Frameworks
o Pervasive Networking
o Software Block Diagram
o Amiga MCC Hardware Architecture
o Development Tools and Applications
AmigaObjectsTM and the Amiga Operating Environment
AmigaObjectsTM are the foundation on which all Amiga Operating
Environment services are built. AmigaObjects provide powerful
component building blocks that allow developers to rapidly create
impressive and powerful Amiga applications. AmigaObjects furthermore
enable integration of a wide variety of different technologies under
one umbrella. Networking is intrinsic to AmigaObjects, which means
that AmigaObjects are free to move around on the network or use
network resources. The AmigaObject architecture by virtue of this
flexibility enables a new class of "net-aware" applications where
there is no clear boundary between a device and the network.
We have chosen Java (TM Sun Microsystems) as our primary programming
language for portable applications based on AmigaObjects (of course, C
and C++ will also be supported for native MCC applications). With Java
technologies such as kJava, pJava, Java2 and Java Enterprise Edition,
AmigaObject technology can be embedded in devices as small as
hand-held computers and scale all the way to large servers. This is a
truly revolutionary approach to computing; an approach we believe will
change the face of computing.
The AmigaObject technology serves as the foundation for all objects
in the Amiga Operating Environment. The power and flexibility of the
AmigaObject naturally extends to all other objects in the environment,
thereby giving all objects in the system network transparency and the
ability to proliferate across the network.
As mentioned above, AmigaObjects also integrate other technologies
into our framework. In particular, we make extensive use of as 3rd
party technologies where appropriate. Examples include Java, Jini,
OpenGL and several audio and video codec's. This enables Amiga to
focus its engineering efforts on the AmigaObjects and the Operating
Environment and less on creating technologies that already exist.
Amiga MCC Operating System
One of our convictions is that modern operating systems are just one
component of the new age in computing. The value proposition is no
longer just the traditional OS, but an overall environment providing
intelligent power and transparent services for the end user. While the
information appliance portion of the Amiga Operating Environment is
portable, and will be ported to a number of operating systems by Amiga
and Amiga's OEM partners over time, we needed to make an OS foundation
decision for the Amiga MCC.
There are a number of very interesting OS choices in the marketplace,
and it is fair to say that we have evaluated them all over the past
year. From traditional RTOS vendors such as Wind River and QNX, to
BeOS from Be Systems, to Sun's JavaOS built on Chorus, to Linux. As
has been previously announced, we had been working for some months
with QNX Software Systems to try to adapt the QNX RTOS to the needs of
a next-generation multimedia convergence computer. At the same time,
we had also been working with key members of the Linux community to
evaluate the pros and cons of Linux. As we focused on building a
successful business proposition, it became apparent to us that more
and more of our technology partners and software vendors were
encouraging us to focus on Linux as our underlying OS kernel. While we
were impressed with some of the technology elements in QNX (and BeOS
and Chorus, for that matter), we felt that it will be difficult for a
proprietary operating system to attract the broad industry support
required to be successful over the coming years.
Linux has been picking up substantial momentum over the past year as
a viable, open alternative to Windows in the marketplace. Over the
past year, Linux usage has more than tripled, with both large vendors
and start-ups adopting Linux as their OS foundation. The growing
commitment to Linux applications from a wide variety of software
vendors, and the growing development and availability of Linux device
drivers from hardware and peripheral suppliers, make it a compelling
choice. Also, as we ported our higher level operating environment and
AmigaObject architecture to Linux, we discovered significant
performance advantages in the Linux kernel in areas such as
distributed object invocation. And, no small advantage, Linux is
probably the most stable operating system available in the market.
For all of these reasons, we have decided to build the next-generation Amiga
MCC platform on top of a Linux OS foundation. We would be remiss in not
acknowledging that there are issues to overcome with Linux, as there were
with all of the other OS choices we evaluated. For example, there were
concerns with TCP/IP performance, which are being resolved, and concerns
about the required disk and memory footprint. As anyone knows who has looked
at Linux, the overall system is quite large. However, as we build our OS
foundation, we are subsetting Linux to meet our needs, and are now confident
that disk and memory requirements are quite reasonable (Linux is starting to
appear in a wide variety of information appliance devices, and there is even
a version of Linux that runs on the Palm Pilot!). There are also various
other performance issues with Linux that we are attacking - as with the
original Amiga, we are tightly binding the OS kernel to a specialized,
high-performance hardware architecture that resolves many of the concerns
that we, and the Amiga community, have had with existing Linux
implementations. The momentum building behind Linux, and the resources
around the world being applied towards fixing various issues, gives us
confidence that this will turn out in the end to be the right choice.
Graphics, Multimedia and GUI Frameworks
The technology strategy for graphics involves developing key
partnerships with companies currently producing state-of-the-art
component products. Amiga leverages the development efforts of these
organizations to deliver the product capabilities to Amiga customers.
For example Amiga is working with ATI to incorporate next-generation
3D rendering technology into the MCC (see the Hardware Architecture
section).
The widespread acceptance and momentum of OpenGL makes it the solid
choice as a 3D API to exploit hardware rendering capability. In
addition, the latest Java 2 releases have extended capabilities for 3D
scene manipulation, advanced imaging, and overall media coordination.
AmigaObjects are being developed to give users device-independent
control of these various media through Java objects which in turn
access graphics hardware acceleration through OpenGL whenever possible
or appropriate. It is important to understand that, when discussing
AmigaObject or Java access to hardware-accelerated API's such as
OpenGL, care is being taken to ensure that the higher level software
does not "get in the way'' when accessing the underlying hardware. As
with the original Amiga, it is the tight integration of software and
hardware that provides overall system performance.
The technology strategy for multimedia is essentially analogous to
that for graphics. The hardware delivery system for digital multimedia
may be a 3D graphics engine, a DVD decoder including MPEG 2 and AC-3
digital surround sound, or broadband Internet. For a complete
solution, the underlying hardware must be powerful enough to both
capture and play back audio/video streams. To accomplish this, Amiga
is developing partnerships with the leading hardware manufacturers of
these technologies. AmigaObjects are being developed to give
developers device-independent control through Java. The Java-based
AmigaObjects invoke methods to access appropriate levels of special
hardware assistance and acceleration. In cases where there is not a
widely accepted API such as OpenGL, Amiga and partners are writing a
number of these methods in native code as necessary. As with 3D, a
tight integration of software and hardware will provide outstanding
support for streaming media.
The Information Appliance portion of the Amiga Operating Environment
will be hosted on a wide range of devices, and the interactional
natures of these devices can be expected to differ widely. It would be
foolish to try to design a single interface for a palm-sized device
with a small, touch-sensitive, grayscale display and a relatively slow
wireless network connection; a set-top box with remote control and TV
display; and a traditional, multimedia desktop computer with full
keyboard, mouse, high-resolution monitor, and broadband networking -
it is doubtful that any single design could meet the needs of the
users of all these devices. Instead, we are implementing a design
environment that will insure a clear sense of consistency of
interaction across devices, while respecting the physical constraints
of the device on which a particular interface appears. We will also
minimize the effort to which developers must go to create virtual
appliances able to run on a wide range of products.
With regard to windowing environments on the Amiga MCC, we are
leveraging a combination of technologies from Linux and Java. At the
lowest level (managing the bits on the screen), we are using the
latest Linux X Windows window system. Most users and developers will
never see X Windows directly (unlike older UNIX systems, when X
Windows was somewhat cumbersome). However, the use of X Windows will
allow both new applications and standard Linux applications to run
seamlessly on the MCC. Sitting above X Windows are a growing number of
window managers that will be available on the MCC, and Java developers
will have access to the portable Java Swing GUI classes that hide the
underlying windowing complexity under a modern programming model.
Finally, there will be a suite of end-user workspaces, including a new
Amiga Workbench being designed at Amiga. There are already a number of
interesting desktop environments available for Linux, and it is our
intent to contribute the Amiga workbench to the open source movement,
and encourage the creative Amiga and Linux communities to modify,
enhance, replace, and generally get creative when it comes to
next-generation desktop environments (we believe that one of the
disadvantages of today's Windows and Macintosh personal computers is
the "closed'' nature of their desktop environments).
Pervasive Networking
The near future will bring more high-speed broadband Internet service
to homes via cable modems, xDLS and other new technologies. The
industry is standardizing on technologies for home networking, giving
consumers the ability to connect products throughout the home using
standard home wiring and wireless digital high-speed options.
Amiga-enabled products will support these standards and seamlessly
connect to each other while leveraging the entire home through our
distributed object technology. We are integrating emerging standards
such as HomePNA by Broadcom/Epigram into the Amiga Operating
Environment, using standard phone lines in North America homes.
Several initiatives are also being pursued in Europe and Asia, which
we continue to monitor. We are also investigating the front-running
technologies for digital wireless networks for the home environment.
Most regions of the world will standardize on a form of 2.4Ghz digital
wireless networking like that of Proxim's which we will support as
they become adopted by the industry. With the new Amiga object
technology and integration of these standards, the home will become
"the computer,'' including seamless high-speed connection to the
Internet.
With AmigaObjects being the foundation for all object services and
supporting distributive processing in the Amiga Operating Environment,
networking naturally becomes pervasive. There is no distinction
between devices (e.g. hard disks) found local to a computing element
or an equivalent device found somewhere on the network. The JiniTM
technology from Sun Microsystems addresses many of these problems with
an architecture that enables instant connectivity of devices to the
network such as disk drives, printers, scanners, cameras, etc. We are
encapsulating Jini technology for the types of devices where it works
well, and are providing complete AmigaObject solutions for services
not supported effectively by Jini. We'll provide more details on the
pervasiveness of network services at a later time.
The actual choice of transport is unimportant to the software and
application architecture. We expect to support most of the popular
networking standards, such as Ethernet, modem, HomePNA, HomeRF, IEEE
1394 and other digital high speed networking over time. The only real
issue is one of bandwidth: lower bandwidth connectivity tends to limit
the quality of services that can be offered. As you can see from the
hardware section, we're actively working on providing high-bandwidth
networking in our base system, thereby enabling a new generation of
net-aware applications and products.
Software Block Diagram
--- ---------------------------------------
| D || COMMERCIAL AND CUSTOM APPLICATIONS |
| || Java/Amiga Object Applications |
| E || MCC/Linux/Amiga Native Applications |
| | ---------------------------------------
| V | =======================================
| || * AMIGA OPERATING ENVIRONMENT * |
| E || |
| || ------------------------------------- |
| L ||| * User Environments * ||
| |||Info Appliance Env Amiga Workbench ||
| O ||| Amiga Classic Emulator ||
| || ------------------------------------- |
| P ||| * Software Library Level * ||
| ||| Java Classes Amiga Objects ||
| M ||| Amiga Window Manager ||
| || ------------------------------------- |
| E ||| * Software Interface Level * ||
| ||| Java Virtual Machine ||
| N ||| Multimedia Services ||
| ||| Industry-Standard APIs ||
| T || ------------------------------------- |
| ||| Operating System: Linux (Full MCC), ||
| ||| RTOSs, (Info Appliance Environment) ||
| || ------------------------------------- |
| T | =======================================
| | ---------------------------------------
| O ||Hardware Platform (processor, graphics,|
| || audio, I/O, ...) |
| O ||---------------------------------------
| |
| L |
| |
| S |
| |
---
Amiga MCC Hardware Architecture
The Amiga MCC is being designed to support state-of-the-art
multimedia while leaving the PC legacy baggage behind. The MCC will
have DVD, high-performance 3D, Ethernet-based home networking, digital
and traditional analog video and audio, and USB ports for digital
peripherals. It will have room for at least 2 hard drives, 2 PCI
slots, 7 USB ports and an open drive bay for enthusiast options such
as Zip and Jazz drives.
There is significant momentum for USB (Universal Serial Bus) in the
industry. USB is a digital 2-way interface that supports up to 10Mb/s.
This allows game controllers to support high-speed interactivity,
including features such as force feedback so when you are driving the
car the wheel will push back on you. It allows hot detection of
devices such as keyboards, printers, scanners, cameras, game
controllers, storage devices, etc. In fact, the USB standard supports
up to 127 peripherals on a single port. For this reason we do not
intend to support the legacy serial, parallel, PS/2 or analog game
ports. You can always add USB hubs for more devices, and there are
converters to the old buses (e.g. USB to parallel) for your legacy
peripherals that you might not want to get rid of for a while. There
are even efforts under way to make the next version of USB work up to
100Mb/s. The industrial design for the MCC has been done by Pentagram,
a leading worldwide industrial design firm. Several concept sketches
(out of approximately 12 that were considered) have been previously
released, and the final industrial design will be shown at the
upcoming World of Amiga and AmiWest shows.
As the foundation and hub for the Amiga computing revolution, the
Amiga MCC will be delivered in two formats: an integrated computing
system with an attractive industrial design and separate monitor
option; and a standard size ATX format motherboard for systems
vendors, software developers and enthusiasts who want access to MCC
functionality in other configurations with greater expandability.
We have selected a very exciting CPU for the MCC, which is at the
heart of a next-generation processing subsystem. The CPU subsystem
will provide more than just traditional central processing services -
having chosen Linux and Java as two of our fundamental software
building blocks, we wanted a CPU subsystem that could be highly tuned
for a Linux/Java software base, while also running classic Amiga
applications. We are still under strict confidentiality constraints,
and cannot disclose information about the CPU at this time. However,
we believe the selection of this technology will give us a unique
advantage for the Amiga.
As mentioned earlier, the MCC will include a very high-performance 3D
graphics subsystem, support for streaming media integration, and
support for the emerging home networking standards that will become
pervasive over the next two years. Following is a partial list of
features under development in the MCC hardware architecture:
Processing Subsystem:
o High-performance next generation CPU
o Hardware assist for Linux kernel, Java VM, and classic Amiga
emulation
o 168-pin SDRAM DIMMs -- future support for DDR SDRAM
o 32MB System RAM expandable to 288MB (ATX goal to be expandable to
1GB)
Graphics Subsystem:
o Advanced SuperScalar rendering 2D & 3D hardware accelerator
(unannounced next-generation ATI chipset - specs still under
non-disclosure):
o 24-bit true color depth / pixel supporting 640x480 to 1920x1200
resolutions
o Texture lighting & compositing, alpha blending, vertex- &
table-based fog, video textures, reflections, shadows, spotlighting,
bump mapping, LOD biasing, texture morphing, hidden surface
Z-buffering, dithering, anti-aliasing, gouraud- & specular-shaded
ploygons, perspective correct mip-mapping texturing, chroma-key,
bilinear & trilinear texture filtering; additional features to be
announced when ATI releases next-generation chip information
o 32MB 128-bit SDRAM frame buffer
Audio / Video:
o DVD drive standard (DVD-RAM when available)
o DVD playback including
o MPEG-2 hardware decode acceleration: motion compensation & iDCT
o Hardware subpicture decoder with interpolating scalar & alpha
compositor
o Real-time video compression including MPEG-2
o Still image capture acceleration
o Analog TV: NTSC/PAL/Secam input, digitization and TV outputs
o S-Video & composite video I/O
o Full channel TV tuner
o 44 kHz, 16-bit CD stereo audio I/O
o AC-3 Dolby Digital 5.1 channel decode
o S/PDIF Dolby Digital output
o FM radio tuner under consideration
Communication Options (in development):
o V.90 56Kb/s modem
o 100/10Mb/s Ethernet
o HomePNA 2.0 10Mb/s home networking
o Wireless 2.4GHz digital networking
o Broadband Internet options
o 1.5MB/s cable modem
o DSL modem
o ISDN modem
o Digital satellite decoders
Mass Storage:
o Two E-IDE UltraDMA interfaces (support for four drives)
o Support two high capacity hard drives (ATX user configurations
could support more)
Internal expansion:
o 2 PCI slots (ATX target is 6 PCI slots)
o 3.5" open bay for Zip/Jazz/120MB floppy or other options
I/O:
o Infrared for remote control devices
o Microphone input
o Display touch screen controller
o 7 Universal Serial Bus "USB'' 10Mb/s digital ports (2 in front for
easy access)
o Investigating 1394 option
Note: Full software support for these features and more will happen
over time.
Development Tools and Applications
We are working with several leading development tool and applications
software suppliers to ensure that there are great tools and
applications for the Amiga OE and the Amiga MCC. One of the key
reasons that we chose Linux for the underlying operating system of the
MCC is the tremendous growth in Linux-based tools and applications,
many of which will be available for the Amiga MCC. Similarly, our
choice of Java for the Amiga OE was partly driven by the fact that
there are some very powerful Linux-based Java development environments
that are either already shipping, or will be shipping over the coming
months. The Amiga MCC will instantly be one of the best-selling
Linux-based systems in the marketplace, and it is the intent of Amiga
and its partners to ensure that these tools are available on the MCC.
Obviously, we are not at liberty to disclose the release plans of
other companies. As we move closer to the Amiga OE and Amiga MCC ship
dates, companies developing applications and tools for the new Amigas
will announce their own plans to release software for the Amiga.
Summary
We believe that the Amiga Operating Environment will power a wide
range of next-generation computing devices. The Amiga MCC as the
foundation, will set the standard for multimedia convergence computers
in the emerging home computing environment.
This brief in no way documents all that is happening at Amiga. We
have several exciting things in development that we would like to
disclose to the community and will as our partners will allow. The
decisions that are being made are focused on the future while keeping
our eyes on today and yesterday. Hopefully this brief has given you an
insight to our direction.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M O R E O N 3 . 5 L A U N C H
28 Jun 1999
San Diego, CA - OS 3.5 Launch to be held at Amiga Down Under '99
With the imminent release of OS 3.5 for the Amiga Classic systems
available soon, the Amiga Down Under show scheduled for August 21, 22
will be the host event for the official launch of 3.5.
OS 3.5 is the first new product for the Amiga in over 5 years, and it
includes the integration of the most requested features by Amiga
users. "When I took over the management of Amiga, one of my first
decisions was to get 3.5 moving and get it shipping. Now with the
release of the external beta, and the imminent release of the shipping
version of 3.5, I am pleased to say that we are beginning to ship
product", said Jim Collas "This is only the beginning of the New
Amiga."
"This has been a very exciting project for us, and we know that this
is going to be a great product for the Amiga Community" said Juergen
Haage of Haage and Partner - the development partner working with
Amiga to release 3.5. "We look forward to the party in Australia to
celebrate its release."
OS 3.5 is available through your local Amiga dealer or retailer, and
pre-orders are being accepted by most dealers. For those who have
pre-ordered 3.5, it will begin shipping as soon as it is released. We
are using the Amiga Down Under show as our celebration party.
OS 3.5 features include easy Internet access, support for hard disks
greater than 4GB, a modern Graphical User Interface (GUI), extensive
CD-ROM support, support for current printers, PowerPC support, HTML
Online Documentation, bug fixes, and other product enhancements.
Please visit http://www.amiga.com/amigaos35/index-e.html for more
details.
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T R O J A N S F O U N D
13 Jul 1999
TRIPLE TROJAN ALERT. Files util/boot/CMQ060.lha
util/boot/FastIPrefs4037.lha and util/sys/PoolMem.lha are trojans.
These files were uploaded to AmiNet with filenames and paths as shown.
No known damage code except unauthorized sending of flames to
president@amiga.com . Removing the files should leave no damage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A F E S T 9 9 U P D A T E
AmigaFest 99 -The Show within a Show at Dayton Computerfest
Things are happening in the Amiga Community! A lot of announcements
are expected at World of Amiga and AmiWest, along with the first
public display of mock-ups of the next generation machines. O.S. 3.5
is to be introduced in Australia and a lot of other new products to
support the Classic Amiga or in anticipation of the next generation
machines will be introduced at these shows. AmigaFest 99, the show
within a show, at the Dayton Computerfest®, will be the first
opportunity to see and purchase a lot of these new products in the
eastern part of North America. Computerfest®,one of the country's
largest computer shows, will be held at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio on
28 & 29 August. The admission is $10, which is for both days and may
be reduced for those that only come the second day.
O.S. 3.5 will be formally released the weekend before AmigaFest 99 in
Australia and will go on sale in North America at the same time.
AmigaFest 99 will be the first Show where it will be available. So
don't miss your chance to get it. AmigaFest 99 will be the first
opportunity for the users to see and purchase a lot of new products
being announced now and for the developers and manufacturers to
display them in the eastern half of the country. Don't miss this
opportunity!
This show is being fully supported by Amiga and we are negotiating
for a more significant presence. They have kindly supplied prizes to
be given away. We have two Amiga 1200s and several other items to give
away. Don't miss this opportunity either. The participation of Amiga
executives is being considered.
AmigaFest 99 is a unique opportunity for Amiga Users:
1. It will provide you an opportunity to see and purchase all of the
new Amiga products.
2. It will provide you access to a concentration of Amiga Vendors so
you can get the Amiga gear you need/want, often at special show
prices.
3. It will provide you access to an incredible selection of general
computer equipment such as drives, storage media, printers, etc., at
incredible prices.
4. As with all Amiga Shows, the opportunity to spend time socializing
with fellow Amiga Users and Luminaries.
An Amiga Get Together off-site is in the planning stages for Saturday
night. It will be informal at a facility where we can dine together
with a social time following. It will be pay as you go, order your own
meals and other refreshments. No formal presentations, unless we have
visitors from Amiga, who would be welcome to speak to the gathering.
We have scheduled two, two hour Amiga forums in the seminar rooms,
one for Saturday and one for Sunday. If Amiga executives are present
these forums will be turned over to them. Additional Amiga
presentations are welcome, in fact we are looking for more, however,
we must commit the rooms before others do. Anyone desiring to give a
presentation at the show please contact Ron Schwartz as soon as
possible so we can reserve the rooms.
The exhibitors that are currently committed to AmigaFest 99 include:
Compuquick Media Center
FWD Computers
Dan's Deals
E. S. Productions
AmigaCafe
AmiTech-Dayton
AMICON
Tentative exhibitors:
Nova Design
We have also had initial contact from other vendors, some individuals
considering a table to sell some of their old gear, and several User
Groups. Vendors, Developers, User Groups and individuals considering
exhibiting, demonstrating, or selling, there is no better place than
AmigaFest 99/Computerfest®. Cost is only $60 per table and that gives
you access to 30,000 attendees. It is surprising too, how many of
those are Amiga Users who are not in the mainstream and do not get the
magazines or go to the Amiga shows, but come here to get the bargain
equipment. It is also amazing how many people with little money find
what they can afford in a PC is useless, but an old Amiga, for cheap,
is still capable of doing amazing things.
AmigaFest 99 at Computerfest® is a unique opportunity both for the
user as well as the vendors and other exhibitors. Don't miss it. For
more information, contact: Ron Schwartz, phone 937-434-2144, email
schwartr@gemair.com or Leonard Carsner,phone 937-773-4520, email
nard@erinet.com.
SEE YOU IN DAYTON!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A S P E C I F I C I S P
28 June, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMIGAOnline.NET - The only Amiga-Centric Internet Service Provider
We proudly introduce AMIGAOnline.NET. The first internet service
provider dedicated to the Amiga community. You'll find all the
services you'd expect in an ISP like email, unlimited access and
technical support. But that is only a beginning. At AMIGAOnline.NET
you'll find dynamic chat rooms, monitored by fellow Amigans, Amazing
Amiga Stories, a timeline that chronicles the history of the Amiga and
technical information supported by Amiga experts.
As a subscriber, you can suggest features and services. If your
fellow subscribers show an interest, AMIGAOnline.NET will provide it
if possible. The service will grow with its members.
AMIGAOnline.NET can begin service in the Continental United States
with 1,000 subscribers. For $19.95 per month, plus an initial $25.00
set-up fee, you receive unlimited access, and email.
Canadian service begins with 5,000 subscribers. Monthly service costs
$24.95 with an initial $25.00 set-up fee, for unlimited access and
email. Simply visit the AmigaOnLine.NET website to establish your
account online.
YOU WILL NOT BE BILLED UNTIL THE SERVICE BEGINS! SIGN UP NOW! Become
one of the first 1,000 and make Amiga history.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
F X P A I N T A N N O U N C E D
7 July, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHAT IS FXPAINT ?
fxPAINT is a new, revolutional image processiong software for the
AMIGA, that will make use of the latest hard- and software existing
for the AMIGA. It`s planned to release a first, full release on CD
within this year (1999).
MAIN FEATURES
fxPAINT is a strongly extended image processing software for the
AMIGA. It contains the usual painting tools, but also offers a lot
more. E.g. it`s possible to mark whole areas by a simple mouseclick.
Gradients can be added by a simple dragging, too. fxPAINT allows you
the usage of several, natural pens like chalk, pencil, the so called
"Artist Pen" or simply with pens, that were cut from another picture
before. As you might already have thought, when reading fxPAINT`s
name, fxPAINT is not limit to painting with colors or cutted pens, but
offers you a great palette of high-quality effects. This includes, but
isn`t limited to: Standards-effects like changing of brightness,
contrast or gamma. Special-effects like light-sources or bumpmapped
surfaces, glow- and shadow-effects, waves, explosive supernovas,
distortions, etc. You`ll also find professional tools like
Gradtion-curves or matrix operations. This opens up a great number of
posibilities to create and design pictures. Another special feature is
fxPAINT`s realtime-mode, that shows changes to the effect-settings
immediately after they were made. E.g. Light-sources can be dragged
over the pictures - in realtime and full quality!! fxPAINT basically
is similiar to a layer-based image processing package, but it isn`t
directly equal to it. You can paint with effects while the
Alpha-Channel (that can have full 24bit- depth) is fully used, if
active. Painting-mistakes can be fixed easily by the undo and
redo-function. Of course fxPAINT is not only very usable for changing
and manipulating images but also for creating them. E.g. fire,
fractals, screenshots, videodigitizes, etc. can be made directly from
within fxPAINT by some simple clicks.
EXTERNAL DEVICES AND MODULES
The support of scanners and videodigitizers and an open, documented
Plugin-API will make you feel, that other programs aren`t needed any
more. To guarantee brilliant printings, optimized routines for the
printer.device and TurboPrint are available within fxPAINT. fxPAINT
keeps the internal multitasking. You can work even while scanning!
INTERNAL MODULES
Maybe you are one of those (like me, too), that don`t make great
efforts to sort the graphics on HD in order to keep an overview over
them. That`s why you might like the inbuilt picture database called
fxALBUM. Editing a picture is very easy then, as you only have to
click on the image and on another button in order to have the picture
loaded in fxPAINT. If you want to, you can print overviews over your
pictures as well. For fast conversions between the file formats, the
module fxCONV is available. It allows you automated conversion of
several directories and/or files full of pictures into another format
easily. If you want to create graphics for the WWW and want to make
use of so called HTML-Imagemaps, fxIMAGEMAP might be your tool,
allowing you easy creation of ImageMaps within minutes!
THE GUI-SYTEM
fxPAINT has internal BOOPSI-classes of its own, that ideally adapt to
the used hardware. No matter what hardware is used, the fxPAINT-GUI is
full of images, what makes fxPAINT more usable and effective. Of
course, a bubble-help-system is available describing the most
important buttons, so you needn`t guess, what this or that button
might be for. On truecolor-screens, fxPAINT`s GUI is most impressing,
because it then uses 24bit-gradients, that give it an even more modern
and unique look. fxPAINT offers you the ability to adapt to your
already existing knowledge by offering three modes for novices,
average users and experts.
PREORDERS
Ordering now saves you a lot of money and gives you a lot of
advantages:
- Preorder-price: 66 USD/50 EURO (YOU SAVE 27 USD/20 EURO!!)
- including one free update via internet
- You`ll be one of the first people to enjoy full PPC-power while
painting
- You motivate us to put even more functions into the final first
release.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND SCREENSHOTS
.. can be found on our completly redesigned website at
http://www.innovative-web.de/
EMail: info@innovative-web.de
WWW: http://www.innovative-web.de/
Phone: +(0)049 (0)9132/3400
----------------------------------------------------------------------
P H A S E 5 G 3 B O A R D U P D A T E
Update on the Next Generation G3 Product for the AMIGA from phase 5
digital products
July 6, 1999: The recently announced G3/G4 project is now already in
it's finalization stage. During the past six weeks, we have reviewed
the overwhelming response of the Amiga community, and the large number
of requests from many users in regards to design features. At the same
time, we have been checking the latest developments in the industry,
which have opened up some new opportunities. Based on these new
possibilitites, we have made some conceptual changes to the design of
the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 and the BLIZZARD G3/G4 boards which we will
outline hereafter.
A major change of the design of both boards is that we have decided
not to integrate SCSI and IEEE-1394 on the products as standard, and
therefore reduce the base prices of the products (we will make add-ons
available, and have also added other features, as you can read below).
We have decided to do this, as we found out that many customers have
very different demands. For example, many have been asking for
implementation of the U2W SCSI interface - even for the BLIZZARD G3/G4
board - which is more expensive and would later also cause significant
additional cost to the user in respect to cabling and adaptors. On the
other hand, other customers may only want to connect some older legacy
SCSI devices and would be happy with a cheap 8-Bit SCSI port. Some
other may not need SCSI at all, but want to pay the lowest possible
price for the step into the G3/G4 generation. Consequently, we have
decided to offer base boards without specialized I/O functionality,
but with the option for customized configurations.
The good news is, that the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 as well as the BLIZZARD
G3/G4 will both have PCI slots already on board, which will allow to
connect PCI add-ons directly. In order to make the boards fit into the
same Amiga systems as the earlier CYBERSTORM PPC and BLIZZARD 603
boards, we will be using Mini-PCI connectors, on which PCI modules in
the new Mini-PCI standard can be installed. This design allows the
users to connect Mini-PCI add-on cards directly to the CYBERSTORM
G3/G4 as well as the BLIZZARD G3/G4, without the need to spend money
for a PCI bus expansion or to worry about mechanical integration of
such a board. Developers, as well, can easily use either common
Mini-PCI cards and write drivers for those, or quickly design new
Mini-PCI cards with standard PCI chips.
Another change is the usage of standard SO-DIMMs (SDRAM) as they can
be found on modern notebooks, which also allow to design the boards in
very compact form factors, thus making the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 fit into
all A3000 and A4000 desktop and tower models (with fully installed
memory and Mini-PCI cards), and make the BLIZZARD G3/G4 fit into most
A1200 tower cases on the market and in use. As an integrated standard
I/O port, the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 as well as the BLIZZARD G3/G4 will also
have two USB ports to connect a fast growing number of inexpensive
devices.
phase 5 digital products will also be offering some cost-effective
MiniPCI add-on modules. We have a number of options which add-on
boards for I/O purposes may be developed by us, and which will be
quickly realized depending on the actual demand. It may be noted that
these options include those functions which were originally considered
to be on-board, and are now simply moved to an optional MiniPCI card.
The currently planned, optionally available modules include:
o An U2W SCSI controller w/ internal 68pin port and active
termination, for a net retail price of EURO 150 or US$160
o An Ultra SCSI controller w/ internal 50pin port and active
termination, for a net retail price of EURO 80 or US$90
o An Ultra-DMA IDE/ATA controller 66MHz with 2 ports (to support 4
devices) for a net retail price of EURO 80 or US$90
o An IEEE-1394 Controller with 2 ports at 400Mbps, for a net retail
price of EURO 100 or US$110
For any of these modules, a minimum order quantity of 250 units must
be reached, in order to justify the software and hardware realization.
If for any of these modules this quantity can not be reached, we will
inform all customers who have ordered this option. Customers can now -
in the updated ordering form - order these boards to be shipped with
their BLIZZARD G3/G4 or CYBERSTORM G3/G4 board.
A word on G4 versions:
It seems today that with the initial release of the BLIZZARD and
CYBERSTORM G3/G4 boards, the G4 processors may not be shipping in
quantities. But it is even more important that support of the improved
features of the G4 processor by Amiga software applications,
developers and tools will take time, and it is very unlikely that
wider support of these features - which the Amiga users would benefit
from - will be realized before early next year. Because of this reason
(and yet undetermined pricing and available frequencies), we have
decided to remove the G4 offer from the product list right now. We
believe that the time for the G4 will come in the year 2000, after
Amiga developers have implemented G4 support into software
applications, and availability and pricing of the G4 processors makes
them an even more attractive choice than in the very near future.
Remember, both the BLIZZARD and the CYBERSTORM G3/G4 have a socketed
processor module, which will allow for easy upgrading - and phase 5
digital products will offer attractively priced G4 modules as soon as
the G4 processors are shipping in quantities.
The release is getting closer any day!
The development is currently right on track, and we plan to start
shipping the preordered BLIZZARD and CYBERSTORM G3/G4 boards in early
September. If you have not yet placed an order for one of these
stunning new products, please keep in mind that the preorder discount
will only be granted to all orders which we receive until August 10,
1999. If you had placed an order already, please renew your order with
the updated order form and the new options, and mail or fax it to us
(all customers who have placed an initial order by email will also
receive a notification to do so; please note that - due to the many
changes in the products and prices - all orders which were placed by
email prior to July 8, 1999, are void).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amiga Update on the net:
All back issues available at:
http://www.globaldialog.com/~amigaupdate/index.html
{Note new address!}
Stop by and check out our archive!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1999 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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A M I G A /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ A M I G A
U P D A T E /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ U P D A T E
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_
amigaupdate@globaldialog.com
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