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Amiga Update (1999-06-26)
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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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990626
J I M C O L L A S W A N T S F E E D B A C K . . .
. . . A N D C O M M E N T S O N A M I G A A N D P C S
U K R E P A I R C E N T E R ( O R C E N T R E ) O P E N S
A M I W E S T U P D A T E
A M I G A A N I M A T I O N C O M P E T I T I O N
B E T A R E L E A S E O F O S 3 . 5
U P D A T E D O S 3 . 5 F E A T U R E S L I S T
3 . 5 A T A M I G A D O W N U N D E R 9 9
A M I G A F E S T 9 9 - U P D A T E
O R I G I N A L N E W T E K E R M O N G O M E R Y D I E S
V I R U S Z I I . . .
A N D N E W V I R U S C H E C K E R I I
N E W B O X E R S P E C S R E V E A L E D
A M I D O G ' S M O V I E P L A Y E R
N E W S F R O M C L I C K B O O M
H A A G E & P A R N T E R N E W S
U P G R A D E F O R O P U S M A G E L L A N
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
We're about half way through the year, and what a year it's been so
far. It seems there's a genuine rebirth of confidence in the future
for Amiga. We have also discovered Amiga's new president is at home on
the web, and is actively using it. What a pleasant surprise that's
been! We have a number of thoughts from Jim Collas below that were
initially shared with the Amiga community through web postings. He's
even responded to a letter printed in "Amiga Update", and made sure
the facts got to our readers. This is all very good.
Perhaps not so good, but who can be sure, the year has seen a rash of
"promise to pay or I won't make/write it" marketing schemes. I have
mixed feelings about those, but generally don't like them. We hear
from a reader on that topic in this issue.
I don't want to get into a long "the year so far in review" column,
so I'll drop that theme right here. Instead I'll point out that we
seem to be missing another issue from the archives, just as we've
completed an effort to recover a number of issues that had been lost
along the way. This is issue 980525, which I didn't even realize we
had. (Embarrassed blush follows.) If anyone knows of or has a copy,
please help us out. We'll add it to the archive, and to our newly
revised backup plans.
One last thing - the Amiga Yellow Pages (http://ayp.amiga.tm) are
putting "Amiga Update" online in a snazzy html format. Stop by, take a
look, and let them know what you think.
Best regards,
Brad Webb,
Editor
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E-mail to the E-ditor:
14 Jun 1999
Greetings Brad,
I enjoy the Amiga Update, and read the posts religiously. I have
noticed a trend lately in the Amiga community that is just now
starting to take off, the Pre-Pay. I am an understanding individual, I
can see that some products may warrant a drastic measure such as this,
but it is going too far. First, we have phase5 asking for pre orders
for the new G-3 based cards. Thats fine, hardware is expensive and
their funds were depleted by an earlier, uhm, boo boo. Since it worked
for them, some other hardware producers have followed the lead. But,
this deal about Fusion and PCx?? Oh, give me a break! Sometimes,
companies just need to take a chance. I might pre-order some hardware,
but not an emulator. Did the original version of Fusion do well? Did
they make a profit? With the new G-3s coming, I don't see how they
could insult us so. Where is it going to stop? Am I going to have to
pre-pay for my next pair of shoes before they are made? I'm sorry if I
am too loud, but this is too much. I have an A1200(infinitiv tower)
040/32m, and an A3000 that is waiting for a G-3.
Anyway, Brad, thank you so much for continuing to produce a fine
newsletter. I read it often, and share the content (and the text
files) with my non-i-net friends.
Until H&P needs 700 pre-orders for os3.6,
Dave
~~~~~~
Dave,
On balance, I agree with you. I doubt I'd ever do a pre-pay just
because it almost feels like blackmail. By the way, you'll have a long
wait before you find a pre-pay from Haage & Partner. They've gone on
record as stating they don't approve of the procedure, so "OS 3.6"
should be free of it. Good for them!
Brad
======
14 Jun 1999
Brad,
I have a Gateway Win95 box at home (in addition to my A3000 and
A4000). My internal IDE Zip drive on that machine failed, such that
you would insert a disk, the drive would start clicking slowly, and
nothing else would happen. Gateway replaced it for free.
This was discussed briefly in MaximumPC magazine, in an interview
with Zip's president. He acknowledge the problem, which seems to have
been fixed.
Sincerely,
John
P.S. - I am quite grateful for Amiga Update - thanks!
~~~~~~
Hi John,
Glad you're enjoying the Update, and thanks for your information.
There is also much information on the net. Point a web browser at any
good search engine and look for "Zip" and "click of death". It's
amazing how many turn up. Our thanks to all the readers who sent us
the URLs of their "favorite" Zip COD sites.
Brad
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J I M C O L L A S W A N T S F E E D B A C K . . .
22 Jun 1999
{The following was posted to the net recently by Amiga President Jim
Collas. We think you'll find his words very interesting. Brad}
> feel free to start a thread here and we shall do our best to give
> you the answers you seek, and we shall try to keep it on topic wont
> we people .......
How can I refuse such a request? I have many postings and emails
about the critical features like CPU, multimedia capabilities, 3D
graphics performance, etc. Even though I am a bit rusty from years as
a large corporate executive, I have extensive experience as a hardware
designer focused on advanced computer architecture so I think I
understand these basic requirements. Putting the mainstream features
aside, I would like feedback on 3 targeted areas:
1) I would really like some feedback on our overall strategy. I have
outlined our strategy in my last two postings in the executive update
section on our web page. I would like people to read these and give me
some feedback. Focus on the creation of a integrated, networked, and
distributed computing environment supporting powerful multimedia
computers and easy-to-use information appliances. Keep in mind that we
are using the emerging Information Appliance market to build momentum
for a new platform.
2) I would also like some input on our implementation strategy. We
have spent the last four months researching technology and identifying
the best technology available in the world. Many top companies have
spent billions of $ generating some very exciting technology.
Technology like Java, Jini, QNX, Linux, new CPUs, graphics chips,
audio, etc. Our plan is to integrate the best technology in the world
into a new exciting computer platform focused on the future. We will
do this using Amiga developed object technology, GUI interfaces,
industry standards (PCI, USB, etc)and custom hardware. The resulting
platform will be revolutionary in nature allowing people to do things
they can't do with other computers. This is in the spirit of the Amiga
brand and the original Amiga computer. We will also offer a degree of
backwards compatibility with the current Amiga.
3) The QNX kernel is very similar to the Linux kernel since they are
both variations of Unix. Because of this, we can leverage Linux device
drivers and even some applications. What do people think of leveraging
resources in the Linux community. They are the other great "non-MS"
community. This could help us accelerate our schedule. Remember that
the O/S kernel is only a small part of our software and overall
architecture. We still have Amiga GUI, Amiga objects, custom device
drivers, advanced networking, and the hardware architecture.
This is enough for now. One more note, I will be traveling on
business for several days and won't have a chance to check this thread
until this upcomming week-end. I will look forward to the responses.
Sincerely,
Jim
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. . . A N D C O M M E N T S O N A M I G A A N D P C S
13 Jun 1999
{the following exchange was between Amiga's Jim Collas and Philip
Kaulfuss in the Amiga newsgroups. Severl postings have been combined
and edited here. Philip's comments have > preceding them, those by Jim
Collas do not. Brad}
> Judging from this month's Amiga Format interview with Jim Collas, the
> new Amiga is 'just' going to be a very high-spec PC running QNX.
I haven't read Ben's write up yet but I don't recall saying anything to
the effect that the new Amiga will just be a high-end PC. This isn't an
accurate statement if you are referring to a Wintel PC. The new Amiga
will be very different than a Wintel PC. The only elements we will
share are industry standards like PCI, USB, etc. These are computer
industry standards and not Wintel PC standards. I think it's obvious
why we need to support good industry standards when possible. CPU and
core chipset will definitely be different and we are still evaluating
graphics alternatives. The O/S, GUI, APIs, software structure, etc.
will all be completely different. The new Amiga will be as similar to a
Wintel PC as the Apple Mac is.
> I didn't have Wintel in mind: I think it will take after the PC
> in that it will be using standard components.
Thanks for the clarification. Our plan is to integrate the most
impressive emerging technologies into a unique and exciting solution.
There are many great companies working on exciting technology for next
generation computers in general. Many of the companies are only
working on pieces of the solution and don't know exactly how to bring
their technology to market. Our value is to pull it all together. We
are also looking at ways to emulate parts of the original Amiga at
lower levels. Once we release more information I think Amigans will be
very excited about the new Amiga.
> Well, if I heard right, the MMC was supposed to be a completely
> secret chip made by a reasonably well-known company who were not
> known for making CPUs. Seeing as evaluation of several CPUs is
> underway, I'm just wondering if there was much truth in the original
> MMC announcement.
I understand. I can't comment on this without disclosing more than I
should at this time. This is tough for me also since I am personally
anxious to share more with the Amiga community. We will have more
details at WoA and AmiWest.
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U K R E P A I R C E N T E R ( O R C E N T R E ) O P E N S
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IAT Manufacturing Amiga Service Centre
15 June 1999
IAT Manufacturing is to offer an Amiga repair and Service centre
facility as from the 20th of June this year. As part of an ongoing
expansion into the mainstreem Amiga Market our Engineering Dept. has
made the decision to establish an Amiga Repair system. We will be
providing the following facilities:
If you have a: Faulty, 'Flakey' or Dead machine, email:
IATtheta@netcomuk.co.uk for your free no obligation quotation.
Also See our web site:
http://www.freeyellow.com/members7/IATmanufactuirng/Repair.html
*_Repairs_*
- Work done on all Amiga machines including:
o Replacement of custom Chips, ROM(s) & CPU's
o Replacement of damaged connectors
o Repair to PCB tracks
o Repair to Keyboards and mice
Charges: £25.00-£30.00 (Including most parts) - Quotations given free
of charge.
*_Other Services_*
o Keyboard Re-spring & clean (£3.50)
o Case & motherboard clean (A600/1200 £2.50 - A1500/2000/3000 £3.50 -
A3000T/4000T £4)
o Custom system upgrading - we will find the best upgrades and
expansions to suit your needs and install them both Software and
Hardware
Regards
IAT Manufacturing Engineering
--
****************** IAT Manufacturing
- Impulse 5307 -
- Logic Design Services
http://www.freeyellow.com/members7/IATmanufacturing/index.html
******************
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A M I W E S T U P D A T E
16 June 1999
Jim Collas, AMIGA President, will be conducting a joint conference at
AmiWest in Sacramento and World of Amiga in London on Saturday, July
24, 1999. Mr. Collas will be in London, but will be talking via a
trans-Atlantic phone connection to the attendees at AmiWest. The joint
presentation will occur at AmiWest in Sacramento at 11 a.m. and in
London at 7 p.m. Mr. Collas will be revealing the latest developments
on the new hardware and software planned for release in the late 4Q of
this year.
AMIGA has also announced that the following AMIGA personnel will be
at AmiWest99:
o Jim VonHolle, Vice President, Marketing and OEM Sales. Jim brings a
strong background in product and marketing strategy to AMIGA with
experience in business and relationship management. He has great
experience and insight into the computer software and Internet
industries.
Jim will be speaking at the AmiWest99 Saturday night banquet.
o Bill McEwen, Marketing and Software Evangelist. Bill has over 12
years experience in the Sales and Marketing field, most recently with
the Atrieva Corporation. He has worked for several software companies
throughout the years, including ConnectSoft, Inc.; genSoft Development
Corporation; and Bumblebee Software. He also has extensive experience
with sales, marketing and PR in the US and Europe; and international
OEM sales and licensing. Bill has been responsible for several
magazine awards and Best of Show at the Fall Comdex in 1994.
Attendees at AmiWest98 will remember Bill as one of our banquet
speakers
at the 1998 show.
o Darreck Lisle, User Groups Coordinator. Darreck has been an avid
Amiga user for over 10 years. A key player in interfacing with the
current Amiga Community, and organizing shows, the focus of his work
is to keep the community strong and give it a sense of direction. He
has a degree in Law Enforcement, with 5 years experience in
Information Technology.
Remember, AmiWest99 is being held on Friday through Sunday, July
23-25, at the Holiday Inn, Sacramento NorthEast, in Sacramento, CA.
Classes and seminars will be held Friday through Sunday with the
exhibit hall being open on Saturday, July 24th from 10 A.M. - 5 P.M
and Sunday, July 25th 10 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Specially priced tickets for AmiWest99 are available in advance by
mail. Prices are: two day admission tickets, $12 and one day admission
ticket, $8. If you elect to purchase tickets at the door, the prices
are: two day ticket at the door, $15 and One day ticket at the door,
$10.
There will be a banquet dinner on Saturday evening, July 24th. Price
is $35 per plate. Banquet tickets must be purchased in advance. They
will NOT be sold on Friday nor Saturday due to the hotel needing
attendance figures for planning the banquet.
You can mail your requests for advanced admission and banquet tickets
to:
AmiWest99
c/o Sacramento Amiga Computer Club
P.O. Box 19784
Sacramento, CA 95819-0784
Make checks payable to "AmiWest".
Special hotel room rates are available at the Holiday Inn for those
attending AmiWest99. Room rates are $ 79 (Single) and $ 89 (double) if
reservations are made by July 1. You must mention that you are
attending AmiWest to get the special rate. You can phone the Holiday
Inn at 1-916-338-5800, 1-800-388-9284 (Tool Free - Hotel directly) or
1-800-465-8329 (Toll Free - Holiday Inn Reservation Number) to make
hotel reservations.
Hope to see you at AmiWest99 on July 23-24, 1999.
John Zacharias, Chairperson, AmiWest99
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A M I G A A N I M A T I O N C O M P E T I T I O N
June 17, 1999
Big Animation Competition Powered by Amiga
AMIGA International, Inc. in Langen, Germany is looking in
co-operation with IOM Film and Video productions in Hof, Germany for
the best video trailer for the new Operating System 3.5.
You can win 3 Amiga 1200 HDD Magic Pak (value DM 500,-- ea.) and 25
of our new OS 3.5 (value DM 99,50 ea.)
What you need to do is to produce a trailer animation only with Amiga
software about 30 seconds long. Of course, the combination of video
sequences and audio is allowed. Your win option increases the more
professional and original the result is.
Deadline is October 15, 1999. Everybody can be in! With participation
in the competition all rights are ceding to AMIGA International, Inc.
All trailers sent must be free from third party rights.
The prize award takes place at the "Home Electronics World" in
Cologne on November 14, 1999 at 2 p.m.
To support you AMIGA International, Inc. will put all necessary logos
on their webpage http://www.amiga.de. The trailers must be sent in a
video format.
Please send the trailers to:
AMIGA International, Inc.
Robert-Bosch-Str. 11 b
D 63225 Langen /Germany
Code Word : Trailer Competition
For technical questions please contact:
IOM Film- und Videoproduktion
Kornhausacker 56
D-95030 Hof/Saale
Tel. 09281-65325
Fax: 09281-64705
email: info@messefilme.de
http://www.messefilme.de
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B E T A R E L E A S E O F O S 3 . 5
For immediate release:
June 16, 1999 - San Diego CA, Langen Germany - Amiga announces the
public beta release of OS 3.5.
Amiga and Haage and Partner have announced the public beta release of
OS 3.5 for the Amiga.
The first external beta version of 3.5 is shipping this week. The
beta product testing will continue over the next several weeks until
the final product is completed. Beta testers have been selected from
all over the world, reflecting the global nature of the Amiga
Community.
"We are excited to be so close to the release of 3.5. We realize it
has been a long time since there has been an OS update for the Amiga
systems and we want to make sure there is an ongoing and active
interest in the current generation of Amiga systems as we move towards
the release of the new Amiga products" said Jim Collas, President and
CEO of Amiga.
We have been working with Haage and Partner to deliver an exciting
upgrade and we now look forward to working with the external beta
users to test and finalize the product for release this summer.
OS 3.5 can be pre-ordered through your favorite Amiga dealer. Many
are also accepting internet orders.
Continue to watch the Amiga.com web site for more details, as we get
closer to the release of OS 3.5.
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U P D A T E D O S 3 . 5 F E A T U R E S L I S T
BENEFITS OF THE AMIGAOS 3.5 UPDATE
Easy Internet Access (updated 22. June 99)
Support for Hard disks > 4GB
Modern Graphical User Interface (GUI) (updated)
Extensive CD-ROM support
Support for current printers
PowerPC support
HTML Online Documentation
Bug Fixes (updated)
Enhancements (new)
EASY INTERNET ACCESS
TCP/IP Stack (updated)
o Easy to setup the connection to your provider within minutes
(automatic configuration utility that detects IP addresses,
netmasks, DNS servers, dial script and all other required
information by itself)
o Multi interface support (Internet and Ethernet)
o Support for multiple configuration files, e.g. for multiple
Internet providers (updated)
o Integrated TCP/IP protocol stack with built-in PPP, SLIP, INetD,
SANA-II and usergroup support (updated)
o Comprehensive PPP implementation with support for PAP and CHAP
(updated)
o Latest Socks v4/5 client module for firewalls
o Enhanced SANA II support for fast transfer rates
o SANA-II R3 support for newer Ethernet drivers (comes with a set of
optimized MNI Ethernet drivers for all Amiga Zorro-II Ethernet
boards that provide faster data transfer than ordinary SANA-II
drivers) (updated)
o Multi user support
o Supports analog modem lines, ISDN boards, ISDN TAs, PPP, SLIP,
Slirp, TIA, ADSL, cable modems, Ethernet LANs, Arcnet LANs, parallel
links and several other types of connections (includes comprehensive
modem and ISDN database) (new)
o Support for DHCP and BootP (important for ADSL and cable modems)
(new)
o Option for automatic hang-up on inactivity, and option to prevent
the ISP from hanging up on inactivity (new)
o Dynamic DNS cache for faster web browsing (new)
o Built-in fingerd, identd and inet-handler (new)
o Compatible with bsdsocket.library V4
o OS 3.5 GUI style
WWW Browser with Offline/Online support
o Browsing the OS 3.5 documentation and the Internet
New Cross-Application E-mail Library
o General API for sending and receiving of E-mails
New E-Mail Client
o Based on the E-mail library
SUPPORT FOR HARD DISKS > 4 GB
NSDPatch
o New standard for 64 Bit Devices
o Updated Info, Format, Diskcopy and FastFileSystem
New HDToolBox
o The low-level library processes the following tasks
o Scanning the SCSI bus
o Read the physical information of the hard disk
o Read/write the logical information (RDB)
o Create Mount files
o Read special Mount entries to restore the RDB
o HDToolBox application that uses the low-level library
o New GUI style
MODERN GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI)
New Icon Set (Glow Icons)
o New complete icon set for all system tools
o New icons for most applications
New Icon Library
o Icons with up to 256 colors
o Automatic color adaptation
o NewIcon compatible
o Compatible to OS 3.1 icons
o New API functionality (updated)
o Faster and more robust (updated)
New BOOPSI Library
o New complete set of powerful BOOPSI gadgets
o Very fast, modular and scalable
o AmigaOS compatible implementation
o Compatible to existing BOOPSI classes
New Resource Library
o Loads and manages all GUI resources
o Change the GUI without recompilation of the application
o Can be used with any programming language
New GUI editor for developers
o WYSIWYG GUI editor
o Creates resource files that are used by the new resource library
o Automatic localization of the application
Updated and enhanced Workbench (new)
o More responsive user interface (new)
o Progress requester for copy/delete (new)
o Enhanced information requester (new)
o Smart display update (new)
o New keyboard control functionality (new)
o New API functionality (new)
EXTENSIVE CD-ROM SUPPORT
CacheCDFS
o ISO9660, RockRidge, Joliet (Win 95/98) and MAC HFS compatible
o Supports Amiga protection bit and file comments
o MultiSession CD-ROM support
New PlayCD
o (programmable) Audio player for SCSI and ATAPI CD-ROM drives
o Low memory consumption
New CDFSPrefs
o CacheCDFS preferences for 'on the fly' configuration
FULL PRINTER SUPPORT
New Printer Device
o Drivers for all common printers
o PowerPC support
o New functions to print all kinds of bitmaps
o New API to define page size and page break correctly
o Support for 24 bit Picasso96 DumpRastPort command
o TurboPrint compatible functions to print 8 Bit chunky and 16/24 bit
bitmaps
New Printer Preferences
o Updated for new GUI style
POWERPC SUPPORT
New WarpUP PowerPC Support
o AmigaOS compatible integration
o Extensive functionality
o Hardware independent driver system, easy to extend
New Preferences
o Updated for new GUI style
HTML DOCUMENTATION
New Comprehensive Instructions
o Reworked documentation for Workbench, DOS, ARexx and Harddisk
o Completion of all the new features of AmigaOS 3.5
o Extensive illustrations
o Bilingual English/German
BUG FIXES
o Corrections to improve overall robustness and to fix long standing
bugs (updated)
o Reworked A2024 monitor driver
o Reworked CLI command (Join, Status, Type)
o Reworked IPrefs command (more robust, better Workbench pattern
support) (new)
o Reworked LoadWB (new)
ENHANCEMENTS
o Updated asl.library (more responsive, faster, enhanced user
interface, more robust) (updated)
o Updated DataTypes (updated)
o 8svx.datatype (now supports stereo sound playback; faster and more
robust)
o amigaguide.datatype / amigaguide.library (faster, new API
functionality)
o anim.datatype (now supports all major IFF-ANIM formats; more
robust)
o animation.datatype (now supports stereo sound playback; more
robust; new API functionality; RTG compatible)
o ascii.datatype (faster and more robust)
o cdxl.datatype (now supports stereo sound playback; more robust)
o ilbm.datatype (now supports true color pictures; more robust)
o picture.datatype (now supports true color pictures, dithering and
color quantization; more robust, new API functionality; RTG
compatible)
o sound.datatype (now supports stereo sound playback; more robust,
new API functionality)
o text.datatype (faster and more robust)
o New DataTypes for GIF, JPEG, PNG and AIFF file format (updated)
o Updated 68040.library (performance improvements) (new)
o Updated bullet.library (performance improvements) (updated)
o New SCSI Mount tool
THE FUTURE (PLANS AND OPTIONS)
o Further releases or Add-On packages
o New reworked and extended Kickstart
o Extended PowerPC support
o New 68K Emulator for PPC-only systems
o Many new System Libraries as PPC-native
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3 . 5 A T A M I G A D O W N U N D E R 9 9
20 Jun 1999
Hello Everybody,
As you may or may not know, the worldwide release of OS 3.5 will be
at Amiga Downunder 99, Canberra, Australia. This show will be on
August 21 and 22. Petro T. will be there, aswell as Jim Collas and
Haage & Partner's, Jurgen Haage.
For More info go to - http://www2.dynamite.com.au/krash/amigadu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A F E S T 9 9 - U P D A T E
25th June 1999
AmigaFest 99 (formerly referred to as Amiga Expo 99) at the Dayton
Computerfest®, one of the country's largest computer shows, will be
held at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio on 28 & 29 August. It is a show not
to be missed for Amiga users and the excitement continues to grow.
O.S. 3.5 is to be formally released the weekend before AmigaFest 99
at the Amiga Show in Australia. While it will go on sale in North
America at the same time, AmigaFest 99 will be the first Computer Show
here where it will be available. We are seeing a lot of new products
being announced now and this will be the first opportunity for the
users to see them 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. They have kindly
supplied some items for prizes to be given away. We have two Amiga
1200s and several Mice, Pads, and posters to give away. We are also in
discussion with Amiga Inc. executives about the possiblity of their
attendance. Don't miss this opportunity either!
AmigaFest 99 is a unique opportunity for Amiga Users:
o It will provide you an opportunity to see and purchase all of the
new Amiga products.
o 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.
o 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, since there are no facilities except
snack bars at Hara Arena, 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 planning two Amiga forums in the seminar rooms. Additional Amiga
presentations are welcome, 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 get the rooms
committed.
The exhibitors that are currently committed to AmigaFest 99 include:
o Compuquick Media Center
o FWD Computers
o Dan's Deals
o E. S. Productions
o AmiTech-Dayton
o AMICON
Tentative exhibitors:
o 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. It's a great time to
be an Amiga supporter. Don't miss this opportunity to spread the word!
SEE YOU IN DAYTON!!
Up to date information can be found on the AmiTech-Dayton web site.
http://www.coax.net/people/erics/amitech.htm Additional information on
the Dayton Computerfest® can be found at www.computerfest.com
For further information contact:
Ron Schwartz - schwartr@gemair.com
Len Carsner - nard@erinet.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
O R I G I N A L N E W T E K E R M O N G O M E R Y D I E S
Play Co-CEO and Visionary Paul Montgomery
1960 - 1999, Earth
1999 - , Elsewhere
June 21, 1999 - Rancho Cordova, CA - Paul Montgomery, Co-CEO of Play
Incorporated, died of a sudden heart attack late Saturday night while
vacationing with his wife in Seattle. Mr. Montgomery, 39, served as
President, Co-CEO and a member of the board of directors since
co-founding Play with his partner Mike Moore in 1994. Mr. Montgomery
is survived by his wife, Michele, his parents and siblings as well as
his extended family of friends at Play and throughout the industry.
"This is an overwhelming loss both for Play and for the entire
industry. Paul was a visionary leader and a tremendous force shaping
the future of video, communications and the Internet," said Mike
Moore, Mr. Montgomery's partner and Co-CEO, "To his family, friends,
and co-workers he was a boundless source of wisdom, love and creative
energy. Beyond those he touched personally, Paul shaped the lives of
millions of people through the ideas, technologies and products he
championed into existence."
"Paul will continue to touch millions more people through the teams
he molded and the powerful visions he seeded here at Play. Paul often
said, 'The best way to predict the future is to invent it.' Today, his
loving friends, partners and co-workers at Play proudly dedicate
ourselves to honoring Paul's memory by continuing forward to invent
the future he so passionately believed in."
Prior to starting Play, Paul Montgomery was instrumental in launching
the desktop video industry. In 1986, Mr. Montgomery left his position
as a product manager at industry leader Electronic Arts to join a
fledgling company called NewTek. Mr. Montgomery's work catapulted
NewTek from a garage startup to one of the most influential companies
in video. In 1987, Mr. Montgomery and his co-workers conceived a new
kind of video production tool which Mr. Montgomery dubbed the Video
Toaster. The Video Toaster is now widely credited with launching the
desktop video industry and resulted in a Prime Time Emmy Award for Mr.
Montgomery and the Toaster team in 1992.
In 1994 Mr. Montgomery left NewTek, and later that year founded Play
Incorporated with partner Mike Moore and a close-knit team of former
co-workers. Together, Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Moore developed a unique
corporate culture based on self-organizing teams and creatively
nurturing environments. This innovative leadership has made Play one
of the most successful and highly-respected companies in the high-tech
industry. In the 1996 book, 'The Age of Videography', Mr. Montgomery
was cited as one of the 25 most influential people in the history of
video. Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Moore were named recently by Wired
Magazine as two of the most influential people in the future of
Hollywood.
This week Play will launch a memorial website dedicated to Mr.
Montgomery where the millions of people he touched can gather to
celebrate his life and achievements. The site will be reachable
through a link on the Play Incorporated site. Photos and written
memories may be emailed to: ThanksPaul@play.com or sent to: Thanks
Paul, Play Incorporated, 2890 Kilgore Rd. Rancho Cordova, CA
95670-6133.
Play Incorporated was founded in 1994 by a team of well-known
computer and video industry pioneers with the goal of bringing
high-end video and graphics capabilities to PCs and the Internet.
Among its award-winning products are the Snappy Video Snapshot, the
best-selling video peripheral in history, Trinity, which
revolutionized TV production and graphics throughout the world, Gizmos
98, PC Magazine's 1998 Product of the Year and Electric Image, the
low-cost 3D animation software used to create spectacular visual
effects for the recently released Star Wars and Austin Powers films.
For more information call 800.306.PLAY or visit www.play.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
V I R U S Z I I . . .
25 June 1999
Georg Hoermann has decided to discontinue VirusZ II. The good news is
that he is going to keep updating the xvs.library and VirusZ III.
VirusZ II was and always will be a very good virus killer, because the
brain of VZ II is the xvs.library. Now Virus Help Denmark has recieved
the source code of VZ II and they are looking for someone to develop
and improve VZ II. If you think you´re the right person for this job,
send e-mail to vht-dk@post4.tele.dk telling about you and why we
should give you the source code of VZ II. If Georg Hoermann and Virus
Help Denmark think you are OK, you ´ll get the source via snail mail
soon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A N D N E W V I R U S C H E C K E R I I
22 Jun 1999
Hello all....
Alex van Niel has been busy again. A new update of VirusChecker II has
been released, here is some information about the release:
Name : VirusChecker II v2.1 (Brain v2.17)
Archive name : vht_vc21.lha
Archive size : 560.759 bytes
Release date : 22 June 1999
Programmer : Alex van Niel
News in this version:
- Fixed 68000 related bug. When Xvs was turned
on, VirusCheckerII would crash on 68000 machine
upon file checking. This was caused by again some
register copied wrongly.
- Fixed a few problems with Xad support routines.
(softlink and directory handling)
(to do: error handling better)
Thanks to Dirk Stoecker for reporting this
- Fixed a bug for unregistered users: no file
was scanned for virus (woops)
Thanks to David Amies for reporting this
- New Features: Icon Window can now also be positioned
(separate from Main Window) and snapshotted. Use the
preferences program to either snapshot the Icon Window
settings or type them in manually.
(Thanks to Paul Compton for this idea)
VCPrefs:
- Fixed problems with loading of config from disk
Thanks to a lot of users for reporting this :)
- Fixed Format Protection configuration
Unreliable results sometimes caused the feature
to be disabled and enabled on random
Thanks to Pam for reporting this
- Added to Format Protection which holds all
loaded devices available from which one
can choose to protect against formatting
- New Features: Snapshotting of IconWindow
now possible. (Thanks to Paul Compton for this
idea)
Installer:
- Completely redone installer
Made update feature smart
Fixed version copy
(CBM's Installer program not needed anymore)
Thanks to several users and betatesters for reporting
problems with the installer, especially Jonathan Jackson.
In VirusChecker.brain
- Added WireFace/HDToolbox trojan virus
- Removed continuous call for Timer.device
Amiga Antivirus try: www.vht-dk.dk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W B O X E R S P E C S R E V E A L E D
26 Jun 19999
It has now been quite some time since news first came out about the
BoXeR, a fully Amiga compatible motherboard being produced by Access
Information. In that time the project has suffered various delays,
some to do with the problematic situation in the Amiga market, and
others to do with a desire to improve the specification of the
product.
At last BoXeR is nearing completion. The final board design is due to
enter prototyping within the next few days, and a prototype board
should be on display at the stand of distributor Blittersoft at the
World of Amiga show in London on the 24th to 25th of July. It is quite
likely that the board will not be fully functional by the time of the
show.
Updated specification
The main reason for the delays in BoXeR is a radical redesign which
will provide a significantly more up-to-date and powerful motherboard
than has been previously announced. The board pictured here was the
original motherboard design intended to be a modernised A4000 - the
new BoXeR contains a far more powerful feature set, close to what had
been mooted for the BoXeR 2 in the past.
Probably the most obvious improvement is the inclusion on the
motherboard of 4 fully active PCI slots, which will enable BoXeR
owners to expand their machine with cheap but powerful PCI cards.
Although we will have to wait and see which cards will have drivers
written for them, we can expect to see SCSI cards, cheap 100MBit
Ethernet, powerful soundcards, internal modems and low cost but
phenomenally powerful graphics cards such as the Voodoo Banshee which
provides better than BlizzardVisionPPC performance for well under
£100. However the improvements do not stop there.
High speed DMA I/O transfer means that most peripherals will work at
high speeds with lower CPU overheads - you'll be able to use fast
serial and parallel devices, UDMA hard drives and so on. This, along
with ATX formfactor, DIMM sockets and PS/2 peripheral compatibility,
will make the BoXeR a very powerful and cheap to expand system.
BoXeR is also designed to bring the more specifically Amiga aspects
of the architecture up to date. The thing that is most likely to
please and surprise the Amiga faithful is that the BoXeR has a highly
integrated single chip replacement for the AGA chipset, which is
feature compatible but will include significant enhancements,
including for the first time a total removal of the Chip RAM barrier.
A 64 bit wide connector for a PowerPC expansion card will also allow a
cheap solution for future upgrades to G3 or even G4 processors.
The latest specifications for the BoXeR motherboard are as follows:
o 100% Amiga compatible.
o ATX motherboard based on Amiga technology - fits in standard PC
Desktop/Tower case..
o Motorola 68040 or 68060 at 25-75MHz supported in a single processor
socket..
o Highly integrated single chip chip-set, AGA feature compatible but
with performance enhancements..
o Most peripherals support high speed DMA transfers, increasing
throughput while reducing processor overhead..
o No CHIP RAM limits..
o 2 x DIMM sockets for combined use as FAST/CHIP..
o Dual IDE Hard disk interface, supports fast IDE modes..
o Flash ROM 2Mb, 32 bit wide. Used for boot ROM's and resident
modules..
o Hi-Density floppy disk drive interface, uses standard PC floppy
drives..
o CD-ROM audio input connector and mixer..
o Real Time Clock..
o Keyboard port for standard low cost PC PS/2 keyboard..
o Mouse port for standard low cost PC PS/2 mouse..
o 4 x Active PCI slots..
o Amiga Video slot..
o Expansion connector to support 5xZorro 3 slots..
o Connector for full 64-bit PowerPC expansion card..
Connectors :
o Printer port..
o RGB video..
o PS/2 Keyboard..
o PS/2 Mouse..
o Serial port..
o Amiga Joystick port..
o Stereo audio..
o IDE - 40 pin (Dual) header.
o Floppy drive DF0:/DF1: header.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I D O G ' S M O V I E P L A Y E R
13 June 1999
AmiDog's Movie Player
- The worlds fastest Movie Player for your PPC equiped Amiga!
Another release with some new cool (?) features! IMPORTANT: I've
changed the way the prefs file looks, so your old file won't work
anymore!
o New features:
o Frameskip (AMP automatically skips B-frames when required).
o Seeking (just hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse
left/right).
o Uses my AsyncIOPPC (WarpUP) routines for faster playback (+10%).
o 15bit now also uses direct gfxmem access.
o New way of defining the prefs, you can also use GetBestMode,
Requester or PAL.
o Removed bugs:
o CGFX support only worked on 8/16/32bit screens.
o AMP did crash if the MPEG had audio and reported 0kHz as the
samplerate.
o If the MPEG reports size 0x0, AMP assumes 352*288.
o There used to be no way of setting the default path.
o Known bugs:
o None.
o Features to be added (in no particular order):
o Custom playback size.
o Window playback.
o More speed.
o AVI/QT/ANIM/FLI/FLC... support.
Please don't contact me about problems that are described above!
Thanks!
For more information: http://www.amidog.com/amp/news.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W S F R O M C L I C K B O O M
24 Jun 1999
The latest developments at clickBOOM:
1. T-ZER0 IS FINISHED
======================
The game is completed and it's currently going
through the final stages of testing. We are happy
to say that it looks and plays great, and believe
you'll enjoy shooting endless hordes of alien scum.
Preordering is available until July 15,
with lots of special offers and a chance to win
a Mikronik Infinitiv Tower with Phase 5 CV64/3D card.
T-zer0 site is located at http://clickboom.com/t0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
H A A G E & P A R N T E R N E W S
16 June 99: Tornado3D Special Prices
Until 1. July 99 customers of version 1.5 can buy the 3.0 update for
a special price of 398 DM (afterwards: 498 DM). Everyone who buys v2.1
now or who had already done so (not valid when you got 2.x by
download) will be able to download 3.0 update for free from Eyelight's
webpage. Students and owners of competitive 3D programs can get T3D
for a special price of 649 DM.
08 June 99: Samples for FontMachine & X-DVE
To show you the power of FontMachine and X-DVE to create Internet
graphics Klaus Ziereis created some outstanding samples.
Please visit our homepage for more news and information:
http://www.haage-partner.com/e.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
U P G R A D E F O R O P U S M A G E L L A N
12 June 1999
Free Update Patch for Opus Magellan 5.8
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GPSoftware is proud to demonstrate its continuing support for the
Amiga with the release of a FREE UPDATE patch to its popular File
Management and Workbench Replacement software, Directory Opus Magellan
II.
The update is available free to registered users and upgrades Opus
Magellan 5.8 to 5.81. While some new features have been added such as
support for the NewMouse standard, improved OpusFTP operations, and
improved ease of use, this release is mainly a service update
providing solutions to a number of issues identified by end users.
It is available direct from the GPSoftware web site at
http://www.gpsoft.com.au
Opus Magellan Clinics at World of Amiga Show, London
We are also pleased to announce our support for the World of Amiga
show in London July 23/24th. Dr Greg Perry will be running clinics in
Opus Magellan installation and useage and will be available to talk to
users during the two days of the show. We hope to see you there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
NEW!! Check us out in html at the "Amiga Yellow Pages" site,
http://ayp.amiga.tm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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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