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Amiga Update (2000-02-13)
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_ __ _ <>_ __ _ ||
/\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || A M I G A U P D A T E
/__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || -News and Rumors-
/ \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_|| (An Occasional e-mail
WELCOME TO TOMORROW || News Source)
======================================================================
AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
000213
T H E W O R D F R O M T H E T O P
B I L L M C E W E N L I V E !
P R O G R E S S R E P O R T - N E W U S M A G
A M I G A Z O N E C H A T S W I T H F L E E C Y
A M I G A W E S T C O A S T S H O W ( U S )
A M I G A 2 K B A N Q U E T S P E A K E R - M C E W E N
P H A S E 5 I S D E A D . . .
. . . B U T S O M E P R O D U C T S C O N T I N U E
D A N G E R O U S F A K E P A T C H F O R Y A M
A M I G A L I N K D I R E C T O R Y ( A L D )
A M I G A W A T C H N U M B E R 5 A V A I L A B L E
A M I G A A T C A B L E T V S H O W I N I N D I A
D I R E C T O R Y O P U S 4 N O W F R E E
E R I O L U S B S T A T U S R E P O R T
S T O R M M P 3 / E M P E G D E C O D E R
A M I N E T H U N T E R F R O M A M I G A S O C
D E M O V E R S I O N O F F X P A I N T A V A I L A B L E
P H O T O F O L I O F R O M S T E E P L E S O F T W A R E
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
The year continues to be interesting, in both good and not so good
ways.
We have more information from Bill McEwen, President of the new
Amiga. What he has to say is positive and well worth reading. On the
other side of the coin, another long-time Amiga company dies. Phase 5
has been often controversial and sometimes disliked by many Amigans.
Despite that, they will be missed as any lessening of the community
hurts. We've already seen too many losses.
But even while one company goes away, another may be coming back.
There is a new web site for one of my old favorites, Cinemaware.
Efforts are being made to revive this maker of most interesting games.
Cinemaware was not just an Amiga company, so it will be worth keeping
an eye on them to see how the new company develops. You can find them
at www.cinemaware.com.
Speaking of renewal, we have a report below from Bill Griffin, the
person trying to establish a paper Amiga magazine for the US. Bill
hopes to fill the void left when "Amazing Computing" died recently. We
wish him luck, and will keep an eye on his efforts for our US readers.
There's another interesting magazine effort making progress. We
understand the "UGN Times" disk magazine has begun to show up at some
Amiga dealers' locations. We don't have an official list of who has
them and when others may get them. If interested, I guess you'll just
have to keep your eyes open.
There are many other things for you to read about in this issue. We
hope you enjoy it!
Brad Webb,
Editor
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail to the E-ditor:
3 Feb 2000 1
Hello. You don`t have any news of the rumored 8MB Alice chip?
Does it even exist?
/Tony, Sweden
~~~~~~
Tony,
I'm afraid I've not heard of it. Readers, can you answer Tony's
question?
Thanks,
Brad
======
5 Feb 2000
Dear Brad
The Amigaupdate is really the best way I can think of to get new
information about our beloved Amiga. A shame that I didn't find you
sooner.
My questions in all this talk about new platforms is:
Which computer should we actually buy. If I f. ex. buy the Amirage
from Phase5 will it be possible for me to use the virtual processor
made by Amino? And when they suddenly make a new platform too, the
Amiga community is in a way split in two? Or how do you see it all?
Or is a word like Amiga compatible the same as falling into the
PC-trap too?
Best regards,
Andreas
~~~~~~
Andreas,
Wow, what questions! In all honesty, I don't think anyone can answer
these questions yet. We need to see what the new Amiga produces, and
the new Amiga (correctly, I think) won't say anything unless there's a
real product to talk about.
If you need something now, buy whatever product looks best to you at
this time. The future is unclear enough right now, I have no idea how
all these pieces will fit together. I'd like to ensure you that the
virtual processor will work on the Amirage, but I can't. My
expectation is that it will, but there are no quarantees.
I'm hoping we can avoid a split, but the possibility exists. I think
it's unlikely, as we're too small for any group that doesn't follow
the lead of Amiga to survive for long, and I think most people realize
that at some level.
For me, I'm planning on sticking with Amiga the company as long as it
produces something close to what I as want as an Amigan. That's just
my approach, but I think it's the most sensible one for those who can
wait.
Wish I had some real answers for your questions,
Brad
======
6 Feb 2000
Brad,
Thanks for being one of the keepers of the flame, so to speak.
I have three things this message is about, two questions and one
soapbox sort of thing:
1. Question #1
Can you tell me about, point me to, give me advice on how to set up
my Linux machine to deal with Amiga-formatted floppies? I can find
info that indicates it can be done, but no instructions. I downloaded
a tarred file called amifdformat.tar.gz, but after unzipping and
tarring I get four files that I don't know what to do with, and I
suspect I need more files than this.
2. Part of the reason question #1 comes up is that even though I got
Amiga Forever and successfully hooked up to the Win98 part of my
laptop, I never could find out how to get files copied from the Amiga
to the laptop, or vice versa. Can you? I can access all the drives
without any problem.
<... intersting "soapbox thing" not included due to length ...>
Greg
~~~~~~
Greg,
First, I apologize for cutting so much interesting material from your
letter. I had to shorten it to include it. I read your thoughts about
Amiga and its need to have a customer orientation. Both Bill McEwen
and Fleecy Moss come from Gateway, and have had a good chance to learn
how not to treat customers, as well as how to do it right. I'm
expecting a much more customer oriented company from the new Amiga
than we were ever likely to get from Gateway.
While I'm a UNIX user in my other life, I'm not a Linux user so I'll
do as I often do and defer to the wisdom of our readers. I'm pretty
certain someone will have answers to both questions.
As for keeping the flame, we intend to stay at it as long as there's
even a flicker. Thanks,
Brad
======
24 Jan 2000
G'Day Brad
Brad Webb wrote:
> ... snip ...
> Well, I hope you'll let "Amiga Update" help you keep up with the
> news. As for alternative sites to the old Amige Web Directory, I'd
> recommend two:
>
> http://www.amiga.org/
> http://www.realdreams.cz/AMIGA/
>
> ... snip ...
I guess you already know about:-
http://www.ann.lu/
I find it as good as the above two that you mention.
Frank
~~~~~~
Frank,
Yes, I'd agree that ANN is a good news site. It's a great place to
keep up with newsgroup postings. For general news, the other sites
might be more useful to more people.
Brad
----------------------------------------------------------------------
T H E W O R D F R O M T H E T O P
February 4, 2000
Greetings to one and all:
A great deal has occurred over the last couple of weeks, and it is
only going to get more interesting as we move forward. It has been
some time since I spoke with you, and I wanted to share some of the
fun.
In the last two weeks we have announced our new foundation partner,
started technical training with our new development team, and had many
meetings with future technology partners
The responses have been overwhelmingly positive and, to quote an old
song "they ain't seen nothing yet".
On January 8, 2000 at CES in Las Vegas we announced our partnership
with the Tao-Group as our foundation OS partner. This is not just a
technical but a strategic relationship and brings with it great
rewards. I have asked Fleecy to write a short document highlighting
the Amiga/Tao relationship from a more technical perspective, to save
you from having to put up with my telling everyone how incredibly
great and fantastic it is. We want you to make your own minds up.
In the next two weeks we will make another strategic partnership
announcement with regards to the new path for Amiga. As with all our
announcements, look at it against the whole picture and not in
isolation.
After a week long trip to Germany and the UK I have come back with a
much better understanding of what we can and cannot do. As mentioned
before we are not going to make promises or product announcements. We
will announce to you, the community, only after the deal is signed or
the product is sitting before us. This won't put a stop to rumours,
but it will make them all the more obvious. Change brings uncertainty,
and in an information vacuum, mischief makers like to take the
spotlight. If it isn't officially sanctioned by Amiga, don't believe
it.
Our job as a company is to create exciting market opportunities for
Amiga developers to take advantage of, and to give Amiga users a
platform they can enjoy. This requires more than just an upgrade to
the existing OS. This requires, indeed demands a complete strategy
reaching into all areas of the present and the future. The time has
come for all of us to move forwards, owner, developer, and user.
Many of you have sent us business proposals, and product marketing
ideas, and for this we thank you, and ask for your patience as we look
over them. Some are providing us with valuable insight into the
desires of the Amiga community as a whole, others are providing us
with a good chuckle. This is the Amiga advantage that other platforms
just do not share.
Over the next few months there may be some companies that come out
with their own plans, or state that we do not have the community at
heart as we move forwards. The reality is, they do not know what we
have planned. In order to stay focused and to keep up our incredible
pace, we are not sharing our plans outside of our signed partnerships.
We have to prioritise and act singlemindedly if we are to reach our
first plateau in our given timescales. Once there we will be able to
pause for breath. Some are not happy about this, but they do not know
the full plan. Our mission is not just about restoring the Amiga, but
about pushing it forwards as THE technology for tomorrow.
This means that if you hear something annoying, or frustrating, or
downright nasty, and the source is not Amiga Inc, then disregard it.
Plain and simple.
If you did not hear it from us, or read it here on this web site it
is not true.
We are not asking for your trust or your undying belief. We only ask
that you take us on OUR words and deeds, not on the misinterpretations
of others.
We will soon be starting official meetings in Europe, the UK, and the
US for developers and dealers. This will include introductory training
seminars for the new OS, and introductions to the retail pricing and
schedules. We will also begin the process of introducing the new web
site, and putting the Amiga Advisory Council to work.
I want to thank each and every one of you for your hospitality during
our meetings and for your continued support as we move forwards. We
have had the chance to meet with many end users, developers, dealers,
and new partners, and look forwards to meeting even more of you as
time goes on.
There is a great deal of activity, with a lot of first footsteps on
some truly amazing paths. New partners excited, old faces returning,
familiar faces reminding us of our heritage. Indeed we are already
having to move into bigger facilities, such is our rate of growth.
I know it can be frustrating but after years wandering lost in a dark
place, the sun is finally starting to crack a smile on the horizon.
Together, we will march into tomorrow.
Keeping the faith,
Bill McEwen and the rest of the Amiga Team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B I L L M C E W E N L I V E !
February 4, 2000
Fellow Amigans,
We are happy to assist the Gateway Amiga Club, Inc. in bringing you
Mr. Bill McEwen in...
"Live" from the Gateway Amgia Club"
GAC's meeting will be Wednesday March 1, at the Ladue Horton Watkins
High School Videio Lab. It is located at 1201 South Warson Rd, in
Ladue, MO. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM, with the conference starting
at 8 PM CST.
Mr McEwen will discuss the "OS for the 21st Century" and demonstrate
some "new stuff". This is a meeting you won't want to miss.
The interactive nature of this conference, will allow the speaker to
view his audience as they view him. Viewers can even ask questions
when their site is selected for viewing.
Amiga Clubs interested in viewing this live interactive video
conference" should go to GAC's web page at:
http://www.icon-stl.net/~amiga
and click on the "Amiga News" link. There you will find the details
of how to apply for the conferences link.
We suggest that clubs attempt to find video conferencing equipment at
their local high schools, colleges, or businesses to keep their costs
down. It is possible to rent Kinko equipment, but costs can be higher
than most clubs can afford.
Due to the video sites needing possible on-site approval, we will
need to have your request no later than February 14. Please remember
to fill out the form on the GAC website.
See you on the Big Screen,
Bob Scharp
----------------------------------------------------------------------
P R O G R E S S R E P O R T - N E W U S M A G
31 Jan 2000 23:11:56 +0500
Our project is progressing at quite a clip. Less than 24 hours after
my initial request for writers, I had 24 Emails of people wanting to
submit articles, 2 who wanted to help edit, 5 people who want
subscription info and 1 who simply want to know where to "send the
check".
I have since received Email from 2 more folks wanting to submit
articles. received 2 reviews and have heard from multiple potential
subscribers. I have had contact with 1 former "Amazing..." advertiser
who is helping me in setting up advertising contacts. And I am about
to send out advertising info to all the former "Amazing..."
advertisers (at least those who advertised in the last issue of
Amazing).
Now, we are going to be holding a "Name Our Magazine" contest with
the sample issue. In this contest, new subscribers will be able to
cast their votes for the name of the magazine. We will be including 3
possible names and a space for the subscriber to make their own choice
(in case they don't like ours). The planned end date for the contest
will be at the start of the second day of the St Louis Amiga Show
(April 1-2, 2000).
We have received several requests for info on the mag, so here it is.
We plan on a 30 - 40 page (plus covers) magazine. If there are any
REALLY important items that come up, we are prepared to push the
magazine out to about 50 pages (again plus covers). For the time
being, the magazine will be all black and white (or greyscale, if you
will) and will be printed on plain (non-slick) paper. This will
include the cover as well (at least for the first few issues).
Future plans include glossy paper and color. We've had a few
suggestions about adding cover disks or CDs. We're not really certain
if this is the way to go, so you will probably see a survey asking the
subscribers about this in the future.
The magazine ( again, at least, at the start) will be by subscription
only. I will be releasing, on the net (via the newsgroups and amiga
update) when the sample issues are ready to send out. At that point,
people can Email me with their "snail-,ail" addresses and I will mail
out the sample copies (no charge). Each sample issue will include a
subscription form, a vote card for the "Name Our Magazine" contest and
a shopper's survey (to help us know who to contact for possible future
advertising).
A "sneek peak" of the sample issue shows that we will have a review
of Digital Dreams action adventure game "Wasted Dreams". We will also
have the first of a 2-part review on the Albrecht Computer Technik
"Prelude" sound card. We are currently working out the details for an
interview with Amiga Inc's Fleecy Moss. And an article by A former
Amiga who is finding his way back to Amigas.
The planned kick-of date to send out samples is about March 15
(possibly sooner with a little luck). SO STAY TUNED.
------
Its gonna be a heck of a century!
Bill Griffin,
G&G Enterprises
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A Z O N E C H A T S W I T H F L E E C Y
1 February 2000
AMIGAZONE TO HOLD MONTHLY LIVE CHATS WITH VICE PRESIDENT OF
AMIGA CORP.
AmigaZone, the online service for Amiga owners founded in 1985 by
Harv Laser, is pleased to announce that it has scheduled a monthly
live chat with Fleecy Moss, Vice President of Product Development for
the new Amiga Corp. All AmigaZone members are invited to attend these
chats, an toss those burning questions at Fleecy. Find out what's
going on long before the news hits the magazines (what magazines are
left!).
In a surprise to the world, Amiga Corp., spearheaded by Bill McEwen,
purchased "All that is Amiga" from Gateway during the final days of
1999. (See their "Executive Update" and news pages at
http://www.amiga.com).
The first live chat with Fleecy took place in AmigaZone's own chat
area on Wednesday, 26 January 2000. AmigaZone will shortly add a new
page to its web site (http://www.amigazone.com) which will hold text
transcripts of the Fleecy chats after each one is held.
The next live chat with Fleecy will be on the evening of February 23,
2000, and thereafter, on the last Wednesday of every month.
These chats are a premium for AmigaZone members. If you want to
participate in them, and avail yourself of everything else AmigaZone
has to offer, visit http://www.amigazone.com and sign up. You can join
with your credit card and SSL-enable web browser, or a 1-800 phone
call.
AmigaZone is connected to the internet and members log into it with a
local phone call to your local ISP account. Cost of membership is only
US$12.95/month (about 40 cents a day!) for unlimited usage. AmigaZone
has no hidden or extra-cost areas.. never has and never will.
The monthly membership fee is billed to your credit card, and there
is no signup fee or long-term contract.
Join now, and upon verification of your signup, you'll receive a FREE
AmigaZone logo baseball cap in the mail, as our thank you gift!
Remember, only paid AmigaZone members can attend these monthly live
chats with Fleecy.
AmigaZone is hosted by CalWeb Internet Services.
AmigaZone is a Trademark of Harv Laser.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A W E S T C O A S T S H O W ( U S )
7 Feb 2000
The Amiga West Coast show, AmiWest 2000 is shaping up!
That's right!
The AmiWest committee is proud to announce we are again hosting this
year's show in Sacramento, California, at the popular Holiday Inn,
Sacramento NorthEast, 5321 Date Avenue Sacramento, CA 95841, on
Saturday, July 29th and Sunday, July 30th, 2000. The Holiday Inn venue
proved to be such a hit for last year's show that we are again holding
it there.
Show times are Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
AmiWest is in it's third year and is the only all Amiga show produced
on the West Coast. The show has proved very popular for Amiga
enthusiasts in the Western United States.
With the recent purchase of the Amiga by Amino (renamed Amiga
Corporation) from Gateway, the Amiga appears to be on an upswing. The
new Amiga Corporation is headed by Bill McEwen who can be remembered
by participants at both AmiWest'98 and AmiWest'99 as a very
enthusiastic supporter of the Amiga. Also part of the Amiga team are
long time Amigans Fleecy Moss and Petro Tyschtschenko.
You can learn more about AmiWest 2000 by accessing our web page at:
http://www.sacc.org/amiwest/
If you are interested in exhibiting at AmiWest 2000, please submit
the form that is provided on our web page. We need to know early who
will be exhibiting. Booth sizes and pricing is yet to be determined;
however, by submitting the form on our web page you will receive an
exhibitor packet with all necessary forms and information when the
packet becomes available.
Special booth pricing will be available for user groups.
This weekend event will again showcase the progress that IS the Amiga
Community.
John Zacharias, charperson
AmiWest 2000
jzachar@calweb.com
http://www.sacc.org/amiwest/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A 2 K B A N Q U E T S P E A K E R - M C E W E N
December 18, 1999
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Mr. Bill McEwen,
President and CEO of Amiga Inc., will be our guest speaker at the
Amiga 2K banquet Saturday April 1, 2000. Bill is well know to most
Amiga fans as the former "Marketing Man" of Gateway's Amiga division.
Not to be one to be left out of the best computer in town, he
arranged to buy the company from his former bosses. That has to be a
feather in his cap. To be able to tell people that you so believe in a
product, that after you leave a company, you arrange to buy it, is
just admirable. I don't think they saw it coming, or they never would
have left Bill leave.
So are we in for an interesting tale, undoubtedly. Will we hear about
his ideas, I'm sure. Will we enjoy listening to the man who loves and
owns our beloved Amiga... You Betcha!
Ticketing arrangements are as follows:
Tickets to the Amiga 2K banquet are $35. They will only be sold in
advance, until March 18, 2000.
Admission tickets are $17 for two days - in advance.
or $12 for one day - in advance.
At the door, Admission tickets are $20 for two days.
or $15 for one day.
Class tickets are only available at the ticket table, during show
hours. A schedule of classes will be posted later.
Remember... Orders for tickets must be received no later than
March 18, 2000.
Please mail your requests to:
Amigan-St. Louis
PO Box 672
Bridgeton, MO 63044
Banquet tickets are sold on a first come basis. The last two years
we sold out, so don't wait too long.
Sincerely,
Bob Scharp
Amigan-St. Louis
bscharp@icon-stl.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------
P H A S E 5 I S D E A D . . .
Oberursel, 02/09/2000: On January 26., 2000 application for
insolvency was made about the property of phase 5 digital production,
and the application proceedings has been established by a decee made
by the competent county court at the same day. During the regular
application procedure there are negotiations about assumption, and
continuation of the Amiga technology field with among others
prospective buyers. By that, continuation of the current development
and products shall be attained, espacially as for the new G4
acceleration boards.
Every customer who did product preordering from and product
prepayment to phase5 digital products will become informed about their
objective rights in writing, once the insolvency proceeding will be
established.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . B U T S O M E P R O D U C T S C O N T I N U E
{The following information was posted to the net in relation to
questions about products from the former Phase 5. Brad}
11 Feb 2000
DCE has exclusive rights to following:
1. Blizzard 1240
2. Blizzard 1260
3. Blizzard 2040
4. Blizzard 2060
5. Blizzard SCSI IV Kit
6. CV 64 3D
7. CV PPC
8. B-Vision
9. Cyberstorm MK III
10. Cyberstorm PPC
11. Blizzard PPC
1-6 is available
7-11 will be available in the next 2-7 weeks.
: DCE will also take over repair services for Phase 5products.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
D A N G E R O U S F A K E P A T C H F O R Y A M
8 Feb., 2000
From: "Dirk Harlaar" <D.Harlaar@ping.de>
All users of YAM, please note: a "patch" for YAM PPC appeared on
Aminet today (or maybe yesterday). It should cure a Y2K bug in YAM 2
(even though there isn't a Y2K bug in YAM at all) as well as make YAM
use the PPC.
Do not download and install this "patch"! The install script contains
a macro virus, and YAM doesn't get patched at all!
So, to repeat, the YAM patch now on Aminet is in fact a nasty VIRUS.
Don't use it!
Dirk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A L I N K D I R E C T O R Y ( A L D )
Jan. 3, 2000 amiga-news.de now with Amiga Link Directory (ALD)
amiga-news.de opened the new Amiga Link Directory (ALD) for the
public on 23.1.2000. The new directory`s aim is to become THE
directory for AMIGA-pages. Innovative (http://www.innovative-web.de),
a software-company based in Herzogenaurach/Germany developed the
required technology for this exciting enterprise.
Entries are sorted by categories and letters or can be found easily
via the available search-function. In order to guarantee an always
up-to-date database, entries can be changed by the "owners" of the
entry at any time via a previously defined password. For every entry,
if provided by the "owner", further information is available. This can
include, but is not limited to the postal adress as well as the
phone-number, email-adress and homepage.
The ALD will also partially (means: only entries of "owners" who want
their entries to be part of a "directory" on the Aminet-CD) be
available via the popular Aminet-CDs. For the first time there will be
a bridge between the AMIGA-online and -offline-world - and it will be
called ALD. This way communication within the AMIGA-community will
improve and companies can also reach users, that don`t have an
internet-connection yet.
Help us building the greatest online-directory for AMIGA-websites
worldwide and add your website today.
The ALD can be found at:
http://www.amiga-news.de/cgi-bin/anwd-db.pl
- Your amiga-news.de-Team
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A W A T C H N U M B E R 5 A V A I L A B L E
1 Feb., 2000
The new Amiga Watch, Communique Number 5 is posted at
< http://tech-head.com/amiga.htm >. The Tao CES demo
is covered along with its implications.
Due to a fairly massive computer crash on my
Techno-altar the streaming video version of the Tao
demo is delayed. Hopefully it will be posted in the
next week to ten days.
Regards,
Roger Wyatt
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A M I G A A T C A B L E T V S H O W I N I N D I A
From 27 - 29 January, Amiga International, Inc. attended one of the
biggest Cable TV Shows in Calcutta, India. Just like last year, it was
another full success. This time, there were four more AMIGA booths
apart from the main one.
Monarch Video and Agani PTY from Mumbai as well as Abishek Enterprise
from Calcutta and Rajan Electronics from Delhi also had booths at this
exhibition. There were lots of visitors from neighbouring Bangladesh,
the coming market where the Amiga will gain shares of the cable TV
market.
In a TV interview, Petro Tyschtschenko explained why AMIGA is so
popular in the Indian market and what solution it means for the TV
market.
Amiga International, Inc. plans to participate in this important
event again next year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
D I R E C T O R Y O P U S 4 N O W F R E E
27 January, 2000
GP Software's Greg Perry has announced the release of Directory Opus
4 as free software under the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE. The notice
reads, in part: "The release of Directory Opus 4 under the GPL in NO
WAY affects the existing commercial status of Directory Opus 5 or
subsequent products. Nor does it affect the GPSoftware trademarks of
DirectoryOpus, DOpus, Opus and related terms. These names will always
remain the exclusive property of GPSoftware and may not be used
without specific and explicit permission, except for distribution of
the original and derived versions of Directory Opus 4 as described in
the GPL. All users of Directory Opus 4, including those licensed under
the GPL, are entitled to upgrade to the latest version of Directory
Opus 5 at a discounted price. Please see http://www.gpsoft.com.au for
more information."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E R I O L U S B S T A T U S R E P O R T
5th february 2000
The design of the Eriol control logic has progressed steadily during
January. Entering february the first fullscale test simulation of the
control logic is about to begin. Following this a shorter period for
correcting any logic errors must be expected. After having verified
the logical correctness of the control logic it will be time for a
fullscale timing simulation of the logic. Hopefully this will prove
what I already believe - that the timing of the control logic will
hold.
However, the Eriol project has also run into some trouble, which may
delay the project. The entire Eriol control logic is to be put into an
FPGA logic chip. The size of the logic asks for an FPGA of some
logical capacity. Unfortunately the development system that I have
access to cannot cope with such big FPGA designs, as it is not a full
development system, but rather a smaller (and cheaper) version. Three
solutions exist and are under evaluation. The first is to get hold of
a full development system. This will most likely be very expensive and
I don't think I can convince the University that it has to pay up
(unfortunately). The second solution is to break the design into two
separate and smaller FPGA chips. This will give access to enough logic
space to allow an implementation. However, it will give more delay in
the hardware as signals has to pass in and out of the FPGAs, and be a
lot more expensive due to the extra FPGA. The third solution is to
find another logic device for which the University has a development
system which can handle the big design.
Currently the solution being worked on is the second. I'm now working
on logically splitting the logic into two FPGAs. Together with this a
redesign of parts of the logic will take place as to minimize the
number of signals having to go from one chip to the other.
Unfortunately this use of two FPGAs will put just about an extra £20
on the production price :( The final product price is still
undefined...
The first prototype board, first expected at the end of february,
will without doubt be delayed from the afore mentioned problems. When
the first prototype board will exist is now an open question, but the
delay should be no more than a month.
Yours sincerely
Thomas Graff Thøger,
TigerTronics
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S T O R M M P 3 / E M P E G D E C O D E R
High Performance Digital Audio Decoder
Introduction
The Storm MP3/e is an MPEG audio decoder specifically designed to
allow machines that dont have the power to play MPEG files to do so.
The unit incoroprates state of the art components and many features
not available in a unit of this price. Storm MP3/e allows a standard
Amiga 500, PC80286 or Archimedies to play MP3 files with ease. The
unit is compatible with any system fitted with a parralell printer
port and is supplied with drivers for PC and Amiga use. Archimedies
drivers will be available shortly after release if the demand is
there.
Connections
The Storm MP3/e provides three user connections. Two 3.5MM jacks
provide Audio output and a pass-thru connector for the host machines
existing audio (if fitted). The output of the storm is low level
although an optional amplifier unit will be available. Internally the
unit has two high speed expantion ports allowing for future modules
such as radio tuners and on board storage. A third internal header and
a masked lens on the top of the unit make the Storm MP3/e infra-red
ready. The unit is powered by either it's internal PP3 9V battery or a
mains supply (available seperately) The MP£ powers up and down
automatically along with the host system, the internal electronics
also support a 'suspend' mode. In this mode one standard Alkaline
battery should last for about a month. Drivers are provided that
enable Win95 to utilise this feature as if it were part of a laptop's
own system.
Software
Storm MP3/e is supplied with software for both PC and Amiga. The
Amiga software includes a low-level library, programming information,
an MP3 player and diagnostics program. PC wise both DOS and Windows
95/98 software is supplied, again drivers, diagnostics and driver
software. No drivers are available for the Archimedies but development
information is available to anyone who wants to write software.
Software is supplied on ISO 9660 format CD and two floppies, one for PC and
one for Amiga.
In Action
The prototype units are nearing completion and will be dispatched to
various developers and testers shortly. Below are a few shots of the
unit, unfortunately the quality of these pictures is rather poor and
they'll be replaced as soon as possible.
http://www.alogik.co.uk/storm.htm
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A M I N E T H U N T E R F R O M A M I G A S O C
11 Feb., 2000
AmigaSoc launches "Aminet Hunter"
AmigaSoc UK is proud to present Aminet Hunter. Aminet Hunter is
probably the most advanced Aminet search engine on the Internet.
Designed with the same technology that many commercial websites
employ, speed, power, efficiency, and ease of use are guaranteed.
Originally scheduled for launch at World Of Amiga '99, the project
has been held back due to various other commitments we've had. We
firmly believe that you'll agree it's been worth the wait!
Try it now! It's fast, it's free, and there's nothing else like it!
http://uk.amigasoc.org/news/ahunt.html
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D E M O V E R S I O N O F F X P A I N T A V A I L A B L E
Feb. 6, 2000 fxPAINT-Demoversion released by Innovative*
Due to the great demand, we have decided to develop a demoversion of
fxPAINT. The result can now be downloaded. The demoversion has nearly
all features of the full version apart from those, that allow you to
save and print images. The PPC-support is untouched from these
limitations.
http://www.innovative-web.de
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P H O T O F O L I O F R O M S T E E P L E S O F T W A R E
Steeple Software is proud to announce the first commercial release of
PhotoFolio v2.0 in conjunction with Schatztruhe.
PhotoFolio v2.0 is a major step forward from it's predecessor version
1.2 with many new features including:
* ARexx
A fully documented ARexx port for those of you who like to automate
tasks using ARexx scripts. These scripts are made available through
pull down menus and toolbay buttons and can be pre-configured in the
settings window.
* Drag 'n' Drop proofs
Dragging and dropping of proofs is now supported (by popular
demand!). You can drag and drop:
- Between browse windows.
- Onto a path in the main window's listtree.
- Onto a Show window.
- Onto the information window.
* Workbench Icon Support
Workbench icons can be dropped:
- Onto a browse window
- Onto the listtree in the main window.
* Toolbays
Both the main and browse windows now have toolbays (optionally, of
course!) making navigating around PhotoFolio v2.0 faster and easier.
Those of you who don't like using context menus.... this is for you!
* CLI support
You can launch PhotoFolio v2.0 from a shell, passing in paths. Each
path passed in will automatically be added to the main window's
listtree and then opened into a browse window.
* Listtree Tree mode
The listtree in the main window can now be operated in the current
"flat mode" or as a proper directory tree structure in "tree mode".
* Native IFF-ILBM loading
Imageio.library has been re-written to support IFF-ILBM. This means
there is a dramatic increase in speed when loading IFF-ILBM files.
* Amiga DOS pattern matching
Selecting proofs has never been easier. Using the in-built Amiga DOS
pattern matching system, proofs can now be selected using wildcards
etc.
* Saving of images as JPegs
Images can now be converted to jpegs directly within PhotoFolio v2.0.
* Settings
The setting window has been totally re-designed and re-written making
sure your prefs file is completely compatabile with future versions of
PhotoFolio.
* Unsaved proof indication
For those of you who run without any text description below the
proofs, knowing which proofs are saved and which aren't is a problem.
Now, a red box is (optionally) drawn in the bottom right hand corner
of un-saved proofs.
* Constant size proofs
Proofs can now be displayed at a constant size, making the
distribution of proofs in the browse window even.
There has also been several minor improvements and additions, and
many bug fixes from version 1.2 making it more stable and flexible.
These new options coupled with the the existing features of
PhotoFolio make it a formidable image cataloguing system for both the
amateur and professional user alike. With continuing support,
PhotoFolio promises to be one of the most powerful image cataloguing
systems available on the Amiga platform.
PhotoFolio v2.0 is planned to be released in early to mid February.
Price has yet to be decided, however users who have paid the shareware
fee will receive a discount on the retail price.
Steve Quartly and Paul Huxham
Steeple Software
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Amiga Update on the net:
All back issues available at:
http://www.globaldialog.com/~amigaupdate/index.html
Stop by and check out our archive!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2000 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified.
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U P D A T E /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ U P D A T E
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