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Amiga Update (2002-03-31)
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A M I G A |# 020331| U P D A T E
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"SO THE WORLD MAY KNOW"
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AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc.
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B I L L ' S M A R C H U P D A T E - L O T S O F N E W S
A M I G A A N Y W H E R E A N N O U N C E D
A M I G A C O N T E N T F O R W I N D O W S C E . N E T
. . . A N D F R O M P O L I S H N E W S S I T E :
T A O G R O U P A C Q U I R E S S S E Y O
U P D A T E F R O M E Y E T E C H
B O I N G B A G 2 R E A D Y T O B O I N G Y O U R W A Y
N E W F A C E S A T " N E W A M I G A N S "
O S 4 R U M O R S F R O M A M I G A E X P O
M C E W E N A G U E S T O N T E C H T V
2 P R O D U C T S F R O M M R . H A R D W A R E
A K I K O 1 . 5 D E T A I L S N O T E D
Editor's Thoughts and Introduction:
We have a wonderful controversy on our hands this time around. It was
caused by Amiga's announcement that they'd be providing content for
Windows CE .NET devices. See below for the announcement and some
reactions, including a notice by a Polish Amiga news site, which
followed the lead of a Hungarian site in declaring a boycott. We have
a couple of responses to the announcement lifted from Amiga.org. (If
you haven't visited their site, we can't recommend it enough! Please
stop by.)
Where do we stand on this? Watching cautiously and with concern, but
not ready to panic yet. My hope is any relationship between MS and
Amiga stops at this level. One reason I won't buy a Mac is because of
MS ownership of part of the company (I am far from alone in this). We
need a completely independent alternative. Amiga still has the chance
to be that alternative. This does not mean giving up all opportunities
to benefit from MS in appropriate ways if they can.
In all this mess, I think something more concrete and disappointing
slid right by most Amigans. The Amiga Anywhere site cannot be accessed
properly by Amiga browsers. You must use Netscape or IE.
This is disturbing for two reasons. First, and most obvious, an Amiga
site closed to direct Amiga access by the the current Amiga community
sends nothing but bad signals to the community. If Amiga isn't aware
of that, they have a competency issue. If they are aware of that, and
don't care, there's an even more serious issue for those of us who
have stuck with them for so many years. They may think all Amigans
also have a PC now, so who cares? That misses the point. And, there's
no reason to exclude Amiga browsers, and a darn good non-Amiga,
business reason, for including them. That brings us to disturbing
reason two...
Second, Amiga has fallen into the most common trap of the e-business
sites - creating an "e-store" with a door that keeps out some
customers based on how they arrive. This is amazingly common among
businesses where the management turns over web site design to someone
who knows the current generation of design tools but has little or no
business sense. HTML is still versatile enough to allow all the fancy
new site features, yet still provide usability for someone with as
simple a brower as Lynx. It takes a true professional to design this
way, and it takes a savvy e-businessman to understand why it's
important. I'm disappointed in Amiga on both counts. You don't build a
brick and mortar store and then deny access to people who arrive in
old or specific brands of cars. You don't design web sites the way
Amiga Anywhere works for the same reason. Hint: it's not good in
business to keep people out of your store. They're only a potential
customer if they come in.
Despite all this "negativity", this really has been a month with much
good Amiga news. We think we've got the most important of it below.
Once you get over any unhappiness with the bothersome items, we think
you'll enjoy the rest and conclude, as we have, that it's been a good
month for Amiga on balance.
Brad Webb,
Editor
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E-mail to the E-ditor:
On 28-Feb-02, Brad Webb wrote:
> Gary Peake: "Yes, Microsoft has asked us to demo DE and some of the
> developer applications running on various devices in their booth."
I'd be very careful about letting MicroSoft have any access at all to
anything you want to keep proprietary. I heard on the news just a few
days ago that they asked to have a look at some software that a
Scandanavian group developed to let PCs put non-English characters on
screen and in email. Now MS is publishing an application that does the
same thing in just the same way. Coincidence? And pigs may fly! MS has
been talking about a system like AmigaDE for some time. Gary Peake is
well advised to keep our code far away from their hard drives!
Allan
~~~~~~
Hello Allan,
No doubt you'll find the news of Amiga / Microsoft cooperation in
this issue even more disturbing. I agree that caution - lots of it! -
is in order.
Brad
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
B I L L ' S M A R C H U P D A T E - L O T S O F N E W S
25 March, 2002
Greetings once again - To One and All:
Fresh from a fantastic showing at the Embedded Systems Conference in
San Francisco, where Amiga Anywhere wowed and amazed commentators,
developers and potential customers alike, I wanted to take the time to
get the Amiga community caught up on our flagship project, the
AmigaOS.
Contrary to the nonsense that is being spread about by a few very
noisy people, the AmigaOS is more than alive and well and we have very
exciting plans for the future with more hardware designs and exciting
new features. We have very long term life and long term goals for this
amazing product.
We look to the AmigaOS as the desktop solution and Amiga Anywhere as
the embedded solution for Cell Phones, PDA's, Set Top Boxes, Internet
Appliances and some other new products. When AmigaOS 5.0 hits the road
then you will see these code bases merging and the two worlds will
allow the content to co-mingle and proliferate.
Another way to view this is that AmigaOS is for the Amiga Community
whereas Amiga Anywhere introduces Amiga to the rest of the world. It
is then that they can join us and be part of the Amiga community. It
is all about market share and the opportunity to further expand and
grow the Amiga market and user base.
As you know, we took the strategic decision to outsource development
of the next generation hardware and compatible AmigaOS version. This
was done to allow us to concentrate on AmigaOS5, our long term goal,
whilst also providing a compelling and high performance path from
AmigaOS3. What this does is give the Amiga community a product that
they can be proud of in the short and medium term.
The hardware contract was awarded to Eyetech Limited, of Stokesley,
England, and the software contract was awarded to Hyperion
Entertainment, of Belgium. Both companies have an impressive
reputation for quality products and a deep commitment to the Amiga,
having played a major part in keeping the platform going through the
last five years.
These two contracts underlie the first new combined Amiga hardware
and software product in over 8 years; the AmigaOne, a product whose
features and functions were set after looking at the thousands of
mails, articles and comments generated by the community. A PowerPC
(PPC) CPU was asked for and it was selected. The ability to take
advantage of the latest video and audio technology was demanded and it
was successively built in. USB support was talked about and we
obliged. A better filesystem, integrated TCP/IP and 3D, an enhanced
Workbench; all have been designed into AmigaOS4.
The excitement is growing. The AmigaOne is already running PPC Linux,
AmigaOS4 is progressing rapidly on 68K Amigas equipped with PPC
accelerators and integration is currently underway. Orders for
developer boards are already being taken and many developers are
working closely with the AmigaOS4 team to ensure that their
applications are optimized for the future.
It has been a long haul and there have been many bumps on the road.
With the world economy starting to move out of recession, and the
success of Amiga Anywhere, Amiga Inc is moving from strength to
strength. It could not have been done without the support and
commitment of the Amiga community and we want the community to know
that we share its support and commitment to the success of both our
product lines, Amiga Anywhere and the AmigaOS.
Hardware Update
Last month, Fleecy Moss, CTO of Amiga Inc visited the headquarters of
Eyetech and spent a few hours with Eyetech management, engineers and
their newest addition, a PPC mother board that will be the at the
heart of the AmigaOne. Running a version of PPC Linux specially
designed for it to permit evaluation, the board and its peripherals
performed flawlessly with the system being very responsive, boding
well for an optimised and efficient AmigaOS in the future.
The original hardware plan for the AmigaOne was to create two
products, a motherboard with an integrated A1200 interface, allowing
for the first version of AmigaOS4 (4.0) to be completed quickly by
still having access to the AA chipset, and a second product, a
standalone board that would work with the second version of AmigaOS4
(4.2), which would be independent of the AA chipset.
Over the past 6 months, advances in hardware have meant that the
second product is actually going to be available before the first. As
a result, the hardware strategy has been updated. The AmigaOne will be
built around a revision 1.5 motherboard. This board will be completely
independent of the AA chipset and will not need a connected A1200 in
order to run AmigaOS4. There will be no motherboard with an integrated
A1200 connector. Instead, Eyetech are planning on developing a PCI to
A1200 product for those who wish to run older Amiga software that
requires direct access to the AA chipset. In effect, the A1200 will be
like just another graphics card plugged into the PCI bus of the
AmigaOne.
Using this approach it is also technically feasible to use the
PCI-cable interface to connect to an A3/4000 via the CPU slot
connector - and even to an A2000 via a CPU pin header. These interface
variations may follow later, depending on demand.
The current hardware specification for the AmigaOne is as follows;
o CPU - any G3/G4 to the currently available speeds
o Memory - 2 133 MHz SDRAM slots for upto 2GB
o Graphics support - (2x AGP plus 66MHz PCI)
o Card expansion - 4 PCI slots
o Legacy Support
a. FDD
b. Serial
c. Parallel
d. PS2 keyboard and mouse
o Integrated Systems support
a. 2 USB connectors plus 2 headers
b. 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
c. AC97 (Audio)
d. MC97 (Data/Fax/Modem)
e. UDMA 100/ATAPI - 2 channels (4 devices)
Beginning on the 18th of March, developers and dealers can order
developer versions of the boards, allowing them to evaluate the
product and to be prepared for optimising their applications for
AmigaOS4. To order a developer board, please use Eyetech's online
shop.
For more information on the AmigaOne hardware, please visit Eyetech's
AmigaOne pages.
Software Update
Hyperion Entertainment have assembled the cream of Amiga developers
to work on AmigaOS4.0, guaranteeing both high quality and high
performance in the final product and ensuring that AmigaOS4.0 and
beyond will be a true Amiga product, created with due care and
attention to the philosophy and practices that have always made Amiga
solutions the envy of the world.
AmigaOS4.0 is currently being developed on Amiga 4000s equipped with
CSPPC accelerators, and integration is now underway on the AmigaOne
1:5 boards provided by Eyetech.
The aim of AmigaOS4.0 is five fold;
1. to provide a transition from the 68k based custom chipset Amiga
hardware to PPC based pluggable sub system hardware
2. to provide as great a degree of backwards compatibility as is
possible
3. to optimise the AmigaOS for its new hardware foundation
4. to move the AmigaOS forwards, offering new features and high
performance all wrapped up in the traditional easy to use Amiga
architecture
5. to prepare the way for AmigaOS5
Its feature set as currently defined is as follows;
Exec SG (Second Generation) - A rearchitectured and reimplemented
Exec core services manager that allows the deployment of AmigaOS4 to
any suitable PPC hardware including but not limited to the Amiga One,
Blizzard PPC, Cyberstorm PPC, Shark PPC from Elbox, Pegasos from bPlan
etc.
The following features are being added;
1. Hardware abstraction layer
2. Virtual memory
3. New library interface
4. Resource tracking and management
5. Optional memory protection
6. WarpOS backwards compatibility
68K emulation - This is key to AmigaOS4.0 as many of the less
performance crucial OS elements, as well as the entire body of Amiga
third party applications will require it in order to work. The latest
Just In Time (JIT) techniques are being employed to ensure maximum
performance, with hand tuning of many areas to accelerate the Amiga
architecture.
PPC native connectivity suite - this was the most requested feature
from the community, integrated connectivity, and given its importance,
we trusted its development to Olaf Barthel, one of the most respected
Amiga developers in the world. He has not disappointed, with
benchmarks suggesting that the new AmigaOS4 solution is faster than
any other available solution. Its feature set includes;
1. implemented as a single shared library
2. compatible with the Amiga standard "bsdsocket" API, as defined by
the AmiTCP product
3. enhanced API for more control over the inner workings and
configuration
4. built-in DHCP client
5. Internet Superserver (inetd)
6. IP filtering and networking address translation
7. drivers for asynchronous PPP (dial-up networking) and PPP over
Ethernet
8. SSLv2
PPC native reimplementation of the Amiga File System (FFS2) - FFS2 is
a fully backwards compatible re-implementation in C of the Fast File
System. It supports media greater than 4 GBytes, and a new variant of
the file/directory name storage format which allows for long file
names (up to 108 characters). Salvage and recovery tools will also be
included that support both FFS2 and SFS.
PPC native CD file system - the feature set for this second most
requested feature of AmigaOS4 is as follows;
1. Joiliet support
2. RockRidge support
3. CDDA support
4. multi-session support
5. Video CD support
We also intend to add support for mixed audio/data CD's and support
for the HFS and HFS+ filesystem as used by Apple.
PPC native RTG system - with the AmigaOne supporting both AGP and PCI
graphics cards, the ReTargetable Graphics system is crucial to high
performance. Redesigned and reimplemented for AmigaOS4 and the
AmigaOne, a team lead by the creators of the Picasso96 solution will
ensure the hightest quality graphics display for the consumer, whether
gamer, artist or general user. In addition, hand tuned drivers are
being written to support the following graphics cards, with more to be
announced later.
1. Permedia 2
2. Permedia 3
3. Voodoo 3
4. Matrox G450/G550
5. ATI Radeon
Amiga3D - developed from the pioneering Warp3D solution offered by
Hyperion and now available on both the AmigaOS and AmigaDE, this 3D
solution offers the power and simplicity of a low level 3D interface,
allowing developers to create blazingly fast 3D applications without
the overhead of a fatter 3D solution such as OpenGL. Hand tuned
hardware drivers for the above mentioned graphics cards will provide
even higher performance. Whoever said games are irrelevant on the
Amiga is in for a surprise.
OpenGL 1.3 support (mesa 4.0) - whilst Ami3D allows the developer to
get down close to the metal, OpenGL is the standard for a full 3D
solution. AmigaOS4.0 will offer OpenGL1.3 support by implementing mesa
4.0 on top of Ami3D, giving developers the 3D choice of performance
and feature set.
PPC native RTA - With the introduction of PCI card support, the Amiga
community now has access to the latest in audio hardware. Given its
excellent collection of audio software, such as Audio Evolution,
Samplitude and others, this AHI compatible solution will allow the
AmigaOne to become a major force in audio creation. With support for
most existing Amiga audio cards as well as Soundblaster live and
Soundblaster 128, the future has never sounded so good.
PPC native GUI system - the entire look and feel of AmigaOS is being
reworked;
Intuition is being rewritten and enhanced, to give a PPC native
foundation to the AmigaOS interactive environment.
Reaction, the BOOPSI based component GUI system has been
reimplemented and enhanced for seamless integration with the AmigaOS.
Many new classes are being developed whilst drag and drop will be
supported across the system.
Matt Chaput, designer of the famous GlowIcons is taking a leading
role in the look and feel, ensuring that AmigaOS4 will look both
modern and unique.
A PPC version of AmiDock will also be included, ensuring that
Workbench continues to be the most usable environment of all the
desktop platforms.
PPC native CLI - the tool of choice will be removed of annoying bugs
and enhanced to make it even more useful.
SCSI interface - SCSI will be supported, allowing the many devices
already owned by Amigans to be used, but with particular attention
being paid to SCSI devices that use the SCRIPTS controller, for the
next generation of devices.
AmigaInput - A new framework for managing input devices is being
designed as a prelude to the requirements for AmigaOS5. This will
appear in AmigaOS4 and become a crucial part of the developing Amiga
solution.
USB - USB was to be introduced in AmigaOS4.2 but given the
developemtent of the 1:5 motherboard, parts of it will be introduced
in AmigaOS4.0. Currently this will allow USB mice and keyboards to be
supported but, if all goes well, new devices will be added as they
become available, with scanner support next in line.
PPC datatypes - the datatypes system has been implemented and
extended within the AmigaDE, demonstrating our commitment to superior
Amiga technology. With the move to PPC, the system and many of the
datatypes will also be moved across, increasing their performance
dramatically.
PPC Storage Toolbox - a set of functions allowing for the management
of fixed and removable storage devices.
PPC font engine - surprisingly one of the most requested features for
AmigaOS4.0, a brand new font engine will be added to the AmigaOS,
providing support for both True Type and Open Type fonts. In addition,
bullet.library and diskfont.library will be reimplemented and enhanced
and a contract with Agfa for 12 truetype fonts has been negotiated.
In addition, many Amiga developers are coming forwards and
demonstrating their commitment to the AmigaOne and AmigaOS4; in
particular
1. 1. Special PPC native OEM version of Ibrowse 2.3
2. PPC native version of MUI for applications that require it
3. Special PPC native lite version of Audio Evolution
All in all, AmigaOS4.0 is shaping up to be a very compelling and
exciting product which in combination with the AmigaOne will provide
the product that we have been waiting so long to offer to the Amiga
community.
Whilst the the changed schedule for the AmigaOne boards is very
welcome, it has added AmigaOS4.2 work to the schedule for AmigaOS4.0,
namely the abstraction of the AA chipset. Coupled with the need to
reimplement certain features included by Haage and Partner in
AmigaOS3.5 and AmigaOS3.9, this may push out the final consumer
delivery date; an analysis is underway at the moment to determine
this.
The Amiga community is owed a great debt by Amiga Inc and, with the
success of AmigaDE now allowing us to build revenues and increase
resources, the long layed plans for the future of both the AmigaDE and
the AmigaOS can be put into action. Thanks for all your support and
here's to the future,
Signed on behalf of Amiga Inc, Eyetech, Hyperion and all those
working together for the future of the Amiga
Bill McEwen
CEO
Amiga Inc
Snoqualmie, WA
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A M I G A A N Y W H E R E A N N O U N C E D
Now Amiga content is available - Anywhere and Everywhere
March 11th, 2002 - Snoqualmie, WA - Amiga, Inc. is pleased to
introduce its new line of products, a complete solution for the
delivery of content to any type of digital device with the express
purpose of enriching the end user experience.
Amiga® AnywhereTM, provides a revolutionary infrastructure for the
production and distribution of digital content emphasizing high
performance, superb quality, and minimal resource consumption.
With 3,000 developers already signed on, 67 titles available and
hundreds more in development, Amiga® AnywhereTM brings developers and
consumers together anywhere and everywhere on any and every digital
device.
Through a long term partnership with the Tao Group, Amiga content and
services are now available for the vast majority of software platforms
including the various flavors of Microsoft Windows®, Linux, Embedded
Linux, Symbian OS and VxWorks. The software runs unchanged on almost
all of the mainstream microprocessor families.
Bill McEwen, Amiga's President and CEO, said, "The Amiga community is
renowned world-wide for creating exciting applications. It has a
heritage as one of the leaders in the video game industry and film
animation. Today, those skills are being used in creating content that
can run on almost any digital device and will offer new levels of
excitement as we move forward."
"In the two years since Tao and Amiga first began working together,
our relationship has progressively tightened," said Francis Charig,
Chairman of Tao. "Operators are seeking content that consumers will
actually pay for, portable content that runs across a broad range of
appliances. Amiga is the first company that has actually got content
that fulfills this important objective."
Amiga® AnywhereTM capable devices have instant access to a rapidly
growing world of quality applications, exciting content and valuable
services. Many existing devices can become Amiga® AnywhereTM capable
while several new devices, such as the Nokia MediaTerminal come with
that capability as standard, offering a compelling reason for customer
purchase.
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A M I G A C O N T E N T F O R W I N D O W S C E . N E T
Amiga® To Provide Content For Next Generation Windows CE .NET-Based
Devices
Amiga Games and Productivity Applications Will Target Windows CE .NET
San Francisco, CA - March 12, 2002 - Amiga, Inc. announced the
release and distribution of Amiga applications targeted at the
Microsoft Windows CE .NET operating system. The applications will run
on any of the range of Windows CE .NET-based devices including
handhelds, smart phones, web pads, and set-top boxes.
Amiga has a rich history of gaming and multimedia and has been
delivering rich, compelling applications since 1985. The new breed of
Amiga applications have been written to run on the entire range of
Windows Powered products including PDA's, Cell Phones, and Set Top
Boxes. Amiga provides a middleware portability layer, which allows
Amiga applications to be written once and run across a range of
Windows Powered devices without change. More than 100 applications
will be made available initially and many more are being created by
Amiga developers worldwide.
"We are pleased to be able to deliver content that is optimized to
run on the Windows CE .NET Platform", said Bill McEwen President/CEO
of Amiga Inc. "Amiga developers are world renowned for their abilities
to create amazing multimedia content with a small footprint. This
gives us the ability to deliver a robust and exciting experience for
even the smallest devices."
"As the number and variety of small- footprint and mobile Windows
Powered devices continues to grow, ISVs want to ensure that their
applications are able to run on as many of these different devices as
possible," said Keith White, senior director of marketing for the
Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp. "Amiga
Anywhere enables application developers to easily take advantage of
the rich application and multimedia support in Windows CE .NET to
write gaming applications that will run on a broad range of smart
Windows Powered devices."
Amiga for Windows Powered Products is expected to ship in April this
year. More information can be found on the Amiga Anywhere web site at
the Amiga-Anywhere Website.
http://www.amiga-anywhere.com
{Netscape or IE 4.0 only!!!!!!!!! Brad}
----------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . A N D F R O M P O L I S H N E W S S I T E :
Amiga.com.pl announcement
15 March, 2002
Dear users,
The latest Amiga Inc. policy shifts (which we mention below) give us
no other option as to say farewell to them for good and show them our
boinging balls as a good-bye. Although the hardkore anti-UAE group
would never get it, The Adminus Magnificus In Their Armourus Radiatus®
have never been fervent fans of Microsoft policy and their
"innovations" in the field of technology and alike (in which we
differ, for example, from our Polish government).
We cannot and do not intend to watch idly as the company which
"exciting" (or should it be "arousing"?) announcements we publish from
time to time intends to lend (or spare) a hand to the biggest scr*w-up
in the Internet history called .NET and being another rather cunning
M$ idea to overpower the naive dwellers of the global village.
In the coming days the prophetic minds of the amiSheep will surely
perceive a new conspiracy theory lurking behind the bare facts and try
to rationalize why Microsoft is a big, good daddy company that wants
to help the poor and it is not a coincidence that ami-CEO's name is
Bill, too. Yet, it is a well-known fact that the only company
Microsoft cares about is Microsoft itself.
To sum the whole thing up, we remove all the links to Amiga Inc. from
our site. We also stop publishing any news concerning the company, its
products, its employees, etc., no matter how exciting (or even
arousing) they would be. As far as Amiga Classic, MorphOS and other
alike are concerned, everything remains unchanged.
Amen, brothers (and sisters).
{Some sample responses posted to the Amiga.org site follow.
(www.amiga.org) Brad}
------
Re: Amiga.com.pl announcment
I know what these guys mean, I'm all for Amiga getting it's content
in as many places as possible, and furthering themselves, even if it
is on the back of M$ for a bit. But .NET is an awful thing at least in
the hands of Redmond.
The passport system has already been proven to be insecure, and
eventually I can see M$ being more and more part of the Internet, they
already tried to block browsers other than their own accessing their
site.
.NET sucks.
------
Re: Amiga.com.pl announcment
RIGHT! GO AWAY! WE DON'T NEED YOU!!!
I always hated this kind of people and companies that from the first
moment on they hear "Microsoft" they suddendly turn around, blame some
people and leave. One of my customers did so!
What do you think???? Where do you work??? The company you work at
does not use M$-products in their offices? SHOW ME, IF THAT'S THE
CASE! We can't live on the money we earn by selling 2 clock-port
extensions a month.
IT-business is not something we do for fun, WE LIVE ON THAT!
Keep on reporting on MorphOS and A1200.
I want AmigaONE with OS4.0 and I want devices running AmigaDE (Amiga
Anywhere)!
Amiga Inc., YOU'RE DOIN' A GREAT JOB!!!!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
T A O G R O U P A C Q U I R E S S S E Y O
Reading, England, March 27th 2002 - Tao Group today announced that it
has acquired SSEYO, a global technology leader in wireless interactive
audio, in a move that clearly shows Tao's increasing technology
leadership and creates major commercial benefits for its customers.
Tao's intent(R) software platform is already recognized as the
leading multimedia engine for client devices. It has worldwide
leadership in graphics and Java engine capabilities, with major
design-wins across products such as phones, PDAs and set-top boxes.
Tao's technologies are at the heart of the OCPA, a global standards
body with more than sixty members, most of them blue chip technology
companies, and the OCPA is supporting intent as a common contents
platform for consumer devices.
SSEYO has the most sophisticated and flexible audio solution for the
same market and won the BAFTA 2001 Interactive Entertainment Award for
Technical Innovation.
The combination now means that Tao will have the very best in both
sound and graphics, and can offer even stronger solutions to the OCPA
as they deliver a solution that will generate further global
leadership. Audio, whilst already extremely important in Tao's
markets, will become increasingly critical in the mobile space over
the next 18 months in client devices as the interactive services
mature from carriers. This pre-emptive strike by Tao means that it has
positioned itself perfectly to benefit both itself and its customers
from the highly advanced technologies developed by SSEYO's world-class
engineering team that will now operate out of Tao headquarters.
Toru Chiba, Group Deputy General Manager of Sharp's Corporate R&D
Group said, "The merging of SSEYO with Tao is extremely important.
SSEYO has wonderful engineers and technologies so now the intent
platform is going to have the very best in Java(TM) technologies,
sound and graphics all on a single software solution. Tao is
positioned more strongly than ever to have a substantial impact on the
global market."
Brian Eno, the award-winning musician, producer and artist commented
"The Tao/SSEYO merger will create new opportunities for musicians,
artists and mobile phone developers. SSEYO's new vector audio
technology can produce high-quality audio from very small amounts of
data and Koan's proven music engine offers users a whole new level of
interactivity."
Francis Charig, Executive Chairman of Tao Group: "Tao and SSEYO have
been collaborating on a suite of audio libraries that will be every
bit as powerful as the graphics libraries for which Tao has become
ustifiably globally respected. In other words, we will introduce a
combinded graphics and sound system that will enable carriers and
broadcasters to deliver more powerful and exciting services for
consumers and the capability for manufacturers to create unique
products as they strive to maximize their differentiation and
profitability."
Tim Cole, Co-Founder and Director of SSEYO, who will now be working
on the development of the audio markets for Tao, said "Tao and SSEYO
created a close relationship over a period of two years, so we already
have the experience of knowing that we have the necessary cultural
similarities that make mergers work and there is strong mutual
respect. Since I first met with Francis at the end of 1999 I have
recognized that Tao is perfectly positioned for the emerging markets,
and I passionately believe that the integration of SSEYO and Tao will
create a very powerful whole."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
U P D A T E F R O M E Y E T E C H
AmigaOne update 15 March 2002
For immediate release
The A1G3-SE is now ready!
The AmigaOneG3-SE is now production ready and orders for discounted
developer/dealer/OS4 beta-tester boards/systems are now being taken
(but only until by midnight on Sunday 24th March GMT 2002) for
delivery in April. This closing date is necessary so that we can
assess the volume required in this initial production run and place
the order with the manufacturers. Purchasers of these boards will also
be able to obtain a discount on the full user version of OS4.0 when it
is released.
If you have previously applied for beta-tester or dealer status YOU
MUST REAPPLY as we no longer require beta testers for the A1 board
itself, only for OS4 and applications that run (or should run!) under
it. Please order via our website here. If you are a dealer, please
mention this on your order, and a dealer price will be forwarded to
you.
The main production run will be timed so that boards are ready at the
same time as the consumer release of OS4, probably in May 2002.
The developer/dealer boards and (at least) the first run of
production boards will be shipped with soldered-on G3 PPC CPU's
running at 600 MHz which will give a remarkable speed increase over
any existing G2 (Blizzard/Cyberstorm) PPC accelerators for the Amiga.
Soldering the CPU in place - rather than using BGA sockets or chip
carriers - allows us to keep the reliability very high and the costs
as low as possible. (BGA sockets and/or carrier board options add a
huge amount to the cost of the board).
As OS4 versions (or applications software) are developed which make
use of the Altivec processor in the G4 we will make a G4 version
available, again with a soldered-on chip (probably the 7441 at 700
MHz). It is possible that we could produce a socketed chip-carrier
version, but only if we can engineer the costs down so it adds no more
than 15% to the costs of a board with a soldered on CPU.
The A1G3-SE? What happened to the original A1?
In October 2000 when we laid out the design for the A1, there was no
commercially available 'northbridge' chip (the interface between the
CPU, memory and PCI bus) in the relatively small quantities that we
needed, at an economic price. 'Southbridge' chips were available
(these handle the system timing, interrupts etc and, traditionally
also embed the lower speed peripheral functions such as IDE, USB etc),
but clearly these do not come with a built in A1200-PCI bridge - which
would have to be built in custom logic. It therefore made economic
sense to build a custom southbridge chip which incorporated the
A1200-PCI bridge - but without the integrated peripherals (which were
available on separate chips at low cost anyway). Things were going
nicely on the original A1 design until May/June . . . but not much -
and certainly not enough to allow us to even consider going into
production - was happening on OS4 at that stage. We therefore ramped
down hardware development work and concentrated on finding a workable
solution to make OS4 happen.
By the time OS4 development had been signed off in early November the
world had moved on. Commercially available PPC northbridge chips were
available, and coupled with off-the-shelf southbridge chips, were able
to deliver better price performance than the original A1 custom chip
design, and (since the big boys had already been using them
successfully) without the risk of bugs intrinsically present in any
custom logic implementation. This meant that the only custom logic
function needed was for the PCI to A1200 bridge.
Alongside this many people had expressed a wish only to have a
stand-alone A1 board, without the need (or ability) to run
hardware-hitting applications. In addition Hyperion have been making
better than expected progress in decoupling the chipset dependencies
in the OS with a result that it will cease to be reliant on the Amiga
chipset at a very early stage of the OS 4 release cycle. (Of course
hardware hitting applications will, to a greater or lesser extent,
still need access to a genuine Amiga chipset). Given this, we thought
it would be sensible to try to provide Amiga chipset availability as
an a option, so that the main A1 board would not have to carry the
cost of providing this connection - in terms of PCB and component
real-estate, and in requiring a custom tower to mount it in. The
upshot is that Escena has come up with a solution which allows the
bridge to the A1200 chipset to be made from a PCI card, via ribbon
cable, to the A1200 edge connector. The use of a ribbon cable also
helps solve the 'will it work in an xyz tower' problem, as there is
(within limits) quite a wide range of A1 & A1200 relative board
positioning that can be used. This A1200/PCI bridge will be an
additional cost item for those who need it.
Revised specifications for the AmigaOneG3-SE
Over the past year or so since the original AmigaOne specifications
were first published we have had a lot of private - and more than
enough public - feedback on what people would like to see in the
AmigaOne specifications over what had been published. Of course
several of these wishes were completely commercially unrealistic (eg -
I paraphrase - "Why don't you produce a Gameboy-sized and -priced
AmigaOne with the power of the top SG workstation that runs on one AA
cell for 6 months, and is user upgradable - and still runs my A500
WB1.3 games from floppy") - but there were also lots of sensible
comments as well.
The main useful feedback that has come out over the last year
concerning the original design - and the way the AmigaOneG3-SE
addresses these can be summarised as follows:
CPU speed concerns The AmigaOneG3-SE will handle G3/G4 CPU's to their
current clocking limits (but, of course, subject to chip availability
at the higher end - Apple currently absorbs most of these chips under
contract). Memory speed concerns The AmigaOneG3-SE supports 133MHz FSB
SDRAM. (According to our engineers DDR memory doesn't gain anything in
help PPC board design). Provision of legacy peripherals The
AmigaOneG3-SE has on board FDD, serial, parallel, PS2 kb & PS2 mouse
ports. Provision of integrated peripherals The AmigaOneG3-SE provides
2x USB on the motherboard rear ATX I/O panel) + 2 more on headers (for
using a front bay outlet), 10/100 ethernet, AC97 audio and MC97
data/fax/modem, and UDMA 100 hard disk/ATAPI interface (2 channels - 4
devices). Graphics interface speed The AmigaOneG3-SE supports a 2x AGP
bus, and PCI graphics cards at 66 MHz. Will it run Linux? Yes - in
fact that's how the AmigaOneG3-SE hardware design was debugged. The
developer editions will be shipped with Linux PPC and UAE PPC install
CD's. I don't need hardware-hitting application compatibility The
AmigaOneG3-SE will run in standalone mode as soon as OS4.0 has had all
the legacy hardware dependency removed from it. As most of this
(according to Hyperion) was in the already-rewritten exec.library this
full hardware independence will be introduced very soon after the
first release of OS4, if not actually incorporated into it. If your
application itself still requires the presence of the original Amiga
chipset then you will need to use the optional PCI/Amiga bridgeboard.
Will it fit in an EZTower Mk1-5 / Elbox tower / standard ATX tower?
The AmigaOneG3-SE has a full ATX form factor and will therefore fit
into any suitable ATX tower with a 250W or higher PSU. It will fit
directly into the EZTower Mk4 & 5 (these will need the AT PSU
replacing with an ATX unit) in the PC board position, and into the
EZTower Mk1-3 (which will need a minor amount of metalwork to
accommodate the back panel ATX I/O connectors & an ATX PSU). The
EZTower Mk1-5 also allow an A1200 motherboard to be mounted within the
same case as the AmigaOneG3-SE board.
The EZTower-Z4, the Power/Elbox Tower and any other Amiga-specific
tower design are not suitable for the AmigaOneG3-SE board without
substantial modification. However if you have purchased an Eyetech
EZTower-Z4 directly from us since 1st January 2001 please read the
special arrangements we have made for you in the FAQ's below.
In summary the AmigaOneG3-SE will come with:
o 4 x PCI slots + 1 x AGP slot on 2 buses
o 10/100Mbps ethernet
o 2 x USB connectors + 2 more on headers
o 2 x UDMA 100 channels (4 devices)
o Open firmware-compatible BIOS with OS4.0 extensions & NV memory
o PS2 mouse & keyboard connectors
o Sound, modem & gameport I/O via the AMR header
o Parallel, serial & floppy (PC FDD controller) connectors
o Real time clock
o 2 x SDRAM sockets for up to 2 GB of main memory
CPU options
As far as the CPU is concerned the first series of boards will use a
600 MHz G3 CPU and will come with this soldered in place, thereby
keeping the costs as low as possible. As G4's fall in price/become
more available we may also offer a soldered in place G4 CPU option as
well. If we can engineer the costs of a socketed/chip carrier version
with CPU to be no more than 15% above the price of a soldered-in CPU
equivalent then we will consider producing these versions.
What happens if you buy an entry level board and want to upgrade it
in a year or so's time? Well exactly the same as when you bought a
similarly priced accelerator a couple of years back and want to
upgrade to a faster one (but this time you get a free computer
attached!). You either sell it privately or trade it in to the dealer
where you purchased it. In fact in the PC market, despite all
processors being socketed, hardly anyone ever changes the CPU to
improve the computer - they nearly always have to buy a (at least) a
new motherboard as well. We're just being upfront about it!
AmigaOneG3-SE availability
To keep prices down and quality up we are having the boards
manufactured in the Far East. Delivery to us in the UK is around 4
weeks from our placement of the order with the manufacturer. The
developer/dealer boards will be ordered will be ordered on 25th March
and allocated to those that have placed their orders, including
payment details, by midnight on Sunday 24th March GMT. Cards will not
be charged until the boards are shipped.
The main production run order will be placed by us when Hyperion have
told us that they can commit to release OS4 as an end user product.
Hyperion's web site will give updated OS4 release information on a
regular basis. We will then invite Amiga dealers to place firm volume
orders with us for shipment on a first-come-first served (FIFO) basis.
There will be a minimum order volume and technical support
requirements to become an AmigaOneG3-SE dealer. The revised A1 dealer
requirements will be published on the mailing list at
www.yahoogroups.com/group/a1dealer.
Dealers (and end users) will be required to purchase one copy of OS4
with each AmigaOneG3-SE mainboard or system. Dealers will be able to
purchase OS4 direct from Hyperion.
AmigaOneG3-SE pricing
Dealers are free to set their own end user prices both for the
AmigaOneG3-SE boards and for complete systems to take account of
import duty, localisation of support, documentation etc. However our
recommended pricing for the AmigaOneG3-SE motherboard, inclusive of a
750CXe 600 MHz G3 PPC processor but exclusive of local taxes and
shipping charges, is UKP350, USD500, EUR600.
OS4 pricing is determined by Hyperion but is likely to be UKP42.50,
USD62.50, EUR70.00 (excluding local taxes) when bought with an
AmigaOneG3-SE board or system. The standalone prices for OS4 (for use
with the CyberstormPPC etc) are likely to be UKP51.00, USD74.00
EUR84.00 (excluding local taxes & shipping).
Developer/OS4 beta tester systems
A limited number of developer/dealer AmigaOneG3-SE boards will be
available for delivery in April to those placing orders by midnight on
Sunday 24th March GMT. These will be fully functional and tested
boards identical to those produced in the first production runs. These
developer systems will be shipped with Linux PPC and UAE PPC on CD
(for you to install) and a beta version of OS4.0 will be available for
download from the Hyperion website - to board purchasers - from the
Hyperion website. Eyetech will not be offering any direct support for
the installation of Linux PPC or UAE PPC except via our website pages.
If you feel that this task may be beyond your capabilities then please
do not order the developers board - it is not meant for you.
These developer boards will be offered at a 10% discount over the
regular price (ie at UKP315/USD450/EUR540 (excluding local taxes and
shipping). There will be a further 10% reduction on the price of the
end user version of OS4 when published, for purchasers of the
developer board. (Dealer terms for these boards will be posted on
www.yahoogroups.com/group/a1dealer).
FAQs
What versions of Linux does the AmigaOneG3-SE run? The board
currently operates with TurboLinux PPC and we are currently sorting
out an installation of SuSE Linux for PPC.
Can I buy a version of the board for running Linux PPC only? We are
currently considering making this available. However you should note
that it will not be possible to run Amiga OS4 on such a board without
purchasing a special copy of OS4 which comes with a firmware update
ROM. This is (obviously) to prevent OS4 piracy which is essential if
Hyperion/Amiga Inc. are to continue to develop OS4.
Will MorphOS run on the board? The AmigaOneG3-SE is designed to run
Amiga OS4 & beyond, and Linux for PPC. It is likely that MorphOS could
be made to run on the AmigaOneG3-SE by someone committed to port it
but that will not be endorsed or supported by either us or Hyperion.
Where can I buy it? The AmigaOneG3-SE is being distributed on an
'Open Distribution' model. That means that there will be no
territorial or market exclusives, and any bona fide incorporated body
that can meet the requirements in terms of technical support and
minimum order quantities can sell the AmigaOneG3-SE (and OS4). If you
feel you qualify (or know a dealer that ought to be interested) please
see the dealer information page.
What sort of memory does it take? The board has 2no 168 pin SDRAM
sockets each capable of taking an 133MHz SDRAM DIMM of up to 1GB.
DIMMs do nor have to be of the same size, but should ideally be from
the same mainstream manufacturer and should be of the buffered
variety.
Will I need the A1200/PCI bridge board? We anticipate that a 'fully
retargetable' version of OS4 - that is one without any Amiga chip set
dependencies - will be available with, or very soon after, the first
public release of OS4. This means that any applications software which
does not rely on the availability of specific Amiga hardware (or rely
on specific drivers that hit these chipsets) should work fine without
the PCI-Amiga bridgeboard in place. We are referring to these as
'Retargetable Applications', and in general they are the applications
which will run using add-on graphics, sound, serial, parallel etc
cards. Other applications which need access to one or more specific
Amiga chips to run - such as scrolling games and programs like Scala -
will need the bridge card present.
How does the Amiga/PCI bridge card work? Can you make one for my
Amiga x000? All Amigas (with a few minor exceptions) use a common
memory map where the specific chip register addresses, chip memory,
Kickstart ROM etc are located. These are all in the bottom 16 MB of
the Amiga's memory map so they can be accessed via the 24 bit address
bus 680x0 CPUs used in early and low end Amigas. The bridgeboard maps
16 MB of its address space to this 16 MB address space of the A1200,
providing address, data & control lines to read and write to the
chipset and I/O (eg parallel, serial, FDD, HDD, PCMCIA, etc)
registers. The PPC MMU maps the 16 MB of the PCI card's address space
to the lower 16 MB of address space in the emulator's memory map, so
that any application programs wanting to read or write to addresses in
this region will read and write to the actual Amiga chip set registers
(ie as the application programmer intended) via the PCI bridge. The
interface between the PCI card and A1200 edge connector will use
special chips - similar to those used in some microprocessor emulator
boards - which ensure the integrity of the data.
In theory we could also use the same PCI card with an A3000/A4000 CPU
connector (or possibly even an A2000 CPU socket header) to access the
chipsets in these machines. Whether these actually get built will
depend on the commercial case for doing so once volume boards are
shipping.
What sort of tower case does the board need? The AmigaOneG3-SE board
is a full size ATX board and needs a 250W or greater ATX PSU. We
recommend you purchase the board first before selecting your tower, or
buy it from an official AmigaOneG3-SE dealer, either in component form
or as a ready built system. We recommend that a 'super-midi' sized
tower (such as the T05AC model which we sell) is used to give plenty
of expansion space. Naya Design are also producing some very stylish
designs specifically for the AmigaOneG3-SE which will be available via
us or you local dealer. Full details will be posted after Easter.
I've already bought an A1200 tower in anticipation - what are you
going to do for me? The main reason behind the new design is to
deliver much better performance at a much lower price than was
possible with the AmigaOne-1200 design. Although no price was actually
released, our pricing indications were that 'the AmigaOne-1200 would
be comparable with the price a top end PPC accelerator from phase5' -
ie around UKP550/USD800/EUR900 ex VAT & shipping. One of the means of
delivering this better price performance is to allow the AmigaOneG3-SE
to use a standard ATX form factor case, not the custom-modified, more
expensive EZTower-Z4 / Elbox Tower / Power Tower etc. Obviously, even
if you buy a new tower now for the AmigaOneG3-SE and put your custom
Amiga tower out to grass, you have still made substantial savings and
performance gains over what the AmigaOne-1200 would have cost.
However for those customers who have purchased an A1200 tower direct
from us between 1st January 2001 and 15th March 2002 and who order an
AmigaOneG3-SE board direct from us we will give you a brand new T05AC
tower (without PSU and clip on plastic panels which you can swap over
from you existing EZTower-Z4) free of charge.
Is the AmigaOneG3-SE the same as the MAI Teron Cx? No. During the
period leading up to the OS4 development agreement being signed we
evaluated the Articia S northbridge chip for possible use in a
redesigned AmigaOne. We concluded that it was the most cost-effective
chip for the design and proceeded to draw up some new specifications
for an uprated, more cost-effectively engineered AmigaOne, the
AmigaOneG3-SE. Clearly using the Articia S instead of Escena's custom
northbridge design meant that both the schematic design and the PCB
layout would be entirely new. MAI logic are a chipset manufacturer,
not a PPC motherboard manufacturer, but they had commissioned a low
volume, high cost evaluation board, the Teron Cx, to help sell their
chipsets. The Teron Cx was never designed to, or intended to, go into
volume production. We therefore asked them if they could recommend a
design company who was familiar with using the Articia S in PPC
motherboard design. They recommended the same (Far Eastern) company
that designed their Teron Cx evaluation board.
The new Eyetech AmigaOne design obviously shares a lot of commonality
with the Teron Cx board, but more than a cursory glance at the
specifications (ATA speed, integrated ethernet, custom firmware,
number of active PCI/AGP slots etc) - and the price - of both boards
should be enough to convince most people that they really are
different designs.
However if you remain unconvinced you are of course perfectly welcome
to purchase the Teron Cx evaluation board. It costs $3900, misses many
features of the AmigaOneG3-SE, and won't run OS4.
I bought a Party Pack and claim my $100! The Amiga DE SDK Party Pack
is an Amiga Inc. promotional program and has nothing directly to do
with Eyetech, Hyperion or any of the AmigaOneG3-SE dealers. Amiga Inc.
will be handling the administration of this program directly and will
announce the procedures to be followed when the AmigaOneG3-SE goes on
sale in volume.
http://www.eyetech.co.uk/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B O I N G B A G 2 R E A D Y T O B O I N G Y O U R W A Y
20.3.2002
Boing Bag 2 for OS 3.9 is available now! Haage & Partner is proud to
announce the availability of Boing Bag 2 for AmigaOS 3.9. Boing Bag
3.9-2 contains many bug fixes, small enhancement and new features in
the areas multimedia (AMPlifier, PlayCD, sound datatype), shell,
Workbench (Find, AsyncWB, UnArc, XAD v10), ReAction and harddisk
support. The Boing Bag is delivered in three parts: The main archive
with all the files needed to update AmigaOS 3.9, the translations into
different languages and the contributions (CDDB library, OpenUR L,
ClassAction). We want to thank all people that made it possible.
Please download at least the main archive and the translation(s) for
the language(s) you desire. The contributions are optional. Note: This
Update requires AmigaOS 3.9 with Boing Bag 1. AmigaOS XL users can
install the Boing Bag 2 directly.
http://www.haage-partner.com/e.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W F A C E S A T " N E W A M I G A N S "
28 February, 2002
We, here at "the NEW AMIGANS" magazine, are pleased to announce that
we have 2 new people on our staff. First, from Sweden, is Johan
Gulldén. Johan has written many reviews for 2 different European Amiga
magazines and specializes in PD/SW software.
Our other new addition, who will be pulling double duty as both our
marketing agent and writer, is Bill Panagouleas. Bill has worked with
Commodore as an Amiga dealer (both in the Pacific and here in the US)
He is able to count as his prior customers: Dick VanDyke, Warner
Brothers and Hanna-Barbera.
To allow advertising and distribution customers direct access, We
have a new email address, and fax/voicemail number for Bill. Anyone
wishing to find out about advertising with us, or carrying our
magazine, can email Bill at: newamigansmarketing@onebox.com Or, they
can fax Bill (or leave a voicemail message for him) at: 1-630-536-2700
ext. 6338.
---
Its gonna be a heck of a century!
Bill Griffin,
G&G Publishing Enterprises
Home of "the NEW AMIGANS" magazine
Ask about our new, US-based, Amiga Magazine
Or check out our website at http://get.to/t.n.a ..
----------------------------------------------------------------------
O S 4 R U M O R S F R O M A M I G A E X P O
The following are among the more interesting rumors floating out of
the just completed Amia Expo show. (The Amiga and Alternative
Platforms Conference Baltimore, MD USA - Marriott Hunt Valley Inn 29 -
31 March, 2002)
o Screenshots of OS4.0 will be published in the first part of April
o The new OS will look quite different from previous versions (it
will not just look like a faster OS3.9)
o Magic Menu and Birdie (among others utilities) will be seamlessl
integrated into the interface.
o Opus Magellan 2 has been licensed for OS4.0 (not certain about the
details)
o For the moment, there is no new printer system included. It will
arrive in BoingBag/OS4.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M C E W E N A G U E S T O N T E C H T V
Wednesday March 13, 2002 Bill McEwen, President/CEO of Amiga,
appeared on the show "Screen Savers" on TechTV. He demonstrated Amiga
products.
A number of websites have downloadable files from which you can
experience the show. A search on the "Czech Amiga News" site will find
several links.
http://amiga.realdreams.cz/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2 P R O D U C T S F R O M M R . H A R D W A R E
29 March, 2002
Mr. Hardware Computers is pleased to announce two new products for
the Amiga market. The "MRH Mouse Adapter" and the "MRHK-2D Multimedia
Keyboard Adapter". These adaptors are the most advanced adaptors on
the market today. They come with full printed documentation as well!
The MRH Mouse Adapter is the most advanced adaptor for the Amiga
market today. It has a wide range of features!
o Supports most PC mouse standards (Logitec, Microsoft, Genius
etc...)
o Works with KVM's (keyboard,video,& mouse) switches, automatic and
manual
o Supports up to 5 button mice
o Working support for for dual scroll mice
o Scroll works in absolutely all screen modes
o Supports optical mice
o Has joystick pass through -- so you can keep your joysticks plugged
in
o Built in auto joystick/mouse switch
o Works on all Amigas
o 5 year warranty
The MRH Mouse Adaptor is available for a limited time special for the
Baltimore Maryland Amiga Expo show for only $32.00!!
The MRHK-2D Multimedia Keyboard Adapter allows you to use any
PC/Windows keyboard on your Amiga. It's configurable and supports many
advanced features!
o Works with 100% of Windows keyboards
o Works with KVM's. Most others do not
o Multimedia key support. It naturally maps multimedia keys to Amiga
keymaps
o Built in keyboard short cuts (copy,paste, print screen, end of
line, beginning of line, page up, page down, warm boot)
o Correctly maps USA keyboards. Most others do not map correctly
o International versions available
o Works with A2000,3000(T),4000(T),CD32
o Versions available for A1200,A600,A1000 & 500
o Buffered to protect your computer from damage unlike competing
products
o Hot pluggable. Don't try this with our competitors!
o Supports multiple key presses without false readings
o Comes with a 6ft extension cord built in
o Guaranteed to work with your Windows keyboard
o 5 year warranty.
The MRHK-2D Multimedia Keyboard Adaptor is available for a limited
time special for the Baltimore Maryland Amiga show for only $37.00!!
Mr. Hardware Computers - Amiga Since 1985
Russ Norrby
sales@mrhardwarecomputers.com
http://www.mrhardwarecomputers.com
Phone: 631-821-2364
Fax: 631-821-2519
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A K I K O 1 . 5 D E T A I L S N O T E D
March 28th 2002
Akiko 1.5 with ISO & MP3 support
Akiko 1.5, the CD32 & CDTV emulator for Windows was just released by
AirSoft. This version is a major update with many new features and
cool improvements: For example it's now possible to boot CD32 & CDTV
games directly from their ISO image or from a folder on your harddisk.
Additionally you can put the audio tracks as MP3s on your harddisk and
Akiko will use and play them also (so you can also replace the music
with your favorite soundtracks!). Finally Akiko supports somenew CD32
& CDTV games and some fixes were done (concerning CD audio and Joypad
emulation). And I removed the code protections for Speris Legacy,
Worms and Alien Breed 3D because they are no longer necessary these
days and so they only nerv the users. Akiko 1.5 can now be downloaded
from the Airsoft Softwair web page. Registered users please send an
email to akiko@airsoftsoftwair.de with "subscribe" subject and you'll
get the latest version (you'll only have to subscribe once, then
you'll always get the latest version of Akiko) If you haven't
registered yet, you should definitely get the demo version of Akiko!
http://www.airsoftsoftwair.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 2002 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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