What's New
AMIGAphile Volume 1 Number 3 (SEPTEMBER 1992)
COMMODORE'S NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Product Model Number:
A3000T-040
Product Description:
Amiga 3000 Tower with a Motorola 68040 processor. The MC68040 is running at 25 MHz and includes an on-chip FPU. The A3000T-040 includes a 200 megabyte hard drive and 5 megabytes of memory. The MC68040 provides approximately 20 CISC MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops. The A3000T-040 does not have either a MC68030 or a MC68882 installed. Note: The A3000T-040 is an addition to the product family and does not replace the A3000T-25/200 which remains a current product.
Product Applications:
- The A3000T-040 is the perfect product for demanding applications like complex animations, ray tracing, and intensive graphics. Most applications that require intensive computing will benefit when run on this Powerhouse processor.
Compatibility:
- AmigaDOS 2.0
Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price:
- $5998.00 US includes 1950/1960 Monitor through Sept. 30, 1992
Availability:
- First Reseller shipments are projected for mid-September 1992
Promotion:
- Advertisement in September AmigaWorld, Byte, and Amazing Computing Magazines. Commodore Press Release.
Note: Due to a typographical error the Advertisement in the September issue of Amiga World incorrectly indicated that the MC68882 would be included in the A3000T-040. This error has been corrected in future advertisement.
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Product Model Number:
A3640
Product Description:
Motorola 68040 upgrade card for the Amiga 3000T-25/200. The processor speed is 25MHz, and includes an on-chip FPU. The MC68040 provides approximately 20 CISC MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops. This product is intended for use in the A3000T ONLY. Installation of the A3640 in any other Amiga product may cause system failure.
Product Applications:
(same as A3000T-040)
Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price:
$1998.00 US
Availability:
Initially all units will be shipped as part of an A3000T-040 configuration. First reseller shipments of A3640 boards is projected for early Q2, FY93.
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FIGHTER DUEL PRO (FDPro) is the successor to Fighter Duel, Corsair vs. Zero. FDPro retains all of the breakthrough features of its predecessor and combines a full selection of aircraft and performance enhancements to deliver a professional package for the serious aviator.
Included among the 16 Allied and Axis aircraft are the Mustang, Spitfire and Me109. Some interesting lesser types, like the Japanese J7W Shinden are also included.
An exciting and exclusive new feature of FDPro is the ability to connect a second computer through the main flight computer's parallel port (special adapter available from Jaeger Software for $15.00) that continually displays the view to the rear of the aircraft. Now you can duel an opponent through the serial port while watching your six on the slave, all at 28 frames per second on a high resolution, interlaced display.
New features include: Rear view mode (with a second 'slave' computer), 16 Airplanes, Unrestricted view panorama, Rudder pedal support, Integrated tournament mode, Ground dots (switchable from dim, bright, and off), Multiple computer controlled enemy bogeys (2), Enemy skill level is user selectable, Catapult launches, New ground scenery, Review the last minute of flight, and 'Turbo' mode to get to places at 16 times normal speed.
FDPro will run on any 1 meg Amiga, from the 500 up through the 3000T. All processors are supported. Kickstart 1.2 or higher is required. A faster processor and more RAM is recommended for some of the extra features (multiple bogeys and ground dots).
Authors: Jaeger Software, William F Manders, and Matt Shaw
Release date for FDPro is September 1992. The list price is $59.95. Owners of Fighter Duel, Corsair vs Zero may upgrade to FDPro by sending a certified check or money order (sorry, no credit card orders) for $25.00, and disk #1 of Fighter Duel, Corsair vs Zero, to:
Jaeger Software, Inc.
Direct Sales Department
7800 White Cliff Terrace
Rockville, MD 20855
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FIGHTER DUEL PRO FLIGHT RECORDER is the first interactive motion path generator. Flight Recorder retains all the breakthrough features of the Fighter Duel World War II flight simulator series, while adding the ability to create realistic and complex object motion paths for use in NewTek's Lightwave 3D software.
One of the most difficult and time consuming aspects of 3D animation is motion. FDPro Flight Recorder replaces the tedious method of hand plotting flying motion paths with a flight simulator you control. Flight Recorder records the flight path of up to three (3) aircraft engaged in maneuvers or dogfighting. Positional information has a resolution of 30 frames per second. Motion paths may then be imported into Lightwave 3D to accurately animate flying objects, the camera viewpoint, aircraft, spacecraft, flying logos, etc.......
You may fly solo against computer controlled opponents or interactively with another person via modem or null modem cable.
FDPro Flight Recorder also has the ability to simultaneously generate Fighter Duel Pro Demo Reels that can be used to review your solo flights
FDPro Flight Recorder will run on any Amiga with 3 megs of RAM and Kickstart 1.2 or higher. A hard drive is recommended.
Release date for FDPro Flight Recorder is November 1992. The list price is US $79.95. Owners of Fighter Duel Pro may upgrade to FDPro Flight Recorder by sending a certified check or money order (sorry, no credit card orders) for US $25.00 (including shipping), and disk #1 of FDPro, to Jaeger Software [listed in the FDPro section above]
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FIGHTER DUEL PRO PARALLEL ADAPTER
Fighter Duel Pro for the Amiga has the capability to connect a second computer through the main flight computer's parallel port and continually display the view to the rear of the aircraft.
This special parallel adapter allows the connection of the two computers.
Two Centronics-type parallel cables and the FDPro Parallel Adapter are required.
Release date for the FDPro Parallel Adapter is September 1992. The list price is US $15.00. To order, send a certified check or money order (sorry, no credit card orders) for US $15.00 (shipping included) to Jaeger Software [listed above under FDPro]
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InterACTIVE Digital Devices To Begin Sales of
the Amiga Smart Port (tm)
Inter ACTIVE Digital Devices, Inc. (IDD) will release the Amiga Smart Port for sale beginning September 1, 1992. The Amiga Smart Port is an auto switching game port interface for the Amiga. No plugging or unplugging of cables required to switch from mouse to joystick modes! Three ports are available for a mouse, digital joystick, and a fully compatible dual joystick PC style game port. Simply press the button on the device to be used and the automatic electronic switching does the rest. This port allows rudder pedals to be attached to the Amiga.
The following items are included in the Amiga Smart Port package:
- The Amiga Smart Port
- Two 9 pin interconnect cables (either 3 or 6 foot)
- Four self adhesive Velcro patches for mounting
- Installation and operation instructions
- 3.5" diskette with the "SmartPortCal" program
- Common Questions and Answers section, "If you have a problem..."
- A special mouse mode switch is incorporated to allow several peripherals to be used simultaneously with the mouse.
- Two sets of X and Y axes trim adjustments are provided to set the analog ports for maximum performance.
- The Amiga Smart Port isolates the power supply from the potentiometer output with a solid state current limiting circuit.
- The Amiga Smart Port is compatible with all Amiga software currently supporting the analog joystick(s); that is those using the reversed IBM X/Y axis configuration.
Part # Description $/Each
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASP Amiga Smart Port (tm) $42.95
ASP-RPA Rudder Pedals Adapter $ 6.95
JYA Dual IBM Y Joystick Adapter $ 7.95
IBMJEC Joystick extension cable $ 6.95
C090MF-6 6' 9 MALE/FEMALE cable $ 3.15
C0909MF-3 3' 9 pin MALE/FEMALE cable $ 2.85InterACTIVE Digital Devices, Inc.
2238 Nantuckett Court
Marietta, GA 30066
(404) 516-0248
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SAS C 6.0 will be shipping September 14th. Prices will be: $395 new, $197.50 new with academic discount, $109 for 5.xx upgrade, $82.70 with coupon included with ANSI compliant library purchase.
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TRADERS (a game similar to M.U.L.E.) by Merritt Software will be released the end of August
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LOTUS 3 - THE FINAL CHALLENGE will be released in the U.K. at the end of September. It will include a track editor.
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NIGEL MANSELL'S FORMULA ONE GRAD PRIX by Gremlin Graphics - no release date known. [Ed. -- I'd like to see the fit that title on the disk label]
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Atari, Commodore's long time competitor is at it again. This machine looks like an awful lot for a little money.
ATARI FALCON 030 Specifications
-------------------------------
CPU: Motorola 68030 32-bit microprocessor @ 16MHz w/ 32-bit bus
FPU: Motorola 68881/68882 @ 16MHz (optional)
DSP: Motorola 56001 Digital Signal Processor running in parallel @ 32MHz w/ 32kWords (24-bit) of local zero wait state static RAM
ROM: 512kB
RAM: 1, 4 or 16MB(14MB usable) on daughterboard (RAM is 32-bit wide)
Expansion bus: Internal 'Processor-Direct' slot for 386SX emulation (third party 386SX emulator nearly completed) or other co-processors/etc.
Video: (See below for specific video modes/resolutions.); 16-bit BLITTER @ 16MHz (also handles hard drive access); Accepts external video sync to allow high quality genlocking; Overlay mode for easy video titling and special effects; Overscan support; Hardware-assisted horizontal fine scrolling; VIDEL (video controller) sits on 32-bit bus
Audio: Stereo 16-bit Analog-to-Digital DMA input; Stereo 16-bit Digital- to-Analog DMA output; Eight 16-bit audio DMA record/playback channels; SDMA sound/DMA co-processor
Ports: 128kB cartridge port; 2 9-pin mouse/joystick ports; 2 15-pin STe enhanced analog/digital controller ports (Atari also has new analog controllers w/ a joystick, 3 fire buttons, and a 12-key keypad); MIDI IN, OUT/THRU; Bi-directional parallel port; RS232C serial port; SCSI II w/ DMA; Analog RGB/VGA/composite video connector; Stereo headphone out (1/8" mini-jack); Stereo microphone in (1/8" mini-jack); DSP port (up to 1MHz data transfer rate); RF modulator for TV hookup; Localtalk compatible LAN (up to 250kbaud transfer rate)
Misc: Internal 1.44MB 3.5" HD floppy; Internal IDE 2.5" hard drive (optional); Pre-emptive multitasking OS (MultiTOS) w/ memory protection and inter-process communication (also 68040 compatible); Realtime clock and battery backed up RAM; 1040ST-style case w/ internal fan; North American availability in mid-October
Price: 1MB/no HD - $799 list
4MB/65MB - $1399 list
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Resolutions available on the Atari Falcon030 (c) 1992 Atari Corp.
Written by John Townsend
A couple of notes: Unlike previous machines, there are just too many resolutions to give each resolution a name. Therefore, I will do my best to describe what the resolution is and which monitor it is on.
- NOTE: TV and a Color Monitor are the same.. by Color Monitor, I am talking about the standard SC1224. By VGA, I mean a standard VGA Monitor.
40 column modes ( "column" means the number of x pixels divided by 8)
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4 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, normal, TV: 320x200, true color
4 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, interlace, TV: 320x400, true color
4 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, normal, VGA: 320x480, true color
4 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, true color
80 column modes
---------------
2 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 2 colors, 1 plane
4 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, normal, TV: 640x200, true color
4 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 256 colors, 8 planes
True color, interlace, TV: 640x400, true color
2 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 2 colors, 1 plane
4 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 256 colors, 8 planes
4 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 4 colors, 2 planes
16 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 16 colors, 4 planes
256 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 256 colors, 8 planesand lastly.. there are compatibility modes for ST Low, ST Medium, and ST High on both VGA monitors and SC1224 monitors. (On a color monitor, ST High is achieved by using the interlace mode).
Also, the ST Monochrome monitor (the SM124) will work with Falcon030 as well. However, it only supports one resolution: ST High Resolution.
All modes on a TV can be overscanned. This means multiplying the X and Y resolution by 1.2. For example, modes with 320 pixels of horizontal resolution (X res) will become 384 pixels across, and modes with 640 pixels will become 768 across. Overscanning is done in the X and Y resolution. You can't do them independently. Special Note: On a VGA monitor, overscan is "faked".. since the video hardware doesn't have the capability to do overscan on a VGA monitor, we made it so that if a overscan mode is set on a VGA monitor, you still see the normal size screen, but the screen is a window onto the bigger overscanned image. Make sense? We did this for compatibility. This way if a game that has an overscanned startup picture can use the same pic on both the VGA monitor and the TV monitor. Pretty cool, eh? <grin>
BTW... Overscan can NOT be set from the desktop. The AES and Desktop will work just fine with it, but because you can't see the parts of the screen, we thought that option shouldn't be available from the desktop. We don't want to confuse people. However, Overscan can be set using a new XBIOS call (Vsetmode())... so it is still available.
I hope I haven't made any mistakes. I triple-checked this document in search of errors and I couldn't find any. If you do find some, send me Email on GEnie (to TOWNS) or CIS (70007,1135) and let me know.
-- John Townsend, Atari Corp.
After looking at this one more time... one point to clear up: By saying SC1224 Color Monitor, I mean any Color Monitor that Atari have manufactured for the ST/Mega/STE/MegaSTE computers. Clear as mud?
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ASDG Incorporated announces the development of Art Department Professional support for the industry standard digital video scheme used by Abekas Digital Disk Recorders.
Using this support, digital video images stored on 8mm cartridge tapes can be directly exchanged between the Amiga and Abekas A60, A65 and A66 systems. As a result, it is now more likely that professional videographers will use Amigas for high-end video work.
ADPro support for the Abekas carries a list price of $200 and requires a Commodore SCSI disk controller and an Exabyte tape drive to function.
For information as to how to acquire ADPro's Abekas support or where to purchase Exabyte tape drives, contact Gina Cerniglia at ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart Street, Madison, WI 53713 or call (608) 273-6585.
SUPRA TECHNICAL SUPPORT BULLETIN
STATUS AND ENHANCEMENTS TO V32BIS ROM (1.2G)
8/29/92
(taken from their bulletin board)
Supra Corporation
7101 Supra Drive SW, Albany, OR 97321
General (503) 967-2400 / Sales (503) 967-2410 / Fax (503) 967-2401
Supra Tech Support (503) 967-2440 8:00am - 5:00pm PST, M-F
Supra BBS........(503) 967-2444 24 Hours
CompuServe.......76004,565
BIX..............SupraCorp
America Online...SupraCorp2
GEnie............SupraTech
AppleLink........D2456
UseNet EMail.....supra@supra.uucp
Supra is doing the final beta testing on its latest rom for the SupraFaxModem V32 and V32bis. Provided that this testing is completed with no problems, Supra will be ready to ship this rom to its current customers in a few weeks.
Many of the enhancements are unique to the Supra V32/V32bis modem and are not available from other manufactures who are using Rockwell's v32/v32bis chipset or other v32/v32bis modems/fax modems that are on the market.
The new rom is currently reved as 1.2G and will include the following features:
- Enhances Busy Detection
- Fixes several Lock Display/Modem problems
- Improved Speed Renegotiation (Fall Back) upon bad line conditions
- Implements Fall Forward upon better line conditions
- Fixes Adaptive Answering (allows data/fax determination)
- Implements ECM (Error Correction Mode)
- Note: Must be supported by fax software
- Implements BFT mode (Binary File Transfer)
- Note: Must be supported by fax/terminal software
- Fixes problem with DCD line turning off if modem configured with &C
- &Dx and &Cx settings are respected when in fax mode
- Fixes problem connecting with some fax machines
- Added S-Register S109
- Added S-Register S110=3
- Implements Silent Answer (allows voice/fax determination)
- Note: Must be supported by fax software
- Implements Caller ID
Supra will be sending an upgrade offer to all registered owners. This offer will be for either a free ROM which has all of the above features, except silent answer and caller ID, or for a charge of less than $30, a rom which has all of the above features, including silent answer and caller ID. Oversees customers will be able to get the roms from the overseas dealer that sold it to them. If they purchased the modem from a US dealer or Supra, they will need to order the rom from Supra, but there will be a shipping and handling charge.
You will be able to order either rom from Supra via its BBS. We are currently working on the software to allow this, plus to allow you to enter your warranty card or change your warranty card online. Once this is working, it will be activated and you can immediately enter your order. The quickest way to order the rom will be via the BBS. Until then, please do not contact Supra to order either rom.
The above information is subject to change or modification. At this time, this is all that is known. As soon as costs and other information is known, we will let you know via the Supra BBS.
UPCOMMING FEATURES AND NEW PRODUCTS
The following features and new products are being worked on. We do not have any information on dates, technical information, upgrade costs, or product cost. As soon as we have the information, we will post it on our BBS.
Internal version
Certifiable International version
MNP10
V23
Voice digitization in modem
Voice software
DTMF encoding/decoding
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New Horizons is pleased to announce a new upgrade to ProWrite, the best selling Amiga word processor. ProWrite version 3.3 adds a number of enhancements over version 3.2; these enhancements include:
* HotLinks
ProWrite 3.3 supports the HotLinks dynamic data exchange system developed by Soft-Logik Publishing. This gives you a very close integration between ProWrite and other HotLinks-capable programs; you can edit text in ProWrite and have it automatically incorporated into your desktop publishing system, or change graphics in a drawing or painting program and have the changes automatically brought into ProWrite!
* Automatic Text Wrap Around Pictures
You can now have text automatically wrap around pictures, either block- style or following the picture's curves, and with an adjustable offset.
* Picture Enhancements
There are a great many enhancements to picture handling in ProWrite 3.3, including the ability to name pictures and search for them in your documents, and precise control over a picture's location and size.
* Print Preview
Now you can get a reduced view of the each page of your document, to see on the screen how your final layout looks.
* Improved Font Handling
You can specify any font size for your text, not just those that are installed on your system. This gives you complete creative control over your text's appearance, and is especially useful if you are using outline fonts or printing on PostScript printers.
* System Clipboard Support
ProWrite 3.3 can exchange text and pictures with other Amiga programs through the Amiga's system clipboard.
* Macro and AREXX Enhancements
ProWrite 3.3 adds a very large number of new macro commands, giving you virtually complete control over ProWriteUs operation through AREXX.
* Kickstart 3.0 and New Amiga Graphics Chips Support
ProWrite 3.3 includes support for new features in Kickstart 3.0, as well as allowing you to open up to 256 color screens on machines with the new Amiga graphics chips.
* And Much More!
There are many more improvements throughout the program; things like document password protection, an optional vertical ruler, and much faster PostScript picture printing.
ProWrite 3.3 will be shipping in September 1992, with a new suggested retail price of $99.95 US.
Registered owners will be sent upgrade information in the mail. Upgrade information is as follows:
Upgrading from version 3.0 or later: $20.00
from version 2.5 or earlier: $60.00
Shipping and handling in US: $5.00
other countries: $10.00
(Texas residents must add 8% sales tax.)
James Bayless
New Horizons Software, Inc.
CANONSTUDIO
CanonStudio is a new program which is intended for all Amiga Canon printer drivers. It does print 24/8Bit IFF graphics with up to 24 bit accuracy in any size (Want a 100*100m poster?). CanonStudio is not limited to the max. 4096 colors of the Amiga printer device, though it does work with nearly all Amiga printer drivers. The pictures are printed FROM DISK ie. you don't need much memory for printing a 10MByte 24 Bit graphic in high quality.
CanonStudio is specially written for the Amiga operation system and is not just a simple portation from an IBM or Apple computer. Because of this, CanonStudio makes heavily use of multitasking and Kickstart 2.04. CanonStudio includes a spooler which allows you to specify multiple print jobs while the program is already printing in background. The program does provide a nice "click-and-drag" user interface.
Now, here are some of the CanonStudio features:
- prints IFF pictures from disk
- does support nearly every IFF format including IFF24, HAM6, HAM8 and EHB.
- does not require $&%$ MBytes memory!
- poster function allows printing of any sized pictures
- number of copies can be defined
- 24/8 Bit accuracy
- multiple jobs can be defined and printed in background (estimated print time and more will be displayed)
- ink compensation does correct ink impurities
- color adjustment (gamma, contrast, brightness, weights,...)
- Free definable ordered dither routines. Following ordered dither matrices are already included: Haltone-A, Halftone-B, Ordered-A, Ordered-B, Spiral, Horizontal, Vertical, Bck-Diagonal, Fwd-Diagonal
- Three error diffusion dither routines: Floyd Steinberg, Jarvis, Stucki
- Two serpentine blue noise dither routines are included: 30% random weight, 50% random weight
- ARexx interface
- font independent user interface
What does CanonStudio requires:
- an Amiga with at least Kickstart/Workbench 2.04
- ~300KB memory (yep, that's all!)
- a Canon printer driver:
- CanonBJ130 V11.1 (Fish 696 and Canon)
- CanonBJ10 V4 (Fish 696 and Canon)
- CanonBJ300 V4.1 (Fish 696 and Canon)
- CanonLBP V3 (Canon, Version 1 on Fish 4xx)
- CanonBJC V.99d (new, see message that follows) (supports Epson 24 and 48 pin emulation! Epson24Plus and Star24Plus user should switch!!!)
This program is shareware and limited. In case you want the full version you can order CanonStudio from:
Wolf Faust
Am Dorfgarten 10
W-6000 Frankfurt 50
Germany
Tel: ++49-69-5486556 (GMT)
Fido: 2:249/3.5 (Wild Cat: ++49-6173-2544 HST,V.32bis)
Email: wfaust@aurea.hotb.sub.org
Or in England
JAM
75 Greatfields Drive
Uxbridge, UB8 3QN
Tel: 08952-74449 (GMT)
The price for registering is:
- INTERNATIONAL US$25 includes shipping + $5 if payed by cheque. No COD!
- GERMANY DM 35 includes shipping. No COD (Nachnahme)!
- ENGLAND #15 includes shipping
PS. Special Studio versions for Deskjet/Laserjet/24 pin Printers/9 pin Printers will soon appear, but more expensive... CanonStudio is an exclusive offer to Canon users and because of this, limited to Canon drivers.
