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StarShip 5 MINUTE Weekend Newscast (1993 01 29)
Welcome to the
____
/ ___) *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast
/ (_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ___)
/ (__ very weekend the *StarShip* on GEnie presents a new 5-MINUTE Weekend
(_____) Newscast in Communications Room 10 in the Real-Time Conference Area.
Featuring late-breaking stories from the Amiga community, these dynamic,
scrolling newscasts cycle every 5 minutes, so you can stop by between 6PM and
3AM Eastern time on Friday, or 3PM and 3AM Eastern time on Saturday or Sunday
and learn everything that happened during the preceding week. Industry news,
product announcements, upgrades, rumors, special *StarShip* activities, trade
show reports, GEnie usage tips, humor, recommended files to download...
... the works -- and it ONLY takes 5 minutes!
Each 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast is available on *StarShip* Menu #10 during the
following week. Periodically, newscasts are combined and made available for
downloading from the *StarShip* Library.
____________________________________________________________
// \
|| -*- IMPORTANT! -*- |
|| |
|| As long as individual stories are kept intact and credit |
|| is given, this material may be reproduced in ALL or PART |
|| on a privately owned BBS or in a user group newsletter. |
|| See wording for proper credit at the end of this Newscast. |
\\____________________________________________________________/
|| |
|| |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to Denny Atkin, Editor,
COMPUTE'S Amiga Resource,
for his generous input.
Here we go!...
DateLine: January 29, 1993
This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. CEI to Distribute Commodore Amiga and PC Products
2. Babylon 5 Featured in January Computer Graphics World
3. GVP Announces Free Upgrade for ImageFX/Cinemorph
4. Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences
5. Reminder: excellence! Version 3 from Micro-Systems Software
6. Ocean of America Releases New Amiga Games
7. An Urgent Appeal from Fred Fish Himself
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
1st of 7 Stories
____ CEI to Distribute Commodore Amiga and PC Products
/ ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ (_ Miami, FL -- January 1, 1993
/ ___)
/ (_
(____)ffective this date, Creative Equipment International (CEI) announces an
agreement with Commodore Business Machines, Inc., of West Chester, PA, to
distribute the Commodore line of Amiga and PC computers and peripherals in
the United States. This agreement gives Creative Equipment "National
Aggregator" status and follows a recent Latin American distribution agreement
between the two companies earlier in 1992.
With this new agreement, CEI will now be able to market directly to the
existing dealer and affiliate network of Amiga resellers. Primary emphasis
will be put into establishing new CEI authorized dealers from the Canadian
border on the north to the southern tip of Chile in South America.
The Amiga computer line, long the standard in animation and video fields, can
also boast some new additions with enhanced models. These include the A600
and A1200 entry-level machines and the Amiga flagship A4000 computers that
set new standards of "out of the box" graphics power. The A1200 and A4000
computers both use the AGA (Advanced Graphic Architecture) chip set. These
computers include 262,000 screen colors out of a 16 million color palette
available in all screen resolutions of up to 1280 horizontal pixels and up to
800 vertical pixels. They are also capable of up to sixty frames per second
animation in all resolution and color modes. Commodore promises to
aggressively release new technology in the coming year that will feature
truly remarkable advances and affordability. PCMCIA slots are standard in
most new models.
CEI will focus on establishing new Multimedia dealers in the U.S. by
targeting those who have traditionally sold Apple and PC compatibles. These
dealers will be able to purchase complete multimedia solutions for resale.
Solutions will include complete Video Toaster workstations, ImpactVision
animation systems, digital recording workstations and more. Orderly and
limited distribution will benefit these select dealers in their respective
territories while allowing greater dealer profits. Chuck Schenk, Vice
President of marketing stated, "CEI dealers will not only benefit from the
service, price and product selection but also from the ready-made solutions
which are available!"
For further information contact Chuck Schenk, Vice President of Marketing,
Creative Equipment International, 6864 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33144,
(305) 266-2800 or FAX (305) 261-2544.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
2nd of 7 Stories
____ Babylon 5 Featured in January Computer Graphics World
/ ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ (_ *StarShip* News Network - January 28, 1993
/ ___)
/ (_
(____)ye-catching Amiga-rendered 3D graphics from the upcoming "Babylon 5"
television pilot, scheduled to air in February, grace the cover of Computer
Graphics World's January issue -- which is available on newsstands across the
country. Designed with NewTek's Toaster by Ron Thornton of Foundation Imaging
(a special *StarShip* conference guest last month), this complex, fascinating
image (plus others inside) points to a feature article called "Prime-Time
Proving Ground for 3D Graphics" by Barbara Robertson.
Robertson initially delves into projects done with pricier graphics systems
in the production of such TV specials as "Last Halloween," Oliver Stone's
miniseries "Wild Palms" scheduled to air next month, Steven Spielberg's "Sea
Quest," an action-adventure series set for fall '93, Kevin Costner's
documentary "500 Nations" expected to air in 1994, and 3D graphics created
for "Space Rangers" series (using off-the-shelf Swivel 3D, Electric Image,
and Photoshop software running on Macintoshes), before she finally gets to
the Amiga and Babylon 5 -- although once again, NewTek steals the show.
Says Robertson, "... the animators at Foundation Imaging had an edge most
people don't have. They had Newtek [sic] programmers helping them out."
Indeed, although NewTek was unavailable for comment yesterday, a sidebar to
Computer Graphics World's article details "Newtek's New Technology" thusly:
_______________________________________________________________________
/ \
| Newtek's New Technology |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| (According to Computer Graphics World) |
| |
| One of the advantages high-profile Hollywood visual effects artists |
| who work with the Toaster have is that Newtek bends over backward to |
| accommodate their particular needs. The advantage to everyone else is |
| that Newtek plans to add the things these artists demand to its |
| standard software. Sometime this spring, a software-only upgrade for |
| LightWave will become available. Among LightWave's Hollywood-inspired |
| additions and improvements, according to Newtek, are: |
| |
| o specialized anti-aliasing to reduce flicker. As the program is |
| rendering, the company claims, it looks for problem areas and |
| corrects them; |
| o motion blur; |
| o depth of field; |
| o lens flare; |
| o faster rendering times, by as much as five times, claims Newtek; |
| o splines; |
| o Booleans, which let you, for example, drill a hole in an object, or |
| combine two objects and strip out the sections that cross; |
| o a new feature called "bones." Newtek's version of freeform |
| deformations, bones are "influence objects." That is, they influence |
| whatever things(s) they're near or inside or touching. When you move |
| a bone, the model moves with it. You could put a bone in the center |
| of a picture and twist the picture by twisting the bone. Or use them |
| to move an arm, or animate a face. They bigger they are or the |
| closer they are, the more they influence a model. "They're like |
| force fields," says Newtek's Daniel Kaye. "They make character |
| animation a snap." |
\_______________________________________________________________________/
The January issue of Computer Graphics World is recommended reading for
informed Amiga owners -- who should be further delighted to see a screen (in
Macintosh format) on page 49 illustrating an article called "Visiting Lost
Cities," which was used in the AmigaVision presentation about Shakespeare's
Globe Theatre, which is available in the *StarShip* Software Library.
While you're browsing the mag racks, consider getting the latest AC's Guide
to the Commodore Amiga as well. Even at $11.95, we think this compendium of
Amiga products (hardware, software and services) is the best thing PiM
Publications, publisher of Amazing Computing magazine, puts out.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
3rd of 7 Stories
_____ GVP Announces Free Upgrade for ImageFX/Cinemorph
/ ____) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ /___ King of Prussia, PA. -- January, 1993
/ /( )
/ (__) /
(______/VP announced that it has released upgrades for its popular software
packages, ImageFX and CineMorph.
CineMorph has met with phenomenal success since its release in September,
1992. This easy-to-use morphing package was immediately acclaimed for its
powerful features, which give the user the ability to warp single images,
morph sequences of multiple images and even full motion video with the
fastest possible speeds available in any morphing package. New features of
the upgrade include infinite zoom, regional dissolve, point naming and point
locking. New gadgets have been added to the curve editor window which allow
for greater flexibility. In addition, AGA support has been added to the
Render Menu.
ImageFX, which combines the traditional elements of images processing and
editing with high-end special effects, was released in November, 1992 and
already promises to set a new standard in visual effects software packages
for the Amiga. This powerful software contains all the features of CineMorph
plus a host of other image processing features. This new version of ImageFX
also adds AGA modes to the Amiga preview, and render modes and puts all Amiga
resolutions, including AGA, in the Foreign render module as well. OpalVision
rendering, more keyboard shortcuts and an improved file requester have also
been added to an impressive list of features.
These upgrades, coming so soon after the release of ImageFX and CineMorph,
reflect GVP's ongoing commitment to providing professional quality video
processing and editing software at an affordable price.
Gary Gehman, president of Magic Bullet Communications, has this observation
about ImageFX, "I believe that it is the single most important graphics
program for the Amiga in five years," he says. "This is of considerable
interest to the average Amiga hobbyist, but it is a revolutionary and highly
profitable windfall to the people who actually use their Amigas to make a
living."
Registered owners of ImageFX are receiving their free upgrades already.
GVP is a privately held company that was founded in 1988. Today it is the
world's largest third party supplier of peripherals for the Commodore Amiga.
For more information contact Sheila Kirby at (215) 337-8770 extension 244.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
4th of 7 Stories
__________________________________________________________________________
| |
| *StarShip* Amiga Conferences |
| ____ _ |
| / ___) / ) |
| / (_ ____ / /_ ___ __ __ ____ ___ __ __ |
| / ___)/ ___)/ _ )/ __)/ / / // _ ) / __)/ / / / |
| / / / __) / (/ // / / (_/ // (/ / / / / (_/ / |
| (_/ (____)(____/(_/ (_____((_____)(_/ (___ / |
| ___/ / |
| (____/ |
| |
| Except where noted, Conferences begin at 10PM Eastern Time in the Amiga |
| Conference Rooms at Page 555;2. Amiga Programmers meet Wednesday nights |
| at Pro/Am on Page 670. Amiga/GEnie HelpDesk EVERY Night at 9PM Eastern. |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Humpday |Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Help@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST| Help@9EST|
|__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| Jan 31 | 1 | 2 |\ | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|5-MIN News| | _| | | | New |5-MIN News|
| 3PM-3AM | DeskTop | (_) | AmiGames |vv-Video!|*StarShip*|9:Hardware|
| -*- |Publishing| Mad | ------ | with | 5-MINUTE | Clinic |
|10PM: | Night | Music |Programing| Yury & | Newscast |10: Amiga |
| Graphics | | Night |at Pro/Am | Guests | 6PM-3AM |PartyNight|
|__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
HelpDesk *EVERY* NIGHT @ 9PM Eastern Time!
Got a problem? If you have questions about learning to use your
Amiga, the *StarShip* or GEnie, we have answers! Stop by Conference
Room 4 ANY EVENING from 9 to 10 EST for live, on-the-spot help.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
5th of 7 Stories
Reminder: excellence! Version 3 from Micro-Systems Software
_ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ \/ \ West Palm Beach, FL - January 1993
/ \
/ /\ /\ \
(_/ \/ \_)icro-Systems Software's excellence! has always been reviewed in
magazines as the most technically prestigious word processor for the Amiga.
Today, with its superior AmigaDOS 2.04-compatible face lift, excellence!
Version 3 takes advantage of the Amiga better than ever! excellence! never
maintained any competition, but this version is so far superior over other
word processors that Steven Pagliarule, M-SS's vice president of Research and
Development is quoted as saying, "Without suggestions from our avid
excellence! fans, we never could have become so popular... we get many
letters from our users telling us what they want added to future versions; we
would be fools not to listen. excellence! users know what they require better
than anyone and we've always implemented their suggestions in a heart beat,
so they continue to let us know what they need. excellence! is a word
processor written for the people and by the people!"
Features in excellence version 3, aside from the new look and feel, include
user-specified automatic times saves, French and German spelling checker
support, improved ruler, bookmark support, ARexx support, speech device,
automatic palette correction, customizable grammatical checker, new
ASL-compatible font/file requesters and multiple backups which are user
specified.
Several members of the Micro-Systems beta test team are reported as saying,
"The best thing about excellence! Version 3 is not what Micro-Systems
Software has done, but what they _haven't_ done. Even though excellence! is
now slicker than ever, it hasn't eliminated the DOS 1.3 owners. excellence!
is 2.04 compatible, not specific, so 1.3 people get the look and feel of a
new system without having to spend hard earned money for 2.04, and there are
mass amounts of 1.3 people out there!"
Micro-Systems Software, a significant software developer for the Amiga from
the start, still remains the leader of the pack with excellence! Version 3
and all of their other fine productivity products. While other software
developers come and and go in today's changing economy, it's great to know
that the company who sold you your first Amiga word processor is still around
to give you technical assistance for it.
Micro-Systems Software's technical support is always free and unlimited.
"Support makes software users extremely loyal and proves that we're not only
interested in selling software, but actually making sure you know how to use
it! Our users can own an MSS product for 10 years and we'll continue to
support the dinosaur no matter what. Outstanding support for your products
always pays off in the long run; give people fantastic and consistent service
and they'll fantastically, consistently service you. The car companies could
stand to learn a lesson from us," suggests Esther Lee Appleman, President and
CEO of Micro-Systems Software.
Features new to Version 3:
* User specified automatic timed saves
* Support for the ECS high resolution productivity mode
* French and German Spelling Checker Support
* AppIcon/AppMenuItem for Workbench Support
* Up to 8 columns per page
* Automatic palette correction
* 16-color screen support
* Document reading with the Amiga speech device
* Adjustable cursor options
* Customizable grammatical checker
* User definable color elements
* Improved ruler with many new features
* Multiple backups (number is user specified)
* New ASL Compatible font/file requesters
* ARexx Support
* Bookmark support
* AGFA/Compugraphic Outline Font support
* Modern AmigaDOS 2.04 compatible interface (operates for AmigaDOS 1.3)
Accessories
o 140 thousand word dictionary with legal, medical, technical,
scientific, geographic, and biographic supplements
o 1.4 million word Thesaurus (with definitions)
o User dictionary maintenance utility
o Spell-as-you-type
o Grammar and style checker
o Bullet proof hyphenation
o Glossary with macro key support
o Safe exit from program saves Glossary changes
o Safe exit from documents for no lost date
o Macros can be assigned to almost any key
o Math
o Paragraph sorting
o Index and Tables of Contents generation
o Full word indexing
Printing
o 100% Color PostScript support
o 4 types of printer output, special HP support
o Internal printer font support
o Mail Merge
o Preferences printer driver compatible
o Mixed mode printing
o Landscape printing
o Documents can be printed to disk files for transfer to service bureaus
and electronic mail systems
Graphics
o Mix pictures with text in paragraphs
o Graphics in headers, footers or footnotes
o WYSIWYG editing
o Picture scaling and cropping
Formatting
o Mouse and keyboard support
o Left, Justified, Centered & Flush paragraph
o Left Justified, Centered & Decimal tabs
o Multiple headers, footers and footnotes (odd and even headers, footers)
o Cut, copy and paste Headers, Footers and Footnotes
o Global font and style substitutions
o Page and Ruler settings stored in document
o User defined Page Setup and Print defaults
o Direct input of paragraph leading value
o Display current date and time in document
o Automatically numbered footnotes
o Insert retains all text and codes
o Text files retain tab characters
Other Features
o Typing speed exceeds 170 words per minute
o IFF and ASCII file import
o Document summary for quick statistics
o Free technical support for registered users
o Clipboard support
o Easy insertion of foreign characters
o Not copy protected
o Undo typing
o Metric file conversion utility
o Hard drive install utility
o Verification utility insures disks are perfect
o Markers and Margins may be separately hidden
o Project icon support
o Up to 250 fonts in a single document
o Reads Scribble! files
o Page GoTo
o Virtual memory manager
o 2, 4, or 8 color windows and color printing
o Long path name support
o Low, medium & high resolution IFF support
o Support for interlaced windows
excellence! Version 3 is available from Amiga dealers at a suggested retail
price of only $99.95. The upgrade path from previous versions is an
economical $29.95 plus shipping fees. excellence! Version 3 requires 1
megabyte of memory. For more information contact M-SS at 12798 Forest Hill
Blvd., Suite 202, West Palm Beach, FL 33414, telephone 407/790-0770 or FAX
407/790-1341.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
6th of 7 Stories
Ocean of America Releases New Amiga Games
_____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ _ ) Las Vegas, NV -- January 7, 1993
/ / ) /
/ (_/ /
(_____/cean of America, Inc., a leader in the electronic-entertainment
industry, today announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that Lethal
Weapon, based on the Warner Bros. film series, will ship next month for
IBM-PC compatible and Commodore Amiga computer platforms.
A very strong video-game seller for the Super NES, the computer software
version of Lethal Weapon will be available nationwide in February, 1993, at a
suggested retail price of $49.95 for both IBM-compatible and Amiga systems.
Lethal Weapon is based on the adventures of Los Angeles cops Roger Murtaugh
and Martin Riggs -- made popular on the big screen by Danny Glover and Mel
Gibson.
Just like the silver-screen hot-shots, gamers are faced with a veritable
crime wave, in which they must duck and dodge impending doom in the subway, a
shopping mall, office buildings and the waterfront, where one wrong move will
set them face-to-face with ravenous sharks.
"Intense action is what this game is all about," said Sherri Hinson, director
of operations for Ocean of America. "Our sales on Super NES to date tell us
that action gamers find Lethal Weapon riveting. Now computer gamers can enjoy
the level of excitement in a version of the game totally adapted to their
more powerful computer hardware."
Adding to Lethal Weapon's intensity are clips from the movie brought to life
in MCGA, VGA, EGA or Tandy 16-color graphics. The game additionally supports
most leading sound boards, including Ad Lib, SoundBlaster, PS/1 DAC and Tandy
Enhanced Sound.
Ocean also announced that its Cool World software game will ship next month
for IBM-compatibles and Amiga personal computers.
Based on the Paramount Pictures classic movie, Cool World will be available
nationwide in February at a suggested retail price of $49.95 for either
IBM-compatibles or Amiga systems.
The computer software version of the innovative animated feature film lets
consumers take on the role of cartoonist Jack Deebs, creator of Cool World,
cartoon-land home of the lovely Holli Would and other cartoon characters
called Doodles.
Hoping to win the affection of Holli, his voluptuous creation, Deebs enters
the fantasy he created and sets off on a rollicking adventure that lives up
to the high action-gaming standards that have become an Ocean trademark.
Deeb's entry to Cool World leaves the door open for Doodles to escape to the
real world. Now they're running around Las Vegas and it's up to the gamer to
somehow get them back where they belong. But first the gamer must battle
through Cool World, which turns out to be full of dangers itself.
"Cool World is an all-out adventure," said Sherri Hinson, director of
operations for Ocean of America. "Danger hides behind a misleadingly innocent
landscape of talking buildings and candy trees. It's an artful blend of
images from the movie and the no-holds-barred action and adventure consumers
have come to expect from Ocean."
Deebs' Cool World journey takes gamers from pawn shops to the night club to
the library -- protecting himself along the way with his newly found Doodle
capabilities: a long-arm hammer punch. His Doodle enemies are equally
imaginative -- a fire-breathing wolf, cut-throats to bribe or battle, and
goofy police. But Deebs' ultimate success required a return to Las Vegas for
a final showdown to face Holli and other renegade Doodles.
Ocean also announced the immediate availability of Wizkid for the IBM-PC and
Amiga personal computers. In Wizkid, which carries a suggested retail price
of $39.95, gamers must clear nine levels of zany arcade-style action
interspersed among head-scratching puzzles.
Described as one of the looniest games ever available for personal computers,
Wizkid's appeal is in the stunning graphic presentation of the game's fantasy
universe. Wizkid offers complete support of MCGA, VGA, EGA and Tandy 16-color
on IBM-compatible formats, and makes full use of the Amiga's graphics
capabilities on that system as well.
Wizkid's light-hearted storyline is as wacky as its graphics: Wizball, Wizard
and Nifta the Cat, the game's three heroes, must track down their long-time
nemesis, Zark, in The Land of Wiz.
Gamers can choose to be any one of the three heroes -- each of whom possesses
unique characteristics -- as they set out to collect as many kittens as they
can, while bopping Zark's nasty minions with bricks. The fantasy world also
includes a zany batch of other items for gamers to collect and purchase,
including teeth, Wizdollars, flying tiles, even the daily newspaper.
"Most of the market views computer-gamers as far more 'serious' than
video-game players," said Sherri Hinson, Ocean's director of operations. "But
in reality, computer gamers enjoy way-out arcade games as much as any other
gamers -- as long as the game is well designed and takes advantage of the
personal computer's hardware capabilities."
Along with the game's strong graphics, Wizkid supports leading sound boards
for IBM-compatible systems, including Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, P/S 1 DAC and
Tandy Enhanced Sound. On the Amiga, Wizkid delivers full stereo sound.
Last month (December 1992) Ocean of America shipped six new games for the
Amiga, including:
The Addams Family (tm), a kooky treasure hunt through the demonic twists
and turns of the Addams Family mansion and its grounds. Action/Adventure,
$49.95.
PushOver (tm), G.I. Ant, gamers' on-screen persona, blazes a trail
through the treasure caves of Captain Rat, and must knock over every
domino on the screen in the right order to trigger the last domino and
move to the next level. Puzzle strategy, $49.95.
Epic (tm), a 3D simulation with polygon graphics where the gamer's
mission is no less than the salvation of all the races of the Federation.
The only hope for survival is to convoy an entire civilization to new
worlds. Simulation, $49.95.
Espana: The Games '92, destined to become a classic in the library of
every sports fan, includes 30 events and eight teams: track and field,
swimming and diving, and tough one-on-one competition sports like boxing
and fencing. Sports simulation, $39.95.
Elf (tm), wherein Cornelius travels through enchanted woods, mines,
forest thickets, mountain peaks, castles and jungle swamps (more than 60
locations) in search of Princess Elisa, captive of the evil Necrilous.
Fantasy role playing adventure, $39.95.
Hook, where Neverland is more dangerous than ever as gamers, playing
Peter Pan, seek his kidnapped children and their captor, Captain Hook. 3D
and 2D views with brilliant graphics and a movie-quality soundtrack.
Action arcade, $49.95.
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Ocean of America, Inc., is a privately
held company with sales in excess of $14 million. In the U.S., Ocean of
America publishes games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo
Entertainment System and Game Boy. Ocean of America computer-entertainment
software is available for all major personal computer platforms.
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
7th of 7 Stories
An Urgent Appeal from Fred Fish Himself
_____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ _ ) Tempe, AZ -- January 1993
/ / ) /
/ (_/ /
(_____/ver the last couple of years, I've noticed a trend where fewer and
fewer people are on my direct subscriber list. This last year has seen a
particularly sharp decrease, from about an average of 75 subscribers to the
current low of 41. That's right, there are only 41 people or organizations in
the whole world that receive disks directly from me as of Jan 17, 1993, with
about half of them being outside the United States.
During this last year, the amount of time I have had available to spend
constructing disks, doing accounting, and otherwise managing the library has
also dropped sharply, so that more than ever I depend upon using outside help
for things like presorting the submitted material, creating prototype disks
which I then use for constructing the final disks, and doing the actual
duplication, packaging, and shipping of the disks.
I cannot expect these people to work for nothing, so I have been paying them
reasonable compensation for their time out of the ever dwindling subscription
income. It has reached the point where sometime in the next month or two I
will make a decision about whether or not to shut down the library, since if
there are insufficient incoming funds to meet the operating costs as well as
pay for an occasional perk like a trip to an Amiga show once or twice a year,
or some new hardware toy, there is little incentive to continue spending
20-30 hours a month running it.
If you are in a position to influence a club, computer store, or other Amiga
related organization to maintain a direct subscription for new disks, and
thus help fund continued maintenance of the library, and are interested in
seeing the library continue to grow, I'd urge you to consider doing what you
can to help push the number of direct subscribers back up to more reasonable
levels. Thanks.
-Fred
__
|\/ o\ Fred Fish, 1835 E. Belmont Drive, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
|/\__/ Direct telephone number: 602/491-0048.
-*-
Over a GIGABYTE of Amiga files in our Library!
Catch your limit of Fred FISH Disks from the *StarFish* Library.
If you are after a SINGLE PROGRAM on a Fish Disk, SEARCH for it
before downloading the disk. Most are available separately!
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| |
| Permission is hereby granted to quote ALL or PART of this |
| Newscast on a privately owned BBS or in a user group news- |
| letter (*) provided you include the following credit: |
| |
| Reprinted by Permission from the 5-MINUTE Weekend |
| News Network, a *StarShip*(tm) Production on GEnie(R). |
| * /\ / |
|_________________________________________________ ___/ \___ _|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \ oo / ~
. \ \__/ / _
(*) We would like to know about it / \
if you do, and you can tell us \ /\ /
*FREE* by leaving Feedback to / \/ \/ \
the SysOps on GEnie Page 555. *StarFish*
Librarian
February ViewPort -- Coming Soon!
