Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
StarShip 5 MINUTE Weekend Newscast (1993 09 10)
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. |
\\____________________________________________________________/
|| |
|| |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to...
Denny Atkin, Journalist Extraordinaire
Tim Walsh, AmigaWorld Senior Editor
For generous assistance to the *StarShip* News!
Here we go!...
DateLine: September 10, 1993
This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. WACOM Cordless Pen Available for Amiga OpalVision
2. New Amiga Hardware from Pre'Spect Technics
3. NEC's New Jetmate Printer Offers Low-cost Laser Quality
4. Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences
5. Desktop Video Wizards Network
6. Electronic Boutique Takes Over Waldensoftware
7. DREAM WEAVER The Great Adventure Builder for the Amiga
SPECIAL: On-the-Scene Report from the World of Commodore/Amiga Show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Added to the 5-MINUTE News on Saturday, September 11, 1993
8. Streamlined Commodore Greets Visitors to World of Commodore Amiga
9. Motorola's 68EC020 Microprocessors Bring 32-bit Power to CD32
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
1st of 9 Stories
WACOM Cordless Pen Available for Amiga OpalVision
_ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
( \ /\ / ) Vancouver, WA -- August 9, 1993
\ \/ \/ /
\ /
\_/\_/hen the world's first cordless pressure-sensitive stylus for compuer
artists made its debut in 1989, it was supported by one high-end coor paint
program and one lowest-end (free) black-andd-white demo program made
available by Wacom, the system's manufacturer.
Today there are more than 40 computer graphics programs that support Wacom
pressure-sensitive input or bit-map painting and vector-based drawing on
Macintosh, IBM, Amiga and workstation computers. And the Wacom tablet with
its still unique cordless, battery-less and pressure-sensitive pen has become
the industry standard, bringing a new dimension of creative pressure to
computer graphics.
"At long last, computer artists found they could finally paint and draw with
an electronic pen in the same way they use a traditional pencil or brush,
pressing harder to make a line thicker or to change colors and densities,"
said Jeff Nichols, national sales and marketing manager.
"The Wacom tablet won instant acclaim from reviewers," he said. "PC MAGAZINE
called it the top choice for artists when selecting it as Editors Choice. For
the NEW YORK TIMES, it was a "Magic Paintbrush." MACUSER gave it its
top-rating of five mice in 1990 and again in 1992," he said.
"Key to the system's high accuracy and reliability is Wacom's patented
electromagnetic resonance technology that allows the pen to be cordless yet
operate without any batteries or magnets," he stated. "Wacom developed the
world's first cordless, high resolution diitizer tablet, and it is now
integrating its technology with LCD display screens for use in desktop LCD
tablets and mobile pen-based computers," he added.
Features
o Coreless
All Wacom pens are cordless, and have been since Wacom began in 1983,
so there are no wires to untagle or hinder your freedom.
o Pressure-Sensitive
With Wacom's pressure-sensitive pens, the harder you press, the thicker
a line becomes, or airbrush densities and colors change just as they do
with traditional artist's tools.
o Battery-less
The Wacom electronic pen needs no batteries. So you don't have to worry
about replacement. More important, it means a Wacom pen is light and
natural to use; it never feels top-heavy or off-balance.
o Cross-Platform Compatibility
The Wacom tablet works with a PC, Mac, SGI, NeXT, Amiga (OpalVision) and
other platforms simply by changing cables.
o Solid, Dependable Performance
Wacom means the highest quality and reliability, proven over many years
by thousands of professional users. Ask a pro, then experience a Wacom
pen yurself. There's nothing better.
Cordless input is made possible with an unfethered stylus that looks and
feels like a pen yet contains no batteries or magnets. Instead it takes
advantage of electromagnetic resonance technology developed by Wacom in which
radio waves are sent to the stylus and returned for position analysis. In
operation, a grid of wires below the screen alternates between transmit and
receive modes about every 20 microseconds. In the transmit mode, the
electromagnetic signal stimulates oscillation in the coil-and-capacitor
resonant circut in the pen.
In receive mode, the energy of the resonant circuit oscillations in the pen
is detected by the antenna grid. This is then analyzed to determine position
and other information including pressure.
The electromagnetic system does not require the pen to be connected to the
computer to provide the high quality data essential for handwriting
recognition. In addition, since the grid provides the power to the pen
through resonant coupling, no batteries are required in the pen which could
wear out or make the pen top-heavy.
Wacom's patented Electromagnetic Resonence technology is now making its mark
in the emerging pen computer and personal communicator fields, where it is
being used by EO, Hitachi, NCR, Samsung, Sanyo and others.
The Wacom tablet is available in sizes including 6" x 9", 12" x 12" and 18".
Its newest and least expensive tablet is the 6" x 8" ArtZ for the Macintosh
at $449 Suggested Retail Price.
The Wacom Cordless Pen is available for Amigas with Centaur Development's
OpalVision; Suggested Retail Price with 12" x 12" tablet is $749. For more
information, contact Wacom Technology Corporation, 501 S.E. Columbia Shores
Blvd., Suite 300, Vancouver, WA 98661, telephone 206/750-8882.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
2nd of 9 Stories
New Amiga Hardware from Pre'Spect Technics
______ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(__ __) Dorion, Que., Canada -- September 7, 1993
/ /
/ /
(_/he MultiFaceCard is a Multi-I/O expansion half length card for the Amiga
2000, 3000 and 4000. It allows the use of more ports, thereby increasing the
number of peripherals usable by the Amiga. This card may also be used in an
external expansion chassis made for the Amiga 500.
The parallel and serial driver software are on diskette. To install the
softrware, the user just has to drag the diskette icon into a drawer. With
the standard command "bind-drivers" on the Workbench, the system will be
automatically booted. Having done this, the Amiga will recognize the new
ports.
Some older graphics programs demand the use of SER: or PAR:. For these
requirements the MultiFaceCard software can rechannel the graphic signal to
whichever port is required.
Product: MFC-2 (tm) MultiFaceCard 2 for the Amiga
The Only Multi-I/O with hardware handshake
Platform: Amiga 2000, 3000, and 4000 models
Price: $235.00 U.S.
Features:
* Two high speed parallel orts
* Two high speed serial ports (RS232)
* All four ports are external
* All four ports are Amiga compatible
* Simultaneous output from all ports is possible
* Several cards may work alongside each other
* May be disabled via a switch
* Easy software installation
* Compatible with all software (including ART Dept Pro.)
* Graphically controllable
* Half length ZORRO II card
* Comes with parallel interface timer MC68681
* Comes with dual asynch receiver/transmitter MC 68681
* Comes with PIT-NET, a parallel port network for up to 256 Amigas
* PIT-NET is PAR-NET compatible
* PIT-NET supports PAR-NET on remote Amigas running w/o MFC-2
* PIT-NET supports PAR-NET on remote CDTVs running w/o MFC-2
* Compatible with all A2000 accelerators
* Compatible with A3000 and A4000
* Compatible with WB 1.3, WB 2.x and WB 3.0
* Faster data transfer via the MFC-2 parallel ports
* Interrupt level is switchable
* Serial port for all standard baud rates (75, 110, 134.5, 150, 300, 600,
1200, 2000, 2400, 4800, 7800, 9600, 19200, 57600)
* MIDI 31250 optional
____
/ _ )
/ ___/
/ /
(_/re'Spect's NakeD-up for the A500 and A1000 is an Amiga 2000 Slot that
facilitates the use of one Amiga 2000 ZORRO II compatible card. The NakeD-up
attaches to the Amiga Expansion bus located along the left hand side of the
A500, while the expansion bus is located on the right side of the A1000.
Product: NakeD-up
Platform: Amiga 500 and Amiga 1000
Price: $59.50 U.S.
In general, any Amiga 2000 card that does not require the Amiga 2000's
special CPU or video slots will work on a NakeD-up-equipped Amiga 500 or
Amiga 1000. This means that almost any memory expansion, SCSI interface or
hardcard should work. It has been tested with the A2091, GVP Series II,
Octagon 2008, ALF 3, Supra RAM.
Special versions for A-MAX II, GVP's I/O Extender, Pre'Spects' MultiFaceCard,
Ethernet Boards, and other boards with a special PIN out requirements will be
developed in the future.
On this newly designed board, you will find a connector similar to the
expansion bus of the A500 and the A1000. It is indeed a pass-through, with
some limitations because of the missing BUSTER Chip on the A500 and A1000.
Some combinations won't work. Up to two NakeD-ups can be used together.
We recommend a minimum of 150 W powersupply.
______
(__ __)
/ /
/ /
(_/he NakeD-UP RETINA INTERFACE for the A500 from Pre'Spect Technics is an
Amiga 2000 Slot that facillitates use of one RETINA card from MacroSystems
US. The NakeD-UP RETINA Interface attaches to the Amiga expansion bus,
located along the left hand side of the A500.
Product: NakeD-UP RETINA Interface
Platform: Amiga 500 and Amiga 1000
Price: $75.00 U.S.
Special versions for A-MAX II, GVP's I/O Extender, Pre'Spects' MultiFaceCard,
Ethernet Boards, and other boards with a special PIN out requirements will be
developed in the future.
On this newly designed board, you will find a connector similar to the
expansion bus of the A500 and the A1000. It is indeed a pass-through, with
some limitations because of the missing BUSTER Chip on the A500 and A1000.
Some combinations won't work. Up to two NakeD-ups can be used together.
We recommend a minimum of 150 W powersupply.
For more information about the MultiFaceCard and NakeD-Up products, contact
Pre'Spect Technics Inc., Box 53, Dorion, Que, Canada, J7V 5V8, telephone
514/424-5596, cellular 514/944-9696, fax 514/424-5597.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
3rd of 9 Stories
NEC's New Jetmate Printer Offers Low-cost Laser Quality
____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ___) Boxborough, Mass - June 29, 1993
/ (_
/ ___)
/ /
(_/urther developing its price/performance printer strategy which fueled the
popularity of NEC's award-winning Silentwriter Model 95, NEC. Technologies,
Inc. (NECT) is now introducing the Jetmate 1000 ink jet printer targeted
toward small business and home office consumers.
"For the low cost of a dot matrix printer, the Jetmate offers laser-like
quality and NEC reliability," said John McIntyre, director of marketing for
NECT's Printer Group. The estimated selling price for the Jetmate 1000 ink
jet printer is $329.00.
According to McIntyre, the focus on value is emphasized in each Jetmate
feature: faster than normal 300 cps or approximately three pages-per-minute
print speed; 20 free scalable TrueType fonts; a snap-in ink cartridges and a
two-year limited replacement warranty.
The Jetmat 1000 ink jet printer provides 300 dpi print quality, a Windows
driver in the box, and PCL emulation which enables the printer to work with
virtually any software. The two-year limited warranty provides user with
overnite replacement of any Jetmate that fails.
In addition to NEC's authorized resellers, the Jetmate 1000 is available
through selected mass merchandisers, computer superstores and direct mail
channels. To locate a nearby dealer, customers should call 1-800-NEC-INFO.
For product specifications, customers can utilize NEC FastFacts automatic
facsimile service by calling 1-800-366-0476 and requesting document number
5386283.
NEC Technologies, Inc. is a leading supplier of computers, peripherals and
presentation products for the North American market. Product lines include
award-winning Silentwriter, Colormate and Pinwriter printers, MultiSync
moniters, Ultralite notebook computers, and Powermate, Image, Express and
Ready personal computer products. NEC Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of
NEC Corporation.
Product Comparison Chart
Jetmate 1000 HP DeskJet 500 Canon BJ-200 Epson Stylus 800
------------ -------------- ------------ ----------------
300 cps (LQ) 120 cps (LQ) 173 cps (LQ) 150 cps (LQ)
300 cps (Draft) 240 cps (Draft) 248 cps (Draft) 150 cps (Draft)
128 Nozzles 50 Nozzles 64 Nozzles 48 Nozzles
300 dpi 300 dpi 360 dpi 360 dpi
PCL3 PCL3 Canon/Epson Epson ESC/P2
Parallel/Serial Parallel/Serial Parallel Parallel
20 TrueType Fonts No TT Fonts No TT Fonts No TT Fonts
100 Sheet Input 100 Sheet Input 100 Sheet Input 100 Sheet Input
2 Yr. Replacement 3 Yr. Return to 2 Yr. Return to 2 Yr. Return to
Warranty Dealer Depot Depot
$329.00 ESP $339.00 ESP $339.00 ESP $359.00 ESP
Product Specifications
----------------------
Print Method: Thermal Ink jet Dimensions: 15.7 x 13.0 x 5.6
(WxDxH) inches
Number of Nozzles: 128 Weight: 12.1 lbs.
Print Rate at Options:
10 pitch: Serial interface No. 1007 (*)
Letter quality 300 cps 128k RAM card No. 90-900
Draft quality 300 cps
(ink saver mode) Ink Cartridge: No. 30-050
Resolution: 300 x 300 dots Warranty: Two years, parts
and labor, NEC
Emulation: HP DeskJet 500 Express service
delivered
to your door.(**)
Resident fonts: Courier 5, 10, Software: Windows 3.1
16.7, 20 cpi, Jetmate driver
Letter Gothic 6, and 20 TrueType
12 & 24 cpi, fonts included.
proportional
spacing. Jetmate 1000
includes: -Printer
Point sizes: 6, 12, & 24 pt. -Power cord
-User's guide
Font variations: Upright, Italic, -Printer driver
Bold & Bold Italic, software
all in portrait and -TrueType font
landscape modes. library
TrueType Font: 20 Scalable Paper handling: Built-in cut
TrueType fonts. sheet feeder or
manuel insertion
Library: including NEC Input Capacity: 100 Sheets -
Brush, Barter, Letter or Legal
Calculator,
Compose, Dingbat, Proper Type: Xerox 4024 DP or
Dingbat 2, Dinos, equivalent
Eureka, Hancock, 16 - 24 lbs.
La Costa, Marin, No. 10 Envelopes
Morina, Heather,
Maini, Oakland, Output: 20 Sheet capacity
Pellamor, Stencil,
Stockton, Top Interface: Centronics
Hat Caps and parallel
and Westside. Ink Cartridge:
Color Black
RAM: 128 kbyte Average life 1200 pages at
4 % density
Environmental Conditions: Electrical Specifications:
(operating)
Tempurature 50 - 104 deg. f. Rated voltage 120 v -50/60 HZ
Humidity 20 - 80% RH Max. power > 0.6A operating
(*) Dealer installed option
(**) Some restrictions apply, see warranty for details.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
4th of 9 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. TWO HelpDesks EVERY Night: 9PM Eastern & Pacific |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday |Wednesday| Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Surprise | Telecomm | Music | AmiGames|Multimedia| Graphics | Party! |
|__________|__________|_________|_________|__________|__________|__________|
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|5-MIN News| | | | |5-MIN News|5-MIN News|
| 3PM-3AM | | |AmiGames!|Multimedia| 6PM-3AM | 3PM-3AM |
| -*- | | Music! | with | with | -*- | -*- |
| Surprise | Telecomm |MIDI,MODs| Peteroo | Yury & | Graphics | Party |
| Night! | Night! | & More! | & Zach! | Guests | w/ Syl! | Night! |
|__________|__________|_________|_________|__________|__________|__________|
TWO HelpDesks EVERY Night! 9PM Eastern AND 9PM Pacific!
Bring your Amiga/GEnie problems for on-the-spot assistance!
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
5th of 9 Stories
Desktop Video Wizards Network
_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ \ Bloomington, MN -- September 8, 1993
/ - \
/ ___ \
(_/ \_)lpha Video, the world's best desktop video dealership, has
implemented a desktop video dealer network whose initial members represent
80% of the dealer Video Toaster sales in the U.S.
The owners of Alpha Video, George Johnson and Reid Johnson, are the former
Sales Managers for NewTek, manufacturers of the highly successful Video
Toaster. As Sales Managers at NewTek, the Johnsons visited every Video
Toaster dealer in the U.S. and trained 250 of them at twelve different
four-day courses called NewTek U. The Johnsons started this network because
they saw a tremendous need from dealers across the country to keep informed
on current information. "In an industry where technology is constantly
changing," explains George Johnson, "it is very important for dealers to keep
up to date on new developments. We want consumers to feel confident that the
products and advice they receive from these dealers are based on the most
up-to-date and reliable information available."
Jeff Moscow, owner of Slipped Disk in Detroit, Michigan, voiced his approval
of the network by saying, "As individual dealers it's easy for manufacturers
to ignore more requests. As part of a network, we hope manufacturers will
respond to our needs."
Desktop video dealers who are members of the Wizards Network are kept
informed through daily news broadcasts via a private network called Channel
4000. Channel 4000 is a graphical, interactive transmission sent through
SCALA's InfoChannel and covers a wide range of topics in six different
segments:
Newsline -- up-to-date industry related news
TechLine -- technical information covering problems and fixes
HotLine -- news and information from the Wizards' dealers
BottomLine -- sales and business advice
GuideLine -- product news and reviews
PipeLine -- corporate and press announcements
"Our goal for starting the Desktop Video Wizards Network," says Reid Johnson,
"is to help bridge the gap between the disparate and often confusing worlds
of video and computers. We started the network with a Video Toaster emphasis
but will be expanding it to include other Desktop Video products and
platforms."
Desktop video manufacturers sponsor the news and are also recipients of the
daily Channel 4000 feed. William Hendershot, president of Prime Image and ad
advertiser on Channel 4000 said, "Until I heard of Channel 4000 I didn't know
there was a way to reach desktop video dealers. Now we know how to reach them
daily with our message."
If you would like more information on the Desktop Video Wizards, contact
Susan White at 1-800-DTV-0008.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
6th of 9 Stories
Electronic Boutique Takes Over Waldensoftware
_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ \ *StarShip* News Network -- Sept. 9, 1993
/ - \
/ ___ \
(_/ \_)s of August 15th, it has been reorted to the *StarShip* News Network
that the retail chain stores, Waldensoftware, began operating under new
management. Waldensoftware, the computer products division of Waldenbooks, is
now under the management of Electronic Boutique. The mix of products will be
the most apparent change.
In the past 5 years, Waldensoftware has carried huge selections of computer
related books and magazines, computer accessories, and a healthy amount of
Macintosh and Amiga software, in addition to MS-DOS software of all kinds.
Under this new management, your *StarShip* Reporter has learned that the
focus will primarily be on entertainment software with emphasis on game
consoles and CD-ROM. Books, magazines, Macintosh and Amiga software will all
be greatly de-emphasised.
Waldensoftware's remaining stock of Amiga hardware is being sold at clearance
prices well under cost.
According to a source who requested anonymity, these changes have been met
with mixed ("but mostly negative") reactions from Waldensoftware's regular
customers. Most customers are concerned about the lack of books and magazines
since Waldensoftware stocked many of the harder-to-find publications.
While many customers and employees of Waldensoftware are reportedly
distressed over this new emphasis on game consoles, there may be a silver
lining; we were told that Electronic Boutique intends to position themselves,
along with the newly aquired Waldensoftware stores, in the lead of the CD-ROM
revolution, with particular attention placed on 3DO.
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
7th of 9 Stories
DREAM WEAVER The Great Adventure Builder for the Amiga
______ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ __ ) Zionsville, IN -- August 9, 1993
/ / ) /
/ /__/ /
(______/ream Weaver is a computer adventure builder designed to let you
quickly and easily create your own stand alone text and graphic adventure
games. Dream Weaver is fully 'Amiga-tized' making it easy to create
adventures without programming. The game may be distributed to friends with
the accompanying Dream Weaver Player program which will let them play, but
not modify the game.
Features
A Dream Weaver adventure is completely mouse driven. Commands are entered by
selecting an action and object from on screen text. Direction buttons allow
the player to move to other locations.
* An adventure can have up to one hundred twenty (120) rooms on ten (10)
levels for a total of twelve hundred (1200) rooms.
* The game has 'click on' direction buttons, action buttons, and
user-definable text actions and objects.
* Each location has text descriptions, color pictures and sound effects.
* You can create special keyed exits for each of six exit directions in a
room.
* Any number of fixed, moveable or wandering objects can be scattered
throughout your adventure.
* Special effects such as digitized sounds, disappearing and appearing
objects, teleportation to other rooms, and alternate pictures can be
triggered by any action/object combination.
* Dream Weaver contains a Paint Box for drawing or importing pictures for
your adventure.
* Points can be earned for opening exits and solving puzzles.
* Dream Weaver adventures can have special opening and ending screens, and
a screen for when the player has lost.
* Special timed room events can be added to each room for conversations,
hints and adding 'color' to your adventure.
* The look of your adventure can be set in one of six different graphic
styles to further customize your particular game or you can design your
own.
Requirements
Dream Weaver The Great Adventure Builder will run on any Amiga with a minimum
of 1.5 Megabytes of RAM and 1 floppy drive and is compatible with Workbench
1.3 and 2.0. Two adventures are included. The price is only $24.95 + $3.50
Shipping & Handling ($28.45 total). Dream Weaver is available from:
AmyGames
P.O. Box 485
Zionsville, IN 46077
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
8th of 9 Stories
Streamlined Commodore Greets Visitors to World of Commodore Amiga
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
____ Pasadena, California, September 10, 1993
/ ___) by Bob Eller, *StarShip* News Network *Reporter
/ /
/ (__
(_____)ommodore Business Machines (CBM) presented their vision of the future
of Amiga computing today, as the World of Commodore Amiga opened its
three-day run in Pasadena, California.
In his keynote address, Jim Dionne, President and General Manager of CBM's
U.S. operations, discussed the difficulties faced by the company over the
past year, which he termed, "a tough twelve months."
Dionne pointed out that the computer industry in general has been plagued by
restructuring and layoffs. He added that CBM began their cutbacks before both
Apple and IBM. "This is a reality of business," Dionne said, "we have
addressed our problems and we aren't embarrassed to talk about them. We must
learn from the past and move on."
According to Dionne, CBM needed annual sales averaging between 900 to 1
billion dollars. Dionne attributed a decline from this average sales to the
economic slowdown in Europe, where CBM reportedly does 80 percent of its
business, and to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. Since CBM reports all
sales (both domestic and foreign) in U.S. dollars, a strong dollar magnifies
the lowered European sales and increases the appearance of CBM's losses.
Added to this were paper losses due to lower consumer prices for both the
Amiga 2000 and 3000.
Dionne emphasized that CBM is starting, at this point, with a clean slate.
Candidly, Dionne indicated he had to make some "tough decisions that not
everyone has agreed with. The result, however, is that we are a much stronger
company and we will make a profit this quarter."
New Products
Most of the hopes for CBM's profits this quarter are pinned to European sales
of their new multimedia game machine, Amiga CD32. CD32, a direct descendent
of both the CDTV and the Amiga 1200, sports the AGA chipset, a 14 MHz 68EC020
processor, 2 MB of Chip RAM, a double-speed (300Kb/second) CD ROM, and the
Amiga's custom processors.
Amiga CD32 will be available in limited supply in the U.S. until the Winter
Consumer Electronic Show (CES), scheduled during January in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Dionne indicated that it is his hope that the Amiga CD32 will be a
major item under American Christmas trees in 1994. He also said that he
believes that U.S. sales of Amiga CD32 will help push sales of the Amiga in
this country.
In addition to CD32, CBM hopes to release the Amiga 4000 tower by the end of
this year. While the price of the 4000 tower was unknown, Lew Eggebrecht,
Vice President of CBM engineering, stated that the machine would incorporate
two video slots, on-board SCSI II and IDE interfaces, five Zorro III slots
and five externally accessible drive bays.
Eggebrecht also provided an update on several other planned CBM products and
technologies:
AAA chipset -- CBM, this week, produced the first version of the AAA chipset.
AAA, running 10 to 20 times the speed of the current AA chips, will bring
24-bit capability to the next generation of Amigas. Eggebrecht reported that
the first chips contained a number of bugs, but were still able to show
24-bit images, the first step needed to demonstrate that the AAA chip concept
works. Eggebrecht said that CBM would release products with the AAA chipset
in mid-1994.
CD peripherals -- CBM is actively developing a CD32 compatible CD drives for
both the 4000 and 1200. The drives should be available by the end of this
year.
Retargetable Graphics -- Eggebrecht stated that work on retargetable graphics
had been slowed recently due to CBM's reduced staff. Retargetable graphics
should be available with the AmigaDOS upgrade needed to support the AAA
chipset.
AmigaDOS 3.1 -- The latest version of the software was essentially completed
this week. AmigaDOS 3.1 incorporates a SCSI file system, and the CD32
additions needed to support CD peripherals for the 4000 and 1200.
Eggebrecht concluded his talk with a discussion of the development of a RISC
operating system for future Amiga computers and game systems.
Look for a complete report on the Pasadena World of Commodore, as well as an
interview with Jim Dionne, in the September issue of the *StarShip* Online
Magazine, ViewPort, which will be available very soon.
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
9th of 9 Stories
Motorola's 68EC020 Microprocessors Bring 32-bit Power to CD32
_ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ \/ \ Austin, Texas -- September 10, 1993
/ \
/ /\ /\ \
(_/ \/ \_)otorola's (NYSE: MOT) High Performance Microprocessor Division
today announced that its 16-MHz 68EC020 embedded control microprocessor
provides the processing power for Commodore Business Machine's new Amiga
CD32, the industry's first 32-bit game console with a double-speed CD-ROM
drive. Motorola's 32-bit 68EC020 works together with Commodore's Advanced
Graphics Architecture(TM) chipset to create arcade-quality video games,
displaying 256,000 colors on screen, with a total palette of 16.8 million
colors.
"With the introduction of the Amiga CD32, Commodore is raising the standards
of consumerized computing to a new level, providing integration of music,
movies and video game capabilities with unparalleled levels of quality,
performance and price," said Jim Reinhart, Motorola's manager of M68000
marketing and applications. "The robust processing capabilities of the
68EC020 make it an ideal microprocessor for graphically-based products such
as the Amiga CD32."
Motorola's 68EC020 provides all the processing power of the powerful 68020
yet its features are streamlined, making it ideal for embedded applications
such as the Amiga CD32. For example, the 68EC020's 24-bit address bus, as
opposed to the 68020's 32-bit bus, enables reduced chip-size and therefore
lower costs. The 68EC020 also contains a 32-bit data bus and an on-chip
instruction cache to provide dramatically increased performance over 8- and
16-bit microprocessors.
Other performance features of the 68EC020 include advanced bit manipulation
capabilities that provide multiple bit shift operations in a single
instruction cycle. This feature greatly simplifies and accelerates the bit
operations required in graphics processing and optical recognition
applications, thus making it the ideal microprocessor for the Amiga CD32.
Similar in appearance to other CD game consoles, the Amiga CD32 includes a
hand-held, eleven-button game controller and connectors for standard Amiga
mouse, joystick and keyboard. The Amiga CD32 is also easily connected to a
television set composite monitor or SVHS video monitor. An optional MPEG
module allows software developers to incorporate video, movie segments and
television-like backgrounds into their applications.
Available immediately, the Commodore Amiga CD32 will be priced competitively
with the price of 16-bit game systems.
Having 1992 worldwide sales of $4.5 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor
Products Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad line supplier of
semiconductors, with a balanced portfolio of more than 50,000 devices.
Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of electronic equipment,
systems, components, and services for global markets. Products include
two-way radios, pagers and telepoint systems, semiconductors, defense and
aerospace electronics, automotive and industrial electronic equipment,
computers, data communications, and information processing and handling
equipment.
Motorola was a winner of the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in
1988, in recognition of its superior company-wide quality management process.
NOTE: Advanced Graphics Architecture is a trademark of Commodore Business
Machines.
-*-
Waaaaay 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 *StarShip* 5-MINUTE News |
| on GEnie. |
| |
| If you would add the following, we'd appreciate it! |
| |
| Joining GEnie is easy! Use half duplex at 300/1200/2400 |
| baud. Dial 1-800-638-8369 (Canada 1-800-387-8330). Type |
| HHH at CONNECT. At the U#= prompt, * |
| type AMIGA and press Return. \ * * / |
|________________________________________________ * * ________|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * ~~~~~~~
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We'd like to know if you reprint * The *
the *StarShip* 5-MINUTES News. * *StarShip* *
Tell us by leaving *free* Feedback * on GEnie *
to the SysOps on GEnie page 555. * * _
/ * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * / * *
* \ *
