====================================================================== _ __ _ <>_ __ _ || /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || A M I G A U P D A T E /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || -News and Rumors- / \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_|| (An Occasional Newsletter) BACK FOR THE FUTURE || ====================================================================== AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Gateway 2000, Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 980420 M I T C H S T O N E O N A M I G A ' 9 8 I C O A R E D O E S T H E E L E C T I O N D I G I T A L U N I V E R S E - C D - R O M M Y S T I Q U E , C H I L D R E N , A N D A M I N E T A M I C O N P L A N S A M I G A I N F O R M E R H A P P E N I N G S A S I M C D F S - N E W V E R S I O N A M I G A F O R E V E R 2 . 0 I B R O W S E M A N U A L S A V A I L A B L E A M I G A O S I N A P D A ? ? A M I C O M S Y S F O R T H E C O N N E C T E D B U T W I L L I T S A Y " P O W E R E D B Y A M I G A " ? A M I N E T C D - R O M 2 4 O N E A R M E D B A N D I T G E T S A M I G A N E W S F R O M H A A G E & P A R T N E R E M P L O Y M E N T P O S S I B I L I T Y . . . Editor's Thoughts and Introduction: We had a decision to make - get this issue to you right now, or wait for material for our "Amiga Informer Annex" section. We decided to get the news out quickly, especially since available space was filling up. So in spite of the promise in the last issue, it'll be a bit before we have another "Annex" for your enjoyment. There is some information from the "Informer" in this issue, though. The good news is that there's lots of news. And to top it off, like icing on the cake, we have some quotes from the owner of the Boycott Microsoft website owner, Mitch Stone. Those of you who attended Amiga '98 in Saint Louis and heard Mitch speak, know that both the man and his site are serious about what they're doing. We have some quotes from his newspaper column about his attendance at the show. Lots to read this time. Enjoy! Brad Webb, Editor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M I T C H S T O N E O N A M I G A ' 9 8 {Following are some quotations from Mitch Stone, a guest speaker at the Gateway 98 computer show in Saint Louis (issue 980322). These quotes are from his "The Accidental Expert" column in the "Ventura County Star" newspaper. The entire column can be found using a link from Stone's Boycott Microsoft web site, http://www.vcnet.com/bms/ Brad.}   The Gateway Amiga Computer Show may have convened under the leaden skies of a late midwestern winter cold snap, but none of the outdoor chill was reflected on the event floor. Inside, the trade in Amiga hardware and software flourished like spice dealing at a Marrakech bazaar. A festive air pervaded the hall as vendors hawked products from cloth-draped tables, and old Amiga computers were traded like rare gems. Meanwhile, a non-stop schedule of workshops convened in the opposite hall. By all indications, it was your typical computer trade show. Typical, but for one minor detail: The Amiga computer has been out of production for years. The Amiga is an orphan. {Description of Amiga history from Commodore through Escom removed and a discussion of Stewart Alsop telling the Senate Judiciary Committee looking into Microsoft as a monopoly that "we want a single platform, because the benefits are so tremendous" while admiting that the Windows interface makes his "skin crawl." } ... Patience, like all virtues, deserves to be rewarded. Normally it isn't, of course, but in the case of Li'l Orphan Amiga, the years in the hard scrabble wilderness may have finally paid off. Amiga's Daddy Warbucks could turn out to be Gateway 2000, the PC clone-maker based in Sioux City, S.D. In an apparent effort to hedge its bets against Microsoft and Intel, Gateway purchased the Amiga assets out of Escom's bankruptcy last year. So maybe Amiga's days of wandering are over. Or maybe not. Gateway officials addressing the St. Louis gathering were careful to issue diplomatic statements containing hope, but few promises. Either way, the Amiga users have been there and done that. Remarked conference organizer and TWA pilot Bob Scharp, "I and many other Amiga fans intend to keep using Amigas until we can no longer purchase, find, or make the items we need to keep our Amigas going." Scharp expressed guarded hopefulness about the Gateway deal. "If they do come up with better Amigas, I'll be one of the first to give it serious consideration." The message: With or without Gateway, we'll carry on. This writer was invited to the Amiga Gateway conference to provide an after-dinner keynote address on the importance of competition in the computer industry. After wandering the show floor for an afternoon, and chatting with a number of people, I was struck by the realization that I might just as well be lugging anthracite to an industrial city in the northeast of England. There's nothing anyone can tell these folks about the value of choosing products on the basis of their personal needs and preferences, rather than on the basis of someone else's vision of what constitutes a "standard."They already understand full well that one size does not, in fact, fit all. With all due respect to Stuart Alsop, these steadfast Amiga devotees know better than anyone else that the object of a computing tool is not to make your skin crawl. The joyous spirit of survival against all odds permeating the Amiga Gateway conference was perhaps best summed up by the headline of a flier circulating on the show floor. It read, "You Don't Need Microsoft." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E-MAIL TO THE E-DITOR Please list me on the NEW Amiga Update List...Moved to Colorado and haven't had the chance to make any contacts with Amiga Groups. Do you have list of web page info in Denver/Boulder/CoSprings Area??? Thanx Chuck Charles Lobser CLobser@aol.com --- Can any "Amiga Update" readers help Charles out? Other possibilities are to check the "Amiga Web Directory' at http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html and the User Group Network at http://www.amiga.org/usergroups/ Good luck! Brad ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I C O A R E D O E S T H E E L E C T I O N 18 Apr 98 The 1998 ICOA User Representative election ------------------------------------------ An election was started at the beginning of March to appoint a User Representative to the ICOA's Steering Committee for the next year. The election was run by the Jay Miner Society, which was appointed by the Transitional Steering Committee of the ICOA to do this. Nominations were opened for a period of two weeks, and voting began a week after that for another two weeks. It was clear from the beginning that this was a tight schedule, and a number of mistakes were made. The nomination period was too short and not sufficiently well publicised. The voting was also poorly publicised. As a result, several potential candidates were unable to complete their nominations in time, and others may have unaware of the election until it was too late. A disappointingly small number of votes was cast, and three of the candidates were all but tied, with several fraudulent votes making it difficult to decide clearly whether any had won. After consultation with the candidates, the Steering Committees of the ICOA and the JMS decided to begin the election again. The JMS will be working closely with Team Amiga, the User Group Network, and Amiga magazines to make as many people as possible aware of the election and able to vote. Nominations ----------- Nominations will be open until 30th May. Readers can nominate candidates if they are quick! Here's the text from the original press release about the role of User Representative: "The User Rep will have a full voting seat on the Steering Committee for a period of one year, alongside the four seats for those elected by ICOA members and a permanent non-voting veto seat occupied by an Amiga Inc representative. This position, combining the roles of consumer advocate, opinion-gatherer, strategist and community liaison, will require a serious commitment of time and effort. The JMS and other user organizations will provide support for this. The Committee will have face-to-face meetings roughly every 3 months, and will also attend selected Amiga shows. Expenses incurred by the User Rep in attending these events will be paid for by the ICOA." Postal nominations require: * Name and signature of the candidate, with either an e-mail address or a postal address and phone number. * Full names and signatures of five supporters, with either an e-mail address or a postal address and phone number for each one. * A statement that the candidate and supporters accept the election procedures and the decisions of the arbiters. (The procedures will be available on the JMS web site.) * An election statement of no more than 500 words for the JMS election web site to publish on the nominee's behalf. (The JMS reserves the right to reject any statement whose contents do not appear to be legal for it to publish.) Nominations should be sent to: USA/Canada Andrew Bienhaus 90 Farr Crescent Cambridge Ontario N3C 1R6 Canada Ben Hutchings 19 Lewell Avenue Marston Oxford OX3 0RL Voting ------ The list of candidates should be announced on 2nd June, on the JMS web site, other Amiga news web sites, newsgroups, and BBSs. Once voting begins, postal votes must include: * The full name and postal address of the voter. * The name of the candidate being voted for, as given on the list of candidates. It will also be possible to vote on the WWW or by e-mail (Internet or Fidonet). Details will be announced later through those networks. Election web site ----------------- The URL is . This is where the full rules of the election, statements, press releases, voting forms, etc, will be available. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- D I G I T A L U N I V E R S E - C D - R O M 20 Apr 1998 ====== OFFICIAL RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT 980419 ANNOUNCING DIGITAL UNIVERSE V1.03 AVAILABLE ON CD-ROM FOR HALF PRICE What is "The Digital Universe"? ------------------------------- "The Digital Universe" is an award-winning astronomical simulator package for the Amiga computer. Since release, it has become the standard software package for the amateur and professional astronomer. With our new lower price, we expect the software to become more accessible to the casual astronomy enthusiast, and to those interested in generally learning more about astronomy. For more information on the capabilities of "The Digital Universe", please refer to http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html on the web. The New CD-ROM Distribution --------------------------- The original distribution of "The Digital Universe" consisted of 14 floppy disks and a printed user manual, all enclosed within a binder. Since more and more Amiga owners now have CD-ROM drives, we have decided that a CD distribution of "The Digital Universe" is now more practical than it would have been a few years ago. In addition, the entire printed user manual is available online as a context-sensitive help system. We had many comments from individuals who said that with the online help and the general user-friendly nature of the package, they have never needed to consult the printed manual. With these factors in mind, and to keep costs down, the new CD-ROM distribution consists of single shrink wrapped CD-R, with no printed documentation, box, or user manual. Online documentation is provided to explain how to install the software, start the program, and access the online help. For most people, this is all that is required. The software and databases included on the CD are the complete functional version of Digital Universe V1.03 that was being shipped on floppy disk until now. For this reason, existing owners of the original V1.03 distribution have no reason to upgrade to the new CD distribution. Cost of the V1.03 CD Version of "Digital Universe" -------------------------------------------------- With the original floppy-based distribution of "Digital Universe", we had a complicated price structure reflecting the widely varying costs of shipping the package around the world. The new CD distribution is much smaller and lighter, and thus shipping charges do not vary as much. Therefore, we are happy to be able to offer a single price of $75 Canadian for the package, which includes shipment via air mail to anywhere in the world. The lower cost of shipping means that international customers will be able to obtain "The Digital Universe" for even less than half of its original cost. As a rough guideline, you can use the following table to estimate the equivalent cost in your own currency. The amounts quoted below were obtained from the interbank rates on April 11, 1998 based on $75 Canadian, and will naturally fluctuate: United States: 52.62 USD Germany: 95.84 DEM UK: 31.44 GBP France: 321.53 FRF Switzerland: 79.62 CHF Italy: 94860 ITL Finland: 291.20 FIM Sweden: 414.06 SEK Australia: 79.82 AUD Canadian residents must add 7% GST. Bulk Orders ----------- Groups interested in obtaining more than 5 copies of the software may be interested in our bulk purchase plan. As long as we can send all copies in one batch to a single address, you can obtain an additional $10 Canadian discount per copy, resulting in a total cost of $65 each. What about a Version 2.0 for the Amiga? --------------------------------------- Some of you may be aware of the decision-making process we have been going through as to whether or not to develop a V2.0 of DU for the Amiga. So far, we have had a rather encouraging response from our online survey available on the web at http://www.syz.com/DU/amiga2.html - if you haven't already filled it out, we encourage you to do so. At any rate, we are planning on using a combination of the results from this survey and the sales of this CDROM V1.03 to help us decide whether or not to develop a V2.0. If V2.0 is developed, it will sell for our "regular" Digital Universe price of $150 Canadian. What about PPC support? ----------------------- A beta version of a patch to allow the SAS/C compiler to create code for PPC machines is currently available. In the next little while, we will be looking at porting "The Digital Universe" to PPC. If you own a PPC board, are a registered owner of "Digital Universe", and may be interested in beta testing Digital Universe V1.03 for the PPC, please let us know. If the PPC version is relatively easy to complete, we hope to offer it as a free upgrade (via email) to anyone who purchased V1.03, either on floppy or CDROM. How can you try out Digital Universe first, before purchasing it? ----------------------------------------------------------------- A demo version of "The Digital Universe" is available on Aminet, named Dig_Universe.lha and located in the biz/demo directory. It lets you try out all the features of "Digital Universe", with the following restrictions: - only a small subset of the hypertext encyclopedia is included - it doesn't let you simulate the night sky's appearance after June 1, 1998 - it only shows objects for a region of the sky in the vicinity of Orion. Nevertheless, it should give you a good indication of whether or not "Digital Universe" is for you. How can you get a copy of V1.03 on CDROM? ---------------------------------------- If you would like to purchase a copy of Digital Universe, you can do so either directly from us or from one of our distributors. If you want to contact a distributor, let us know your location and we'll be able to tell you who might be able to get a copy to you the quickest. Keep in mind that all prices quoted in this messages are our "suggested retail prices" and that distributors may sell for more or less. We are also always on the lookout for new distributors of "The Digital Universe". If you think you may be interested in distributing our software in your region, give us a rough estimate of the volume you might expect to deal with and we'll send you out more information about our requirements of distributors and the benefits you'll receive. Please note that we do not accept exclusive distributorship arrangements. If you'd like to order your copy of the V1.03 CD directly from us, or have any questions about the package, you can contact us at: Before June 26, 1998 -------------------- Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd. B 1204-17a St. N.E. Calgary, AB T2E 4V5 Canada Phone: 403-276-1250 email: sales@syz.com WWW: http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html After June 26, 1998 ------------------- Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd. Box 83 Legal, AB T0G 1L0 Canada Phone: 403-961-2213 email: sales@syz.com WWW: http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html We can accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, or cheque in Canadian, US, or UK funds. If you wish to order your package online via credit card on our secure server, you can do so by clicking on the "Ordering via credit card" link on our web page at http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M Y S T I Q U E , C H I L D R E N , A N D A M I N E T Mystique announces Creation of New Folder on Aminet Just for Children As hosts of the Amiga's Premier Children's Site, it brings us great pleasure to announce the completion of Stage Two of our Made For KiDS campaign for Children's Software on the Amiga.We have overseen the creation of a new folder on the Aminet solely for children's software and have introduced a brand new Kids' Software Directory on our site. This new directory is divided into several different categories and has been carefully designed to provide you with the information you want with the maximum of ease and minimum of fuss.It really is the best way to find software for your children on the internet! Features of the directory: Comprehensive Reviews Read a quality review of a title before taking the time to download it! Screenshots System Compatibility Information RAM Requirements Graphics Modes Supported Workbench Versions Supported CPUs Supported Languages Supported (Default is English) Age Ranges Don't waste time downloading software that's too easy/hard to use! Local Downloads Covering the entire planet, courtesy of the incredible Aminet archives! We believe this new format to be a great enhancement over the Aminet's format as it is specifically designed to help you get the best, most suitable software for your children.The creation of this directory has taken a considerable amount of time and shows our commitment to children's software on the Amiga. Check out our website for even more pages for kids including: Web Forum Make your voice heard on the future of children's software on the Amiga. Original Stories For children to read online or download to read later! Made For KiDS Full details of the Made For KiDS campaign including its aims and objectives and details about how you can help! We would like to thank Urban Mueller for his support and work in creating this new folder.Urban, we couldn't have done it without you - keep up the great work! We would also like to express our thanks to Haage&Partner who have shown their support for our projects by generously sponsoring us of a copy of their excellent StormC software to aid our developments. This, in conjunction with the sponsorship of our company by Amiga International, shows the overwhelming support for Mystique and for our efforts to ensure the future of the Amiga as a computer of choice for children and education. Finally, we would also like to announce the opening of the new CP Support Site.Here you will find information about, screenshots, reviews and downloads of CP - the Amiga's Premier Children's Software. Surely a section of the site you can't afford to miss! We would be very grateful if you could please complete our short Survey on the future specs of CP, so that we may identify the base configuration for CP and better serve your child's computing needs! All the best... Conor Kerr Director, Mystique Corporation International E-Mail: ck@mystcorp.u-net.com Web: http://www.mystcorp.u-net.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I C O N P L A N S Amiga Central Ohio Network Announces the 3rd Annual Midwest Amiga Exposition AmiCON - The Amiga Central Ohio Network is proud to announce The 3rd Annual Midwest Amiga Exposition! We are excited to bring this dynamic event to the Amiga community, and we want you to be a part of it! Where: Hyatt Regency 350 North High Street Columbus, OH. 43215 (614) 463-1234 When: October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. With the continued success of the Midwest Amiga Exposition we are able to expand and grow to serve the Amiga community better than ever before! The Midwest Amiga Exposition was created for users by users in order to bring the community closer together. See and test drive the newest, most exciting Amiga products and systems available! Attend informational classes and seminars, and meet the people who support and develop for the Amiga. Everything Amiga under one roof for three days straight! This year we have expanded the floor space to almost 7,000 square feet. More than double the size of last years show! Exhibitors can now rent space by the square foot with several size booths available: 6x5, 8x5, 13x11, 16x11, and 20x20. Six foot display tables with tablecloth and skirting are furnished with rental space for no extra charge. For those exhibitors who want a professional look, pipe and drape is also available for rental on a per foot basis. Along with many Amiga notables and guest speakers, we will also have hourly prize raffles, games, contests, and a GRAND PRIZE drawing to highlight the event! Seminars and classes are becoming an integral part of any serious Amiga show. Vendors and developers are anxious to present new and updated products to an eager community. We are committed to bringing top quality seminars to the Amiga community in order for you, the end user, to get the most out of your Amiga. To better serve show attendees, single day and two-day tickets for the Midwest Amiga Exposition will be available this year. And, don't worry about rushing to buy tickets ahead of time, all tickets will be available at the door to the show, thus eliminating any possible problems with "tickets lost in the mail". On Friday, October 2nd developers from all over the world can meet to find out the latest in Amiga affairs. Classes and seminars will also be offered on that day as well. Saturday, October 3rd, and Sunday, October 4th, the show floor will be open along with seminars and classes. Hourly prize raffles, games (with prizes!) and just about every company that sells something for the Amiga will be there. About the Hyatt Regency: The Hyatt Regency Columbus hotel at the Greater Columbus Convention Center is the setting for the 1998 Midwest Amiga Exposition. Superb downtown location is just minutes away from Columbus International Airport and allows for easy access for both guests and exhibitors. This hotel features many amenities including indoor swimming pool, airport shuttle, currency exchange, safe deposit boxes, covered parking, and room service all at an exceptional value. Mention our show to the Hyatt when you call to reserve and you are eligible for a special Midwest Amiga Exposition discount rate! General Admission Tickets: $8.00 for a one-day pass (good either Saturday or Sunday), $12.00 both days. Some seminars may be extra. The Amiga needs a presence, and it also needs dedicated people working in unison to help promote what we think is simply the best home computer available yesterday, today and tomorrow! Shows like ours help potential and current users find out what is available, how they can get it, and where the Amiga is headed. Join us, this year, at the 1998 Midwest Amiga Exposition, as we celebrate the machine and the people that make it all possible! Look for our ads in all major U.S. Amiga publications, and our banner on your favorite web sites, coming soon! Visit http://www.amicon.org/mae.html for more information and exhibitor registration. Email: Dave Pearce - dpearce@infinet.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A I N F O R M E R H A P P E N I N G S 14 Apr 1998 Greetings all. Just a brief announcement to fill you in on the latest happenings at The Amiga Informer. Issue 13 of The Amiga Informer is now available. In this issue we bring you complete behind the scenes coverage of the Amiga98 show, including an insightful interview with Jeff Schindler and coverage of the ICOA DevCon. We also bring you articles on Browser plug-ins, Java and Javascript, Playable TV, another installment of Eye on Graphics and Ask Dr. Amiga. This issue's reviews include: Visual FX volume 1-3; Melody Sound Card; CrossMac; AmIRC; Amiga Forever; Uropa2; and, OnEscapee. Get your issue through any of the retailers listed on our website or in each issue, by subscription, or by calling us toll free at 888-882-6442. The second round or questions for Amiga University are now posted These questions are a bit harder than the first set, so you will have to do a little more thinking. Visit http://www.amigainformer.com and follow the links to Amiga U. Enter our trivia contest and be entered to win of over a dozen prizes. We're giving away nearly $2,000 in prizes this time so don't miss out on your chance to win! We have an exclusive review now posted to our website. If you are interested in Video, you'll want to read the Soothsayer's review of Play's Trinity system. Billed as a "Video Toaster Killer" the Trinity system doesn't seem to meet everything it claims. Read the review in our "Outspoken Amigans" section. You can also get another perspective of the Amiga98 show from Dr. Michael Tobin. See what he has to say in the "News" section. We will also post an eye-opening letter from Andreas Kleinert about Piracy. Look for it soon. Many of the articles, columns and reviews that appear in issue 12 will soon be posted to our website. Keep your browser pointed to The Informer's homepage if you missed this issue. We are always posting new information to our site as it comes our way, so check us out soon! Thanks much, Fletcher Haug Editor, The Amiga Informer Magazine eldritch@mhv.net http://www.amigainformer.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A S I M C D F S - N E W V E R S I O N Asimware Innovations Inc. Releases AsimCDFS v3.9a April 4th, 1998 Asimware is proud to announce today's release of AsimCDFS v3.9a. This is a maintenance update for the AsimCDFS v3 package. The update highlights include: Added support for the following drives: Memorex CRW620 CD-RW drive Pioneer 32X CD-ROM drive NEC 4X6 ATAPI CD-ROM changer Sony CDU625 CD-ROM drive Pinnacle RCD4X4 CD-R drive Pinnacle RCD4X12 CD-R drive Pinnacle RCDW226 CD-RW drive AsimCDFS v3.9 also added the following: fixed DosPacket problem Registered users can obtain this release via our WWW or ftp site.ftp: ftp://ftp.asimware.com WWW: http://www.asimware.com You will need your AsimCDFS serial number to obtain access. The AsimCDFS software package is a CD-ROM control system which allows the user to read most CD-ROM discs with an Amiga computer and a suitable SCSI or ATAPI CD-ROM drive. AsimCDFS is equipped with the following advanced features: access to ISO 9660, High Sierra, Rock Ridge and Macintosh HFS CD-ROM formats; FishMarket, a CD-ROM disc containing the public domain Fred Fish collection; AsimTunes, an audio librarian/controller providing advanced librarian and playback features; support for direct digitizing from standard audio CDs and playing audio via the Amiga hardware; CDTV and CD32 emulation modules, complete with autobooting from CD-ROM discs; integrated support for Kodak and Corel PhotoCD discs. Colour WorkBench icons are created for easy identification. Support for resolutions from 192x128 up to 3072x2048; support for both SCSI and ATAPI CD-ROM drives; preferences editor for all AsimCDFS settings; and, full ARexx command set available for all programs. Asimware Innovations Inc. is a Canadian software development house providing innovative software solutions since 1992. We are specialists in DVD, CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW technologies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A F O R E V E R 2 . 0 09 Apr 1998 19:00:13 +0200 Amiga Forever 2.0 is finally available! Suggested Retail Price DM 119.00 Ordering information: The most convenient method of placing an order is to use our electronic order form located at http://www.schatztruhe.de/order.html. You can also send an E-Mail to stefano@schatztruhe.de including your address and the products you wish to order. ******* Amiga Forever 2.0 finally began shipping this week. We would like to thank all customers for their interest and patience in waiting for this release. Amiga Forever 2.0 includes state of the art software to satisfy two major needs of many Amiga users: to share data between Amiga and other systems, and to use their existing Amiga software and data on non-Amiga hardware. Additionally, software, tutorial and reference files are included which are likely to be of interest to any Amiga enthusiast. Amiga Forever includes hundreds of pages of documentation in HTML and AmigaGuide formats, with thousands of useful links and cross references. Both the full and the upgrade versions of the product contain: Multi-platform CD-ROM plus Amiga floppy disk (to run the data sharing software on Amiga computers without CD-ROM drive). Exclusive interview with Jay Miner, "Father of the Amiga", on topics ranging from the birth of the Amiga to computers and society, in text format and on three audio tracks. Amiga Explorer 2.0 networking software, which allows you to connect an Amiga to one or more PCs, and access Amiga files (including virtual ADF and ROM files), directories and volumes directly from the Windows Desktop. Amiga Explorer is easier to install and configure than other networking tools, and includes direct support for serial (null modem) cable connections, in addition to TCP/IP. MSH filing system to allow all Amiga computers to read and write MS-DOS floppy disks. Officially licensed Amiga ROM and OS files from version 1.0 to version 3.0, to be used for Amiga emulation. UAE Amiga emulator for Windows and DOS, and Fellow for DOS. All emulation support files (Amiga ROM and OS, Cloanto Amiga software, Picasso 96 drivers, etc.) can easily be used by other implementations (Linux, Be, Next, etc.) of these emulators, as well as by future new versions. Experimental versions of UAE for PowerPC Amiga and PowerMac systems are included. Picasso 96 drivers for the UAE emulation software, supporting palette modes up to 256 colors, as well as true color. Cloanto Personal Paint 7.1 (paint, animation and image processing software), DirDiff 5.1 (file synchronization and replication software) and AmiToRTF 4.2 (to convert texts from Amiga to Windows formats), usable on a "real" Amiga as well as in the emulation environment. Amiga Interactive Guide, by Gareth Knight: an encyclopedia of Amiga technology, history and opinions. All upgrades and extensions for Windows and DOS required by the emulation software: Service Pack 3 for Windows NT 4.0, DirectX for Windows 95, VESA shareware software for DOS and Windows. Tutorials and FAQs on data sharing, emulation, floppy disks, serial links, TCP/IP, UAE, Fellow and much more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I B R O W S E M A N U A L S A V A I L A B L E 7 Apr 1998 IBROWSE 1.2 MANUAL UPDATE Just to keep you updated on the new manual situation, our printers advise us that we can expect delivery later this week, some two weeks ahead of schedule. We'll begin shipping as soon as we take delivery, which means the first ones to go out should be falling on your doormats either late this week or early next week. Keep in mind that we have lots and lots of orders for the new manual (thank you) and it may take us a week or so to ship them all. Please don't panic unless you haven't received yours by May 1st. HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR NEW MANUAL YET? As you are well aware, iBrowse has changed a great deal since its original release, so much so that version 1.2 bears little resemblence to the program described in the current iBrowse manual, which was written for version 1.0. That's why we have prepared a completely new manual rather than an addendum manual. May we take this opportunity to remind you that if you order your new 1.2 manual before May 1st you can save over 50% on the published price. Until May 1st the price to you is just 5.95UKP plus shipping (on May 1st that rises to 11.95UKP). Shipping costs: UK 1.25UKP, Europe 2UKP, Rest of world 4UKP (airmail) (For our Stateside customers the special offer price of the manual translates roughly to 9.80USD plus 6.60USD shipping. If you want an up-to-date price conversion, why not use http://www.oanda.com/ ) To buy your iBrowse 1.2 manual at the special offer pre-publication price of 5.95UKP plus shipping, simply call us on freecall 0500 223 660 (Intl. 00 44 1525 718 181) or fax us on 01525 713 716 (Intl. 00 44 1525 713 716), or email your order to: ibrowse-sales@hisoft.co.uk When ordering we need your name, address and daytime phone number, your credit/debit card details and your iBrowse serial number. Our sales and despatch staff have been given very strict instructions - no serial number, no manual, no exceptions! (So please don't give them a hard time about it!) If you would prefer to pay by cheque or money order, that's fine. Simply make your cheque or money order payable to HiSOFT SYSTEMS and post your order to: HiSOFT SYSTEMS iBrowse 1.2 Manual The Old School Greenfield Bedford MK45 5DE England Remember, to buy your iBrowse 1.2 manual at the exclusive special offer price of 5.95UKP plus shipping (saving over 50% on the published price), we must have your order before May 1. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A O S I N A P D A ? ? 09 Apr 1998 Due to recent hardware developments it's now possible to design and build a PDA running the amiga operating system. As we all know the Amiga OS is very suitable for PDA's due to its small size and low hardware requirements. This PDA will run at about the same speed as a standard A1200, which should be sufficient. After all, you wont be raytracing on a PDA :) It will have a grayscale display at a resolution of about 640*200. There will be a choice of 4, 8 or 16 mbytes of memory. Most existing amiga programs will run on it. Software that bangs the amiga hardware wont run since the PDA wont contain the amiga custom chips. It will at least have a PCMCIA port and a serialport. Before we start to design this we need to know if there is a market for it out there so please answer these questions. 1. Do you want a Amiga PDA? 2. How much would you be willing to pay? ( be realistic) 3. If you own a company would you be interested in investing in this product? ( we will need funds ) 4. Any comments? Please send your reply to e96pega@mh1.hh.se and don't post it in the newsgroup. Thanks for your time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I C O M S Y S F O R T H E C O N N E C T E D 6 Apr 1998 TITLE AmiComSys - Amiga Communicator System VERSION 1.17b AUTHOR Hakan Parting (hparting@hem.passagen.se) DESCRIPTION AmiComSys or Amiga Communicator System is a new Internet application for the Amiga OS. The alone days on the net have gone. With AmiComSys you always will have company while you are surfing. You can see if your Amiga buddies are online, or why not find new friends? With the people online you can exchange messages, which pops up on the screen. If you prefer to chat private with one of your friends, that's also possible, with the nice private chat feature, PChat. If you want to chat more public, there's a public chat room, HotLine. You can also send files to your friends, with the SendFile feature. So you can keep track of your friends AmiComSys also includes a friends book, where you can enter name, email and comments. The friends book is also used with the feature which allows you to hide people logged in to server, which are not your friends. If you don't want to hide others, you can configure the program to highlight your friends in the client list. The graphical interface is fully configurable like every other MUI (Magic User Interface) program. As of version 1.17b the feature list looks like this: Send text messages. Shows a client list with all people logged in. Send Web- or Chat-requests. i.e homepage addresses and IRC channels A message history buffer, which saves all the received messages. Auto saving of the history buffer. Logging. A versatile ARexx interface. File transfer. Hotline, i.e the public chat room. Private chat. A friends book. Show all, highlight friends, or show only friends. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Amiga Kickstart 37+ (WB 2.04+) A TCP/IP-stack like Miami, AmiTCP3.0b2+ or compatible. AMarquee.library v.47+. Available from Aminet, e.g. ftp://se.aminet.net/pub/aminet/comm/net/AMarquee1.47.lha The MUI costum class NList.mcc v.19+. Available from Aminet, e.g ftp://se.aminet.net/pub/aminet/dev/mui/MCC_NList0_75.lha Kickstart v.37 users also need the MUI-costum class Textinput.mcc v.13+. Available from ftp://ftp.vapor.com/pub/misc/textinput_13.36.lzx MUI 3.8+. Available from http://www.sasg.com AVAILABILITY Available from the official homepage located at: http://amicomsys.tibb.at It's also usually available from Aminet. But the one there is not working. Should have been corrected by the time you read this. The location is ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/comm/net/AmiComSysMUI.lha PRICE The requested shareware fee is 120 SEK or 16 US$. DISTRIBUTABILITY It's distributed as copyrighted Shareware. Copyright 1997-1998 by Hakan Parting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B U T W I L L I T S A Y " P O W E R E D B Y A M I G A " ? WHITESTONE, N.Y., March 31 -- The 1998 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) is proud to announce the complete list of the fifteen manufacturers that will debut vehicles at this year's Show, including nine worldwide introductions -- a record for the 98-year-old exhibition. A spectacular showcase of more than 1,000 cars and trucks, the '98 NYIAS will feature global debuts from Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Lincoln, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki. Chevrolet World Debut Tracker Honda World Debut Mini-van Hyundai World Debut Avatar Infiniti World Debut G20 sedan >> Isuzu World Debut Amiga Hard Top <<< Lincoln World Debut LS6 and LS8 sedans Mitsubishi World Debut SST Spyder Concept Subaru World Debut Impreza 2.5 RS coupe Suzuki World Debut J2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I N E T C D - R O M 2 4 17 Apr 1998 Aminet 24 CD-ROM is available! Suggested Retail Price DM 25.00 Subscription price DM 19.80 US$1 = DM 1.81 given current exchange rates. ************ Ordering information: The most convenient method of placing an order is to use our electronic order form located at http://www.schatztruhe.de/order.html. You can also send an E-Mail to stefano@schatztruhe.de including your address and the products you wish to order. ************ Aminet CD 24, dated April 1998, contains 1 gigabyte (uncompressed) of software in thousands of archives. Since the release of Aminet CD 23 more than 500 MB new software has appeared. The current edition includes a special Aminet-version of IBrowse 1.2., the famous browser. An inexpensive upgrade path to the full version is offered. Contents of Aminet 24 Directory Size Files Contents biz 30 MB 86 Business software comm 37 MB 171 Communications demo 99 MB 61 Graphics & sound demo dev 63 MB 117 Development software disk 7 MB 26 Disk & HD tools docs 63 MB 92 Documents game 95 MB 201 Games gfx 52 MB 110 Graphics software hard 1 MB 13 Hardware related misc 25 MB 61 Miscellaneous mods 203 MB 460 Music modules mus 27 MB 58 Music software pix 190 MB 219 Pictures text 10 MB 40 Text software util 30 MB 234 Utilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- O N E A R M E D B A N D I T G E T S A M I G A 6 Apr 1998 TITLE Sovereign Slots VERSION 1.00 AUTHOR Steven Goodwin steev@egrab.globalnet.co.uk DESCRIPTION This is a simple, but very enjoyable game of slot machines - also known as one armed bandits, penny slots, fruities, and any other number of colloquisms! * Nudge pot * Hold feature * Hi-lo skill shot * Configurable game boards (Babylon 5, Star Trek and standard setups included) * Smooth animations * Full colour graphics (EHB, 64 colour) * Whizzo sound effects and music * Key shortcuts (to stop the wheels spinning for ages) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS None AVAILABILITY Aminet, for example: ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/aminet/game/misc/slots.lha DISTRIBUTABILITY Freely distributable. Copyright 1997 by Steven Goodwin. This version uploaded by the author. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- N E W S F R O M H A A G E & P A R T N E R 17 Apr 1998 HAAGE & PARTNER NEWS April, 1998 Tornado3D v1.5 - The storm rages on! Version 1.5 of the 3D-rendering-program Tornado3D is immediately available.A number of improvements and extensions have been made from version 1.0 and special attention was paid to the wishes and suggestions of the program users. The latest version offers, among other things, the possibility to render single objects using conventional raytracingand freely combine them with objects rendered by other means. Freeform-deformation-cages offer much easier and realistic object-morphing and the newly added field-renderingand broadcast encoding make Tornado3D fit for recording animations to video in the highest possible quality. For creating objects from scratch Tornado3D now offers the popular spline-skinning method. Additionally, a number of spline-paths in pre-defined shapes (such as squares, circles) are available in the object-menu. Creating animations has now become even easier and more intuitive - almost any kind of keyframe is created automatically. On top of that Tornado3D now offers a pose-manager that makes maintaining the object properties much easier and also enables you to inter- and extrapolate new keyframes from existing ones. The Virge-chip on the CyberVision64/3D graphics-card is now fully supported - this results in a much faster computation of the preview images, the speed of which is unsurpassed even by a 68060 CPU. Regarding object materials there are news as well: Tornado3D now offers displacement maps and textures.Displacement maps, unlike bumpmaps, cause a real modification to an object's geometry which makes possible numerous and realistic effects that could not be achieved through bumpmapping, which is a purely optical effect. The camera-model used by Tornado3D now offers an almost complete simulation of a real reflex camera, the technical parameters of which can be adjusted within very large limits. Hand in hand with that goes an improved depth-of-field simulation and better control over the motion blur effect. For beginners Tornado3D now offers useful hints and tips that are displayed upon program start and whenever the user desires. Project saving has been made safer and more convenient - all objects used in a project are stored in a dedicated project-directory - thus it is not possible anymore to accidentally store a project and forget to save the objects it contains. Furthermore, Tornado3D now offers 'quick-access' menus for objects and projects which contain the six most recently loaded projects/objects. On top of that a large number of details were improved which can not all be listed here. Version 1.5 is shipped to all registered users directly by Eyelight. HAAGE & PARTNER NEWS April, 1998 - Part 2 New Support Employees We are proud to be able to announce that we have been able to improve our support by adding five new people.They started to care for requests by e-mail some days ago and they are also present at the respective mailing lists. Please welcome Udo, Martin, Klaus, Sebastian and Philipp :-) There is also a new and improved support page on our web site that covers all kinds of support we offer for our products. http://www.haage-partner.com INFORMATION: info@haage-partner.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E M P L O Y M E N T P O S S I B I L I T Y . . . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 16 April, 1998 The Animals' Agenda, a national not-for-profit animal rights magazine in Baltimore, Maryland seeks a one-year, full-time Video Coordinator for its new Library & Archive Program. The position, which is located at Agenda's offices in Baltimore, MD, is an excellent opportunity for individuals with strong concerns about animals to learn more about the growing field of animal rights and related subjects. DUTIES: * Organize a newly-acquired archival videotape collection of animal rights-related speeches and events. * Dub tapes to new tape stock for purposes of archival preservation. Note electronic or physical problems with tapes. * View, catalog, and short list videotapes on a computerized logging system. * Integrate other donated materials into collection as they are acquired. * Coordinate requests for footage. * Other tasks as assigned, including identifying and acquiring appropriate reference materials and other publications. QUALIFICATIONS: * Experience with broadcast or professional videotape and videotape record equipment preferred. * Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. * Training/experience as videotape or film cataloguer desirable. * Must be able to work on own initiative. * Experience and / or training in library or archival practices preferred. * Familiarity with animal protection issues and organizations. * Knowledge of Microsoft Office products and Access highly desirable. * Familiarity with Amiga hardware and Operating System, AmigaDOS & AREXX, and Video Toaster would be advantageous. Especially if you have some diagnostic/repair skills (Ie., fixing a fuse, being able to replace a faulty chip in an Amiga 2000). SALARY: $17,000 (or $327/week for 52 weeks), one year, full time depending on qualification and experience. Flexible work schedule is possible. The position is available immediately. Please send cover letter and resume to: Mr. Kim W. Stallwood Editor in Chief The Animals' Agenda PO Box 25881 Baltimore, MD 21224 Fax: 410-675-0066 E-mail: office@animalsagenda.org Please, no telephone calls. Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Amiga Update on the net: some issues available at: http://www.sharbor.com/amiga/news/ (in html format) Australian Mirror Site: http://www.comcen.com.au/~paulm/index.html All back issues available (in ASCII text) at: http://www.globaldialog.com/AdventureCentral/AU/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1998 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified. ====================================================================== _ __ _ <>_ __ _ || /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || Brad Webb/AmigaUpdate /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || bandr@globaldialog.com / \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_ || ======================================================================