_ ____ ___ ______ _______ _ d# ####b g#00 `N##0" _agN#0P0N# d# d## jN## j##F J## _dN0" " d## .#]## _P ##L jN##F ### g#0" .#]## dE_j## # 0## jF ##F j##F j##' ______ dE_j## .0"""N## d" ##L0 ##F 0## 0## "9##F" .0"""5## .dF' ]## jF ##0 ##F ##F `##k d## .dF' j## .g#_ _j##___g#__ ]N _j##L_ _d##L_ `#Nh___g#N' .g#_ _j##__ """"" """"""""""" " """""" """""" """"""" """"" """""" ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ######## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #### ## ## ## #### ## ## ## #### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ### ###### ## ###### ## ### ## International Online Magazine June 18, 1993 No. 1.13 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// From STR Publishing [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport ----------------------------------------- * NOVA BBS * Amiga Report Headquarters * Running Starnet BBS * Wayne Stonecipher, Sysop FidoNet 1:362/508 An Amiga Software Distribution Site (ADS) 615-472-9748 Supra V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Cleveland, Tennessee ------------------------------------------ * IN THE MEANTIME BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running Starnet BBS * Robert Niles, Sysop FidoNet 1:3407/104 509-966-3828 Supra V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Yakima, Washington NOTE: New phone number in effect as of July 18th! ------------------------------------------ Amiga Report can be FREQ'd from these two boards each week. Use the filename AR.LHA and you will always get the latest issue. _____________________________________________________________________________ /// 06/18/93 Amiga Report 1.13 "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" -------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - New Products - Dealer Directory - AR Online - AR Confidential - Warez Out There - A.M.I.G.A. - Lemmings II - TurboText - CBM's Survival? - Amiga Tip of the Week -* Awful New Virus! *- -* New JPEG Utility Announced *- -* A Sysop's Point of View *- ============================================================================= Amiga Report International Online Magazine "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" -* FEATURING WEEKLY *- Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware ~ Software ~ Corporate ~ R & D ~ Imports ============================================================================= GENIE ~ PORTAL ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ INTERNET ~ NVN ============================================================================= -=> HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT <=- --------------------------------- Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo) Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. Rates Effective July 1, 1993 GEnie costs only $8.95 a month, and includes four hours of free online time, good for almost anywhere on the system. Additional hours are only $3 each. Choose from more than 100 services, including electronic mail (with optional Internet mail at no extra charge), online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, online games, and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. The Amiga RoundTable has over 1 GIGABYTE of Amiga files online and ready for downloading. The Amiga RT staff is very knowledgeable and is more than willing to help with problems. Help Desks are held every night at 9 pm Eastern Time. 9600 BPS access is available ($6 surcharge) through many local nodes, or via GEnie's own 800 Watts line. GEnie Information copyright (C) 1993 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted with permission ***************************************************************************** /// From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" ---------------------- Call us wishy-washy if you want, but we're going to return to a weekly format immediately. The week off was a much-needed break, but we all enjoy producing a weekly format so much that we've all decided to go weekly, again. We figure that we should just take a week off every now and then, rather than every other week. This should please a lot of people, since I've had quite a few requests to stay weekly. With that out of the way, I'd like to say: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE!???? Most everyone has no doubt heard of the F_CK virus (well, you know what I mean. Why would somebody invent and distribute such a thing? Is this person just a malicous type, or does he have a beef with somebody? Somebody asked me, "why would somebody write a virus for their OWN platform? Why not write one for ANOTHER platform (e.g. the PC)?" While I must say that writing a virus for the intention of destroying data on ANY computer is extremely uncool, I do see his point. Virus writers, like phreakers and game crackers, are the dark side of the classic Hacker. Anybody who has read the book, "Hackers" knows that the term used to mean someone that loved computers and wanted to know every aspect of its operation; somebody that would share his findings with others, and would help them learn as well. But the classic hacker is all but extinct. Instead we have renegades that take all shapes -- misguided teens, disgruntled employees, demo writers with an attitude, etc. Please people, find another way to vent your anger and frustrations! Father's Day is this weekend. Everybody be good to your dad. But don't get him another tie! Rob @ Amiga Report ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Amiga Report Staff Dedicated to serving you! ====================== Editor in Chief =============== Robert Glover GEnie: ROB-G Portal: Coming Soon! Delphi: ROB_G FidoNet: 1:362/508.6 Internet: ROB_G@Delphi.COM Associate Editors ================= Technical Department -------------------- Micah Thompson Robert Niles GEnie: BOOMER.T Delphi: RNILES FidoNet: 1:3407/104 Internet: BOOMER.T@GEnie.geis.com RNILES@Delphi.COM Graphics Department ------------------- Mike Troxell GEnie: M.TROXELL1 FidoNet: 1:362/508 Internet: M.TROXELL1@GEnie.geis.com Contributing Department ----------------------- Tom Mulcahy Delphi: 16BITTER BIX: HELMET FidoNet: 1:260/322 Internet: 16BITTER@Delphi.COM ________________________________________ Contributing Correspondents =========================== Micheal Arends John Deegan Chad Freeman Barry McConnell Stephan Mueller PC DIVISION ATARI DIVISION MAC DIVISION =========== ============== ============ Roger D. Stevens Ralph F. Mariano R. Albritton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// CPU Status Report Late Breaking Industry-Wide News ----------------- Computer Products Update - CPU Report ------------------------ ---------- Weekly Happenings in the Computer World By John Deegan ATARI LAUNCHES THE JAGUAR, A 64-BIT MULTI-MEDIA GAME SYSTEM - SUNNY- VALE, CA (JUNE 3) PR NEWSWIRE - Atari Corp. (AMEX: ATC), the founder of the video game industry and the creative force behind some of the world's best-known titles, has announced the launch of a revolutionary new multi-media entertainment system, the Atari Jaguar. The launch will be supported by aggressive advertising, promotion and marketing efforts to be centered in the New York market in the fall, with a national roll- out of the product within one year. The Atari Jaguar, housed in a futuristic casing, is an interactive multi-media system based on an Atari-designed proprietary 64-bit RISC processor. The 64-bit system is four times the technology currently seen in the market today. The Atari Jaguar features over 16 million colors in 24-bit true-color graphics and produces shaded 3-D polygons to be manipulated in a "real" world in real time. The Atari Jaguar also has real-time texture mapping and creates spectacular video effects. The sound system is based on Atari's proprietary, high-speed, Digital Signal Processor dedicated to audio. The audio is 16-bit stereo CD qual- ity and processes simultaneous sources of audio data, allowing for very realistic sounds, as well as human voices, which are essential for future multi-media applications. The Atari Jaguar is truly expandable and will include a 32-bit ex- pansion port which allows for future connection into cable and telephone networks, as well as a digital signal processing port for modem use and connection to digital audio peripherals such as DAT players. The unit will also have a compact disc peripheral, which will be double-speed and will play regular CD audio, CD + G (Karaoke) and Kodak's new Photo-CD(R). Currently, there are multiple software titles in development, which will be available on MegaCart(TM). Atari, known for such groundbreaking 3-D titles as "Battlezone 2000(R)" and "Tempest 2000(R)," will issue spectacular new versions for the Atari Jaguar. New 3-D game titles will include "Cybermorph(R)," "Alien vs. Predator(R)," "Jaguar Formula One Racing(TM)" and many more. Atari will license third-party publishers to join the Jaguar family. "The Atari Jaguar system will revolutionize the state of home enter- tainment as we see it today," said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. "The idea of a 64-bit system is earth shattering and kids and adults will be amazed at both the imagery and manipulative capabilities. And we are proud that our entry into the multi-media entertainment category will be fully made in America." The Atari Jaguar will retail for approximately $200 and will be avai- lable nationwide next year. The Atari Jaguar packaged unit will include one software experience and a Power Pad(R) Controller with a ten-key pad and other special features. Atari Corp. manufactures and markets personal computers and video games for the home, office and educational marketplaces throughout the world. Atari headquarters are located at 1196 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089. CONTACT: August J. Liguori of Atari Corp., 408-745-2069 SILICON GRAPHICS, TIME WARNER TEAM ON INTERACTIVE TV HARDWARE - Silicon Graphics Inc. and Time Warner Inc., teaming up on interactive TV hardware to replace the standard cable TV box, say they will install prototypes of a "full service interactive digital cable television network" in Orlando, Fla., by year's end. The plan, announced at the National Cable Television Association meeting in San Francisco, is another the recent slew of interactive TV projects that will let customers shop at home using a remote control, call up statistics while watching baseball games or play video games with other viewers. According to sources, Silicon Graphics will develop the servers to deliver programming and the digital multimedia set-top device. HP, MICROSOFT UNVEIL OMNIBOOK - The HP OmniBook 300, a mobile, hand- held personal computer, has been unveiled by Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. The OmniBook uses Microsoft's Windows 3.1 software and comes with a built-in-mouse. The unit measures a 11.1 by 6.4 by 1.4 inches and weighs 2.9 pounds. The companies say the device is priced at $1,950 with a 40MB hard disk and $2,275 with 10MB flash disk. NINTENDO EXEC MOVES TO SEGA - Nintendo of America's director of mar- keting and corporate communications, William White Jr., will be moving to competing game-maker Sega of America Inc and will take the position of president of marketing. INTRUDERS GETS PROBATION - In Seattle, two computerists convicted of illegally infiltrating systems at Boeing Co and the U.S. District Court have been sentenced to five years probation and 250 hours of community service. The two, Charles Anderson and Costa George Katsaniotis, also were ordered to pay a combined $30,000 in restitution. U.S. Magistrate David Wilson said that Boeing, which said at the time that none of its systems or data had been damaged by the unauthorized entry, will be paid $28,000 of the amount and the federal court will get $2,000. FORMER NEXT PRESIDENT JOINS XEROX - Peter van Cuylenburg, former NeXT Computer Inc. president and chief operating officer, has been appointed executive vice president for operations at Xerox Corp., filling the position left vacant a year ago following the sudden death of Vittorio Cassoni. HAYES SUES SUPRA, TANDY AND 9 OTHERS - Modem maker Hayes Micro- computer Products Inc. has sued Supra Corp., Tandy Corp. and 9 other companies, contending they manufacture and sell "Hayes-compatible" modems without a license from Hayes. Computergram International reports that Hayes seeks unspecified dama- ges and a court order forcing the companies to stop infringing on the patent. The newsletters says the others named in the suit are AMT International Industries Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif.; Angia Corp., Provo, Utah; Best Data Products Inc., Chatsworth, Calif.; Cermetek Microelectronics Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif..; Computer Peripherals Inc., Newbury Park, Calif.; General Datacomm Industries Inc., Middlebury, Conn.; Global Village Communication Inc., Mountain View, Calif.; Penril Datacommunications Networks Inc., Gaithersburg, Md.; Shiva Corp., Burlington, Mass., and Supra Corp, of Albany, Ore. COMPAQ SAYS IT IS ONLY ONE TO INCREASE SHARE OF NOTEBOOK MARKET - Houston's Compaq Computer Corp. says it is the only PC maker to increase its share of the U.S. notebook computer market during the quarter ending March 30. A Compaq spokeswoman said the firm estimates the market for its Contura and LTE Lite laptops stands at 17.6% for all sales channels. Its share of the traditional PC reseller market was put at 21%. SCULLEY ADMITS APPLE'S EARNINGS WILL FALL - Apple Computer chief John Sculley admitted this week that Apple will post earnings in the second half of the fiscal year that are lower than last year's levels. Sculley, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Cupertino, California-based firm, blamed the earnings drop on "an extremely aggressive pricing environment" despite strong unit shipments of the Macintosh personal computer. __________________________________________________ ANNOUNCING CONFUSION XX SCI-FI CONVENTION *************************************************************************** * A N N O U N C I N G C o n F u s i o n X X * *************************************************************************** ConFusion XX is celebrating 20 years, and will be held January 21- 23 at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, 8000 Merriman Road, Romulus, MI (off I-94 and Merriman near Detroit Metro Airport). Membership to the convention is $18 until 10/1/93, $22 until 12/31/93 and $25 thereafter, but this membership fee is waived if you pledge equipment and/or your efforts to help out. This year's Con features an Amiga Room and Seminars, Computer Room, Seminars and Work Shops, Art Show and Auction, Masquerade Ball, Banquet, Gaming and much more. ConFusion has had an Amiga Room for 4 years now, and in the past has conducted seminars on such topics as the Video Toaster, Freely-Dist- ributable Software, Digging Into DOS (AmigaDOS), and many others. If you are willing to set up your equipment in the Amiga Room, please be assured that security is good, and we have a perfect record of no lost or damaged merchandise. If you just want to help out, we need gophers to help with various logistical aspects of organizing the Con. Please contact the below people, or E-Mail me direct: Jay Imerman Jeff or Gail Westbrooks Barb Daoust Amiga Room Chair ConChairs ConChair 5458 Claridge Ln. 3014 Chelsea Circle 910 W. Washington #1 W. Bloomfield, MI Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Ann Arbor, MI 48103 48322 (313)973-6025 (313)769-0136 (313)855-5659 E-Mail: anh@tiamat.umd.umich.edu ------------------------------ DFA V1.23 AVAILABLE FOR FTP TITLE DFA(ddress) VERSION V1.23 AUTHOR Dirk Federlein UUCP: dirkf@alcmy.franken.de (preferred!) (dirk@alcmy.adsp.sub.org) Fido: 2:249/40.12, AKA 2:242/14.26 DESCRIPTION DFA(ddress) is NOT just another address utility. DFA has an Arexx port that understands many commands. They give you full access to DFA from every program with an Arexx port. Arexx scripts may be called directly from DFA. You can assign an Arexx script to every function key. DFA supports up to three email addresses - you can even call an external mail editor and DFA gives it the desired email address (using Arexx). DFA can dial the stored telephone numbers - more than one number per entry is possible. DFA can print the addresses in different formats: Long list, short list, telephone list, address labels and address cards. DFA has full commodity support, application icon and an application window. DFA can be used as a default tool as well. DFAs windows are all fully font sensitive and the main window is adjustable via the sizing gadget! All functions can not only be invoked by mouse but also by keyboard. DFA supports the locale library that is included in Workbench 2.1 and above. All gadget shortcuts are localized as well! DFA comes along with comprehensive English and German documentation in ASCII, AMIGAGUIDE and TeX format. Registered users get a keyfile that enables the user- adjustable DFA-preferences that are disabled in the public release. NEW FEATURES (c.t. V1.11) - Locale support - Improved Arexx support - AppWindow - Better AppIcon support - Main window is sizable - DFA can be used as a default tool - Some improvements on the GUI NEW FEATURES (c.t. V1.22) - Finnish locale support - TeX (DVI) files available in the public release - Many errors within different locale files removed - Installer ((c) by Commodore) included - Improved installer script SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS DFA needs at least Kickstart/Workbench 2.04 to run. It takes advantage of the new features included in version 2.1 (Locale support) and uses even some features coming with OS 3.0 if available. DFA is made to run on all all systems, starting with the A500+ and ending up with the A4000(T). More than 512KB of RAM and a harddisk are recommended. HOST NAME Available on AmiNet FTP sites. PRICE Shareware fee: DM US$ Program itself.............................20.00 15.00 Printed manual (optional): English TeX manual....................10.00 10.00 German TeX manual.....................10.00 10.00 Additional fee for postage (airmail): Outside of Europe, NO MANUAL...........5.00 5.00 Outside of Europe, AND MANUAL.........15.00 10.00 See documentation for additional information. DISTRIBUTABILITY DFA is NOT PD. It is shareware. The author keeps the copyright over the whole package. The public version of DFA is freely (re)distributable, but nobody is allowed to sell the program for more money than to cover just the costs of copying. In any case, nobody may charge more than Fred Fish does for one of his "Library Disks"! ------------------------------ A N N O U N C I N G --- InterFAX --- An automated FAX Service for Internet Users Users of the Internet can now send FAX messages just as easily as they send Email --- right from their terminals, and without any additional equipment. InterFAX is a FAX service bureau for Internet users, and allows the user to send Email to any FAX machine, anywhere in the world, anytime of the day or night, from any location. In addition, letterheads, logo's, and signatures can be stored for use in FAX messages. FAX "broadcasting" is fully supported as well. There is virtually no limit to the number of "carbon copies" that can be sent by simply attaching a list of formatted phone numbers to the original text. InterFAX is a totally digital service, and completely automated. There is no operator intervention at any point along the way, so that complete privacy and security is assured. InterFAX service costs only $5 per month, which includes the first five (5) FAX pages, and 50 cents (US) for every FAX page thereafter. These rates are among the lowest (if not THE lowest) in the world. For further information, or to establish an account, email to faxmaster@pan.com, or contact InterFAX at PO Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474 USA. Tel: 215-584-0300 (FAX: 215-584-1038). ------------------------------ KCOMMODITY V2.5 AVAILABLE FOR FTP TITLE KCommodity VERSION 2.5 AUTHOR Kai Iske Brucknerstrasse 18 6450 Hanau 1 (from the 1. July it`s 63452 Hanau 1) Germany Tel.: +49-(0)6181-850181 email: kai@iske.adsp.sub.org DESCRIPTION KCommodity is a multifunctional commodity like Mach IV or AutoCli and so forth. It comes with several new features not seen in other programs of that kind. Furthermore the "standard" features of such an utility are included like Mouse acceleration, Window activation, Closing windows via HotKey and many, many more. It incorporates the features of several smaller tools in one whole with a UISG type GUI in order to let the user have a simple control panel for all the functions. NEW FEATURES New since version 2.0 : - Split up into three parts. Main program, Prefs editor, and Printer module (which may dump to files now) - Fully localized for almost every language supported by the OS. Furthermore suomi was included. - TagScreens v1.8. Full TagScreens v1.8 included with the possibility of ScreenPromotion for different tasks and the whole system. - Comes with Installer for easy installation - Several new functions and bugfixes. Actually too much to mention. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Only OS 2.x and up HOST NAME amiga.physik.unizh.ch (130.60.80.80) DIRECTORY /pub/aminet/os20/cdity/ FILE NAMES kcx25.lha ; The program and docs kcx25src.lha ; The complete source for KCommodity PRICE ShareWare fee of $15 (without printed manual) $25 (with printed manual) DISTRIBUTABILITY ShareWare ------------------------------ MAKEINFO V1.55 AVAILABLE FOR FTP TITLE Makeinfo VERSION 1.55 AUTHOR Free Software Foundation, Amiga Variations by Reinhard Spisser and Sebastiano Vigna DESCRIPTION Makeinfo converts files from Texinfo to GNU-Info, ASCII and AmigaGuide formats. Makeinfo 1.55 supports AmigaGuide(R) V34 and V39, adds ANSI escape sequences when --amiga-39 --no-headers is used, and supports localization for hard-coded strings. Texinfotimes.tex prints Texinfo documents with PostScript fonts. A Texinfo document is written in a very simple dialect of TeX that is easy to learn and use, and it's specifically tailored for the creation of technical manuals. Texinfo focuses on logical aspects---so the @t{} command, which typesets in fixed width font whatever is in the braces, should never be used, and rather replaced with @code{}, @file{} or key{}, depending on the semantics of the text involved. This also ensures that each user can customize his Texinfo macros in such a way to spot out specific parts of a Texinfo file, or to set a different page size, text formatting etc (an example is texinfotimes.tex that prints .texinfo with PostScript fonts). Of course, the format has to be rich enough to express all the needs of a technical manual, and small enough to allow a decent translation of all the available constructs to plain ASCII (for an hypotetical hypertext viewer). In this respect Texinfo is excellently balanced. Full documentation is available on how to write a Texinfo document. It is written, of course, in Texinfo, and is very clear. You should be able to start authoring a Texinfo document in an hour or so. If you're used to TeX, ten minutes will suffice. This documentation can be found on most ftp sites which have GNU stuff. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Requires 2.04 or higher. In order to print it you need TeX (AmigaTeX or PasTeX). In order to print with texinfotimes.tex you need the PostScript fonts Times and Courier. HOST NAME amiga.physik.unizh.ch and other AMINET sites DIRECTORY /pub/aminet/text/hyper FILE NAMES mkguide155.lha PRICE None DISTRIBUTABILITY Free Software, distributed under the GNU COPYING License ------------------------------ MIDI PERFORMANCE MANAGER V1.19 AVAILABLE FOR FTP TITLE Demonstration version of Midi Performance Manager (MPM) VERSION 1.19 AUTHOR Andreas Jung Klosterstrasse 21 D-6602 Dudweiler Federal Republic of Germany EMail: ajung@rz.uni-sb.de DESCRIPTION MPM is a MIDI program to manage a hetergeneous combination of synthesizers and other MIDI devices. It offers several editors and tools to handle both MIDI common messages and synthesizer-specific data. Currently three MIDI tools are available: * realtime controller mixer * MIDI montitor for analyzing incoming MIDI data * patch bay to redirect MIDI data MPM includes an ARexx port, online help with the amigaguide.library and support of the locale.library. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Kickstart 2.04 or higher at least 1 MB Ram Not required but supported: locale.library HOST NAME amiga.physik.unizh.ch (130.60.80.80) and irror sites of Aminet DIRECTORY /pub/aminet/mus/midi FILE NAMES MidiPerformance.lha PRICE 35 US Dollars outside Germany 50 DM (Deutsche Mark) inside Germany DISTRIBUTABILITY MPM is shareware. The demonstration version is freely distributable for noncommercial use. ------------------------------ PEGGER, Automated JPEG Image Compression Software (Columbia, MO -- June 7, 1993) Heifner Communications and Express-Way Software are announcing a new software utility for the Amiga line of personal computers and Video Toaster workstations. PEGGER is a fully integrated JPEG utility based on the compression algorithm from the Joint Photographers Experts Group. PEGGER allows programs that don't support JPEG images to work automatically with them. Everything from 3D animation systems to graphic and multi-media programs greatly benefit from the enormous savings in hard drive space PEGGERS JPEG compression provides. PEGGERs Snoop capability automates the JPEG processing for programs that don't support JPEG, such as Electronic Arts Deluxe Paint AGA or the NewTek Video Toaster, so they can load or save JPEG files. PEGGER runs seamlessly in the background, compressing and decompressing files as needed. Your 100 MB 24 bit or HAM8 library can be compressed to under 10 MB and your applications won't even know it. A 50 MB hard drive can now hold more than 1000 frames of high resolution 24 bit files instead of just 60 or 70 frames. PEGGER does it's job in just seconds, we have optimized the JPEG code for the Amiga. The JPEG compress, decompress, and selection of files to process run completely independent of each other. This allows both compression and decompression of files at the same time, with the ability to adjust the priority of each. A cue list of files awaiting processing is maintained so that you can select additional files to process while PEGGER is busy in the background processing your previous selections. In addition to selecting individual files to process, entire directories of files can be set up to be batch processed. You can have PEGGER execute an ARexx script prior to and after JPEG processing of a file. This allows the integration of PEGGERs powerful batch processing capabilities with other applications which support ARexx. For example, using an ARexx script to load a frame buffer and activate a single frame recorder after JPEG decompression of an image. The JPEG processing is performed on a small portion of the file at a time, so PEGGER doesn't need megabytes of RAM to hold the entire image before processing can begin. A 2000 by 3000 pixel 24 bit image takes almost 30 MB of system RAM to JPEG compress or decompress with current Amiga programs. With PEGGER, less than 1 MB of system RAM is needed. Designed to run in the background, and when idle, uses few system resources. Even if your computer were to crash while PEGGER was processing files, when restarted, PEGGER will continue processing the files where it was interrupted. Features: ARexx support. Support for 24 bit IFF, DCTV, and HAM8 images. PEGGER can process images up to 32000 pixels wide using less than 4 MB of system RAM. AmigaDOS 2.0 & 3.0 compatible. Follows all AmigaDOS programming guidelines. Adjustable priority for JPEG compression and decompression. Pegger is designed to multi task in the background using minimal system resources so a 3D rendering or graphics program can also run at the same time. Snoop feature allows PEGGER to compress the output of your 3D rendering or graphics program into a JPEG file automatically. JPEG code has been optimized for speed. PEGGER can be used with the appropriate ARexx script to single frame record images directly from JPEGed sequential files. Library support for DSP technology when available. PEGGER is a low cost alternative to a new expensive large capacity hard drive for animation or color graphic workstations. Ship Date: Late July List Price: $95.00 Deluxe Paint IV AGA is a trademark of Electronic Arts Video Toaster is a trademark of NewTek, Inc. Amiga is a trademark of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. For More Information Contact: Heifner Communications, Inc. 4451 I-70 Drive NW Columbia, MO 65202 (800) 445-6164 (voice) (314) 445-0757 (fax) ------------------------------ THE "SYNDESIS 3D-ROM" A CDROM COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 500 FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE 3D MODELS Announcing a spectacular demonstration of a new 3D translation technology called InterChange Plus... The "Syndesis 3D-ROM" is a CDROM collection of more than 500 freely distributable 3D models, all present in AutoCAD DXF, 3D Studio, Wavefront .obj, Video Toaster LightWave and Impulse's Imagine PC/Amiga formats. It's also got more than 400 tileable, wrappable texture maps. It includes a fully indexed, cross-referenced catalog of the objects. The disc includes demonstration models from companies such as Viewpoint Animation Engineering. All 28 Viewpoint demo models are present, including the yet-unreleased Siggraph 93 set. More demo objects were contributed by Noumenon Labs, VRS Media, Mira Imaging and other commercial modeling companies. The 3D-ROM is a demonstration of the translation abilities of InterChange Plus, Syndesis's system for converting between 3D file formats. InterChange Plus translates between AutoCAD DXF, 3D Studio, Digital Arts, Wavefront, Swivel, Sculpt, VideoScape, LightWave, Imagine, CAD-3D, PAGErender and Vista DEM formats. Soon to come is support for StereoLithography, Macromedia 3DGF, Super 3D, Alias StyleGuide, Topas, Softimage, Inventor and Vertigo formats. All material and hierarchy information is preserved as best as possible. This ISO-9660 disc is fully accessible from Atari, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Amiga and Unix workstations. If you'd like to find out about this CDROM, we'd be glad to add you to our mailing list. See us at Siggraph 93! Syndesis Corporation P.O. Box 65 235 South Main Street Jefferson, WI 53549 (414) 674-5200 (414) 674-6363 FAX Internet 76004.1763@compuserve.com ------------------------------ INSPIRE V1.4 DEMO AVAILABLE FOR FTP TITLE Inspire! VERSION 1.40 AUTHOR Josh Van Abrahams Internet: jvanabra@nyx.cs.du.edu DESCRIPTION Inspire! V1.4 is the second release of JoshWorks Software's text editor. Key features: * Uses new features of AmigaDOS Release 2 extensively Inspire! uses the ASL requester for font and file selection and uses the gadtools.library for standardized gadgets. Also, the display database is used so that you may open any type of screen that your computer is capable of. AmigaDos Release 3 style menus and gadgets are also supported without sacrificing compatibility with AmigaDos Release 2 machines. * Flexible multiple window handling You can select the previous and next windows via menu selections. Windows are added to the list according to which window is selected when you open that window. That list may be displayed for quick selection. * AppIcon Drag'n'Drop icons from the workbench to load files into Inspire! * Iconify Inspire! can be iconified to get it out of your way when you're busy doing something else. * Fast text handling using true tabs The screen updates speedily as you edit. * True Amiga clipboards Local and true Amiga clipboards are both supported. * Right mouse button editing The right mouse button can be used to quickly cut, copy, and paste. * Word wrap Word wrapping may be set at any character position. * Turbo Loading and Saving of Files Files will load and save very fast using a speed up buffer, however, if you're low on memory, this function can be disabled. * Removing and adding of CR+LF line endings CR+LF end of line sequences are converted upon loading to a single LF sequence. Optionally, they may be resaved in that format. * Printing task works in the background while you edit You no longer have to wait for your printer to finish in order for you to get back to editing your file. A storage buffer is used to print from, which can also be disabled if you are low on memory. * Loading, saving and printing of clips Clips may be loaded, saved, and printed. This also allows for a standardized way to insert files within another file. * Undo Errors may be corrected by selecting the Undo function. * Find and replace Text may be searched for and replaced. Case sensitivity can be toggled on and off. * Bookmarks and jump to line You may store up to five locations in your document that may be quickly restored. Also, you may jump to any given line. * Text centering Any selected area of text may be centered. * Case conversions Any selected area can be converted to three different case formats. * ARexx implementation ARexx macros may be assigned to any function key for quick access. Programming specific features: * C procedure listing for quick jumps to procedures All valid C procedures can be listed in a single window. You may instantly jump to any one by clicking on it in the window. * Tab Blocks Left or Right Any selected blocks of text can be tabbed to the left or to the right. This is a real time-saver for C programmers. * Auto indenting An auto indenting function may be turned on as needed. * Find matched bracket Inspire! will find the bracket that matches the one currently under the cursor. * Auto match bracket Inspire! can automatically show you the start bracket which matches the end bracket just typed for instant feedback of blocked off areas. REQUIREMENTS AmigaDos 2.04 or later. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS None FTP LOCATIONS File name: InspireDemo14.lha wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) current temporary location: /systems/amiga/incoming/utils permanent location: /systems/amiga/utilities/text/editors Aminet Sites (such as amiga.physik.unizh.ch) /pub/aminet/biz/demo PRICE Registration is US $27 Delivered V1.2 to V1.4 Upgrade is US $6 Delivered DISTRIBUTION Demo is Freely Distributable ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// ONLINE WEEKLY Amiga Report Online The lines are buzzing! --------------------------------- From GEnie: ---------- From STUPID about the AGA chipset... YELLOWFELLOW: Your friend has his facts right, but his conclusions wrong. AGA -does- run at 7.14MHz. The internal operations of the blitter and the copper -are- no faster than they were in the ECS chipset. The bandwidth, however, has increased fourfold. It was doubled once by the bus width doubling, and once again by being able to fetch two longwords from ram at once. Since AGA can access the system memory four times faster that ECS, it realizes a modest boost in performance. Consider a typical operation requires: 1) get data 2) do something with it 3) put data back The "do something with it" step is completed at EXACTLY the same speed in AGA and ECS. The "get data" and "put data back" functions are typically FOUR TIMES as fast under AGA as they are under ECS. So, all things being equal, AGA performs operations in about a third of the time tha ECS would require. Note that there are situations which this is not the case and the real-world performance of AGA will only be about double that of ECS. Examples of this would be blitter operations that involve memory that is not an even number of longwords (nullifying the advantage of a double-longword fetch) or that involves a large amount of internal operations (which gives the "do something" step more significance). As is my habit, I make analogies to PClone hardware. An AGA Amiga is very much like a '486 clone. Both are hampered by internal limitations, yet the overall performance is greatly improved. ------------------------------ From Jim Meyer (JIM.MEYER) in a debate of PC vs. Amiga... Ferric - Let me inject some opinion into this, particularly since I didn't have room in my Film at Eleven editorial to include all of my thoughts. The Amiga OS is cool. Way cool. The more time I spend with Finder, with DOS, with Windows, with OS/2, and with Unix - specifically, HP's implemention and the VUE interface - the more I like my Amiga. While each of the other OSes has -something- that I'd like to see in the Amiga OS (note that I'm hard pressed to figure out what DOS has that I'd want), the Amiga's OS is by far the most complete, the most modern, and the fastest. I don't really care what's under the hood, as long as it's fast and as long as it lets me do what I need to do. To that end, it's not all that important to me that the Amiga OS runs on the Amiga. I'd happily use it on a clone, if it worked. Unfortunately, the OS is tightly coupled to the chips. Being the best in the computer industry doesn't count for a thing. The only thing that counts is being the most popular, and that rarely has anything to do with being the best. As far as I know, this has always been the case. IBM mainframes, for example, were never the fastest nor the cheapest, but they were - in the day of the mainframe - the most popular. Back to the processor. The primary drawback of the Amiga is the fact that it's an Amiga. It won't run AmiPro without help, and it won't run PageMaker without a lot of help. By decoupling the "Amiga" from the machine, it becomes possible for more things to become Amigas. And some of them may well be able to run Windows NT and/or Unix right off the shelf. If such a thing happens, it might become possible for you to plug AmigaDOS into your PowerPC machine. Or, by the same token, you might be able to run all your Windows applications on your favorite machine. The best possible Amiga would still be an Amiga, of course, but a more flexible approach would result in a broader base, which would mean more software, which would then mean more demand. One approach that intrigues me is turning the Bridgeboard upside-down. An Amiga-on-a-card that plugs into your otherwise mundane Intel-based machine. Really, this is probably as close as any PC will ever get to true multitasking and multimedia. ;-) Such a card could be sold at a premium, since the likely buyers would be those folks who want a Toaster but don't want another box on their desk. I'd like to see a situation where Commodore makes as much from the hardware base as NewTek does for the card... (Supporting note - The company I work for, System Integrators, wormed their way into the newspaper publishing platform business by creating a product that sold for MORE than the competition. And we almost never engaged in price- cutting.) I won't talk to Lew until Pasadena, Ferric, unless I decide to pester him at work. Which I might do. In any event, your question is also my question, so it'll remain on my queue. ------------------------------ Jim Drew (J.DREW2) of Emplant fame keeps us posted... A little update... Well folks, Joe and I have been digging through mounds of MAC code trying to basically rewrite a lot of the ROM routines to be faster than the real MAC (pretty damn easy to do, I might add)...and we discovered something that I would like to share with all of you. The Amiga uses what is known as 'preemptive' multitasking. That is where a time table is kept based on program priority levels and when a program's time is up, another program is switched in and ran. This is done on a interrupt level and is quite effective. The MAC uses what we like to call a 'needs time' (co-operative) setup. EACH program that is running on the MAC must TELL the OS that it is not doing anything, at which point the MAC can then attempt to run another program. There is no priority of programs, and if a program is not multitasking friendly (never tells the OS it is not busy) then the MAC stops multitasking completely. "Who cares?" you say? Well, the Amiga's code is obviously better because a program does not have to do anything but just run like normal. The OS handles the multitasking completely. This not only makes it more efficient, but also makes the code smaller. The MAC maintains a 11K header for EACH program that is multitasking, the Amiga maintains only a 188 byte header for EACH program. Also, the MAC program has to have subroutines to tell the OS that it is not busy...wasting even more space. Now the real shocker.... The entire multitasking handling code used by the Amiga is a little over 1K. With RsrvMem program (we wrote our own multitasking code that is a bit faster than Commodore's and added the ability to multitask while in SuperVisor mode) the multitasking code is 1280 bytes. We took a look at the MAC's multitasking code...over 63K worth of code!! Now, it wouldn't be so bad if only a few routines were called out of this huge chunk of code, but the ENTIRE thing is gone through at least once, and possibly for as many times as you have programs running! You can clearly see why 'multitasking' on the MAC *really* crawls!! We don't plan to upgrade the MAC to the Amiga's style of multitasking, that would result in serious compatibility problems, but we do plan to throw away about 1/2 of the code in our "let's streamline the code" binge that we are on. ------------------------------ From Andy Finkel (AFINKEL) about the history of floppy drive clicking... The story actually is as follows: When the A1000 came out, we wanted to be able to automatically detect disk insertion. So Neil Katin came up with the bright idea which solves the usual problem of disk detection by stepping the drive head, which resets the disk inserted latch. This, allows us to automatically detect the insertion of a disk, or the removal of a disk, because the latch is reset. He decided to make it step from track 0 to track 1 and back. This produced a clicking noise. OK, that was 1.0. For 1.2, we discovered that we could reset the latch by stepping from track 0 to track -1. Because all drives have a 'track limit' sensor, no actual head movement would occur. Thus, no click. Sounds good, right ? Well, unfortunately, it seems the drive mechanism vendors noticed that the track limit sensor was unused on the Amiga. So, they removed it. You'll find that many 3rd party external drives (and some A1010s) don't have this sensor. You know what happens when you seek from track 0 to track -1 on a drive without the limit sensor ? Right. The drive head bangs against the stop, which not only is louder than the original click, but is actually damaging the alignment of the drive itself. And that's the story. If your drive clicks louder when you use a 'Noclick' program, stop using it. You are hurting your drive. (BTW, the early A1000 driver had the track limit sensor. Those were premium drives, in fact. Possibly your A1000 had its drive replaced at some later time). (And the drives don't click if you have a disk in the drive, whether or not you run a NoClick program) ------------------------------ Brent Gray gives some advice on viewing RDS images... [Editor's Note: RDS is Random Dot Stereogram] Wow! Lots of replies to this topic! I'm glad to see that several of you have been successful in "seeing" the images. (Imagine if I had been the only one... you guys would have had me committed!) OK, I've been playing around with RDS's for about 3 years now and here's (hopefully) some helpful advice for those having trouble: 1st, there are actually many ways to see these images. The easiest (and most common) is to cross your eyes. What you are really doing is focusing your eyes on an imaginary point in space somewhere BETWEEN your eyes and the actual picture. Depending how the image was created, the actual focal point WILL vary, but with the RDS program we are using the image which is created uses a common algorithm that forces you to focus at a point almost exactly HALFWAY between your eyes and the image. That's the easiest distance. The easiest way to view the image this way is to hold your finger up in front of you HALFWAY between your eyes and the picture. Now focus on the TIP OF YOUR FINGER _NOT_ ON THE PICTURE. Stay focused on your finger and after a few seconds (or minutes for some people) the image in the background will sharpen and you'll see the RDS! It will blow you away the first time you see it!! The second common way to view an RDS is to "diverge" your eyes, or move them APART by focusing BEYOND the actual image. This is more difficult for most people but can actually be easier once you get the hang of it. I can focus this way on any RDS in about 1 second. Unfortunately, since you must now actually focus on a point in space which is TWICE AS FAR AWAY FROM YOUR EYES AS THE ACTUAL IMAGE (that is, BEYOND the picture itself) you don't have a neat focal point like your finger. The best focal point (if you can see it) is your own reflection in the glass of your monitor. It's even harder on paper since there's no reflection. (The RDS's you see in the shopping malls are framed in glass so your reflection is easier to see.) This method is more difficult but is often more rewarding because the RDS's 3-D perspective is TWICE as "deep" as when viewed with crossed eyes, and they are also REVERSED from what you see when cross-eyed. (What poked out before now goes in, etc.) Most high quality RDS like the commercial ones are intended to be viewed this way. When RDS's are created, the author (designer?) usually INTENDS the image to be viewed one way or the other. This is not a big deal for geometric images like pyramids, hearts, or cones, etc, since you don't really care if the image is convex or concave, but if you're looking at the Statue of Liberty or Discovery (or any other non-geometric object), viewing it wrong will give a strange, distorted, "reversed" sort of cut-out image that is totally incorrect. Thus, there often is a "right" way and a "wrong" way to view an RDS. Because of this you need to learn to view them both ways. Also, it is true that ALL images CAN be viewed both ways, but one way is usually better than the other. Finally, for a real challenge, you can also cross or diverge your eyes TWICE again as far as normal!! This is very difficult for most people and most cannot do it. The result is an image that is THREE TIMES AS DEEP as before!! If it looked like it stuck out 3 inches before, it will look 9 inches tall this time!!!! That kind of depth is eerie to look at and difficult to stay focused on. You have to hold very still. Well that's enough for today! Keep up all the feedback, and if you haven't seen the light yet, DON'T GIVE UP!! ------------------------------ From FidoNet's Amiga International Echo --------------------------------------- Area: AMIGA (MAIL:Fido/AMIGA/) From: Don Lester To: All Subj: Latest on LhA Development Date: 14 Jun 93 15:30:13 Re-Posted from Internet, just FYI: I have received a lot of email lately regarding the release of LhA V2.0. I post a response here in the hope that it will reduce the mail flow to my site (my mailbox is already flooded to the brim). Anyway, development of LhA V2.0 has been a bit slow during the last few months, since I am currently doing my compulsory military service, which leaves little free time. It is now in Alpha stage, with most new features implemented, and will soon enter Beta testing stage (July), and I hope to have a thoroughly tested version available by the end of August or at the beginning of September, when I "quit" the army and continue my studies at the university. For those interested, here is an outline of the major features of LhA V2.0. o Better and faster compression and decompression. Compresses better than all currently available compression programs for any platform. (Including [but not limited to] PKZip V2, ARJ V2, SQZ V1, and Shrink V1). o Very effective I/O. Asynchronous mode reads the next chunk of data while the current is being processed. Direct disk I/O permits archiving of disk images like with DMS, but is not limited to 80-cylinder devices. o Direct archive I/O and on-the-fly formatting permits very speedy creation of archives on floppy by bypassing the filesystem (like Quarterback and AmiBack does, but with the bonus of being able to use the disk just like any ordinary FFS formatted disk!). This yields up to a threefold increase in archiving speed, and also eliminates the formatting step, since you can create an archive on an unformatted disk! o Archives and restores filesystem links. o Very advanced multiple-volume archiving support (supports incremental backups, direct I/O, multiple drives, file generations, archive catalogs, and more). This coupled with the powerful backup GUI means that LhA can be used as a very efficient and fast backup-program. [In a quick test with AmiBack V2 with compression on the full set of LhA sources and revision control files and binaries (more than 8MB of data) the AmiBack backup used 9 disks, and the LhA backup 5 disks - and yet LhA was faster!]. o Dozens of new switches and options to simplify common operations. o New and more easy-to-use command line syntax (verbose options, very powerful pattern-matching and more) o Network support (with OS3.1) o Handles all old .lha and .lzh archives o Can be run from Workbench, and every aspect of operation can be controlled via ToolTypes and project/tool icons. o AppIcon and AppWindow modes. o New modes of interactivity; Console mode (normal mode, LhA V1.x works in this mode), Console+GUI mode (queries / filerequests done through requesters, arguments and options supplied from command line), WB mode (limited GUI), and full GUI mode (like Stuffit/Compressor Pro on Macintosh). Also, a special backup GUI that is designed to be used for HD backups is planned. o GUI and main program upgradable and customizable by means of modifying the "Perspective" [private OOP project] resource file. This means LhA can be expanded to accept other archive formats such as ZIP or ARJ transparently. o Completely localized even when running OS2.04 o Compatible with all KickStart revisions from 1.2 and up (but many special features are only available when running OS2.04 or later). o Compatible with all 680x0 processors, with special 68020/030 and 68040 versions. o Encryption o Icon support. o ... And much, much more All these features may or may not be in the initial release, but all of them are more or less implemented in the current alpha. However, I may choose to leave some features out in favor of an earlier release date (in the above list, Encryption is the only that may not be in the initial release). The program will be released as shareware (preliminary US$20), with a freely distributable evaluation version to go with it. Just like previous releases of LhA. I may choose to charge some small additional fee for some special expansion modules - I'll decide later. There will also be local registration sites in USA, Australia, Germany and Sweden, in order to get the administration load off myself, in favor of programming (and my university studies). Regards, Stefan ------------------------------ From Usenet: ------------ From Dan Barrett, the moderaor of the Comp.Sys.Amiga.Reviews newsgroup... As moderator of comp.sys.amiga.reviews, I receive many requests for reviews of particular products. Unfortunately, some of them have never been reviewed in the newsgroup. So, I am looking for volunteers to write reviews or mini-reviews for any of the following products: Amiga-HP48 Kermit protocol program AmigaVision Professional ASDG software for Hewlett Packard ScanJet IIc AsmOne assembler Caligari24, Caligari2 Comparison of AdPro/MorphPlus, Imagemaster, ImageFX CSA Rocket Launcher databases (Superbase Personal 2, Superbase Professional 4) Disk copier hardware and software (XCopy Pro, Project D, Action Replay) DPS Personal V-Scope GNU gcc and g++ (as an Amiga development system) Gods GVP G-Lock genlock Home Office Kit 2 Insite floptical drive KCS Powerboard Maple V MIDICycLuphonics (cycluphonics.lzh on Aminet) PPI Zeus 68040 board Proper Grammar II Recent word processors Shadow of the Beast I Shadow of the Beast III Shadow Sorceror Sim Earth SLIP-capable software for dial-ins spreadsheets (MaxiPlan 4.0, ProCalc) Street Fighter II Supra Turbo28 Sybil TurboText Vikings: Field of Conquest Vivid24 graphics board by DMI Wordsworth 2 X-COMM I hope you can help! Many people will be very grateful if you write a review. (Even if some of these reviews have already appeared, I always want multiple reviews about a product -- different people have different opinions.) NOTE: This list is NOT comprehensive! I would like to receive ANY reviews, not just the ones above! These are just the ones that have been requested in my e-mail. If you need information about writing a review, read the introductory articles posted in comp.sys.amiga.reviews on the first day of every month (they have a long expiration date, so they should always be available on your site) or send mail to amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu asking for guidelines. Thanks!! ------------------------------ From the Comp.Sys.Amiga.Misc newsgroup... [Editor's Note: This one is LOOOONG!] Article #35155 (35160 is last): Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: RUMOUR COMPILATION (LONG) From: et@mangal.cs.huji.ac.il (EYAL TELER) Date: Fri Jun 18 06:41:45 1993 Here it is - the first Amiga rumours compilation. These rumours were gathered over the past week or two, and I post them here with some of my own remarks, and perhaps some other reply which I though was to the point. The rumours are put here with the header of the original post, so that you'll know who to blame. Har har... I did remove some irrelevant parts. So what did we? First there was the 65% rumour. This caused a lot of commotion, but what it's really all about few people know (or perhaps even they don't know). My initial guess was that C= decided to give Marc Barrett 65% of its assets so he'll do some advertising for them (beats their normal advertising :), but it might be something completely different. On to other rumours: **************************************** The 68060+2x68EC040 rumour has been with us for some time, and now it has reared its head again. There were two versions of it, and the second one is a bit more reasonable. **************************************** Article: 53266 of comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: A5000 specs Message-ID: <1993Jun16.145843.7716@datcon.co.uk> From: rg@datcon.co.uk (Richard Gledhill) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 14:58:43 GMT Organization: Data Connection Ltd Keywords: A5000, Amiga Summary: A5000 specs X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] Lines: 74 Many of you have expressed an interest in the soon-to-be-announced A5000, so I'm describing it here. First, though, some important info: Firstly, I'm an experienced Amiga enthusiast. Secondly, and most importantly, I am NOT the source of this information. Therefore, please don't flame me for saying "Oh, but that's impossible" because I'm only passing on what I've found out. However, that doesn't mean I don't agree with some of the mail's I've got ;-) ! OK, here is what I've found out. Processors: 68060, 2x68EC040. 68060 in separate upgradeable (!) daughterboard. Kickstart: Version 4, 1Mb in size. Provides full compatibility with earlier Amigas from KS1.2 onwards. Will have a Kickstart selector screen like the Drive selector screen on WB2.0+. Multitasking: full pre-emptive; tasks can be assigned to any processor (e.g. designate one 68EC040 as a display controller, for example). Graphics: 512 colours in all modes. Max screen resolution: 4096x4096 with over 32 million colours. (See my note below.) Full emulation of all previous chipsets (original to AGA and new), again, fully selectable at bootup. Memory: 16Mb Chip RAM (max 64Mb), 16Mb Fast RAM (theoretical max 1024Mb). Fast RAM tested to 256Mb. Storage: HD floppy. Hard disk interface: SCSI-2; comes with 210Mb drive. Sound: 16-bit (CD-Quality). Expansion: Internal: 8 Zorro III, with 3 PC AT slots in parallel. External: Disk drive, serial, parallel, video, audio, keyboard, 2x(mouse/joystick). Price: $3499. Extras: With Amax v3.0 (100% Apple Mac compatibility) and IBM emulator (100% PC compatibility). Total price: $3999. Note prices are approximate; no UK prices are fixed yet. Some comments (by me) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got a mail explaining why it was impossible to have 4096x4096x32M. I utterly agree, but I suggest the following: I reckon that is *virtual* screen size, and that the maximum viewable on screen would be, say, 1024x768 or 1200x1024 or similar. Similarly, it seems strange that they should say 32 million colours, when, as Osma Ahvenlampi pointed out, 16M colours is 2^24. I suspect he's right, but remember, I'm not the source of this material. So know we just wait until Commodore (hopefully) announce it in Julyish. I.e. probably September. Or Xmas. And then there's the CD-Amiga console coming out soon for #199 uk pounds. But that's another story... BTW: I won't be around for a few days, so, if you have something constructive to say, PLEASE mail me at rg@datcon.co.uk as some of the mail will have expired by the time I return on Monday. Bye..... -Richard (An Amiga addict forced to use a PC at work!) -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Richard Gledhill Reach me at rg@datcon.co.uk - or RICHARD.GLEDHILL@odg.dcl.dcnet.tmailuk.gb or /c=GB;/a=TMAILUK;/p=DCNET;/o=DCL;/ou=ODG;/s=GLEDHILL;/g=RICHARD (X.400) ================================== Article: 31628 of comp.sys.amiga.misc Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: ==A5000 still in running== Message-ID: <1993Jun17.111326.2799@syma.sussex.ac.uk> From: kcci1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Alan Buxey) Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 11:13:26 GMT Organization: University of Sussex Keywords: a5000 amiga 060 Lines: 94 Dont you just love unsubtantiated rumours! ;) The A5000 --------- I cannot be assed to type out all specs. So just the bare bones. 1) It has motherboard + processor board (modular like the A4000) 2) On the motherboard are 2 `040's! They do the graphics and i/o's 3) On the processor card is an 060. This does the horse power The fact that it is an 060 gives the release date of this baby --end of 94. 4) the new advanced AGA will be present. 24 bit graphics in any screen mode from a 32-bit palette. Also 16 bit sound ( ala A1400) ChipRAM = up to 16MB!!! 5) fast RAM = up to 2048 MB Yep!!! PARALLEL PROCESSING FOR THE MASSES!!! (well, those that can afford it!) price = 2 configurations 1) alone with 240MB scsi harddisk and 12MB RAM = $3999 2) 240MB scsi 12 MB RAM + 486 bridgeboard + AMAX V3.0 = $4999 I personally think that they should get the EMPLANT board for it..... ******************************** Of course, there was the answer... ******************************** Article: 53394 of comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: A5000 specs Message-ID: From: mohos@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu (Quentin Mohos) Date: 17 Jun 93 06:14:01 GMT References: <1993Jun16.145843.7716@datcon.co.uk> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Keywords: A5000, Amiga Lines: 28 rg@datcon.co.uk (Richard Gledhill) writes: >Many of you have expressed an interest in the soon-to-be-announced >A5000, so I'm describing it here. First, though, some important info: [Lot's of cool, but nonexistant stuff deleted] I'm afraid you have been the belated victim of an April Fool's day joke That spec sheet first appeard on... ah, Genie? might have been Compuserve, I forget, on April 1, 1993. It caused a bit of commotion then as well, but I thought all the vestiges of misinformation had been stamped out. Guess not. Of course, I notice that the 'DMA Drops Amiga' rumor has also resufaced recently for a second round, so why not this one as well ;-) There is an actual, realistic, and *authorised* spec sheet floating around for the AAA machines, but that wasn't it. (incidentally I don't have it anymore, could somebody with the *real* spec sheet please repost it?) >-Richard (An Amiga addict forced to use a PC at work!) Quentin Mohos (An Amiga addict forced to use *Macs* at school *ugh*! mohos@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu (and they're not even the good ones; they're the 0.002 mhz black and white ones! :-) ) ************************************ But then, it may after all be true, because... ************************************ Article: 53325 of comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: A5000 announcement. Was it a joke after all??? Message-ID: <1vmu1kINN8lb@signal.dra.hmg.gb> From: bilsby@hermes.mod.uk (David Bilsby) Date: 16 Jun 1993 10:52:36 GMT Distribution: world Organization: Defence Research Agency NNTP-Posting-Host: liszt.dra.hmg.gb Lines: 15 An Amiga friend phoned me last night to say he had seen a spec for the new Commadore A5000 in the Amiga Mart (?) magazine. He said it covered a considerable area and so did not seem like a practical joke. Fron what he told me it sounds exactly like the spec posted here some time back which was slated and flamed as being rubbish, ie. 2 ec040's, 68060, etc. It seems that the 040's do I/O, like one is a graphics processor, etc. The resolution is supposed to be 4096x4096 pixels (not sure if this is true colour). The pixel depth is supposed to give 32 million colours (I think so 24bit accuracy can be maintained in calculations ie. store partial acnswers in 25bit). Does anyone know more about this. Does anyone have Amiga Mart (or Market I'm not sure). David. ****************************** I do expect that something of this sort will be released by the end of 94. Maybe not multiprocessing, maybe not with a 68060 (a RISC processor?), but it seems reasonable for a computer a year and a half from now. Maybe it won't be an Amiga... Ok, that's it for now about the A5000. There are the console and the A1400 too, so we'll not leave them alone. ****************************** Article: 31360 of comp.sys.amiga.misc Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.games Subject: Re: Amiga Console unveilled! Message-ID: From: davidme@qdpii.ind.dpi.qld.gov.au (David Meiklejohn) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 14:04:56 GMT References: Organization: Queensland Dept of Primary Industries Lines: 40 Xref: bagel.cs.huji.ac.il comp.sys.amiga.misc:31360 comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:52534 comp.sys.amiga.games:31150 amuser@cs.curtin.edu.au (Bill Sharp-Smith) writes: >davidme@qdpii.ind.dpi.qld.gov.au (David Meiklejohn) writes: [ AGA CD console ] >>It will be shown (and hopefully available for sale) at the WOC in Sydney on >>the 2-4th July. That's only three weeks off, now. Hopefully I'll be there >>to check it out. >Are you just speculating, or do you know for sure - I'm thinking it will >either be the 4000T (with C= assuming Oz people don't know about it) or >the rumoured 1400. What do you say?? A friend of mine (who sells Amigas) heard from a Commodore Australia tech support guy. He even described it to me - a small box with the CDROM drive actually being an option which sits on top. A keyboard and disk drive will be available from the start. As for the 1400, I hope that's a real rumour, but I think it's a bit soon to expect to see it. I have no info, other than speculation, but I'd be suprised to see something like the A1400 much before xmas. Then I'd guess a AAA A5000 mid next year, followed by A1200/A1400 replacements for xmas 94 (AA+ should be finished by then, but remember that it's behind AAA). This schedule intersperses high end and low end releases, and places the A1200, A1400 and AA+ releases a year apart each. -- David Meiklejohn (davidme@dpi.qld.gov.au) - PC's, Unix, and networks by day, Amigas by night... // Amiga users do it Trust me - I work for the government! ;-) \X/ with Intuition! =================================== Article: 31343 of comp.sys.amiga.misc Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: ============AMIGA A1400============ Message-ID: <1993Jun10.182834.12969@syma.sussex.ac.uk> From: kcci1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Alan Buxey) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 18:28:34 GMT Organization: University of Sussex Keywords: amiga a1400 rumour cd-console 020 Lines: 66 Hello there, some points of view and a few rumours. I've read that the a new baby is due out this autumn - called the A1400. Sounds good! yet another knife in the back for A600 and A1200 users? no, not really. Everyone was expecting a mid-range Amiga anyway...thats the A4000/030 job. This A1400 is supposedly to run on a 28MHz `020 CPU . This is believable because Commodore did mention to me that they would probably upgrade it to a highr CPU one day. So now the interesting thoughts. Release date of A1400 = Autumn `93 Release date of AMCD = Autumn `93 could this mean that the cd console would also be operating with a 28 MHz 020 ?? --It would REALLY be able to wipe the ground with the mega_CD then wouldn't it!!? :P There is a follow up to all this of course..... C= have been designing there MPEG board and DSP board for a little while now. I believe that it is possible that we see the following in the A1400 (reasonable) CPU = 28MHz 020 DSP = AT&T3210 - replacable with AT&T3070 in V.near future SOUND = 16-bit 8 channel new ASA chip (named Julia possibly) GRAPHICS = same old AGA chipset but with 4MEG CHIP addressable (old? :) ) SHAPE = This is the pizza box one!!! PORTS = SCSI MIDI FLOPPY MODEM(due to DSP) SERIAL PARALLEL VIDEO TV COMP etc + bonus of standard PCMCIA slot (the proper version) *************************************************************************** That's the end of the rumours compilation. There is only a little part left, which is dedicated to the rumoured release schedule of new machines. Last week we had a rumour that the A5000 (not with the spec mentioned above, but with AAA) is being shipped to some testers and so is the Amiga portable. So the current rumoured schedule is (and some entries may conflict with others): July 93 Console, A5000, Portable, WB3.1 August 93 A1300, A1400, A4100, A4200, A4300 Mid 94 AAA chipset, WB4.0 End of 94 A5000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// Destructive New Virus! AR Emergency Press Release -------------------------------------------------- Information provided by Michael Arends, SHI Regional Virus Center/West THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN RATED 'R' BY THE NATIONAL MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION because it contains foul language. Editor's Note: We released this the day after Amiga Report #1.12 was released, and are reprinting it here to make sure everybody has been made aware of this new virus. Also note that there are two programs now circulating on GEnie, Delphi (probably all online services by now) and many BBS's to help protect against this virus. One is called NoF_ck and the other is F_ckCheck. Both perform identical functions, so get whichever one you can. *** POST THIS MESSAGE EVERYWHERE THAT YOU CAN! *** THE MESSAGE THAT FOLLOWS contains some profanity, However, Due to the contents of the message, and the Very Important nature of this Subject for ALL amiga users, it (the profanity) has been left intact. Please read it and I am gravely sorry if it(the profanity) offends anyone. BUT, being a Regional center for SHI, I felt it was my duty to pass this info along to everyone in this matter. The message was originally posted by Luca Spada comming from Europe.. Michael Arends SHI RVC/West P.O. Box 1531 LynnWood, WA 98046-1531 ************************************************************ Date: 30 May 93 10:25:15 From: Luca Spada To: All Subj: VIRUS VIRUS VIRUS VIRUS !!!!!!!!!! ***** PLEASE READ * VERY IMPORTANT ***** A new blasted virus is spreading around in the Amiga comunity... you can call it the "FUCK virus"... SkyLink has been almost DESTROYED by it... WHAT IS?? There is around a program called ModemChecker (contained in MCHECK.LHA) that should test the modem connected to an Amiga, but it's a fake. It always says "OK OK" even if you don't have a modem attached. This program installs in memory the virus that keeps under control the keyboard. If you don't touch the keyboard for 5-10 mins (so you have gone away) it starts WRITING ON ALL YOUR HD PARTITIONS "FUCKFUCKFUCK" ALL OVER THE TRACKS RANDOMLY!! Destroying everything on ALL your hard disks in 30 seconds. It's VERY VERY FAST. It reduces all your partition to "Not a DOS Disk" in almost 4 seconds. You can restore some files (50% in my case) with QuarterBack Tools, but of these files, 90% contained "FUCKFUCKFUCK... etc"... executable files gurued, and data/text files was so corrupted that I had to deleted them... and like that for ALL the partition... it pratically writes 20 sectors of FUCK, leave 3 OK, 20 sectors of FUCK, etc... but sometimes writes more sectors of FUCK... it seems random... but you can stay SURE that everything you had on your HardDisks in TOTALLY AND COMPLETLY LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I have not taken the virus from MCHECK.LHA... I think I have taken it from some other files... I was testing some new programs for hatching them in SAN... after that I left the Amiga alone for having dinner and when I was back the "FUCK virus" already destroyed everything. So it can be a link virus, but I'm not sure... SkyLink is now half-destroyed... almost all files has been lost, but I can restore them thanks to SAN. It's now MAIL-ONLY, if you are a my downlink, please use SkyAF to see if you are connected to all the areas. I have rescued some *.cfg (stripping off the FUCKs) but something has been lost. Folks, WATCH OUT FOR THIS VIRUS!! IT'S A REAL CURSE! A lot of people are already analyzing the virus... I will keep you informed... the virus seems native from Europe (should have max 10 days of life), PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD EVERYWHERE or this virus will destroy everyone! Ciao! Sky Luke ------------------------------ From : Michael Arends SHI Regional Virus center, Washington state ------------------------------------------------------------------ HERE IS MORE INFO on the new F..k Virus, mentioned in the last text I submitted to AR... Quoting Luca Spada (2:331/106.0) to All: From a message on Fidonet LS> But I have not taken the virus from MCHECK.LHA... I think I have LS> taken it from some other files... I was testing some new programs LS> for hatching them in SAN... after that I left the Amiga alone for LS> having dinner and when I was back the "FUCK virus"already destroyed LS> everything. So it can be a link virus, but I'm not sure... This info was taken from a local BBS here: "Modemcheck.doc" 2227 Bytes "Modemchecker" 15516 Bytes This is another lame Trojan Horse!!!! I just examined the "ModemChecker", after depacking it, I recognized the word "SnoopDos" in the Code. Hmm ?? Yep! If you're running SnoopDos in the Backround to check if this is a Virus, it kicks it out! Ha! So I just took my own SnoopDos (not released due to some bugs,but even more effective, hehe) and watched what will happen ... Hmm ? A -NEW- "c/loadwb" will be created, with 3604 Bytes! If you now start this new 'LoadWB' the System will act like normally, but after some minutes you'll recognize that something starts to erase your HD/Floppy. Pah! So stop spreading this kind of Crap-Tool, and beware of starting it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// Amiga Tip of the Week --------------------- By Robert Niles Have you ever wanted to get a quick listing of what you have on a disk and send it out to the printer? Here's a quick way to do it. Lets say you have a disk in DF0: and you want a hardcopy of what is on it. Simply type: LIST >>PRT: DF0: ALL ...and there you go! You can get a listing of any disk, hardrive, or directory by just changing "DF0:" to whatever path you want printed. The "ALL" at the end of the line will make sure that the contents of the subdirectories are printed as well. If you don't want the subdirectories printed just leave it off. It's quick and convenient! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// A Sysop's Point of View ----------------------- By Robert Niles, Sysop of "In the Meantime BBS" What is on the other side of those BBSs in which you call each day, week, or month? What is it like to spend the time, money, and effort to run a BBS? Why do it in the first place?!? All SysOps (System Operators) have different reasons for running a BBS, from wanting to give support to the community to the spread of information. Or for many a reason that I could never dream about. I started a BBS on the idea of getting Amiga users together in one place and talk about that wonderful computer. To distribute files, and remove the limitations in which *REAL* life places upon us. I never had an idea of what it would be like on the other side. I just thought the concept to be practically amazing. I didn't know I'd be plugging around, answering messages, helping others, spending so much time making sure my users had the latest files available, etc. I never knew my phone bills were going to jump to jaw breaking amounts, or that I would have to learn so much about the details of the Amiga operating system as I do now. Even with all the headaches, I love it even more than I would ever have thought imaginable! Running a BBS *DOES* bring the world to you. On various degrees of course, and depending on the systems purpose, a BBS increases the information flow, increasing your knowledge and making life, in one way or another easier to deal with. By getting information on how to add a 1MB Agnus to a text file on the Declaration of Independence. In the next few issues I'm going to "show" you what it is like behind the BBS scene, the headaches and the parts that make one glad he/she is a SysOp. Of course these are will be just my experiences, but hopefully it will give you an understanding of who that guy is on the other side of the wire...and why he/she is there. Any of you who wish to tell me a story of your experiences, either good or bad, as a user or a SysOp, or if you have any questions send me some mail and we'll "talk" about it in a future article. Until then, see you next week! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// Usenet Review: TurboText ------------------------- By Barry McConnell (bmccnnll@unix1.tcd.ie) PRODUCT NAME TurboText, version 1.03 (08 June 1991) BRIEF DESCRIPTION Text editor. COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Oxxi, Inc. Address: P.O. Box 90309 Long Beach, CA 90809-0309 USA Telephone: (213) 427-1227 FAX: (213) 427-0971 PRICE I picked it up for 35 UK pounds at the Amiga Shopper show in London last year, but I don't know what the current price is. [MODERATOR'S NOTE: US list price is $99.95, with mailorder prices around $60. - Dan] SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE Runs on all Amigas. 512K RAM and 1 floppy drive required. SOFTWARE Requires at least Kickstart 1.2 and Workbench 1.3. COPY PROTECTION None. Installs on a hard drive. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING I tested the program on an A2000 with a GVP 120MB HD, in both 68000 mode (3MB RAM in total), and with a 68030 (11MB RAM in total). I tried it under AmigaDOS 2.04, 2.1, and also 3.0 on an A4000/040. REVIEW About one year ago, I tried out a demo version of this product. I was so impressed by it, I knew I just had to buy it. It complies fully with the Commodore Style Guide, and it's very professional-looking. It also contains a huge number of features and is very stable. Initially, TurboText opens its own custom screen (or public screen under AmigaDOS 2.0 and higher). You can choose whether you want a low, medium, or high-resolution display, and in 2 or 4 colours. You can run TurboText on the Workbench screen. It uses simulated GadTools gadgets under all AmigaDOS versions, which is OK for 1.3 users (who don't have GadTools), but not for anyone who has upgraded. For example, TurboText doesn't use "real" cycle gadgets, so PD programs like CycleToMenu can't affect them. It uses the Topaz 8 font for all requestors (except the file requestor) and a user-selectable (non-proportional) font in the text edit window. The file requestor is not the standard ASL one, although it is similar and reasonably fast. You can have as many windows open under TurboText as you wish, and you can also split one window into two "views" to edit two parts of the same file at once. Also included in the package is a programmer's calculator (with hex, binary, and octal options, along with rotate and shift operations), but this is severely crippled in that it is integer only. It can be called from a menu and run on the TurboText screen, or used as a stand-alone calculator from the Workbench. You can open a window that shows the hexadecimal values of the characters around the cursor (and of course edit your file this way), and there is also the ability to open a console window (Shell) on TurboText's screen. All the standard editing facilities you would expect are present, including clipboard support, load/save/print clipboard, mark/paste vertical blocks (neat!), find-and-replace (with limited pattern-matching), and bookmarks. Extensive ARexx support is included, along with the ability to record keystroke/menu macros on the fly and save them in files as ARexx macros. The editor also supports "folds", whereby you can collapse the currently-selected block of text (e.g., a procedure in a large C program) to a single line so you can effectively see more of your file at once. This is similar to the collapse/expand feature found in outline processors. You can also convert blocks of text to upper or lower-case, as well as center and justify lines of text (or whole paragraphs). There are three Preference windows. "Display Prefs" allows you to choose your screen mode, screen size, font and colours. "Edit Prefs" handles the way text is entered: word-wrapping, right margin, TAB width, overstrike, etc. And finally, "File Prefs" allows automatic creation of backup files (name "template", how many, and auto-save delay) and other file-related features. TurboText may also be customized using definition files. These allow you to specify what every keypress does. For example, you might want ALT-RightArrow to move the cursor to the end of the line, or CONTROL-Delete to delete a single word. You can also create or modify the menus using the definition files. Some vendors supply definition files to interface TurboText with their applications. For example, I know SAS/C V6 comes with a new definition file to allow you to compile a program from within TurboText, then cycle through all the errors at the touch of a key (interfaced through ARexx to the SAS/C package itself). Needless to say, this is an invaluable tool. An additional (tiny) program is included with TurboText, called TTX. This program allows fast startup of the editor by checking to see if TurboText is already resident in memory, and if so, passing it the name of the file(s) you selected, saving the time that you would normally spend waiting for the main program to load. If TurboText is not already running, TTX launches it. TTX also accepts the same ToolTypes as TurboText. This means you can, for example, place it in your WBStartup drawer with "NOWINDOW" and "BACKGROUND" ToolTypes. Now, every time you reboot your Amiga, TurboText will be silently loaded into memory (if TTX can't find it in the search path, it checks the assignment "TurboText:"), and when you double-click on a text file (with its Default Tool set to "TurboText:TTX"), it will load pretty much instantly. TurboText also installs some hotkeys in the system. Control-Alt-W by default will open up a new window, ready for editing. Even if your Amiga is tied up doing something else (e.g., Workbench is copying files from floppy, and you don't have a Shell handy), you can still instantly get a new TurboText window, even if there are none currently open! (This is what the "BACKGROUND" ToolType is for - it doesn't unload the program when you close the last window.) Control-Alt-U will unload the program once the last window has closed, and of course there are more hotkeys. These hotkeys are user-definable in the definition file. DISLIKES In an effort - presumably - to combat fragmented memory situations, when TurboText loads a file, it is read in in small chunks. (I think it reads approximately 100 lines at a time.) For small files, this is not a problem; but if you are a sysop who regularly edits 1.5 MB nodelists, it is a real pain. A rival text editor, ASDG's CygnusEd, reads the entire file in one go, which is basically instant if you have a fast hard drive; but of course this won't work if you don't have one continuous block of memory free for the file. I would like the option to increase the size of TurboText's loading buffer. Contrary to the operation of most word-processors, TurboText uses a double-click to mark the start of a block of text, and a single-click to select the end. This is fine if the block stretches across many pages (since you can then use the scroll bar to move to the end), or if you need to use a "Find" requestor to find the end; but it is a bit confusing initially when you just want to select a single word or line. I would like the option of drag-selecting text. I recently used the ARexx macro facility of TurboText, and it needs a bit of improvement. For example, I wanted to convert a line of text in the following form: comp.sys.amiga.reviews 394 ...to: Assign comp.sys.amiga.reviews: UUNEWS:comp/sys/amiga/reviews DEFER Now, this is possible using a (complicated) ARexx macro, but it is not exactly terribly fast. I think it took about two seconds per line on a 68000-based Amiga, and certainly processing a 2000-line file in this manner took something like 15 minutes on a 25MHz A3000. (In case you're interested, I copied the newsgroup name, pasted it (inserting "Assign", "UUNEWS:", and "DEFER" where necessary), jumped back to the previous ":" using a Find request, then searched forward for "." characters, replacing them with "/", until I found myself on the next line.) A more serious problem is the handling of aborting ARexx scripts. This is done by clicking on the close gadget of the window (which gives you the standard "Close without saving changes?" requestor). Now, I _have_ gotten this to work on occasion (e.g., with the sample "Towers of Hanoi" script that comes with TurboText). But for the application I described above, for some reason clicking "OK" halted the script but left the window on-screen, chewing up CPU time! (As if it was executing an infinite loop.) Now, the multithreaded nature of TurboText allowed me to work on other files despite the "crashed" window, but it did slow down the whole machine. I haven't investigated this too much, but it seems like a bug. Another problem I have is when I switch from TurboText to another application: say, the communications package Term. After a while, Term appears to have stopped accepting my keypresses (it can take some time to detect that it is a local problem, since you initially think it's the remote modem at fault). In actual fact, the problem is TurboText has opened an "Autosave?" requestor back on its own screen, made that the current window, but failed to move its screen to the front. Since Term - when opened on a public screen - does not have a window which will visibly deselect, this all happens without alerting the user. The find-and-replace algorithms - while still blazingly fast - are not quite as nippy as CygnusEd. There is also no "multiple undo" feature, which is - I think - the major reason many CygnusEd users are reluctant to switch over to what is really a more modern and professional-looking text editor. (Ooh, I know I am going to get flamed for this one...) You can "undelete" and "undo" a line, but these features are not terribly powerful. VENDOR SUPPORT Despite sending in my registration card, Oxxi has never contacted me about upgrades. There is no later version of TurboText than 1.03 (dated June 1991!), as far as I know. However, the author - Martin Taillefer - is on the net (he works for Commodore) and has promised an upgrade Real Soon Now. I hope it fixes most of the problems I described above and includes enhanced support for 2.0 and AGA machines. (I know it will use the ASL library for its file requestor, and I think it will also include a standard ScreenMode requestor.) The one time I e-mailed Martin, I got a prompt and helpful response. CONCLUSIONS This is a superb text editor. Despite the few problems I have with it, I still give it 9 out of 10. It is Style Guide-compliant, friendly, reasonably fast for most tasks, comes with a comprehensive manual, and has never caused my Amiga to crash. I just hope an update is released soon! COPYRIGHT This review is Copyright 1993 Barry McConnell. Reprinted with permission. ***************************************************************************** /// Delphi: It's Getting Better All The Time! ------------------------------------------ Amiga Report International Online Magazine is available every week in the Amiga Forum on DELPHI. Amiga Report readers are invited to join DELPHI and become a part of the friendly community of computer enthusiasts there. SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002 then... When connected, press RETURN once or twice and.... At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN. DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any baud rate. The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online. For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, MA. Try DELPHI for $1 an hour! For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only $5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan, where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum $10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry, this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press once or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially be a member of DELPHI! DELPHI - It's getting better all the time! ***************************************************************************** /// Another Moronic, Inane and Gratuitous Article --------------------------------------------- by Chad Freeman (cjfst4+@pitt.edu or cjfst4@cislabs.pitt.edu -- Internet) (cfreeman -- BIX) In an effort to slack off on a good amount of work this week, I've decided to do a letters column, in the style of most major magazines which need to fill up a few extra pages in the layout. Namely, I print your letters, and then get to print my own knee-jerk response without giving you any sort of chance for follow-up, sometimes addressing the tiniest little tangent in your article while ignoring the main point, and sometimes addressing another letter entirely (possibly one that appeared in another magazine). And since I get literally thousands of letters a day to pick from, I basically get to set my own agenda, no matter what you say. Isn't the media wonderful? Anyhow, without further ado, to the mailbag! Letter number 1 comes from Lester Ogleschwartz, of Acne, N. J. Les writes: Dude, I think your article is cooler than Sonic the Hedgehog man! You talk about the latest warez n stuff & youre freakin funny man and you always pick on that microsoft guy n stuff. What a lozer! Ive had my amiga for a couple a years and it is the coolest machine out there, man! Zool kicks! and like ibms stink anyway man! youre rite, i dont want a computer bill gates uses man! how lame! Amiga and AMIGA forever, man! Lester Dear Lester, Thank you for all of your kind words. I am glad you think my article is comparable to a genuinely well-crafted game like Sonic, and I dare say there are some analogies between the rebel rodent and this column; the free-spirited, rough-edged but so 'cool' character pervades both. I'm glad to keep everyone up to date on the latest products, as well, and my unique status as Official Blue Clearance Commodore Beta-Tester allows me that privilege (and in a future article I'll talk about that position, and the interesting story of how I, poor Amiga user from Pittsburgh, achieved it). I do try to inject a bit of humor into my column, because after all, no-one should take their hobbies, or anything, too seriously. And Bill Gates, as one of the 10 wealthiest people in the country, deserves the scrutiny I and others in my trade give him. Its his fault for ignoring the best computer architecture in its price class; thankfully, you and I and 4 million other people know its merits. Certainly its better than the outdated architecture of the relic IBMs. I have no doubts both Amiga and AMIGA will continue for a LONG time to come. Thank you for your most astute and perceptive letter, Les! Our second, shall I call it a letter?...anyway, it comes from Paul Durbino of Winneo, Wisconson Dear Mr. Freeman, I have been involved in the Amiga community since the inception of the Amiga 1000 in 1987. I have been involved in various capacities, from end user to beta tester to product developer and founder of my own company, AmigAdd-Ons. Today I feel the need to speak out in my colleagues behalf against your travesty of a so-called column. Your writing is the most damaging piece of fluff ever to enter the ranks of Amiga journalism. Your continual trashing of the Amiga and its associated supportive business is degrading and hurtful to the industry. Your humor is thin-skinned and personally offensive to many, aside from being spectacularly unfunny and, as your very title (meant to be ironic but truthful to the last) states, moronic, inane and gratuitous. I must also warn you that you have brought yourself to the attention of many important people, and your status as Blue Level Beta-Tester is in grave danger. Furthermore, many people are unhappy with your treatment of the respectable Mr. Gates, on of the top ten most wealthy people in the country, who we are trying to befriend, not alienate. Please refrain from ever publishing your hurtful slanders again in an otherwise respectable magazine, and do me a personal favor, sell your Amiga and go away. Respectfully, Mr. Durbino Mr. Durbino, Repeat this phrase five times, real quick: OWAH TAHGOO SIAM. (wot a jerk!) Our third letter comes from someone concerned about the future of the Amiga computer: Mr. Freeman, I wish to address your readers on a very important subject, the demise of the Amiga. I have actual factual proof that Commodore will cease to exist on November 23, 1993. Commodore will not just shut down, it will actually be obliterated from reality and all knowledge of its existence as a company will disappear from the minds of the entire planet! There is a branch of mathematics called pychohistory, originally described by Asimov as fiction, but we here at the University of Iglo, Mass. have uncovered its truthful existence! I have discoverd through this science that Atari employees will, on the date mentioned above, travel through time and destroy Commodore at its inception by turning the company into a Chinchilla coat factory! To ensure you and your readers do not take this lightly, following is a brief background of pyschohistory and the detailed proof of my theorum. [ 105 pages of text deleted ] I have brought this to the attention of Commodore, but as usual they have ignored my warnings completely. It is too bad that Commodore will disappear from existence, because it is a wonderful machine even though the bumbling dunderheads at Commodore continue to bury it with ineffectual marketing (see my previous letter on Commodore marketing as compared to marketing for other machines). I know some may say this is my typical doomsaying, which I admit I spew forth quite regularly in various places, but this time I' 100% sure the facts I've presented are legit and not distorted. Maybe this time someone will take me seriously. Sincerely, Mark Ballett Dear Mr. Ballett, Whilst your proof looks most convincing (I have to admit the example showing the exact timeline for the rise and fall of the Roman empire was most convincing), I have found the 'fatal flaw,' if you will, after many minutes of study. On page 64, part III, subsection J, line 25, 2 + 2 should equal 4. As you will notice, this greatly skews your proof, and based on some calculation of my own, I have found that it is in fact Dan Quayle that will disappear from the planet, not Commodore, and no-one will really care about THAT, now will they? Well, I'm afraid that's all the letters we have time for. But before I go, the infamous Joke of the Week: Guy 1: I hear Atari's coming out with a 64-bit machine for under $200! Guy 2: Yeah, but _I_ heard its just 6 Atari 800s glued together! Stay tuned next biweek for another exciting installment of A.M.I.G.A., the only article that dares to sniff Jay Miner's underarms! ***************************************************************************** /// Portal: A Great Place For Amiga Users -------------------------------------- Portal Communications' Amiga Zone The AFFORDABLE alternative for online Amiga information ------------------------------------------------------- The Portal Online System is the home of acclaimed Amiga Zone, which was formerly on the People/Link System. Plink went out of business in May, 1991 and The Amiga Zone's staff moved to Portal the next day. The Zone has just celebrated its second anniversary on Portal. The Amiga press raves about The Amiga Zone, when compared to its competition. If you live in the San Jose, CA area, then you can dial Portal directly. If you live elsewhere, you can reach Portal through any SprintNet (formerly Telenet) indial anywhere in the USA or through Tymnet from anywhere in North America. If you have an account on another Internet-connected system, you can connect to Portal using the UNIX Telnet programs, from anywhere in the industrialized world. Delphi and BIX users can now Telnet into Portal for a flat $19.95 a month, with *unlimited* use. Some of Portal/Amiga Zone's amazing features include: - Over 1.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific files, online, 24 hours a day. Portal has dedicated a 2.5 GIGabyte disk drive to the Amiga Zone. We have virtually unlimited space for files and new uploads. - The *entire* Fred Fish collection of freely distributable software, online. All of it. Every disk. Well-organized so it's easy to find exactly what you're after. - Fast, Batch Zmodem file transfer protocol. Download up to 100 files at once, of any size, with one command. - Twenty Amiga vendor areas with participants like AmigaWorld, ASDG, Soft-Logik, Black Belt, Apex Publishing, Stylus, Prolific, NES, and many others including Compute's Amiga Resource with over 4 Megabytes of exclusive Compute magazine disk stuff you won't find elsewhere. - 35 "regular" Amiga libraries with thousands of files. Hot new stuff arrives daily. Since Portal has FTP connections we can get new freely-distributable software online within MINUTES of its being announced on Usenet. - No upload/download "ratios" EVER. Download as much as you want, as often as you want, and never feel pressued doing it. Start downloading files with your first session on Portal. - Live, interactive nightly chats with Amiga folks whose names you will recognize. Special conferences. Random chance prize contests. Famous Amiga folks aren't the exception on Portal, they're the norm. Instead of stumbling around in frustration you can talk to the people who design your hardware, who write your software. - Vast Message bases where you can ask questions about *anything* Amiga related and get quick replies from the experts. - Amiga Internet mailing lists for Imagine, DCTV, LightWave, HyperAmi, Director and Landscapes are fed right into the Zone message bases. Read months worth of postings. They don't scroll off, ever! No need to clutter your mailbox with them. - FREE unlimited Internet Email. Your Portal account gets you a mailbox that's connected to the world. Send letters of any length to computer users in the entire industrialized world. No limits. No extra charges. No kidding! - Portal has the Usenet. Tthousands of "newsgroups" in which you can read and post articles about virtually any subject you can possibly imagine. Usenet feeds into Portal many times each hour. There are 14 Amiga-specific Usenet newsgroups with hundreds of articles posted every day, including postings by Commodore personnel. Since Usenet is distributed worldwide, your questions and answers can be seen by literally hundreds of thousands of people the same day you post them. - Other Portal SIGs (Special Interest Groups) online for Mac, IBM, Sun, NeXT, UNIX, Science Fiction, Writers, amateur radio, and a graphics SIG with thousands of GIF files to name just a few. ALL Portal SIGs are accessible to ALL Portal customers with NO surcharges ever. - The entire UPI/Clarinet/Newsbytes news hierarchy ($4/month extra) An entire general interest newspaper and computer news magazine. - Portal featues an exciting package of Internet features: IRC, FTP, TELNET, MUDS, LIBS. Free to all Portal customers with your account. Internet Services is a menu driven version of the same kinds of utilities you can also use from your Portal UNIX shell account. - All the files you can FTP. All the chatting you can stand on the IRC. And on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) you can talk live, in real time with Amiga users in the U.K., Europe, Australia, the Far East, 24 hours a day. - Our exclusive PortalX by Steve Tibbett, the graphical "front end" for Portal which will let you automatically click'n'download your waiting email, messages, Usenet groups and binary files! Reply to mail and messages offline using your favorite editor and your replies are sent automatically the next time you log into Portal. (PortalX requires Workbench 2.04 or higher) - And Portal does NOT stick it to high speed modem users. Whether you log in at 1200 or 2400 or 9600 or 14.4K you pay the same low price. How does all that sound? Probably too good to be true. Well.. it's true. Portal Signup or for more information: 1-408-973-9111 (voice) 9a.m.-5p.m. Mon-Fri, Pacific Time 1-408-725-0561 (modem 3/12/2400) 24 hours every day 1-408-973-8091 (modem 9600/14400) 24 hours every day or enter "C PORTAL" from any Sprintnet dial-in in the USA, or enter "portal" from any Tymnet "please log in:" prompt, USA & Canada or telnet to "portal.com" from anywhere. PORTAL'S CURRENT RATES: All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars Total Total Total Total Cost Cost Cost Cost Fee 1 hr. 5 hrs. 10 hrs.30 hrs. Startup Monthly Per Per per per per Fee Fee Hour month month month month $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Portal 19.95 19.95 2400/9600/14.4Kbps, *direct 24 hrs 0.00 19.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 2400/9600bps nonprime Sprint or Tymnet 2.50 22.95 32.45 44.95 94.95 2400/9600bps prime Sprint +% or Tymnet 5.50-10 29.95 69.95 119.95 varies 2400/9600bps non prime # PCPursuit 1.00 20.95 24.95 29.95 49.95 * plus cost of phone call if out of Portal's local dialing area Direct rates also apply to connections made to Portal using the UNIX "telnet" program from an account you may already have on an Internet-connected system. % 9600 bps Sprintnet and Tymnet available in over 300 cities areas + $10 rate prevails at smaller US Cities # PCPursuit is a service of US Sprint. Portal is a PCPursuit "Direct Access Facility" thus connection to Portal with a PCP account is simply a matter of entering C PORTAL,PCP-ID,PCP-PASSWORD at the SprintNet login prompt instead of C PORTAL. Note: Portal Direct 9600/14400 bps service is availble for both USR HST modems, and any V32/V32.bis modems. There are dozens of direct-dial high speed lines into Portal. No busy signals! SprintNet 9600bps service is V.32 modem protocol only. Tymnet 9600bps services is V.32 modem protocol only. Again, Portal does NOT surcharge high speed modem users! Portal subscribers who already have an account on an Internet-capable system elsewhere, can use that system's "telnet" program to connect to Portal for $0.00 an hour. That's right ZERO. From anywhere in the world. If you're in this category, be sure to ask the Portal reps, when you signup, how to login to Portal from your existing Internet account. Call and join today. Tell the friendly Portal Customer Service representative, "The Amiga Zone sent me!" That number again: 408-973-9111. Portal Communications accepts MasterCard, Visa, or you can pre-pay any amount by personal check or money order. The Portal Online System is a trademark of Portal Communications. ***************************************************************************** /// Commodore's Future ------------------ A Commentary by Robert Niles With Commodore-Amiga's loss announced a while ago, here comes the doomsayers again citing the fall of the Amiga computer. Again the Amiga is going to fall, again Commodore is digging itself a grave in which to dump all the R&D of the past into. When I first purchased my Amiga, way back in the 80's and connected myself to the FidoNet echos, the main topic was the Amiga's survivability. As if the Amiga itself was on its way to oblivion. The doomsayers thought that the Amiga was the most brilliant piece of junk around....stereo sound, a whoppin' 4096 colors, multiple visual modes, and not to mention the best multitasking system that ever entered the home of the layman was all just going to go by the wayside. Funny... I still have my Amiga -- two in fact! True, the concept of ad- vertising the Amiga to the general public has completely slipped past the minds of those in marketing, but this is one of the few computer platforms that can REALLY sell itself (and with the help of those Amiga loyalists). The amount of Amigas out there on the market has increased, not decreased. New innovative hardware and software on the market continues to grow. Furthermore CBM-Amiga is still making newer computers, and committing itself to R&D on even more powerful computers. Enough of the babble! All I'm trying to say is keep banging away on the keyboard, keep churning out those wonderful morphs and pictures, and keep supporting those authors who produce the programs that make you glad you own one of the most powerful and affordable computers around. This puppy is going to be here for quite a while! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// Warez Out There --------------- By Tom Mulcahy File: mostra2.lha Version: 2.0 Author: Unknown Where to find: Bix, Aminet GEnie: Amiga RT, file #19572 - Supports 2.0/3.0 features Mostra 2.0 is a shareware IFF ILBM viewer featuring real-time unpacking scroll, dozens of options, "smart" analysis of any IFF file (FORMs, LISTs,... also nested ILBM!), total control over display modes, simple slideshow processing, pattern matching, multipalette, double buffering, fast decompression, color cycling, TeXdocs, startup files for easy custom configurations and complete WB support. ------------------------------ File: enforcer.lzh Version: 37.42 Author: Michael Sinz Where to find: Bix, Aminet GEnie: Pro/Am RT, file #1122 All new Enforcer V37.42 - For 68020/68851, 68030, and 68040 CPUs This is a completely new Enforcer for the Amiga. It has many new and wonderful features and many new and wonderful options. Changes from V37.39: Added string length limits for the name strings found in tasks and CLIs. This is such that a bad string pointer will not cause too much damage. Enforcer will only print up to 128 characters of any string. This is done at the low level of the output routines such that every string is checked correctly. (This does, however, mean that the intro string is limited to the 128 characters...) Added LED/K/N option to select the number of flashes the LED will do for each Enforcer hit. This option was mainly added such that the LED flash can be turned off. (LED=0) It also can be used to make the LED flash take a bit longer by setting it to a large value (LED=12345) such that local Enforcer I/O will not make the LED flash look too fast. Default is still 1 for compatibility with before. If CDSTRAP is in the system, Enforcer now will also add the special CD hardware address ranges (it used to just add most of the hardware addresses, now it does all of them) This is for CDTV-type machines. Archive does not contain a copy of itself... (Silly scripts :-) Some other slight documentation cleanup... ------------------------------ File: cx1_1.lha Version: 1.1 Author: Unknown Where to find: Bix, Aminet - CLI command to ENABLE/DISABLE/KILL any commodity CX enables the user to enable, disable, or kill a commodity from the Shell or from a script file. ------------------------------ File: adev11_2_0.lha Version: 2.0 Author: Unknown Where to find: Bix -68HC11 Dev System. C compiler, Asm, Linker, DAsm. v2.0 Complete development system for the HC11 processor. Separately compiled/assembled source files are linked to produce an S-record file. Includes ANSI C compiler, assembler (a highly modified version of DAsm), linker, librarian, disassembler, serial downloader. Additionally, the assembler, linker and librarian handle source for 6800,6803,68HC16. For those that dislike S-records there is a converter which converts to memory dump. Source for the converter is included. ------------------------------ File: toolmgr21b.lha - 501,284k Version: 2.1b Author: Unknown Where to find: Bix, Aminet GEnie: Amiga RT, file #19440 - Adds Tools to WB 2.x Tools menu. Binaries. v2.1 Binary executable and documentation (ASCII, AmigaGuide, TeX) files. ToolManager is a full featured program for either Workbench or CLI tool management. Includes the ability to add menu items to the 2.x "Tools" menu, add Workbench icons or dock windows. The configuration is based on a object-oriented concept and handled by a preferences program. ToolManager supports ARexx, localization, networking and sound. Changes since version 2.0: - New Exec object types: Dock, Hot Key, Network - New Dock object flags: Backdrop, Sticky - New object type: Access - Network support - Editor main window is now an AppWindow - Gadget keyboard shortcuts in the preferences editor - New tooltypes for the preferences editor - Several bug fixes - Enhanced documentation SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Needs OS 2.04 or higher. Localization requires OS 2.1 or higher. Harddisk is recommended for unpacking the complete distribution. ToolMgr21b.lha - Binaries and Documentation (ASCII, AmigaGuide, TeX) ToolMgr21g.lha - Anims, Brushes and Icons ToolMgr21s.lha - Source code and Programmer support files ------------------------------ File: vprotool.lha Version: Unknown Author: Bill McCarter Where to find: Bix, Aminet DEMMER DESCRIPTION -This program is CRIPPLEWARE. Copy it and distribute it to your friends, as long as you include all the files that are in the archive file DEMMER.lha. I will not allow anyone to make a profit from this program, except a modest charge for copying and media, such as the Fred Fish collection. The program is fully operational except this public version will not load compressed DEM files, so it will not edit VISTA files that you already have. In addition the annoy screen has been added just to remind you that you should be happy to reward me for the work that I have done on this. If you do register you'll receive a fully working version without the annoy screen and includes the ability to load compressed DEM files. You also will be on the list for any of the other software titles that we have on the go or that have been produced already. Included is an utility that drastically saves time and effort when making your own maps. Another is CONQUEST AND DOMINION a new strategy game. GAMMA DEMO an educational program and GASLAWS another educational program. PURPOSE: The purpose of this utility is to be able to take an IFF graphic and transform it to a format readable by VISTAPRO. I wanted to have a freeform method to produce landscapes and to have an easy way to digitize topo maps rather than relying on someone else to supply me with USGS data. VISTAPRO provides an excellent engine for the development of realistic landscape images. There are also a few extra features that I added to provide some image processing to smooth out transitions. HOW IT WORKS: Any IFF graphic of any resolution may be used, in any screensize as long as you have the chip ram. Even Brushes may be used. Other numbers of colours than 64 work but I don't recommend to use them. 64 colour halfbright ILBM's produce the best results and HAM doesn't work. If you are serious about graphics then you owe it to yourself to get a program like Pixmate or ADPro anyway to do any format conversions. The image is automatically scaled to a 258 X 258 array and then converted. The elevations are taken from the colours themselves, with palette 0 being the minimum elevation and palette 63 being the maximum. This provides 64 steps in elevation for the image which should be enough for most applications. If not, there are a few processing functions that I have provided to smooth out the transitions. I did supply a colourmap palette in the output file so when you use the landscape file in Vistapro you will have a palette. ISO_ILBM Description - ISO_ILBM (c) COPYRIGHT 1992 Bill McCarter NO Rights Reserved PURPOSE: The purpose of this utility is to assist DEMMER1 digitize contour maps into VISTAPRO DEM's. HOW IT WORKS: Any IFF graphic of any resolution may be used, in any resolution or screensize as long as you have the chip ram. Even Brushes may be used. Other numbers of colours than 64 work but I don't recommend to use them. 64 colour halfbright ILBM's produce the best results and HAM doesn't work. If you are serious about graphics then you owe it to yourself to get a program like Pixmate or ADPro anyway to do any format conversions. The elevations are taken from the colours themselves, with palette 0 being the minimum elevation and palette 63 being the maximum. This provides 64 steps in elevation for the image which should be enough for most applications. If not, DEMMER1 has a few processing functions that I have provided to smooth out the transitions. ------------------------------ File: runit12.lha Version: 1.2 Author: Software Solutions -- UK-based Where to find: Aminet - Runit is charityware, if you use it, please give help to those in need. If you have any questions or ideas for more utils Call The Krypt BBS (UK) on 021 789 6845 Runit can be used in the startup-sequence as a cli command or used from the cli/shell as a tool to run game/utility boot blocks that refuse to work on 680x0 or newer machines such as A1200/4000 Tested on kickstarts 1.2 to 4.x ,and should work on all future kicks Runit with no options will display a help screen explaining the options available, i will describe here in what circumstances they may need to be used. It does not matter what order you type them in. NOCACHE - Use this option if diskloads fail, graphics corrupt or if programs crash for no reason SCRBLANK - Have you ever noticed how using the boot options screen sometimes cause`s screens to be corrupted? or when software that ran from workbench on kick 1.X has corrupted screens on kick 2.X / 3.X. This option opens a 1.X screen and blanks it until the software in question opens its own. FAKEFAST - An enhanced version of FAKEMEM , this will give you 512k chip / rest of chip ram: classed as fast ram: on 1meg+ chip machines. Use this when "no fast mem" requesters appear , or when games just lock , due to no fast mem. Remember this resets the machine the first time it is run so any other options on the command line will be ignored first time , but will function correctly next time they are called. NTSCMODE - Ever noticed that annoying gap at the bottom of some softwares screens , try this option! ECS chipset or above needed. PALMODE - Returns you to normal screen mode ECS chipset or above needed. OLDKICK - Because of certain changes in kick 2.X , 3.X , certain games failed when library returns were slightly different to those on kick 1.x , this routine patches these to return old 1.x values. Try these on games such as Silkworm IV , Saint Dragon ETC. SET??? - This needs some explaining , what it does is to select the chipset you specify , if that chipset is available , or can be Mimic`d then the system / hardware is told to use that chipset. Currently AGA can mimic the OLD & ECS chipsets, use this option when GFX / Sound corrupt etc. SETOLD = Select/Mimic OLD chipset SETECS = Select/Mimic ECS chipset SETAGA = Select/Mimic AGA chipset SETBEST = Use the best chipset available CLEAR - Resets machine if Virus or other contamination present. FILTER - Turns off the low pass filter , this will make sounds clearer and sharper. HIGHBOOT - Runit was originally written only as a cli command , but LOWBOOT its options were also usefull for NONDOS disks ie: games. I found the boot options screen did not help all the time. These 2 options were added so that a disk in df0: can be booted with any of the options above. Remember that runit can be used in a startup-sequence or used to boot NON DOS disks , in this respect i think it is unique. ------------------------------ File: Killaga20.lha Version: 2.0 Author: Jolyon Ralph - Almathera Systems Ltd. Where to find: Aminet GEnie: Amiga RT, File #19607 - This program is *PUBLIC DOMAIN*. It may be freely distributed in any way as long as: a) The executable file (KillAGA) and this text file remain unaltered. b) This file is distributed with the KillAGA program. c) It is not used as part of a commercial product without my express permission. If you want to include this on a commercial product or a magazine coverdisk, please email me at the address below to ensure you have the latest version: If you like this product and really insist on sending me something, then send me your Our Price CD receipts, or WHSmiths free CD stickers so I can get some free CDs.... What does it do? ---------------- This program allows you to run old, badly written, programs (mainly demos and some games) from your A1200/4000 hard disk without having to continually reboot and switch chip settings. On return from the program the system returns to full AGA state! While loading your program the screen goes black, so don't panic! How does it do it? ------------------ It fixes three major problems with running old demos on new AGA machines. 1. AGA Chipset registers - These are temporarily disabled while running KillAGA. *FAR* more old demos and games work now.. 2. Sprite resolution - Sprites are forced back to standard ECS resolution 3. Caches - All processor caches are disabled, and restored to the original state on exiting KillAGA How do you use it? ------------------ It's simple. Use from the CLI (or a ICONX script file): killaga Just type killaga followed by the program name from the CLI (unlike the RUN command, it does not return until after your program has finished) Creating an ICON is just as easy. So, for example, to run dh0:demos/OldNaffDemo, you would create a text file containing killaga dh0:demos/OldNaffDemo and save that. Edit the icon tooltype to use C:ICONX as the default tool, and just double-click the icon. To call a program that requires CLI parameters, just enclose the string you would normally type in speech marks: killaga "mydemo 1 2 3 4 5 6" If, for some reason, you accidentally run KillAGA with an OS friendly program the screen may stay blank. Press Amiga-M or Amiga-N (the screen shuffle keys) to get your screens back. You should not use KillAGA with these kind of programs. What it *doesn't* do: --------------------- It *doesn't* give you fake fastram. Buy real fastram, it's the only way to get *fast* ram on an A1200. Chip ram is terribly slow. KillAGA 3 may well be able to give you *REAL* $c00000 memory for your A1200 or A4000 (although this will require an MMU, not present in standard A1200 or A4000/030) It *doesn't* yet have options to keep caches enabled. I guess some vector games/demos would be better with this... It doesn't do *ANY* illegal hardware access, all code is 100% OS friendly, so this should work on AAA (!!!!!). It *doesn't* work on any machine with Kickstart 1.x or 2.x, but you shouldn't need this anyway! It *doesn't* work with programs that set up their own background task and then quit (programs that immediately return to the CLI prompt before quitting - eg Protracker 3.01). It doesn't work with compiled AMOS programs. They open up an (almost) invisible Intuition screen to handle input, etc... This annoys KillAGA. Recompile AMOS programs with Amos 1.35 Compiler and you won't need to use KillAGA. Email to: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk. for bug reports, information on new versions, etc.... If you have found anything that still doesn't work with this, please tell me about it and I'll try and make KillAGA 3 fix the problem. Snail mail (and your receipts :) to: Jolyon Ralph, 81 Woodcote Grove Rd, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2AL ***************************************************************************** /// Holonet: Inexpensive Internet Access ------------------------------------- *** HOLONET *** HoloNet is an easy to use Internet Access BBS. HoloNet is based on custom BBS software which provides an easy to use menu driven interface. HoloNet is ideal for those looking for an easy way to use Internet services. HoloNet does not currently provide UNIX shell access. Services include: o Convenient Access A local call in 850+ cities nationwide. o Online Publications Include USA Today Decisionline, Newsbytes, Datanet Computer News, Eeeekbits, and Boardwatch Magazine. o USENET Averages over 30MB of USENET news per day. The following news readers are available: NN, TIN, and RN. o Internet E-Mail Members have an Internet E-mail address similar to: member@holonet.net o Internet Access Access to telnet, talk, finger, IRC, and FTP. (note: you must comply with the policies of any networks you use) o Single and Multi-player Games Board, card, fantasy, and puzzle games. o Support for Eudora Excellent off-line Macintosh e-mail reader. o UUCP E-mail and USENET feeds Link LAN E-mail systems and BBSes to the Internet. How to try HoloNet for FREE: Telnet: holonet.net Modem: 510-704-1058 (Berkeley, CA) at 1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400bps There are free demo numbers nationwide, for an automated response containg a list of access numbers, send e-mail to access@holonet.mailer.net How to get more information: E-mail: info@holonet.net Modem: 510-704-1058 at 1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400bps Voice: 510-704-0160 Fax: 510-704-8019 HoloNet is a service mark of Information Access Technologies, Inc. Copyright (c) 1992 Information Access Techologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************************** /// Usenet Review: Lemmings 2: The Tribes --------------------------------------- By Stephan Mueller (mueller@cs.ubc.ca) PRODUCT NAME Lemmings 2: The Tribes BRIEF DESCRIPTION An addictive action/strategy platform/climbing game, featuring cute little animated, green-haired Lemmings. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Psygnosis Ltd. Address: South Harrington Building Sefton Street Liverpool, L3 4BQ United Kingdom U.S. Address: 29 St. Mary's Court Brookline, MA 02146 USA U.S. Phone: (617) 731-3553 U.S. Fax: (617) 731-8379 (Various documents in the package list other addresses in Massachusetts.) LIST PRICE $65.00 (Canadian). I paid $56.91 (Canadian) at my local retailer. $40.00 (US) seems to be a typical price in the United States. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE Runs on any Amiga with at least 1 MB RAM. Extra sound effects are available with 1 MB of Chip RAM. Extra RAM of any type is recognized and used to reduce disk accesses. Hard drive installation requires approximately 4 MB of hard disk space, at least 1 MB Chip RAM, and either 512 KB or 1 MB of additional (Chip or Fast) RAM, depending on whether you believe the package or the ReadMe file. Lemmings 2 comes on three floppy disks, so up to three floppy drives are useful if you don't use a hard disk. However, one floppy drive is certainly adequate: the game requires disk 1 only for the (optional) introduction and loads everything required from disk 2 at startup, so there is no constant disk swapping. Lemmings 2 runs well on a 68000. Comments from other users indicate that it runs fine on machines with 68030s and 68040s. At least one user has mentioned that the copy protection causes difficulty on an Amiga 3000/040 system. Separate versions of the game are sold for NTSC and PAL machines. However, in (at least) the PAL version, assuming your hardware is capable of it, you can toggle screen modes (that is, from PAL to NTSC and back) by pressing the Tab key. Any Amiga with a "Fatter Agnus" or newer should support this. SOFTWARE Lemmings 2 runs fine with both Kickstart 1.3 and Kickstart 2.04. I cannot test it with 3.0. Since the game takes over the machine when run from floppies, I cannot determine which versions of Workbench it works with. COPY PROTECTION Intrusiveness level of the copy protection: nearly invisible. Copy protection is disk-based: disk 3 cannot be backed up using DiskCopy. However, it can be installed on a hard drive. Once hard drive installed, the floppies are not required at all to boot. No data is ever saved to a copy protected disk. As my Amiga doesn't have sufficient Chip RAM to test the hard drive installation feature, I can't say for sure how well it works. Others on the net, however, have had no difficulty with it. When playing from floppies, the copy protection doesn't appear to be hard on the drives, as there is no awful "gronking" noise. Apparently, the original UK release was not hard drive installable. Recently, however, Psygnosis has released patches into the public domain to allow owners of the original release to make their copies hard drive installable. If Lemmings 2 does not install on your hard drive because of an incompatibility with your particular SCSI host adapter, Psygnosis will send you a software patch for $4.95 (US). MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 1000 512 KB Chip RAM, 2 MB Fast RAM Kickstart 1.3/2.04 REVIEW Lemmings 2 is (surprise!) a sequel to Lemmings. The object in both games is to rescue the lemmings on each level by instructing them how to make their way to the exit. The lemmings fall, one at a time, from a trapdoor in the sky onto some platform on the level. Once a lemming touches down, he will walk left or right until he hits an obstacle and turns around, or walks off the edge of the platform and falls to the next platform. Short falls are no problem, medium falls stun the lemming for a moment, and long falls are generally fatal. You assist the lemmings by giving them special skills at appropriate moments, enabling them to construct their own way to the exit. Skills are assigned by choosing an on-screen button and then clicking on the lemming. For example, if there is an obstacle on the current platform between a group of lemmings and the exit, you might instruct one of the lemmings to bash his way through the obstacle. When he's finished, all the lemmings can follow him through to the exit. This is, of course, a very simple example; and as you progress through the levels, the gyrations you'll need to urge the lemmings through will get progressively more complex. Lemmings 2 features about 50 different skills which you can assign to the little blue guys: jet pack, hang glider, basher, fencer, planter, glue pourer, bazooka, hopper, kayaker, pole vaulter, rock climber, and more. On any particular level, you'll have some subset of the available skills to assign, and there's always a limit to the number of times you can assign each skill. These limits are often what make a level tricky. Given enough flame throwers and ramp builders, one can probably solve any level, but doing so with just two twisters and a platformer, there's the trick. To add just one more dimension, there's a time limit on each level. When you've completed a level, you'll get a bronze, silver or gold medal, depending on how many lemmings you saved. It's important to save as many lemmings as possible on each level, since only the survivors advance to the next level; and to win, you'll need at least one lemming who survives through all ten levels of his tribe. On some levels, saving every lemming is impossible, since, for example, you may need to use an "exploder," which destroys the lemming. On other levels you can be a bit wasteful, losing a few lemmings, and still get a gold medal. A perfect game will require you to get a gold medal on every level. Altogether there are a dozen different tribes, each with their own `culture,' for a total of 120 different levels. There are space lemmings, cave lemmings, polar lemmings, sports lemmings and lots more. Each tribe has a different habitat, and you will need different skills to navigate them through their levels. Ice skaters probably won't help much in Egyptian World. You can switch from tribe to tribe at will, so if you get stuck on, say, space lemming level 3, you can play "cavelem" levels for a while and come back to space lemming level 3 when you've perhaps discovered some new techniques. You can also replay any level you've completed, in the hope of saving more lemmings than last time around. To hone your skills, there is a practice area. Here, you can select any eight skills you like, and then practice with them in one of four different worlds. This is a LOT of fun; not needing to worry about saving the lemmings leaves you lots of time to use them to flatten out the landscape and then watch them practice their pole vaulting. Lemmings 2 is a subtle blend of action and strategy. On some levels, brute force will succeed; but in general, you need to be very clever in allocating your limited skills to rescue the little guys. Usually, timing is important as well. Technically, the game is marvelous in every respect. Sound, graphics, animation, controls and playability are all excellent. The sound effects are very cute: a lemming yells "let's go" at the start of each level, and as lemmings leave the exit, they shout "yippee." The music is wonderful, fitting the moods of the tribes very well. I have yet to grow tired of it, but it can be shut off with a single keystroke. The graphics and animation are detailed. From the way the lemmings struggle to crawl into a cannon, to the variety of different musical instruments the attractors play, there's a wealth of amusement. The scrolling is very smooth. The introduction, in which the storyteller explains the plight of the lemmings to a youngster, is a top-notch animation. The controls are very well thought out. In addition to the skill buttons and lemmings themselves, there are four additional controls: paws (pause), nuke (to blow up all the lemmings and try again should the situation on a level become hopeless), fan (to assist you in blowing around airborne lemmings) and fast-forward (to hurry everything along when you've set things up just right and the lemmings just need to finish walking through the maze to the exit.) There are keyboard shortcuts for all the controls, so you don't need to keep moving the mouse between the lemmings and skill buttons. At any time, pressing escape will restart the current level, and thankfully this doesn't involve any disk access. Up to a dozen or so games in progress can be saved. The save file is a standard AmigaDOS file. When playing from floppies, saved games are stored on an extra floppy in drive 0. When playing from a hard drive, saved games are apparently stored on the hard drive. The saved information only contains which levels you've completed and how many lemmings you saved on each level. This means you can't save a level in progress, but I don't see this as a problem. When playing from a hard drive, it is apparently possible to exit Lemmings 2 and return gracefully to Workbench. When playing from floppies, the exit button is disabled. Disabling the button when running from floppies is reasonable, as there is no Workbench to return to. DOCUMENTATION The documentation and packaging are very good. The inner carton is made of recycled, bio-degradable material. (I know this because it says so on the aforementioned inner carton.) The printed documentation fits neatly into a colourful cardboard wallet and consists of the Lemmings 2 Storybook, the Lemmings 2 Manual, a Visitor's Guide to LemmingLand, a Technical Notes Addendum, and a product registration card. The Lemmings 2 Storybook, which apparently is only included in the "Limited Edition" of the game, is a 72-page paperback full of nice illustrations and bad puns. As the back cover proclaims, it is "Undoubtedly the best story about the 12 Tribes of Lemming Island ever written." The book is a nice touch, but you'll laugh much more while playing the game than reading the story. The manual is more like a reference card, but it is adequate. It provides loading instructions (for MS-DOS, Amiga and Atari ST) and a description of the main menu choices and game screen components. The reverse side contains a categorized list of the 50 available skills with descriptions and icons. A few of the skills are labelled with the wrong icons. Some of the play elements are not explained in the manual at all, but I believe this is intentional. Figuring out how to use the big swinging chains with propellers on top is another little challenge for you in your quest to save the lemmings. The cannons and catapults need no explanation; the lemmings themselves know exactly how to use them. A couple of items the manual should mention, but doesn't: a) Disk 1 contains only the introductory animation. If you don't want to see it, you can discard disk 1 for good and boot from disk 2. The animation is very nice, but it will likely get tedious by the third time if you have to wait for it to finish before you can play the game. b) The hard disk installation procedure. While the procedure is documented in a ReadMe file, it is also a bit strange. You need to drag the "Hard Disk Install" icon to your hard drive, and then double-click the copy on the hard drive to actually install Lemmings 2. The consequences of doing the obvious (namely double-clicking the "Hard Disk Install" icon on the floppy disk) can be mildly damaging. This is the problem: the installation script tries to delete itself when it has finished its work, which is fine, if it's the copy on the hard disk. If it's the original script on the floppy disk, and if that disk isn't write protected, this is bad. You'll need to find an undelete utility of some sort to retrieve the script and its icon. The Visitor's Guide is a tutorial. For those with previous Lemmings experience, it explains some important differences. The tutorial is quite good, walking you through the practice area and one complete level. The technical notes addendum is, in fact, specific to the PC version of Lemmings 2, and full of gibberish about expanded and extended memory, Microsoft Windows and various sound and music cards, none of which, thankfully, applies to the Amiga. LIKES AND DISLIKES The practice area is tremendous fun! The level of detail in the animations is wonderful, and in the practice area you can take the time to watch what's happening very carefully without being concerned about rescuing the little numbskulls. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't install Lemmings 2 on my hard drive, but I'm not even going to suggest that fitting the game into 512 KB of Chip RAM when running from a hard drive should be a priority. It is a pity that when run from floppies, Lemmings 2 takes over the machine, doesn't run under AmigaDOS, and can't be exited cleanly. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS The obvious comparison is to the original Lemmings. Here's a brief description of how Lemmings 2 differs: - There are twelve distinct tribes of Lemmings, each featuring ten levels. If you get stuck on a particular level, you can move to another tribe. - You start the first level of each tribe with 60 Lemmings and move to subsequent levels with only the survivors from the preceding level. - Play levels are larger; they now scroll in eight directions instead of just horizontally. - Each level features up to eight of the 50 available skills, as opposed to having the same eight skills at all times, as in Lemmings 1. - The two-player mode of Lemmings is gone. In short, Lemmings 2 is an extension and refinement of the original game. Compared to any other platform/climbing game... well, there is no comparison. BUGS The word "shipwright" is misspelled in the introduction. The manual doesn't mention that you can skip the introduction by booting from disk 2, nor the hard disk installation procedure. VENDOR SUPPORT I have not yet had need to contact Psygnosis for support, but they do have a Customer Service department. The U.S. address information given above is that of Customer Service. Psygnosis do appear to be listening to their customers. Lemmings 2 is their first Amiga game that is hard drive installable; this is apparently because of pressure from customers. WARRANTY Psygnosis will replace, free of charge, any disks which have manufacturing or duplication defects. The disks are guaranteed to be virus-free, and will be replaced for a fee, if you manage to infect them. There doesn't appear to be any time limit on either of these policies. CONCLUSIONS Lemmings 2 is likely to be responsible for a substantial delay in the completion of my thesis. :-) It's tremendous fun to play, watch and hear. I consider Lemmings 2 to be a serious candidate for Best Game Of The Year, On Any Platform, or perhaps even bigger accolades. Run, do not walk, to your nearest Amiga dealer and buy this game. Besides amusing you for many, many, hours, this will help to demonstrate to software developers that writing quality, hard drive installable, Amiga games is a way to make a decent living. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1993 Stephan(); Mueller. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. ***************************************************************************** /// NVN WANTS YOU! Another Network Supports Amiga! -------------- National Videotext Network (NVN) National Videotext Network (NVN) has recently added an Amiga Forum to it's growing lists of available services. The Amiga Forum is ready and waiting for you! Order an extended NVN Membership of 6 or 12 months, pay for it in advance and receive a bonus in connect time at no additional charge. Choose from two subscription plans: 6-Month Membership ------------------ Pay just $30 for a 6-month Membership and receive a usage credit that entitles you to $15 of connect-time in the Premium services of your choice. Your total savings using this plan would be over $20!* 12 Month Membership ------------------- Pay $50 for a full year's Membership and get even more free time online. We'll give you a $25 usage credit to use in your favorite Premium services or try out new ones. You could save as much as $45.* For more information about either of these plans, give us a call at 1-800-336-9096. -=* 9600 BAUD USERS *=- $6/hour non-prime time - $9/hour prime time You can join NVN one of two ways. By voice phone 1-800-336-9096 (Client Services) or via modem phone 1-800-336-9092. ***************************************************************************** /// AR Confidential "We heard it through the Grapvine!" --------------- Fort Worth, TX -- Tandy Corporation announced a new pen-based portable computer, which will be selling in its Radio Shack chain of electronics stores this fall. The Zoomer will be about the size of a manual (8 x 5 inches), and will be DOS and Windows compatible. Price is expected to be UNDER $300. Look for more information soon! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// Dealer Directory Serving our readers! ---------------- Apogee Technologies 1851 University Parkway Sarasota, Florida 34243 VOICE: 813-355-6121 Portal: Apogee Internet: Apogee@cup.portal.com Armadillo Brothers 753 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah VOICE: 801-484-2791 GEnie: B.GRAY Computers International, Inc. 5415 Hixson Pike Chattanooga, TN 37343 VOICE: 615-843-0630 Finetastic Computers 721 Washington St Norwood, MA 02062 VOICE: 617-762-4166 Portal: FinetasticComputers Internet: FinetasticComputers@cup.portal.com MicroSearch 9000 US 59 South, Suite 330 Houston, Texas VOICE: 713-988-2818 FAX: 713-995-4994 PSI Animations 17924 SW Pilkington Road Lake Oswego, OR 97035 VOICE: 503-624-8185 Internet: PSIANIM@agora.rain.com Software Plus Chicago 3100 W Peterson Avenue Chicago, Illinois VOICE: 312-338-6100 (Dealers: To have your name added, please send Email!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// The Humor Department Jokes, Quotes, Insults, Shameless Plugs -------------------- Q: If Bill Clinton, Hillary, and Al Gore jumped off the Empire State Building at the same time, who would hit the ground first? A: WHO CARES? ============================================================================= Amiga Report International Online Magazine June 18, 1993 * YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE * No. 1.13 Copyright (c) 1993 All Rights Reserved ============================================================================= Views, Opinions and Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors and staff of Amiga Report International Online Magazine or of STR Publications. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless other- wise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the pub- lication, date, issue number and the author's name. Amiga Report and/or por- tions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. However, translation into another language is acceptable, provided the original meaning is not altered. 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