____ ____
/ / / \ \ \ Your Online Amiga News Source!
/ / / \ \ \
____ / / / AMIGA REPORT \ \ \ ____ EDITOR: Charles E. Hill
\ \ X / / \ \ X / /
\_\_X_/ INTERNATIONAL \_X_/_/
---------------------------
| PRINT ASSOCIATES |
---------------------------
UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
Amiga Mart Professional Amiga User
Aceville Publications
89 East Hill
Colchester, Essex
England, CO1 2QN
ATTN: Paul Rigby
--------------------
| CONTACT POINTS |
--------------------
PHYSICAL ELECTRONIC
AM-Report CompuServe: 76370,3045
5765 Crane Place InterNet: 76370.3045@compuserve.com
Orlando, FL 32807-3108 GEnie: <coming soon>
USA Portal: <coming soon>
FidoNet: <coming soon>
EDITOR'S COLUMN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This issue marks a change for AM-Report both in appearance and in function.
The masthead has been changed around so that it more accurately reflects our
internal structure and the format has been cleaned up a little so that it
(hopefully) looks a little more professional.
Electronic distribution is being widened to include more major networks as
well as the virtual nets of Internet and Fidonet.
COMPUSERVE
~~~~~~~~~~
Currently I am very active on CompuServe's Amiga forums: User, Tech, Vendor
and Arts. This is where AM-Report gets uploaded to first and it is the
easiest way to reach me. The company I actually work for has a corporate
account on CIS and in the course of daily business I end up logging on about
five or six times daily. My CompuServe I.D. number is 76370,3045 and any mail
directed to me should receive and answer within 24 hours. CompuServe also
currently serves as my Internet mailing address. Those wishing to reach me
via Usenet/Internet mail can address your messages to
76370.3045@compuserve.com and you should have a response within 24 to 48
hours. It is possible that some Internet issues of AM-Report will be
UUENCODED binary (.LHA) files so that I can include an occasional digitized
photo.
If anyone has problems with UUENCODing, let me know and I will make a note to
send only you only unencoded ASCII. Also, if anyone has a problem with .LHA
compression, let me know what you prefer. I can support .LHA, .LZH, .ZIP.,
.ZOO, and .ARC and with some effort probable .ARJ, .PAK and .SIT formats,
also.
PORTAL & USENET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have recently signed up for access to Portal, U.S. Sprint's answer to Genie
and CompuServe. Before the end of August I expect to be on there no less
than once a week, and possibly more if I get a PC Pursuit account. Portal
has direct access to the major Usenet feeds -- both read and write capable as
well as mail. This will become AM-Report's gateway to the chaos that is
Usenet as well as a secondary Internet email address.
GENIE
~~~~~
GEnie, the home of ViewPort online magazine, will be the last major network
AM- Report will access. I hope to be online with GEnie before Labor Day and
plan on logon on to GEnie about the same as Portal -- once a week or so.
FIDONET
~~~~~~~
AM-Report is currently searching for a reliable, local Fido feed. If I can
find one locally, then most likely I will be active on one or more of the
echoes on a daily basis.
Future issues of AM-Report will contain full email addresses for all of the
above networks. If there are any other networks that you'd like to see
AM-Report actively participate on just send me some email with all the
pertinent information on the particular net.
My activity level on the different nets will vary. I plan on using some
automated scripts to log on to each at least once a week and pulling down all
the messages in the areas I am active. Email will be checked twice a week
except for CompuServe and Internet mail address to the CIS address which will
be checked several times a day. Other than that, I am planning at least one
interactive session a week on each service and more if there are an realtime
conferences of note.
DISTRIBUTION POLICY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The electronic edition of AM-Report International may be redistributed to any
electronic bulletin board or message service in its entirety. This includes
any commercial services such as CIS, GEnie, Portal, Delphi, and BIX as well
as non- commercial services such as Usenet, Fidonet, F-Net and any private
bulletin board systems regardless of access charge.
No charges specific to accessing AM-Report may be made with the exception of
standard online time usage charges and download/upload byte ratio charges.
[E.G.-- If you charge for accessing *any* file, then you can charge that same
amount for AM-Report, but if other files are free, AM-Report must be free,
also.]
Individual articles may not be edited, though entire articles may be removed
if a notice is posted that the article was removed. This is specifically for
Usenet, who removes any reviews and posts them separately in
comp.sys.amiga.reviews.
Sections of AM-Report may be reproduced in newsletters, memos, journals,
magazines, etc. with the following conditions and exceptions:
1) Credit must be given to the author of any article reproduced from
AM-Report. If no author is given, just give credit to AM-Report in general
and list the issue number. This can be done either at the end of the article
or in the masthead of the newsletter/magazine.
2) If possible, I would like to receive a complimentary copy of whatever
AM-Report is reproduced in. This isn't mandatory, since there are companies
who frown on internal newsletters being released to non-employees.
3) Commercial print magazines may reproduce articles from AM-Report with the
following restrictions:
A) Express written permission must be granted on an issue-
by-issue basis. Electronic mail is perfectly okay for
this.
B) Magazines in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom
may NOT reproduce AM-Report articles due to exclusive
distribution agreements with journals in those countries.
[These will be described in detail further on in this
editorial.]
C) Commercial magazines are given express permission to edit
articles for clarity and space.
AM-Report issues may be distributed with public domain disk collections and
user's group disks in either archived or non-archived format.
EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amiga Report International has entered into exclusive distribution agreements
with three print magazines in two countries: Amiga Mart in the United
Kingdom; Professional Amiga User in Australia and New Zealand; and Commodore
and Amiga User Review, also located down under.
Under these agreements, the print journals have the exclusive rights to
reprint articles from AM-Report without express written permission. Articles
may be edited for clarity and space and may be mixed in with items from other
sources. These magazines have access to the entire AM-Report library and
will also be given "exclusive" information that is not published in the
online edition. In return, AM-Report receives timely, first-hand information
from Europe and Down Under -- helping keep the *International* in AM-Report
International.
AM-Report invites any other commercial print journal to join in a similar
agreement with the only restriction being that if you wish "exclusive"
rights, you must be the first in that country/region to ask. Further details
are available through email.
NOTE: Commodore and Amiga User Review and Professional Amiga User are sister
magazines put out by the same publishing house and therefore considered as
one entity, Q.E.D.
----------
AM-Report also has an agreement with Usenet's comp.sys.amiga.reviews whereby
they (c.s.a.r) can republish any product review that appears in any issue of
AM-Report without express permission. By the same token, AM-Report can
publish any review appearing in c.s.a.r. without express permission.
----------
PRODUCT REVIEW POLICY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AM-Report's product review policy is quite simple -- I review what I can get
my hands on. During the course of my regular business, I have the
opportunity to use (and abuse) many new pieces of hardware and software.
These items I review as I get to know them, which may take upwards to 30
days, depending on the amount of time I have to spend with each item.
Anyone who has a product for the Amiga that they wish to see reviewed in
AM-Report can send it to me with a note and I'll see that it gets reviewed.
The rules I have for this are as follows:
Any non-hardware product (software, video tape, accessory) that has a retail
price of less than US$350, I get to keep. Any other products (non-hardware
over US$350 and all hardware) I will keep for a minimum of 30 and a maximum
of 45 days upon which they will be returned. You can either arrange (and pay
for) shipping or I will gladly ship via United Parcel Service, C.O.D. (for
shipping costs). [Unless you are feeling real generous and let me keep
whatever. ;-]
AM-Report has an Amiga 3000 and an Amiga 2500 right now, and I have access to
a Toaster, an A500 and a CDTV. I can handle both PAL and NTSC and have
enough RAM and hard drive space to take on just about anything you can name.
Within the next month or so I also will have a CD-ROM drive and a TCP/IP
network (all Amiga). Soon as the A600 is available in the U.S., I will have
one of them, too. AM-Report can handle Amiga, Mac, ST and PC disk formats as
well as almost any graphics format from 2 to 16.7 million colors.
This issue has a lot of news in it.
Commodore's 4Q92 figures are here, and so are the 1992 fiscal results.
Things are looking mixed.. Sales may be down a bit, but it is to be expected
with the general slowness of the world economy. Profits are higher, and
since sales were down that means Commodore has its margins in line for a
potentially gangbusters 2Q93 (Christmas). The quarterly results showed a
$21.9 million loss, but a profit of $27.6 million for the year. Everything
was slow *EXCEPT AMIGA UNIT SALES* which held steady even though the world
economy was very sluggish.
Reviews on AmiGrafix's Exotic Cars Vol. I & II, and Maxis' RoboSport and
SimEarth are included.
A new section devoted entirely to international (non-U.S.) news is packed
with information from places like Canada, Australia, the U.K., India and
others. While much of this is not Amiga-specific, it is all relevant to the
Amiga or the various Amiga-niches such as multimedia, desktop video,
interactive presentations, etc.
A computer news section covers items of interest about the industry's major
players.
Rumors have it that GEnie has lined up some official Commodore persons to be
the guests of honor at an online conference in the very near future.
AM-Report will (hopefully) be able to give you a transcript (or at least a
summary) of what goes on.
For those of you who can't make it to Pasadena for the upcoming show in
September, CompuServe's Steve Ahlstrom is trying to put together a live
online conference to cover reports from the show. Saturday, September 12th,
10:00 pm U.S. Eastern time, in the Amiga User section. Be there!
That's it for this time, I'll have more news after the World of Commodore
show in Pasadena.
-Chas
================================
COMPUTER NEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COMMODORE
~~~~~~~~~
FOURTH QUARTER 92 RESULTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM PR NEWSWIRE: For the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 1992,
Commodore reported a net loss of $21.9 million or $0.66 per share on sales of
$140.7 million. In the prior year quarter, Commodore reported net income of
$3.3 million or $0.10 per share on sales of $216.5 million.
The decline in sales for the fourth quarter was related to the
discontinuation of the low-end MS-DOS products, and a reduction in C64 sales
due to economic weakness in European markets, especially Eastern Europe.
Despite the significant economic softness throughout Europe, Amiga revenues
were equal to the prior year, although peripheral sales declined. While
overall PC revenues declined, revenues related to the continuing PC product
range increased significantly.
Gross profit for the quarter declined as a result of lower revenues, net
unfavorable pricing, volume related cost inefficiencies, and the adverse
impact of hedging and translation adjustments which substantially offset the
favorable impact on revenues of strengthening European currencies. Operating
expenses were reduced by 14 percent. Other income amounted to $8.7 million,
primarily reflecting net gains from the sale of certain properties. As a
result of these factors, the pre-tax loss for the quarter was $26.9 million
compared with a pre-tax loss of $4.3 million in the prior year. The tax
benefit for the quarter was significantly lower than the prior year,
resulting in a net loss of $21.9 million compared with net income of $3.3
million in the prior year.
FISCAL 1992 RESULTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commodore International Limited reported earnings of $27.6 million, or $.82
per share on sales of $911 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1992.
This compares with net income of $48.2 million, or $1.45 per share after
extraordinary charge on sales of $1,047.2 million reported for fiscal 1991.
Irving Gould, chairman and chief executive officer, stated: "Although we are
disappointed with our fourth quarter results, we remained substantially
profitable for the fiscal year. Our results for the quarter primarily
reflect global economic softness, especially in major European consumer
markets. We sold over 1 million Amigas in fiscal 1992 and are planning to
launch new Amiga products as we enter our traditionally strong Christmas
selling season. We are also redoubling our efforts to expand our PC business
and achieve substantially greater cost efficiencies."
[NOTE: Commodore stock dropped sharply (-24.7%) on heavy trading (1,200,000+
shares) after this announcement on 08/19/1992. Commodore stock is currently
at a yearly-low of jus over $6 per share (NYSE). -- Ed.]
----------
CBM DOWNGRADED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On August 20th, Steve Eskenazi, a stock analyst for Alex. Brown and Sons has
downgraded his rating on Commodore International Ltd. to neutral from buy and
has lowered 1993 earnings estimates to $1.00 to $1.25 a share on projected
sales of $900 to $950 million.
[NOTE: This is the second time in less than 30 days that Alex. Brown and Sons
has downgraded Commodore's rating: from strong buy to buy to neutral. --
Ed.]
----------
NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Product Model Number: A3000T-040
Product Description: Amiga 3000 Tower with a Motorola 68040 processor. The
MC68040 is running at 25 MHz and includes an on-chip
FPU. The A3000T-040 includes a 200 megabyte hard drive
and 5 megabytes of memory. The MC68040 provides
approximately 20 CISC MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops. The
A3000T-040 does not have either an MC68030 or a
MC68882 installed. Note: The A3000T-040 is an addition
to the product family and does not replace the A3000T.
Product Applications: The A3000T-040 is the perfect product for demanding
applications like complex animations, ray tracing, and
intensive graphics. Most applications that require
intensive computing will benefit when run on this
Powerhouse processor.
Compatibility: AmigaDOS 2.0
Manufacturers Suggested
Retail Price: $5998.00 US includes 1950/1960 Monitor through Sept.
30, 1992
Availability: First Reseller shipments are projected for mid-
September 1992
Promotion: Advertisement in September AmigaWorld, Byte, and
Amazing Computing Magazines. Commodore Press Release.
Note: Due to a typographical error the Advertisement in the September issues
of Amiga World and Amazing Computing incorrectly indicated that the MC68882
would be included in the A3000T-040. This error has been corrected in future
advertisements.
----------
NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Product Model Number: A3640
Product Description: Motorola 68040 upgrade card for the Amiga 3000T-25/200.
The processor speed is 25MHz, and includes an on-chip
FPU. The MC68040 provides approximately 20 CISC
MIPS, and 3.5 DP Megaflops. This product is intended
for use in the A3000T ONLY. Installation of the A3640
in any other Amiga product may cause system failure.
Product Applications: (same as A3000T-040)
Manufacturers Suggested
Retail Price: $1998.00 US
Availability: Initially all units will be shipped as part of an
A3000T-040 configuration. First reseller shipments of
A3640 boards is projected for early Q2, FY93.
------------
TITLE: World of Commodore Amiga Information
[Pulled from BIX, original post by Joann Dow]
World of Commodore Amiga
Pasadena, California
September 11-13, 1992
The Pasadena Center
300 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
Friday, September 11: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, September 12: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, September 13: 12 Noon - 5 p.m.
Admission:
$15/day
$30/three-day pass
Group discount tickets are available until August 21 for $8 each day.
Minimum order required for group rate - 25 tickets.
Admission price includes free seminars (watch for seminar schedule to be
posted here the week before the show).
Show Hotel: The Pasadena Hilton
150 S. Los Robles Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Show Rate: $79 single or double/twin
Reservations: 1-800-HILTONS Deadline: August 8, 1992
For more information, contact: Karen Jewell
tel (416) 285-5950
fax (416) 285-6630
Commodore will be introducing a number of significant product
enhancements at the show.
Here is a list of exhibitors scheduled to be at the show:
Amazing Computing
Ambitious Technologies
Amiga News
Amiga Video Graphics Guild
ASDG
Avid Publications
Black Belt Systems
Centaur Software
Central Coast Software
Commodore Business Machines
Computer Systems Associates
Creative Computers
Digital Creations
Digital Micronics
Euphonics
Gold Disk
Great Valley Products
ICD
IDG Communications
INOVAtronics
L.A. Video Toaster Group
Memory World
Merit Software
MicroPACE Distributors
Migraph
New Horizons
Nucleus Electronics
Opal Tech
OXXI
Pacific Digital
Premier Software
SAS Institute
Scala
Soft Logik
Sunrize Industries
Video Graphics Toast & Coffee
Virtual Reality
----------
>From Steven_Hurdle@amusers.UUCP (Steven Hurdle)
Organization: The Amiga Users Group of Victoria BC
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM COMMODORE!!!
Commodore Canada has officially announced a number of products.
- Hard Drive for CDTV expansion slot (presumably 2.5" IDE ala A600)
- DCTV upgrade card for CDTV (for CDTV video slot)
- Amiga 4000 an official product!!! To be shown to the public at WOC
Pasadena on September 12! It ***WILL*** have the AA ChipSet! Finally the
speculation is about to end!!
- AA ChipSet (as said above) officially announced.
- 600HD officially announced and SHIPPING with *40* meg drive, not the 20
meg the European versions have. It will retail for $799 Suggested Canadian
Retail, with street price likely to be lower in most centres (definitely so
if the units start selling in quanitity).
- A570 officially announced. No word on whether it will have internal RAM
and HD expansion like the UK final-revision vvrsion does (which was added
at the last minute). Officially ready to ship any time now.
- A3000T/040. Tower A3000 with '040 on a card in the CPU slot, 5 megs of
RAM, and a 200 meg HD. The '030 and '882 slots are empty. I couldn't find
out pricing, ther than to get an official comment that it would be "much
better" than adding an '040 card to a normal A3000T.
The A4000 and new CDTV add-ons to ship "this quarter" (read what you like
into that), but I was told that it will **DEFINITELY** ship before the end of
the year,come hell or high water. If you have the dosh sitting in the bank,
you WILL be able to have a AA ChipSet equipped A4000 before Christmas. These
announcements were made at a local show called the Multimedia Event (hosted
by Commodore and a local dealer). I had the scoop on all of them a few days
before the show, though I can't reveal my source. And I have the scoop on
one other (only slightly less official). AmigaVision 3.0 Professional! As
far as I can discern, this was not an error on my source's part though I'm
trying to validate that he didn't mean to say 2.0. Possibly this means there
will be an AmigaVision 2.0 hate to think I started a riot over some wrong
info)
[Ed. -- This was posted on Moonlighter BBS in Orlando, FL -- the official
online support BBS for AmiBack.]
========================
ATARI
~~~~~
Yes, Atari Corp. is still around and trying to sell computers. A couple of
months ago they showed a new ST-compatible computer at a German expo. The
"Falcon" is touted as Atari's savior and is scheduled to be introduced either
in late September or early October (1992). Here are the specs as published by
Atari Explorer Online magazine, Atari's official online magazine:
FALCON'030 REVEALED! -- The next generation of home computer is
"""""""""""""""""""" on the way and the Falcon'030 leads the
pack with power and features.
FALCON'030 at a GLANCE:
* Motorola 68030 Microprocessor running at 16MHz,
multi-tasking capable
* Motorola 68881 or 68882 16MHz Floating point co-processor
* Motorola DSP 56001 Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
* 1 to 16MB of memory and 512KB of ROM
* 16 bit BLiTTER Graphics co-processor running at 16 MHz
* Enhanced Broadcast TV quality Video
-- "True Color" 320x200 resolution, 32,768 colors or 640x480
resolution, 256 colors from a 264,144 color palette
-- VGA or Video 320 or 640 by 200 or 400 resolution, 2, 16, or
256 colors from a 262,144 color palette
-- Standard STe video modes with a 4096 color palette
-- RF modulator and VGA monitor connections
-- Overscan support
-- Genlock and multi-media capable
-- Graphics overlay and video tiling
-- Enhanced high speed 16MHz Blitter graphics co-processor
-- STe horizontal scrolling
* "CD quality" stereo sound
-- Stereo 16 bit Analog to Digital inputs
-- Stereo 16 bit Digital to Analog outputs
-- Eight channel stereo DMA sound engine with 16 bit PCM digital
record/playback with up to 50KHz sample rates
-- Stereo 8 bit STe compatible PCM sound
-- ST compatible 3 channel PSG sound
-- Multiplexer to connect Codec, DSP and DMA sound engine
-- Stereo microphone inputs and headphone outputs connected to a
16 bit stereo codec
-- DSP digital audio connector, up to 1MHz data transfer rate
-- Built-in monophonic speaker
* 1.44MB floppy drive
* Built-in IDE 2 1/2" hard drive interface (drive optional)
* SCSI II peripheral interface (hard drive, tape drive, etc.)
* Mega STe/TT compatible local area network (LAN) interface
* Enhanced modem/RS232 port
* ST and STe compatible joystick/controller ports
* Built-in "processor direct" expansion connectors
* On board real time clock and battery backed up RAM
* MIDI input and output
* Parallel printer port
* Enhanced keyboard controller allows 300 DPI mice
[Considering that the rumored price on this machine is around $1,000,
it isn't all that bad of a configuration. Still, that price doesn't
include a monitor, hard drive, or fpu and only includes 1 Mb of RAM.
The phrase "multitasking capable" means that the MultiTOS (Multi-
tasking Tramiel Operating System) that Atari has been working on is
projected to be finished sometime this decade. The RF and VGA outs
are interesting, and the IDE and SCSI-II interfaces is a good idea.
Atari's "true color" isn't really true color -- it is 32,768 out of
262,144 not the 16.7 million (palette and display) that is *true
color*. The specs look like they would make a decent low-end Amiga
(if you put custom chips in), but considering what Atari is going
through (lower market share, quarterly losses, smaller user base,
very negative press, poor dealer network, small developer base, etc.)
I don't think it'll go anywhere. Atari has neither the funds or
resources to make the Falcon a winner, much less the savior that
they need.]
---------
On August 27th, Atari Corporation reported their second quarter operating
results.
Sales for 2Q92 were $23.3 million, down from $49.2 million last year at this
time.
Atari included a $34.1 million dollar restructuring charge which helped them
post
a $39.8 million dollar loss for the quarter. Last year Atari posted a $30.4
million profit, but that was after selling a Tiawanese manufacturing facility
for
$40.9 million.
ATARI CORPORATION
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Periods Ended Quarter Six Months
June 30 1992 1991 1992 1991
Net sales $23,265 $49,210 $67,344 $112,654
Operating income (loss) (45,028) (5,783) (52,863) (6,937)
Exchange gain (loss) 4,706 (4,143) (1,863) (9,926)
Other income (exp.) net (315) 425 (236) 2,434
Interest (exp.) net of
interest income 669 (780) 1,137 (1,563)
Gain from sale of Taiwan
Manufacturing Facility -- 40,920 -- 40,920
Net gain from sales of
surplus property -- -- -- 1,800
Inc. bef. inc. taxes
& extraordinary credit (39,968) 30,639 (53,825) 26,728
Income taxes (220) 244 (229) 280
Inc. bef. extraord. credit(39,748) 30,395 (53,596) 26,448
Extraord. credit from
repurchase of subordinated
debentures -- -- -- 1,960
Net income (39,748) 30,395 (53,596) 28,408
Earns. per com. & equiva.
share: Primary:
Inc. bef. extraord. credit $(0.69) $0.53 $(0.93) $0.46
Net income (0.69) 0.53 (0.93) 0.49
No. of shares used in
computation 57,307 57,696 57,418 57,722
Fully diluted:
Inc. bef. extraord. credit $(0.69) $0.51 $(0.93) $0.46
Net income (0.69) 0.51 (0.93) 0.49
No. of shares used in
computation 57,307 60,372 57,418 60,398
----------
APPLE
~~~~~
Apple has plans to come out in the fall with a new version of the
Apple Macintosh LCII. This new unit is code named Brazil. The Brazil
will include a 68030, a CD ROM drive, color monitor and Apple's QuickTime
multimedia architecture prebundled. This Mac is due in October'92 though
consumer outlets priced around $1000.00. Also due out in the fall are at
least 2, possibly 3 new PowerBooks w/145meg HD and 4Meg ram. Plus
several System 7 upgrades and enhancements.
Apple is spinning three new business units off its Enterprise Systems
Division (ESD): Server and Services, Open Systems, Integration
Technologies. They are also adding a new support group, which is not a
business unit, to assist the divisions called Strategy and Operations.
Apple has unveiled the Powerbook 145 as a replacement to the Powerbook 140.
The 145 lists for $400 less and has a 25 MHz 68030 cpu as opposed to the
140's 16 MHz chip.
----------
DEC
~~~
Direct Marketing Magazine named Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), the
industry's largest mail-order seller. In 1990, Reuters reported DEC was
ranked #32 on their "Mail Order Top 250", and in 1991 they were ranked #16.
Digital officials speculated that their position on the list would rise
even further in 1992 because it has experienced "explosive growth" in PC
mail order sales since January.
Australia's Pacific Computer Weekly is reporting that Hewlett-Packard is
considering taking over Digital Equipment Corporation within the next nine
months.
============================
NEWS BITS
~~~~~~~~~
AUSTRALIA
~~~~~~~~~
Australia's Partnerships for Development Program (PDP) which has seen the
Federal Government negotiate research, development, and export agreements
with major international companies, may be resurrected after the current
scheme is phased out.
----------
Austel, Australia's telecommunications overseer has approved wider use of
voice compression systems. Experts are predicting that this will cut the
costs of phone services in heavy use areas such as Melbourne and Sydney as
well as more than quadrupling line capacity.
----------
The Australian New South Wales (NSW) Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has
developed an information system to help with the 18 million inquiries it
receives each year. The RTA called on Film Australia to help with the
development of the system, which uses multimedia technology.
The system uses a touch-screen display which guides RTA customers through to
the required information. Information is presented from a variety of printed
RTA material, as well as television advertisements. Examples of the
information available include addresses of regional RTA offices, travelling
times between almost 30 NSW towns, road safety, and licensing.
The portable unit will be on trial throughout next month in shopping centers
throughout Sydney. Although the system currently runs on an 80486-based PC
with 200 megabytes (MB) of memory, MS-DOS 5.0, a Sony video disk player and a
NEC 4D Multisync monitor, Cardillo did not rule out considerable changes in
the hardware, as new technologies arrive on the scene.
"We see ourselves as open developers in the sense that computer programmers
use the term, for it is unlikely the delivery system we use today will be the
one we use in five years' time. We are not locked into any particular
computer environment or delivery system," he explained.
[Ed. -- This sounds like a perfect application for an Amiga with AmigaVision.
It also sounds like the Film Australia rep isn't too enthusiastic with using
MS-DOS.]
==========
EUROPE
~~~~~~
According to IDC France, a market research company, Europe should see an
average of 10.7 percent annual growth in the software industry through 1997.
Last year (1991) saw a 10.6 percent increase.
----------
Bulgaria will soon join Hungary as the only Eastern European countries free
from most Cocom export restrictions. Cocom controls the export of high-tech
goods throughout the world.
----------
Mercury, a British Telecommunications company, has announced that it is about
to complete a fiber-optic link between the Irish isle and the British isle of
the U.K. Cables have been laid from both sides of the channel and are now
being connected together on the Isle of Man.
According to Mercury, the fiber optic cable link will be able to carry the
equivalent of 46,000 simultaneous telephone calls and forms part of a
500-kilometer digital network extension that will link Northern Ireland into
the mainland UK network at a cost of UKP 41.5 million.
Two undersea cables will connect the UK mainland with Northern Ireland. One
from Blackpool via the Isle of Man to Ballwater in County Down and the other
from Troon in Scotland to Whitehead in County Antrim.
The cable link between the UK mainland and Ireland is anticipated to be
operational by the end of this year.
----------
Commodore U.K. is offering a trade-in deal towards a new CDTV. Trade in you
old Amiga 500 and receive a UPK 200 discount towards a new CDTV. This brings
the suggested list price of a CDTV down from UKP 599 to UKP 399. Considering
that a brand new, bare-bones A500 package starts around UKP 249, that is very
close to getting full retail value in the trade.
The deal is only offered for a limited time. Many U.K. magazines are running
mull- page advertisements from Commodore on this deal, so complete details
shouldn't be hard to find.
==========
CANADA
~~~~~~
The Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) has won a court battle
against a Quebec-based chain of four computer stores: Centre d'ordinateurs
Microbec.
Last October, Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided Microbec after charges of
piracy were made. Approximately 140 computers that were loaded with illegal
copies of the MS-DOS operating system were seized as evidence. An August 4th
ruling handed down a conviction as well as a C$63,000 fine. Since the
company was convicted, all the seized computers were forfeited.
Charges against the managers of three Microbec stores have been dropped, and
charges against the company's owner, Guy Painchaud, will be dropped as long
as the fine is paid by January 17, 1995, CAAST said.
CAAST is based in Toronto and counts as it's members: Autodesk Canada,
Borland Canada, Lotus Development Canada, Microsoft Canada, Novell Canada,
and Quarterdeck Canada.
==========
ASIA
~~~~
Texas Instruments Japan has release in Japan its four-megabit video RAM chip.
This chips has already been released in other parts of the world.
----------
The SprintNet packet network has added new nodes in Singapore and Siberia.
SprintNet is the basis for PC-Pursuit and the Portal online network. Current
ex- Soviet nodes include ones in Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Kiev,
Ukraine, Moscow, Perm, Samara and St. Petersburg.
----------
Hitachi has developed an erasable and rewritable laser disk compatible with
current laser disks, which were originally developed by Pioneer Corporation.
Hitachi's new laser disk stores 25 minutes of motion picture recording.
----------
Pioneer and Toyo, Inc. have jointly developed an erasable and rewritable laser
disk.
----------
Sony has demonstrated the use of a blue-colored laser with compact disks.
Using the narrower blue beam as opposed to the current red beams has allowed
Sony to up the maximum music recording time of a CD from 74 minutes to over 3
and 1/2 hours.
----------
Canon Japan has introduced a new color copier that stores images of bank
notes in ROM. This allows the copier to refuse to duplicate the bank notes
in memory. Canon plans on including the memory ROM with all new color
copiers, starting in the next few years.
==========
U.S.A.
~~~~~~
Both SprintNet and Prodigy are planning linking their services to the
Internet network in the near future. Prodigy is also going to be linking
with ZiffNet, currently available only through CompuServe after pulling
support from Bix, which was recently purchased by General VideoTex' Delphi.
----------
Jupiter Communications representative Joshua Harris estimates the paying
subscription levels of the various online services to be as follows:
CompuServe: 1,000,000+
Prodigy: 800,000+
GEnie: 350,000+
America Online: 170,000+
Delphi: 50,000+
----------
Lotus has won a key victory over Borland in its suit on the look-and-feel of
the Quattro Pro & 1-2-3. The judge's ruling included this statement: "Lotus
1-2-3 is copyrighted. Borland copied copyrightable elements of 1-2-3 that
constitute a substantial part of that program. Lotus has sued and Borland is
liable." Borland seemed to be expecting the ruling, as within two days they
announced a revised version of Quattro Pro was shipping without the contended
code.
----------
3M has announced a new floptical drive priced around $300 that uses 3 1/2"
specially coated disks ($31 each) that can store around 20 Mb of data each.
----------
Pixel Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Cirrus Logic, has announced the
introduction of the CL-PX2070 Digital Video Processor and the CL-PX2080
MediaDAC chip. These chips have the ability to overlay graphics and text to
video in sequences; edit between single and multiple streams of video;
display data in multiple windows; all in real time, true-color,
high-resolution (1024x768 maximum) displays.
The PX2070 can act simultaneously on multiple streams of full motion video;
capturing, storing, processing and routing it all from either NTSC, PAL or
YUV- encoded RGB sources. It has a maximum memory capacity of 8 megabytes
which allows multiple viewport access into the same memory segment,
facilitating multiple source/display operations. Interpolation filters can
enhance low quality images by substituting pixels.
Add-in cards are expected for ISA and MicroChannel based computers for under
$1,000 in the near future.
==============================
HUMOR
~~~~~
The Laws Of Computer Programming
1. Any given program, when running, is obsolete.
2. Any given program costs more and takes longer each time it is run.
3. If a program is useful, it will have to be changed.
4. If a program is useless, it will have to be documented.
5. Any given program will expand to fill all the available memory.
6. The value of a program is inversely proportional to the weight of
its output.
7. Program complexity grows until it exceeds the capability of the
programmer who must maintain it.
--------
Pierce's Law
In any computer system, the machine will always misinterpret, mis-
construe, misprint, or not evaluate any math or subroutines or fail to
print any output on at least the first run through.
Corollary To Pierce's Law
When a compiler accepts a program without error on the first run, the
program will not yield the desired output.
--------
Osborn's Law
Variables won't; constants aren't.
--------
Troutman's postulate
1. Profanity is the one language understood by all programmers.
2. Not until a program has been in production for six months will
the most harmful error be discovered.
3. Job control cards that positively cannot be arranged in improper
order will be.
4. Interchangeable tapes won't.
5. If the input editor has been designed to reject all bad input, an
ingenious idiot will discover a method to get bad data past it.
6. If a test installation functions perfectly, all subsequent systems
will malfunction.
--------
Weinberg's Second Law
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then
the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.
--------
Sattinger's Law
It works better if you plug it in.
Jenkinson's Law
It won't work.
--------
Horner's Five Thumb Postulate
Experience varies directly with equipment ruined.
--------
Cheop's Law
Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.
--------
Rule Of Accuracy
When working toward the solution of a problem, it always helps if you
know the answer.
--------
Westheimer's Rule
To estimate the time it takes to do a task: estimate the time you
think it should take, multiply by two and change the unit of measure
to the next highest unit. Thus, we allocate two days for a one hour
task.
--------
Stockmayer's Theorem
If it looks easy, it's tough.
If it looks tough, it's damn near impossible.
--------
Brooke's Law
Adding manpower to a late software makes it later.
--------
Finagle's Fourth Law
Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it will only make
it worse.
--------
Featherkile's Rule
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
--------
Flap's Law
Any inanimate object, regardless of its position, configuration or
purpose, may be expected to perform at any time in a totally
unexpected manner for reasons that are either entirely obscure or
else completely mysterious.
==========================================
-*-*- PRESS RELEASE -*-*
SAS/C(r) DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM, VERSION 6.0
Software Designed for AmigaDOS(tm)
Release date: September 15, 1992
SAS Institute, Inc. is pleased to announce version 6.0 of its
C compiler development system for AmigaDOS.
Version 6 of the SAS/C Development System was developed
to provide users with a responsive, controllable C compiler
designed for the Commodore Amiga. The System presents
options for customizing and increasing the speed of
programming activities. Recommended for novices as well
as experienced programmers, the SAS/C Development System
addresses the needs of all who program in the C language.
New features since version 5 include the following:
* Online help for library functions, commands, and utilities
* Memory-resident precompiled header files for faster compiles
* Easy creation and debugging of shared libraries and devices
* Global optimizer and peephole optimizer
* #pragma tagcall statement for calling system routines
* Message Browser
* Customized Amiga-specific keywords
* Workbench and shell interfaces
* CodeProbe debugger
* Amiga to Amiga cross development
* Customization of the compiler interface
* SCOPTS options-setting program
* Fully integrated Workbench environment
Version 6.0 contains 1200 pages of all-new documentation, including
a quick reference guide, library reference manual, and a two-volume
user's guide. Except for the quick reference guide, all documentation
is in three-ring binders which lie flat while you work.
Free technical support is available from the Institute's Technical
Support Hotline, the Online Customer Support Facility, and on BIX and
Usenet.
The SAS/C Development System works with any Amiga computer running
AmigaDOS version 1.2, 1.3, 2.0 or later. The System requires 1MB of
memory, but some features are only available with 2MB or more of system
memory. A hard disk is recommended, but the system will work with two
880KB 3.5" diskette drives.
COST
Suggested Retail Price $395
Upgrade from SAS/C or
Lattice C Version 5 109
Users who have already
purchased the ANSI-
compliant library 87.20 (with appropriate proof--call for
details)
Upgrade from Lattice C
Version 4 197.50
Student discount 197.50
Competitive upgrade 197.50 (with appropriate proof--call for
details)
Degree-granting institutions contact SAS Institute about our Academic
Discount.
ORDERING INFORMATION
For more information or to order Version 6 of the SAS/C Development
System, contact your nearest Amiga dealer or SAS Institute at
919-677-8000.
SAS and SAS/C are registered trademarks of SAS Institute Inc., Cary,
NC, USA. All other trade names references are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
=======================================================================
The following sections describe in more detail some of the changes and
enhancements to the SAS/C Development System, Version 6.0.
Version 6.0 contains 1200 pages of all-new documentation, including
a quick reference guide, library reference manual, and a two-volume
user's guide. Except for the quick reference guide, all documentation
is in three-ring binders which lie flat while you work.
The SAS/C Development System has an extensive online help system
implemented using AmigaGuide, a hypertext system from Commodore.
The online help describes each utility, CodeProbe command, editor
command, library function, diagnostic message, and compiler option.
Help is available from within the editor, the debugger, the message
browser, the options program and from the Shell command line.
The SAS Institute Technical Support Division has a new facility
called EMITS (Electronic Mail Interface to Technical Support) that
allows you to report problems and receive help through Internet.
The "lc" compiler front-end has been replaced with the new "sc"
front-end, which takes options in a form similar to AmigaDOS command
templates. The new "sc" front-end accepts C source files, assembly
language files, object files, and libraries, which means you will
rarely have to invoke the assembler or linker yourself. You may specify
options before or after the filenames. Most options have a positive and
a negative form; none are toggles. This makes it easier to use them
with an options file.
To help you make the transition to Version 6, the SAS/C Development
System provides two utilities, "sc5" and "lctosc". The "sc5" command
accepts options in the form accepted by "lc" and invokes the Version 6
compiler. The "lctosc" utility accepts options in the form accepted by
"lc" and prints the equivalent "sc" options to stdout. Both "sc5" and
"lctosc" read the sascopts file, if present.
The Version 6.0 compiler, libraries, and header files are completely
ANSI-compliant. In addition, many language extensions customize
the compiler for the Amiga or simply make coding more convenient.
Most of the compiler executables (lc1, lc2, go) have been replaced
by shared libraries. If your system has enough memory, the shared
libraries remain loaded after their first use, thereby speeding
up compilation significantly. If memory runs short, the operating
system removes them for you automatically.
The precompiled header files in Version 5 have been replaced with
GSTs (Global Symbol Tables). GSTs are much faster than precompiled
headers because they remain in RAM between compiles if memory permits.
Some additional utilities, "gst" and "hypergst", allow you to
browse the RAM-resident GST files for information on symbols defined
in system header files or in your header files.
The new "scmsg" utility enables you to integrate any editor that
supports AREXX into the SAS/C Development System. A simple compiler
option routes all your error and warning messages to "scmsg", which
can invoke the editor of your choice and communicate with it as
necessary to edit the file and line number containing the error.
You can also program the keys in your editor to ask "scmsg" to
provide information about the errors and warnings.
The new peephole optimizer, which runs concurrently with Phase 2 of the
compiler, improves code quality significantly. The global optimizer
supports many new optimizations, including inline functions. You can
use the "__inline" keyword to specify a function that is to be inlined,
or you can give the optimizer conditions under which functions should be
automatically inlined.
Code generation has been greatly improved with 6.0. The new
code generator, in combination with the global and peephole
optimizers, makes much better use of registers and addressing
modes. The system makes intelligent decisions about what values
should be kept in registers. Instead of setting up a frame
pointer with the LINK and UNLINK instructions, the compiler
addresses all stack-based data items relative to the stack pointer,
thereby freeing an additional address register for use by your
program.
The CodeProbe debugger has numerous enhancements. The major
enhancements include the following:
The command syntax has been totally rewritten and greatly extended.
Normal C expressions, including casts and function calls, are
accepted anywhere a variable name can be used.
New windows include a memory window for browsing memory locations
and a calls window that allows you to see a traceback of all callers
of the current function.
Built-in functions are available to perform activities like
strcmp, strcpy, memcmp, and others from the debugger command line.
New support for debugging AmigaDOS shared libraries.
Automatic detection of enforcer hits caused by your program, halting
your program at the location of the hit.
Amiga-to-Amiga cross-debugging capability. This new feature allows you
to run your program on one Amiga and debug the program using another Amiga
connected through the serial port or a network file system.
The compiler still generates code by default to check for stack overflow
at the entry to each function. However, this code is more reliable
under Version 6.0. The compiler also supports a new option that
generates code to allocate a new stack and allow your program to
continue running if the old stack runs out.
The compiler now supports the common model for external data as
well as the strict reference-definition model used in 5.10. Under
strict reference-definition, external data may be declared in more
than one module, but may only be defined in one module. Under
common model, external data may be defined in more than one module,
and all such definitions are treated as a single definition. (A
declaration of external data uses the "extern" keyword; a definition
does not.)
The compiler now supports an option that generates special code to tell
you which portions of your program were executed by your test cases.
The new "cover" utility analyzes the data produced by the compiler when
you specify this option. This information helps you design test cases
that test all portions of your code.
The "stringmerge" compiler option, equivalent to the "-cs" option in
Version 5, merges all string constants and places them in the code
section. Unlike the Version 5 option, "stringmerge" also places all
data declared "static const" and all automatic initializer data in the
code section. This makes the near data section smaller and makes it
easier to write code that will go into ROM.
The compiler can now produce a disassembly of the generated object code.
The C source code is inserted as comments.
The compiler adjusts dynamically to low memory situations. If you
compile your program and your Amiga runs low on memory, the compiler
displays the message "***Freeing Resources" and frees memory to enable
it to continue the compilation. You can also use the "memorysize"
compiler option to limit the compiler's memory use.
You can designate autoinitialization functions that you want the startup
code to call automatically before it calls your main routine. You can
also designate autotermination functions that you want the termination
code to call after main returns.
System library bases that are not defined in your code are automatically
opened and initialized. This means that you do not need to explicitly
call OpenLibrary to initialize libraries such as intuition.library,
graphics.library, and others.
The SAS/C Compiler now permits references to unnamed unions and direct
references to members of substructures. The compiler also permits
zero-length arrays as members of structures.
The new #pragma tagcall allows you to call AmigaDOS functions that take
a variable parameter list without using assembler stubs.
The new #pragma msg allows you to control compiler diagnostic output
more closely. You can suppress or enable warning messages on a
line-by-line level.
The compiler now supports char, short, and long enum types.
Compiler error and warning messages are much clearer. Much more
information is given with the diagnostic. For example, code that in
previous version of the compiler would have produced the message
"argument type mismatch" would now produce the message "parameter type
mismatch; expecting "BPTR", found "struct FileHandle *" ". Also,
code that produced the error "external item attribute mismatch" would
now produce the error "function definition conflicts with prototype;
see line 68 file "protos.h" ".
The compiler can generate code to call Commodore's "utility.library"
under AmigaDOS 2.0 instead of using compiler-provided stub routines
to perform various out-of-line mathematical operations.
In addition to generating function prototypes, the compiler can now
generate declarations for external data items. This feature allows you
to maintain declarations for all functions and external data items in
your project that are brought up to date automatically simply by
specifying the "genproto" option and recompiling.
Examples are provided which show you how to use many of the new
features of the system, including special startup code, coverage
analysis, building shared libraries and so forth.
===========================================
COMPU-BITS
~~~~~~~~~~
Douglas Barney, Editor-In-Chief of Amiga World, has accepted a position with
InfoWorld magazine. The Editor-In-Chief of RUN will be taking over the
responsibilities of Amiga World as well as continuing with RUN.
----------
Oxxi has some new products and specials to announce.
SUPERBASE
~~~~~~~~~
Superbase Professional has been upgraded from version 1.01 to 1.2, correcting
known bugs in the older version as well as enhancing ARexx control, printer
support and DML commands. Upgrade price to registered users is $20.00.
Superbase Personal has been upgraded to include logical fields, query across
relationships and multiple files, store & recall report and query formats,
definition for up to 40 function key commands as well as fixing known bugs
and other improvements. Upgrade prices are $65.00 for registered users of
Superbase Personal, and $50.00 for registered users of Superbase Personal 2.
Superbase 4 LAN adds the ability for Superbase Pro to work over a network of
computers using either Superbase for the Amiga or SPC's Superbase Windows.
Superbase Pro packages can be upgraded to SBPro LAN as follows:
Single Amiga Upgrade: LIST $149.00 SPECIAL $ 99.00
Up to 5 Amigas: LIST $435.00 SPECIAL $290.00
Up to 10 Amigas: LIST $799.00 SPECIAL $535.00
Superbase Pro Developer's Extension adds a runtime module to SBPro 4 which
allows stand-alone applications to be written. The runtime-module is an
unlimited license and costs $399.95.
NETWARE CLIENT SOFTWARE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oxxi's Netware Client package is now shipping for the Amiga. This software
allows Amigas to hook into a Novell Netware network with Macs and PCs. The
server must be running Netware 2.15 or higher. The Amiga retains all
multitasking capabilities and Oxxi includes a number of Amiga-specific
network utilities. Price depends on the number of Amigas:
TOTAL PER NODE
Up to 1 Amiga $ 199 $199.00
Up to 5 Amigas $ 499 $ 99.80
Up to 10 Amigas $ 899 $ 89.90
Up to 20 Amigas $1299 $ 51.96
Up to 50 Amigas $1799 $ 35.98
Up to 100 Amigas $2999 $ 29.99
Contact Oxxi for larger setups.
GENERAL UPGRADES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM TO COST
AudioMaster I AudioMaster IV $ 34.95
AudioMaster II AudioMaster IV $ 34.95
AudioMaster III AudioMaster IV $ 29.95
SoundMaster AudioMaster IV $ 29.95
Aegis Draw Draw 2000 v2 $ 59.95
Aegis Draw Plus Draw 2000 v2 $ 59.95
Aegis Draw 2000 v1 Draw 2000 v2 $ 49.95
AudioMaster I SoundMaster/Magic $129.95
AudioMaster II SoundMaster/Magic $129.95
AudioMaster III SoundMaster/Magic $ 99.95
AudioMaster IV SoundMaster/Magic $ 99.95
SBbase Personal 2 Superbase Pro 4 1.2 $135.00
SBase Pro 3 Superbase Pro 4 1.2 $100.00
Any Oxxi software that requires a dongle to operate can be upgraded to a
non-dongle version for $10.00, including Superbase and Superplan.
COMPETITIVE TRADEUPS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM TO COST
Scala Presentation Master $149.95
T.A.C.L. Aegis Visionary $ 49.95
TexEd TurboText $ 59.95
CygnusEd Pro TurboText $ 59.95
Photon Paint II Aegis SpectraColor $ 49.95
These offers require that proof-of-purchase be provided. Oxxi considers a
photocopy of the release disks and/or the manual title page to be proof-of-
purchase.
MOVING SALE
~~~~~~~~~~~
Oxxi is relocating their offices and warehouses to South Orange County, CA
and are trying to liquidate some software. "Friends of Oxxi" (registered
owners of any Oxxi/Aegis product) can order from the following chart:
ITEM LIST SALE
ANIMagic $139.95 $ 54.95
AudioMaster IV $ 99.95 $ 44.95
AudioMaster III $ 99.95 $ 24.95
Draw 2000 $199.95 $ 79.95
Graphic Starter Kit $ 99.95 $ 19.95
Modeler 3D $ 99.95 $ 59.95
Presentation Master $299.95 $104.95
Pro/Motion $ 99.95 $ 34.95
Sonix $ 79.95 $ 19.95
SoundMagic/AudioMaster IV $199.95 $ 99.95
SoundTrax I & II $ 19.95 $ 9.95
SpectraColor $ 99.95 $ 29.95
SpectraColor for HAM-E $ 99.95 $ 34.95
Superbase Personal 4 $149.95 $ 84.95
Superbase Personal 2 $149.95 $ 44.95
Superbase Personal $ 99.95 $ 34.95
Superbase Pro 3 $299.95 $ 59.95
Superbase Pro 4 $299.95 $169.95
Superplan $149.95 $ 49.95
TurboText $ 99.95 $ 34.95
Visionary $ 99.95 $ 34.95
Visionary Handbook $ 29.95 $ 15.95
VideoTitler 3D w/LCA $159.95 $ 59.95
VideoScape 3D $199.95 $ 59.95
Contact Oxxi for complete information.
Oxxi Sales Dept
P.O. Box 90309
Long Beach, CA 90809-0309
VOICE: 310/427-1227 FAX: 310/427-0971
------------
[The following four mini-press releases were written by Joanne Dow and
published on BIX, the Byte Information Exchange.]
TITLE: ASDG SELECTS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR IN THE BENELUX
ASDG, makers of Art Department Professional, announce that they have
selected SCALA Computer Television BV as their exclusive distributor
in the Benelux (Luxembourg, Belgium, and The Netherlands).
Madison WI, July 30, 1992 --- ASDG Incorporated, the leading supplier
of image processing products for the Commodore Amiga, announce that
they have selected SCALA Computer Television BV as their exclusive
distributor in the Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands).
Both companies view this relationship as a tremendous benefit to their
clients, among of whom there is a large overlapping segment. Benelux
based users of SCALA, the premier authoring and presentation system
for the Amiga, can now get ASDG products (to make their presentation
graphics look their best) from the same source.
To learn more about ADPro and ASDG's other color imaging solutions
(including several exciting new products about to be released),
contact Gina Cerniglia at ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart Street,
Madison, WI 53713 or call (608) 273-6585. In the Benelux, contact
Leon Klinkers at SCALA Computer Television BV, Maarssenbroeksedijk 39
NL-3606 AG Maarssen Nederland or call (030) 413995.
----------
TITLE: MICROBOTICS, INC. SHIPS VXL RAM-32 WIDE MEMORY EXPANSION
MicroBotics is pleased to announce that it has released its VXL RAM-32 memory
expansion designed for use with VXL-30, the 68030 accelerator for the Amiga
500. RAM-32 provides either two or eight megabytes of high speed, 32-bit wide
RAM. When added to VXL-30, an extremely flexible system is created having the
following features:
* RAM can be mapped high or low (and appear as autoconfigured FASTRAM).
* Kickstart ROM can be mapped into VXL RAM-32 even without use of a memory
management unit.
* In 68000 mode, RAM-32 is accessible 16-bits wide as ordinary FASTRAM.
* Onboard socket supports the addition of an alternate Kickstart ROM
(AmigaDOS 2.04 for example). Alternate ROM is software or hardware
selectable.
* Defaults are set by jumper and changeable on the fly via included software.
* When mapped low, DMA transfers are supported.
* All-new, comprehensive memory testing software included.
With RAM-32 installed, the VXL-30 system matches the speed of the Amiga 3000
at 25MHz and is about 50% faster with a 40MHz processor/fpu installed. A
typical, complex object ray-trace (using Impulse's IMAGINE software) is about
sixteen times faster when executed on a 25MHz VXL-30/RAM-32 system.
RAM-32 is available with two megabytes installed at a suggested list price of
$299 or with eight megabytes installed at a suggested list price of $799. VXL
RAM-32 requires the presence of the VXL-30 Accelerator product.
See your Amiga dealer or contact:
MicroBotics, Inc.
1251 American Parkway
Richardson, Texas 75081
(214) 437-5330
----------
TITLE: ASDG announces TruePrint/24, high quality gray scale and color
printing.
ASDG announces the availability of TruePrint/24, a new stand-alone
utility which outputs 24 bit-plane color or 8 bit-plane gray scale
images on Preferences supported printers. TruePrint/24 can output
prints of any size from single pages to outdoor signs. You can even
print graphics on non-graphics printers (such as daisy wheels).
Madison WI, August 6, 1992 --- ASDG Incorporated, makers of the award
winning Art Department Professional, announce the availability of
TruePrint/24 (TP/24), a stand-alone printing utility which puts high
quality 8 and 24 bit-plane printing within reach of all Amiga owners.
TP/24, listing at $89, can produce stunning prints with 16 million
colors (24 bit-planes) on most Preferences supported color printers
without the need for custom drivers. TP/24 can also print 256 shades
(8 bit-planes) of gray on black and white devices such as laser
printers. Prior to TP/24's release, the Amiga's operating system was
limited to printing 4096 colors or 16 shades of gray.
Especially exciting is TP/24's ability to output prints of any size,
even as large as outdoor signs. And, TP/24 can print directly from
disk rather than requiring the image fit entirely in memory.
TP/24 provides 11 dithering and halftoning techniques, including
traditional as well as artistic methods. One method even allows the
printing of images with 32 shades of gray on character only devices
such as daisy wheel printers.
TP/24 is fully compatible with Kickstart versions 1.3 and 2.X. Art
Department Professional is not required to use TP/24.
To learn more about TruePrint/24, ADPro or ASDG's other color imaging
solutions, contact Gina Cerniglia at ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart
Street, Madison, WI 53713 or call (608) 273-6585.
Art Department is a registered trademark and TruePrint/24 is a
trademark of ASDG Incorporated. Amiga is a registered trademark of
Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
--------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hotlinks - Hotlinks - Hotlinks - Hotlinks
-----------------------------------------
Black Belt Systems is pleased to announce support for Soft Logik's
"HotLinks" file publish/subscribe system, as part of the standard
Imagemaster release. This is another first for Black Belt; we are
the first developer to provide comprehensive HotLinks support,
though in this case, we'll all benefit as the other developers
catch up to us. Again. :^)
Hotlinks allows you to share items (images in this case) between
programs via intermediate files which are handled by the HotLinks
system. Benefits include not having to exit applications, or manually
import or export data - Hotlinks "knows" when an item (like an image)
in a document has changed, and will correctly deliver the goods when
the output is generated. Hotlinks keeps track of the latest version
of your files and maintains them as up-to-date. Hotlinks is a very
exciting capability newly added to the Amiga by Soft Logik.
This is not vaporware; Imagemasters HotLinks capability will be
generally available beginning this coming week (the week of August
31st). Black Belt Systems would like to express our thanks to Soft
Logik, who has co-operated in the spirit of the finest Amiga
developers.
Note that when other developers release HotLinks capabilties,
Imagemasters HotLinks tools will link our image files to their
applications as well; as other software matures in this way, a
great deal more power will be afforded the user.
--Ben Williams
Black Belt Systems
----------
PRESS RELEASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Horizons is pleased to announce a new upgrade to ProWrite, the best
selling Amiga word processor. ProWrite version 3.3 adds a number of
enhancements over version 3.2; these enhancements include:
* HotLinks
ProWrite 3.3 supports the HotLinks dynamic data exchange system developed by
Soft-Logik Publishing. This gives you a very close integration between
ProWrite and other HotLinks-capable programs; you can edit text in ProWrite
and have it automatically incorporated into your desktop publishing system,
or change graphics in a drawing or painting program and have the changes
automatically brought into ProWrite!
* Automatic Text Wrap Around Pictures
You can now have text automatically wrap around pictures, either block-style
or following the picture's curves, and with an adjustable offset.
* Picture Enhancements
There are a great many enhancements to picture handling in ProWrite 3.3,
including the ability to name pictures and search for them in your documents,
and precise control over a picture's location and size.
* Print Preview
Now you can get a reduced view of the each page of your document, to see on
the screen how your final layout looks.
* Improved Font Handling
You can specify any font size for your text, not just those that are
installed on your system. This gives you complete creative control over your
text's appearance, and is especially useful if you are using outline fonts or
printing on PostScript printers.
* System Clipboard Support
ProWrite 3.3 can exchange text and pictures with other Amiga programs through
the Amiga's system clipboard.
* Macro and AREXX Enhancements
ProWrite 3.3 adds a very large number of new macro commands, giving you
virtually complete control over ProWrite's operation through AREXX.
* Kickstart 3.0 and New Amiga Graphics Chips Support
ProWrite 3.3 includes support for new features in Kickstart 3.0, as well as
allowing you to open up to 256 color screens on machines with the new Amiga
graphics chips.
* And Much More!
There are many more improvements throughout the program; things like document
password protection, an optional vertical ruler, and much faster PostScript
picture printing.
ProWrite 3.3 will be shipping in September 1992, with a new suggested retail
price of $99.95 US.
Registered owners will be sent upgrade information in the mail. Upgrade
information is as follows:
Upgrading from version 3.0 or later: $20.00
from version 2.5 or earlier: $60.00
Shipping and handling in US: $5.00
other countries: $10.00
(Texas residents must add 8% sales tax.)
James Bayless
New Horizons Software, Inc.
-------------------
TITLE: Desktop Video World
DESKTOP VIDEO WORLD LAUNCHED BY
TECHMEDIA PUBLISHING, INC., AN IDG COMPANY
Peterborough, NH (August 24, 1992) - Dale Strang, President
of TechMedia Publishing, Inc., recently announced the launch
of Desktop Video World magazine. The magazine will make its
debut on national newsstands on January 12, 1993.
Desktop Video World is the first publication specifically
targeted at the merging computer and video markets. This
market is estimated to grow to $625 million in 1992 and by
1995 will hit several billion dollars. The desktop video
market is comprised of computer users, multimedia producers
and videographers.
According to Strang, "After extensive research, we have
determined that there is an information void in this young
marketplace created by the merging of computers and video.
For a reasonable investment, one can set up a desktop video
suite and create professional, broadcast quality videos.
The number of products in the market are growing rapidly.
The time is right for such a publication to support the
needs of these users and to help push the market forward."
Lou Wallace, Desktop Video World Editor in Chief,and his
staff have a comprehensive issue planned that will
thoroughly cover this emerging market. The issue will
contain articles on such topics as the newest products
available, views from industry experts on the desktop video
revolution and profiles on desktop videographers. Of
interest to all is a full-length feature on everything
needed to set up a desktop video studio. Editorial content
will cover the Amiga, Mac and PC platforms.
Desktop Video World will be published by TechMedia
Publishing, Inc., an International Data Group company.
TechMedia publishes AmigaWorld, for users of the Commodore
Amiga, and RUN, for users of the Commodore 64 and 128. IDG
is the world's largest publisher of computer-related
information with over 185 computer publications in more than
58 countries.
============================
The following info on Babylon 5 was provided by J. Michael Straczynski.
Start Date: Feb 1993
BABYLON 5
~~~~~~~~~
WHAT IS BABYLON 5? - History
Babylon 5 is a new science fiction project for television
that has been in top-secret development, first with Chris-Craft
Television, and then in combination with its associate Warner Bros.,
for over three years. Selected early on as one of several flagship
projects for a new fledgling network, the producers and creator of
Babylon 5 used that time to fully flesh out the universe in which
our stories would be told.
First, a series treatment and bible was written by J. Michael
Straczynski, creator and co-executive producer of Babylon 5. This
was then followed by a 2-hour screenplay for a TV movie entitled
"The Gathering." Also developed were storylines for a first full
season of episodes, and artwork was commissioned that illustrated
what, and where, Babylon 5 was. Finally, a video demo tape was
produced. By the time this was completed, Warner Bros. was in
place to make an important announcement.
On November 20, 1991, Warner Bros. held a press conference
in Burbank, California, to announce the formation of a fledgling
network, similar to the Fox networld be the first Consortium project to air,
making it the fledgling network's flagship production. The target
airdate for "The Gathering" is Tuesday, November 17th, 1992.
[JMS announced in May that Warner Bros. had pushed back the start date
to Feb, 1993 due to the other shows ("Time Trax" and the new "Kung Fu"
series) not being ready to air until Feb).
WHAT IS BABYLON 5 -- The Concept
The year is 2257. Mankind has gone to the stars, and we
have found that we are not alone. There are other governments and
empires that are far older than ours, and some that are younger.
Some we met in peace, and began an exchange of technology and
information that substantially increased the pace of Terran space
exploration and colonization. Some contacts were hostile.
And some led to outright war. The Earth/Minbari war lasted
for almost a decade, and led to one of the great mysteries of the
time in which our story is set. On the very edge of victory over
the Earth Alliance, when everything Earth tried had failed and their
destruction seemed imminent...the Minbari surrendered. It is now
five years later, and the dark secret behind the Minbari surrender
will finally begin slowly to emerge.
And over the course of the series, that secret will have a
direct and substantial impact on Babylon 5.
As for Babylon 5 itself...it is a space station roughly
three miles in length, with docking bays fore and aft. It is made
up of sections that rotate at varying speeds to create alternate
gravities to accommodate various lifeforms. Different atmospheres
are also used in different sections. Babylon 5 is located at a key
jump-point; to get from any one of the five major confederations
(four alien, one human), you almost always have to pass through this
sector of space. Thus, the area surrounding Babylon 5 has been
designated Neutral Territory.
Babylon 5 itself, therefore, functions as a sort of futuristic
free-port, a space-borne Casablanca open to travelers from anywhere,
going anywhere; people fleeing from something or escaping to something,
on missions of urgency...smugglers, diplomats, scientists, mappers,
traders, soldiers, refugees...sooner or later, they all come to
Babylon 5.
The station boasts substantial facilities, including the
docking bays, customs areas, nightclubs, casinos, meeting rooms,
a Rent-A-Telepath service for use by businessmen, living quarters
and other facilities. Because the station creates its gravity by
rotation, like an O'Neill sphere, the very center of Babylon 5 is
a null-gravity area. On the fringes of that round section, where
gravity returns, hydroponic and other forms of gardens and crops
have been planted. In that respect, Babylon 5 is a self-enclosed
planet turned inside-out. It is self-sustaning in most regards.
Though run under the nominal jurisdiction of the Earth
Alliance, the station also has an advisory council consisting of
one ambassador from each of the four major alien confederations,
with the station commander forming the fifth, tie-breaking vote.
In that sense, the station serves as a sort of min-U.N., the
first time all five groups have ever gathered together before
under one roof. As such, Babylon 5 represents the best chance
for peace that's come along in a very long time.
But there are also those who profit by trying to
sabotage that peace. And they, too, come to Babylon 5.
The station is called Babylon 5 because it is not the
first such attempt. Babylons 1 through 3 were sabotaged and
destroyed. Babylon 4 disappeared mysteriously, without a trace,
24 hours after becoming operational. Which makes life aboard
Babylon 5 tenuous at best. They are very literally on the fringe,
on their own. If something should happen, no one could reach
there in time to help.
Babylon 5 is run by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, a nominal
war hero during the Earth/Minbari war (who is missing 24 hours of
memory from the last day of that war), though he serves more as
diplomat and figurehead most of the time. In general, the actual
day-to-day operations of Babylon 5 are actually run by Laurel
Takashima, one of the few command crew actually born on Earth, she
is consistently on top of things and is Sinclair's buffer between
his diplomatic responsibilities and the physical running of the
station.
There are, in total, ten regular, recurring characters,
in addition to whatever new characters may enter during any given
episode. The intent is to create an ensemble show with widely
divergent characters, some good, some bad, but most a mix of the
two.
Where some shows might show a perfect world without
conflict, where everything works as it should, where the regular
characters have no character flaws or inner doubts, the residents
of Babylon 5 are very different. They have all the flaws to which
humans have always been prey. The mistake is in the belief that
technology means perfection, somehow eradicating humanity, which
has been shown not to be the case. In 1792, people worked, got
married, had affairs, had children, grew angry, touched passion
and hoped for a better future. In 1992, though technology has
given us 200 years of progress, of flying machines and computers,
humans still work, get married, separate, have children, have
affairs, grow angry, touch passion and hope for a better future.
In 2257, our humanity continues, full of all its flaws and latent
nobility. Those aspects may be enhanced, for good or ill, by the
new technologies, but we are still recognizeably human.
The primary goal behind Babylon 5 is to do a show that is
both good sicence fiction and good televison. An SF series without
cute robots or kids. An SF series that is thoughtful, but which
has action. An SF series for grownups, with the same level of
characterization and storytelling found in such shows as Hill Street
Blues or St. Elsewhere or L.A. Law.
In preparing Babylon 5 for production, a comprensive five
year arc has been created. Though stories will stand on their own
in each episode, the series overall will gradually tell a story on
a much grander scale, a tapestry of falling and rising empires in
which one or two individuals may mean the difference between a new
dark ages on one side and a future of hope on the other. In that
respect, Babylon 5 will be treated as a five-year miniseries, with a
definite beginning, middle, and end, with each year equalling one
"chapter" or book in the saga. In that respect, it has been likened
by some to going for the broad tapestry of a Lensman or Foundation
series of books.
BABYLON 5 - Behind The Scenes
The production team assembled for work on Babylon 5 consists
of the best and the brightest, including EFX experts and others who
have worked on such projects as TERMINATOR 2, HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS,
THE ABYSS, TOTAL RECALL and other films. Heading up the effects and
production elements are Ron Thornton (computer EFX) and John Iacovelli
(production designer). Ron, one of the country's foremost experts in
computer-generated graphics, will be working with NewTek -- creators
of the Video Toaster, a company on the cutting edge of computer EFX
technology -- to create images never before seen on television. John
Iacovelli, from HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, is bringing a range of
innovative new techniques to give the everyday scenes of Babylon 5
in action a vastly different and futuristic look.
(If you're interested at getting a sneak peek at Babylon 5
itself, there are two ways of doing it: 1) Find a copy of STARLOG
SPECTACULAR #4, March 1992, and turn to page 54. The photo that
fills the bottom half of the page is an early version of the B5
station. 2) Call NewTek at (800) 765-3406 and request a copy of
their latest demo tape. This tape contains a moving Babylon 5
station, and a starship that is also used in the first part of
the B5 demo itself, though the two are shown in reverse order.)
Other EFX people working on Babylon 5 have been drawn from
the ranks of Hollywood's finest, ranging from the Henson Creature
Shop to those who've worked in James Cameron's Lightstorm Prods.
Most importantly, every person thus far associated with
Babylon 5 is a fan of the SF genre, and wants to join in the
excitement of creating a brand new universe. Every effort will
also be made to keep the SF as "real" and rigorous as possible.
In addition to good SF going into the production side,
quality SF will also play a role in the creative vision of the
project. When Babylon 5 goes into series in 1993, it will draw
upon the talents of leading SF writers for its stories, much in
the tradition of the original Trek series.
The creator of Babylon 5 has a long and healthy
relationship with SF and related genres. He has previously been
the story editor and primary writer for the syndicated Twilight
Zone series, and his recent adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for Showtime earned him both Ace and Writers
Guild Award nominations. He has story edited such other series
as Captain Power, the animated Real Ghostbusters, and such
mainstream network programs as Jake and the Fatman and, concurrent
with Babylon 5's development, producer on the highly rated Murder,
She Wrote. He has also written many published short stories, a
published anthology, and two published dark fantasy/horror novels.
BABYLON 5 -- Where To Find It
Stations slated to carry Babylon 5:
NEW YORK: WWOR, LOS ANGELES: KCOP, CHICAGO: WPWR, PHILADELPHIA: WPHL,
SAN FRANCISCO: KBHK, BOSTON: WSBK, WASHINGTON DC: WDCA, DALLAS: KTXA,
DETROIT: WXON, HOUSTON: KTXH, ATLANTA: WATL, CLEVELAND: WUAB, SEATTLE: KSTW,
TAMPA: WTOG, MINNEAPOLIS: KMSP, MIAMI: WDZL, ST. LOUIS: KPLR, SACRAMENTO:
KRBK, PHOENIX: KUTP, DENVER: KDVR, BALTIMORE: WNUV, HARTFORD: WTXX,
ORLANDO: WOFL, SAN DIEGO: XETV, INDIANAPOLIS: WTTV, PORTLAND OR: KPTV,
MILWAUKEE: WVTY.
CINCINNATI: WSTR, KANSAS CITY: KSMO, RALEIGH: WLFL, GRN-SPR-ASH: WHNS,
NORFOLK: WGNT, SAN ANTONIO: KABB, OAKLAHOMA CITY: KOOB, HARARISBURG: WPMT,
W. PALM BEACH: WTVX, SYRACUSE: WSYT, ROANOKE: WJPR, DES MOINES: KDSM,
PORTLAND ME: WPXT, SPOKANE: KAYU, BATON ROUGE: WGMB, WACO: KWKT,
SANTA BARBARA: KADY, MONTEREY: KCBA, AUGUSTA: WFXG, LAFAYETTE LA: KADN,
COLUMBUS GA: WXTX, YAKIMA: KCY, ODESSA: KPFJ.
For up-to-the-minute info, check out GEnie Science Fiction RoundTable
Category 18, Topic 22. GIF format pictures are available on both GEnie and
Compuserve in their respective file areas.
--------------------------
AMIGRAFIX EXOTIC CARS (IMAGINE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You open the car door. You slide in behind the wheel, the custom-made seat
embracing you in welcome. The padded leather of the steering wheel tickles
your palms, pleading, enticing, begging you to come for a ride. But perhaps
you're not in the mood for casual elegance today. You want to relax and have
a little bit of fun at the beach. So you change your mind and go to your
other car.
This car is sleek. Even standing still it's screaming with speed. You just
put the top down, turn the stereo up, and do some major cruisin'. Hot times,
hot days, and hot cars.
Sounds great, but a bit beyond your reach? The insurance alone would
overwhelm you? Guess again. You can have it all with the new "Exotic Cars:
Vol. 1 & 2" from AmiGrafix, Inc. It's the most professionally produced 3D
object package available for Imagine.
AmiGrafix has included both volumes in one package. The car in Volume One is
called the "Jackhammer." It reminded me of a close relative of the 1992
Corvette. The second volume, the "Ectasis," looks very much like a Ferrari.
On each disk there are two versions of each car. One is configured for low
memory, the other for high. AmiGrafix called them Loram and Hiram,
respectively. The packaging gives a 2Mb minimum, but recommends 3Mb of
memory.
Testing took place on machines with various memory capacities - 3, 5, and
10Mb. The 3Mb machine choked up on the Hiram versions when I applied all the
color maps and put in a high res background image. The Loram versions worked
fine on all the machines. The Hiram versions worked great on the 5Mb and
10Mb machines, using the same setup I had for the 3Mb system.
Unlike most objects I find, whether public domain or purchased on store
shelves, these were designed with animation in mind. They come with complete
cycle setups, making any kind of animation look smooth and effortless.
Anything a car can do, including tire movement, these objects can do.
AmiGrafix also included two sets of attributes (HAM and 24-bit), and color
and altitude maps for tires, rims, dashboard and even license tag.
Performing the otherwise painful task of animating these objects is as simple
as moving, twisting, or rotating one of the many preset axes in the cycle
editor. In fact, it only took fifteen minutes to set up a ten second
animation involving opening the driver's side door, closing it, rolling down
the windows, rolling up the headlamps, backing out of a parking space and
driving away, complete with turning and rotating wheels.
Another breath of fresh air is the documentation. Although it is not
extensive, it does cover placing the included image maps properly. It also
explains how the scaling is set up so you can integrate these objects into
your own animations. Although accustomed to printed documentation, I found
that disk-based information wasn't a problem. It also cuts down on the cost
for the publisher, and therefore the consumer.
This is by far the most complete and impressive set of objects available.
AmiGrafix has produced a package for Imagine that's both professional and fun.
It's a must for any serious animator. So c'mon...use your Imagine, your
AmiGrafix -- and your imagination.
You can reach AmiGrafix at the following address:
AmiGrafix, Inc.
P.O. Box 2063
Apopka, FL 32704-2063
Scott Bragg is an independent 3D animator and Amiga consultant living in
Winter Park, Florida. Laura Handy is a writer of both technical pieces and
fiction. They are partners involved in Synergy Software, a company
specializing in Amiga retail, consulting, and animations. They can be
reached at:
Synergy Software
3155 Terry Brook Drive, #1707
Winter Park, FL 32792
(407)672-2125
[NOTE: "Exotic Cars Vol. I & II" are available for Imagine or Lightwave.
Since I use Real 3D for my rendering work, I handed the disks over to some
people who are familiar with Lightwave and Imagine. The Imagine version
review is what appears here -- the Lightwave review will be in the next
issue. From what *I* have seen of the Exotic Cars objects, I am impressed.
The level of detail is astounding right down to workable headlights,
shiftable transmission lever, workable doors and windows, etc. If the
package only contained the objects, it would be worth purchasing, but
AmiGrafix included textures, settings for proper motion paths, etc.
Everything necessary to get up and rendering in minimal time. The package is
on par with the Cycleman/Motionman object packages. -- Ed.]
--------------------
RoboSport
"Reprinted from ViewPort, a *StarShip*(tm) production available on GEnie(R)."
____ By Zach Meston
(_ _)
/ / 've got a confession to make. I played the Macintosh version of
/ / this game nearly a year ago. It's not something I'm proud of, and
_/ / it will certainly come up if I ever run for public office (grin),
(____) but it also means that I was intimately familiar with RoboSport
well before the Amiga version was released. I'm pleased to say that
RoboSport is as outstanding on the Amiga as it is on the Mac.
RoboSport is essentially a wargame with a futuristic setting. You
command a group of robots on a battlefield known as the Arena. The
action is broken up into 1- to 40-second-long turns. (The default turn
length is 15 seconds.) An excellent point-and-click interface is used to
program your robots' actions during the turn. When you're done
programming, the game calculates the turn and creates a "Movie" showing
the action that took place. After you're done studying the Movie, a new
turn begins. The game continues until only one of group of robots is left
(or, in some scenarios, when time runs out).
There are five different scenarios in RoboSport: Survival (a simple game
of kill or be killed), Treasure Hunt (collect coins placed randomly in
the Arena), Flag Capture (snatch and grab the enemy's piece of flying
fabric), Hostage (rescue your captured robot while preventing the enemy
from doing the same), and Baseball (tag bases placed randomly around the
Arena).
RoboSport really comes into its own as a multi-player contest. You can
play multi-player games on a single Amiga, on two Amigas connected via
modem or direct serial linkup, or on an Amiga network system (using
TCP/IP software and Ethernet hardware). You can even connect with
Macintosh and MS-DOS machines running RoboSport.
Like Maxis' previous release, SimAnt, RoboSport has two graphic modes:
lo-res (320 by 200, 16-color) and hi-res (640 by 400, 16-color). SimAnt
required two megabytes of RAM for the hi-res mode, but RoboSport only
requires one megabyte (although two megs is recommended).
The hi-res version is amazingly playable on a "stock" Amiga. The screen
updates are fast and fluid, and the notorious hi-res screen flicker is
hardly noticeable. (Playing in hi-res mode is recommended for a simple
reason: you can see four times as much of the Arena during play, which
means a much better view of the action.)
The graphics are excellent throughout, from the title sequence to the
award ceremony at the end of a battle. The sound effects are also very
well done; robots scream "Ow!" when they're hit by gunfire, and chuckle
smugly when they destroy an enemy. The humorous audio-visuals, combined
with the excellent interface, make RoboSport a joy to play.
The verdict: RoboSport is a very good game for one player, and a
fantastic game for two or more players. Even if you're not normally a
fan of strategy games or wargames, give RoboSport a look. You'll be
impressed.
Maxis Two Theatre Square Suite 230 Orinda, CA 94563-3346 (510) 254-9700
Requires 1MB of RAM 1MB Chip RAM and 1 MB Fast RAM recommended for hi-res
version Hard Drive installable with manual look-up protection
--------------------
SimEarth: The Living Planet
"Reprinted from ViewPort, a *StarShip*(tm) production available on GEnie(R)."
by Jim Meyer
____
(_ _) had been playing the newly-released SimEarth for a few weeks
/ / when reality, which intrudes from time to time, began to
/ / resemble SimEarth. The Western states were on fire. Too much
_/ / oxygen? Florida, and then Louisiana, were flattened by hurricane
(____) Andrew. Were the oceans too warm? I couldn't resist the temptation
to adjust the atmospheric model, but it didn't seem to help.
It wasn't my first time with SimEarth. You'll find my name - or
something close to it - in the SimEarth manual, as a beta tester. I'll
have to confess, though, that the release version of SimEarth was the
first playable version I had seen. My two beta versions had arrived with
disk errors, so I never got the chance to test anything.
SimEarth is another in a series of "software toys," as Maxis calls them.
It allows you to preside over the evolution of a planet, controlling the
various conditions and events which conspire to create or destroy life.
SimEarth owes its existence to James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia
theory. (Simply stated, the Gaia theory holds that the Earth is a single
system comprised of many components. Each of these components - plants,
animals, birds and snails - works in concert with the others to maintain
the Earth as a viable entity, hospitable to life.)
SimEarth comes on two disks. One contains the hi-res version, the other,
the low-res version. The "piracy protection" requires you to answer a
question, like "What is the density of Mars?" I like this approach. The
manual - 220 pages of instructions and information - is not something
that you'll allow to stray far from your computer, and it has all the
answers. It's also plain fun to read.
Once you've gotten past the opening, you'll have the opportunity to
choose your planet. This can be Earth, a random planet, Aquarium,
DaisyWorld, Venus, or Mars. Venus and Mars are not exactly hospitable
places. You'll have to terraform them if you want them to support life.
Fortunately, with SimEarth, you have the tools. You have the technology.
You can rebuild them, make them better than before...
The action in SimEarth takes place in a number of different windows. The
Edit window presents a portion of the planet, and contains the tools
you'll need. These tools let you place lifeforms - ranging from
single-cell prokaryotes to insects, reptiles, and mammals - as well as
trigger events, place plant life, and alter land or sea height. Just
about anything you could want is here, including CO2 generators, ice
meteors (just perfect for those ugly, dry planets!) and - courtesy of
Arthur C. Clarke - a Monolith, to help induce sentience.
SimEarth also gives you control over several "models," such as the
interaction between the sun and the planet, geologic and tectonic
activity, and the biosphere - reproduction, mutation, and advancement
rates of species, as well as thermal tolerance and CO2 absorption. The
Civilization model lets you determine how your energy is invested and
allocated. In short, you control just about everything that could happen
to a planet. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong. Too much heat and your oceans boil off. Too little, and
everything freezes. Too much oxygen and your forests spontaneously
ignite. Too little, and everything dies. Let your oceans get too warm
and you'll be confronted with a plague of hurricanes. How you invest and
allocate your energy can make the difference between life and death.
Allocate more energy to science than philosophy and you might find your
creatures creating bigger and better weapons, without the discipline to
refrain from killing one another. Even the arrangement of your land
masses can make a difference. In one scenario, Stag Nation, all sentient
life (mammals, in this case) exists on a small island. Because they
can't migrate to larger land masses, they're stuck in the stone age.
SimEarth has four levels of difficulty. Normally, everything "costs"
some number of energy units. In Experimental mode, everything is free.
The other levels charge you for everything you do. Each higher level
gives you fewer energy units to start with, and more "troublesome" model
settings.
Delightful touches abound in this simulation. One of the windows is the
Gaia window, a planet with an animated face. Gaia will change her facial
expression to tell you how your planet is doing, and will give you
informative messages ("I love biomass!") from time to time. Another way
to keep tabs on your progress is to use the Tone Monitor. (I wonder if
authors use a Tome Monitor?) This tool plays a "song" based on the data
available for sampling, or, if you choose to monitor a particular
condition, will play a tone whose pitch reflects that condition. (If
you're monitoring the air temperature, for example, the pitch of the tone
will rise as the air temperature rises.)
SimEarth is not without problems, but they are few. For one thing,
SimEarth eats chip memory for breakfast. And lunch, and dinner.
Multiple windows in high-res mode don't come cheap, and you will notice a
performance hit with more than a few windows open. You can get around
this by limiting the number of open windows or by using the low-res
version. I should note that I reviewed SimEarth on a 25 MHz 030-equipped
machine. Given the amount of computation that SimEarth does, it should be
fair to say that a fast machine will enhance the simulation experience.
I can't say that I minded the slowdowns at all. I was having much too
much fun. What other simulation gives extinct species like Trichordates
a second chance? What other simulation gives every species - from
insects to dinosaurs - a shot at sentience? But SimEarth is more than
fun. The manual is a wonderful primer on evolution, ecology,
climatology, geology... anything that affects a planet. More than that,
it goes beyond obtuse and abstract articles and statements and actually
demonstrates the interrelationship between species and the planet. Try
it. You just might learn something, and have fun, to boot!
SimEarth (The Living Planet)
Maxis (Distributed by Broderbund)
Suite 230
Orinda, CA 94563-3346
(510) 254-9700
$59.95
Not copy-protected. Hard drive installable.
Requires 1 Mb (Lo-res) or 2 Mb (Hi-res) and AmigaDOS 1.3 or higher.
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AMReport International Online Magazine
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AMReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" September 8, 1992
32bit Magazine copyright 1992 Volume 2.08
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